Microsoft's New Apple Attack Strategy: We're Cheaper (MSFT)

Microsoft is trying another tack in its attempt to slow down Apple. In an email to journalists, the company is talking up the "Apple tax," the premium that Mac-buyers pay for an Apple (AAPL) computer over PCs running Windows. .....more...

With Microsoft in Sight, Cisco invests in Xobni

Xobni, a San Francisco-based maker of software for email services, has raised $7 million in fresh funding led by Cisco .....more...

Playstation 3: Microsoft Denies It's Using PlayStation Home To ...

Microsoft reps tell CVG that a report from GAAP Web isn't exactly accurate, plugging away that it has "fantastic Microsoft-developed products and applications like Live Meeting and even Xbox Live Party" to meet its needs. Sure. .....more...

Microsoft Tight-Lipped on Layoff Rumors | Edge Online

In an e-mail to Edge, a Microsoft spokesperson stopped short of denying the report, stating the company "does not provide comment on rumor and speculation." He did not provide any color on how the games division could possibly be .....more...

Why IE 8 Won't Save Microsoft's Dwindling Browser Market Share ...

Internet Explorer is hemorrhaging user like blood from a one-legged knight, but, like the stubborn knight of Monty Python fame, it isnt dead just yet. The latest numbers show Internet...more...

Microsoft wants Radiant Silvergun XBLA remake - Xbox 360 Fanboy

Chatting with Gamasutra, Treasure CEO Masato Maegawa revealed that Microsoft has been trying to win over their hearts, gifting them chocolates and giving massages all in an effort to bring the Saturn's Radiant Silvergun to the Xbox Live .....more...

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Expert: Microsoft Earned $1.5B From Vista Capable Program - PC World

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Google, Microsoft Higher Ups Dish Out the Dough for Obama ...

Execs from Google and Microsoft are ponying up big time for President-elect Barack Obama's big day. On January 20, the former junior Senator from Illinois will become the 44th President of the United States. Who from search is giving .....more...

Rumor: 360 a footnote in Microsoft's CES keynote - Joystiq

It's sounding like the only "megatons" at Microsoft's CES 2009 keynote will be the volume of hors d'oeuvres served beforehand. According to TechCruch, the company will focus primarily on Windows 7, mobile devices and home networking, .....more...

VMware Cuts China OEM Deal

2008-06-30 09:34:57Z
VMware Cuts China OEM Deal SYS-CON Media, NJ - 13 minutes ago Microsoft bought a piece of Inspur a few years ago. It changed its name to get more export business. Maureen O'Gara is the Virtualization News Desk editor

Cloud Computing

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Cloud Computing - Guidance Dulls Oracle's Luster SYS-CON Media, NJ - 13 minutes ago Ellison claims share gains against IBM and Microsoft on the database and middleware side. Ellison scoffed at Salesforce.com for not making much money and

Flaws in medical coding can kill: Spread of computers creates new ...

2008-06-30 09:28:43Z
TMCnet - 19 minutes ago Since then, automakers, Microsoft and the federal government have started using the programs, called static analyzers. "There really is sort of a revolution

VEXXHOST & LinkWorth Partnership

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VEXXHOST & LinkWorth Partnership webhostdir.com, UK - 19 minutes ago Search Marketing (YHOO) & Microsoft adCenter (MSFT) per example) and it’s affordable plans is the best way for someone to start his own new website,

Bill for Buffett lunch hits $2m

2008-06-30 09:25:50Z
Bill for Buffett lunch hits $2m BBC News, UK - 22 minutes ago He has agreed to leave the bulk of his fortune to the charitable foundation set up by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda.

Yahoo realigns around audience

2008-06-30 09:24:51Z
Yahoo realigns around audience TelecomTV, UK - 23 minutes ago The latest bout of reorganisation builds on efforts to establish Yahoo as a forward-looking entity following the collapse of talks with Microsoft and mimics

Top 10 Free Software Daily stories this week!

2008-06-30 09:24:36Z
Top 10 Free Software Daily stories this week! Free Software Magazine - 23 minutes ago The way it is portrayed by the media turns it into a cheap “alternative” that you use if you can’t afford Windows or hate Microsoft. Read more…

Canadian man like nude gaming

2008-06-30 09:24:25Z
Canadian man like nude gaming Fragland.net, Belgium - 23 minutes ago Yes, playing video games with no clothes on is apparently pretty common for Canadian male gamers, according to a Canadian survey done for Microsoft.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Xbox 360 Demo Released

2008-06-30 09:24:08Z
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures Xbox 360 Demo Released Gamers Hell, UK - 24 minutes ago Microsoft has announced that a demo for the Xbox 360 version of LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures has been released on Xbox LIVE Marketplace,

Image Risk scanner for enterprise email

2008-06-30 09:23:32Z
Image Risk scanner for enterprise email Help Net Security, Croatia - 24 minutes ago The software works with Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes and Novell Groupwise and will scan embedded images, compressed files and email attachments held on

The Building Block Of XNA Game Studio Express Games

What do you suppose is the building block of all 2D and even some 3D games? If you guessed sprites, you're completely right! The sprite is a magical tool that game developers have been using to simplify the game development process. In the case of XNA Game Studio Express, the sprite makes up the building block of all graphical content.

What Sprites Accomplish in XNA Game Studio Express

Game sprites are more common that you might think. Every character, weapon, bullet, tree, and virtually everything else is usually assigned as a sprite. Very few 2D games can do without sprites (although it's possible but also impractical). 3D games also use these 2D sprites for heads up displays, particle effects, and other trivial graphical matters.

Since these sprites are so important to games in general, XNA Game Studio Express has a lot of built-in support for them. Developers, programmers, and designers can all add a sprite via the Content Pipeline. This is just a fancy phrase to describe the simple upload-and-use method that Microsoft XNA developers graciously created for us.

But just as it is easy enough to upload the sprite and reference within our code, it is just as easy to manipulate the sprite in question. There are built in functions that allow game programmers to modify attributes such as opacity, tint, size, scale, rotation points, and even use what is called sprite sheet animation.

Most of the built-in effects are major time saving functions which has led to some very interesting games produced via XNA Game Studio Express as a result. If you want a character to turn invisible at the drop of a hat, just set the opacity value accordingly. If you want to show off a smooth 30-frame animation for a roundhouse kick, then sprite sheet animation is just as easy to accomplish.

Using Sprites in 3D XNA Game Studio Express Games

Sprites are also used in 3D games, albeit less on average than 2D games. As we mentioned before, they are generally for particle systems, heads up displays, menus, and other trivial functions.

Particle systems in particular are very important. When the smoke of a barrel rises after a shot, you can bet that 2D sprites are being used in most cases. When an earth-shattering explosion knocks dust and rocks into the air, 2D sprites are again most likely at work. Although advanced 3D games don't even need to make use of 2D sprites as particle effects, most homebrew games do.

But what many (even advanced!) games can't avoid is getting information to the player which, coincidentally, requires 2D sprites. Menu effects, information to show things such as health or ammunition levels, pause menus, profile screens, and much more will still make use of sprites.

Final Thoughts on XNA Game Studio Express and Sprites

XNA Game Studio Express is a true blessing, what with its vast support for sprites. The on the go functionality of XNA Game Studio Express allows better games to be made in less time- and as we can see, much of the time is cut at the sprite level.

Game developers will tell you that a game without sprites is improbable. As a result of this fact, and the fact that XNA Game Studio Express makes it so easy, we are seeing many developers shifting to XNA game development- and rightly so.

Personal Review About Windows Live Messenger

Do you want to have a chat with your friends, schoolmates or families over the Internet in real time? Do you want to have a long-distance telephone call low expenses? There is a good news for us! With Windows Live Messenger, this IM and video phone software which was published by Microsoft Corp, we can take our dreams into realism.

Windows Live Messenger, previously known as MSN Messenger, was renamed as part of Microsoft move towards the Live online community. So far, the most popular IM app in the world had already gone through a bunch of updates, but this new name also meant important changes that would somehow start a new period in Messenger history.

Windows Live Messenger is the next generation of MSN Messenger. It supports video chats, phone-to-phone, phone-to-PC calls and conventional text chats with full support for emoticons, font formatting and more. Windows Live Messenger integrates support for Yahoo!, enabling us to chat with our Yahoo! buddies from the same application. With Windows Live Messenger we can chat online instantly in real time with friends, family and colleagues. It is faster than e-mail, more discreet than a phone call.

The key features and functions of Windows Live Messenger include: Talk to our Yahoo! Friends. With Windows Live Messenger, we can now connect with our Yahoo! friends. Forget about using multiple accounts to talk to our friends. We can do it all directly from Windows Live Messenger. The world largest IM network has just gotten bigger—and better. PC-to-PC Calling. Speak our mind: Have a high-quality voice conversation using PC-to-PC Calling. Even better video conversations. Those old science fiction movies with TV phones? That is what the new Messenger will give us, only better: live, full-screen (640x480) video. Sharing Folders. Drag a file onto a contact name. We have just created a Sharing Folder. Now we and our contact can get to all the files in the folder any time, even if one of us is offline. Text message their phones. See a little mobile icon next to a friend name? Just right click to send a text message. Our two-way, super-powered address book. With Windows Live Contacts, whenever our contacts update their information, it will also be changed in our Messenger address book. Instantly. (Our Windows Live Mail address book will be updated, too.) Windows Live Alerts. Headlines, sports scores, traffic, or just about anything else we want to keep up with—get pop-up notifications of things as they happen.

The requirement of this IM and video phone software is very low, such as: Computer and processor: Multimedia PC Pentium 233 MHz process (500 MHz recommended). Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista. Memory: Minimum 128 MB of RAM (256 MB recommended). Hard disk: Up to 50 MB of hard disk space for installation, 15 MB to run the program. Display: Minimum 800 x 600 screen resolution. Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6 SP1 or later must be installed on our computer, though it does not need to be our default browser. Internet connection: Internet functionality requires dial-up or broadband Internet access (provided separately). Local or long-distance charges may apply.

Overall, Windows Live Messenger is a very nice, easy to use and full-functions IM and video phone system. The developer of this software wanted to ensure ease of use for the average home user with its simple, clean, great looking interface, but included features for even the most demanding, experienced users. It is an ideal solution for us to have a chat ro have a video phone.

In addition, Windows Live Messenger is free for us and it is a standalone software. It does not need any extra software and hardware requirement. It works with Win2000/XP/Vista and its current version is 8.1. With all these features, simple interface, excellent usability, free trial - why are you still reading? Download the free trial now and experience what powerful and effective it is at once! If you feel this utility is helpful indeed, introduce it to your friends please!