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The Mojave Experiment is Microsoft’s latest marketing ploy. Participants—who are said to have never used or apparently even seen Vista—are asked what they think about the operating system. Afterwards, they’re shown a 10-minute demo of Microsoft’s “newest” OS, codenamed “Mojave”. It’s only after the presentation’s done are the participants told that Mojave is actually Windows Vista. They’re asked once again to rate Vista.

The campaign makes use of videos, which show with full detail the reactions of most of the participants as they’re wowed by what they’re seeing. It’s clear that Microsoft thinks that the numerous challenges faced by Vista aren’t caused by real issues, but by a widely held perception that the OS is plagued by bugs, slowdowns, and incompatibilities. Not surprisingly the experiment paints a very positive picture for Vista.

A New Approach for Microsoft

Mojave represents a new step for Microsoft, in terms of marketing. Its personal approach and reliance on traditional customer testimonials is very different from the software company’s usually business-like methods. At the very least, it attempts to address the widespread view that it’s simply not worth upgrading to Vista, and the relative popularity of downgrading to XP.

Vista is Still Vista

Granted, recent experiences have shown that Vista features a lot of improvements that make navigating and browsing through your information a lot easier. A wonderful example is the “breadcrumbs” explorer address bar.

And of course, you also have the vastly improved eye candy. The problem with Vista has always been its performance—how fast it does things. Recent experiences have also shown that even relatively powerful computers, advertised as designed for Vista, don’t really let users maximize their computing experience.

Microsoft Needs to Get its Act Together Fast

It’s easy for Microsoft to blame customer error, the failure of hardware vendors to provide the proper hardware, and even Apple’s Mac OS X advertising campaigns for the negative reputation Windows Vista suffers today.

The fact remains though that Vista represents a step backward for Microsoft, and actually threatens to weaken its dominance in the operating system industry, as frustrated users look for alternatives from competitors. It’s good that Microsoft is trying to craft the presentation of its message to be more relevant to John Q. Public, but it needs to back-up this with action. Here’s to hoping that the Windows Vista SP2 upgrade really fixes things.

Tags: Advertising, marketing, Microsoft, The Mojave Experiment, Windows Vista, XP downgrades

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Original post by Rico

Filed under: Gaming

Immersion, the company that owns virtually every vibration and haptic tech on earth, is getting a taste of its own medicine now that it owes Microsoft $21 million. You may remember back in 2003 when Microsoft floated an unknown sum of cash in the direction of Immersion in order to include patented vibration technology in its Xbox 360 controllers. Around the same time, Sony told us all that we don’t need no stinkin’ vibration and passed on paying up. Las year, though, Sony bowed to customer pressure and paid Immersion $121 million in order to unleash the Dual Shock 3. Immersion was supposed to share some of that Sony booty with Microsoft — and they didn’t. So there we have it: we all got a piece of Sony and we have the DualShock 3. Everyone happy now?

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Original post by Joshua Fruhlinger

A new technology developed by Microsoft in alliance with the University of Massachusetts (UMASS), and the University of Washington has resulted in a new technology called Vi-Fi (Vehicle Wi-Fi). Vi-Fi solves the problem of hopping from one Wi-Fi wireless access point (WAP) to another when signal strength diminishes. According to the article, the goal of Vi-Fi could be to power VoIP calls, Internet, and radio in cars of the future.

Ironically, Andy wrote a controversial blog this week about VoIPing while flying (using Aircell) — well now you can VoIP while driving too! Of course, I’ve been using VoIP over EVDO for some time now while driving. I was even able to register my Windows Mobile 6.1 device (EVDO as well) to an Asterisk server sitting in my office and make/receive office calls.

With this forthcoming technology, who needs XM or SIRIUS when you can stream radio for free over the internet with hundreds if not thousands to choose from? Time to short satellite radio stocks?

The system they are developing will provide users with on-the-go internet access more cheaply than existing cellular broadband systems.  The challenge this alliance aims to solve can be explained by this excerpt of the article:

The key to Microsoft’s new system is a steady signal.  In Wi-Fi networks, as you travel overland, each signal station (base station) only broadcasts so far, so you have to hop between stations.  During these transitions, known as “hard handoffs”, the signal strength typically drops.  At best this makes car Wi-Fi unpleasant, and at worst it makes it unworkable.

The key to to solving this challenge is the use of multiple base stations.  The station can send and receive signals from more than on base station, and the strongest strength gets assigned as the “anchor” system, while the other systems are used as “auxiliary” systems.  A complex algorithm is constantly calculating the probability of a packet not reaching the main station.  If that probability reaches a certain threshold the auxiliary stations try to forward it to the main station.

They did some test trials at Microsoft’s campus and found the system eliminated nearly all the problems of network hopping while driving. Just don’t expect Wi-Fi / Vi-Fi coverage to be as ubiquitous as say EVDO, 3G, etc. while driving. EVDO, 3G and other cellular data transmissions can travel a lot further than Wi-Fi signals, which are only rated for 300feet. So you’ll still need a ton of these specialized Wi-Fi stations with the special software to get decent coverage.

But considering most homes have Wi-Fi APs, it could be very cool if you could build a massive Vi-Fi network using consumer’s existing Wi-Fi APs. Simple firmware upgrade? But then you get into the whole security issues, bandwidth theft, etc. Still, the work Microsoft and these universities are doing is fascinating. How soon will be before we have truly mobile and ubiquitous Wi-Fi Internet access? Who knows? But my EVDO card works just fine almost wherever I go. It’s not as fast as Wi-Fi but it works well enough.

Tags: car, cars, driving, EVDO, Internet, Microsoft, UMASS, University of Massachusetts, University of Washington, Vi-Fi, VoIP, Wi-Fi, wireless

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Peripherals

We’re not really sure if Microsoft is peddling a revolution here or just the mousing tech flavor of the month, but we’ve got ourselves a much better idea of where things might be going. After that little “Say Goodbye to Laser” teaser turned our pointing device world upside down, a reader spotted this MS Explorer Mini Mouse with “Blue Track” technology over on Amazon.de. Coincidence? We’re guessing no. We followed a bit more of the PI work done by our fine commenters and discovered Blue Track to be based on a blue LED combined with a wide-angle lens that’s supposed to work on more surfaces than laser and optical. Microsoft only really seems to be aiming this at the portable spectrum, hence the wireless adapter and miniature size, so perhaps Blue Track isn’t the end of laser after all.

[Thanks, awesome commenters]

Read - Amazon.de’s Blue Track gallery
Read - Blue Track explained… in Italian

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Peripherals

We’d say the jump from traditional optical mice to laser mice was pretty momentous, and it sounds like Microsoft is getting ready to jump again — Microsoft Hardware put up a teaser this afternoon for a September 9th announcement featuring the tagline “Say Goodbye to Laser.” Yeah, that’s not exactly subtle, is it? We’re hoping a return to old-school trackballs with grimy little wheels is in order, but we’re just sentimentalists at heart.

[Via Seattle PI, thanks Spencer]

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Original post by Nilay Patel

Filed under: Gaming

While it seems to be all but a sure thing that all three Xbox 360 SKUs will be getting a price cut on September 7th, if you need a bit more reassurance, you can now take comfort in this apparently authentic Best Buy ad provided by a helpful tipster, which should be making an appearance in paper form just in time for the big day. Just like Radio Shack’s, this one lists the Arcade, Pro and Elite for $199, $299, and $399, respectively, and, unsurprisingly, there’s no mention of a motion controller with any of ‘em.

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Original post by Donald Melanson

Filed under: Gaming

The next Xbox 360 Dashboard update promises to be a big one, with a totally revised menu system, Netflix support, and Wii-like avatars, but so far Microsoft’s kept mum on when it’s coming — but we’d circle November on your calendars for now, since that’s what MS UK apparently told the crew at RPG-TV. It’s still not official official, but at least now you have something to look forward to in November besides awkwardly hanging out with people from high school over Thanksgiving.

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Original post by Nilay Patel

I’ve been playing around with fring for awhile now. I like fring which I like to call “the Swiss army knife of mobile VoIP and IM”, since it works with Skype, SIP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, and AIM. Because it supports SIP, I’m able to configure fring to work on Asterisk-based systems to be able to make and receive phone calls.

Receiving calls to my ‘149′ SIP extension (see screenshot) works great on my Windows Mobile 6.1 Verizon XV6700 (Apache) phone. in fact, VoIP using fring even works over a cellular data connection, unlike the Apple iPhone which blocks VoIP over cellular and I’m sure you heard about Nokia announcing they will no longer support VoIP. Om Malik wrote about this last week. As a gadget freak, people have been telling me I should dump my Windows Mobile for an iPhone. So let’s see here, no VoIP on popular Nokia phones, no VoIP on the popular Apple iPhone (except over Wi-Fi). Further, you can’t even run Skype on the iPhone. Tell me again why I should dump my Windows Mobile phone for an iPhone? Ok, I know, I know, it has a cool multi-touch interface and some other great apps. I’m getting an iPhone to test/play around with, but I already know I won’t like it’s VoIP capabilities.

Getting back to fring, my one complaint about it is that it doesn’t support DMTF (touchtones) for traversing voicemail, ACDs/IVRs, etc. So it’s useless if you want to call your credit card company, bank, etc. I’m shocked they don’t support it yet. There are other VoIP apps for Windows Mobile that support DTMF, such as Talkonaut, so I’m not sure why this is such a technical hurdle for fring. It’s the one thing that stops me from using fring more regularly. One other minor complaint is that it doesn’t have a quick redial button. Other than that, fring works fantastic. I can make Skype VoIP calls, SIP-based calls, and of course the built-in IM support for the top IM providers. Take that iPhone!

Tags: Apache, DTMF, fring, iphone, mobile phone, nokia, Om Malik, sip, skype, touch tones, Verizon, VoIP, Windows Mobile 6.1, XV6700

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Original post by nafiz

Filed under: Cellphones

Why lust after a Zunephone when you can have an Xbox 360 Sidekick LX? Based on an admittedly bizarre and entirely painful-to-watch video posted up in the read link, Soulja Boy is seen spazzing out over what appears to be a special edition Sidekick LX. The unit is branded (at least in the software) with Xbox 360 logos, and there’s also a copy of Resident Evil: Genesis on there that he toys with momentarily. So, the question here: is this thing legit? On one hand, Danger does have a thing for pumping out limited run Sidekicks like they’re going out of style, and plus, it would probably have a hard time convincing an A-list rapper to carry a prototype Sidekick. On the other, we’re really inclined to believe this is just a sad way for Soulja Boy to fill up his inbox with soulless emails. “SouljaBoyTellEm@tmail.com — holla atcha boy!”

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Original post by Darren Murph

Spy Hunter writes “Photosynth has graduated from a ‘tech preview’ to a complete service. Now you can upload your own photos and have them automatically transformed into a ’synth’: a 3D fly-through reconstruction of your home, your vacation, or anything else you can take pictures of. Learn more about Photosynth at the official blog, see what Walt Mossberg has to say about it, or just go try it out right now.” According to Mossberg, Photosynth works on PCs using IE or Firefox, but not yet on Macs. We’ve been discussing Photosynth since its introduction.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by kdawson

Microsoft, weary of being cast as a stodgy oldster by Apple advertising, is turning for help to Jerry Seinfeld.

The software giant’s new $300 million advertising campaign, devised by a newly hired ad agency, has been closely guarded.

But Mac-loving Seinfeld will be one of the key celebrity pitchmen, say people close to the situation. He will appear with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates in ads and receive about $10 million for the work, they say. 

(If you offer enough money …)

I say, “No soup for you!

See more at the Wall Street Journal.

Tags: apple, bill gates, jerry seinfeld, mac, microsoft

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Original post by nafiz

Barence writes “Microsoft has signed up comedian Jerry Seinfeld to its $300 million Vista PR blitz, as it attempts to turn around the negative perception surrounding its operating system. Reports suggest Bill Gates will also appear in the ads, which, given the comedy timing he displayed in his ‘Bill’s Last Day’ video, and the deadpan manner of Seinfeld, could result in a huge hit for the company.” Reader Zarmanto notes in his journal that “Mac users might be quite amused, considering that (like many other TV shows) the set of Seinfeld always had a Macintosh prominently displayed in the background.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by timothy

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

var digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/microsoft/Microsoft_enlists_Seinfeld_Gates_to_battle_Get_a_Mac_ads’; Those Apple “Get a Mac” ads have long been an annoyance to Microsoft and to Bill Gates in particular. No surprise as an emboldened Apple with rising market share has continued to ratchet up the venomous quips like, “fear of switching is the foundation of customer loyalty for PCs,” found in its latest TV ad. Now Microsoft is fighting back.

Microsoft’s new $300 million campaign (one of Redmond’s largest ever) is set to launch with a $10 million assist from “key celebrity pitchman” Jerry Seinfeld. Yes, Bill Gates will appear as well — the once maligned, rich corporate nerd turned adorable, rich humanitarian nerd. The campaign is said to based on the idea of “Windows, Not Walls,” stressing the need to “break down barriers that prevent people and ideas from connecting.” Something we think open-sourcers might have a laugh at. Anywho, the immediate goal of the campaign is to reverse the negative public perception of Vista and thus incorporates elements of the Mojave Experiment. While we have doubts about the latter, the combination of Seinfeld’s pithy observations with a bit of that Bill Gates, self deprecating humor seen in “Bill’s Last Day” could be a winning combination. Whether that turns the boat of negative public perception remains to be seen.

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Gaming

According to our good, dear, beautiful friends at Joystiq (and Radio Shack, incidentally) the Xbox 360 family is going to be seeing those rumored price cuts in the very near future. Falling right in line with that chatter we heard at the beginning of the month, a leaked Radio Shack circular seems to indicate that there will be reductions across the board for the console, with the 60GB version clocking in at $299, the Elite running you a cool $399, and the Arcade setup dropping to a totally affordable $199 (we’re looking at you, potential Xbox LIVE opponents). Sure this could all be some Photoshop wiz’s idea of a hilarious joke, but we’re keeping the fingers and toes crossed over here. Target date for truth? September 7th — so stay tuned.

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Microsoft is putting its touchy-feely side to the test at the Sheraton Hotel.

The software giant recently showed off its new Surface technology at five Sheraton hotels nationwide. The demonstration allowed the public to get a feel for Microsoft’s first fully touch-screen computer.

The table-like Surface computer operates entirely through a 30-inch interactive screen, which works along the same lines as Apple’s iPhone. But the Surface also recognizes and interacts with objects such as iPods and digital cameras that it comes in contact with, allowing users to edit photos or play music on the spot. The display, which rotates, can also recognize multiple hands or fingers. 

NewsFactor’s got more.

Tags: apple, digital camera, iphone, ipod, microsoft, newsfactor, sheraton

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Original post by nafiz