Xbox One: A Gadget Only Microsoft Could Make

Last’s weeks Xbox One release was met with shouts from fans, detractors and longtime followers of the company’s plays in the consumer space.

Of course, the most noise originated from users who aren’t fans of the decisions made by Microsoft as of late. There was also an audible cheering from fans who are simply ecstatic to have a next-generation Xbox One to call their own. Though both extremes are valid, I think those paying attention to Microsoft’s handling of the Xbox One will realize that the device perfectly encapsulates Microsoft as it is today.

Take the company’s approach to the console itself. Rather than create a next-generation gaming system that simply allowed users to do the same things they could on the Xbox 360 with higher fidelity, Microsoft choose to put future entertainment ambitions at the forefront. Sure, the Xbox One is a next-generation gaming system, buts it’s also a television set-top box that comes closer to meeting consumer standards than most living-room focused products.

Instead of relying on DVDs and just an updated controller, the company made the decision to ship every console with a completely overhauled Kinect sensor and set a baseline for what users expect from its future consoles. Yes, attempting to innovate while facing a competitor who’s perfectly content with not pushing the envelope and coming in at a lower price is bold.

All of these decisions didn’t exactly harmonize Microsoft’s base of users. There are some gamers who are absolutely offended by Microsoft’s decision to create one device that costs users $100 more than the competition. Many users weren’t fans of the Metro interface that Microsoft introduced in Windows 8, and you can bet they aren’t too happy with having that same interface here. Early on Microsoft was even willing to upset the used game market if it meant it could, theoretically, make it easier for gamers to switch games and share digital titles with friends and family. Yes, it back tracked on that it, but there are still users clamoring for both of those features. This is a Microsoft that isn’t afraid to make tough decisions that everyone won’t agree with. It’s not a characteristic we’ve much of from Microsoft until recently.

Finally, the Xbox One is a device that only Microsoft could have created. The console’s headline features are a perfect snapshot of just how many businesses and technologies Microsoft has. The foundations of Xbox OS belong to Microsoft’s HyperV and Windows businesses. Its voice and search technologies are from the TellMe and Bing Teams. Its Cloud Compute servers are powered by Microsoft’s Azure platform. Microsoft is one of the few companies who could create a project like this, and this is the same company industry watchers browbeat year after year for not working in unison.

Of course, there are things here that perfectly represent one of the biggest things this “new” Microsoft gets wrong. We all know that the Xbox One will evolve overtime, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. However, the Xbox One’s software doesn’t feel done. Big name apps like Comcast and AT&T U-Verse are flat-out missing, Xbox Music lacks access to the same music video catalog users had access to on the Xbox 360.

The Xbox One doesn’t allow users to customize it outside of pinning apps in one section of the Dashboard and changing their tile color. This is an issue we’ve seen with Windows Phone and Windows too. Not a single product outside of what SkyDrive and Outlook feels done by the time it goes to consumers. I suspect that it’s a side-effect of shipping software products so often. However, I don’t think end users care why it’s a constant struggle for them as much as they want to see one idea fleshed out in an initial release.

Like it or not. The Xbox One is Microsoft as it exists today. A bold, divisive, monolithic company who prefers to meet deadlines in the hopes of not arriving into a market too late. I suppose whether these characteristics are good for the Xbox One or Microsoft as a whole depends on whether consumers respond well to either.

Microsoft CEO survivor: Maritz is off the island

I've stayed away from speculating on who might or should become Microsoft's next CEO for a variety of reasons.

On the "should" front, I haven't been part of the speculation pool because... what do I know? I posted a list of those I expected to be on the internal-candidate list back when Ballmer announced he'd be relinquishing the CEO crown. But I have no real idea what it takes to manage a company of any size beyond one (my own freelance business, of which I am the sole employee).

On the "might" front, like anyone watching Microsoft, I've asked plenty of insiders, outsiders, former employees and others for their opinions. (And everyone has one. Or more than one.)

One thing I've noticed, unsurprisingly, is everyone has a vested interest in how s/he answers. Many of those happily working for Microsoft Cloud & Enterprise chief Satya Nadella want their boss to be the next CEO. Ditto with those working for Tony Bates. Those in the devices/mobile space tend to favor Steven Elop, another rumored, quasi-internal candidate.

Many on Wall Street are agitating for an outsider, none more than Rick Sherlund of Nomura Securities. Sherlund, in case you missed it yesterday, basically said what many of us long-time reporters know to be true: A non-denial is not really a denial. And Ford execs have been issuing almost the identially worded non-denial denials for the past three months as to whether supposed front-runner Ford CEO Alan Mulally is going to go to Microsoft.

One person who Sherlund and some others were hoping might make a triumphant return to Microsoft has officially taken himself out of the running: Former Microsoft Platform Chief and Pivotal CEO Paul Maritz. (AllThingsD reported a month or so ago that Maritz had been contacted for consideration.)

A December 6 PC Pro story quotes Maritz saying he "took (his) hat of that ring very early on" as he is 58, and "not up for that journey."

(For comparison's sake, Ballmer is 57. Mulally is 68.)

Also: In case anyone was wondering about Microsoft's new unified OS chief Terry Myerson's chances of becoming the next Microsoft CEO, he also officially stated this week he's not on the CEO-candidate island.

As Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said himself at the recent Microsoft shareholder meeting, whoever becomes the next CEO has a tough job to fill. Gates told meeting attendees on November 19:

"(I)t’s a complex role to fill, a lot of different skills, experience, and capabilities that we need. It’s a complex global business that the new CEO will have to lead. And they will have to drive across fundamental transitions to create new growth and to attract and manage top talent. "We will have to build on our strengths while addressing areas that we have got weaknesses or challenges. The person has to have a lot of comfort in leading a highly technical organization and have an ability to work with our top technical talent to seize the opportunities."

When Gates was Microsoft's CEO, it was a different time and place. He was Microsoft's founder and chief tech visionary.

These days, some would argue Microsoft needs a manager more than a visionary -- or possibly a visionary as a sidekick (in a role like the currently vacated Chief Software Architect one). 

Whoever the next CEO is, that person needs to know how to talk to Wall Street, customers, partners, employees, government bodies, shareholders, the press and plenty of other constituencies. Charisma, schmooze, speed and smarts need to be part of the make-up of the individual who ends up steering the 130,000-or-so (post-Nokia acquisition) company in its next phase. 

I don't know who that person is. I don't feel confident enough in the opinions of any of my contacts to hazard a guess. But I do know that the sooner the search committee can name him/her, the better. Meetings with potential candidates started three or four years ago, according to Ballmer, and the search committee was supposedly well on its way toward narrowing down its list back in August.

Dell Venue 8 Pro tablet selling for $99 this Monday at Microsoft Store locations

Summary: After the first 20 are sold at each brick-and-mortar outlet, the price goes up to $199 while supplies last. The first 100 tablets sold through the Microsoft online store will also be available for $99, or $199 thereafter.

They might not get the love that Apple stores often do, but Microsoft has slowly amassed more than 40 retail locations over the last couple of years. If you haven't been to one yet, and you're in the market for a new Windows 8.1 tablet, you might want to pay a visit this coming Monday.

That's because Microsoft is offering the Dell Venue 8 Pro for just $99 on December 9 -- and only through its physical stores. That's a massive discount from the $299.99 price that Dell itself sells the base model for. In fact, Dell didn't even offer much of a deal on it during Black Friday/Cyber Monday, choosing just to throw in a free case and a year's worth of accidental damage service if you purchased at the full price.

Of course there's a catch. Only the first 20 Venue 8 Pro tablets sold in each location will be available at the $99 price. After that, the price shoots up to $199 as long as stock lasts (though it may be as little as 10 additional units at a store). That's still a pretty good deal, but the price difference should prompt you to arrive early if you want a chance at the better bargain.

While your best opportunity to score the Venue 8 Pro for dirt cheap is by physically showing up at a Microsoft store, the company's online store will also offer the $99 price for the first 100 units sold. Again, once that quota is reached, the tablet will be available for $199 until supply runs out.

Is the $99 price enough to get you to go to a Microsoft store on Monday to buy a Venue 8 Pro? Let us know in the Talkback section below.

Via The Verge

Sean Portnoy is a former executive editor at Computer Shopper magazine and editor at CNET Networks.

Free upgrades pay off for Apple and Microsoft in November

In tech terms, October and November are the doldrums, that quiet period after students return to school and before the holiday shopping frenzy begins.

So it’s not surprising that the latest NetMarketShare numbers on worldwide operating-system usage barely changed in November. Windows usage overall is essentially unchanged, with Windows 8.x and Windows 7 up slightly at the expense of the fading Vista and XP. Collectively, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 accounted for 9.3 percent of web usage in November, with XP still hovering above the 30 percent mark as the clock ticks closer to its end-of-support date. (See the chart at the end of this post.)

In the browser space, the three leading desktop browsers barely budged, with Internet Explorer at 58.36 percent, Firefox at 18.54 percent, and Google Chrome at 15.44 percent.

There were a few interesting bits of statistical data buried in this month’s data dump, though. Both Microsoft and Apple released upgrades to their flagship operating systems in late October. Windows 8.1 is free to Windows 8 users, and OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) is free to users of OS X 10.6.8 (Snow Leopard), 10.7 (Lion), and 10.8 (Mountain Lion).

So how have those free upgrades gone? After one full month, Apple and Microsoft have successfully convinced roughly 30 percent of their respective installed bases to upgrade. (The exact numbers: 28.4 percent for Windows 8+, 33.9 percent for OS X 10.6+.) This chart shows the percentage of the installed base for each month for the relevant operating system families.

Data provided by > Net Applications

If price isn’t a barrier to an upgrade for either platform, why isn’t the number 100 percent? The obvious reason is that users are rightfully gun-shy of big upgrades like this. The upgrade process is never guaranteed to be successful, even on the much more tightly controlled Apple hardware platform. In Apple’s case, Mavericks came with an assortment of bugs and issues that had even Apple loyalists urging a wait-and-see attitude.

Both companies have a profound interest in moving their customers to the newest version. Support costs drop and managing security is by definition easier if you can concentrate on a single version instead of supporting four major Windows versions, as Microsoft is currently doing.

You can expect to see the shares of Windows 8.1 and OS X Mavericks rise over the next few months. When I update this chart next month, I expect to see the Windows 8.1 numbers significantly higher, as Microsoft and its hardware partners sell tens of millions of new PCs in the holiday season, most of them running Windows 8.1.

But the dream of both companies—of operating systems that update automatically and are never out of date—is still another major release or two away. User inertia and (for Windows users) corporate conservatism will guarantee that.

A quick check of the other big metrics company, StatCounter, shows impressive gains for Windows 8.1 as well, although the percentages differ from the NetMarketShare numbers. StatCounter has the combined share of Windows 8 and 8.1 at 8.6 percent, with roughly 1 in 8 Windows 8 users having upgraded by the end of November.

StatCounter includes mobile operating systems and game consoles in its figures, so it's difficult to compare directly with NetMarketShare numbers. Excluding those operating systems and normalizing the numbers to include only Windows/OS X/Linux/Chrome OS, the share for Windows 8 and 8.1 combined is 9.3 percent, exactly the same as NetMarketShare's report. (StatCounter doesn’t break out figures for OS X versions, so that comparison isn’t possible.)

StatCounter's November figures are also encouraging for the XP-must-die crowd, with XP checking in at 19.3 percent. Both companies show Windows 8 usage outstripping all versions of OS X combined, and the NetMarketShare numbers show that Windows 8.1 alone is used more than any single version of OS X. Oh, and one final tidbit: Chrome OS, which powers Google's Chromebooks, still doesn't appear in sufficient numbers to make the NetMarketShare reports, but StatCounter shows the web-centric Google OS with a 0.05 percent share of usage worldwide, behind PlayStation but ahead of Windows 2000 and Nintendo.

Here is the desktop OS share chart from NetMarketShare.

Data provided by Net Applications

And here is the operating system chart from StatCounter. As I explain earlier, these figures mix desktop OSes, mobile platforms, and game consoles, so the numbers can't be directly compared to those from NetMarketShare. 

Data provided by StatCounter

Microsoft: October Patch Tuesday vulnerability patched in November

Summary: [Correction: ] One of the October Internet Explorer vulnerabilities wasn't patched until November

[CORRECTION: My first take on this was just plain wrong. The update I read in the security bulletin was in the October Patch Tuesday bulletin, not the November bulletin. I was partly confused because it's unusual for Microsoft to have Cumulative Updates for Internet Explorer two months in a row, as they did in October and November. My apologies to you and to Microsoft, but what happened is still interesting, so here goes:]

Two days after the October Patch Tuesday updates, Microsoft corrected one of the security bulletins for that month to indicate that they had not in fact patched one of the vulnerabilities listed in it. That vulnerability — CVE-2013-3871 — was, in fact, patched in the November updates, specifically as part of MS13-088: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer.

The initial bulletin was MS13-080: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer — note that both are Cumulative Updates. It originally listed 10 vulnerabilities, one of them CVE-2013-3871. The vulnerability was credited to Simon Zuckerbraun working with HP's Zero Day Initiative.

Microsoft gave essentially no description of the vulnerability, either in October or November, beyond the title: Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability.

Symantec has a little more explanation in their description of the bug, although this text is also boilerplate for such a vulnerability:

Microsoft Internet Explorer is prone to a memory-corruption vulnerability. Attackers can exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code in the context of the currently logged-in user. Failed attacks will cause denial-of-service conditions. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 are affected.

Topics: Security, Windows

Larry Seltzer has long been a recognized expert in technology, with a focus on mobile technology and security in recent years

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Microsoft Extends Games with Gold Promotion to Xbox One

It wasn’t too long ago that Microsoft announced that it would give subscribers of its Xbox LIVE Gold service two free games a month as part of the Games With Gold promotion. That promotion guaranteed users two free games a month if they had an Xbox LIVE Gold account and an Xbox 360. Thankfully, Microsoft has now confirmed that it plans to extend the offer to users with an Xbox One as well.

Larry Hyrb, Microsoft’s Programming Director for Xbox LIVE, announced the change yesterday on Twitter. Unfortunately, Hyrb didn’t go into details about the program addition, saying only that users should expect more details “in 2014.”

While extending the program to more users is the obvious thing to do, especially since PlayStation Plus subscribers with a PS3 already enjoy this type of perk, offering next to no details about the program isn’t likely to convince users who were planning to buy an Xbox One next week but forgo an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription.

Still, extending the deal will help Microsoft position Xbox LIVE Gold as a service worthy of its $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year price tag. The company has taken tons of criticism for forcing users to subscribe to Xbox LIVE Gold to use entertainment applications like Netflix and Hulu Plus. An Xbox LIVE Gold subscription also entitles users to exclusive demos and a series of weekly deals on games and downloadable content.

Today, Xbox 360 users with Xbox LIVE Gold get two games a month with the first one arriving on the 1st day of each month, followed by a second one on the 16th day of each month. Since introducing the program in July, Microsoft has given away older retail titles like Halo 3 and smaller Xbox LIVE Arcade titles like A World of Keflings.

Read: Xbox 360 Users to Continue Getting Free Games

Originally, Microsoft only planned to offer Games With Gold until the launch of the Xbox One, however it announced that it would continue the promotion indefinitely this past October.

The Xbox One launches on November 22nd for $499. Unfortunately, pre-orders remain sold out. However,  Microsoft has confirmed that its retail partners will have extra consoles on hand for users who couldn’t get a pre-order.

Microsoft Announces Facebook Login for Windows Phone and Windows

Of Microsoft Windows and Windows Phone Show a little progress when it comes to selling the device. That being said, continues to be a lack of high-quality applications and useful third-party tools after in both the operating system stores one of the only valid points of criticism on both operating systems. It seems that Microsoft hopes that bring formalized support for Facebook Login will help with that problem.

Microsoft announced the move in a post today, say that they add support for Facebook Login it will help in its efforts to support development ' scenarios ' hopes for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8. In the real world, formalized Facebook Login support, and proper documentation that comes along with a first-party API, Microsoft draw help longtime developers with established apps on other platforms. For example, a large percentage of popular apps on iOS and Android rely on Facebook login to store the user's data and settings. The app Stitcher Podcast uses the Facebook API to sync content between its mobile apps and a new web-interface.

Microsoft, for its part, says that a study commissioned by from Janrain in 2012 found that "password fatigue the main cause of users to abandon apps and services. Facebook Login would solve this problem by allow users to log into things with only their Facebook user name and password.

What is really interesting is that Windows Phone just has reached her fourth birthday and that time has not yet elapsed without all applications using Facebook Login button in their apps. In fact, offer many of the top layer Windows Phone apps Facebook login as an option. Microsoft says that this new Facebook Login API developers to capture statistics using Facebook social graph and other things, so perhaps the differences are seamless to the end user, but not the developer will allow.

Microsoft says that it is already to his credit updates with official Facebook Login API in the works. That includes an updated Foursquare for Windows app that automatically the user's Facebook account's friends, a new iHeartRadio for Windows app that reliable should synchronize user settings and share their favorite stations to Facebook and editions of Adobe Photoshop Express that lets users find Revel and for sharing photos on Facebook.

Microsoft does not share any information about the exact date for each update launch.

Elop could sell off Xbox if made Microsoft CEO, claims report

Summary: The question that the future Microsoft CEO will need to answer is this; is Xbox important to Microsoft, or is it, along with projects such as Bing, merely a distraction from Microsoft's core operations?

As Steve Ballmer prepares to step down as CEO, Microsoft is searching for a replacement, and one name that's been rumored to take the helm of the Redmond giant is former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop.

See also: Microsoft and Apple unleash thermonuclear war on Google and Android

But if Elop does get the top job at Microsoft, Bloomberg is reporting that he could be ready to radically refocus the company. According to "three people with knowledge of his thinking," Elop would not only consider shuttering the Bing search engine but also selling off the Xbox business "if he determined they weren’t critical to the company’s strategy."

Elop left Nokia in September, having sold the company to Microsoft for $7.2 billion, and reported that he would become head of a new Microsoft devices unit responsible for hardware such as the Surface tablet and Xbox console.

This might seem somewhat rash, considering that the Xbox business is quite buoyant (last quarter hardware revenue was down, but services revenue was up), and that Microsoft is getting ready to roll out the new Xbox One later this month.

Selling the Xbox brand could be a double-edged sword. On the one side it would mean that Microsoft would lose ground in the war for the living room, but on the other it would mean the company could better focus on more profitable revenue streams.

Also, while the Xbox 360 has been a success, that's no guarantee that the Xbox One will be a success. Analysts are predicting that the next-generation consoles will all have a tough road to hoe, and profits may be a long way off. The Xbox 360 has sold almost 80 million units since its debut in November 2005, and even with the best reception, the Xbox One will take a long time to achieve that level of dominance. It's going to take a lot of marketing dollars, not to mention sweeteners to games companies to secure exclusive titles, to make the new console a success.

The question that the future Microsoft CEO will need to answer is this; is Xbox important to Microsoft, or is it, along with projects such as Bing, merely a distraction from Microsoft's core operations?

See also:

Topics: Hardware, Microsoft

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Wish you could predict the future? Today's data analytics is about as close as you can get to real magic. This live, interactive webcast will focus on how data analytics can help you anticipate activity to meet your ever-changing supply chain requirements. Register now!

Air Canada wanted something to make things a little easier for their customers, and using technology from IBM was able to offer self service. Check out this white paper to hear more about how IBM is making the airlines smarter.

Don't let any important alerts be missed! SolarWinds Alert Central gives you a centralized place to receive and send alerts for ALL your IT monitoring systems. Download it today!

Microsoft inches closer to a unified Windows and Windows Phone Store

Summary: Microsoft is making it easier and cheaper for developers to build apps for both Windows Phone and Windows by unifying its dev-registration process.

Microsoft is continuing to inch along the path to offering a unified Windows and Windows Phone store.

On November 6, company officials announced Microsoft is creating a unified developer registration experience for the two platforms. The thinking is this unified registration will make it easier for developers who want to create apps that target both Windows and Windows Phone by cutting dev registration costs and complexity.

The new registration program allows Windows Phone developers to have access to the Windows Dev Center for no additional cost. They can use their same Microsoft Accounts that they use on the Windows Phone Dev Center. At the same time, Windows developers now have access to the Windows Phone Dev Center for no additional cost, and can use their same Microsoft Account on either site.

New and existing developers can register and/or renew their accounts for both Dev Centers for a new lower price: $19 for individuals and $99 for companies. As a further incentive, developers already registered with both the Windows and Windows Phone Dev Centers using the same Microsoft Account will get a code for a free, one-year renewal.

The new unified developer registration program doesn't mean there's a unified dashboard for submitting and managing apps. (Rumor is this may be coming at some point, possibly in early/mid-2014.) There are still some differences, too, in steps developers take to renew.

Microsoft execs talked up plans to create a unified Windows-Windows Phone Store at the company's annual meeting earlier this fall. However, officials have still not publicly acknowledged that a single store is in the cards. My sources are indicating a unified Windows-Windows Phone Store may not be available to consumers until Spring 2015.

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Microsoft to issue 8 updates, 3 critical, on Patch Tuesday

Summary: All supported versions of Microsoft Windows, Office and Internet Explorer are affected by at least one of the eight bulletins. Microsoft also clarified the impact of this week's disclosure of another vulnerability in Windows, Office and Lync.

This coming Tuesday, November 12, Microsoft will release eight updates for Microsoft Windows, Office and Internet Explorer to patch an as-yet unspecified number of vulnerabilities in them. Three of the updates, affecting Windows and Internet Explorer, are rated critical.

All supported versions of Windows, including the recently-released 8.1, are affected by at least one critical vulnerability. The one bulletin that affects Internet Explorer fixed a critical vulnerability in all versions of the browser, includng the brand new Internet Explorer 11. Three other Windows bulletins are rated Important.

Two other bulletins, both rated important, affect all supported versions of Microsoft Office.

Microsoft will also release their other usual monthly updates, including a new version of the Malicious Software Removal Tool and a large number of non-security updates.

Earlier this week Microsoft disclosed a vulnerability affecting some versions of Windows and Office and all versions of Microsoft Lync. The vulnerability is being used in zero-day attacks specifically against Office. The Patch Tuesday updates this month will not address this vulnerability.

Today Microsoft issued a clarification of the bulletin for that vulnerability. The main point of the clarification is that only some Office users are being attacked, not users of the other products who are not running an affected version of Office. The confusing nature of the product matrix comes from the confusing way in which GDI+, the affected component, is bundled with different products. If you are concerned about the vulnerability see the Microsoft bulletin for instructions on how to work around it until an update is ready from Microsoft.

Topics: Security, Microsoft, Windows

Larry Seltzer has long been a recognized expert in technology, with a focus on mobile technology and security in recent years

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Wish you could predict the future? Today's data analytics is about as close as you can get to real magic. This live, interactive webcast will focus on how data analytics can help you anticipate activity to meet your ever-changing supply chain requirements. Register now!

Air Canada wanted something to make things a little easier for their customers, and using technology from IBM was able to offer self service. Check out this white paper to hear more about how IBM is making the airlines smarter.

Don't let any important alerts be missed! SolarWinds Alert Central gives you a centralized place to receive and send alerts for ALL your IT monitoring systems. Download it today!

Microsoft hits 2 million-plus Office 365 Home Premium subscriber mark

Summary: Nine months after launching its Office client software as a service, Microsoft officials say Office 365 Home Premium has reached the 2 million-plus subscriber mark.

Microsoft has more than 2 million Office 365 Home Premium subscribers, the company disclosed on October 24, up from 1 million in late May of this year.

Office 365 Home Premium is a subscription version of Microsoft's Office client software. It is key to the company's mission to reinvent itself as a devices and sevices, rather than a pure software company.

The company launched Office 365 Home Premium on January 29. For $99.99 per year, Office 365 Home Premium allows users to install Office client apps on up to five PCs and/or Macs in total. Users who subscribe rather than buy the single-use Office 2013 complement outright, also are supposed to receive regular feature updates and synchronization capabilities by signing in through Office.com.

Microsoft Office 365, as a whole,  is operating at a $1.5 billion annual run rate, officials said earlier this summer. In April this year, Office 365 was at a $1 billion run rate.

If you're trying to figure out where Office 365 Home Premium sits in Microsoft's new reporting structure, it falls under the "Devices and Services -- Other" category, along with Bing, MSN and first-party video games. The growth of Office 365 Home Premium came, partially, at the expense of "Office Consumer," which means Office preinstalled on new PCs (I believe). Office Consumer is part of a different business unit in the new structure: It falls under "Devices and Services -- Licensing."

Microsoft's Q1 FY2014 earnings were solid at $5.24 billion, or 62 cents a share, on revenue of $18.53 billion. Enterprise products and services were particularly strong (as usual) during the quarter.

Topics: Cloud, Collaboration, Microsoft

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Two Microsoft Q1 FY2014 charts you'll want to see

As part of its Q1 fiscal 2014 earnings, Microsoft is using its new reporting structure with five totally new divisions, in its reporting. ZDNet's Larry Dignan has the breakout using the new categories.

Those new categories mash up a bunch of products from unrelated divisions into new reporting units. (Example: "Devices & Consumer -- Other" includes Bing & MSN; Office 365 Home Premium; First-Party Video Games and Marketplaces.)

Luckily -- at least for this quarter -- Microsoft also is still providing those of us who watch the numbers with charts breaking out earnings around the old, familiar five business units: Client, Microsoft Business Division (MBD) Server & Tools, Online Services, and Entertainment & Devices.

Using the old categories, it's easier to see where the soft spots were in Microsoft's strong first quarter. There are two that jump out: Windows client and Entertainment & Devices.

Here's the comparative revenues chart:

And the comparative net income chart:

These charts make it a bit easier to see that Windows struggled during the quarter, as did Entertainment & Devices. (Online Services is still losing money, but less.) Windows client income was down 20 percent, compared to the year-ago quarter, which was right before Microsoft launched Windows 8. Income from Entertainment & Devices was down 171 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. 

In the slide deck explaining results, Microsoft officials noted that consumer sales of Windows (non-Pro versions, as they're described) were down this quarter. Windows OEM revenues weren't as bad as Microsoft was expecting. On the plus side: Surface revenues (which are reported into Windows client) for this quarter were $400 million. Microsoft officials said they sold double the number of Surfaces this quarter that they did in the previous calendar quarter. (Note: We don't know what either of those numbers are.) Surface RT sales were better than anticipated, officials said, while some potential Surface Pro customers held off, waiting for the Surface Pro 2.

Entertainment & Device income was down, as Xbox sales have seemingly slowed ahead of the November 22 launch of the new Xbox One. Entertainment & Devices also includes Windows Phone sales and Android patent licensing, neither of which are broken out specifically. 

It's clear whether one looks at the old reporting structure or new reporting structure breakouts that Microsoft is continuing to fire on all cylinders with its enterprise products and services and has a ways to go on the consumer side.

Microsoft finalizes Outlook 2013 for Windows RT

Summary: Microsoft has made the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) version of Outlook 2013 RT is available for free download from the Windows Store.

I didn't realize that the version of Outlook 2013 RT that came bundled with the RTM version of Windows 8.1 RT was still officially a preview release.

But it appears that was the case. Microsoft officials announced they've made the RTM version of Microsoft's Outlook mail client ported to Windows RT available in the Windows Store for download for free on October 31.

Outlook 2013 RT can connect to Exchange Server 2007, 2010 or 2013 as long as the Autodiscover service is configured, officials said.

In a post on the Office IT Pro blog, Microsoft officials noted there are some Exchange features not available in Outlook 2013 RT "because tablets have special needs for security and mobility." These include:

Online Archive or Personal Archive mailboxesApplying Messaging Records Management (MRM) retention policiesSite MailboxesData Loss Prevention (DLP) policy tips

Outlook 2013 RT also doesn't run macros, add-ins and/or custom programs developed by third parties. (The same is true of the rest of the Microsoft Office 2013 RT suite.) Outlook 2013 RT also doesn't allow users to set information-rights management on new e-mail messages, nor does it allow integration with Lync. outlook 2013 RT also cannot be configured using Group Policy.

The Office IT Pro post lists more limitations of the Outlook 2013 RT client.

Those interested in using Office 2013 RT for business purposes (and not just personal ones) should make sure their businesses have purchased commercial use rights or have a commercial license to Office 2013 suites that include Outlook, Microsoft officials said.

I blogged yesterday that I've heard talk that Microsoft ultimately may be planning to replace the Windows Mail and Calendar apps that are bundled with Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT. One of my tipsters claims that the idea is to make Outlook the sole mail client on Windows 8.X and its successors, going forward. I have no idea when this might happen.

Currently, Outlook RT is a desktop app. I wonder when/whether Microsoft plans to turn it into a Metro-Style/Windows Store one. No word on that so far....

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Microsoft WebApps: Mobile Web sites in Windows Phone app's clothing

Summary: Microsoft is packaging up some popular mobile Web sites and making them available as downloadable Windows Phone apps.
There are some interesting new "apps" published by Microsoft showing up in the Windows Phone store, as of late.

These apps, known as Microsoft WebApps, are Web sites packaged up in mobile-app form. They are free and downloadable from the Windows Phone Store. (Thanks to Will Dreiling for the pointer.)
Among the nearly 50 apps in the "WebApps" group are apps for Southwest Airlines, the Food Network, 1-800 Flowers, TMZ, Orbitz, J.Crew, and CarMax.
The WebApps team is part of the Windows Store team, I hear. The WebApps team is different from the Microsoft Publisher Account, which is the team that makes available official Microsoft apps for Windows Phone.
I asked Microsoft what the WebApps team is doing and why. A spokesperson sent me the following statement:

"We are helping people access great mobile experiences on Windows Phone by creating pinnable Web Apps that show up in the app list. These are not a replacement for native apps. In most cases we hope that usage of the Web App will encourage the ISV to publish its own native app."

It looks like WebApps are yet another way Microsoft is hoping to encourage developers to build more brand-name, popular Windows Phone apps. I'm not against this tactic. On my Surface RT, I have nearly as many pinned Web sites on my Start screen as I do native apps. Sometimes, I've found a Web app to be as good, if not better, than the native app (example: New York Times).
As of mid-2013, there were approximately 160,000 apps in the Windows Phone store.
Microsoft is believed to be building a unified Windows-Windows Phone Store, but it may not be available until the spring of 2015.
Topics: Mobility, Microsoft, Mobile OS, Software Development, Web development, Windows Phone
Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).
Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Microsoft makes Surface docking station available in limited quantities

When it launched its second-generation Surface tablets and new peripherals, Microsoft told users not to expect the new Surface Power Cover or docking station until early 2014. 

Something seemingly changed. The docking station is available now. (I'm not sure how long it will be, or how much stock is available, but if you really want it, hurry.)

I was alerted to the dock's early availability by reader Aaron Craig, a sys admin for risk-management company Bickmore. He ordered four Surface docking stations on October 22 and had them delivered on October 24. (He sent me pictures to prove it.)

I just checked on Surface.com and Microsoft's online store site and also see the docking stations are available for order, with the option for next-day delivery.

I've asked Microsoft if this is just a temporary situation or if the docks arrived earlier than expected. No word back so far.

Update: Windows SuperSite's Paul Thurrott told me that Microsoft execs said docking stations would be available ahead of 2014 but only in limited quantities, which I hadn't heard. So, again, if you want one sooner rather than later, it's probably best to hurry. 

The Surface docking station, which costs $199.99, allows users with the original Surface Pro or the Surface Pro 2 to dock their tablets (with keyboards attached). The docking station includes a display port, audio input and output jack, an Ethernet port, as well as a high-speed USB 3.0 and three USB 2.0 ports.

Here's one shot Craig sent me of one of his just-acquired docking stations:

The Power Cover for the Surface 2, Surface Pro and Surface Pro 2 is still not available for order yet and is still designated as "coming early 2014" on Microsoft's Surface.com site.

Microsoft officials said the company sold $400 million worth of its first-generation Surface tablets in the most recent fiscal quarter, which ended on September 30, 2013. They also said they sold double the number of Surfaces than they did in the previous calendar quarter, but we have no way of knowing how many that means, as Microsoft hasn't released Surface sales data (and it has sold quite a number of Surfaces at a discount). 

Microsoft officials also said during the company's earnings call on October 24 that demand for Surface RT units was stronger than the company expected. They noted that a number of potential Surface Pro purchasers held off on buying devices in anticipation of the Intel Haswell-based Surface Pro 2's arrival.

Microsoft began making its second-generation Surfaces, the ARM-based Surface 2 and the Intel-based Surface Pro 2, commercially available as of October 22. Microsoft also cut $100 off the price of its first-generation Surface Pro devices this week.

Update 2: That was relatively quick. As of 4 pm EST on October 25, the Microsoft Store online is showing the Surface docking station is out of stock. No word back still from Microsoft as to its ramp-up plans for supplies of the dock. (Thanks to WPCentral's Daniel Rubino for the out-of-stock pointer.)

Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps face off in DoD contract

The U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS) has approved for purchase 50,000 seats each Microsoft's and Google's respective cloud-office offerings.

Microsoft acknowledged the deal in an October 21 blog post. I asked Google officials about the deal and have yet to hear back.

Update: A Google spokesperson also acknowledged that Google was awarded 50,000 seats as part of the deal.

Neither Microsoft (along with its bidding partner Dell) nor Google is actually getting paid for any of these seats until they start selling them into commands. Today's announcement is the commencement of yet another contest between the two office-service rivals.

Any U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) service or agency can go with Office 365 or Google Apps under this new Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) without any additional competition required. Under terms of the deal, from what I've heard from my contacts, Microsoft and Google both can sell into different commands in varying amounts, up to 50,000 seats each. 

I believe Microsoft will be fielding its Office 365 for Government SKU — the one which allows government agencies to deploy Office 365 in a controlled, locked-down environment — as its entry in this competition.

A new blog post by Microsoft's Curt Kolcun, Vice President of U.S. Public Sector, doesn't specify which Office 365 SKU Microsoft is using. Instead, it notes that Microsoft will be fielding "Cloud Services, including e-mail and calendaring, Office Web Apps, unified capabilities like Microsoft Lync, and collaboration tools like SharePoint."

Google is going to be pitching Google Apps for Government, a Google spokesperson confirmed, via the following statement:

"The U.S. Army will provide Google Apps for Government to an initial group of 50,000 Army and Department of Defense personnel. This effort is part of the U.S. Army's program to use commercial cloud services to improve collaboration, information sharing and mobile access for the men and women who serve our country. We look forward to working closely with the Army on this project."

Microsoft recently announced that Lync 2013 has been Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) certified, allowing DoD organizations to connect Lync 2013 to the DoD’s information network. 

Microsoft also recently announced that Windows Azure was granted a Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Joint Authorization Board (JAB). According to Microsoft, Azure is the first public cloud platform to receive a JAB P-ATO. Microsoft is developing an Azure for Government SKU, as well, codenamed "Fairfax." 

Microsoft: Windows RT 8.1 fix still in the works

Summary: Microsoft officials say a fix to Window RT 8.1 is still in the works two days after the company pulled the operating system update from the Windows Store. Updating issues are affecting Surface RT owners only, Microsoft says.

Two days after pulling its Windows RT 8.1 from the Windows Store, seemingly due to installation issues, Microsoft is still working to fix glitches in update to the Windows RT operating system and make it again downloadable from the Windows Store.

Microsoft made commercially available both Windows RT 8.1 (for ARM-based systems) and Windows 8.1 (for Intel-based ones) starting October 17. Microsoft made it so some users who already had the Core and Pro Windows 8 on their devices could get the update for free by downloading it from the Windows Store.

But from the get-go, a number of users were reporting problems finding the update and getting it to install on their Microsoft- and non-Microsoft hardware. There were reports of some Surface RT users having their machines bricked as a result of applying the update.

Microsoft pulled the update from the Store on October 19 without explaining exactly why. Company officials promised to update users about what was happening.

On October 21, the company quietly made available a Surface RT recovery image, allowing those with borked Surface RT 8.1 updates to more easily reinstall Windows RT. For those affected by the Surface RT 8.1 installation issue, here's Microsoft's guidance as to what you can do to try to recover your machine.

 On October 21, a spokesperson sent me this statement:

"Based on our investigations of a situation customers have encountered updating to Windows RT 8.1, we can confirm that as of now this is a Windows update issue only affecting Surface RT customers. While only less than 1 out of every 1,000 (or less than 0.1 percent) Surface RT customers who have installed Windows RT 8.1 have been impacted, improving their experience and ensuring their systems are fully operable as quickly as possible is our number one priority.

We have made recovery media available for download here along with actionable guidance for affected customers. We continue to work towards making the Windows RT 8.1 update available in the Windows Store again and apologize for any inconvenience. Further updates will be provided as they become available."

So even though the problem with Windows RT 8.1 seems to be particular to the Surface hardware, the 8.1 update is not available for anyone with any kind of ARM hardware at this point.

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Microsoft CRM for iPhone, Android, Windows Phones due in 30 days

Summary: Microsoft will be rolling out new Dynamics CRM companion apps for iPhone, Android phones and Windows Phones some time in the next 30 days.

Microsoft is forging ahead with the launch of its latest Dynamics CRM cloud and on-premises products — plus its related cross-platform CRM companion apps.

Earlier this month, Microsoft made available the promised Dynamics CRM companion apps for iPads and Windows 8 tablets. And some time over the next 30 days, the company will be delivering new CRM apps for iPhones, Android phones and Windows Phones, officials are confirming as of October 21. Like the tablet companion apps, the Dynamics CRM apps for smartphones will be free.

Microsoft officials also announced on October 21 that Microsoft is partnering with InsideView Inc. to integrate InsideView's Social Insights offering directly into Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and on-premises releases. The Social Insights integration is available as of today in the CRM Online Service and will be available for on-premises and partner-hosted deployments as of October 31.

Social Insights will populate Microsoft CRM with real-time company and contact information from 30,000 sources. Social Insights is available for no additional cost to Dynamics CRM Online customers in the U.S. who have Professional licenses. The broader global rollout of the Social Insights technology is coming "later in 2014," according to Microsoft execs.

Dynamics CRM 2013, codenamed "Orion" is Microsoft's first major CRM platform update since the 2011 Dynamics CRM release. It features Yammer, Lync and Skype integration, an updated, touch-centric user interface and improved performance, among other updates. Microsoft made promised iPad and Windows 8 CRM companion apps available for download from their respective stores on October 8. At that time, the Softies said iPhone and Windows Phone companion apps would be available "shortly."

In other phone-related news, Microsoft execs are now confirming that Microsoft will deliver a Remote Desktop client for Windows Phone at some point. Microsoft recently made available Remote Desktop clients for iPhones and Android phones (as well as an updated Mac OS X version). When I asked a couple of weeks ago whether a Remote Desktop client app was in the works for Windows Phone, company officials said they had no comment.

Topics: Mobility, Android, iOS, Microsoft, Smartphones, Windows Phone

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Microsoft starts making its latest updated server wares generally available

Summary: Microsoft is rolling out the updated versions of Windows Server, System Center, Windows Intune and delivering complementary Windows Azure updates for the general public.

October 17 wasn't only the start of the general-availability rollout of Windows 8.1 and Visual Studio 2013. It also marked the beginning of the rollout of the latest updates to Microsoft's server wares.

Windows Server 2012 R2, Hyper-V Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, System Center 2012 R2 and the updated Windows Intune (Wave E) all are generally available as of this week, too.

Microsoft is making free, 180-day trial versions of its latest server products available for download via its TechNet Evaluation Center. (The Windows Intune trial is free for 30 days.)

Microsoft also has made available a pre-built Windows Server 2012 R2 image in the Windows Azure Image gallery. The goal: To allow users to provision machines with the latest Windows Server release "in just minutes."

It also made Windows Azure Pack generally available. (It was in preview up until this week). Windows Azure Pack allows hosters and larger enterprise shops to run certain Windows Azure technologies in their own datacenters. The components in the Azure Pack include a management portal; service management programming interface; a Web sites service; a virtual machines service; and service bus support.

I've asked Microsoft when these updated server versions will be available in the Volume Licensing Center. No word back yet.

Update: Microsoft officials said the updated Windows Server and System Center versions are in the Volume Licensing Center as of October 17.

Microsoft released to manufacturing Windows Server 2012 R2 at the end of August 2013. The company allowed MSDN and TechNet subscribers to grab the RTM bits shortly after RTM (after user and developer outcry).

Here's more information on what's in the latest versions of Windows Server, Windows Intune (Wave E) and System Center:

Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2: What's inside?

What's the latest on Windows Intune Wave E

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Microsoft starts rolling out Windows 8.1

On October 17, at 7 am EST (4 am PST) Microsoft is kicking off the next phase in its Windows 8.1 rollout: General availability (GA)

Starting today, users already running Windows 8 and/or Windows RT will be able to download the free Windows 8.1 update from the Windows Store. As of October 18, Windows 8.1 will be available preloaded on new devices and in boxed software form.

Those not upgrading from Windows 8 will be charged between $119.99 (core) and $199.99 (Pro) for Windows 8.1. Those running a preview version of Windows 8.1 should expect to have to reinstall their apps, while those moving straight from Windows 8 to 8.1 (without installing the preview on their devices) will not.

Though the updated Windows 8.1 Store is only open as of today for updated and new app submissions, there are a few developers who received preferential treatment so that their apps would be ready to download from the Windows Store alongside Windows 8.1. The third-party, Windows Store/"Metro-Style" apps for Windows 8.1 which are launching today include:

Facebook (official app from Facebook itself)Hulu Plus; Evernote; eBayNetflix; NOOK; Adobe Photoshop ExpressDisney Fairies;Box; Adobe Reader TouchMicrosoft Solitaire (Arkadium)

Microsoft released to manufacturing Windows 8.1 back in August. Initially, company officials planned to make the Windows 8.1 RTM bits available only to its PC partners at that time. After developer and customer outcry, Microsoft softened its stance and allowed various constituencies to get the Windows 8.1 RTM bits via MSDN and TechNet.

Microsoft officials confirmed to some members of the press and select testers that they would be updating the Windows 8.1 RTM bits by the time Windows 8.1 was generally available. The first set of updates were set to include refreshes of the apps that are bundled with Windows 8.1, such as Microsoft's own Bing apps.

The updates also were expected to include fixes and performance improvements to the Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT RTM bits. Over the weekend, builds of these updates (KB2894179, KB2883200, and KB2894029) — collectively known as GA Rollup A — leaked to the Web. 

Microsoft will be delivering the first set of updates during next 24 hours to customers via Windows Update, according to my contacts. When I asked this week if the Rollup A updates were part of today's general-availability release, a Microsoft spokesperson told me: "These updates are a part of Windows 8.1, and a part of the general installation process. We remain committed to quality for our customers.”

Update: These three post-RTM updates are available for download as of October 17. (Thanks, Richard Hay, a k a @WinObs.) The three: A General Availability rollup, a performance update and a fix for Runtimebroker.exe. If you already have the Windows 8.1 RTM bits (thanks to your TechNet or MSDN subscription benefits), all you need to do is apply these three updates on top to be current. You don't need to first reinstall the Windows 8.1 RTM bits that are available for download today.

Windows 8.1 is launching simultaneously in 230 markets and 37 languages. It's a free update to Windows 8.

Windows 8.1 is designed to make Windows more palatable to those who may have been put off by changes instituted as part of Windows 8. It includes a Start Button (but not Start Menu); a boot-straight-to-desktop option; the ability to have up to four Metro-Style apps open side-by-side; an updated version of IE (IE11); and a host of new business-focused features.

Visual Studio 2013 and .Net 4.5.1 also are generally available, as of today. 

A few additional links that might help with the update process:

* How to update your devices from Windows 8.1 or Windows 8.1 RT previews to the RTM bits (follow the links in the post using IE as your browser, as Chrome isn't displaying all links)

* Updating your Surfaces from Windows 8.1 preview to 8.1 final

* Download links for Visual Studio 2013 and .Net 4.5.1 final bits