Whichever marketing team/company Microsoft recently hired is really hitting the ball out of the park with their new ad campaigns. Three new video commercials were just released targeted for China. Even though the only language spoken is Chinese, the intent of each video is apparent. They also happen to be very creative and funny too! Enjoy!

Microsoft will make available to anyone who has Windows 8 a preview of Windows Blue in June.

That's according to Julie Larson-Green, the head of Windows engineering, who made those remarks during the Wired Business Conference on May 7.

The timing isn't a surprise, given that Microsoft's Build 2013 developer conference is slated for the last week of June. Larson-Green said that Windows Blue will be available at the end of June to anyone with Windows 8 via the Windows Store.

Update: Does this also mean there will be a public consumer preview of Windows RT Blue at the same time? I asked and a Microsoft spokesperson told me the company had no comment. Tipsters have said previously that there will be a version of the Blue update for Windows RT later this year, however.

According to previous tips and leaks, Microsoft is close to completing what's believed to be the second internal milestone build, known as the Milestone Preview, of Windows Blue. Shortly after that, Microsoft is expected to make its one-and-only Windows Blue public preview available to consumers.

Earlier this week, Microsoft officials said to expect the company to make Windows Blue available by holiday 2013. I am still continuing to hear Microsoft is on track to release to manufacturing (RTM) Windows Blue by August 2013 or so.

Continue Reading @: Microsoft confirms public preview of Windows Blue in late June | ZDNet

Apparently, with Windows 8 iterations, Microsoft has taken two steps forward, but will now need to take one step back. In case you haven't heard the news, the Windows 8 OS hasn't been doing great. In fact, there are even some in the industry who have claimed the new OS is hurting the PC business. Luckily, Microsoft is an amazing group of people who learn from mistakes and who listen to their customers.

Their next version is internally codenamed "Windows Blue," but it will likely be released as Windows 8.1. With this version, the company plans to step back and reevaluate things a bit. They aren't completely going back to the drawing board mind you. Instead they plan to reintroduce some of the familiar functionality of Windows 7 and attempt to bridge the gap between the past and present a bit more solidly. Microsoft realized that the radical overhaul of their familiar OS has been a bit abrupt and they intend to move forward while reintroducing some old-school continuity.

This isn't to say they won't also be adding new features with the new Windows 8.1 update. Of course they will, but they are striving to make the transition easier. The company in Redmond hasn't outlined any specifics just yet, but they are quickly making it apparent this move is important to them. Here's a quote with a few more details,

In an interview, Reller said Microsoft still realized changes need to be made to make Windows 8 easier to navigate and capable of taking full advantage of technology improvements that have come out since October.

"Are there things that we can do to improve the experience? Absolutely," Reller said "There is a learning curve (to Windows 8) and we can work to address that."

For now, Microsoft isn't saying what kind of changes will be introduced with the release of Blue, which the company plans to anoint with a different name when the update is available. Microsoft also isn't saying whether it will charge existing owners of Windows 8 devices to get the fixes in Blue. The company plans to release Blue in time for the holiday season.

Reller said more details about Blue will be released before Microsoft holds a developers conference in San Francisco in late June. Some of Blue's features are expected to be previewed at that conference.

"I view this as a relaunch of Windows 8, finally giving everyone a fully baked version," said technology analyst Patrick Moorhead. "It has been a very rough road for Microsoft so far."

If Blue is meant to make people more comfortable, the changes may incorporate more of the elements from earlier versions of Windows.

Source: Yahoo!

Here is some new intel on the next-gen smaller sized Microsoft Surface tablets we keep hearing about. Supposedly, the smaller cousin to the current Surface tablet will come in a 7.5-inch display size and will be priced at $399 or less. Here's a quote with a few more details,

What's more, the 7.5" screen is said to be with a resolution of 1400 x 1050 pixels, which would make for a pixel density of 233 ppi. While this is more than what most tablets in this class can offer, it's very likely that by the time the small Surface comes out, the competition will be armed with similar or even higher resolutions. Unfortunately, NPD DisplaySearch says that the small Surface is still in the early stages of development and will probably enter mass production sometime in Q1 2014.

So, it's tough not to be a little pessimistic about this news. First, that pricing is a bit on the steep side. This device will be competing directly with the Google Nexus 7 at $199.99 and the Apple iPad mini at $329.99. It will be a tough sale for the average consumer to opt for this at anything more than the other two. Second, if the release time of next year is true, then that is another whole Christmas season that Microsoft will let slip through their fingers.

This isn't the best way to gain traction in a market that is starting to move closer to a saturation point already. Still, we will keep pulling for MS. If anyone can rise to the occasion, it's the folks at Redmond. Of course, this rumint could turn out to be bogus as well. Share your perspective.

Source: PhoneArena

We are going to mark this one up as rumor and hope for the best. According to sources at Unwired, some new Surface tablets will be announced by Microsoft during its Build developer conference which takes place from June 26 to June 28. The second-gen tablets are said to sport screens in the seven-to-nine inch range and will feature processors from both Intel and Nvidia. Nothing really new on the processor front but the screen size may be of particular interest to many. With demand up for a more portable tablet, this move wouldn't surprise us, and it lends some credence to this rumor.

What do you think? Great move for Microsoft to start adding a more portable tablet to their portfolio or stick with the 10" + Screens moving forward?

Source: Unwired

Good News!

According to the Surface-Blog, the Rt and the Pro will be available in more markets soon:

Surface RT:

- Malaysia - April 25th
- Mexico - End of May
- Korea/Thailand - June

Surface Pro

- Australia, Austria, Belgium Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK - before the end of May
- Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Thailand before the end of June


Source: Surface.com

According to sources at The Motley Fool investment firm, Microsoft plans to drop prices on their current lineup of Surface Tablets soon. Exact price targets were not included in this intel, but they will supposedly be much more competitive than current prices. Furthermore, this same intel suggests the Redmond based company intends to offer a 7 or 8-inch sized Windows 8-based tablet at the $200 dollar price range. Both of these strategy shifts are likely to happen sometime this year.

For the most part, this info cannot be independently confirmed at this time, which is why we are calling it a rumor for now. However, this move makes sense for Microsoft because sales of the Surface (both variants) have been lackluster so far. Microsoft needs to change up their business model if they want to stay relevant in the new mobile-focused technology age.

Source: Fool