Windows Weekly 243

Windows Weekly Episode 243

Topics

• The Last Ballmernote: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
• The good is kind of short here: Kinect for Windows hardware and software is coming Feb. 1 (but for $250!)
  • The bad is most of what happened here:
    • Ryan Seacrest as the epitome of Metro? LOL
    • Was MS just trying to prove the point that CES is the wrong venue for the co?
    • No new Win 8 info. No new phone OS info. Nothing on Surface. Nothing new on Xbox either (was there, PT?)
  • The ugly: They were good performers, but what the heck was the Tweet Choir supposed to be? [1]
    • The Pogo MS keynotes remix: Can't decide if I loved it or hated it. [2]
    • Sesame Street was worse.
  • Ugliest: The only actual news concerned Kinect. Everything else was old.

• CES 2012: Breakdown of Microsoft, Nokia, AT&T announcements
  • Lumia 900: Front facing camera; slightly bigger screen; AT&T LTE exclusive. No due date, no pricing, but highly likely to be March 18
  • HTC Titan II: Another new LTE phone
  • Nothing on the Samsung Mendel....

• CES 2012: As expected, Ultrabooks rule
  • Lenovo IdeaPad YOGA Split: Incredible Windows 8 hybrid tablet/ultrabooks
  • Vizio enters the PC market. But I thought it was dead??
  • Thunderbolt: Went absolutely nowhere when it was just on Macs. Now heading to PCs and to success. You know, just like USB.

• Windows Phone software updates: Less transparent, but still coming
  • Microsoft's inability to communicate effectively causes another enthusiast outrage
  • Seriously, they need to get their act together
  • Mango Commercial Release 2: It's not Tango -- it's 8107 (the disappearing keyboard update): http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-windows-phone-carriers-rolling-out-disappearing-keyboard-fix/11561
  • Related: Why a supposedly positive NYT piece about Windows Phone is really a hit job

Tip of the Week: The best way to consolidate multiple email accounts

• Last summer I wrote a series of articles about the various ways you can consolidate multiple email accounts. Here's what I've learned after heavy use of each method, and in keeping with my previous "resolutions" for 2012, my somewhat surprising choices for email going forward.

Software Pick of the Week: Pano for Windows Phone

• Pano, the classic photo panorama app for iOS and Android, finally comes to Windows Phone!

Enterprise Pick of the Week: Office 365 Plan K

• Microsoft is adding a bunch of new features to the kiosk worker plan by March. But at 3.50 per user per month more

Codename Pick of the Week: LakeView

• The codename for Silverlight on Xbox and the platform upon which Xbox Live TV Services was built. Formerly known as Greenlight. One area named LakeView, by the way, is near Wenatchee, WA/Soap Lake area.
• Bonus codename pick of the week: Thanks to one of our listeners/viewers in Montana, MJF's 2nd home brew now has a codename: Billings

Significant Products

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Audible

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Picks

TBD by TBD (ABRIDGED/UNABRIDGED) Narrated by TBD

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