Posts Tagged ‘Integration’

Now leading the pack in gaming consoles, Microsoft’s future growth lies outside the gaming sphere. We’ll surely see tons of games at E3 in a few weeks, but at the big reveal of the Xbox One, the company chose to focus on non-gaming features, such as media streaming and Skype conversations.

But what makes streaming and entertainment a true upgrade on the Xbox One, which already has access to almost all streaming platforms? Instant Switching. It allows you to switch between inputs, games, menus, Internet Explorer, and almost anything else almost instantly. And what’s more, it lets you layer the power of Microsoft partnerships and information across live TV.

The Xbox responds to the voice; saying “Xbox On” turns on the console to the homescreen. The UI is familiar, and lets you see what you were doing last, along with trending content from friends, and other panels like games, TV, etc. But then you say “Xbox watch TV,” and live TV pops on. “Xbox show Guide,” and the guide pops up letting you see what’s available on Live TV. “Xbox watch ESPN,” and bloop, ESPN is on. Instant Switching at its best.

And here’s where it gets interesting:

“Xbox show Fantasy,” and instantly, along the right side of the screen showing a Knicks vs. Celtics game you’ll see a run-down on your fantasy league, letting you access further information and even make alterations in real time, right alongside the game itself.

The company also announced a new partnership with NFL that will offer exclusive content and access to Fantasy leagues in Snapmode in real-time.

This is thanks to a feature called Snapmode, which will offer new interactive experiences for Live TV. This includes social, applications, and more.

Because Xbox is now tapping into your live TV, it offers a more targeted and complete entertainment UI, with favorites showing all of your favorite content in a single destination.

And it’s all powered by your voice, should you like. What’s that? Is that the voice of Microsoft telling the hundreds of thousands of Xbox 360 owners out there, who proudly revel in their ownership of what’s considered the most popular gaming console out there, that they should maybe think about upgrading?

Of course, Microsoft wouldn’t upgrade software without hardware (which you can read more about here), and that includes the addition of a Blu-ray player.

Alongside announcing the Xbox One, Microsoft also announced a partnership with 343 Industries and Steven Spielberg to develop a live action TV show about Halo. They didn’t go into much detail, but how much you want to bet there’s some awesome Snapmode features and Xbox SmartGlass features?

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Microsoft announced on Thursday that it has now completed its Hotmail to Outlook.com upgrade. Over 400 million active accounts are now using the service, with Microsoft having migrated 150 petabytes of email data in just over six weeks. Alongside the milestone, Outlook.com is getting two new features: SMTP send and improved SkyDrive integration.

Improved SkyDrive integration and SMTP send

SMTP send allows Outlook.com accounts to send email directly through another email account’s SMTP server. In the past Outlook.com has supported this by using a “send on behalf” feature, but now email will send directly to recipients. “We knew this was a pain point for some people,” explains Microsoft’s Dick Craddock. “So now we’ve made it so that…

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Earlier this week we reported that users had been complaining about a certain feature from the app Path: namely, that its default behavior was to automatically send text messages out to people a user may know when they first signed up with the app. The Path app has now received an update that removes the ability to find Facebook friends altogether, and TechCrunch reports that it’s due to Facebook restricting Path’s access to its API. Users can still share any items they post to Facebook, but any friend-associated activity has disappeared.

The spamming behavior first went into effect with a March 6th update to the app. It gained traction when a digital marketer named Stephen Kenwright signed up with the app, and discovered that multiple…

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With Twitter’s brand-new music discovery page online however not yet offered to the majority of individuals, individuals have started excavating into the page itself for details. After looking at the landing page’s HTML, designer Youssef Sarhan found an additional connected page and dug with its source also, exposing some of the UI aspects and services that will probably be integrated into the tool. Specifically, Sarhan discovered hooks to connect YouTube, Vevo, Spotify, Rdio, iTunes, and SoundCloud; a few of these had currently been reported, but they’re now evidently verified. Early adopters have also begun tweeting out tracks from Rdio and SoundCloud, corroborating these functions.

In addition to the services, the code likewise discloses a bit more about how we’ll make use of the …

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While the world waits to discover the facts about Microsoft’s following videogame console, new reports have actually popped up suggesting exactly what its strategies to go all-in on the Xbox-as-media center idea require. According to The Verge, multiple unnamed sources recommend the strategy is to include an HDMI passthrough and guide overlay, like the method utilized by Google TELEVISION. There’s no word on any possible IR blaster (or IR GamePad, Wii U-style) integration, but thanks to Microsoft’s collaborations with cable television suppliers, it’s trying to offer integration that goes a “action further” than exactly what we have actually seen up until now. That includes Kinect control, with next generation hardware that can acknowledge when viewers have turned their heads away and pause video instantly, with added functions presenting after launch. There’s no verification of controversial always-on requirements for gaming, however it will apparently have to be gone to for streaming (of course) and controlling inbound TELEVISION signals.

Microsoft had fantastic success with a progressing media method to its console company with the Xbox 360– apps and initial content are in, with Mediaroom and Media Center pushed to the side– and even if these rumors are real, we wouldn’t be shocked if what exists in a couple of years ends up altering just as much. Still, offered the (absence of) feedback to Google’s overlays and motion control incorporated by Samsung, LG and others, it will be intriguing to see if a comparable approach affixeded to an Xbox discovers various outcomes.

Filed under: Games, House Home entertainment, HD, MicrosoftCommentsSource: The Verge