Microsoft

Nokia Lumia 920 Image Stabilization is Real - Look out Apple & Samsung!

September 28, 2012

A gadget reviewer and mobile technology expert from Russia took the yet-unreleased Nokia Lumia 920 (Windows Phone 8) and hooked it onto a radio controlled (RC) car to test the super optical image stabilization (OIS) touted by Nokia. Yes, yes, we all know Nokia was excoriated for using a DSLR for their commercial touting the image stabilization of the Lumia 920. Yeah, they should have has a disclaimer saying the video was "simulated" and not actually taken with a Lumia 920, but if Nokia was replicating what the Lumia 920 could "actually" do, then I honestly didn't see why the big brouhaha.

Well, it turns out that Nokia wasn't lying about the Nokia Lumia's OIS capabilities. In the last few days I saw a iPhone vs.

Posted in Android, Apple, Microsoft, Mobile Phones, Unified Communications, Wireless

WebRTC - Mobile Communications Game Changer or Flash in the Pan?

September 24, 2012

Came across Erik Lagerway's interesting guest post on Gigaom.com discussing WebRTC and its potential to be a mobile game changer. WebRTC essentially embeds a standard-based real time Media Engine into all of the available browsers enabling real-time voice and video communication from your browser. Erik ponders the future leveraging WebRTC:

Imagine a world where no matter what we use or where we are we could all communicate via video, hassle-free, for free — native video from Apple devices to Samsung devices, from business phones to the TV in your living room, from your car to your home to a beach in Hawaii. That is what WebRTC can do for us.

Posted in Android, Apple, Google, Internet, Microsoft, Skype, TMCnet, Unified Communications, Video Conferencing, VoIP, Wireless

Windows 8 & Windows 8 RT Metro/Modern UI Lync App Coming Soon

September 21, 2012

Not to be outdone by the Microsoft Skype, which released a touch-friendly Windows 8 Metro/Modern UI Skype app, Microsoft's Lync team announced a Lync app for Windows 8 and Windows RT also using Metro/Modern UI. This touch-friendly Lync app will be available in the Windows Store for both Windows 8 and Windows RT in late October according to the Lync Team Blog.

This will be part of Microsoft Lync 2013, the latest iteration of Microsoft's unified communications platform that brings instant messaging, VoIP, collaboration and video conferencing to the enterprise. In addition to the touch-optimized Lync app, new versions of Lync server and desktop client is coming soon, as well as newer versions of their mobile clients and a browser-based Lync Web app, which will now feature multiparty HD video, voice over IP (VoIP), instant messaging, and desktop, application, and PowerPoint sharing.

Posted in Lync, Microsoft, Skype, Tablets, Unified Communications, VoIP

Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade to Windows 8 Problem Solved!

September 20, 2012

I decided to upgrade my Windows 7 Ultimate laptop to Windows 8 Pro. I wanted an in-place upgrade keeping all my apps and settings. Yeah, no judgement here for not doing a clean install! No time.

Anyway, the options available to me were 'Keep personal files only' and 'Nothing'. There is supposed to be an option 'Keep Windows settings, personal files and applications' but it was missing.

Posted in Microsoft, TMCnet

Gartner's 'Magic Quadrant for UC' - Cisco Bests Microsoft - Not!

September 11, 2012

Gartner recently posted their Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications along with their analysis of the UC market. As always Gartner's research is a fascinating and insightful read, but I do take slight issue where they positioned Cisco and Microsoft. First let's take a look at the Magic Quadrant:

You will see that Cisco and Microsoft are nearly touching one another and the top two companies within the Magic Quadrant, but Cisco slightly beats Microsoft in both the "leaders" and "visionaries" categories. I don't take issue with Cisco in the "leaders" category, since clearly Cisco has been doing enterprise VoIP, video conferencing and indeed UC longer than Microsoft with many more deployments.

I do however take issue with Cisco beating Microsoft in the "visionaries" category.

Posted in Asterisk, Cisco, Lync, Microsoft, SIP, Skype, TMCnet, Unified Communications, Video Conferencing, VoIP

New Samsung Series 7 & Series 5 All-in-One PCs Feature Windows 8 & Gesture Recognition

August 28, 2012

Samsung today unveiled the Series 7 and Series 5 computers which are all-in-one PCs running Windows 8 with a touch-screen and gesture recognition. The Series 7 will be available in 23" and 27" versions, both of which utilize a 1080p touchscreen. It includes a small keyboard, which can be tucked under the display's metal stand saving on desk space. The 23" Series 7 runs a Core i5 CPU with 6GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and Intel Graphics 4000.

Posted in Computer Software, Gadgets, Microsoft, PDAs & Handhelds, TMCnet, Video Hardware & Software

How to install Windows Media Center in Windows 8 Pro RTM

August 21, 2012

If you're wondering how to install Windows Media Center in Windows 8 Pro RTM, you've come to the right place. After installing Windows 8 Pro RTM using a MSDN / TechNet key I noticed Windows Media Center was gone. I use Windows Media Center for DVR, Photo Gallery, Netflix, Hulu, Home videos, playing ripped Blu-ray .iso movie images, and more - all connected to my 55" TV over HDMI. Then I remembered reading about how Microsoft was trying to keep the licensing costs of Windows 8 down and one way was by not licensing various codecs, as they explained here:

Our partners have shared clear concerns over the costs associated with codec licensing for traditional media playback, especially as Windows 8 enables an unprecedented variety of form factors.

Posted in Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Video Hardware & Software

Skype for Windows 8 Metro / Modern UI How-To Install

August 20, 2012

So you want to try out the new Skype Metro/Modern UI on Windows 8 do ya? Well so do I, so last week I found out how to download and install a leaked copy of Skype for Windows 8.

1. Download the MetroSkype_1.0.0.128_x86.zip file from here. (Ironic Microsoft wants to kill the name Metro yet their Skype team is still using it for their filenames!

Posted in Microsoft, Skype, TMCnet, Tablets, Unified Communications, VoIP

Windows 8 Broke my TAPI Dialing But Problem Solved!

August 17, 2012

I often use TAPI within Outlook to click-to-dial my contacts through our Asterisk-based PBX. This is an under-appreciated feature that more users should take advantage of considering most PBXs support TAPI TSPs.

However, after upgrading my Windows 7 machine to Windows 8 a couple days ago, this functionality stopped working. This feature allows me to simply view/search for an Outlook Contact, right-click the Contact, and then choose the number I want to dial, as seen here:

Instantly, my IP phone rings and I'm connected to the remote phone number. Fortunately, me and TAPI go way back.

Posted in Lync, Microsoft, Skype, TMCnet, Unified Communications, Video Conferencing, VoIP

Skype for Windows 8 Metro / Modern UI Leaks

August 17, 2012

Microsoft / Skype is hard at work developing a cool Metro "Modern UI" version of Skype, the new Windows 8 tile-based touch-enabled interface. An image of the Skype Metro style app leaked to Twitter demonstrating how the Microsoft/Skype team has optimized Skype for Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets coming to market.

Cult of Mac likes it, but isn't pleased Apple tablets will be getting the short shaft and not be able to leverage this new UI. It sports the usual voice and video features, but also pinned favorites and a sidebar to display status and message history.

According to Neowin, "The UI is fluid and dare we say fast too.

Posted in Microsoft, Skype, TMCnet, Tablets, Video Conferencing, VoIP

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