Microsoft Corp. today announced that its new PC, Microsoft Surface, is now available for purchase at all Microsoft retail, holiday and online stores in the United States and Canada. Designed to be the ultimate stage for Windows RT, Surface is unique and represents exceptional value, providing an immersive entertainment experience and a foundation for getting things done. With a starting price of US$499,1 Surface will be available online at www.microsoftstore.com in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. In China and Hong Kong, Surface will be available online at Suning. More details are available here.

A variety of Surface accessories are also available for purchase, including Touch Covers in five vibrant colors - black, white, magenta, cyan and red - priced at US$119.99, so customers can express their personal style.2 Customers also have the option to purchase a Type Cover in black for US$129.99, which adds moving keys for a more traditional typing feel.

ORIGIN PC is now shipping Microsoft's new Windows 8 Operating System on their full line of award-winning desktops and laptops for gamers, artists, professionals and enthusiasts. Windows 8 has been redesigned with a new intuitive interface that provides instant access to contacts, apps, games and personal data, yet still offers the same foundation from Windows 7. Windows 8 adds a variety of new features such as significantly faster boot up times, cloud connectivity, multi-touch support for the EON17-SLX laptops, and multi-touch support for 3rd party Microsoft certified peripherals to provide a new experience on your ORIGIN system. ORIGIN PC will continue to offer and ship orders with Windows 7 post launch to provide a robust custom experience for all customers.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the global availability of its popular Windows operating system, Windows 8. Beginning Friday, Oct. 26, consumers and businesses worldwide will be able to experience all that Windows 8 has to offer, including a beautiful new user interface and a wide range of applications with the grand opening of the Windows Store. As a result of close work with hardware partners, more than 1,000 certified PCs and tablets, including Microsoft Surface, will be available for the launch of Windows 8 - making it the best lineup of PCs ever across the Windows 8 and Windows RT ecosystem.

"We have reimagined Windows and the result is a stunning lineup of new PCs," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "Windows 8 brings together the best of the PC and the tablet. It works perfect for work and play and it is alive with your world. Every one of our customers will find a PC that they will absolutely love."

Microsoft has no plans to release a new service pack (SP) for Windows 7. Sources at Microsoft's engineering team told The Register that breaking precedent (of releasing a new SP every 2 or so years), Microsoft will not release SP2 (service pack 2) for the operating system. Apart from being a collection of important software updates over a period, a service pack allows Microsoft to introduce major updates to key components of the operating system, such as its kernel. Apparently, Microsoft's Windows team is too busy with Windows 8, and it is observed that by choosing to not release an SP, Microsoft could be pushing users to its newer OS. Instead of newer SPs for Windows 7, Microsoft will release timely updates for Windows 7 SP1 over Windows Update, till the operating system's support lifetime runs out (that's January 2020).

AMD today announced its collaboration with Microsoft Corp. for more than 125 Windows 8-based PC designs from leading OEMs including ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and more. With a hardware accelerated user interface, Microsoft and AMD have collaborated to design Windows 8 to unlock the high performance graphics capabilities found in AMD accelerated processing units (APUs) and discrete AMD Radeon graphics processing units (GPUs) to deliver the best HD video, gaming and app experience consumers want with the always on, always connected, touch-driven interface with great battery life they need.

"There is a lot of exciting innovation happening in the marketplace today -- from the new Windows 8 graphics-accelerated user interface and apps, to ultraportable and sleek hardware designs -- and AMD's CPU, GPU and APU technology designed for Windows 8 helps enable a no-compromise solution," said Stefan Kinnestrand, director of Product Management, Windows Division at Microsoft.

Today at the O'Reilly Strata Conference + Hadoop World, Microsoft Corp. announced new previews of Windows Azure HDInsight Service and Microsoft HDInsight Server for Windows, the company's Apache Hadoop-based solutions for Windows Azure and Windows Server. The new previews, available today at www.microsoft.com/bigdata, deliver Apache Hadoop compatibility for the enterprise and simplify deployment of Hadoop-based solutions. In addition, delivering these capabilities on the Windows Server and Azure platforms enables customers to use the familiar tools of Excel, PowerPivot for Excel and Power View to easily extract actionable insights from the data.

"Big data should provide answers for business, not complexity for IT," said David Campbell, technical fellow, Microsoft. "Providing Hadoop compatibility on Windows Server and Azure dramatically lowers the barriers to setup and deployment and enables customers to pull insights from any data, any size, on-premises or in the cloud."

The European Commission has informed Microsoft of its preliminary view that Microsoft has failed to comply with its commitments to offer users a choice screen enabling them to easily choose their preferred web browser. In 2009, the Commission had made these commitments legally binding on Microsoft (see IP/09/1941). The sending of a statement of objections does not prejudge the final outcome of the investigation.

In its statement of objections, the Commission takes the preliminary view that Microsoft has failed to roll out the browser choice screen with its Windows 7 Service Pack 1, which was released in February 2011. From February 2011 until July 2012, millions of Windows users in the EU may not have seen the choice screen. Microsoft has acknowledged that the choice screen was not displayed during that period.

Microsoft Corp. kicked off global Windows 8 launch celebrations today in China. In the first of a series of celebrations around the world, Microsoft customers and partners joined top company executives at a gathering at Shanghai's 1933 Grand Theatre to give consumers and commercial customers a sneak peek at new hardware and apps in advance of the Windows 8 worldwide general availability on Oct. 26. Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft, and Ralph Haupter, corporate vice president of Microsoft and CEO of Microsoft Greater China Region, attended the celebration.

"Microsoft has a more than 20-year history in the Greater China Region, and we are excited to start our Windows 8 launch series in Shanghai, China, the largest PC market in the world," Haupter said. He reaffirmed the importance that Microsoft is giving to China and complimented the commitment of our hardware and developers in preparing for Windows 8 over the last couple of months. "Windows 8 ushers in a new era with amazing experiences for Chinese consumers and commercial customers and creates new opportunities for Microsoft partners," he said.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced it is shipping the Kingston DataTraveler Workspace USB Flash drive. DataTraveler Workspace is certified for Windows To Go, a key feature of Windows 81 Enterprise. DataTraveler Workspace enables enterprises to provision a corporate desktop on an external USB drive, thus allowing users to boot and operate Windows 8 from portable devices. This new drive is a unique external USB 3.0 device that is capable of SSD-like performance.

DataTraveler Workspace is made specifically for organizations that want to use the new Windows To Go feature found in Windows 8 Enterprise. The drive is designed to help IT administrators support their mobile user base - from remote employees to contractors and consultants. DataTraveler Workspace helps companies and organizations meet both bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives and disaster recovery requirements.

In May, Microsoft sent ripples down the gaming industry by launching a subsidized $99 Xbox 360 + Kinect bundle. The bundle included an Xbox 360 4 GB console, Kinect, and "Kinect Adventures." The company applied a similar subsidy plan to the 250 GB HDD-equipped variant of the console, priced at the same $99, but which lacks Kinect bundle. One can now get a 250 GB Xbox 360 + Kinect bundle for as low as $149. Under Microsoft's subsidy plans, full-featured consoles are sold at low prices, in exchange for customers subscribing to Xbox Live for at $15 per month for two years.

Skype announced Skype for Windows 8 today, bringing together popular Skype features and the new design of Windows 8.

The release focuses on delivering an experience that is simpler, faster and easier to use. Skype for Windows 8 includes top Skype features like IM, audio and video calls. It also takes advantage of some of the new features and functionality of Windows 8 that put people front and center; including integration in to the People Hub, ability to pin favorite contacts as a tile for easy access and the Skype Live Tile that shows messages and notifications right on the Start Screen.

Skype for Windows 8 will be available on October 26. You can find it on your new Windows 8 device and or download it from the Windows Store.

WD, a subsidiary of Western Digital, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today's connected life, today introduced My Passport Enterprise, one of the industry's first portable hard drives designed specifically for use with Microsoft Corp.'s Windows To Go, which enables corporate customers to provision a fully featured Windows 8 workspace on a bootable USB drive.

My Passport Enterprise includes 500 GB of storage space, while still maintaining a sleek and compact design for maximum portability. The capacity and portability allows users to easily carry all their data and settings so they can quickly boot and run their personalized Windows 8 system on any compatible PC in the office, at home or on the go. Additionally, setup is fast and easy with the WD Compass utility included with My Passport Enterprise.

Microsoft Corp. today commemorated its 30th Employee Giving Campaign and announced that U.S. employees raised $1 billion in cash since 1983 for approximately 31,000 U.S.-based nonprofits and community organizations. CEO Steve Ballmer announced the milestone during a special town hall event at the Microsoft Redmond campus, which included Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Washington State Gov. Chris Gregoire.

"Today, I'm thrilled to announce that since our Employee Giving Campaign started in 1983, Microsoft employees have donated a total of $1 billion to more than 31,000 nonprofits," Ballmer said. "I'm incredibly proud of our employees, and this is truly a time to celebrate, not just because we've raised a record amount of funds, but also because together with our nonprofit partners, we have impacted and improved the lives of hundreds of millions of people."

Microsoft Corp. today announced quarterly revenue of $16.01 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012. Operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $5.31 billion, $4.47 billion, and $0.53 per share.

These financial results reflect the deferral of $1.36 billion of revenue and $0.13 of diluted earnings per share, due to the Windows Upgrade Offer, pre-sales of Windows 8 to OEMs prior to general availability, and the Office Offer.

Microsoft Group Program Manager Rob Mauceri has today revealed that Internet Explorer 10 will be bringing its bells and whistles over to Windows 7 in mid-November. The catch is that the release planned for next month is (still) a preview as the Redmond company wants to "collect developer and customer feedback" before rolling out a final version.

Internet Explorer 10 integrates Adobe Flash Player and comes with improved JavaScript performance, better HTML5 support, the Enhanced Protected Mode, plus other tweaks and fixes. IE10 can be experienced in full on Windows 8 which arrives on October 26.

Registration has launched for Microsoft Corp.'s WOWZAPP 2012, Worldwide Hackathon for Windows, which will take place Nov. 9-11 in more than 30 locations worldwide. Students and other types of developers across countries such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Turkey, Finland, Chile and Greece will work in teams to develop apps that will be published and available for download in the Windows Store.

At the events, students will be provided with the resources they need to build their apps, such as Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8 and a free Windows Store registration code, both available through DreamSpark. In addition, students will be able to test their apps, and developer experts and trainers will be available to answer questions and help participants submit their apps to the Windows Store.

Microsoft Corp. and StorSimple Inc. today announced that Microsoft has reached a definitive agreement to acquire StorSimple, a leader in Cloud-integrated Storage (CiS) solutions. The addition of CiS will advance Microsoft's Cloud OS vision and help customers more efficiently embrace hybrid cloud computing.

"Customers faced with explosive growth in data are looking to the cloud to help them store, manage and archive that data. But, to be effective, cloud storage needs to integrate with IT's current investments," said Michael Park , corporate vice president, Server and Tools Division for Microsoft. "StorSimple's approach helps customers seamlessly integrate on-premises storage with cloud storage through intelligent automation and management."

Microsoft put price tags on some of its most important upcoming products, Surface with Windows 8 RT. The prices were revealed by Microsoft Store US, and covers three models based on storage capacity and Touch Cover (cover with keyboard and trackpad). The lineup starts at US $499 with Surface 32 GB without Touch Cover. For $599, you get the same model, with the Touch Cover. Leading the pack is Surface 64 GB with Touch Cover, priced at $699. The store is accepting pre-orders for all available color options of Surface and Touch Cover. Orders will delivered as early as by October 26.

Today we're starting to roll out the official release of the update to Xbox LIVE subscribers around the world. To ensure a stable release, this will be a gradual deployment across subscribers and regions over the course of the next week. Our initial deployment will reach approximately three million consoles worldwide, with additional users being updated over the course of a couple weeks. Don't panic if you don't see an immediate update, just keep checking back in.

An analyst with Topeka Capital, who was touring Asia, meeting sources among supply chains, brings bad news to Microsoft investors. Analyst Brian White notes that the sentiment (among vendors and parts of the supply chain) about Windows 8 remains "overwhelmingly negative." Expectations from Microsoft's new client operating system plummet, as vendors don't see much activity following the October 26 launch.

"Although October is expected to be the sweet spot for the notebook ramp for Windows 8, and further follow through is likely in November, we were warned of idle facilities in December," notes White. "One of our contacts does not expect Windows 8 to be material until the second-half of 2013," he added. In related news, the industry is also reeling from a disappointing reception from Intel's 2011-12 pet project in the client computing space, Ultrabook. "...the enthusiasm around the Ultrabook ramp has also deteriorated as the cost structure remains too high under Intel's specifications," White notes.

PC giant Dell will continue to offer Windows 7 pre-installed on its Precision, Optiplex, and Latitude brands of notebooks and business desktops, post-Windows 8 launch, the company said. Dell's gaming PC subsidiary Alienware, too, will offer Windows 7 as an option. Microsoft has been generally laxed about OEMs offering older versions of Windows pre-installed, after the launch of a newer one. PC makers were allowed to pre-install PCs with Windows Vista for two years after the launch of Windows 7, however, Windows XP was allowed to be loaded for nearly a decade after its launch.

"We're still moving our business customers from [Windows] XP to Windows 7," said Alison Gardner, director at Dell. "The OS migration for a large company is no small feat. We make it easier but it takes some planning and work," he continued. "For Alienware customers, they know what they want and we give them that choice," Gardner continued. Analysts expect Windows 7 to maintain its popularity post Windows 8 launch, at least with computing devices that lack touch interface.

According to a report, European Commission is planning to level a criminal case against Microsoft for failing to meet the conditions laid down by the judgement of a 2009 case that forced Microsoft to strip its Internet Explorer browser from Windows operating system copies sold in the EU, and presenting new installations of the OS with a browser selection menu. With the advent of Windows 7 SP1, the browser selection menu was not implemented for tens of millions of PCs (out of an error, Microsoft argues). The new case could lead to penalties in billions of Euros for Microsoft.

Microsoft is applying the design principles of its September-launched Sculpt Comfort desktop keyboard on a new product targeting Windows 8 tablet-docked desktops and notebooks, the Sculpt Mobile. Measuring 355 x 167 x 13 mm (WxDxH), and weighing 438 g, the Sculpt Mobile is a compact wireless keyboard that uses Bluetooth to talk to its host device. It features a compact 87-key QWERTY layout in a number of IMEs. Pictured below is the Japanese + English keyset. Powered by two AAA-size batteries, the Sclupt Mobile can work up to 5 months with typical usage before needing a battery replacement. It can maintain a range of 10 meters with its included USB Bluetooth dongle, which can vary, if using the tablet's in-built Bluetooth transceiver. Slated for November 2, the Sculpt Mobile is expected to be priced at 4,935 JPY (US $63).

Microsoft's biggest launch of the year, Windows 8, may be under two weeks away, but there are still a couple of things Redmond managed to keep secret despite consumers getting a fair look-and-feel of the new operating system with pre-launch Consumer Previews. A large volume of Windows licenses are sold through hardware vendors, where the operating system is sold pre-installed on PCs and notebooks. The rest is sold as packaged software, through conventional retail channels.

As packaged software, the two variants of Windows 8 (Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro) will be available as upgrade and full-version. The upgrade package lets you move from an existing installation of Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7, to the new OS. The Windows 8 Pro Upgrade is listed at an introductory price of US $69.99. For the same price, you get Windows 8 Pro Pack, which is a card with a software key to Windows 8 Pro (any architecture), no installation media. The OEM (builder) packages of Windows 8 (standard), which includes a key and installation media is sold in 64-bit and 32-bit variants, each priced at $99.99. Lastly, there are similar 64-bit and 32-bit packages for Windows 8 Pro, each priced at $139.99. Newegg.com is accepting pre-orders.

AMD announced its latest entry in the performance tablet and small form factor PC market with the AMD Z-60 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). The AMD Z-60 is AMD's lowest power APU, delivering unprecedented performance and AMD AllDay power for tablet form factors as thin as 10mm. A compelling combination of features, stunning graphics, support for the latest Microsoft Windows 8 applications and user interfaces, as well as compatibility with Windows 7 and the full-suite of legacy Windows applications, makes the AMD Z-60 APU an ideal solution for a range of designs.

The first tablets based on the AMD Z-60 APU are expected to launch globally this year in conjunction with availability of Windows 8.