Here’s what happened in the last 7 days in the Redmond campus

Oct 7, 2012 09:31 GMT  ·  By

It’s October, so we’re getting closer to the official release of the brand new Windows 8 operating system, with many people hinting that this is one of the most important months in Microsoft's history.

First of all, the Redmond-based technology giant officially rolled out a new design for its Microsoft.com corporate website, bringing it in line with the new products wearing the Metro clothes. In addition, Windows Media Player has been released for Windows 8 versions delivered without it, while Machine Gun Kelly was kicked out of the Microsoft store for rapping near some very expensive laptops.

Company officials announced on Tuesday that the MSN portal will also get a new version for Windows 8 users that will be completely touch-optimized to work on the upcoming Surface tablet. During the same day, it was reported that the future Xbox console, the one coming with Internet Explorer, may provide access to adult material, which isn’t quite good news for all the parents out there.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen said on Wednesday that he finds the new Windows 8 OS quite good, but admitted that some of the features are puzzling and confusing. Later that day, a group of advertisers sent Microsoft’s CEO a letter asking him to disable the factory-enabled “Do Not Track” feature in Internet Explorer because it could block their attempts to collect users’ browsing data.

The Windows Store finally exceeded the 3,600 app mark on Thursday, while Microsoft released important updates for all its free software. Most of this apps have been updated to work on Windows 8, the company’s latest operating system. A few hours later, the Redmond-based technology firm confirmed that the Surface tablet would be unveiled on October 25 during the Windows 8 launch event.

Last but not least, Microsoft announced that it would update the Windows 8 Modern Apps and also provided some details on the patches to be released next week. A total of seven updates will be unveiled, one of which is rated as critical. The Surface was sent to the FCC and is now waiting for the green light to go on sale.

Don’t forget that we also published a few tips and tricks this week, so here’s a guide to correctly install and run Mozilla Firefox Metro on Windows 8. In addition, here are some instructions to close Windows 8 Modern Apps and another two on Windows 8 concerning Charms and the system reset and refresh tools.