14 DAY TRIAL // Nowadays, the software companies from every corner of the world are doing impressive efforts to expand their products in all the areas and to all types of users. Take the example of Google that is continuously working to develop new products especially built for offline users, products meant to take the Google search technology to another level. The software giant Microsoft tries to make the same thing by planning new solutions especially designed for the educational system from numerous countries. The company made an announcement on Monday to present their new plans to design a new suite of tools with Math Forum at Drexel University to help educators teach math and technology. The new utilities, codenamed Tools for Building Math Concepts, explain the main math concepts for the middle school students.
"The ability to use Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is becoming a prerequisite for jobs in all industries and at all levels. Studies indicate that by 2010, more than 77 percent of all jobs in the United States will require some ICT ability. As the economy continues to evolve, more and more American workers will need higher levels of technology skills training and education to compete successfully in the global economy. Microsoft believes that providing students with a solid math education at a young age is a key to opening the doors to exciting technology careers. Supporting students' ability to develop strong math skills is important to Microsoft as a global citizen and employer," said Lisa Brummel, senior vice president of Human Resources at Microsoft according to a press release published on Microsoft's page.
Since the latest version of Windows was released, Microsoft continuously tried to bring the product in the spotlights with new announcements, statistics or features. As you know, there were several times when Vista represented the negative subject of the headlines because it was often criticized for its security functions, although it is regarded as the safest version of Windows. This time, Microsoft tries to promote Vista by announcing a new kit of keyboard and mouse especially designed for this version of Windows and able to enhance the functionality of the operating system. Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 4000 provides a Comfort Curve Keyboard design, a High Definition laser mouse, all designed for the latest version of Microsoft's operating system.
"Windows Vista has officially hit the market and we are excited to continue delivering the best hardware products to complement the dynamic computing experience of the new operating system. The Wireless Laser Desktop 4000 is the latest in our growing line of products optimized for Windows Vista and illustrates how we continue to diversify our product line to meet a broad range of consumers' desktops need," said Sean Butterworth, product marketing manager for Microsoft Hardware, according to an article published by the software giant on Tuesday.
One interesting feature is represented by the keyboard's Windows LiveCall button, a function meant to provide instant access to the messaging application offered by Vista. I'm really curios what's this button's goal if the customers use a different instant messaging client than Windows Live Messenger?
On Wednesday, Microsoft sustained its multimedia content offered through MSN will be soon updated with a new live concert featuring Elton John. The software giant added that MSN will create a separate page for the singer, providing instant access to live concerts, photos, album covers and highlights of his career. Although the decision is quite important for all the MSN users and fans of the English pop-star, Elton John also signed a deal with Apple to offer his live concerts through the company's iTunes.
"We are thrilled to add Elton John's Madison Square Garden show to the list of exclusive concert offers on MSN. Our collaboration with Control Room enables musicians such as Elton John to easily connect with fans across the globe, while providing people with the best way to experience high-quality content featuring their favorite artists," said Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN in a interview published by Microsoft.
The software giant said on Thursdaythat the company prepares a partnership with Fox and NBC to create an online video sharing service able to challenge YouTube, the product currently owned by Google. Although YouTube is the most popular and powerful service in its category, the upcoming solution prepared by the software giant will be especially designed to become the leader and challenge the Google YouTube.
"Today's announcement is a great win for MSN's more than 460 million consumers and for online video more broadly. When launched, this new venture will provide free access to an unprecedented library of high-quality video content. Our investments in MSN Video and SoapBox over the past couple of years have shown us that video is an amazing driver of user engagement and excitement, both for consumers and for advertisers," Microsoft said.
Personally, I expect the release of this product because the battle for the most powerful online video sharing service can bring only improved quality and better results. Although Microsoft aims to become more popular than YouTube, the fight can be extremely difficult as Google's product showed it is very attractive for the internet users even if Viacom ordered the removal of a huge amount of clips.
On Friday, the software giant continued to present its plans to conquer the online video market by announcing that its SoapBox video service will be closed for two months for a complete maintenance over the clips uploaded by its users. It seems that Microsoft aims to scan the content published on the page and filter the pirated movies to avoid possible problems reported by Google's YouTube. Although the software giant will restrict the access to the service, the company will allow already registered members to use the product.
"No new subscribers will be accepted, but anyone who has already signed up for Soapbox can continue to access the site, said Adam Sohn, a director in Microsoft's online-services group. Microsoft stood to be embarrassed by the existence of pirated work on Soapbox. There was a real possibility that the company could have found itself distributing video from News Corp. and NBC Universal, at the same time another one of its units was hosting material stolen from those same companies," News.com reported.
