Microsoft to kill the Messenger on March 15

The tech titan plans to migrate users of the instant-messaging client to Skype, which it purchased in 2011.

(Credit: Skype)

Beware the Ides of March if you are a user of Microsoft's Windows Messenger Live.
Microsoft announced last November it would soon retire its instant messaging client in favor Skype, which Microsoft acquired in October 2011. Today it began informing Messenger users that the service would go dark for the majority of users on March 15.

Hello,
On 15th March 2013 we are retiring the existing Messenger service globally (except for mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available) and bringing the great features of Messenger and Skype together. Update to Skype and sign in using a Microsoft Account (same as your Messenger ID) and all your Messenger contacts will be at your fingertips. You'll be able to instant message and video chat with them just like before, and also discover new ways of staying in touch with Skype on your mobile and tablet.
Yours sincerely,
The Messenger Team

Skype officials said in late October that Skype would most likely replace Messenger someday but had declined to provide a public timetable. A blog post in November indicated the switchover would occur during the first quarter of 2013. Skype began testing new Windows and Mac beta releases in October that let users sign in to Skype using their Windows Live ID, allowing them to send and receive instant messages and see the presence information of those using Live Messenger, Xbox, Hotmail or Outlook.com.
After migrating from Messenger to Skype, users will be able to use Skype's instant messaging, as well as its video calling, landline calling, screen sharing, and video calling on mobile phones.

Microsoft: Five events that shaped 2012

The software giant rolled out Windows 8, made a tablet computer that competes directly with longtime partners, and saw one of its top executives exit just weeks after shipping Windows.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the Windows 8 launch in New York in October.

(Credit: Microsoft)

In hindsight, 2012 may well be the year that marks the biggest transition in Microsoft's storied corporate history.
    That statement might get some argument from Microsoft watchers, who would put the debut of Windows 95 and the retiring of co-founder Bill Gates ahead of 2012 for sea change at the company. But 2012 marked the year that Microsoft decided that basing its business on software alone isn't enough to survive in the evolving world of technology.
Now, as Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer says at every opportunity, Microsoft is about devices and services. The company is building devices, such as the new Microsoft Surface tablet computer, that best take advantage of the bevy of new services, such as its SkyDrive Web storage offering, it's creating.
Here's a look back at five key events that helped shape 2012 for Microsoft:

1. Windows 8 bows
 The Windows 8 operating system that Microsoft debuted in October will sell extraordinarily well almost regardless of how well it's made. Within a month of its launch, Microsoft noted that 40 million copies of the operating system had sold. In many ways, Windows is merely about turning on the spigot and letting the revenue flow into Microsoft's coffers.
But Microsoft made a huge bet with this version of its flagship product. The central new feature in Windows 8 is that users can navigate by touching the screens on devices running the operating system. It's an attempt to leverage Microsoft's operating system hegemony into the emerging world of tablet computing, where Microsoft and Windows have lagged.
The gamble is that this operating system looks wildly different from past versions of Windows that computer users know well. They can still flip to the familiar desktop look to which they are accustomed. But Microsoft is pushing users to embrace the tile-based interface it's rolling out across its entire product line.
Windows 8 success won't be judged alone on how many copies Microsoft sells. The true measure of its success will be how well Microsoft is able to carve out a piece of the tablet market and slow the march of Apple and Google in that world. Early indications are that sales got off to a slow start, though that's likely related to sluggish PC sales broadly. Within the next few months, it should become clear how well Microsoft's Windows 8 bet plays out.

2. Microsoft Surface debuts
The big hedge against the Windows 8 tablet bet is Microsoft's new Surface tablet computer. Ever since Microsoft rolled out MS-DOS in 1981, the company has relied on hardware makers to bring its PC operating system to life. In recent years, though, those computer makers have lost mindshare, and market share, to Apple and its innovative industrial design.
So for the first time ever, Microsoft jumped into the PC-making business. The Surface, which debuted at the same time as Windows 8, is a touch-screen tablet with sleek industrial-design looks, and the spare new Windows interface. What's more, unlike iPads, it comes with a keyboard that lets users create content on the device easily.
Of course, Microsoft has made hardware before. The Xbox game console has been on the market more than a decade. It's been selling mice and keyboards for even longer. And it even tried its hand at making mobile phones with the short-lived Kin ONE and Kin TWO.
But the Surface reflects a dramatic change in thinking in Redmond. Microsoft's brass has decided to compete directly with its hardware-making partners because it recognized that they were falling behind Apple, leaving Microsoft to lose ground in a key emerging market.

3. Steven Sinofsky leaves
Within three weeks of the Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface launches, the executive behind them left Microsoft. Steven Sinofsky, who spent his entire career at Microsoft, serving as Bill Gates' technical assistant and the head of the Office business and then the Windows division, exited as concerns about his management style came to a head.
Inside Microsoft, Sinofsky has long been known as a polarizing figure. He has plenty of fans, particularly many of those who work in his groups, for setting a clear agenda, sticking with it, and shipping quality products on time. His downfall, though, were his battles outside the Windows division. He developed a reputation for marginalizing internal rivals, undermining their efforts to make certain his products weren't burdened by dependencies from other divisions outside his control.
For Ballmer, that became a deal-breaker. Increasingly, Microsoft is counting on cross-division collaboration as it weaves threads to bring its various software, services, and devices together. To compete in the consumer marketplace against Apple and Google, the company needs all of its division leaders working together smoothly. So when Windows 8 hit store shelves, Sinofsky left the building.

4. Windows Phone 8
Rarely has so much noise been made about a product that's been on the market for so long and had so little share. Even while Windows Phone sputters in the marketplace, Microsoft is able to generate buzz for its Windows Phone 8 operating system. And Microsoft needs Windows Phone 8 to breakout if the company is going to achieve the goal of creating an ecosystem of devices and services to counter rivals.
Just days after Microsoft debuted Windows 8, it rolled out Windows Phone 8 in a splashy San Francisco show that featured Jessica Alba sharing the stage with Ballmer. Microsoft is counting on devices from Nokia, Samsung, HTC, and others to help it elbow its way into a market that's dominated now by Apple and phones using Google's Android mobile operating system. And it needs developers, who have created must-have apps for rival platforms, to build them for Windows Phone now as well.
It's a tough slog. Windows Phone currently runs less than 3 percent of all smartphones worldwide, according to IDC. And while IDC is bullish on Windows Phone, it doesn't expect the operating system to become much of a threat to either Apple or Google anytime soon.

5. Office, embracing online
Microsoft was a laggard when it came to composing documents and creating spreadsheets on the Web. And for good reason: Its Office franchise was humming along with massive profits. For years, there was little reason to offer low-cost Web apps that would compete with the packaged software that kept filling Microsoft coffers.
That changed this year. Microsoft debuted Office 365 in June. It's a service that lets customers pay a monthly fee to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as server software such as its Exchange e-mail program, its SharePoint collaboration software, and its Lync communications technology. The new services compete with rival offerings, most notably from Google, whose Google Apps for Business has been making inroads with corporate customers interested in online productivity programs.
Microsoft is targeting small businesses with Office 365, tailoring the product and the pricing in a way so as not to cannibalize corporate Office sales. So far, it seems to be working. At Microsoft's annual shareholders meeting last month, Ballmer noted that Office 365 was on track to be one of Microsoft's fastest growing businesses ever.

Browsers: Top 5 events from 2012

Web developers and browser makers were on course toward building the universal software platform -- until smartphones got in the way.

For a while there, the browser was winning the war.
New startups launched online services rather than packaged software. Browser makers raced to transform the Web from a place to publish documents into a general-purpose programming platform. People spent more and more time using the Web instead of software that ran natively on devices.

Then the era of modern smartphones and tablets began. And in 2012, it became clear that Web app advocates will have to work a lot harder to build a universal software foundation. Here's a look at what happened this year in the world of the Web, starting with an an extremely public vote of no confidence.

The W3C's new HTML5 logo stands for more than just the HTML5 standard.

(Credit: W3C)

Facebook slaps down HTML5
The basic technology for describing Web pages is Hypertext Markup Language, and the new HTML5 version now symbolizes modern Web development, even though it also relies on other standards such as JavaScript for running actual programs and CSS for formatting and effects.
The HTML5 idea is that Web apps can span many devices -- Windows machines, Macs, smartphones, tablets, and more -- because everything has a browser these days. One of the biggest advocates of the approach was Facebook, which used Web coding to reach a tremendous range of devices.
But Facebook this year abruptly changed course, choosing instead to release native iOS and Android apps. The company had loved the Web approach, which let its programmers constantly release new versions that would load the same way a browser loads a fresh version of a Web site. But the performance wasn't acceptable.
"I think the biggest mistake that we made as a company is betting too much on HTML5 as opposed to native," Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said. "Probably we will look back saying that is one of the biggest mistakes if not the biggest strategic mistake that we made."
Zuckerberg's long-term enthusiasm for Web apps was a pretty unappealing consolation prize.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg called his company's reliance on Web apps for mobile access to the site a major strategic error.

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

Microsoft stiffs browser rivals
With Windows 8, Microsoft is trying to make a fresh start with the operating system interfaces that software can use. Windows 8 marries the older Win32 interfaces with the new WinRT. But Windows RT, the cousin that runs on mobile devices such as Microsoft's Surface that use ARM processors, lets third-party software use only the WinRT interfaces.

That happens to hobble browsers -- well, third-party browsers like Chrome and Firefox. Microsoft's own IE10 gets access to the low-level Win32 interfaces, letting it run JavaScript faster. Mozilla objected strenuously, and Google piled on, too. Microsoft carved an exception for browsers running on Windows 8, no doubt encouraged by its earlier antitrust woes involving Internet Explorer, but the company doesn't look likely to budge on Windows RT.
Even though European officials are checking into the situation, legal experts think any opponents would have a hard antitrust case.
The result, though could be that browser choice becomes a thing of the past. Safari dominates on iOS, Android's browser on Android, and IE on Windows Phone. Even if people might want a choice, company limits often preclude it.
Do Not Track derailed
Microsoft also threw a wrench in the works of a proposed new standard called Do Not Track (DNT) that's designed to let people tell Web sites not to keep tabs on their online behavior. The effort grew out of a Federal Trade Commission request for the industry to come up with a voluntary solution to the issue, since privacy advocates are not happy with the idea of behavioral targeting of advertisements.

Mozilla proposed a solution that got traction in Chrome, Opera, and Safari, in which browsers would tell Web sites not to track if people had expressly set the browser to send the message. But Microsoft, saying it wanted more privacy, turns DNT on if people accept the Windows 8 default installation settings. That might sound great for privacy, but online advertisers say they'll ignore the setting if it hasn't been expressly set by users.
DNT author Roy Fielding, an Adobe scientist and programmer in the Apache Web server software project, one-upped Microsoft by patching Apache so it overrides IE's DNT setting. But Microsoft isn't budging.
What could break the DNT gridlock? Perhaps the appointment of Peter Swire as co-chair of the group trying to standardize it.

Microsoft's IE has stopped its market-share losses, with Chrome and Firefox jockeying for second place.

(Credit: Data from Net Applications; chart by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

IE gets real
There's a big community of people who don't like Microsoft's browser actions -- squashing Netscape in the 1990s then letting IE6 lie fallow for years.
But that's old thinking. Microsoft dragged itself back aboard the Web standards bandwagon with IE9. But this year's release of IE10 -- packaged with Windows 8 and set to arrive in finished form later for Windows 7 -- that's the stronger statement.
IE10 supports a long list of new Web standards: IndexedDB and AppCache for writing Web apps that work even when a computer doesn't have a Net connection; support for a range of pointers including multitouch interfaces; asychronous script execution for getting Web pages to load faster and run more smoothly; the file interface for better uploads and ways for apps to access data; sandbox security restrictions; and a lot of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) effects.
And it's pretty fast to load Web pages. All this means IE10 can compete -- and not just because it's built into Windows. There are still some missing features -- the WebGL interface for 3D graphics, for instance, which Microsoft thinks is a security risk -- but even without it and some other omissions, Web programmers still can look forward to IE's transition to a modern browser.
Naturally, Microsoft is tooting its IE horn as a result. And it has a strong incentive to keep pushing ahead: Windows 8 apps can be written using the JavaScript, CSS, and HTML Web technologies. Microsoft might have a vanishingly small share of Web usage in the mobile market, but it has mostly stopped IE's share losses in PC browser usage.

The $249 Samsung Chromebook

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Price cut makes Chromebooks worthwhile
Chrome OS, Google's browser-based operating system, was a wacky idea when it debuted in 2009 and still not very compelling when it arrived in products called Chromebooks in 2011. But in 2012, Google and its Chrome OS allies came up with a much more compelling recipe by lowering the price.
First came the $249 Samsung Chromebook, which uses an ARM processor rather than a more conventional Intel chip. Next was the even cheaper Acer C7 Chromebook, which uses an Intel chip but drops the SSD in favor of a conventional hard drive.
Neither can come anywhere close to replacing a video-game rig or Photoshop workstation. But for the price, they can be a capable second or third machine to have around the house for e-mail, surfing, Facebook, and homework assignments. They may not have the entertainment appeal of a tablet packed with games, but they're cheaper than a new iPad, and a lot of people prefer a keyboard when it's time to type.
Samsung also released some higher-end Chromebooks and the first Chromebox, a small machine that requires an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. They're more expensive, but in combination with the significantly revamped Chrome OS and integrated with Google Drive, they're useful for a certain population.
Web apps may be struggling on smartphones and tablets, but for a laptop, they're a more realistic option. Browser makers and Web developers have work to do on mobile, but they're hardly an endangered species.

Microsoft hands Windows 8 Pro to pirates by mistake

      For what is presumably a limited period, it's possible to just download Windows 8 keys directly from Microsoft -- keys that activate the Pro version of Microsoft's brand new OS.

    You want a copy of Windows 8 Pro? Go ahead and download it -- Microsoft is giving the keys away for free.
    According to VentureBeat, an interesting exploit on Microsoft's download page allows users to pick up a free copy of Windows 8 Pro -- directly from the website, and at no cost.
If you attempt to download the free Microsoft Windows Media Center upgrade, which is being offered until January 31, a strange side effect takes hold. Windows 8 Pro will be permanently activated.

    The Windows 8 Media Center upgrade apparently offers a handy workaround for pirates seeking Windows 9 Pro.

(Credit:  CNET)

    For the pirates among us, this would provide a handy workaround for the tech giant's Key Management Service (KMS). Built for enterprise users, the KMS is intended to make deployment of Windows 8 through a KMS host and KMS client, making Windows 8 fully usable for 180 days before activation. In other words, instead of being required to input an activation key or reach Microsoft authentication channels on each individual computer, businesses can activate Windows copies on a local network and make the transition step-by-step.
   Within the enterprise, making Windows deployment processes easier can only be a good thing. However, this does mean that by setting up pirate KMS servers, keys can be traded across the Internet for free.
One feather in Microsoft's cap, however, is that Windows has to be reactivated every 180 days using this method. Volume keys are no longer in use, and so each individual PC needs a unique key. Thus, "legitimate" activation cannot be achieved through multiple users activating through the same key.

    As a result, pirates have had to come up with more complex methods, possible through the KMS system, but more time-consuming than simply downloading a Windows Media Center upgrade.

Once you've reached the desktop within the Windows 8 Pro installation and after applying a KMS key, using the new Windows Media Center upgrade key -- obtained for free by Microsoft's Web site -- does not result in a validity check. Therefore, any version of Windows 8 Pro, whether obtained through a pirate KMS network or not, will become fully active and "legitimate."
Stephen Hall at Windows Wave originally reported the exploit and was able to confirm that it works, at least for now.
Reddit user noveleven explained on a discussion thread why the method, in theory, works:

When you activate Windows via KMS, in the activation window it says "Windows is activated until..." and a date (so if you were to install it today, it would say it's activated until May). After installing the upgrade, the window just says "Windows was activated on..." and the date of activation. That means the activation is permanent. When you install the upgrade key, that replaces the existing product key; only the new upgrade key is used for future checks. Windows won't check the key you used to install because it no longer has it.

Microsoft serves up 60-day trial version of Office 2013

A free, two-month evaluation version of Office Professional Plus 2013 is now available for those who'd like to try before they buy.

 

 

Microsoft Word 2013.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

   People who want to take Office 2013 for a spin can download a 60-day evaluation edition.
The version available is the full Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 suite, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher, and Lync. The software contains all the features in the paid edition, so you won't miss out on anything.
   You will need a Microsoft account in order to access the download page, but otherwise there are no strings attached.
Here's how you can grab the free trial version:
   Head over to the Office Professional Plus 2013 download page on TechNet. Click on the Get Started Now button. Log in with your Microsoft account. Fill in the online form with your name, e-mail address, and other details, if it's not already filled in. Make sure to choose either the 64-bit or 32-bit version of Office. Click Continue.
    Another online form pops up asking for more information. Again, click Continue. The next page displays the product key, which you'll want to write down or save. Choose your language and click the Download button. Office is downloaded as a 785MB file.

    The software comes in the form of an IMG file, which means you can burn it onto a disc to install it.
Alternatively, Windows 8 users can set up the file as a virtual drive by right-clicking on it and selecting the Mount command. Windows 7 users would need to use a product such as Virtual CloneDrive to do the same thing.
   Once the file is mounted, you can simply double-click on the virtual drive or run the Office setup file to install the program.
    Office 2013's hardware and software requirements aren't especially taxing. But those of you still stuck on Windows XP or Vista are out of luck. The new suite runs only under Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012.
     General availability of the suite is expected in early 2013. Microsoft has not yet released official prices, but     ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley recently reported on a leaked document showing a $499 price tag for Office Professional Plus 2013.

Microsoft: Skype and Messenger coming together

The Skype team is planning to replace the Messenger instant-messaging client with Skype messaging a lot sooner than many expected.

After months of leaked bits, Microsoft's Skype division is finally opening the informational tap.

We've already seen and now used the new Windows 8 Skype client. We've heard there's a Windows Phone 8 Skype client coming -- though it's still not in the Windows Phone Store and Skype reps are not sharing more on when it will be.

On November 6, the Skype team provided more information about its recently stated plans to ultimately replace Windows Live Messenger with Skype. The planned cutover date is quite aggressive: It's Q1 2013, according to a new Skype blog post.
"We will retire Messenger in all countries worldwide in the first quarter of 2013 (with the exception of mainland China where Messenger will continue to be available)," according to the post. By that time, consumers who want to use instant messaging will have no choice but to use Skype for that. (Business instant messaging will still be largely the province of Microsoft's Lync, though Lync-Skype federation is coming at some point.)
In late October, Skype officials said that Skype would most likely will replace Messenger some day, but declined to provide a public timetable. However, in October, Skype began testing new Windows and Mac beta releases that allowed users to sign in using their Windows Live ID (Microsoft Account) so they could send and receive instant messages and see presence information from those using Messenger.
On the back-end, in the months after Microsoft's acquisition of Skype was finalized, the pair have been moving Skype to use the Windows Messenger infrastructure. Storage of pictures, video and other Skype content is now happening on Windows Azure.
Once users migrate from Messenger to Skype, they will be able to use not just Skype's instant messaging, but also its video calling, Skype's landline calling capability, screen sharing, video calling on mobile phones and with Facebook friends and Group Calling, according to today's post.
The Skype team's ultimate goal is to convince consumers to leave Skype running on their machines all day and use chat as the first place they go when they sign in.