MasHD Blog

Meet Satya Nadella - the new CEO of Microsoft. He's the third ever CEO of the company since it was founded in 1975, following Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. His new position is effective immediately. Formerly, Nadella has been in charge of Microsoft's Cloud and Enterprise division and has a rich technical background. He has a master's degree in computer science as well as a master's degree in business administration - both of which sound helpful for running a multi-billion dollar corporation. The Wall Street Journal reports that Nadella has told the company board directors that he'll lean on Bill Gates while running Microsoft. As far as the company's board goes, Ballmer remains a director, while Nadella becomes one. Analysts describe Nadella as a "safe pick" for the CEO seat at Microsoft, due to his great work for the company so far. However, it remains to be seen if he'll be able to improve Microsoft's position in the technology sphere and...

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Microsoft is working with suppliers to develop a new touch-enabled watch device, which sees it jumping on the same rumored bandwagon as Apple and Samsung. Citing executives from Microsoft's suppliers, the Journal reports that Asian manufacturers have been shipping components to Ballmer and co so that the company can start developing "a watch-style device". Apparently those components include a 1.5-inch display, but other details are scant. The sources go on to point out that it's "unclear whether Microsoft will opt to move ahead with the watch". But with the emergence of wearable tech gaining attention and—to some extent—traction, it's certainly believable that Microsoft is lending the idea some serious thought. (  Gizmodo )

For Windows Phone 8, which first hit the market – and thus started its lifecycle – on December 14, 2012, Microsoft’s official support will run until August 7, 2014. As for Windows Phone 7.8, that saw its lifecycle begin on February 9, 2013, and so will be supported until September 9, 2014. As for what “mainstream support” actually means, Microsoft defines it as a period of updates and fixes, though warns that what firmware changes actually arrive on individual phones will depend on manufacturer, carrier, and location. “Microsoft will make updates available for the Operating System on your phone, including security updates, for a period of 18 months after the lifecycle start date” Microsoft The decision to detail exactly what Windows Phone users can legitimately expect from Microsoft is a commendable one, though it’s still no commitment to timely updates or, indeed, any guarantee that the smartphone you buy today may get an upgrade to the next version of the platform. There’s als...