Recent News

June 18, 2013
Microsoft Advertising unveils new ad prototypes at Cannes Lions 2013

Last year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Microsoft Advertising kicked off a partnership with select creative agencies to explore Windows 8 as a new canvas for digital advertising. Today, with Cannes Lions 2013 in full swing, Microsoft Advertising execs Jennifer Creegan and Stephen Kim announced the availability of a new Windows 8 ad format called Ad Pano, as well as several more ad prototypes, all developed as part of the partnership.

June 17, 2013
YouthSpark Challenge for Change finalists revealed

Today, we announced the 20 finalists for the YouthSpark Challenge for Change. Now, it’s up you to help select the five winners who will go on a volunteer trip in Kenya this summer. Starting today through June 24, you can vote once per day for the project that you think most deserving. Watch videos of each finalist and cast your vote today!

June 17, 2013
Fortune 500 or Indy 500? Businesses racing to the cloud

Fortune 500 businesses are moving to the cloud at an Indy 500 clip — more than 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies are already using Windows Azure. In the last year, Windows Azure has more than doubled its customer base and is seeing an average of 1,000 new customers a day.

June 17, 2013
Xbox 360 stays atop the U.S. console market

Xbox 360 maintained its position as the top console in the U.S. last month, selling more units than any other platform, according to new data from The NPD Group. May marked the 29th consecutive month that Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the U.S.

June 17, 2013
Windows Azure updates let developers build mobile apps with serious cloud power

Attention developers — Microsoft released some Windows Azure updates to make it significantly easier to develop mobile applications that use the cloud. If you’re jazzed by phrases such as “Custom API Support,” “Git Source Control Support,” and “Android Broadcast Push Notification Support,” you’ll want to check out Scott Guthrie’s blog.

June 17, 2013
National Small Business Week events deliver tips on how to succeed

This week Microsoft is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) National Small Business Week, and cities across the nation are holding events to show their support of the nation’s entrepreneurs. Today on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., local business leaders and small-business owners will lead informational sessions and workshops designed to give entrepreneurs an edge.

June 17, 2013
New film series ‘On the Whiteboard’ explores intersection between technology and culture

Ever wonder where those familiar chimes and beeps that signal you’ve got a new text message or e-mail waiting on your smartphone come from? Well, now you can find out. In the first episode of Microsoft’s new film series “On the Whiteboard,” Editor Pamela Woon chats with two-time Oscar winner Randy Thom about the (often underestimated) importance of sound in human-technology interactions.