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Tag: Microsoft (page 1 of 1)

Microsoft’s 10 Biggest Flops

microsoft flops and failures

All companies swing and miss from time to time. Apple, which seemingly can do no wrong, had its Pippin and Lisa. Microsoft has had its share of flops, too. Money.co.uk recently took a look at 10 of them.

Some of the choices are obvious, like Windows ME and the Kin. Some are obscure, like ActiMates (a creepy children’s toy). Missing from the list is Windows Vista, which has been the object of much scorn.

What’s number 1 on the list? I’ll give you a hint. He had big bubble-shaped eyeballs, and was integrated into Microsoft Office. Remember Clippy?

For the rest of the list, head on over to the source.

Is there anything missing from the list? Do you see anything on the list that shouldn’t be?


Hey, Power Users: Believe It or Not, You May Love Internet Explorer 9

ie9 beta

Over at Technologizer, Harry McCracken took a look at the first beta of Internet Explorer today, and his opinions may surprise you. He believes that IE9 has finally caught up with the competition in most respects, and in some ways it has surpassed it. Among the highlights:

  • In testing, the IE9 beta blows through animation-rich HTML5 that some other browsers can barely run at all;
  • Like in Chrome, the address bar also doubles as a search field;
  • The Address Bar shares space with tabs, and shrinks to free up space as tabs are opened;
  • IE9 has tight integration with Windows 7 (for example, tabs can be pinned to the Taskbar).

Head on over to Technologizer for a thorough rundown, including a look at how Microsoft seems to be cautious about extensions. If you’re brave, you can also go get the beta.

Is there any chance you’d ever switch to Internet Explorer 9 when it is out of beta?

Internet Explorer 9: Microsoft’s Browser Gets Back in the Game [Technologizer]


Windows Live Messenger for iPhone Shows Promise But Has a Ways To Go

Windows Live Messenger for iPhone | 40Tech

If you are a dedicated Windows Live Messenger user and own an iPhone, you may want to take a gander at the official, recently released (and free) iPhone app for the longstanding IM service. The new Live Messenger app is fairly slick and easy to navigate, has push notifications, displays updates from many of the services you can integrate with in your Windows Live account — including Facebook — and handles the job of basic messaging very well. That said, there are a few obvious gaps and design flaws that have made the experience a bit frustrating for some.

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