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Microsoft and Nokia announce Office coming to Symbian

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 12th 2009 at 12:26PM

We didn't expect too many fireworks from Microsoft and Nokia's joint teleconference this morning, and, well, we didn't get any. As expected, Office Mobile is coming to Symbian, along with Office Communicator Mobile, SharePoint, and Microsoft System Center, and the two companies also said they'll be working on "future user experiences" for Nokia customers. Don't get too worked up about that, though -- Nokia said it was "deeply committed to Symbian," and that "there are no such plans" to work on a Windows Mobile device. So much for that. We did ask whether this partnership would affect Nokia's rumored Maemo plans, and we were told that development is Symbian-focused for now, but that there might be "other business opportunities" in the future, so at least that door remains open a hair -- but for the most part this is all about Microsoft and Nokia trying to stake out a stronger enterprise position, not anything else. Video after the break, if you're having a hard time taking that nap.

Continue reading Microsoft and Nokia announce Office coming to Symbian

Bill Gates: Natal for Windows coming to an office near you

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 15th 2009 at 4:58AM

The idea of bending over to pick up a virtual tennis racket in front of that 50-inch flat screen in our living room makes perfect sense to us. In fact, we can't wait to see Natal come to the Xbox platform. However, the idea of manipulating an excel spreadsheet on a 15-inch screen within a 5 x 5-foot cubicle sounds daunting, to say the least. Fortunately, Microsoft's plans to integrate Natal into corporate Windows environments appears rather sober, albeit, entirely lacking in specifics. In an interview with CNET news, Bill Gates says that Natal's depth-sensing camera won't be limited to gaming use, "but for media consumption as a whole, and even if they connect it up to Windows PCs for interacting in terms of meetings, and collaboration, and communication." Without going into detail, the Microsoft Chairman adds that use of the technology in the office, "is getting much more concrete, and is pretty exciting." In fact, Bill sees it delivering "incredible value" when used within cubicle farms. Perhaps. We certainly won't argue the value of Natal for gaming or even manipulating content in a home theater setup like we've seen with Toshiba's Spatial Motion Interface, but for the office, incredible value... really?

Floor-cleaning robot in Japanese office building can ride the elevator, leave early

by Laura June posted Dec 5th 2008 at 11:32AM

It might not look like much, but this little... er, big guy is a robot recently developed and employed by Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd and Sumitomo Corporation in Osaka City, Japan to clean their floors. Now we've seen plenty of service robots that love to clean, some even professionally, but this one, operated by Reibi, is especially full-featured. Based on a robot developed in Tokyo in 2001, the updated version has laser sensors for detecting and avoiding obstacles. It's also been outfitted with light transmission devices which allow it to communicate with the elevators (also modified), so that it can travel between floors all on its own. As an icing on this deliciously fastidious cake, the robot can be equipped with cameras that record its entire shift, just to make sure its not falling asleep on the job. Should it ever miss a crumb on the floor or something, we also assume that it can fire itself, head out for a drinking binge, and spiral into an inevitable, lonely depression.

Lawsuits over employees' unpaid computer boot-times stacking up next to unread paperwork

by Laura June posted Nov 20th 2008 at 3:43PM

Frivolous lawsuits aren't anything new, but this is an eye-opener straight from annals of "office humor." It turns out that in the past year "several" companies, including UnitedHealthGroup, Cigna, and AT&T have had employee-filed lawsuits brought against them for unpaid time. That "unpaid time" is the minutes each day employees spend booting up and shutting down their computers (also their time-clocks), which they claim adds up to an astounding 15-30 per day. Astounding, that is, if you've never worked in a corporate office with a terrible IT department. If you have, you'll probably agree that this figure may, in some cases be on the mark, if not a little conservative. The employees claim they should be paid to work while the boot-ups and shut-downs are happening, since during that time they're doing tasks like paperwork or "arranging their calendar," while the companies counters that they're probably smoking, getting coffee, or talking to people. We're not really going to judge the veracity of these suits en masse -- we'll take them on a case-by-case basis, but there does seem to be something suspicious about this many people claiming to still use paper calendars.

[Via Wired]

The Bill Day giveaway (part 2) - Office Ultimate 2007

by Ryan Block posted Jun 27th 2008 at 2:03PM

Hey, if Bill can give away tens of billions of dollars, the least we can do to celebrate his last day is to give away some Microsoft-powered stuff, right? Next up: the full, non-upgrade Office Ultimate 2007 suite.

Leave a comment below. Tell us about your favorite Microsoft-powered product. Or your favorite Apple product, too, since Bill totally bailed those guys out back in '97.
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
Winner will be chosen randomly. That winner will get the full, non-upgrade Office Ultimate 2007 suite. Approximate value is $350.
Entries can be submitted until Sunday, June 29th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Full rules can be found here.

Microsoft's "Vista for privacy" offer still on?

by Darren Murph posted Feb 2nd 2008 at 12:24PM

Details are still fuzzy at this point, but according to an e-mail received by numerous tipsters, Microsoft is indeed offering up a free copy of Vista in exchange for their privacy. Yeah, even though it claimed otherwise late last year. According to the note, Redmond is viewing these folks as "registered members" of the Windows Feedback Program, and if they keep their guard down for the remainder of a three month period, they will seemingly receive a copy of its latest OS gratis. So, any others out there finding an unexpected message from the Big M regarding said offer? Let us know in comments below, particularly if you get any free wares or previously analyzed keylogging reports.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple ships five million copies of Leopard in three months

by Darren Murph posted Jan 15th 2008 at 11:35AM

It was but a few months ago that Apple trumpeted the fact that two million copies of Leopard had been sold in its first weekend. As of Macworld 2008, you can add three million more to that figure. According to Jobs, it's the "most successful release of OS X ever," and nearly 20-percent of the install base has made the leap to 10.5. Oh, and just in case you were wondering about Office Mac 2008, it is indeed shipping today, which means that all the "big apps" for OS X are finally Intel native.

Microsoft pulls Vista from snooping offer

by Joshua Topolsky posted Dec 12th 2007 at 11:01AM

Yesterday, we told you about an offer wherein you could completely sacrifice your privacy for a free software bundle from Microsoft which included Windows Vista Ultimate and Office Ultimate '07, amongst others. Well, apparently the big M has decided to pull the offer of free software -- but still wants to track your digital footsteps and pry into your private dealings. Here's Redmond's official line to those inquiring about the discontinued offer: "Thank you for your interest in the feedback program. Due to high volume, we have reached our 'while supplies last' limit and have closed our free product incentive on 12/11/2007 at 2pm." Needless to say, they'd still love to have a look at your browser history, emails, IM logs, crash reports, and blood type.

[Thanks, Jerry]

Eclipse Office Partitioning System concept adds privacy to the workspace

by Darren Murph posted Nov 2nd 2007 at 2:58PM

Let's face it, not everyone can get relocated to the corner office, but if designer Marcus Ward Curran has anything to do with it, even the newbies can look forward to a certain level of privacy in the office. The Eclipse Office Partitioning System enables desk dwellers to cover up their space with panels in varying degrees, and it even touts the ability to change colors throughout the day to liven up the mood. Furthermore, the unit includes an RFID sensor (hey, The Man has to hold you down somehow, right?), a wireless charging mat, pillar-based speakers, an internal projection system and a built-in lighting system to boot. Throw in a teleportation feature to get us home on the double and we'd be sold. Check out the video after the break.

[Via YankoDesign]

Continue reading Eclipse Office Partitioning System concept adds privacy to the workspace

Bose patent app sees electroacoustical transducers in our chairs

by Darren Murph posted May 24th 2007 at 12:04AM

While finding hidden speakers tucked neatly away in one's headrest, rocking chair, or gaming seat isn't exactly surprising, Bose is hoping to integrate the technology one step further by getting "surround sound" into practically every seat imaginable. According to a patent application filed by the company, it's hoping to develop an audio system that includes an "electroacoustical transducer mounted in the back of a seat" so that surround sound is radiated and focused around the ears of the listener. Obviously, said technology could be placed into cars, recliners, office chairs, and beach loungers with relative ease, and while musical entertainment is clearly the primary candidate for use in such a system, the filing also mentions possible telephone integration. Unsurprisingly, Bose didn't mention any details surrounding RMS ratings, frequency ranges, or driver sizes.

[Via Wired]

Your office photocopier could help steal your identity

by Darren Murph posted Mar 17th 2007 at 12:56PM

While we've seen just how to have a Sharp miracle in your office, it now seems that Sharp copiers (along with Xerox and a smorgasbord of others) could become a miraculous find for identify thieves. Given that many all-in-one "bizhubs" of today feature some sort of internal storage device to capture copies, scans, and faxes in case you need to resend the file a week or two later, it's not too surprising to think how such a convenience could be exploited by ill-willed individuals to extract personal information about you and your office mates. Pointing at tax time in particular, it has been suggested that many Americans photocopy sensitive documents that contain all the information needed to jack your ID without even realizing how vulnerable they've made themselves. Both Sharp and Xerox, however, have both released security kits that encrypt the internal data stored on its machines, but if you're using some off-the-wall copier and have noticed something peculiar about that fellow across the hall, stay sharp.

RFID staples, omnipotent pens to grace offices of the future?

by Darren Murph posted Feb 28th 2007 at 4:53PM

We already know just how snazzy your office's bizhub will be in a decade or so, and we think we've even got your desk and kitchen nailed down too, but a recent brainstorming in Popular Science brushed a few less sensational, albeit quite intriguing, office mainstays for 2017. Although we've got a few years yet before we can definitively say whether or not these folks will pull a psychic-AT&T on us, but if Swingline has its way, the traditional red stapler that continually jams and collects more dust than it does anything else will be quite controversial. Sure to enrage pro-privacy employees who've already been unknowingly chipped with an RFID tag upon agreement to come on board, the staples of the future could actually contain micro-RFID tags; these chips could then be traced to find out just how long it really sits in one's "to do" stack, or if "inexplicably missing" really means "intentionally destroyed." As cruel as we know that sounds, at least you can pen all the curses you wish on even the most ink-resistant material in your manager's suite, as the future-generation Staedtler pen is being designed to "write on almost anything by optimizing molecular bonds with a surface" in order to produce the right mixtures needed to adhere to a given medium. Of course, the transparent monitors that will come with your 2015 upgrade kit will effectively kill your ability to surf Engadget while being guarded by the plastic backing of your current LCD, but the face recognizing desk locks should at least keep Gary from snagging your chocolate when you're out on break. Click on through for a few more mockups of tomorrow's office gizmos.

Continue reading RFID staples, omnipotent pens to grace offices of the future?

Microsoft Clippy, RIP: 1997 - 2007

by Darren Murph posted Feb 9th 2007 at 3:26PM

Not too long after MobileESPN breathed new life, now we've got the unfortunate duty of informing the world that Microsoft ~~finally axed the most annoying aspect of Office~~ has decided to leave "Clippy" behind in Office 2007. We suspected something was brewing when the iconic figure started donning a 3D skirt in Japan, but a brief interview with Office's group program manager revealed that the clip is indeed dead. While it had been fading for awhile due to an apparent lack of mass fanfare, and was even turned off by default in Office 2003, it seems that Clippy fans will be forced to stick with now-antiquated versions of the Office suite in order to keep their darling on screen. But don't fret too much, as the countdown until someone crafts a freeware app re-instilling a Clippy rendition into Office begins... now.

[Via ChipChick]

Takaratomy Kotoridayori Humming Bird keeps up the office jive

by Darren Murph posted Feb 4th 2007 at 4:02AM

As if we haven't given you enough devious toys to convert your mundane workplace into World War III, here's one to bring back the peace when cooperation becomes essential to everyone's job again. Japan-based Takaratomy, better known as a Tomy here in the States, has crafted a unique solar-powered desk adornment that should keep you occupied (or get you on edge, one) while toiling away in your cubical. The Kotoridayori (Humming Bird) purportedly belts out various tunes while being powered by those incandescent lights, and throws a few extra tweets in the mix whenever it senses "vibrations." Additionally, it sports a built-in battery to keep things humming (ahem) along when you end up working 'round the clock, and should fit in just about any pocket if you're looking to carry it home. Available in blue, orange, or green, this wee pet should remain novel for about, oh, 20 seconds or so before completely enraging even the most patient office mate, but even if someone ejects it from the premises, you're only out $25.

[Via ShinyShiny]

Panasonic's Conference Speakerphone packs a SIM card

by Darren Murph posted Jan 27th 2007 at 3:30PM

Any of us blessed (or cursed) to spend the majority of our waking hours theoretically locked in a corporate boardroom know very well the form and function of a desktop speakerphone, but Panasonic and Willcom and teaming up to deliver a rendition that relies on cellular technology rather than landlines. Oddly enough, it appears the forthcoming Conference Speakerphone will actually pack a SIM card, speaker, several built-in microphones, a mobile microphone, and even an SD slot for users to easily record conversations. Actually, if someone utilized a third-party battery pack, this entire unit could be taken on the go and used as what would quite possibly be the world's largest cellphone of the decade. The appeal is that Willcom will reportedly be offering a "flat-rate talk plan" that allows companies to equip their employees with these machines and then communicate gratis, similar to many mobile networks with free in-network calling. Although the Conference Speakerphone is slated to ship this Spring, the value here is definitely questionable, as picking up a numerous ¥100,000 ($828) devices can seriously squash that meager IT budget.

[Via DigitalWorldTokyo]