October, 2011

Halloween is just around the corner and costume planning is in full force. What are you dressing as this year? Perhaps a “ Jersey Shore ” cast member or the latest celebrity? According to a recent Bing -commissioned survey of Americans, nearly 40 percent of respondents indicated that they are abandoning store-bought costumes for a do-it-yourself (DIY) costume. Forty three percent of respondents stated that they believed that purchasing a Halloween costume to wear for one night is too expensive (nearly a fourfold increase over last year’s 12 percent). Designing your own costume...

Remember when you were a kid, and you wished that you could actually play with the characters on television? It is now possible with Xbox 360. Last week, Microsoft revealed how its “playful learning” experiences are revolutionizing interactive television, allowing children and their families to engage, interact and learn in an entirely new way – all through the magic of Kinect for Xbox 360. Working in partnership with experts from Sesame Workshop and National Geographic , play and television experiences have blended to evolve children’s traditional watching habits and...

As part of Chicago Ideas Week , Microsoft hosted United Way’s Education Town Hall meeting on Saturday, October 15. Bringing together parents, students, teachers, organizations and community leaders, this meeting unearthed ideas, best practices and innovative approaches to improving education and the importance of staying in school. The collaboration between Microsoft and United Way brought on a discussion focused on ways to make teaching and learning even more rewarding. The conversation that took place featured everyday heroes in education and if you missed it, please be sure to check...

You are on your computer and browsing the internet, clicking on various links, when suddenly an alert pops up that you are under attack from the latest virus. It’s a familiar situation, one that many computer users experience on a daily basis. This week, Microsoft released the 11 th Security Intelligence Report to provide in-depth insight on software vulnerabilities and exploits, malicious code threats, and potentially unwanted software in Microsoft and third-party software. The report analyzes trends found in more than 100 countries and 600 million systems around the world and offers ways...

As Chicago Ideas Week continues, Microsoft’s presence at the conference is gearing up. Microsoft will be represented through its partners - and plans to host - the following events: Wednesday, Oct. 12 12:30 p.m. CT: Kaufman Foundation Entrepreneur session/Museum of Contemporary Art Innovative Exams will be onstage 4:00 p.m. CT: Microsoft’s Kodu Cup with middle school students at the Chicago Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) Open to middle school students only, this lab is a hands-on interactive experience in programming with Kodu, a new visual programming...

The first-ever Chicago Ideas Week (CIW) kicks off today, Monday, October 10-16. With the support of partners and sponsors like Microsoft, leaders and innovators from across the country are set to speak at the seven-day public platform and host thought-provoking discussions and events on a variety of themes including social entrepreneurship, food, investing, growth and renewal, technology, tradition, photography, and more. Microsoft is hosting several different talks and events during CIW including: Future World/Future Toys - Consumers and businesses will be faced with many challenges over...

Remember the old saying, “the world doesn’t revolve around you.” Well, in the case of the Windows Phone 7.5 update release – it does. The latest features and experiences are designed to build on the phone’s intuitive, people-first foundation, using integrated social networking and conversational threads, for connecting with the people in our lives. For example, the new Groups feature lets users create groups from their contacts and turn them into a personalized Live Tile on the Start screen. From there, people can use the feature to quickly contact everyone, or...