I am looking forward to seeing what’s next with Kinect.....

Kinect for Windows SDK – It’s Here!

Anticipation for the Kinect or Windows software development kit beta has been high, and we promised we’d launch before the end of spring.
Well, today is the day - at 10:00 a.m., the SDK will be available for free from Microsoft Research. The SDK includes not only drivers but also APIs, device interfaces, installer documents and resource materials. It’s another exciting milestone for a technology that has captured the imagination of millions, and has become the fastest selling computer electronics device of all time.
Back in February, we announced the intention to release an SDK, and at MIX11, we showed some of the projects that were already underway with the SDK inside and outside of Microsoft.
With the release of the SDK today, we’re looking forward to another wave of creativity from academic researchers, developers and enthusiasts as we bring natural user interface (NUI) development to everyone — in fields far beyond gaming and entertainment.

In fact, for the last 24 hours we’ve been holding a Code Camp here at our headquarters in Redmond where we challenged a select group of software developers to test the limits of their imaginations and show us what they could do with the SDK. With access to key pieces of the Kinect system — such as the audio technology, skeletal tracking system application programming interfaces and direct control of the Kinect sensor — they’ve created some truly remarkable projects in just one day.
Channel 9 is broadcasting live today, highlighting some of these amazing applications as well as providing in depth sessions on how to program on Windows using the SDK. You can also view the video and find more information about innovative new technologies at Microsoft on the Next in Tech newsroom.

This is only the beginning in our commitment to deliver an SDK to the community. Microsoft’s vision of the natural user interface is that interactions between people and computers will ultimately become invisible – computers will understand peoples’ gestures, listen for their voice commands, even interpret and respond to their expressions and inflections in voice.
In short, computers will become better equipped to anticipate what people want, and proactively address those wants, rather than passively awaiting commands. There is more to come, including a commercial SDK that is geared toward enabling independent software vendors (ISV’s) and businesses to develop commercial applications.

Oregon State University student Alex Wiggins gestures to Kinect, which in turn makes a remote-control toy helicopter take off while teammates Ruma Paul (left) and Fabio Matsui (right) look on. The trio was one of 50 people participating in Code Camp on Wednesday on Microsoft’s Redmond Campus. They had 24 hours to build something new using the new Kinect for Windows Software Development Kit.
As Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, said – “As breakthrough technologies like these reach scale, the resulting creativity and invention will open up a whole new world of possibilities for computing.”


Those interested in the SDK will find community resources, general information and download links at http://research.microsoft.com/kinectsdk.

World IPv6 Day was on June 8th and was a resounding success......

IPv6 is the next generation of the Internet Protocol, and defines how computers communicate and address each other across networks. The current version of the Internet Protocol, IPv4, is not able to support the growing number of devices connected to the Internet. This concern, among other issues, is driving the Internet to upgrade to IPv6. IPv6 provides critical performance and architecture improvements for all networks, and will enable a better, faster and more capable Internet.
World IPv6 Day was a one-day test of IPv6 support, with dozens of websites across the technology industry enabling IPv6 access for a 24-hour period. Here at Microsoft, we provided IPv6 access to www.microsoft.com, www.bing.com and www.xbox.com as well as Microsoft advertising services, without any incident.

As expected, we're happy to report that the test of the next-generation Internet went entirely well, both for Microsoft Web properties and for properties across the Internet. The number of users who access participating websites is well into the millions, and the data derived from World IPv6 Day will be immensely helpful in moving the IPv6 transition along.
On World IPv6 Day, we were looking to accomplish three goals:
· Verify that websites could support IPv6 without causing connectivity issues for users.
· Drive high volumes of Web traffic through the next-generation Internet as a verification of its stability.
· Obtain a full account of the engineering issues involved in supporting IPv6 at scale.
In each of these areas, World IPv6 Day provided positive and better-than-expected results. We know that prior to World IPv6 Day, there were several concerns about security and instability on the IPv6 Internet, and we're happy that we didn't run into any notable issues. While in-depth analysis will take some time, preliminary findings show that the number of users negatively affected by World IPv6 Day was very, very low.
As expected, less than 1 percent of users possess IPv6 access today. However, we’re confident that Internet service providers will accelerate IPv6 deployments. This is an area where considerable investment is critical to ensure a smooth transition to the next-generation Internet.
World IPv6 Day was only a day and most properties disabled IPv6 support after the 24-hour period. On schedule, Bing.com and Microsoft.com deactivated IPv6 support at the end of the testing period, and are now working towards providing permanent IPv6 support.
Given the preparations and success of World IPv6 Day, the Xbox team decided to maintain IPv6 support indefinitely for their Web properties: www.xbox.com, live.xbox.com and marketplace.xbox.com. For those properties in particular, the effort for World IPv6 Day delivered much of the necessary infrastructure required for permanent support.

The next generation of the Internet is coming soon. We are proud to have been an early leader in defining the transition, and we’re pleased by the growing confidence that the IPv6 transition is progressing smoothly and quickly.

Hotmail Still New and Cool–Even After 15 Years

 COURTESY:MICROSOFT..............

Hotmail Still New and Cool–Even After 15 Years

This past Monday on the Fourth of July, Hotmail celebrated its 15th anniversary. Make no mistake - Hotmail has come a long way in those 15 years, and to commemorate a number of important milestones over the last several months, we thought we'd show off a list of 15 insanely cool things you might not know about Hotmail.
This is not the Hotmail of 2005:
1) Hotmail in 2011 is not Hotmail in 2005 (or Hotmail in 2010, for that matter.)
2) Hotmail is really, really fast – 10-20x faster than last year, and even faster than Gmail in certain areas.
3) Hotmail filters out more than 98% of spam – 5.5 billion messages a day.



Modern email features are available by default in Hotmail:
4) Hotmail works great on your smartphone, (Windows Phone especially but iOS and many other smartphones too) – syncing email, calendar, and contacts.
5) You can chat with your Facebook friends right from Hotmail.
6) Watch videos linked from YouTube, Hulu, and many other services right from within your email message.
7) Like conversation view? We’ve got it. Hate it? It’s easy to disable.
8) You can import your current account and continue to use the address while Hotmail manages your inbox (Gmail, Y! Plus, AOL.)



And here’s why we’re better:
9) “Sweep” allows you to filter hundreds of messages from multiple senders with only a few clicks
10) Get unread email notifications on your Windows 7 taskbar by pinning with IE9.
11) Why worry about low attachment limits when sending photos? SkyDrive support lets you send hundreds of photos per mail.
12) Hotmail utilizes Office Web Apps for easy document editing and sharing – don’t settle for lesser software.
13) Use Netflix? Hotmail ActiveViews let you get more done in your inbox with interactive email from a number of partners.

Oh, by the way:
14) We’re the largest free email service on the planet – with 360 million unique users per month.
15) We’re 15 years old – and the best is yet to come.

MICROSOFT BUS SERVICES........

REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 6, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. will launch a free express bus service for employees to and from its Redmond, Wash. headquarters later this month. It will also increase its presence in Seattle to nearly 1,400 people with the addition of three new work locations in the city, including the Westlake/Terry Building, 111 S. Jackson and 505 Union Station. Microsoft will lease three office spaces in Seattle including three floors in the building at 111 S. Jackson St., located in Pioneer Square, with 36,000 square feet for 120 employees. The Connector will run five routes in the region, in Seattle, Issaquah, Mill Creek, Sammamish and Bothell, each with several stops. The service will accommodate up to 1,000 employees daily via its Wi-Fi-enabled buses. The free shuttles are expected to begin service on Sept. 24 with most of the routes scheduling five pickup times in the morning and five in the evening. “We are committed to doing our part to address the transportation needs of this region as Microsoft continues to grow,” said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel at Microsoft. “The Connector transportation service will give our employees a convenient, productive, comfortable alternative for commuting to work.” With the lease of 166,000 square feet of space in Seattle, along with the three locations from recently purchased aQuantive Inc., the company will now employ nearly 1,400 people in the city in seven different locations (see interactive map). Twenty employees of the Microsoft Robotics Group will occupy 4,000 square feet at 505 Union Station, across Fourth Ave. from Qwest Field, just south of Seattle’s central business district. Click for larger version. “Seattle is proud to have Microsoft expanding on this side of the lake into areas like South Lake Union that are attracting many pioneering, growing companies,” said Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. “Clearly this is a great day for Seattle, but it is also a great day for Microsoft’s employees and the environment. It’s a move where everybody wins.” The largest of Microsoft’s leased spaces is in the Westlake/Terry Building, located in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood, co-owned by Vulcan Inc. and Group Health Cooperative. More than 400 Microsoft employees, including many from the Online Services Business, will occupy four floors of the six-floor building, about 126,000 square feet, on the project’s West Block, beginning in March 2008. Approximately 150 additional spaces will be reserved as temporary “touch down space” for Microsoft employees who need to conduct meetings in Seattle or stop in to avoid rush-hour traffic. Other new offices include 36,000 square feet for 120 employees at 111 S. Jackson St., located in Pioneer Square, and 4,000 square feet for 20 employees of the Microsoft Robotics Group at 505 Union Station, across Fourth Ave. from Qwest Field, just south of Seattle’s central business district. The largest of Microsoft’s leased spaces is in the Westlake/Terry Building, located in Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood – the company will occupy four floors of the six-floor building, about 126,000 square feet. “The Puget Sound area is our home and it’s only logical that our presence in Seattle grows along with portions of our businesses that are already based in the city,” said Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft. “These new locations are part of the vibrant and growing tech centers in Seattle.” “Microsoft’s decision to move into South Lake Union is great news for all of Seattle,” said Ada M. Healey, vice president of real estate for Vulcan. “This world-class organization will contribute further dynamic energy and intellectual capital to the area, and will help solidify South Lake Union’s reputation as a vibrant, innovative urban community.” In February 2006 Microsoft announced that it would accelerate campus development plans, expanding its Redmond campus by one-third of its current size by 2009. The expansion announced today is in addition to the company’s previously announced plans and builds on recently announced expansions in Bellevue, Wash.; Boston; and Richmond, British Columbia. Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.