Microsoft
Reminder: Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Back To School Deal Ends This Saturday
Aug 31st
Looking for a new Windows PC for school and want to take advantage of Microsoft’s buy a Windows PC and get a free Xbox 360 back to school deal? Then we recommend you hurry as the deal ends this Saturday, September 3rd.
For those who’ve never heard of this deal, it basically works like this. If you’re a student and you buy a new Windows PC at $699 or more Microsoft will throw in a free 4 GB Xbox 360 to go with it. The deal is open to both high school and college students and all you have to do to get it is show your Student ID if your buying in a store or a enter your .edu email address if you’re buying online at sites like the Microsoft Store, Dell.com or HP.com (this is the email address your college gives you once you enroll). If you’re a high school student and don’t have that .edu email address, try chatting with an online sales rep or calling the company’s sales line (their phone numbers are usually listed at the top of their sites). And remember, the deal also isn’t necessarily done by all stores (Staples and Best Buy, for example, don’t offer it), so you’re probably better off buying online or calling your preferred store before you go to make sure you get the deal.
So yeah, if you want that new PC and free Xbox you better hurry before the deal ends.
Apple Announces Back To School Deal: Buy A New Mac And Get A Free $100 iTunes Gift Card
Jun 16th
Apple today finally took the wraps off its annual, highly anticipated back to school deal with a major new twist: the traditional free iPod Touch has been replaced with the new deal being the usual discounts on all Macs and a free $100 iTunes gift card that can be used in any of Apple’s iTunes stores (iTunes, App Store for iPhone/iPad, Mac App Store and iBookstore).
While we don’t know why Apple decided not to do free iPod Touches again this year (or even better, some discount on an iPad with the purchase of a new Mac) the deal, which runs from today, June 16th, through September 20th, is still pretty good in our opinion. Think about it, most of us have iPods– or are using our phones as our iPods– now anyway so unless you really needed a new one, getting $100 to spend in iTunes and getting apps for your new Mac can be very valuable (as Apple puts it: “so you can get Pages, Numbers and Keynote for your studies. And still have plenty left for your study breaks.”). Oh, and the brand new, upcoming OS X Lion will be free to anyone who buys a new Mac now and before whenever the official launch date is, so you don’t have to worry about buying that for $30 next month either.
Now a lot of you want to know what’s different between this new 2011 Apple back-to-school deal and Microsoft’s offer of a free Xbox 360 with any new PC $699 or higher. There actually is a lot. Beyond the fact that Microsoft’s deal is cheaper (you can buy a PC for $699 and get the free 360 whereas the cheapest MacBook– the one from last year and not the new MacBook Pros– is $899 even after the $100 discount), Microsoft’s deal is also open for any current high school or college student unlike Apple’s which looks to be only college (the official language is “college students or students accepted to college” so incoming college freshmen you’re still good. Parents of college students and teachers of any grade are also eligible so if you’ve got a sibling in college or a nice teacher you can still get in on this deal). Microsoft is also giving away more in terms of the free add-on (an Xbox 360 4 GB is $200 whereas even if you include Lion in the Apple deal you’re still at $130).
I guess what it really comes down to which would you rather game on: Xbox 360 or Mac/iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch? Let us know your pick of which deal you think is better in the comments.
Info from Apple
Microsoft Shows Off Windows 8– What You Need To Know
Jun 5th
As we slowly approach back to school season we know a lot of you are debating between getting a new computer or perhaps continuing to use your current one and looking at the thinner, more portable tablets (like the iPad 2, Xoom, Galaxy Tab, PlayBook etc.) instead. Microsoft hasn’t really had a good tablet OS to answer to the iPad and those other tablets, and while they won’t have an answer for those looking for a Windows tablet for this back to school season, last week they showed off the first glimpses of Windows 8, the next generation of Windows and the first version of Windows to really focus on being completely used by touch.
So what exactly is Windows 8 and what does this mean for anyone buying a new Windows 7 PC today? Read on.
More >
Looking For A New PC For College? How About A Free New Xbox 360 To Go With It? (UPDATE: It Will Also Work For High School Students)
May 20th
Thought Apple’s usual back to school deal of a free iPod Touch with a new Mac was a good deal if you were looking for a new computer for college? Well this year we think you’re gonna wanna hear what Microsoft’s offering first. Beginning this Sunday, May 22nd, and running through September 3rd Microsoft will be giving away free 4 GB Xbox 360s with all new PC purchases of $699 or higher. All you gotta do to get this offer is show your Student ID if your buying in a store or a enter your .edu email address if you’re buying online (this is the email address your college gives you once you enroll). What? As we all know school, particularly college, is very stressful and there are many educational benefits to video games.
Sadly this deal looks to be for college students only so anyone looking for a new PC for high school won’t be able to take advantage of this offer (unless of course you have a college bound friend or sibling with the proper ID that’s willing to help you out). We’ve reached out to Microsoft to see if there are any deals for high school students and will update if we hear anything back.
So, what’s it gonna be for your new college computer– Mac and iTouch or PC and Xbox 360?
UPDATE: As Katie pointed out in the comments, this deal will work for high school students as well. If you are buying in a store (like at a Best Buy) all you have to do show your student ID and you should be ok (though to be on the safe side give your local store a call before you go in to make sure they are doing this deal and will accept a high school ID). If you’re buying online (like at Dell.com, HP.com etc.), and you don’t have a .edu email address, you should try chatting with an online sales rep or calling the company’s sales line (the phone numbers are usually listed at the top of the sites) to get the proper account numbers and links for where to buy your new PC and get your free Xbox.
[Thanks Katie!]
Via the Windows Blog
Microsoft Buys Skype– What This Means To You
May 10th
While this deal isn’t as mind-blowing as AT&T planning to buy T-Mobile, it’s still pretty insane. What you’ve read above in the title is correct– Microsoft has just bought Skype for a crazy $8.5 billion (yes, that’s billion with a “B”). With the amount of people who use Skype constantly it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out just how huge this deal could be on a whole bunch of levels, but let’s focus on what you really care about: what exactly this all means for you.
On The Microsoft Side
It seems that every big company has their own video chatting service– Apple has FaceTime, Google has Google Talk, and even Microsoft has had one with Windows Live Messenger– with all these companies investing a whole lot to make sure that when you and your friends video chat it’s on their service. This Skype deal will give Microsoft a significant advantage in this game. We wouldn’t be surprised to see Microsoft announce a whole bunch of new Skype apps for Windows Phone 7 (which was already said to be getting a Skype app pretty soon) and Xbox 360 Kinect that makes video chatting from your phone or couch a whole lot easier and better (and yes we know that means that Microsoft will need some new Windows Phone 7 phones with front cameras for video chatting– they also announced yesterday that the next version of Windows Phone 7 will be shown off at the end of the month, and we expect more on this there).
This is great news for anyone with a Kinect or wants a Windows Phone.
For Mac, Android, iPhone and Everyone Else
While this looks to be a great move for Microsoft users, the biggest concern with all of this is for anyone using or planning to use Skype on something like Mac OS X, iPhone/iPad/iTouch or Android. If you’re concerned about all of a sudden losing access to Skype (or Qik, which Skype bought a few months back), don’t be. For this Skype deal to be successful Microsoft will want you to be using their service over the competition (FaceTime, Google Talk etc.) particularly when your on a non-Microsoft product. Sure if we had to guess Microsoft will add certain features to the Windows Phone and Windows PC Skypes before making them available on the other platforms, but rest assured– Microsoft has said that they “will continue to invest in and support Skype clients on non-Microsoft platforms.”
This mobile video chatting game is getting very intense very quickly– and we can’t wait to see what Apple, Google and all the other competitors come up with next to fight off this new powerful MicroSkype. Stay tuned!
The Teen Review: Microsoft Kinect for Xbox 360
Nov 21st
It’s been two weeks since Microsoft made their biggest video game move since the launch of the Xbox 360 5 years ago, launching the truly revolutionary Kinect add-on for the Xbox 360. For those who don’t remember, Kinect is Microsoft’s first attempt at motion gaming, using a bar with three cameras/sensors to track your movements with no need to hold anything in your hands (unlike the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Move).
So, does Kinect live up to the hype? And more importantly, is this good enough to add to your holiday wish list? We’ve got all those answers and more in our teen review after the break.
Xbox 360 Fall 2010 Dashboard Update Out Now
Nov 1st
The new Xbox 360 Dashboard
Around this time 2 years ago, Microsoft released a major update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard with not just a nicer, sleeker look, but also some new features. Today, Microsoft has done it again. As we mentioned back in our First Look at the upcoming Kinect (which comes out in 3 days!), this new Dashboard features a whole bunch of cool new things beyond being “Kinect ready” (which of course, it is). We’re talking about ESPN (with the ability to watch the latest highlights and even live games on ESPN3), Netflix search (meaning you can now search for movies right on your Xbox), Zune Music and Video Marketplaces (for buying movies/TV shows and streaming music), as well as a tweaked design and everything else we’ve come to know and love from the Xbox 360 Dashboard such as Facebook and Twitter.
We’ve loaded it up on our 360 here (though not without a little bit of trouble before hand. We don’t know why, but if it doesn’t work for you on the first couple of tries be patient), and while I’ve only spent a little bit of time with it, this new update looks pretty solid. As a big sports fan, I really love the excellent quality ESPN video streams in, making catching up on the latest SportsCenter “Right Now” much clearer and easier than on my PC (I mean, it’s full HD and on a TV, like having ESPN on demand!).
The update is out now and is mandatory for all Xbox users (meaning you can’t play any games on Xbox Live without it), so go download it now and let us know what you think. (And if you don’t have Live or have trouble downloading straight to your 360, see Microsoft’s guide here for other ways to install it onto your 360)
The Teen First Look: Xbox 360 Kinect and the New Xbox 360 Dashboard
Oct 12th
Yesterday wasn’t all about phones for Microsoft. After the main Windows Phone 7 event, Microsoft showed off its full holiday lineup—including as you’d very much expect, Kinect and all the new Xbox 360 media features announced along side it back in June. Let me just say this right now– Kinect is AMAZING.
The Teen First Look: AT&T’s Windows Phone 7 Launch Phones
Oct 12th
Now that we got the Windows Phone 7 software covered, what about the hardware? Don’t worry, we’ve got you fully covered here too, as Microsoft and AT&T teamed up to show off their three launch devices– the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround and LG Quantum. After spending a few minutes today with each them, I gotta say, they look great.
We’ve got the full breakdown of what you’re gonna want to know about each of them after the break.
The Teen First Look: Windows Phone 7 OS
Oct 11th
As was promised, we finally today got to see what Windows Phone 7 looks and feels like. After spending a good deal of time with it today, color us very impressed. Not only has Microsoft fought back in the smartphone “battle,” but a lot of what they showed off looks like it will give Apple, RIM, Palm and Google a very strong run for your money. Here’s the full breakdown of you’re gonna want to know.
