Editor’s Note: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has launched the Microsoft Office 365 targeted at the youth and college going students in India. At the budget rate of Rs 87 per month, the tech giant is offering the service for Rs 4199 for a period of four years. Microsoft has tied up with major institutes and colleges in the country to offer the service to students. According to Ramkumar Pichai, “University students will love the capabilities of new Office. Office 365 University will be a trusted and integral part of students’ everyday always-on, always-connected life, taking full advantage of the cloud and touch capabilities, all at the best price.”
MakerBot takes 3D printing nationwide via Microsoft (CNET)
MakerBot, perhaps the most well-known name in 3D printing, is looking to creep its way into the mainstream with a little help from a partner you might have heard of — Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). At its BUILD conference earlier this summer, Microsoft demonstrated a 3D printer driver for Windows 8.1 and announced that the MakerBot Replicator 2 desktop 3D printer would be on sale at a few Microsoft stores in Seattle and California. Today, both companies announced the experiment will be expanded beyond the west coast, adding the “MakerBot Experience” in-store demonstration to 15 more Microsoft stores across the country.
British Airways takes to the cloud with Microsoft Office 365 (ZDNet)
British Airways and Iberia parent company IAG says a shift to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Office 365 will cut costs and improve collaboration among its 58,000 airline staff. Along with the subscription-based online Office 365 business suite, the deal announced on Wednesday between Microsoft and the aviation group covers a number of the software giant’s cloud-based services. The agreement includes mail and calendaring product Exchange Online, collaboration tool SharePoint Online, Lync Online instant messaging, and social network service Yammer.
Microsoft Goes WYSIWYG To Broaden The Appeal Of Windows Phone 8 App Development (TechCrunch)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has just revealed an interesting effort to get more apps to the Windows Phone Store, via its new Windows Phone App Studio, a visual, web-based editor for Windows Phone 8 apps, which launches in beta today. With it, anyone can build apps without code, using customizable themes and custom text, graphics and design. This is unique in a couple of ways from most approaches to mobile development: It’s a much lower barrier to entry for mobile app coding than you’ll typically find, and it’s from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) direct, not a third-party provider selling a “no coding required!” solution. The app can be published on the Windows Phone Store, too, so long as you have an active developer’s account – which is temporarily discounted to $19 through August 26, another ploy to help drum up interest.
What to watch for at Microsoft’s September 19 analyst meeting (ZDNet)
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) officials said during the last earnings call that the company was planning to resurrect its Financial Analyst Meeting (FAM) this year to provide more details on its reorg and reporting structure. Microsoft officials announced a cross-company reorg on July 11. So far, there’s been no word as to how Microsoft plans to report its results, now that the five business units have been replaced by four engineering organizations, plus a central marketing team. The date of this year’s FAM is September 19. (And so far, at least, it looks like press are not going to be allowed to attend, unlike previous FAMs. I’m hoping we’ll get to watch a Webcast, at least.)
Nintendo And Microsoft Are Failing For The Same Reason (Business Insider)
Nintendo can’t sell the Wii U for the same reason that Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) hasn’t been able to sell Windows Phones or Windows 8 tablets: it hasn’t given consumers or developers a solid reason to get behind it. While the Wii U, Surface, and many phones running Windows Phone 8 are fantastic devices, potential buyers of both have found that the software offerings on both platforms lacking. When consumers don’t buy the devices, developers have even less of a reason to make software. It’s a vicious cycle.
