Microsoft's new Bing app brings a simple but visually slick approach to searching the Web.

The app made its entrance on Wednesday as one of the few new features to pop up in the Windows 8 RTM (release-to-manufacturing), the same version that will officially greet consumers on October 26.

The new operating system already offers Internet Explorer, both as a Windows 8 app and a traditional desktop program. As a third option, Bing is a dedicated app that acts as a portal to Microsoft's own search engine.

Launching the app opens Bing's home page with the search … Read more

The pendulum of rumors surrounding the possible price of Microsoft's upcoming Surface tablets is swinging wildly from one extreme to another.

First came the sighting of an over-$1,000 price on a Swedish site that turned out to be nothing more than a meaningless placeholder. Now an anonymous source has apparently fed Engadget a report that Microsoft is looking at launching the Surface for Windows RT tablet on October 26 for a suggested retail price of $199.… Read more

The term "Metro" is officially verboten as the name for Microsoft's Windows 8 interface. The question is: why?

The folks in Redmond recently revealed that the term is off limits, at first claiming it was just a code name but then apparently fessing up that the dumping of Metro was due to legal reasons.

As described by ZDNet columnist Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft seemed to run into brand name issues with a European partner called Metro Group. And apparently Microsoft was unable or simply disinclined to resolve those issues.

The ban on the term "Metro" … Read more

Lenovo may jumping into the Windows RT convertible business.

The Chinese PC maker is cooking up a convertible notebook/tablet outfitted with the ARM-based version of Windows 8, according to The Wall Street Journal. Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal said that the new device would offer a keyboard that flips around to transform it from a notebook into a tablet.

Equipped with a processor from Nvidia, the convertible would run Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 designed to work on devices powered by an ARM chip rather than a traditional Intel or AMD CPU. … Read more

As the leaves change from green to orange and brown, and children go back to school, it could only mean one thing: the iPhone 5 is a-coming. The rumor mill is swirling with speculations of a release date, what it'll look like, and whether it'll be joined by an iPad Mini. Oh yes, the zombie unicorn rumor that never dies.

Recent rumors suggest that an iPad Mini screen is already in production, leading some people to believe that this jibes with a fall release. Who knows! Apple always has tricks up its sleeves.

Also this week, sightings of … Read more

Microsoft is not likely to win over advertisers with its decision to turn on Internet Explorer 10's Do Not Track feature in the RTM version of Windows 8.

The Do Not Track, or DNT, feature is designed to stop third-party Web sites from tracking your online activity. Web sites that find Do Not Track turned on in your browser are supposed to back off. Most browsers leave the setting turned off, leaving it up to the user to decide whether to enable it.

But a blog post from Microsoft Chief Privacy Officer Brendon Lynch confirmed that the company is … Read more

Since May, Microsoft has dished out announcement after announcement and put on event after event. Now the company is taking a short breather.

Frank Shaw, Redmond's vice president for corporate communications, said in a blog post that the software giant is "taking a breath or two" after two months of hard work at a "blistering pace."

Since May 31, Shaw noted, the company has unveiled the Windows 8 Release Preview, the Surface tablet, showcased Windows Phone 8, and the Office 2013 preview.

The announcement comes a few days after Windows 8 had hit the release to manufacturing … Read more

Windows 7 and Windows XP are virtually neck and neck in their contest to be the dominant OS, according to Web analytics firm Net Applications.

For the month of July, Windows 7 grabbed 42.21 percent of all network traffic recorded by Net Applications. Windows XP eked out a slightly higher share, capturing 42.86 percent. As Windows 7 has been catching up to its 11-year-old counterpart, it will certainly reach the top spot sometime this month.

The latest results show a huge difference over July 2011 when Windows 7 held just 29.6 percent of Net Applications' mobile traffic, … Read more

A number of users attempting to sign up for Microsoft's new Outlook.com free e-mail preview are reporting they are having problems that seem to be connected to their Office 365 accounts.Peter Bright, an editor with Ars Technica, said he believed the issue to be connected with Office 365 cookies that may not be clearing correctly.

"The big problem is that O365 used the Outlook domain for some things, and it doesn't let you clear the cookies right," he said on Twitter, where I asked individuals experiencing problems to weigh in. "Because the … Read more