On Windows today, people reach Google's search service with a browser. But when Windows 8 arrives this week, the company evidently hopes people will use a dedicated search app, too.

Just as it has done with iOS and BlackBerry OS before, Google has released a dedicated search app for Windows 8. It's available in the Windows 8 store now, Microsoft programmer Mohamed Mansour noticed.

The search app is interesting for a few reasons. First, it indicates Google wants people to use its services directly, which is important since in that circumstance it doesn't have to share search-ad … Read more

Windows 8 will help Microsoft maintain its overall market share -- but won't come to dominate the mobile device landscape, according to a new report from Forrester Research.

Forrester's Frank Gillett said in a new report that Windows 8 would get off to a slow start before gaining wider adoption on desktop PCs in 2014. But Microsoft will remain "simply a contender in tablets, and a distant third in smartphones," Gillett said.

According to Forrester's projections, Microsoft will see continued growth of Windows and Windows Phone, but its share of the mobile market will remain … Read more

Two years ago, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie was working on a file synchronization technology that would make stashing and grabbing pictures, documents, and music from any device a cinch.

Ozzie, hand-picked by Microsoft co-founder and Chairman Bill Gates to succeed him as the corporate visionary, gathered a team of 50 or so employees to piece together the concept. Something of an industry legend, Ozzie was a co-creator of Lotus Notes, and he joined Microsoft in 2005 after the company bought his startup, Groove Networks. To hear Microsoft insiders tell it, Ozzie was stepping straight into one of the … Read more

If Microsoft were to go to the doctor for its annual checkup this week, I feel the medico might suggest complete rest and a vacation.

There are so many emotions coursing through Redmond's veins that few soap opera actors would be able to channel them believably.

No sooner was there dancing excitement about Surface than reports began to emerge that Windows 8, the great new hope for Microsoft, was "confusing."

To anyone brought up on the basic humanity of a Mac, even looking at a Microsoft PC engenders confusion.

"Oh, you start it down here, do … Read more

Pokki for Windows 8 joins a growing list of Windows 8 Start menu utilities. How does the program fare?

SweetLabs' Pokki for Windows 8 fills in the gap for Windows 8 users who still want the traditional Start menu on their desktops. And you'll have to place me in that group.

Through I've become more accustomed to the Start screen over time, I still find the Start menu a quicker and more efficient way to launch any application installed on my PC.

I know you can open a program or file just by typing its name at the … Read more

Couldn't resist taking it out for a spin... #surface twitter.com/stevesi/status...

The head of Microsoft's Windows division, Steven Sinofsky, decided to do something rather odd, and he tweeted pictures to prove it.

Sinofsky yesterday tweeted a picture of himself skateboarding on top of a Microsoft Surface tablet. The tablet had two sets of wheels strapped to it, giving Sinofsky -- helmet and all -- the chance to check out the durability of the device. In a second picture, he shows that the Surface made it out of the experience just … Read more

It's official, users will soon be able to surf the Web on their Xbox 360. Microsoft announced today that the Internet Explorer browser will be included with a new update to the Xbox 360 dashboard. The update will come with the release of Windows 8 on October 26.

"Starting today Internet Explorer will begin being rolled out on Xbox LIVE and will be available to Xbox LIVE Gold members," Internet Explorer's General Manager Ryan Gavin wrote in a blog post today. "IE on Xbox enables you to view content on the web on your TV … Read more

Shortly after announcing pricing for its upcoming Surface tablet, the Microsoft device's engineering team took to Reddit today to hold a virtual Q&A with the site's users.

It was an unusual marketing move by Microsoft, but sending some of its top technical people to interact with the Reddit community offered a rare opportunity for free publicity in a forum where the company could make its pitch to a crowd of technically savvy users. Led by Panos Panay, the general manager of the Surface team at Microsoft, the team answered posted questions for two hours, in what … Read more

Windows 8 users who still miss the Start button will find an alternative on Samsung's new lineup of computers and tablets.

Buyers of Samsung Windows 8 PCs and tablets will be able to download a free Quick Starter program, which adds a Start button and a toolbar to open your files and applications.

The S Launcher program that lets Samsung users access the Start menu replacement was initially supposed to come with new PCs and tablets. But a Samsung rep confirmed to ZDNet in August that the launcher would not appear in the final products. Instead, it will be … Read more