Microsoft ditches Windows Live brand, explains new approach to cloud services

Confused by Microsoft's array of internet/cloud-based services for Windows and Windows Phone? Then it looks like the company's been listening to you. In his latest blog post for the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft's Steven Sinofksy explains the company's new approach to cloud services in Windows 8 and Windows Phone, and confirms one big change: it's doing away with the Windows Live brand entirely. Replacing it is something simply called the Microsoft account, which you can use to both sign in to Microsoft's own services and tie to other third-party services like Twitter or Facebook. That one account can also be used to sign in on various devices and immediately have access to Microsoft's various services, which are now all definitely called "apps," and are also taking on a more unified approach across both Windows 8 and Windows Phone (as you can see in the chart above). In addition to the former Windows Live branded services, that includes the longstanding MSN Messenger, which will now simply be known as "Messaging." As usual, Sinofksy's described all those changes at some length -- hit the source link below for his full post.

Microsoft ditches Windows Live brand, explains new approach to cloud services originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 16:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: President Obama's Full Afghanistan Speech (Little green footballs)

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'Dark Knight Rises' Viral Campaign To Unveil New Trailer

The Weekly Rising takes a closer look at how Warner Bros. is getting fans involved.
By Kevin P. Sullivan

Christian Bale on the set of "The Dark Knight Rises"
Photo: Getty Images

The massive amount of buzz that preceded the release of "The Dark Knight" in large part came out of the film's intricate viral marketing campaign. For the third and final film of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, Warner Bros. has mostly opted out of a big viral effort, favoring sparse but mostly traditional material releases.

But with the arrival of the final "Dark Knight Rises" trailer, dedicated fans will find that a virtual hunt for the anonymous vigilante known as "The Batman" is on, and a new viral campaign is in full swing.

The journey begins at the website for the film. There you will find a full dossier on John Doe (a.k.a. The Batman) and the charges he is accused of: six counts of first degree murder, three counts of kidnapping, and 15 counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer; the list goes on.

The premise of the campaign is that in preparation for the upcoming Harvey Dent Day, the mayor of Gotham City has ordered a "redoubling" of efforts to catch Batman and anyone supporting his return. It's important to remember that in the world of "The Dark Knight Rises," this is all happening seven years after Batman took the fall for Harvey Dent's crimes and death.

The site also includes an extensive list of real-world locations where "graffiti related to movement in support of the vigilante's return" is supposedly located. The spots appear around the globe and include dozens of locations in the U.S. alone.

Loyal fans have already been tweeting and emailing from the locations listed on the site, and each location marked off the list has revealed a single frame of film from the upcoming trailer. The stills have been appearing one-by-one here, so if you scroll fast enough, maybe you can make yourself a handy flipbook.

As with the previous viral campaigns for the series, it's likely that we'll have to wait until most or all of the frames have been restored to the online film strip.

Be sure to check back here throughout the next few days, as we keep an eye on the campaign and bring you the first sign of the final "Dark Knight Rises" trailer.

Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight Rises."

For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.

Related Videos

• 'Dark Knight Rises': The Year In Review
• 'Dark Knight Rises' Trailer Decoded!

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• On The Set Of 'The Dark Knight Rises'

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Sunday Evening Dog Blogging: Reader Dogs (Theagitator)

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Chandigarh is a Good Example of Planning and Structuring of ...

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India has always been associated with non-planning and non-structuring of things and it?s almost right to talk of the country in such light because it is a community like that. But is there no exception? The answer is no because there is an exception and the name is Chandigarh. It?s a city like no other in the country. Chandigarh can easily be classified as the best example of being civilised, planned and properly structured among the cities in the country or otherwise. In fact if you must already know, Chandigarh is one of those few cities that have been made after a proper layout was designed and acknowledged by experts. It is in actual terms, the first city that has been made in a planned manner. At the time of independence of the country itself, Chandigarh was a city that was looked upon by others to follow suit.

Chandigarh today serves as a capital for two states and it has been able to do so with ease because of the well structured nature of the city.

It manages to house both the states of Haryana and Punjab. Being a city that is governing two states it was given the status of a Union territory. Not only on the planned structure of the city, but on other levels too has the city scored marks. People-friendly environment in the city makes it a welcoming city. People who have work or come for leisure, take cheap flights to Chandigarh as the rates of airlines have reduced. Becoming a status symbol for many people; flights Chandigarh to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and other metro cities are easily available.

Chandigarh is also known for its environment-friendly approach to life.

It has a rock garden which is a concept adopted to recycle natural waste and to turn it into something substantial. It was the first one-of-its-kind eco-friendly things that the Indian people have laid their eyes on in the country. Famous in the west for promoting such strategies to save nature and more, Chandigarh is a concept in design. The city sees a large number of domestic flyers who come to see this garden. Flyers take cheap flights to Chandigarh so as to save on time and money. Since the domestic flyers are increasing by the day, airline companies and the government has increased the number of flights Chandigarh to Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, and etc being on top of the list. People can now come and adopt strategies that the city has adopted to make life much easier. A proper planning from the government?s end and cooperation from the public?s end can change the way India looks and for much better.?

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'Woohoo!' SpaceX fires Falcon's rocket engines

SpaceX conducts a test firing of a Falcon 9 rocket's engines.

By Alan Boyle

SpaceX conducted a successful test firing of a Falcon 9 rocket's engines on its Cape Canaveral launch pad, one week before its precedent-setting launch to the International Space Station. But it took more than one try.

The initial countdown was halted just 47 seconds before the nine engines were scheduled to start up. SpaceX fixed what it called a "limit that was improperly set" on the flight computer and quickly set up another countdown. The second countdown proceeded smoothly, and the rocket's nine engines fizzed to life for two seconds as expected, at 4:15 p.m. ET today.

"Woohoo, rocket hold-down firing completed and all looks good!!" SpaceX's millionaire founder, Elon Musk, reported in a Twitter update. Meanwhile, company spokeswoman Kirstin Brost Grantham said "engineers will now review data as we continue preparations for the upcoming launch."

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This was a full dress rehearsal for SpaceX's second official demonstration flight for NASA. The first demo flight, back in December 2010, sent a gumdrop-shaped Dragon space capsule into orbit for the first time. The second flight, scheduled to lift off as early as May 7, could see the Dragon go all the way to the space station.

The company has received more than $375 million so far from the space agency for the development of the Falcon 9 and the Dragon. SpaceX and another company, Orbital Sciences Corp., are getting the money to help NASA fill the gap in payload transportation capability left by last year's retirement of the space shuttle fleet.

In addition, SpaceX is receiving tens of millions of dollars from NASA under a separate program to make the Falcon/Dragon launch system suitable for carrying astronauts as well as cargo. Musk founded the California-based company in 2002 with the long-range aim of flying people to Mars.

The Falcon 9 didn't fly anywhere during today's test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 40 in Florida, but if SpaceX and NASA stick to the current timeline, the rocket will send the robotically controlled Dragon capsule into orbit on May 7. A couple of days later, the spacecraft will catch up with the space station and go through a sequence of rendezvous maneuvers.

If the Dragon performs those maneuvers correctly, NASA would give the go-ahead for the Dragon to approach a station docking port. The station's robotic arm would grab onto it and bring it in for berthing. There'll be some cargo riding aboard the Dragon ? water, clothing, scientific gear and the like?? and the astronauts would take a couple of weeks to take on those payloads and load up the Dragon with Earth-bound cargo. Then the Dragon would be unberthed and sent back down to a Pacific splashdown, marking the successful end of the first flight of a private-sector spaceship to the International Space Station..

There are a lot of "ifs" on that list of contingencies. This launch has been delayed repeatedly due to software glitches, and if a snag like the one that occurred today happened to crop up on May 7, liftoff would have to be postponed for three days. To reach the space station, the Falcon has to lift off right on the dot. The orbital mechanics will not allow for same-day do-overs. But that's OK. Last month, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said "we may have to have a couple of attempts, but we're certainly looking forward to getting that flight off."

If the Falcon 9 and the Dragon pass their tests, that would put SpaceX in a position to ship supplies to the space station in earnest, under the terms of a $1.6 billion NASA contract.

Will SpaceX get 'er done? Feel free to weigh in with your comments below.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk links the aims of his various companies together and explains why he'd rather be engineering than lobbying in Washington.

More about SpaceX and the commercial space race:

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Last updated 4:27 p.m. ET.

Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.

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BBC's Planet Earth returns as a live simulcast next week -- but not in the US (video) (Update)

For fans of HD and / or nature documentaries, the BBC Planet Earth series is the unquestioned champion, and to provide a proper followup the Brits are improving it the only way they know how: doing it live. What the broadcaster calls its "most ambitions global wildlife series ever" will air simultaneously in 140 countries (more on that bit later) starting Sunday May 6th, then every Thursday and Sunday for three weeks. The plan is to track animals in seven different locations around the world in real time as they struggle for survival and broadcast it all in HD. One segment features Top Gear's Richard Hammond following a pride of lions across southern Kenya, while another will track black bears in Minnesota. The bad news? If you're in the US or Canada you're not on that 140 country list and won't be seeing any of this live. We're not sure if there's time to make this a campaign issue in the 2012 presidential election but we figure that, or at least bugging BBC America (while we're on the subject -- where's our global iPlayer?) is worth a try. Check after the break for a press release with all the details on where and when it is airing, as well as a trailer.

Update: While we won't be getting the live simulcast, BBC's Paul Deane dropped in a comment below noting it will air the next day on National Geographic Wild retitled as 24/7 Wild. We haven't located a program description yet, but there's already listings in the schedule starting May 7th -- schedule your DVRs accordingly.

Continue reading BBC's Planet Earth returns as a live simulcast next week -- but not in the US (video) (Update)

BBC's Planet Earth returns as a live simulcast next week -- but not in the US (video) (Update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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