According to FOSS Patents, Microsoft has won an injunction in Germany against Motorola Mobility that bans the sale and import of certain Android-powered devices in the country. Devices that will be banned violate Microsoft’s EP1304891 patent, which deals with "communicating multi-part messages between cellular devices using a standardized interface." The ban, which is still subject to approval and confirmation, will carry a bond of $31.4 million.

Today, Microsoft announced an update to the Facebook app for Windows Phone that brings a number of improvements and new features to the social network app. Version 2.5 brings the ability for users to "like" comments, full-threaded Facebook messaging including group messaging, and the ability to tag friends.

Full release notes:

- New in version 2.5: Added ability to like comments, full-threaded Facebook messaging including group messaging, tagging friends using 'with' and ‘at’ formats, delete posts and comments via long press context menu, active links in posts, updates to photo comments and likes pages to match posts comments and likes page.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Microsoft chief executive officer (CEO) Steve Ballmer made a statement where he claims about 350 million Windows 7 devices will be sold by the end of this year. The number shows Ballmer's and Microsoft's confidence in their desktop platform, which will be celebrating its third birthday in October of this year. If this sales number holds to be true, Windows 7 will be the "most single popular system" on the market, according to Ballmer.

In addition, according to a report from AFP, Ballmer also believes that Microsoft's next desktop platform, Windows 8, will sell up to 500 million devices by the end of 2013. The OS, which is expected to be released by the end of this year, completely overhauls the Windows desktop environment in favor of Microsoft's "Metro UI."

According to new data released by StatCounter this morning, Google Chrome has surpassed Internet Explorer as the world's most popular web browser (in terms of usage), a spot Microsoft's browser has held every week of the year since 1998. IE has been on a steady decline over the past several years, with web browsers such as Chrome and Firefox taking up market share left behind.

According to the data, Chrome now holds a 32.76% market share worldwide, while Internet Explorer controls 31.94%. In a distant third is Mozilla Firefox at 25.47%.

Earlier this evening, Microsoft publicly launched its "research" social network dubbed "So.cl." Interested users are able to sign up using a Windows Live ID or a Facebook account. Microsoft launched So.cl as an experimental social network with students at the University of Washington, Syracuse University, and New York University. It is geared towards students and allows users to follow people, subscribe to groups, watch videos, and post messages.

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) announced (PDF) a ruling last week that bans the import of certain Motorola Mobility devices into the United States following the company being found of infringing upon a Microsoft-owned patent. The patent in question deals with "generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device." The ban will likely go into effect within the next 60 days, unless Motorola Mobility is able to address the issue quickly. Affected devices include the Motorola Droid RAZR, the Motorola Droid 4, and the Motorola Droid Bionic.

The new Bing should be rolling out the world sometime in the coming weeks.

Today, Microsoft launched a promotion that offers customers a 4 GB Xbox 360 with Kinect for $99. Customers, however, must sign up for two (2) years of Xbox LIVE at $14.99/month and if the customer breaks the contract, he/she will be subject to early termination fees. The deal is very similar to what has been used in the mobile phone industry for years now - a cheaper product by signing a contract.

The promotion is currently being offered only at Microsoft Stores, but may expand to other venues in the future.

Today, Microsoft announced that it has rolled out a new look for its search engine Bing. The company has simplified search results pages on the search engine that sports smaller navigation links and a simple, white background color.

Bing is getting a new look. Starting today you will notice a fresh, de-cluttered experience designed to help you find the results you want faster. Over the past few months, we’ve run dozens of experiments to determine how you read our pages to deliver the link you’re looking for. Based on that feedback, we’ve tuned the site to make the entire page easier to scan, removing unnecessary distractions, and making the overall experience more predictable and useful. This refreshed design helps you do more with search—and gives us a canvas for bringing future innovation to you.

In addition, Microsoft has begun testing a design tweak on Bing's homepage: a larger version of the daily image. While not available to everyone just yet, Microsoft is asking users who come across the change to give their feedback.

Yesterday, Microsoft outlined a number of changes on The Windows Phone Developer Blog that it plans to make to the Windows Phone Marketplace as an attempt to improve the mobile app market. The major changes are detailed below:

• Trademarks - Microsoft is asking developers to be more aware of any possible trademark violations in their apps. The company will be stricter on app names, developer names, and feature names in apps from this point on in order to avoid future violations and complaints
• App Icons and Categories - Microsoft will begin removing apps that are placed in multiple categories by developers. In addition, the company reminds developers with multiple apps to make sure the icons/logos of the apps are differentiable and don't have the same design
• App Keywords - Microsoft will begin enforcing its five-keywords-per-app rule. Any developer who exceeds the five keyword limit will have the app removed. This applies to all current and future Marketplace submissions
• The final change also deals with presentability. Apps should function and look good, and refrain from using any racy images

Microsoft and Barnes and Noble announced today that Microsoft will be investing $300 million in a new Barnes and Noble subsidiary, dubbed "Newco" for the time being. The subsidiary will be focused around Barnes and Noble's Nook e-reader and college business, and as a result of the investment, Microsoft will receive a 17.6% stake in the partnership.

Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) today announced the formation of a strategic partnership in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary, which will build upon the history of strong innovation in digital reading technologies from both companies. The partnership will accelerate the transition to e-reading, which is revolutionizing the way people consume, create, share and enjoy digital content.

The new subsidiary, referred to in this release as Newco, will bring together the digital and College businesses of Barnes & Noble. Microsoft will make a $300 million investment in Newco at a post-money valuation of $1.7 billion in exchange for an approximately 17.6% equity stake. Barnes & Noble will own approximately 82.4% of the new subsidiary, which will have an ongoing relationship with the company’s retail stores. Barnes & Noble has not yet decided on the name of Newco.

Speaking at the Info Security 2012 conference, Kaspersky Lab founder and CEO Eugene Kaspersky stated to CBR that he believes Apple is  "ten years behind Microsoft in terms of security." He continues on by saying that, while Windows is still a hacker's favorite, Mac OS X malware and attacks are growing rapidly, something that was "just a question of time and market share." Kaspersky also states that, if Apple wants to keep its users safe in the near future, it will be forced to change update cycles for security patches.

This news comes just weeks after Apple's OS X platform was hit by two high-profile malware attacks, Flashback and SapPub. Apple has often prided itself on having a much securer environment than Windows, but it seems possible this is quickly changing.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced at the "Windows 8 Developer Days" conference currently taking place in Japan that a "release preview" build of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system will be released to the public sometime in the first week of June. The release will come about four months after Microsoft seeded the "consumer preview" version of Windows 8 to the public. At this time, no known changes in the new release have been announced, nor are there any rumors.

It should be interesting to note that, as seen in the picture above, Microsoft is still using the old Windows logo (flag-style) in presentations, despite the company unveiling Windows 8's new logo (looking more like an actual window) earlier this year. Microsoft has already commented on the matter, stating that it was a mistake and the new logo should have been included.

The final version of Windows 8 is expected to be released before the end of this year.

According to data released by analytics company Pingdom, Google Chrome 18 is the world's most popular Web browser, sporting a 25.6% market share. In a distant second place is Firefox 11 with 15.8% market share, followed by Internet Explorer 9 and 8 with 15.7% and 14.6% market shares, respectively. When all Internet Explorer versions are combined, Microsoft continues to hold the world's most popular browser title.

In North America, Internet Explorer 9 holds the crown as the most popular browser with 21.2% market share, closely followed by Chrome 18 with 20.2%.

Earlier today, Microsoft announced a number of changes to its SkyDrive cloud storage service that it has been building alongside Windows 8, which is set for release sometime later this year. The Redmond-based company revealed that the new SkyDrive will be integrated directly into the Windows Explorer and OS X's Finder, as well as mobile platforms such as the iPhone, iPad, and Windows Phone.

Microsoft also made changes to the amount of storage users receive. New users will get 7 GB of free cloud storage space, down from the previous 25 GB offered. Other plans include:

• 20GB for $10/year
• 50GB for $25/year
• 100GB for $50/year

The app has been guaranteed to work on the following devices, and will require at least Windows Phone 7.5 (a.k.a. "Tango") to work:

• Nokia Lumia 710
• Nokia Lumia 800
• Nokia Lumia 900
• HTC Titan
• HTC Radar
• Samsung Focus S
• Samsung Focus Flash

Microsoft and Facebook jointly announced today that the software giant will be selling 650 patents that it recently acquired from AOL to the world's largest social network in a deal worth $550 million. Microsoft will be licensing the 650 patents, and will continue to hold control of the remaining 275 that came from the original deal with AOL.

“Today’s agreement with Facebook enables us to recoup over half of our costs while achieving our goals from the AOL auction,” said Brad Smith, executive vice president and general counsel, Microsoft. “As we said earlier this month, we had submitted the winning AOL bid in order to obtain a durable license to the full AOL portfolio and ownership of certain patents that complement our existing portfolio.”

“Today’s agreement with Microsoft represents an important acquisition for Facebook,” said Ted Ullyot, general counsel, Facebook. “This is another significant step in our ongoing process of building an intellectual property portfolio to protect Facebook’s interests over the long term.”

A new job listing on Microsoft's website has revealed that the company may be looking for a team of developers that can help assist in building Skype software for the Xbox, something that many gamers have been waiting for since Microsoft's acquisition of the company last year.

Skype is seeking a motivated Software Engineer with an unrelenting drive for working on and solving customer-based issues. As a member of the Skype Xbox Engineering Team in London, you will have a strong technical background developing client and/or embedded software. Success in this role will likely be driven by your technical understanding, passion for shipping product, a user focus and an Agile approach to software development. The ideal candidate loves software and has a passion for writing code that addresses real customer issues and needs.

Today, Microsoft reported its financial results for Q3, announcing a revenue of $17.41 billion and an operating income of $6.37 billion, up 12% year-over-year.

Financial results broke down to the following:

• Server & Tools Division - $4.57 billion revenue
• Microsoft Business Division - $5.81 billion revenue
• Windows and Windows Live Division - $4.62 billion revenue
• Online Services Division - $707 million revenue
• Entertainment & Devices Division - $1.62 billion (down 16% from prior quarter)

“We’re driving toward exciting launches across the entire company, while delivering strong financial results,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “With the upcoming release of new Windows 8 PCs and tablets, the next version of Office, and a wide array of products and services for the enterprise and consumers, we will be delivering exceptional value to all our customers in the year ahead.”

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the next title in the popular "Halo" series of video games, "Halo 4." Set to be released to the general public on November 6, 2012, Halo 4 will take place four (4) years after the events of Halo 3, where Master Chief returns to confront his destiny and face an ancient evil that threatens the fate of the entire universe.

“We are beginning a new saga with ‘Halo 4′ and embarking on a journey that will encompass the next decade of ‘Halo’ games and experiences,” said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Studios. “Millions of fans worldwide have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to step back into the boots of Master Chief, and, with ‘Halo 4′ leading the charge, we’re confident 2012 will be the most successful year in Xbox history.”

According to a report from Barrons, Microsoft may be considering to sell off its Bing search engine to Facebook in exchange for stock and partial ownership of the world's largest social network. A report came out last month that Facebook is developing an improved search engine for the social network, but any selling of Bing would occur after the company goes public later this year.

Microsoft currently owns a 1.6% stake in Facebook. The Redmond-based company would presumably continue to earn at least some revenue from Bing if it is sold to Facebook.

“If we asked ourselves why is Microsoft in the search business to begin with, it’s because they want to keep Google from having such monopoly power [in search] that they can use the resultant profit to making forays into Microsoft’s domain,” including things such as Google’s “Chrome” operating system and Android smartphone software.

Microsoft is urging all of its users to update to the Office 2010 suite as soon as possible.

Today, Netflix announced the release of a major update to its native Windows Phone app, bringing support for new countries, as well as improvements and new features. Support has been added for the UK, Ireland, and 47 Latin American countries, all of which include localized user interfaces.

Other release notes:

• Support for subtitles, closed caption and alternate audio
• Performance improvements and bug fixes

As noted by Microsoft's Support page on the topic, mainstream support for Windows Vista ends today, April 10, 2012. This includes the following variants of the OS as well:

• Business
• Enterprise
• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Starter
• Ultimate

Ending mainstream support means that Microsoft will no longer be providing free support to Windows Vista customers. The extended support time period, however, will allow those customers to continue receiving security updates and patches. This also means that Microsoft has the right to charge for any non-security related patches if the user would like to install them.

Windows Vista was launched back in January 2007. Extended support for Vista runs until April 11, 2017.

AOL announced today that it has reached an agreement with Microsoft where the software giant will acquire more than 800 patents from AOL in a deal worth $1.056 billion. Microsoft will also be licensing more than 300 additional patents from AOL as part of the deal.

Following the sale, AOL will continue to hold a significant patent portfolio of over 300 patents and patent applications spanning core and strategic technologies, including advertising, search, content generation/management, social networking, mapping, multimedia/streaming, and security among others. AOL also received a license to the patents being sold to Microsoft.

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2012, pending approvals.

Announced via the Major Nelson blog today, Microsoft has launched a special edition series of Xbox 360 Chrome wireless controllers. The wireless controllers will be available in blue, red, and silver finishes, and sport a transforming D-pad. They will be available beginning sometime in May for $54.99.

You've got to admit, they look pretty sweet!

According to a report from All Things D, Yahoo today held a major "offsite" meeting with top executives to discuss the future of the struggling Internet company. Talks reportedly included significant employee layoffs, selling off divisions to other companies, and possibly even ending Yahoo's search deal with Microsoft.

Back in December of 2009, Microsoft and Yahoo entered an agreement that would allow Microsoft to control the core of Yahoo's search tool using Bing. The deal is set to last ten (10) years, but Yahoo is apparently looking into taking Microsoft out of the equation much earlier than that.

Yahoo is reportedly discussing possibilities to change the partnership with Microsoft, or even bring Google into the picture to help provide Yahoo search results.

Just last week, Microsoft revealed that it would be bringing back the "Smoked By Windows Phone" challenge, which asks customers with non-Windows Phone 7 handsets to head into a Microsoft retail store and challenge an employee of the store to certain tasks. It's designed to show how quickly users can access information on Windows Phone. The deal? If the customer wins the challenge (he/she is able to perform a specific task quicker on a non-Windows Phone than the employee on a Windows Phone), he/she will receive a limited edition Hunger Games PC (HP Folio 13 Special Edition). If the employee wins, Microsoft will offer the customer a trade-in of their current smartphone for an unlocked Windows Phone device.

Sahas Katta decided to visit his local Microsoft retail store after learning about the challenge, and brought along his Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Once it was his turn to take on the employee, Katta was asked to "bring up the weather of two different cities." He has two weather widgets installed on his Galaxy Nexus' home screen, so he was fairly confident that victory would be his.

After a three-second count down, I hit the power button on my phone and said “DONE!” out loud. I had disabled the lock screen entirely, which is a rather awesome out-of-the-box feature of Android that takes you straight to the home screen with a single push of the power button. I didn’t even need to touch the screen, since the two weather widgets were already there.

My opponent finished a split-second later. She had two live tiles on her home screen displaying the weather of two different cities as well. Why does it take longer on Windows Phone? She had to perform two actions. First, she hit the power button to turn on the screen. Second, she had to swipe away the lock screen. That’s pretty much as fast as it gets on that platform. Windows Phone takes two interactions. Android takes just one.

The employee, however, claimed that the Windows Phone device still won the race. Before leaving the store, Katta was asked to take a picture in front of a "My Android was smoked by Windows Phone" sign.

Microsoft employee Ben Rudolph has already gone to Twitter to apologize to Katta: "...I want to make things right. So I've got a laptop & phone (& apology) for you. Email me!"

According to Reuters, Rovio chief executive officer (CEO) Mikael Hed has stated that the development company behind the popular Angry Birds series of games is working on brining its latest addition to the series, Angry Birds Space, to Windows Phone 7. Rovio initially stated that it had no plans to port the new game to Microsoft's mobile platform, but the decision seems to have been reversed since.

Angry Birds Space was released for iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows yesterday. The game is set in space, and gives users new levels, power ups, and tricks to keep the series rolling.

The original Angry Birds game is currently the best-selling game in the Windows Phone Marketplace, but it doesn't have as many downloads as the iOS and Android version.

According to a report from Kotaku, Microsoft has once again stated to the press that consumers should not expect to see any hardware announcements related to a new Xbox console at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this June. Microsoft issued the following statement:

While we appreciate all the interest in our long-range plans for the future, we can confirm that there will be no talk of new Xbox hardware at E3 or anytime soon. For us, 2012 is all about Xbox 360-and it's the best year ever for Xbox 360. The console is coming off its biggest year ever-a year in which Xbox outsold all other consoles worldwide. Xbox 360 didn't just outsell other consoles, it also outsold all other TV-connected devices like DVD players, as well as digital media receivers and home theatre systems. And in our seventh year, we sold more consoles than in any other year-defying convention.

While not much is known about the next-generation Xbox, it has been rumored for quite sometime now. The console is expected to have improved internal specifications, and also ditch the traditional disc drive in favor of Marketplace downloads. The Xbox 360 is approaching its seventh (7) year on the market.

We've included the ad below:

Ten years ago March 14, the original Xbox launched in Europe. To celebrate the milestone, Microsoft has put together a timeline of the history of the Xbox game console, featuring the console's concept introduction in 2000, game releases, and console upgrades. The timeline has animations, images, and text descriptions. The timeline also gives interesting tidbits about random facts, such as the first Xbox LIVE gamertag being registered (it was "e").

This security update resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities in the Remote Desktop Protocol. The more severe of these vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if an attacker sends a sequence of specially crafted RDP packets to an affected system. By default, the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is not enabled on any Windows operating system. Systems that do not have RDP enabled are not at risk.

According to a report from MVC, Microsoft's next-generation Xbox game console will not include a traditional disc drive for games and DVDs, but instead put a focus on online downloads and streaming. The current Xbox 360 already supports downloading certain content from the Internet, but the service isn't implemented fully and many users don't even know it's possible. The console is also said to include some sort of swappable solid state card port for storage purposes.

Microsoft could be unveiling its next-gen console as soon as the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June of this year, with a release sometime in the second half of 2013.

Yesterday, Google released its official Search app for Windows Phone devices (Marketplace link), allowing users to access certain products from the web giant without the need of a web browser and through a native app. Google Search for Windows Phone sports the "Metro UI" with integration of certain design features from the web version of Google.

The new Google Search app for Windows Phone. Find better results using Google from your Windows Phone. Search the web faster and easier with the latest features: Google Autocomplete, My Location, and Voice Search.

Voice Search: Search by voice and skip the typing Google Instant and Autocomplete: Get search results faster

Search Nearby: Find places near you without typing your location

The app requires Windows Phone 7.5 or later, and is a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

Microsoft revealed via its Exploring IE blog that it will begin airing a new ad for Internet Explorer that focuses on displaying the “beauty of the web.” The ad was designed by Keith Rivers and Alex Clare, both of whom have been working closely with Microsoft over the past few months to build the commercial.

The ad is for both IE 9 and the upcoming IE 10.

Just 24 hours after Microsoft announced the release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview build, the company revealed via its @BuildWindows8 Twitter account that the OS has been downloaded one million times. "One day later…one million downloads of the consumer preview," the company said.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview build features over 100,000 from the Developer Preview seed, and is designed to give consumers an idea of what the shipping build of the next-generation operating system out of Redmond, Washington will look like. Windows 8 completely overhauls the OS, and features a new "Metro UI" that is geared towards tablet-friendly usage.

The fifth Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview is available for download from here.

Windows 8 Consumer Preview contains over 100,000 changes from the Developer Preview of the operating system, which was released last year. The build is designed to give consumers a fairly good look at what Windows 8 will look like when it is released to the general public, presumably later this year.

Microsoft announced yesterday via the Major Nelson blog that it has begun offering customers a glossy white version of the Xbox 360 console, packed with a white Kinect sensor. The console will come with 4 GB of internal storage and is being called a "limited edition" model, meaning it will be sold as supplies last. The glossy white Xbox 360 + Kinect combo will cost $299.99.

When Microsoft initially launched the Xbox 360 back in 2005, it was available only in a white finish. The company, however, ditched the white color for black after redesigning the console two years ago.

Today, Microsoft announced the launch of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview build, the next step in releasing its next-generation operating system to the world. The release contains over 100,000 changes from the Developer Preview of the OS, which was released last year, and is available for download from the links below.

The Consumer Preview is designed to give what its name implies - the ability for consumers to try out Windows 8. The previous seed was for developers and only provided a locked-down version of the next OS out of Redmond.

Download link for Windows 8 Consumer Preview: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso

Free audio and video calls can be made over Wi-Fi or 3G / 4G networks. The device must be running at least Windows Phone 7.5 to run the Skype beta app, and the following devices have already been tested for the best performance:

• Nokia Lumia 710
• Nokia Lumia 800
• HTC Titan
• HTC Radar
• Samsung Focus S
• Samsung Focus Flash

The first ad is below:

What do you think? Will these ads be successful for Microsoft? Let us know in the comments below!

The patents in question deal with how devices are able to connect to the Internet, and both Microsoft and Apple believe that Motorola is asking for way too much to license the technologies, keeping certain devices off of the market.

All of these complaint filings come just a couple of weeks after the European Commission approved Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, which was initially announced last year.

Microsoft has posted a new video to its YouTube account that directly attacks Google's "lack" of non-experimental products. The company focused on the number of high-profile changes Google has been making over the past eight months, and the fact that end-users are affected in a major way.

The video follows "Googlighting Stranger," who tries to convince a company to use Google products, despite the fact that they are ever-changing.

We've got to give credit to Microsoft to this one - they've got a sense of humor.

The Daily has posted a lone screenshot of what appears to be the Microsoft Office productivity suite running as a native app on the iPad, something that has been rumored numerous times now. The report claims that development on the app has been completed, and a submission to Apple for approval into the App Store is coming "soon." A release could come as soon as next month.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files can be opened and edited (both locally and online) through the app, which seems to have a taste of Microsoft's "Metro UI."

On a side note, the report states that no Android app for Office is currently in development.

Over the weekend, we brought you the news that Google had been caught bypassing user security settings of Safari on iOS devices, which allowed the Internet giant to track users' behavior while browsing the Web. Google was using cookies in order to track how people browse the Internet.

Today, Microsoft announced via its IEBlog that it has caught Google using the same tactic to track users' behavior on Internet Explorer. "Google is employing similar methods to get around the default privacy protections in IE and track IE users with cookies," the company says.

We’ve found that Google bypasses the P3P Privacy Protection feature in IE. The result is similar to the recent reports of Google’s circumvention of privacy protections in Apple’s Safari Web browser, even though the actual bypass mechanism Google uses is different.

Microsoft recommends that users who don't want to be tracked by Google update to Internet Explorer 9 and begin to use the Tracking Protection list feature in the web browser.

UPDATE: Google has issued a statement to The Verge, responding to Microsoft's claim. The Internet giant says that Microsoft is using older technology in Internet Explorer, causing the "issue" with cookies.

Full statement:

Microsoft omitted important information from its blog post today.

Microsoft uses a "self-declaration" protocol (known as "P3P") dating from 2002 under which Microsoft asks websites to represent their privacy practices in machine-readable form. It is well known - including by Microsoft - that it is impractical to comply with Microsoft’s request while providing modern web functionality. We have been open about our approach, as have many other websites.

Today the Microsoft policy is widely non-operational. A 2010 research report indicated that over 11,000 websites were not issuing valid P3P policies as requested by Microsoft...

On the Windows 7 side of things, Microsoft will be offering "extended support" of the newest version of the desktop operating system until January 14, 2020. This date has been extended from the initial January of 2015. Users of Windows 7 can expect to see new feature additions up until January 2015, and after that only patch updates.

Microsoft is planning to launch Windows 8, which is currently under development and testing with consumers, before the end of 2012.

Going for a more modern look with actual windows, Microsoft showed off the newly designed Windows 8 logo Friday.

The logo sports 3D style windows with a simple modern font showing "Windows 8." Microsoft's Windows Team Blog explains that since Windows 8 is a complete new look on an operating system they are going for a complete new look on the logo as well.

It has long been noted that in the recent past Microsoft has used a "flag" type look to the logo. The company brought in Paula Scher from the Pentagram design agency and she simply asked "your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?"

Announced via the Major Nelson blog, Microsoft has begun rolling out an update to Xbox 360 consoles that attempts to address a nasty color issue that has been plaguing a number of gamers since the company overhauled the Xbox 360 Dashboard late last year. The software giant says that the update is mandatory and that users who were affected by the issue should notice immediate improvements.

This update will increase performance and is part of our continued effort to provide the best possible Xbox LIVE experience. In this update, we are providing a fix to a color issue that some were experiencing, and it will be immediately notable in the dashboard. The fix is also being applied by partners to their apps on Xbox LIVE, which we expect to roll out over the coming months.

Microsoft released an update to the Xbox 360 in December of last year that overhauled the game console's Dashboard with a user interface similar to Windows Phone. The update also introduced the Apps Marketplace, which allows gamers to download apps that can then be used on the console.