Warner Bros. Interactive has announced that Harry Potter for Kinect will be a thing coming this fall. It will be similar to Kinect Star Wars in that the game will be a collection of loosely tied together experiences that somehow is able to call itself a game. I expect that it will appeal to the same group of people who went absolutely gaga over Kinect Star Wars with the added audience of college freshmen who think playing Quidditch behind the library on a dustmaster 5000 makes them look cool.

The game does have a few good things going for it though. Unlike Kinect Star Wars which was just a random collection of events from the films and TV series (and dance-offs), Harry Potter for Kinect will take players through all eight films. In a move that should really excite some hardcore Potter fans, the game will scan your face into the game so that you can be a part of the magical wizard world of Harry Potter.

“Harry Potter for Kinect will engage Harry Potter fans old and new by bringing them into the wizarding world as truly active participants,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Kids and parents will enjoy recreating their favourite Harry Potter adventures, from flying a broomstick in a Quidditch match, to battling pixies and duelling other wizards.”

The game will diverge from letting you live out your own fantasy of being a wizard as players will also take control of characters from the films. The only activities mentioned so far in the game include visiting Ollivanders, choosing a house at Hogwarts, and fighting Voldemort in the final battle. The screenshots also show that players will be fighting the troll and pulling mandrakes from pots.

As any good Kinect game worth its salt should know, the real money maker comes in the form of mini-games. Harry Potter for Kinect will not be at a disadvantage as it promises numerous competitive mini-games for you to challenge your friends at. Here’s hoping we get an unforgivable curse duel that ends when one player successfully casts Avada Kedavra.

As with Kinect Star Wars, you can expect a game that appeals to a lot of people, but will probably be panned critically. It’s too early to tell though so maybe Warner Bros. will prove that this Kinect thing is pretty good after all.

According to the Wall Street Journal, discussions about how NBC can buy Microsoft out of the partnership are currently underway. NBCUniversal holds a 50% stake in the venture, and, as you may have guessed, Microsoft controls the remainder. Adweek reported that the deal would most likely push for MSNBC.com to secure a spot on MSN.com.

By most accounts, MSNBC and MSNBC.Com have been functioning as totally separate entities for a long time now. The cable television component has gone more towards featuring the liberal side of things, while the online platform has, more or less, stuck to impartial news reporting.

I think we can expect to see some numbers coming out of these negotiations soon enough. We’ll be watching for new developments to come out, and as soon as they do, you can read about them here.

The fine broke a new record for largest fine ever imposed, and regulators slapped Microsoft with a $1.1 billion penalty for taking advantage of their dominant position in the market.

Microsoft’s lawyers were in court last May arguing that the fines were excessive and undeserved. Next month on the 27th, the case will be back in court and awaiting a verdict. Lawyers for the EU claim that Microsoft took a gamble and lost and should be held accountable for the full amount of the fine.

The decision of the court will set a precedent for other companies challenging regulatory fines. Intel is also currently facing penalties in Europe for violating anti-trust laws. Their case dates back to 2009 where they were fined for using anti-competitive tactics to combat a smaller firm. We’ll be watching these cases closely. Check back for more news as the court date approaches.

Microsoft Office 365 for education is a free tool for teachers and students. The software will allow teachers and students to do a number of things, including working together on class projects and documents, have virtual meetings, and participate in instant messaging and video conferencing from anywhere in the world. They’ll also be able to create and maintain websites with an easy edit tool, and access a new “Social Network of Catholic Education,” designed by Microsoft.

The Catholic church is being very progressive for once in doing this to help their students get the technological skills needed for a 21st century world.

Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Worldwide Education at Microsoft had this to say:

“We need to continue to get creative about the ways technology can make a real impact in the lives of students and prepare them for the jobs of the future. Through this partnership, we will do just that. I am proud the leadership of the Catholic International Education Office has chosen to partner with Microsoft to deliver on their commitment to educators and students to modernize its schools and further its mission to promote education for all. Together, we can make a real impact in the classroom for both students and educators, and look forward to taking this journey with the Catholic community around the world.”

Research indicates that in the next decade, 77 percent of all jobs will require technical skills of some sort, so when OIEC make announcement like this one to integrate Office 365, It shows how dynamic the Catholic church can be.

BGR, citing “a reliable source at Microsoft,” says that the company is planning to release the “full Office suite” for both iOS and Android. What’s more, the iOS version may not be iPad only. The source said that the app’s startup screen reads “Office for iOS,” instead of “Office for iPad.” That suggests that an iPhone/iPod Touch version could be coming as well.

An iPad version of Microsoft Office is one of those rumors that’s been around for ages and never actually come to pass. People have been expecting Microsoft to bring their ridiculously ubiquitous productivity suite to the iPad for almost as long as there has been an iPad. Every once in awhile, a fresh rumor pops up, keeping hope alive. The Daily has reported twice in recent memory that Office would be coming soon to the iPad – once in November, and again in February. The report in February included claims that The Daily’s source had actually gotten some hands-on experience with the app, though Microsoft denied everything. According to BGR’s source, though, the version that Microsoft is preparing to launch in November bears a strong resemblance to The Daily’s February version.

Given the consistent cycle of rumors that don’t amount to anything, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if Microsoft never releases a version of Office for iPad. On the other hand, you have to wonder why in the world they wouldn’t. Office is easily the most widely-used productivity suite in the world, and the fact that Microsoft has failed to bring it to the increasingly large tablet market is mind-boggling. You can bet that Windows 8 tablets will have their own version of Office. But unless Microsoft honestly expects Windows 8 tablets to knock the iPad off its lofty perch in short order (which isn’t likely, to put it mildly), they’d be crazy not to publish an iOS version at least.

A spokesperson with Microsoft told WebProNews, “There are a limited number of customers in Germany who raised concerns about the way we are pursuing their respective blurring requests.” He added, “As we take privacy and data protection of our customers very seriously, we decided to take down the StreetSide Beta service in Germany, while evaluating these single cases and working on a solution.”

Bing has canvased quite a bit of Germany since it started photographing the country last May for the Streetside feature and was still diligently at work on the project as recently as this month. However, according to a source that spoke with PCWorld, Bing plans to continue on with the photography schedule.

As of this point, it’s unclear if Streetside will ever be reinstated in Germany. Google Maps endured complaints of a similar nature when it embarked on collecting images for Street View. Since those complaints filled Google’s inbox, the company complied with requests to blur out faces and buildings,has seemingly stopped updating any of the Street View imagery for German cities, leaving much of the country’s Street View imagery out of date.

Bing could follow suit and abandon all hope of providing reliable, up-to-date Streetside imagery or, given that these are a “limited number of customers” who have submitted complaints, maybe Bing thinks they can appease the Germans where Google could not. Cross your fingers for the former but don’t hold your breath.

In the meantime, the only way you’re going to be able to stroll down the streets of Germany is to put some boots on the sidewalks and shake a leg because you may not get another chance for a virtual tour of Deutschland anytime soon.

The Bing Maps team has released two separate slide shows, unfortunately powered by Silverlight, that detail how a developer can leverage Bing maps to their advantage. The first is just more or less a normal introductory course in Bing Maps development. The second gets a little more advanced by showing developers how to use SQL server spatial data in their Bing Maps applications.

The introductory course explains the benefits of using Bing Maps while showing you how to get started on development. The rest of the slides are dedicated to the AJAX7 Control method in Bing Maps alongside the REST interfaces that you will be using. It even has a test at the end to make sure you were paying attention.

Bing Maps Learning Snack
by
Snack Owner

The second explains how SQL server spacial data works together with Bing Maps to create advanced data applications. It then spends some time on explaining the finer points of working with data in SQL Server 2012. Finally, it will show you how to combine the two to create great Bing Maps applications.

Bing Maps and SQL Server Spatial Data
by
Snack Owner

“The incredible promise of digital advertising has been somewhat hindered by the unwanted inefficiencies as a result of market fragmentation,” a representative for Microsoft tells WebProNews. “All advertisers and publishers want are simple solutions that will help make ad buys with the best ROI.”

As part of the partnership, the Microsoft Media Network will be granted programmatic access to Real Media Group’s premium inventory. That makes Microsoft the only source not run by WPP (parent company of 24/7 Media) with such access.

Automated media planning tool 24/7 Connect will include Microsoft’s full catalog of ad offerings. Microsoft’s Atlas will also become one of WPP’s preferred ad servers, and offer “expanded opportunities,” according to the announcement. Specifically, there will be integration between 24/7 Trader (24/7 Media’s demand side platform used by WPP) and Microsoft’s Atlas ad server.

“This is an exciting day for 24/7 Media, WPP and our clients globally,” said 24/7 Media CEO David J. Moore. “In partnering with Microsoft, one of our largest and most strategic clients, we are creating a very powerful suite of capabilities that rivals any other offering available today in digital marketing.”

“We’re very pleased to be able to strike this partnership with 24/7,” added Rik van der Kooi, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Advertising. “Our mission is to provide extraordinary experiences for consumers and effective solutions for our digital marketing partners. Marketers are telling us they need to get their hands on premium quality inventory at-scale by reducing friction, which is what this deal will do. And unlocking new demand for publishers’ inventory through our Exchange will similarly create new value in the market.”

The global online ad market is estimated to exceed $98 billion this year, according to GroupM, and this deal represents a partnership between two major powerhouses in that space. Between this and the its “search alliance” with Yahoo, Microsoft is putting together some pretty astounding advertising partnerships. Of course, there are rumors that the search alliance could break up before its full ten years are up.

Judge David Shaw said Microsoft should be handed a cease-and-desist order on sales of Xbox 360 Slim consoles across the country. He also believes Microsoft should not only cease Xbox imports from China, as well as ban general sale of the console across the country, but also pay Motorola Mobility 7 per cent of the value of any unsold systems remaining in stores. We reported earlier that Google was demanding $4 billion a year to make this patent lawsuit go away, but this decision is way worse for Microsoft.

Microsoft has warned the ITC that banning Xbox 360 across the US would not serve the public interest, because it would leave the market with a choice between PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. Shaw rejected the argument, claiming that enforcing intellectual property rights takes precedence. Plus, it’s not as if the lack of Xbox 360′s means people go hungry or the world implodes. No matter how important the 360 thinks they are. Also, there is plenty of competition, so, with the addition of the WiiU this holiday season, there is a chance this could actually happen.

The ITC commissioners can either allow the initial determination stand, or amend certain terms, or send it back for a rewrite. If Shaw’s recommendation is enacted, President Barack Obama will have 60 days to review the decision. Microsoft is a huge contributor, giving $852,167 to the Obama campaign in 2008, so it isn’t exactly clear to how the administration will lean, or if he doesn’t enact it, what happens.

If this actually happens, look for the major companies in the world to slow their gadget/tech releases because they can no longer blatantly break patent laws and just “deal with it later.”

picture courtesy of metalsupplychick

Microsoft has announced that accessing the Windows Phone Marketplace now requires version 7.5. If you lack the the update, you won’t be able to interact with the marketplace whatsoever. That means no downloading, buying, updating or reviewing of apps. There’s some pretty good stuff on the Windows Phone Marketplace so it’s really worth updating.

Unfortunately, updating Windows Phone isn’t as easy as it is on iOS and Android. To update Windows Phone, follow these simple steps:

How to prepare for an update

Install the Zune software or Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac. You’ll need this software to download the phone update.

If your battery level is low, give your phone a quick charge before starting the update.

Make some room on your phone for the update. If necessary, remove a few unwanted apps or other large items.

Free up space on your computer. We’ll need some room to save a backup of your existing phone software.

Make sure your computer has a reliable Internet connection. In some cases, you might need to switch from a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection to a wired (Ethernet) connection. Or you might need to adjust your computer’s firewall or proxy settings.

Verify that your phone is set to the correct date and time. That’ll help us determine which updates you need.

How to install an update

When an update is available, we’ll notify you on your phone. After you see the notification, pick a convenient time to install it. The process can take an hour or more.

Connect your phone to your computer using the USB cable that came with your phone. Follow the instructions that appear in the Zune software or Windows Phone 7 Connector for Mac.

Even if you don’t like any of the apps on the Marketplace and have no intention of using, Windows Phone 7.5 has plenty of new features that make the update worth it. Some of the more prominent features includes custom ringtones, speech recognition for texts, Facebook chat, playlists, tethering and more.