GitHub, the source code hosting and collaboration service, has been growing like gangbusters. The site now has over 1.6 million registered developers, hosting over 2.8 million repositories on everything from jQuery and Ruby on Rails to node.js and Redis. At the outset, Github was just a side project, a tool to make developers’ lives easier (its first slogan: “Git hosting: No longer a pain in the ass.”) Github is still a boot-strapped operation, but as both its user base and its own hacker collective (now at 73 strong) have grown, there has been an increasing demand for tools that fall outside Apple’s domain.

Today, about 50 percent of GitHub’s traffic comes from Windows users, and, as a result, the startup has finally heeded demand and is now officially bringing the party to Windows, launching a desktop app to address the challenges of developing on Windows and to make it easy for Windows developers to collaborate in open-source and private repositories.

GitHub released a similarly-targeted Mac client last year, which has since seen wide adoption. However, as popular as Apple has become, the majority of enterprise development still takes place in a Windows environment. As a result, GitHub has been looking to make its platform more appealing to corporate developers and enterprise, and its new Windows app intends to do just that.

Developing in private or open-source for Windows has lagged behind in terms of adoption among developers because they’ve lacked a full toolset for project collaboration, GitHub CTO Tom Preston-Werner says, so, with its new Windows client, the startup just made it easier to get up and running using Git and GitHub on Windows machines.

GitHub for Windows is a native app that runs on Windows XP, Vista, 7 and even the pre-release Windows 8, and includes a complete installation of msysGit. The app syncs users’ code to the cloud and allows developers to clone their repositories right from the app or directly from GitHub.com with its new “Clone in Windows” button.

Of course, anyone who’s been following GitHub’s progress will notice that it took the team more than a few days to finally release its Windows client. As one might expect, the reason for this was, besides a need to tear down development hurdles for Windows developers, that the team wanted to create an app (and a toolset) they would actually use themselves. In order words, to build a Windows app by Windows developers — for Windows developers.

To do that, GitHub has been amassing a pretty serious team of developers who collectively — aside from having cache in the community — own quite a bit of experience developing on and for Windows. For starters, GitHub brought on Phil Haack and Paul Betts, both of whom left Microsoft to join GitHub to help ship the app.

Before GitHub, Haack led the development of both ASP.NET MVC and NuGet, among other things, during his four-plus year stint as a senior program manager at Microsoft. Paul Betts joined Github following a four-year run at Microsoft, where he worked on Vista, and created development tools, among other things.

GitHub for Windows also relied on help from Tim Clem, Cameron McEfee (the guy behind GitHub’s Octocats), and Adam Roben to get the startup’s new app ready for shipping.

Developing tools that are useful to Windows developers right out of the box is essential to the success of GitHub. Of course, most big companies are still hesitant to put their code in the cloud, and although the startup puts most of its focus on open source project hosting, it’s free. The company makes its money off of its private repositories, and so better tools for companies and corporate developers could mean a significant boost in revenue for GitHub.

Of course, it’s also for the love of a challenge.

For more, find GitHub’s announcement here.

Microsoft, just like Apple, usually runs a major back-to-school promotion every summer that is meant to give students (and their parents) some extra incentives to buy a new computer. The company’s just-announced back-to-school deal for the U.S. and Canada is pretty much the same as last year’s. A year ago, Microsoft gave students who bought a new PC and Xbox 360 and this year it’s doing exactly the same.

There are some differences to last year’s program, though. This time around, Microsoft isn’t just partnering with Best Buy in the U.S., but also with Dell.com, Fry’s Electronics, HPDirect and NewEgg.com (its own Microsoft stores, of course, will also honor this promotion. In Canada, students can buy their PCs from Best Buy, Dell.ca, Future Shop, Staples and The Source.

The program is scheduled to start on May 20 in the U.S and May 18 in Canada. To be eligible, students need to buy a Windows PC worth at least $699 ($599 in Canada).

Apple vs. Microsoft

Apple also used free products like an iPod touch as an incentive for shoppers. Last year, however, it switched to handing out $100 gift cards to its digital stores instead. Apple usually announces its annual back-to-school promotion in June.

By the end of last year’s summer promotions, some analysts noted that Apple handily beat Microsoft 8 to 2, with around 80% of incoming students opting for Macs instead of a Windows machine. This year, Microsoft hopes that Ultrabooks like the Samsung Series 5 ULTRA and the Dell XPS 13 will make students think twice about buying a Mac.

The Facebook IPO is expected to usher in a day of massive trading volumes on the markets, and some believe that might translate to a lift for some tech stocks. But one that could really use some help has just been served another course of bad press: Nokia is apparently burning through its cash reserves — fast.

The company, for years the biggest mobile phone maker in the world, has fallen on very tough times, as competition from companies like Samsung, Apple and a barrage of inexpensive device makers, have translated into declines in sales, market share and profitability.

That’s now translating into what has been identified as another issue: the burning of the cash pile. In the last five quarters, Nokia has burned through €2.1 billion ($2.7 billion) from its cash reserves. Analysts polled by Reuters on average believe that at the rate Nokia is going, it will go through another €2 billion ($2.5 billion) in the next three quarters, with the total current cash pile of €4.9 billion ($6 billion) gone within two years.

To put that in some context, in 2007 Nokia had cash reserves of €10 billion in 2007 ($12.7 billion). That points to its cash pile burn accelerating — a result of the fact that the company has been trying to transform its business, which requires investment, while at the same time seeing massive sales drops:

In the company’s last quarterly earnings, reported April 18, Nokia reported that overall revenues were down by $4 billion (€3.4 billion) to $9.7 billion (€7.4 billion). Smartphones, the core of Nokia’s fightback strategy, declined by more than 50 percent both in revenues and unit sales, and the company saw a 40 percent drop in revenues from devices, its biggest business, with sales in those now at €4.2 billion. Nokia also swung to an operating loss of $1.7 billion, blaming the double-whammy of competition from Apple/Google as well as restructuring costs, as the company has pushed to put a stronger emphasis on its new line of smartphones in a race to gain back its rapidly disappearing market share in the higher-margin end of the smartphone market.

Nokia currently has two tranches of credit bonds outstanding: bonds of €1.25 billion euros at 5.5 percent maturing in 2014 and €500 million of notes at 6.75 percent due in 2019. These have now reached the lowest investment grade status at S&P, Fitch and Moody’s with negative outlook.

“I would not rule out the possibility of Nokia being downgraded further,” Nancy Utterback, a credit strategist at Aviva Investors, told Reuters. “The company is in a negative spiral that will be hard to reverse.”

Reuters does also point out some bright spots. The company is expected to sell 20 million of its new Windows Phone-based smartphones this year, and 46 million next year. And if the company continues on its cost-reducing course, it could end 2012 with €2.8 billion ($3.6 billion) in net cash this year.

And there is another possibility that we will likely see raised more and more: a “white knight” in the form of a Microsoft acquisition. The software company  is already heavily entwined with Nokia over the use of the Windows Phone OS — paying Nokia $1 billion annually for this — a relationship that could well deepen if Nokia’s problems continue to grow.

Almost 115 million households in the U.S. currently own at least one TV set and 36 million own four or more. That’s a huge market and as Apple, Google and Microsoft try to wrestle more of this business away from the traditional content and hardware players, the old-school cable and satellite providers now suddenly have to content with this new group of challengers that, until now, barely registered on their radars. According to Forrester analyst James McQuivey, it’s Microsoft that’s winning this platform war so far.

Why? Microsoft, MCquivey argues, currently has a massive lead over its competitors thanks to its Xbox360. According to a new report by Forrester, the number of U.S. households that watch online video on a TV set is now up to 32.1 million, up from just 24.8 million a year ago. The majority of these households use their game consoles to do so. The adoption of connected TVs is also moving ahead quickly. Forrester estimates that 18.5 million households now use them to stream online video in the living room. Over-the-top set-top boxes like the Apple TV, Boxee and Roku, however, are still niche products, with just 4% of U.S. online households owning one at the end of 2011.

Looking ahead, Forrester estimates that by 2016, 66.8 million U.S. households will have connected their TV sets to the Internet and 89% of HDTVs sold will be connectable.

In this quickly growing market, McQuivey argues, it’s all about who owns the platform. Microsoft is in the lead right now, but still, only 49% of Xbox 360 owners currently connect their consoles to the net. McQuivey argues that in order keep its lead, Microsoft has to push this number to 75% and highlight the numerous video options beyond Netflix it already offers.

Google, says McQuivey in his blog post today, “has to push Android onto every TV device, including the Motorola set-top-boxes it is about to own.”

Apple, of course, is widely rumored to be working on a TV set as well. McQuivey and his colleagues, however, think that Apple shouldn’t just sell a replacement TV. Instead, the company should focus on something more akin to a smaller, 32-inch screen iHub that could be used in the dining room or kitchen to create a central hub for the family to gather around and use a shared calendar, Facetime, and view photos and videos.

[image credit: stevestein1982]

Last week, Bing began the initial phase of rolling out a major redesign, in fact the “most significant” redesign in its three-year history. Today, the wait is over. This afternoon, Bing officially turned on its new design, and has made it available for everyone in the U.S. You can check it out here.

The new Bing is now integrates search and people in our social networks through a dedicated social “sidebar.” With sidebar, Bing brings together the best of the web, with what experts and your friends know, giving you the confidence to act. This new way to search lets you share, discover, and interact with friends like you do in real life. If you’re on the go, you’ll notice we’ve optimized the layout and placement of the social results on the mobile device for smaller screen sizes and for touch input, so the user experience will be different than what people see on a PC.

The new design is Bing’s answer to the problem of “Search Overload,” something many are familiar with — the feeling of being overwhelmed by the bramble of links, maps, tools, and options that prevail in today’s search model. And, really, it’s a response to the public disapproval over Google integrating social into its search results. Obviously, Google has retained its iron grip on search for some time, but, with its redesign Bing is positioning itself an unbiased, pure alternative.

In this vein, Bing is taking steps to offer a cleaner, pared down experience, in an effort to clean up its search results. As Josh noted at the time, the redesign essentially divides its search results into three groups: Simple, text-based, algorithmic results placed front and center; maps, reviews, and input fields are placed on the right side; and social context from friends and one’s social network in a panel on the far right.

As Bing said in its blog post today, this dedicated social sidebar is a response to Google search’s G+ integration, serving actionable information from friends and experts. Bing now suggests friends on Facebook that might be relevant to your search — based on what they “like,” their Facebook profile information, and the photos they’ve shared.

This will work in varying degrees of effectiveness, meaning that the “right” friends may not always show up, because the search engine is using public Facebook information along with the content you’ve given it permission to access. According to its blog post, it “won’t match friends based on other Facebook content, such as status updates or check-ins,” in an effort to respect privacy settings. Which means that you won’t see information from friends who have opted out of Facebook instant personalization or that have blocked the Bing app.

For those who do choose to opt-in to Bing’s Instant Personalization partnership with Facebook, you will be able to see if friends have “liked” search results. But, an important qualification of this feature is that those “likes” do not alter search rankings, nor do they add to the clutter of results with social identifiers, names, and faces. Instead, you’ll just see that thumbs up icon adjacent to Bing’s algorithmic, center pane, with the ability to hover over the icon to see who liked those results.

Furthermore, its intermediate section, the one that lies between algorithmic results and social, shows stuff like maps, product reviews, restaurant ratings, and allows users to book flights. Bing has struck a number of partnerships with startups like OpenTable and FanSnap to make booking tables and finding tickets easier.

Bing now has a whole lot more social functionality, but the key is that its social integration doesn’t get in the way, the goal being, in Bing’s words, to create a new way to search that “lets you share, discover, and interact with friends like you do in real life.” If Bing is going to be a “decision engine,” as its mission statement declares, boosting its results with the right amount of social influence and direction is paramount.

To address this, Bing’s new social pane includes an “Ask Friends” field, which allows searchers to enlist the service of their friends. Bing posts your submitted questions to your Facebook wall, whereupon you’ll get a notification if a friend swoops in to the rescue, and guides you to the best nightspot for margaritas, or the best hotels to check out when in Los Angeles. You can also go further, requesting help from “Friends Who Might Know” — those who’ve “liked” your search results, but aren’t in your friend list.

Bing has taken some major steps forward to get itself back in the ring with Google, but it’s still got a lot of ground to make up. Don’t be surprised if you find a massive Bing marketing campaign show up on taxis, TVs, and billboards near you.

For more, give the new Bing a try here. Sorry international Bingers, it looks like you’ll have to wait a bit longer.

Yesterday, to much fanfare and resolute sentiment, HP announced a return to what made it a great company to begin with: poorly-named and generic computing devices tarted up to take on Dell. This year it’s the HP Envy SpectreXT, a thin and light that can’t officially be called an Ultrabook because that’s an Intel marketing term and these things sometimes run on AMD chips.

I think it’s important to point out the clear problems in the above statement: because Intel officially controls the “ultrabook” spec – including the pricing, screen size, speed, and physical size – manufacturers must toe the line when it comes to what can and cannot be sold under that rubric. In short, Intel’s own standards have so long stymied the OEM’s ability to innovate that, in the end, we’re all essentially buying Intel PCs no matter the brand or maker.

Why is this an important distinction? Because for years hardware has been stymied by ridiculous size standards. From the early “Windows” tablets – which had to follow Intel’s exacting guidelines – to today’s Ultrabooks, manufacturers can’t make a penny without kowtowing to Intel. What’s more, they don’t get any of Intel’s marketing might if they don’t produce at least one of a family of devices.

The same thing happens over at Microsoft. Remember when, in 2010, it seemed everyone was making one touchscreen PC? Sony? Dell? HP? Well it wasn’t because they were totally into touchscreen. It was because Microsoft wanted to push touchscreen Windows interaction onto the audience and they could use their might to force at least one SKU from each manufacturer.

Could HP fight back? Probably not. They make all their money on ink anyway, and hardware is a loss leader. In short, the PC industry is a perfect example of trickle-down economics.

There are obviously a number of smaller players who don’t toe the line, including Apple, but in general if you want to appear in the Best Buy circulars and get special bulk deals on chips and operating systems, you’d better be willing to go Ultrabook or Centrino or whatever other standard the binary star of Intel and Microsoft encourages makers to follow. The odds – and profit – are forever in Intel’s favor.

While Google keeps cramming its search results pages full of tools and social content, today Bing confirmed with me the full roll out a redesigned search results page that completely clears the left sidebar, and replaces the tabbed header with a cleaner set of links. Bing’s Facebook integration is also more subtle now, instead of plastering names and faces beneath Liked results.

This more relaxing, dare I say zen, design gives Google a more claustrophobic and exhausting feel by comparison. Microsoft seems to have realized that if it can’t match Google’s algorithmic prowess, it could win with sleek design that doesn’t bombard you with a thousand options.

Bing has been testing several of these changes for a few months. Here are the rest of details on redesign that’s supposed to reach all US users [Update: not the whole world] by the end of Tuesday if it hasn’t already:

• Related Searches have been shifted from the now-gone left rail to beneath the ads in the right rail
• A ‘thumbs up’ icon now indicates that friends have Liked a search result, and you can see who did by hovering over the icon
• The “narrow by time range” filter formerly in the left rail now only appears if you select the “News” search type from the “More” options
• Update 8am PST 5/2/12: There’s also now more space between lines to aid readability, pages load faster, and the additional whitespace may host future changes

Personally, I dig minimalist product design that keeps things focused. If there’s a tool or option I only need sometimes, I’m okay spending an extra click to reveal it. The desktop Internet is brain-frying enough with so many applications and windows and tabs displayed at once. That’s why it seems more people are championing streamlined apps like Path, ad-blockers, and services that strip clutter out of news articles.

When faced with a much more established competitor, your only move is to differentiate or die. For a while that meant Bing getting cozy with Facebook and Twitter. It appeared to be working as it surpassed Yahoo in search query volume in January, though the product was still bleeding billions of dollars. But then Google Search went social, sparking controversy and solidifying the public as uncomfortable with personalized results.

In fact, Google’s disastrous Search Plus Your World created an opportunity for a clever Bing pivot. Microsoft heard that people were asking for a return to the simple results pages of yesteryear. Today that’s what we got. Now we’ll see if less really is more — more market share for Bing and less for Google, that is.

[Image Credits: Old Bing Diesgn Tnooz, Mr. Clean]

Microsoft really wants to make sure it can compete against Amazon and Apple in the e-books space — and it’s putting its money where its mouth is. In addition to the $300 million Microsoft is investing for a 17.6 percent stake in Newco, the un-named subsidiary that will now house B&N’s Nook and other digital businesses, it looks like it is putting other money towards the venture, according to the 8-K form filed by Barnes & Noble earlier today.

A section called “Commercial Agreement” notes that Microsoft will be paying the Barnes & Noble subsidiary $180 million in connection with revenue sharing on the Nook app that B&N will make for the Windows 8 platform. This is nonrefundable, the filing notes. Microsoft is also paying $125 million (equal to $25 million over five years) “for purposes of assisting NewCo in acquiring local digital reading content and technology development.” This, too, looks to be nonrefundable.

The 8-K form appears to note that this is on top of the $300 million investment, and it will only become effective once the investment deal is closed. It also notes that it can only be terminated by Microsoft in case of bankruptcy or insolvency of Newco; a material default at Newco; or by Newco for a similar material default by Microsoft. The exact terms of the revenue share are not included in the filing.

The 8-K form was filed after the two companies came together for a joint call with analysts. That, too, gave a little more insight into what the deal will entail.

Andy Lees, president of Microsoft, is leading on the deal for his team, and he made it clear that while today there was no news on devices or any “product roadmap,” this was about more than just a book app for Microsoft’s next OS: “The option here is to define the future of reading,” he said. “We’re more than just the platform provider.” His take today was to turn that into a wider conversation about experience and discovery, but what people really want to know was whether that means a Windows Nook.

Today, no direct answer on that but no denial, either. “We’ve been working with hardware manufacturers to provide [the minimum requirements]” for them to make Windows 8 tablets with the lowest-costing processors and other equipment, he said. He also claimed that Microsoft has “not yet done teardown of the Nook,” to determine whether it would run Windows 8 as it is today.

Similar to the lack of specifics on hardware there was also little detail from the B&N end on Windows 8, but again no flat-denial: “We have no plans to sell Windows software right now…but this partnership opens up a whole host of opportunities going forward,” noted B&N’s CEO William Lynch.

Getting a new laptop or buying a new license for an operating system is often cheaper in the U.S. than in most other countries. Europeans, for example, are used to paying a hefty premium for Apple products and the situation is similar in Australia, where the cheapest MacBook Air currently costs about 15% more than in the United States. Now, however, the Australian government is starting a parliamentary inquiry into these pricing schemes. According to Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald, the politicians behind this inquiry hope that calling these companies out publicly will result in prices dropping.

The final details of this inquiry are still being finalized, says the Sydney Morning Herald, but the committee that will oversee the proceedings plans to invite “all the big computer and software companies including Apple and Microsoft.” The committee will also look at the price differences in eBooks and games in different markets.

Ed Husic, a member of the Australian Parliament and a member of the committee that has been asking for this investigation for the last year or so, argues that “small to medium-sized businesses might pay over $10,000 more on software compared to overseas counterparts.”

The standard argument for higher prices in these markets is that local taxes and the cost of setting up overseas operations increase cost, which are then passed on to local consumers. According to a report by Australia’s Productivity Commission, however, “these excuses, in most cases are not persuasive, especially in the case of downloaded music, software and videos, for example, where the costs of delivery to the customer are practically zero and uniform around the world.”

[Image credit: Sydney Morning Herald]

Sure, Windows Phone is still but a baby alongside Android and iOS, but the platform shows promise. Woz likes it. And the fact that it’s backed by hardware partners like Samsung and Nokia says good things, as well.

But it would seem that LG, coming off of a few quarters in the red, has decided to back away from the platform.

LG reportedly told the Korea Herald that the company would be focusing on Android handsets going forward, since “the total unit of Windows Phone sold in the global market is not a meaningful figure.”

Of course, the platform is way late to the game and shouldn’t necessarily be expected to come in and change the mobile landscape overnight. Yet, the fact that Nokia has put so much of its weight behind the OS should say something about the potential of the platform, as well as the huge differences between the companies.

Both LG and Nokia have had a rough past year. Nokia saw its lowest market share in 14 years, in fact, but despite the fact that change is scary and risky, it’s better to take a chance on something new when you’re down and out than to repeat the same formula.

The Nokia Lumia 900 doesn’t really compete very well on paper, but Windows Phone is its saving grace. The OS is engaging and different, and that can go a long way in a world where iOS and Android have been dominating for so long.

LG, on the other hand, has decided to go back to its original plan, even though a fresh new OS on a few solid pieces of hardware could be the beginning of a refreshed LG.

It’s too early to tell if Windows Phone will be the third mobile ecosystem, but Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam has faith in it, and so do I.

[via WP Central]

Barnes & Noble has found a new, major partner in its fight to get an edge over Amazon and Apple in the market for e-books and the devices being used to consume them: it is teaming up with Microsoft in what the two are calling a strategic partnership, name yet to be determined.

It will come in the form of a new subsidiary of B&N that will include all of its Nook business as well as its educational College business. Microsoft is making a $300 million investment in the subsidiary, valuing the company at $1.7 billion in exchange for around 17.6 percent equity in the subsidiary.

The news leaves the door open for B&N to eventually spin these off into a separate business altogether — or even sell them to Microsoft. And it leaves a load of questions about what B&N will do next with the Nook, which is currently built on a forked version of Google’s Android platform.

The new company, referred to for the moment as Newco, will contain B&N’s digital business, as well as its College division. While Microsoft will take 17.6 percent, B&N will own 82.4 percent of the venture.

This is a key way of getting more content on to the Microsoft platform — specifically e-books content to ensure that its Windows 8 tablets will be able to compete not only against the best-selling iPad but also the Kindle Fire from Amazon, along with the rest of the company’s e-readers. The Kindle Fire has stolen a march among Android tablet makers and part of the compelling offer is not only the low price ($199) but also the fact that it contains so much content, including seamless access to all of Amazon’s e-book offerings.

This is also a progression — a very big one — of the funding etudes that Microsoft has been making to developers to make sure they are making apps for Windows Phone. It’s a way of getting more content on its two mobile platforms — which, it can be argued, may have come too late to the market. The first product to come out of the door of Newco? A Nook application for Windows 8, the companies say.

And given that education has been one of Apple’s bigger pushes this year, and the obvious and close links between education and e-reading, it’s not too surprising to see that B&N has also put its College division into this subsidiary.

Microsoft, too, has been courting the education market — inking its biggest-ever cloud-services deal in the education sector earlier this month. Nevertheless the pair have a long road ahead of them. In January, Apple noted that there were already 20,000 educational apps for iOS and that there were already 1.5 million devices deployed in schools, numbers that will inevitably have grown in the last 4-5 months with the launch of the new iPad and numerous initiatives to spread the tablet in the educational sector.

And there is a legal twist to the deal, too: the two companies say they have definitely sorted out their patent litigation now: “Moving forward, Barnes & Noble and Newco will have a royalty-bearing license under Microsoft’s patents for its NOOK eReader and Tablet products,” the two write in the release below. If Microsoft doesn’t use this as an opportunity of possibly persuading B&N to swap over to Windows 8 for a version of the Nook, it will also give it a very interesting inroad into developing more for Android.

As for B&N and the future of these products… this deal looks like it could potentially pave the way for B&N to spin off this business into its own standalone operation, if not into the waiting arms of Microsoft itself — long speculated to be looking at ways of gaining a stronger foothold in the area of mobile devices to better implement its bigger strategy. The idea of a subsidiary was something that B&N had first floated back in January, when it noted that it was weighing up how best to separate its digital business to “maximize shareholder value.”

There are many more questions — such as what this could mean for the company’s broader strategy for growing the market for the Nook (international being a key push that the company has yet to make, apart from some baby steps); and how well, exactly, those products are doing for the company: IDC puts the Nook’s share of the tablet market at just 3.5 percent.

The company is holding a conference call on the deal later today and we’ll update as we learn more. Update: A follow up post with details from the 8-K filed by B&N (including details on payouts from Microsoft), as well as highlights from the conference call is here.

Full press release below.

New York, NY and Redmond, WA (April 30, 2012) – 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.

One of the first benefits for customers will be a NOOK application for Windows 8, which will extend the reach of Barnes & Noble’s digital bookstore by providing one of the world’s largest digital catalogues of e-Books, magazines and newspapers to hundreds of millions of Windows customers in the U.S. and internationally.

The inclusion of Barnes & Noble’s College business is an important component of Newco’s strategic vision. Through the newly formed Newco, Barnes & Noble’s industry leading NOOK Study software will provide students and educators the preeminent technology platform for the distribution and management of digital education materials in the market.

“The formation of Newco and our relationship with Microsoft are important parts of our strategy to capitalize on the rapid growth of the NOOK business, and to solidify our position as a leader in the exploding market for digital content in the consumer and education segments,” said William Lynch, CEO of Barnes & Noble. “Microsoft’s investment in Newco, and our exciting collaboration to bring world-class digital reading technologies and content to the Windows platform and its hundreds of millions of users, will allow us to significantly expand the business.”

“The shift to digital is putting the world’s libraries and newsstands in the palm of every person’s hand, and is the beginning of a journey that will impact how people read, interact with, and enjoy new forms of content,” said Andy Lees, President at Microsoft. “Our complementary assets will accelerate e-reading innovation across a broad range of Windows devices, enabling people to not just read stories, but to be part of them. We’re at the cusp of a revolution in reading.”

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have settled their patent litigation, and moving forward, Barnes & Noble and Newco will have a royalty-bearing license under Microsoft’s patents for its NOOK eReader and Tablet products. This paves the way for both companies to collaborate and reach a broader set of customers.

Newco,

On January 5, Barnes & Noble announced that it was exploring the strategic separation of its digital business in order to maximize shareholder value. Barnes & Noble is actively engaged in the formation of Newco, which will include Barnes & Noble’s digital and College businesses. The company intends to explore all alternatives for how a strategic separation of Newco may occur. There can be no assurance that the review will result in a strategic separation or the creation of a stand-alone public company, and there is no set timetable for this review. Barnes & Noble does not intend to comment further regarding the review unless and until a decision is made.

Additional information will be contained in a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Barnes & Noble.

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft will host an investor call and webcast beginning at 8:30 A.M. ET on Monday, April 30, 2012. To join the webcast, please visit: www.barnesandnobleinc.com/webcasts.

Five years ago, Microsoft reported revenue of $14.398 billion. They reported a profit of $6.589 billion. Last week, for the same quarter, Microsoft’s revenue was $17.407 billion. Their profit was $6.374 billion. The company is still growing, but not fast. And they’re actually making less money.

Compare that with Apple. Five years ago, revenue was $7.1 billion. Profit was $1.0 billion — the first quarter with a billion dollar profit in company history. Last quarter, the company reported $47 billion in revenue. And they recorded $13 billion in profit.

On the surface, an apples-to-oranges comparison, perhaps. But it points to something that has happened. Apple has completely taken over the consumer market, while most of Microsoft’s growth these days comes from the enterprise side of things. Apple has destroyed Microsoft as a consumer technology company.

Sure, Microsoft is still making plenty of money — billions — off of their consumer goods. But the decent quarterly numbers they reported last week in some ways mask what is really happening: Microsoft is slowing morphing into a full-on enterprise company.

Everyone got all excited that the Windows division actually managed to grow last quarter. Because the broader PC market has been stagnant and Windows 8 is in testing mode, expectations were extremely low. 4 percent growth was considered a big win.

But Microsoft as a whole saw 6 percent growth year-to-year when it came to revenue. It wasn’t Windows driving it, it was the Business Division (9 percent growth) and the Servers & Tools Division (14 percent growth). Again, the enterprise side of things.

The Business Division is now by far the largest Microsoft division in terms of revenue. Meanwhile, Servers & Tools almost surpassed the Windows Division this past quarter. The last time that happened was the tail end of the Vista nightmare. It’s going to happen again. Microsoft’s two biggest businesses will be their enterprise businesses.

Even on the Windows side of the equation, this was the key statement in the earnings release:

Strong Windows 7 adoption continued with enterprise desktops on Windows 7 now up to 40% worldwide.

Nothing about the consumer side of Windows, just the enterprise side. That’s what led to the 4 percent growth surprise.

Windows 8 is due out at the end of the year, and I’m sure the Windows Division revenue numbers will jump as a result. But as these charts by Horace Dediu show, the jump is likely to be short-lived. Microsoft saw a huge revenue (and profit) spike when Windows 7 was released, then it immediately dropped and plateaued. It was back to the revenue grind and the profit stagnation.

Windows 8 could be better for the company, or it could be worse. The world is drastically different than it was even just three years ago. The iPad exists, for one. While Microsoft is going all-in (or at least half-in) on their tablet strategy with Windows 8, there’s no indication it will actually work. If it doesn’t that could significantly hurt the Windows Divisions’ numbers.

Another key difference over the past five years is, of course, the iPhone. Five years ago, no consumer had one. Microsoft controlled nearly 35 percent of the U.S. smartphone market. It was going to be a huge business for them. Today, that percentage stands at roughly 5. And even with Windows Phone, it’s shrinking, as Dan Frommer points out today.

Microsoft’s last-ditch attempt insert themselves into the mobile picture isn’t working. At least not yet.

Consider this: Apple’s iPhone business alone is bigger than all of Microsoft’s businesses combined.

And that matters because again, that’s where consumers are today. Smartphones. Tablets. The PC business is going nowhere. Let’s just admit it: that’s not going to change.

The wildcard is the living room. This is the one consumer space where Microsoft has done better than Apple over the past 5 years. The Xbox 360 has been a big hit, and accessories like the Kinect have moved the market forward. Apple’s first Apple TV was largely a dud. The second one is much better and seems to be selling well, but it’s not a consumer hit in the same way the Xbox is.

But last quarter, a funny thing happened: Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division actually lost money. That had not happened since 2009. And it was the worst loss since 2007 — again, five years ago.

Since Microsoft reports Windows Phone numbers under E&D, some assumed the poor numbers were a result of things like Microsoft’s Nokia payout dragging the division down. But Microsoft themselves noted that the 16 percent decrease in revenue was the result of “a soft gaming console market”. This was later backed up by more numbers. The drop in revenue and the swing to a loss was all about Xbox demand evaporating.

Now, obviously, the Xbox is old — some may say “ancient” by gaming console standards. And a new one isn’t due until next year. That device will undoubtedly do well, but you have to wonder if Microsoft wasn’t surprised by this swift drop to a loss for the division. If they weren’t, why not aim for a new console this year? It sure seems like they were counting on things like the Kinect to extend the life of the device, and that worked for a while, then collapsed.

Meanwhile, gaming on iOS continues to grow. Anyone who doesn’t view the iPad as a legitimate living room gaming contender now is simply fooling themselves. And it’s a device that’s refreshed with the lastest hardware once a year. The Xbox is coming in three, four, or even five year intervals. That simply cannot compete given the rate of change we’re seeing.

Microsoft is smart to move more into the broader entertainment space, securing content deals for the Xbox. But again, Apple will be there as well. At first through the existing Apple TV (with a killer assist from the AirPlay functionality). Down the road, perhaps with their own actual television.

And then there’s the Online Service Division. Despite their “operating loss improvement“, they lost another $479 million last quarter. The total losses for the division over time are approaching $10 billion as they chase Google down a rabbit hole to claim a consumer market they’re never going to win.

To me right now, Microsoft’s consumer business feels like Nokia’s smartphone business a few years ago: the numbers look fine, and in some cases even good, but the world is quickly changing. If you just look at the past five years of what Apple has done versus what Microsoft has done, it’s not hard to imagine Microsoft’s business being completely dominated by the enterprise side of the equation in another five years. That will still make for a great business, but it’s not the Microsoft that many of us have known.

Everyone you know goes away in the end, I suppose.

SkyDrive, Microsoft’s online storage service, is one of the core elements of the company’s cloud strategy. Today, Microsoft is taking the wraps off a number of new SkyDrive apps, including a Dropbox-like desktop integration for Windows and Mac (OS X Lion only). With this, SkyDrive will function like any other folder on your machine and any file you save to it will be automatically uploaded to the cloud and synced to your other computers. For current Dropbox users, this is obviously nothing new and it’s taken Microsoft quite a while to finally offer this feature. With this update, though, Microsoft is also reducing the amount of free storage it is offering new users from 25GB to just 7GB.

In addition to this Dropbox-like functionality, Microsoft is now also making it possible for Windows users to access, browse and stream files from a remote PC that is running the SkyDrive preview app. This feature, of course, only works while the remote PC is powered on.

Microsoft is also launching updates versions of its mobile apps for iOS and Windows Phone today. SkyDrive is now also available for the iPad.

Google, of course, has been rumored to launch its Google Drive service very soon, but for the time being, it’s not clear how closely Google’s service will resemble Dropbox and SkyDrive and how much free storage it will offer.

Better Apps, Less Storage Space

Sadly, though, Microsoft is also using this update to reduce the amount of free storage it offers to new users from 25GB to 7GB. Why this odd number? Microsoft says that just 0.06% of current SkyDrive users use more than 7GB. If you already have a SkyDrive account, you can get grandfathered into the old plan. Existing users who already use more than 4GB os storage space on SkyDrive will be automatically upgraded to 25GB for free, but if you currently use less, you will have to do so manually.

New users will be able to buy more storage, of course. Paid plans start at a relatively affordable $10/year for 20GB and go up to $50/year for 100GB. Microsoft calls this a “more flexible approach” and says that it wants to offer a gimmick-free service that strikes the right balance of being free for the vast majority of customers, and low-priced for those who want more.”

Gavin Kim certainly knows how to keep things interesting. After spending years at Samsung and winding up as the company’s VP of Content and Services, Kim jumped ship to take point on Microsoft’s Windows Phone marketing efforts only to resign his post after five months.

So what greener pastures has tempted Kim this time? As it turns out, he has found himself a new home at NQ Mobile (formerly known as NetQin), a provider of mobile security services and applications where he will fill the newly created Chief Product Officer post.

Interestingly enough, Kim is the latest in a line of high ranking former Samsungers to make the switch to NQ Mobile. Ex-Samsung VP of Strategy Omar Khan was was tapped just a few months ago to become the company’s co-CEO alongside company co-founder Henry Lin, and one-time Samsung PR head Kim Titus recently joined up as NQ’s director of communications.

It may seem like something of step down — going from the likes of Samsung and Microsoft to a mobile security firm without much of a presence here in the United States. NQ Mobile pegs their mobile security application as being the most widely-used in the world (thanks in part to their huge presence in China), and with these recent staff additions in place it looks like NQ Mobile is gearing up to tackle that problem head on.

A representative for the company tells me that part of that strategy going forward is to take a page of the company’s Asia-focused playbook and build upon “OEM and carrier relationships” in the States. Considering that Kim has had experience working with major hardware manufacturers as well as wireless carriers, he seems like a strong choice to push NQ forward, though only time will tell if they pick up the traction they need to compete. The mobile security place is one occupied by plenty of big brands, and Lookout in particular looks like a savvy competitor — they’ve already locked down partnerships with carriers like T-Mobile USA and Deutsche Telekom.

Editor’s Note: This Guest post is written by Max Zachariades, who spent the last five years at Microsoft in various roles. He blogs under the name Max Zografos.

I first used Windows on a TULIP portable computer, some twenty years ago. Graphical user interface, icons, mouse, an amazing new world was ushered in before my wide eyes.

At university, I scored a summer internship with Microsoft. I sported a Microsoft collared shirt and showed off my “Microsoft Product Specialist” badge with infinite pride. When Windows 2000 launched, I distributed official evaluation copies to the School of Engineering. Lecturers didn’t hide their admiration, and wonder, about my infatuation with this company. They called me the “Microsoft man,” which I saw as a compliment.

In 2005, I was commissioned to lead two Microsoft Europe-wide projects. Microsoft seemed way ahead. Virtual meetings, digitized calendars all beeping in tandem, flexible work arrangements, massage chairs, free soda. What’s more, toilets were squeaky clean. Most multinationals I’d worked for had heinous facilities, which pretty much poisoned the well for me.

Like Alice in Wonderland, I pranced around the campus, drinking as much of the Microsoft Kool-Aid as I possibly could. In 2007, I obtained a “blue badge.” I was a full-time employee now. One of them.

Fallen Star

Within my first year, I was awarded the venerable “Gold Star.” It read:

Congratulations! In recognition of your important contribution to our success, you have been selected to receive a special Gold Star Spot bonus award. I am pleased to inform you that you will receive an award of $1,000 less all applicable taxes and withholding. Since joining you’ve hit the ground running — you’re a star in the making!

Microsoft also gave out corporate-branded gizmos, laser pointers, memory keys, plastic crystals and other toys. When I raised a suggestion that we divert some of those funds to charity, my communication style was flagged as inappropriate and antagonistic.

In time, my eyes opened. We were box tickers and pen pushers. Any original thinking was sacrificed at the altar of time-proven, common sense process. Efforts to break the mould were all but punished.

The Microsoft Meeting

Microsoft culture expects you to be in meetings. Calendars need to be decorated with sufficient colourful blocks, to signal over-activity.

Dig a bit deeper and you’ll realise that Microsoft meetings are a way to diffuse and evade responsibility for decisions. Yes – let’s spend weeks on weeks “reviewing with stakeholders.” It’s so much safer that taking swift decisions ourselves. The company places no trust on the individual to make the right decision on their own.

So what happens in those meetings? Are they brainstorming earth-shattering new ideas? Are they inventing new products? Why are they getting paid to join so many of them? How can Microsoft afford to have so many of its employees fluffing about?

Because they can. Microsoft sits on stockpiles of cash, with about $60 billion earning interest in the bank. With that mystery out of the way, let’s take a look at some of those meetings: Strategy reviews, deep dives, virtual coffee breaks, quarterly off-sites, monthly get-togethers, director summits, leadership meetings, etc.

Yikes, who is going to organise all that? Fear not. Every team has their very own “business manager.” And since business managers are too senior to be bogged down with logistics, enter the legions of “support managers” and “administrative assistants” reporting to business managers.

Large companies have overheads, a necessary evil, you say. Overheads need to be managed. And managed they are: Group Managers, Program managers, General managers, together with ‘Senior’ flavours of those and a whole new breed of directors, stakeholders, business owners, relationship leads coupled with their own countless derivatives.

All those meeting-goers are not making anything. Deciding upon and making something is hard. And if this onerous activity has to be done, then hire external consultants for it. It’s easier and less risky.

There is no creative tension, no vision these days. Left to Microsoft’s hands we’d still be toiling on overheating Vista desktops.

This company is becoming the McDonalds of computing. Cheap, mass products, available everywhere. No nutrients, no ideas, no culture. Windows 8 is a fine example. The new Metro interface displays nonstop, trivial updates from Facebook, Twitter, news sites and stock tickers. Streams of raw noise distract users from the moment they login.

In an already loud world, all Windows 8 does is increase the decibels.

Getting Fired

Mea Culpa: I should have left on my own volition, much earlier.

Truth is, I was comfortable. Too comfortable. Stupefied even. Why look for work elsewhere when I could coast from meeting to meeting, uttering and typing meaningless busywork. I could not relinquish that kind of comfort.

Year after year, I began to voice my concerns about the meaninglessness of it all. Why write up dozens of monthly scorecards when nobody ever reads them? Worse yet, why join follow up conference calls? Why schedule get-togethers when there is no agenda? Why spend a month chasing stakeholder-committees for trivial project decisions. Why spam people’s inboxes with monthly newsletters and weekly narratives about how great our team is?

They called it out in my performance reviews: I lacked “respect for authority.” “Microsoft people are well-tenured,” said my boss once. Many employees are with Microsoft for 15 years or more. Sidestep hierarchy and tenure at your own peril.

I became cynical about the whole process. I was seen as a “rebel” and the leadership team began to marginalise me. My planned and promised promotion was cancelled.

Month after month, what I saw as a dubious case was put together. Official HR warnings were sent. My time ran out. I was offered 12-weeks’ pay for an amicable departure. Instead I decided to escalate the thoughts above to the highest echelons of Microsoft.

Below is an excerpt of my email to a Corporate Vice President.

Naturally, large teams are expected to have overheads. However, I’ve never witnessed such a systematic waste of company’s time and resources.

…

including its execs—spend much of their time in informational meetings with no agenda or
purpose. Let me cite an example from today’s newsletter. A senior exec talks about what he will do in March:

‘March is going to be a busy month! I will be representing at the first ever and then will representing at in San Diego on . Then back in the U.S. again the week of for the LT Strategy Planning Workshop. In March, I have 1:1s lined up with and several of her LT: , , , and .”

I struggle to discern what will actually be achieved in March by this exec. All I can see is a series of expensive trips and endless hours spent in gatherings with no outcomes or deliverables.

Can Microsoft afford that? …

Entire days spent on meetings about meetings, drafting and re-drafting ‘team stories’ and participating in endless informational conference calls. I am confident that could achieve the same actual results with just 10 percent of its current funding. Given the opportunity, I can provide more clarity on this topic.

…

In a time of disruptive new technologies and competition, I believe Microsoft, and each organization within, should lead by example. We cannot afford not to.

Within hours of sending this email I was summarily fired and escorted to the door, days short of my 5-year anniversary with Microsoft.

A series of job postings from Microsoft hint at – well, actually they come out and state that – Microsoft intends to bring Skype to the web browser. The posts, which describe positions for software development engineers, mention that the Skype web app would be built (thankfully) using HTML5 and JavaScript, not Microsoft’s own Silverlight or Adobe Flash, for example.

The addition of a web-based version of Skype that works without plug-ins could provide a better user experience than today’s Skype Facebook app currently offers, but it could also extend the browser to anyone with a modern web browser who wanted an alternative to running desktop software.

There are four job listings which have been spotted so far, describing a “Skype for Browsers” project. One describes the project like so:

Team at Skype is looking for passionate, team-oriented and self-motivated developers to help us bring Skype experience on to the Web.

You will have a chance to integrate existing Skype solutions on to the web with the support of the backend services build from the ground up using latest Microsoft technologies.

Result [sic] of your work will be used by hundreds millions of thankful users worldwide. You will work in dynamical environment with the team of true professionals participating in defining, designing, developing, testing and documenting one of the most popular applications of the modern world.

You will closely cooperate with colleagues developing Skype cross platform core library in Tallinn, Estonia, audio/video team in Stockholm, Sweden, User management team in Prague and web plug-in team in Palo Alto, US.

So far, the postings refer to jobs in Prague and London only.

In addition to possibly providing an improved experience for Facebook users, the Skype for Browsers experience would also serve to bring Skype to the Metro version of IE10 on Windows 8, which won’t support plugins.

Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion last spring, finally bringing it to Windows Phone just this February. Skype is also available on Windows, Mac, and Linux, iOS, Android and Symbian, some smart TVs, and more.

h/t: LiveSide

Short Version

Guys, this one’s such a no brainer that I shouldn’t even have to lay it all out. But I will.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is an excellent handset, comes packed with a fresh new operating system in the form of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, and thanks to a nifty AT&T bill credit from Nokia, you can essentially get this $100 LTE-equipped phone for free until the 21st. Repeat: for free.

Like I said, this one’s a no brainer.

Features:

• 4.3-inch 480×800 AMOLED display
• AT&T 4G LTE
• Windows Phone 7.5 Mango
• 1.4GHz single-core processor
• 8MP rear camera (720p video capture)
• 1MP front camera
• MSRP: $100 on-contract (or free through April 21)

Pros:

• Beautiful unibody polycarbonate casing (matte)
• Well-built and premium feeling in the hand
• Windows Phone is a refreshing joy to use

Cons:

• Poor color reproduction on the camera
• The display is a bit pixelated
• If thin and light is your thing, this may feel clunky

Long Version

Hardware/Design:

The hardware on the Lumia 900 is top-notch. Nokia truly stepped it up, which says quite a bit considering that well-built hardware is one of the Finnish company’s fortes. The weight distribution is balanced, which allows the Lumia 900 to stand up on its own should you place it on the table.

It has rounded edges along the side, with a flat top and bottom. The matte finish feels great in the hand, and Nokia actually built the phone with blue and black materials so even a deep scratch shouldn’t leave an ugly mark. The volume, camera, and lock buttons on my review unit felt a bit loose in their sockets, but I’m fairly certain that’s my only complaint.

Micro USB is square on the top of the phone, and it always bothers me when phone makers get in the way of playing games while plugged in (battery suffers most during gaming, so we plug a lot as we play at home), but at least the design is beautiful.

The battery isn’t removable, but battery life is better than expected on this little smurf so I don’t see it as a huge setback.

To be honest, the phone is a bit bulkier than most of its competition but I see this as a good thing. It’s not cumbersome by any means, and actually feels a bit more expensive than an LG Spectrum or any other super light, super thin phone.

Software:

I’ve got a thing for Windows Phone. I’m honestly not sure where it came from — I’ve never been a huge Microsoft user — but I feel lucky to have seen the light.

Now, there are inherent cons that come along with Windows Phone, for now. For example, you won’t find as many apps on the Marketplace as you would on Android or iOS (though that number is growing, and Microsoft is banking on quality over quantity). Another issue is locked-down specs, which happen to be just a bit outdated, that Windows Phone partners must abide by. One of those — the worst one, I feel — is a 480×800 display resolution, which bums me out on a 4.3-inch screen.

But, Microsoft is adding more high-res options with the launch of Apollo, though that won’t help you much with the Lumia 900.

But back to the point.

The baked-in features of Windows Phone are excellent. Threaded messaging is far and away my favorite, as it lets you conduct conversations with friends over a variety of formats (Facebook chat, text, Windows Live messenger) all from one unified stream. Local Scout, powered by Bing, is a welcome alternative to Yelp, and the People and Me hubs make me actually enjoy social networking. Of course, there’s still work to be done here, but if you haven’t given Windows Phone a chance I highly recommend checking out this emulator on your phone and seeing if you perchance have a crush on the new kid on the block.

Nokia also added some smart software to the phone including a contacts transfer app, which will help you transition from Android, iOS or BlackBerry.

Camera:

Now for a little bad news, if I may.

I love the UI of the camera app, to be sure, but the actual images produced by the Lumia 900 camera aren’t all that great.

Here’s what I’m noticing: When you open up the camera and look through the viewfinder, everything looks beautiful. Whatever you see in the viewfinder is almost identical to what you’re seeing in real life, in front of the lens. But once you snap the picture, the image produced instantly changes color. This happens most frequently on Auto, and adjusting the settings based on your environment will help this.

But the fact of the matter is, we take pictures quickly on our phones and don’t often want to mess around with settings unless we have the time. (None of us have the time.) Furthermore, some settings don’t quite match up with what you’d expect. White Balance in particular was a bit janky. That said, I wish color reproduction were a bit better.

On the other hand, I do like the physical shutter button on the side of the phone. It lets you half-press to focus, just as you would on an SLR, and then full-press to capture.

Video recording was smooth and I have no real complaints there.

Display:

Here’s the thing with this display. It’s the same exact size and resolution as the Galaxy S II (though the Lumia has an AMOLED display as opposed to a Super AMOLED Plus display), which was considered a beast for the past year. With the Galaxy S III on the horizon and 720p displays flooding the market, I’d be hard-pressed to recommend this phone to anyone who’s recently upgraded to a new super phone. In tech, it’s very difficult to go backwards.

At the same time, upgraders coming off of a one- to two-year-old phone shouldn’t have too much of a problem unless you’re really keen on display issues. Graphic artists and designers, for example, will surely notice the pixelated resolution. And Windows Phone only compounds that. It’s heavy on images, even on the home screen, and white text on a black background makes the resolution look even choppier.

However, one important win for the Lumia 900 display is its ClearBlack technology. I was able to use the phone in bright, direct sunlight (with my sunglasses on, mind you) and had absolutely no problem viewing everything on the display. I think this is a pretty big deal, since every phone I’ve ever used becomes really difficult to view in sunlight.

Performance:

It’s tough to measure the Lumia 900 against Android phones or the iPhone simply because any of the benchmarking we’d do would be irrelevant anyways — they’re different platforms. But I will tell you this: The Lumia 900, and specifically Windows Phone, is snappier than any Android phone I’ve ever played with.

Granted, animations and transitions are a half a second longer than they are on Android, but they’re beautiful and as a whole, the OS never shows any sort of lag. Pair that kind of speed with a little 4G LTE radio, and the Lumia 900 surely won’t disappoint in the performance department.

I’m also a big fan of the IE9 mobile browser in this bad boy. It’s quick like lightning, as proven by its BrowserMark score of 28769.

Battery:

Battery life on the Lumia 900 is actually quite impressive. In real-world scenarios the phone lasts through the entire day, even with 4G on the entire time. It seems like phone makers are finally figuring out what it takes to make 4G viable in the battery department, and we’re glad to see it.

As far as official testing goes, the Lumia 900 lasted a full five hours. Our testing includes a non-stop Google Image search — the phone never sleeps or rests from 100 percent green to death. At any point I can make a call, play a game, or browse the web, all of which I did with the Lumia.

To give you a little context, the Droid 4 only hung in there for three hours and forty-five minutes while the Droid RAZR Maxx (Motorola’s battery beast) stayed with me for a staggering eight hours and fifteen minutes.

Head-To-Head With The Lumia 800 and iPhone 4S:

Check out our thoughts on this match-up here.

Hands-On Video: Initial Impressions

Conclusion

My editors always tell me to close these reviews with a definitive stance, as I should, but this phone makes it difficult. I wouldn’t, and couldn’t, tell a smartphone enthusiast who’s been using a Galaxy Nexus or iPhone 4S to upgrade to this, simply because it wouldn’t be an upgrade. You’d notice the camera issues right off the bat, and the screen would probably bug you.

But this doesn’t make the Lumia 900 a bad phone at all. It’s a great phone. Nokia kicks ass at call reception, and while the specs are a bit outdated, hardware is beautiful and sturdy. As I said before, anyone coming off of a phone over a year old would be lucky to own a Lumia 900.

Especially for free.

Check out all of our Lumia 900 review posts here.

With Windows 8 getting ever closer to its release date, Microsoft today announced that it is looking for volunteers to join its invite-only feedback program for active Windows 7 and Windows 8 Consumer Preview users in the U.S. In return for providing feedback to Microsoft – both by sending the company data or by filling out surveys – participants who stay in the program for more than four months will be eligible for “free software and Xbox games such as Microsoft Office 2012, Kinect Disneyland, and Forza Motorsport 4.”

In the announcement today, Microsoft communications manager Brandon LeBlanc stresses that this is not meant to be a way to submit bug reports. Instead, the idea here is to help Microsoft “build better software by getting a broader understanding of your perceptions and experiences with our products.”

It’s somewhat odd that Microsoft would choose this time to highlight this program. The Windows Feedback Program, after all, has been running for years already. Indeed, the sign-up for the Feedback Program is from 2009. While the sign-up form specifically mentions that volunteers will also be asked to provide feedback about Windows Live, including Hotmail and Messenger, today’s announcement puts the emphasis on Windows 7 and 8.

Chances are that the company is mostly making this appeal today because it is looking for more data about the Windows 8 user experience (a user experience that could definitely still use some work). It feels like it is rather late in the Windows 8 development cycle to ask for this kind of data now, though.

Ever since Microsoft launched the Bing API a few years ago, this service was available for free to developers who wanted to use data from the company’s search engine in their own products. Today, however, Microsoft announced that it will soon start charging for access to the Bing Search API. The subscription price will start at around $40 per month and will include 20,000 queries. As part of this change, Microsoft will also start using its Windows Azure Marketplace to manage access to this service.

While Microsoft announced these general changes today, it did not release any specific information about the transition timeline and pricing structure for users who need more than 20,000 queries per month.

According to the Bing team, this change will give developers “access to fresher results, improved relevancy, and more opportunities to monetize their usage of the Search API.”

Until now, free access to its API gave Microsoft’s search engine a bit of a competitive advantage, as Google’s free custom search API only includes 100 queries per day.

It seems like charging for API access is becoming quite the trend among the major search players, though. Google, for example, also just started charging its high-volume users for access to its Maps API. Google’s Translate API, too, transitioned to a paid model late last year.

Microsoft has announced that it has signed its largest-ever cloud services deal, an agreement with the All India Council for Technical Education to deploy Microsoft’s Live@edu service to some 10,000 technical colleges in the country, covering 7.5 million users.

The deal is significant not just for its size but also as a mark of how cloud services are developing in two big areas at the moment: education and emerging markets — and how Microsoft is staking out a claim to be a player in both.

Under the terms of the deal, the AICTE, an association representing both technical colleges and institutions of technology, will use Live@edu, Microsoft’s hosting communication and collaboration service specially customized for the education sector, to offer collaboration services, email, web apps, IM and storage to 7 million students and half a million faculty members. The deployment will take place over the next three months, Microsoft said in a statement.

Microsoft has not disclosed the value of the deal, but it won it over competitive bids from some of its biggest rivals in cloud services Google and IBM, another key reason for Microsoft to have secured the deal.

AICTE went for Microsoft, it says, because of the broader portfolio of services that Microsoft offers, and also its competitive pricing.

IT in India is one of the fastest growing segments of its economy — combined with back-office and outsourcing it’s an industry worth around $100 billion at the moment. Microsoft has a strong presence in the country already, so getting buy in from students who will be working in that sector in the country longer-term is a good way to ensure more loyalty to Microsoft’s products in the future.

To give an idea of the relative size of the AICTE deal compared to others Microsoft has signed, one of its more recent deals was with the Kentucky Department of Education covering 700,000 users. In all, there are around 22 million people using Microsoft’s Live@edu service, meaning that this newest deal in India represents about one-third of all of Microsoft’s cloud/education business.

[photo: Microsoft in India, flickr]