Steve Ballmer was the victim of an ‘attempted egging’ at a Hungarian University today.

As you’ll see in the video below, the protester stood up and made comments against Microsoft for stealing billions in Hungarian taxpayer money. Ballmer was forced to take cover behind a desk… But I’ve got to say… Two thumbs up to Steve for how well he handled the incident.

[via cnet]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Microsoft, Protests, Steve Ballmer

Microsoft is planning to offer up software for the iPhone. A recent interview noted that Microsoft developers are looking into a variety of possibilities including Office functionality on the iPhone.

Tom Gibbons, corporate VP of Microsoft’s Specialized Devices and Applications Group (wow, that’s a mouthful) recently told Fortune magazine:

“It’s really important for us to understand what we can bring to the iPhone…To the extent that Mac Office customers have functionality that they need in that environment, we’re actually in the process of trying to understand that now. We do have experience with that environment, and that gives us confidence to be able to do something. The key question is, what is the value that we need to bring? We’re still getting comfortable with the SDK, right? It’s just come out. So we had a guess as to what feasibility would be like, now we’ll really get our head wrapped around that…”

It should prove interesting to see what Microsoft develops for the iPhone. With Apple’s support for Microsoft’s Exchange e-mail server and ActiveSync protocol, there are a lot of possibilities here. Seems as though Microsoft would be smart to take a piece of the iPhone App ‘Pie’ so-to-speak.

[via InformationWeek]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: iPhone SDK, Mac Office, Microsoft, Tom Gibbons

Xbox Media Center has finally arrived for the Mac. I think i’ll stick with my Front Row, but as the XBMC team points out, the Xbox Media Center apparently outshines iTunes/Front Row/Apple TV in the following areas:

• Resolutions up to, including and even surpassing 1080P (AppleTV is currently @ 720P)
• DTS/AC3 passthrough that decodes multichannel audio (which is great for playing DVD/BluRay/HD-DVD sourced audio).
• Almost unlimited video and audio format support.
• A great virtual file system layer with support for protocols like UPnP
• There is a great looking weather item that puts very useful info in front of your eyes.
• It’s an open platform… Look for Youtube browsers, RSS readers, visualizers, MAME/Other emulators can and are being integrated seamlessly.

Interesting stuff. I will not be checking this one out hands-on, but it definitely looks like there are going to be a lot of happy Macboxers… er, Xmacers, um… well… Happy mac users that happen to have an xbox.

[via 9to5mac]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Apple TV, front row, Microsoft, xbox, xbox media center

Last week, Mr. Jobs was being interviewed by CNBC’s Jim Goldman when he was asked about the threat posed to the iPod by the Vole’s famous mp3 player, the Zune.

His response was to ask ‘Do you even know anyone who owns a Zune?’

Well, I’d like to say that I do, so there! And they love it. They say that it’s brilliant. It works excellently, is stylish, the sound is incredible and the battery life is out of this world.

I’d like to say all of that.

The thing is, I know a lot of people who really like Microsoft’s products. Real Microsoft fans. We tend not to stay in the same room for longer than entirely possible - they just end up getting too defensive.

Well, the thing is… it’s like this…

I don’t really know anybody with a Zune. I’m sure I probably do. Statistically, I must. Or, at least, I know someone who knows someone who has a Zune. Maybe. My LinkedIn network has lots of people on it - almost 2.5 million at the third degree (friends of friends of friends - or something). Some of those on the second degree work for Microsoft for crying out loud. One of them must have a Zune. I’m sure that walking around the Richmond campus listening to your iPod would be a hanging offence. So they must have a Zune.But the thing is, nobody has actually told me about it.

You know the way that your friends who have an iPhone or an iPod Touch or even just a new iPod, you know the way they ‘let you know’? That’s never happened to me with the Zune. Which is a little odd because someone must have one. And someone must like them.

Actually, I want the Zune to be good - well, better than it is now. I want it to be an innovative product. Something that stretches the boundaries of what we expect from a media player. I want some competition from Microsoft. Actually, it can come from anyone but they seem to have the most money to throw at this one.

The Zune being fundamentally unloved and, let’s assume, a bit useless is not good for Apple or for us as end users. Apple could become complacent. The iPod could become flabby. Anything could happen.

By buying something that has been panned and ridiculed, Zune owners are standing up for competition and the improvement of media players for us all. It’s exactly the same process that has led to Mac OSX being so much better than Windows Vista - except that at all stages, Apple got there first and did it better.

So, if you see or hear of anyone with a Zune, don’t mock them. Instead take a photo and keep it safe - as a constant reminder of what could have been.

written by James Barisic \\ tags: Apple, iPod, Microsoft, Steve Jobs, Zune

A few weeks ago, Apple released some new online advertisements based on the familiar Mac and PC ads. This new advertisement consists of a banner on the top with a carnival style banner that says, “Don’t Give up on Vista”, in dimmed letters. On the side stand John Hodgman (PC) and Justin Long (Mac). PC explains how this advertisement will help people switch to Vista and then he pushes the button. But then the only words that light up are, “GIVE UP”. So he simply pushes it again. Now it says,”GIVE UP ON VISTA”. Mac explains how that’s unfortunate and PC keeps smashing the button as the as the banner switches between “Give up in Vista” and “Give up”.

“Why is this ironic?”, You might ask. The thing that is ironic is that one of the many places you can find this ad is on the CNET.com Vista Guide. So while people are learning about Vista and possibly even considering “upgrading” to it they can view this ad that says “Give up on Vista. If you would like to view the ad you can head over to the CNET Vista Guide here.

written by Jack \\ tags: Mac vs. PC, Microsoft, Vista

Vista, Vista, Vista… We’ve heard nothing but trouble over here regarding the Microsoft Vista operating system. Do you run Vista? Having trouble getting apps and devices to work properly? If so, you’re not alone. Don’t believe the hype you hear from the big Microsoft promo machine.

In a recent survey of IT professionals (961 surveyed), 9 out of 10 have major concerns about migrating to Vista.

I’ve heard horror story after horror story regarding Vista… Numerous more complaints than I’ve heard about OS X Leopard. No OS is perfect, and Leopard does have its issues, but it appears Leopard’s issues are nothing compared to Vista’s at this point.

If you are a Vista junkie, there is potential help on the way. A support pack 1 preview was sent to 15,000 testers last week.

[Source]

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Microsoft, Vista

Our friend Kirby over at GoodieBag.tv sent us this great video. Watch as he dissects the Leopard overview/tutorial video and points out some jabs at Microsoft… Plus much more…

Thanks Kirby!

written by Mr. Mayor \\ tags: Microsoft, OS X Leopard