Microsoft helps Americans understand UK

Educating employees before they move countries is obviously a noble undertaking. Unfortunately some of the advice handed out can come across as a little unnecessary and condescending when read out of context. Still, Microsoft should be awarded an A for effort.
The United States and the United Kingdom are long-time friends. The two countries share a language, a homogeneous, multi-cultural population and a love for one another’s cultures. And yet despite all this the U.S. and the U.K. are very different countries.
Microsoft has recognized this fact, and so rather than send American workers to the U.K, ill-advised and unprepared, the company has produced a guidebook for these employees to read before they make the trip over the pond into a new life. As a Brit myself, some of the guide makes for amusing reading.
The pamphlet is titled A Guide To Working & Living in Cambridge
(Cambridge being the city housing Microsoft Research’s UK facility). It helpfully informs incoming workers that firearms and drugs are illegal in the U.K. It also suggests that while the NHS is indeed free, the “main disadvantage” to this in practice is that there can “occasionally be long waits for certain treatments.”
Next on the list is the humble pub, which is “more than a plain bar,” instead being “homely places full of historical character (and characters!).” And don’t forget chippies, which sell the “national treat of fish, e.g. cod, fried in a crispy batter.”
More differences are outlined, such as terms for housing and the higher price of petrol in Europe. All stuff which an incoming American worker needs to know, but which sounds rather odd when spelled out so blandly in a handbook of this nature.
Despite my slightly mocking tone, American Bridget Hannigan, who moved to the U.K. in 1988, told BBC News, “[This guide is] not a bad thing. If someone has just been transported here I think this could be helpful. There are a lot of differences. It took me about three months to adjust.”

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Microsoft reorg confirmed: Xbox One OS now under Windows division

As rumored, Microsoft has confirmed that the company will be going through a reorg via a memo from Steve Ballmer. The memo details a massive restructuring of the company dividing everything into a number of divisions. As a result, it seems that the Xbox division will now be split across two departments.
In Ballmer’s memo [via All Things D], he outlines the new divisions: Business Development and Evangelism, Marketing, Engineering, Advanced Strategy and Research, HR, Legal, Finance, and Operations.
Under Engineering, the division will be segmented under four units: Operating Systems, Applications and Services, Cloud and Enterprise, and Devices and Studios.
As previously rumored, Windows Chief, Julie Larson-Green has been named as the person in charge of Devices and Studios, which includes the management of the Xbox One hardware. Its widely believed that Don Mattrick was pinned as the candidate to take on this role before he moved over to Zynga. Larson-Green will also be responsible for Studio management.
The Operating Systems unit will be headed by Terry Myerson, former head of Windows Phone. Myerson will oversee Windows and Xbox One’s software functions including OS and software Apps. This is a telling move, showing the direction Ballmer wants to take the Xbox in.
As a result of this reorg, financial reporting will no longer be broken out into distinct business units like Xbox/Entertainment. This may make it much more difficult for investors to determine the performance of specific products such as Windows Phone, Bing and Xbox One in the future.
Its alarming that the OS for the Xbox One will now be helmed by the Windows division. Its been rumored since back in 2001 that the ‘old school’ cronies in charge of the powerful OS division has objected to the money losing Xbox. Its not surprising as Microsoft is a software company and is used to enjoying profit margins higher than 60 percent.  
The original intent of the Xbox was to levy the game console as a Trojan horse by paving a road into the living room for Windows. With the Xbox’s OS software under Myerson, the direction of how the platform will operate will ultimately come from his area. Ballmer did emphasized collaboration between the various departments as the key to succeeding.
With Don Mattrick out, its concerning that there is no longer a ‘games guy’ in the leadership position at Microsoft.

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Is Microsoft right to increase the price of Windows 8?

The ability to get Windows 8 on the cheap (in a legal and legitimate way) is ending soon. But is Microsoft doing the right thing in upping the price of its latest operating system?
Anyone choosing to upgrade to Windows 8 from XP, Vista, or Windows 7 has, until now, been able to do so on the cheap. By taking advantage of Microsoft’s admittedly generous early discounts, it’s been possible to justify switching to the latest operating system, even if you’re not convinced it’s worth the time and effort to do so.
However, things are changing, and soon.
The promotional pricing for Windows 8 that Microsoft chose to offer from launch is ending on Jan. 31, 2013. The offer has meant that anyone buying a new Windows 7 computer could upgrade to Windows 8 for just $15, and anyone with an older computer (XP or newer) could upgrade to Windows 8 for $40.
From next month the price of upgrading will increase to $120 for Windows 8 (Core) and $200 for Windows 8 Pro. This has caused a considerable amount of consternation among some people, who have complained that Microsoft is somehow ramping the price up to take advantage of consumers after the initial frenzy of interest has died down.
As pointed out by Paul Thurrott, this isn’t actually the case. The promotional price was always temporary and always going to end a few months after Windows 8 was launched into the wild. The new price is also the same price as Windows 7 was after its initial promotional period ended. In other words Microsoft is doing things completely by the book.
That isn’t the end of the story though. Maximum PC argues that Windows 8 is a different beast from Windows 7, and that the cut Microsoft gets from everything sold through the Windows Store means the initial asking price for the OS should be lower. There’s also the fact that Windows 8 isn’t doing anywhere near as well as Windows 7, which adds to the argument for pricing it accordingly.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we witness a u-turn from Microsoft on this one. The current promotion will lapse, but there’s nothing preventing them from instituting a brand new one.

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