Today Microsoft has unveiled what it hopes to be a new multi-billion dollar product category called “Surface Computing”. Using a relatively large, 30 inch flat table-top like surface in a manner similar to that of the movie ‘Minority Report’ users interact with the surface using touch, completely throwing out traditional user interfaces.

Surface computing is designed to be completely intuitive requiring no instructions or training to learn how to interact with the surface. Individuals using the Microsoft Surface simply use their fingers to select items, move them around and configure items and shapes such as maps and photos.

The Microsoft Surface currently works off of four key properties. The first is “direct interaction” allowing users to “grab” items on the screen with their hands or fingers and manipulate them naturally by moving them.

The second of these attributes is “multi-touch” …

Until recently Xbox 360 owners were able to download a firmware hack which allowed them to play backed-up games and essentially boot-legged copies of games on their game console. They were also able to participate with them on Xbox Live seemingly without any notice from Microsoft, but that appears to have changed.

Apparently with the recent Spring Update earlier this month and coinciding with the beta release of Halo 3, Microsoft has shown that they are able to detect and ban those consoles with modified firmware. When consoles with the modified firmware is detected users will receive an error code (Status Code: Z: 8015 - 190D). As a result, Microsoft is permanently banning modified console from the Xbox Live service, but they are not banning the individual user account. When trying to connect through the modified …

Now that Microsoft has announced a September 25 release for its much anticipated “Halo 3″ PS3/Wii killer, Gamestop is offering a piece of crack right now for all the Halo-ites that can’t wait that long.

The online video game store is selling an exclusive branded “Halo 3″ Zune that comes preloaded with a ton of Master Chief goodness. Those that buck up the $249 will get three “Halo 3″ making of documentary videos, the 2006 E3 trailer, the “Starry Night” commercial, the “Halo 2″ theatrical trailer, the first six episodes of “Red vs. Blue” as well as a custom made episode just for the Zuners. You also get the first two games’ original soundtrack (three in all counting the two volumes made for “Halo 2″) and over 120 different pieces of concept art, paintings and production designs from the games’ development.

What’s not included is …

If you haven’t been following the story, Microsoft has recently made claims on a broad scale that various open-source software applications are infringing on patents that Microsoft holds, and although many of the cited issues are not relatively new Microsoft has chosen now as a time to do something about it.

Basically open-source software is distributed to users without any fees, and the source code is available for developers to modify or build on and to give back to the projects and/or redistribute for free to others. Revenue is earned from open source software generally by selling related services surrounding the actual products. Alternatively, companies like Microsoft and many others build applications that require purchased licenses and make the money by selling the actual software. As open source applications become larger in numbers, more …

Microsoft has recently announced the release of Deepfish, a web browser for mobile devices that’s still in its early stages. The new browser for smart devices promises to make the experience of browsing web pages closer to that of viewing the pages on a standard desktop browser.

For the most part, browsing the internet on a “smartphone” is cumbersome at best. There are a number of sites that have been developed with scaled down pages targeting mobile devices, but for the vast majority of web sites (including SlipperyBrick) you will need to view it in the full-size which can make it hard to view and navigate.

Toward the end of last year we had news of an Opera web browser that has “Small Screen Rendering” that would “shrink” standard size pages down to be viewed in full on Samsung mobile phones. The …

Microsoft today finally confirmed the worst-kept secret in the gaming biz right now: the Xbox 360 Elite is coming to store shelves on April 29 and will cost $479.99.

The rumors about what the Elite will come with were pretty much on the money: a 120 GB hard drive (which will also go on sale separately for $179.99), a wireless controller and headset in black, HDMI cable and a one-month Gold membership to Xbox Live. You will also be able to buy matching black play and charge kit and battery for your fashionable black controller just to ensure that your color scheme doesn’t clash with the white 360 look.

The big reason for the Elite model of Xbox 360 is Microsoft’s push to offer more high definition entertainment to its customers. On the same day that it officially announced the …

“Any day now” was right when the Brick reported a week ago that a press release would be coming soon from Microsoft announcing a release of the highly anticipated, upgraded Xbox 360. The new console will be called the Xbox 360 Elite and comes with some upgrades to both the feature set and the price.

In an attempt to further improve the overall appeal of the Xbox 360 Microsoft has upgraded the game console by increasing its hard drive capacity 6 fold bringing it to 120 gigabytes, as well as adding an HDMI video connection to send out high definition video content. The 360 Elite will also hold true to rumors by shipping with a black case, black wireless controllers and black Xbox Live headset.

The new 360 Elite will retail for $480 (up $80 from the 20 gigabyte version) and will …

It’s been floating all over the tech sites that Microsoft is close to announcing a new, beefier version of the Xbox 360, to be dubbed the Elite. The Elite will reportedly sport a 120 Gig drive, which is 100 Gigs more than the first 360, and it will include an HDMI cable and output support. The color scheme will also be different: instead of the white plastic casing that the original Xbox 360 features the Elite will be wrapped inside a black casing. Cost of the Xbox 360 Elite: $479.

The source of the online rumors could be traced back to a scanned page from the new issue of Game Informer magazine, but savvy online readers that had been burned before by Photoshopped pics were wary to take the report at face value (plus, the developer 360s were made in black casing.) Nevertheless, …

Microsoft has confirmed that when its highly anticipated “Halo 3” finally arrives in stores this autumn, gamers will have the option to buy one of three different versions.

The “Halo 3” Standard Edition is comprised of the game and standard packaging (box and interior booklet.) A Limited Edition version will ship inside an exclusive metallic case. Inside along with the game will be a bonus disc which will feature behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the game, a documentary, a first-of-its-kind audio-visual calibration tool that will tweak your system to deliver the best “Halo” experience, and looks at the game’s conceptual designs, background universe setting and more in a special book.

Finally there will be the Legendary Edition. You get the same bonus disc and book as found with the Limited version plus a second exclusive disc that will contain remastered …

There are probably a number of you out there that went ahead and bought their Xbox 360 without the hard drive in it and saved some dough, only to find out when you got home that your really probably did need that hard drive to keep you from starting over at the beginning of your game every time. The drive also is needed to have somewhere to download games and demos.

Your options were either to live with it, or get a 64MB memory unit to at least save some things. Well, Microsoft has heard your concerns and coming April 3rd they will be offering a $49.99 512MB memory unit for sale that will hold a lot less than the 20GB hard drive that would have cost you twice as much, but it’s better than nothing. It’s also better than the …

In a speech by Bill Gates at CES earlier this year, Gates talked about upgrades to the Xbox 360 including live IPTV service. Microsoft is now planning on showing off this service integrated with the Xbox 360 and the Connected Home show in London the week of March 5th.

IPTV in the game console will be demo’d by Ed Graczyk, Worldwide Director of Marketing and Communications for Microsoft TV, during his keynote speech at the event. “Separately the Xbox 360 and Microsoft TV IPTV Edition deliver unique and exciting entertainment experiences, but IPTV on Xbox 360 delivers a real value proposition for consumers, service providers and content and game developers alike. By integrating these industry-leading solutions, we continue to drive innovation and enable new connected entertainment experiences for consumers.”, said Graczyk. This will be the first …

Rumors of an Xbox 360 price drop continue to swirl but remain unconfirmed by Microsoft but the company may have just made an unofficial statement that they’re expecting more consumers headed their way. Starting on March 16 eight more titles are being added to the Xbox 360 Platinum Hits collection, all priced at the affordable cost of $29.99.

The titles include the 360’s must-have FPS from its launch date, “Call of Duty 2”, plus “Burnout: Revenge”, “Dead or Alive 4”, “Battlefield 2: Modern Combat”, “Fight Night Round 3”, “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter”, “Top Spin 2” and “Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis”. Microsoft is also offering new Platinum Hits to their customers in Japan (including “Chrome Hounds” and “Perfect Dark Zero”) and Pacific Asia (“N3: Nighty-Nine Nights” being one of the new wares.)

As well the Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows just …

MSN recently announced a new mini-website featuring LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The site illustrates the inspirational story of the three-time NBA all-star and encourages kids to take action in their lives and make a difference of their own.

The Website is in a storybook-style and allows kids to explore LeBron’s role as a community activist, his dedication to basketball and academics including his devotion to his friends, family, and teammates.

The flash-based site includes interactive Windows Live content for people with a MSN account or a Windows Live Space. It is also a forum where James can interact with MSN users and share his experiences and encouraging messages.

A special section of the Website includes a series of challenges and obstacles issued by LeBron. As participants complete the challenges, LeBron shares the difficulties and successes he …

In a Monday conference call to investors Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that sales expectations for the company’s new operating system, Windows Vista, had been “overly optimistic” – but not by the software titan that made the program. Instead, Ballmer dumped blame on aggressive expectations by analysts who had stars in their eyes rather than reasonable sales expectations. “Some of the Windows revenue forecasts I’ve seen are overly aggressive,” Ballmer was quoted as saying. “You shouldn’t think of a huge surge in fiscal year ‘08 relative to ‘07. There are a few who think we are going to do so much better than PC growth.”

After five years spent in development Vista launched to retail at the start of this month. Microsoft has reportedly spent around half-a-billion dollars alone to market the latest version of Windows to …

You may want to set a side a little time for some updates and rebooting on Tuesday, February 13th. Microsoft has 12 security updates scheduled in their monthly security bulletin communication that list out various Security Bulletins affecting Microsoft software products.

Eight of the security bulletins scheduled to be released Tuesday affect Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office with seven of them having severity rating of ‘Critical’ with the rest rated as ‘Important’. The remaining four bulletins range from ‘Important’ to ‘Critical’ and will affect Windows with Visual Studio, Step-by-Step Interactive Training, Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) and multiple security applications that run on Windows including OneCare, Antigen, and Wiindows Defender among others.

Along with these high-security updates, Microsoft will be releasing another update to the Malicious Software Removal Tool and 10 additional non-security related high-priority updates.

These security updates from Microsoft are a common …