Xbox 360 Sets the Stage for Beatlemania with Fab Exclusives ahead of 09.09.09 Launch

“All You Need Is Love” and more coming exclusively to Xbox 360 and “The Beatles: Rock Band”

 

Xbox 360, Apple Corp, MTV Games and Harmonix are giving the world new ways to relive the magic of Beatlemania with the launch of “The Beatles™: Rock Band™” (Harmonix/MTV Games) on 09.09.09. Beginning at launch, Xbox 360 will give Beatles fans, rockers and gamers alike the chance to download an exclusive Beatles track to benefit Doctors Without Borders and test their Beatles knowledge with a unique “1 vs 100” experience – only on Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.

 

All You Need is LIVE

This autumn, Xbox 360 will harness the passion of its more than 20 million Xbox LIVE members for charity. “All You Need Is Love” will be released exclusively on Xbox®360 video game and entertainment system as a downloadable song for “The Beatles: Rock Band” through Xbox LIVE on September 9, 2009 with Apple Corps Ltd, MTV Games, Harmonix and Microsoft proceeds benefitting Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison personally selected the international emergency medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971 as the beneficiary of the proceeds. The track will be available for 160 Microsoft Points.

As if that wasn’t enough, you’ll also be able to fill even more of your entertainment time with music videos, documentaries and movies inspired by the Fab Four on Xbox LIVE. From classic tunes from band members to the best of the Mersey’s music from today and the critically acclaimed documentary, “Imagine: John Lennon,” it’s all there for you at the touch of a button.

In addition, “The Beatles: Rock Band” owners will be able to download the full “Abbey Road” album beginning on October 20, along with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Rubber Soul” following in November and December respectively. The albums will be available for 1360 Microsoft Points, with individual tracks at 160 Microsoft Points each.

 

Beatles-Inspired “1 vs 100 LIVE”

Need more ways to prove your love for The Beatles? Then challenge the depths of your knowledge of The Beatles in a unique “1 vs 100 LIVE” episode. Coming on August 29, as an Xbox LIVE Gold member, you’ll get the chance to not only chat live with some of the creative minds behind ”The Beatles: Rock Band,” but also call in to test your knowledge of the band and their music and even win some Microsoft Points for your efforts. Immediately following, fans who can’t get enough can continue the fun with two back-to-back “1 vs 100 Extended Play” episodes full of Beatles trivia.

 

More to come

Coming soon, music fans and gamers will also get the chance join the “Fab Four Mystery Tour” – an interactive look at the Beatles and the many twists and turns of their career. The website was created using artwork and animations from the eye-popping intro cinematic for “The Beatles: Rock Band” created by Passion Pictures, that debuted at E3 this year.

European Safer Internet Day : very good initiative !

Today, at the occasion of the European Safer Internet Day, I’ve taken  part to an Employee Volunteering action together with my Belgian colleagues.

If you want to know more about this nitiative, just click HERE

I’ve visited the school of my kids. By the way, this was also my school

This was a great opportunity to explain how to surf safely on the Internet.

I’ve trained 4th, 5th and 6th year of primary school and general feedback was very positive and I’m sure this day was really useful for the kids but also for the parents who will recieve additional information on this.

 

Internet is an excellent place for kids to learn, explore, play games and communicate with friends and family.

Still, there are some risks that children, teenagers and parents need to look out for when surfing the Web. 

These could include online fraud and identity theft, cyber bullying, or risks to their personal computer or device.  But, there are some tips and tricks that kids and parents can learn to help protect themselves, their families, and their computers when they go online. EU Safer Internet Day is all about creating awareness about this, and provides a great opportunity for Microsoft employee volunteers to teach children and parents at schools about how they can make the most of using the internet in a safe and responsible way.

Microsoft Game Division Triples Profits In Strong Quarter

Tech giant Microsoft saw its second fiscal quarter profits rise 60 percent year over year in the three months rounding out 2009, outpacing a 14 percent revenue gain.

 

Entertainment and Devices Division, a larger division that includes the Xbox 360, Games for Windows, and Zune, managed to triple its profits even as revenue fell.

To read more, go to :

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26948/Microsoft_Game_Division_Triples_Profits_In_Strong_Quarter.php

Microsoft Outpaces Apple in Customer Satisfaction

Microsoft Corp. got a bigger boost in customer satisfaction from its latest computer operating system than rival Apple Inc. did from its most recent upgrade. The CHART OF THE DAY shows that respondents giving Microsoft a positive grade for satisfaction rose to 67 percent in the week after the Oct. 22 release of Windows 7, from 64 percent the day before it went on sale, according to YouGov Plc, a London-based market-research firm. Microsoft’s satisfaction rates rose 14 percent through the end of the year. To read more on this go to : http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aajIjMcEp.E4&pos=15

Internet 2009 in numbers

Take a look at these numbers. This is really amazing !

This is clear, the world is changing fast.

•  90 trillion – The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2009.
• 247 billion – Average number of email messages per day.
• 81% – The percentage of emails that were spam.
• 234 million – The number of websites as of December 2009.
• 1.73 billion – Internet users worldwide (September 2009).
•  18% – Increase in Internet users since the previous year.
• 126 million – The number of blogs on the Internet (as tracked by BlogPulse).
• 84% – Percent of social network sites with more women than men.
• 27.3 million – Number of tweets on Twitter per day (November, 2009)
• 350 million – People on Facebook.
• 50% – Percentage of Facebook users that log in every day.
• 1 billion – The total number of videos YouTube serves in one day.
• 2.5 billion – Photos uploaded each month to Facebook.

To know more on this, just click HERE

12 reasons NOT to buy an Apple iPad

 I’ve read a very interesting BLOG from Joe Wilcox after the relase of IPad.

Here-below, a short summary of the 12 reasons why he is not going to buy an iPad. To be honest, this list makes sense.

Take also a look at this VIDEO coming with the same messages

I also agree with  Samuel Axon, who writes at Mashable: “The iPad isn’t going to be a phenomenon with either netbook users or power users. It’s not better than existing devices at anything, and it’s too expensive for most people to use it as a secondary device.”

1. The iPad isn’t good enough to replace smartphone or laptop.

• Apple’s tablet offers too much functionality that overlaps the smartphone below and laptop above.
• A Windows laptop would offer way more functionality for about the same price, or even less, than iPad.
• Sure, iPad costs less than a Macbook or MacBook Pro, but those laptops run a real desktop operating system, while iPad packs iPhone OS.

2. Persistant data connection costs too much.

• Amazon’s Kindle ebook readers come with free 3G service (US).
• Sure, iPad does so much more, but the user not only pays about twice as much for the device but $15 or $30 month (as there is no 3G Free – Cost US), instead of nothing. 
• The bigger question: Why pay for two 3G services — smartphone and iPad?

3. Web experience is inferior to other devices in its size class:

• Apple’s promotional Website claims that iPad is “the best way to experience the Web.” But the device doesn’t support Adobe Flash, for starters, and that means the experience is less than comparably sized PC slates or netbooks running desktop or desktop-class browsers.

4. Screen resolution is inadequate.

• iPad’s native screen resolution is only 1028 x 768. That’s simply too little for the size and price, particularly when many PC slates, netbooks or laptops offer higher screen resolution for about the same price.

5. Aspect ratio is 4:3 in a 16:9 world.

• Widescreen everything is today’s video consumption standard. But iPad’s aspect ratio takes you back to the last decade.

6. It’s nothing more — and some things less — than a big iPhone (without cellular voice) or iPod touch.

• Like its small siblings, iPad runs iPhone OS, accesses iTunes Store and built-in App Store, displays photos, plays movies and music, etc., etc., etc. OK, so there is iWork and bigger screen. I’m not pining for the differences.

7. There’s no camera.

• But there should be two, one pointing outwards for taking photos and supporting applications and another inward facing for video conferencing.
• Camera is one of the greatest utilities on most portable devices, whether cell phones, laptops or even netbooks.

8. Connectivity options are limited without pa

• There’s no HDMI port or any other useful one.

9. Accessories tell the real story — iPad isn’t good enough at any of its price points. 

• The users will need to pay more to Apple for accessories, like the aforementioned camera connectors (there are two) and the keyboard dock.

10. The iPad requires a Mac or PC.

• That USB connector comes with iPad for a reason. The tablet would make more sense as a standalone device connecting to cloud services.
• In #1, I dinged iPad for not being a smartphone or laptop replacement. Sadly, that’s by design.

11. There’s no GPS on three models

• No-3G limits the device’s mapping capabilities and its ability to spatially orientate for using augmented reality applications.
• The accelerometer and compass are OK — as they are on iPod touch — but 3G makes a big difference when also orienting location. GPS is available on three 3G iPad models, but buyers will pay more for the device and for monthly data service fees.

12. It’s a closed system.

• Actually it’s a step backwards. 
• Everything is tied to iTunes Store, which is as closed as Apple is secretive about new products.

Create your own @hotmail.be address !

I’m happy to share something new for Belgian people using hotmail / msn

From now, you can create your own @hotmail.be address …

So, you can surf to www.hotmail.be (or to Hotmail from www.msn.be) and select ‘register’ to create your brand new @hotmail.be address.

So go & create your firstname@hotmail.be address.

Quick links (sign out first):

NL: – https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?mkt=nl-be&rollrs=12&lic=1

FR – https://signup.live.com/signup.aspx?mkt=fr-be&rollrs=12&lic=1

Record Revenue for MICROSOFT !

I’m very glad to show you very good performances of the last Quarter Microsoft (the company I’m working for )

This is a record for the revenue = $19.0 billion for the last Quarter,  and earnings per share of 74 cents

Dec 2009 was a very strong quarter for Microsoft, in which the Windows attach rate started climbing.

Bing’s U.S. market share continues to inch upwards, with the search engine growing slightly stronger than Google Inc.

Although the agreement with Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO – Analyst Report) is still pending regulatory approval, this could help the company acquire additional expertise in the space.

Microsoft also has a number of products in the pipeline, including Azure, its cloud computing platform (first product to be launched next month) and Natal, its natural user interface for entertainment devices (to launch in the holiday season).

If you want to read more on this, read a good article by clicking HERE

A Big-Picture with services from Google, Microsoft, Apple and Yahoo

The world is changing and the digitalisation of everything (musis, picture, video, …) will accelerate adoption of new technologoes and servies by the consumers.

I realize this since I’ve been working for Microsoft.

Stepping back further than a single search engine fight, it’s evident that Google, Microsoft, Apple, and even Yahoo are now competing in numerous different business arenas.

The chart below illustrates many of the services these companies provide.

Some of their products have been cornerstone revenue streams, and others are just at the beginning of development. But putting them up against each other really helps illustrate each company’s focus and their possible future directions of exploration.

To read more on this, just click HERE

What they’ll be talking about in Davos ?

What they’ll be talking about in Davos

The World Economic Forum annual meeting kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, this week with a lofty agenda devoted to some of the world’s most pressing issues, including rebalancing the global economy, shaping the future of climate change, and innovating health care.

In this package of both new and recently published content, McKinsey experts and practitioners provide their insights to help shape the debate on some of these headline topics.

 

Debt & Deleveraging

The looming deleveraging challenge

 

Climate Change

Decoding Copenhagen: What the climate summit means for business

The business opportunity in water conservation

 

Health Care

What does it take to make integrated care work?

Engaging consumers to manage health care demand

A hospital-wide strategy for fixing emergency-department overcrowding

 

Global Consumers

A consumer paradigm for China

How US consumer spending is changing

Japan’s luxury shoppers move on

If you want more on this, just click HERE

Marketeer’s New Playbook

I want to share with you the marketer’s new playbook I’ve discovered in McKinsey Review. 

View on the Web: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/newsletters/chartfocus/2010_01.htm

In previous recessions, many marketers doubled down on large, historically profitable customers, geographies, and market segments-an approach that may now be ineffective because economic woes are affecting consumers and markets in unexpected and very specific ways.

Marketers should therefore toss out their historical expectations and look for emerging pockets of profitability.

One beverage company, for example, conducted surveys that identified staggering differences in the potential gains from customers in markets and micromarkets.

The respondents’ price sensitivity varied by up to a factor of 13 across regions, of 5 across cities within them, and of 3 across zip codes in cities. This level of detail helps companies to maximize their returns by focusing on specific areas that are less sensitive to prices while also driving sales volumes elsewhere by offering discounts or preferential pricing.