It's Official. Research Proves Internet Explorer Users Are Dumb

Have you been using Microsoft Internet Explorer to surf the web lately? If the answer is 'yes', then according to a report from the AptiQuant Psychometric Consulting Co., you may have a deficiency of intellectual acuity, or in simpler words, you have a low IQ! 

Of course, no one wants to be labeled 'unintelligent' for no reason, and rightly so. But here’s what the researchers down at AptiQuant did to arrive at this result: A Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (IV) test was given to 101,326 people over a period of four weeks. All the subjects were randomly chosen from English-speaking countries over Internet search engines. These subjects then had to undergo a Verbal, Performance and Full Scale IQ test. From the results that were computed, it was observed that most of the individuals who obtained a low IQ score were found to be using Microsoft Internet Explorer.

The proof

All IE (Internet Explorer, we mean) users out there, undoubtedly are up in arms after this apparent insult to their intelligence but wait; the humiliation doesn't end there. According to the same report (see graph above), the lower the version you’re using, the lesser your IQ level, with IE version 6, users being the least smartest in the lot. Clicking the upgrade button already? Talk about adding insult to injury or vice versa. Firefox, Chrome and Safari users seem to be well in a league above IE users. Those using Opera, Camino for Mac OS and plug-ins on their IE with the Chrome Frame seem to have the smartest of IQs.

Does this really mean IE users are unintelligent?!

The second analysis calculated the results in a different dimension. An assessment was made to see how the choice of browser changes, as we go from one end of the IQ scale to the other. The percentage usage of all the top ten browsers was also calculated. It was seen that at the lower end of the IQ level, the number of IE users were maximum. In contrast, barely anyone with a high IQ level used Internet Explorer. Also, Camino and Opera users started off with a relatively high IQ level, as compared to the other browsers.

A simple cross correlation between these two findings simply seemed to confirm that Internet Explorer users didn't seem to express the same amount of intelligence as those using other browsers.

The test was conducted in person and only through invites. If you're looking to prove these guys wrong, you'd either need to be invited or you could opt to pay a fee, which run into hundreds of dollars to take the tests. Whether or not this data can be taken for granted is left up to you. The tests were quite conclusive, though and the bottom line was simply: a majority of those with lower IQ tend to use some version of Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Hotmail to Block Simple Passwords

If you thought 123456 was a strong unhackable password, think again. Microsoft is going to stop users from using simple passwords. Hotmail, Microsoft’s free e-mail service is going to force users to use more comprehensive and complicated passwords. It’s just not simple sequence of alphabets and numbers, a lot of users tend to use short phrases and statements as passwords such as ‘ilovedogs’ or ‘ilovecats’. Microsoft feels that easy passwords are more vulnerable to brute force password hacks, where a program or individual is likely to use a list of commonly used passwords to gain access to your account. Once that happens, it’s very simple to change the password of that account. This new rule will be enforced soon and you’re likely to be asked by Microsoft to change your password if it’s deemed too simple.

Guidelines to ensure your password is strong enough

Looking at the large number of recent hacking incidents, there’s no telling who could be the next target. Microsoft is probably playing it safe by forcing users to change the way they set passwords. Microsoft even has an online page dedicated to passwords. There’s a list of guidelines on what a good password should contain and what are considered bad passwords. If you’re one of those who uses simple passwords, do give that page a read.

Microsoft, Sony to be Partners?

New domain registrations by Microsoft suggest that arch enemies Microsoft and Sony could be teaming up! The domains registered are sony-microsoft.com and Microsoft-sony.com. Both these domains currently just lead up to a search page, however, there’s no official word yet on what those URLs are going to be utilised for. Partners? Gamers might see this as a rather bizarre case of two separate plans intersecting each other. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PS3 are mortal enemies and there seems a possibility of a combination of the two evolving into a super console for gamers. On the other hand, it could just be for the PC platform with Sony PCs already shipping with Windows. Or a new Sony Ericsson phone running Windows Phone 7? With Sony’s recent online problems, there could also be a possibility of integration with Xbox Live. With two massive companies, the combinations are endless. For now, Microsoft is staying put by confirming that the registration was a ‘defensive domain hold’. Either way it’s a win – win situation for both companies currently suffering from hardware (Read: Microsoft) and online (Read: Sony) problems. What do you think this ‘apparent’ latest merger is about? Do let us know in the comments section.

Now Even Ads are Interactive on the Microsoft Xbox Kinect

At the Cannes International Advertising Festival, 2011, Microsoft’s advertising GM Mark Kroese introduced a new advertising format that integrates the use of Kinect for Xbox 360’s voice-and-gesture controls to its advantage. Called NUads, this new advertising concept intends to make advertisements ‘irresistibly interactive’, as also bring the consumer and content on a single platform. Now, advertise, too Although the product won’t be available before next year, Kroese gave out much more at the event, than just fleeting details. He demonstrated as much as five voice commands on Xbox Live to help advertisers decide for themselves. The voice commands included: Xbox tweet – A command, which would tweet something about a particular brand, almost immediately. Xbox More – A command to allow users to make a request for additional information, or have a coupon emailed to them. Xbox Near Me – A command that will bring forth a Bing map tracing the nearest retailer, as also sends a message to the user with the location. Xbox Schedule – A command to remind users about an upcoming show. Also, using the wave gesture users can give in their feedback in the end, when asked to vote. Catch Microsoft's advertising GM Mark Kroese speak about the newbie at the event, right  below:

Samsung to Pay $15 Per Handset for Using Microsoft’s Patents

If software giant, Microsoft has his way, then South Korea based consumer electronics major, Samsung will have to cough up $15 for every Android-based smartphone that the latter produces. Microsoft, apparently, is the patentee of an exhaustive range of patents that the mobile platform integrates. Seeking patent rights.. Samsung, however, is believed to be working on a way to go in for a more fruitful association with Microsoft to lower the payback price to $10, by integrating the latter’s Windows platform, stated a BBC report. Samsung isn’t the first brand to have been asked to pay up such a price for every handset it manufactures. Sometime in April, last year Microsoft had locked a similar licensing deal with HTC. However, no word from Samsung has been received yet on this issue.

China’s Baidu ties up with Microsoft’s Bing

Shanghai: Baidu, which has three-quarters of China’s search market, signed a deal with Microsoft’s Bing to offer English-language search to Baidu users, as it eyes an overseas expansion and Microsoft aims to increase its presence in the world’s largest Internet market.
Baidu dominates China’s search-engine market after Google Inc pulled out last year following a high-profile fallout with Beijing over censorship.
The partnership will allow English-language input into Baidu’s search box to automatically activate Bing, whose search results will be delivered to Baidu’s web pages, Baidu said in an emailed statement on Monday.

Baidu ties up with Microsoft's bing. Reuters.

Analysts said the tie-up would help Bing to gain greater access to China’s more than 450 million Internet users and further dent Google’s business in the country.
“The cooperation between Baidu and Microsoft will further strengthen Baidu’s dominance in China’s search-engine market, and will also make Google’s business in China more difficult,” said Dong Xu, an analyst with Analysys International.
Baidu had 76 percent of the Chinese search market in the first quarter of 2011, according to Analysys International data.
Bing, which censors its contents in China to be able to operate in the country, has a negligible share of the market, while Google has nearly 20 percent counting visits to its offshore sites.
The new tie-up, due to be launched this year, builds on existing cooperation between Baidu and Bing on mobile platforms and page results, said Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo.
Kuo said Bing was not submitting to any further censorship or restrictions on its English search as a result of the deal “than they already do”.
Microsoft was not available for comment.
With web penetration hovering around 30 percent and lack of sophisticated users outside the big cities in China, the potential for growth in the sector is huge, analysts say.
Some analysts were however skeptical of just how much demand there would be for English search on Baidu.
“It’s a good thing, but I see very minimal impact for Baidu. I don’t see a lot English keywords going through Baidu. It goes through Google,” said Wallace Cheung, a Hong Kong-based analyst at Credit Suisse.
It is not Baidu’s first time to enter the search market overseas. It has a Japanese search service that is loss-making.
Baidu has also been diversifying from its core search business to compete in the fast-growing segments of mobile and social networking.
Baidu has hinted it is developing a mobile device operating system and recently invested $306 million to take a majority stake in travel website Qunar, as it focuses more on e-commerce. The company also has a stake in online video firm Qiyi.com.
Shares in Baidu have risen more than 48 percent so far this year, even after falling in June, as concerns over fraud at some Chinese companies listed overseas hit market sentiment towards Chinese companies listed in New York more broadly

Microsoft Merges GFW Marketplace and Xbox.com

In a move that was probably anticipated months ago, Microsoft has decided to move its Games of Windows service to Xbox.com. This merger’s main aim is to make sure gamers get “all their gaming needs in one place”. For those who don’t know, Microsoft’s Games for Windows marketplace is similar to Valve’s Steam where gamers can digitally purchase entire games online.

Coming soon to Xbox.com

Eurogamer managed to get in touch with a Microsoft spokesperson about this merger and here’s what they had to say, “All of the same content from GamesForWindows.com will be available on Xbox.com so members of communities across Xbox 360 and Games for Windows can purchase and get details on their favorite games, all in one place. All account information will remain the same and community members can still take advantage of their Xbox Live profile in their Windows games and stay connected to friends who are playing on the PC.”

Both these services are expected to come together by the 11th of this month.

End of the Line For MS Office XP

Microsoft’s Office suite has come a long way. One of its oldest, most used versions, Office XP will be discontinued on the 11th of July, 2011. In doing this, Microsoft will no longer offer patches and updates to the aging office suite. Just last week, Microsoft released a service pack for their Office 2010 office suite. Users of Office XP received five years of support and another five years of extended support. Office XP was released in May 2001 and it’s been more than a decade since its launch.

Program continues to function, service updates halted

Microsoft has stated that the version of Office will continue to function, but future updates won’t be available, and so they do not recommended using it. Microsoft also has been in the news for their new Office 365 web suite that's direct competition to the Google Docs Office suite. It’ll be interesting to see how many users actually move from Google Docs and the entire Google suite to Microsoft’s alternative. Most users, including large organisations have moved from their traditional mail services to Google. Those on tighter budgets are using Oracle’s OpenOffice suite.

Windows Gets Another App Store

Yesterday, we announced the arrival of Pokki, an app store for the PC. Today, yet another one has arrived and this one's called "Avenue". While Pokki puts mobile-like Applets on the PC, Avenue is an avenue for fully functional Windows apps. The Avenue App store comes from a company called Netvolution, and provides a way for Windows users to browse and download Windows compatible desktop applications. Users can browse applications by popularity or by category and as well as by new and featured apps. Categories include games, communication, reference tools, utility, entertainment and multimedia.

Another app store for the PC

Commenting on the safety of Avenue, Netvolution CEO, Matt Smith says, "While there are plenty of websites that allow Windows PC users to download software, most target only a specific niche user or are filled with unscreened and unlicensed software. Avenue is the first centralized marketplace for all kinds of Windows PC software that’s safe and on par with the app stores that exist for Mac and mobile users."

To shop in Avenue, you can either add apps to your wishlist or to your shopping cart. Your user account works across computers, so if you log in from another computer, downloads that were in progress on say, your home machine, will continue on the new computer. Right now, apps are a little sparse, but as the popularity of apps for the Windows desktop grows, both Avenue and Pokki, as well as the others that come up, will have greater variety in the apps they carry.

Microsoft Unveils Office 365; Google Plays its Trump Card

We last reported about Microsoft's plans of launching its Office 365 services, by this month. Today, at an event in New York City’s Skylight Soho, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer might brace himself to make an important announcement, that of the launch of Microsoft’s Office 365, an online productivity platform. Office 365 is being furthered as the software giant’s leap in the cloud sphere.

Unveiled..

Microsoft aims to include its prized Microsoft Office, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online as part of the Office 365 package. Users can avail these services, starting from today for $6 per user, each month. What is expected to stay in the limelight, and make competitor Google squirm in their seats, is the introduction of Office 365 Marketplace, complete with productivity apps, and other services. Microsoft is also amidst re-packaging their BPOS (Business Productivity Online Suite), and believes that the transition to cloud, should make it worthwhile.

Just as Microsoft readies itself to make the big announcement, one could expect Google, who has made a name for itself in the space, to follow close on its heels. Google has, indeed, launched a small-time strategy to position its own Google apps, to help users make an ‘informed choice’. Google’s App Product Manager, Shan Sinha on the company’s blog mentioned that unlike Office 365, which is optimized only for Microsoft’s own OS-based PCs, Google's services can be used on any OS, anywhere.

It now remains to be seen how well, or otherwise Office 365 fares especially with Google riding alongside.

Microsoft Allows You To Search for iPhone Apps

Microsoft's including search results for apps, including iPhone apps in its Bing search engine. The feature is called "auto app discovery" and it surfaces apps along with regular web queries. For example, a search for "Hotels in Mumbai" will pull up a section called "app results" which shows results like Expedia and TripAdvisor. You can also search specifically for "Top iPhone Apps" and "Download Fruit Ninja" and you'll find the apps.

Search results in Bing lead to iPhone apps

Bing will also help you directly download the app where if you perform a search on Bing on your phone, it will give you a link to download the app. Clicking that link will take you to the app in the App Store. If the app is already downloaded on your phone and the developer's integrated the launch functionality, Bing will launch the app on your phone. Apps like Facebook and Yelp can be launched directly from Bing. Some of these apps will launch within context, so if you search for "X-Men", IMdB will open up to a results page for "X-Men".

Microsoft Possibly Working on Own Windows 8 Tablet

Microsoft might be taking a cue from Apple and deciding to manufacture and sell their own Windows 8 tablets. Rumours state that the Windows OS developer might be working with Texas Instruments and Taiwanese OEMs to build a Microsoft branded tablet. Microsoft has chosen not to confirm the rumour to Digitimes, the source of the story. The tablet, if it does exist will be launched sometime at the end of 2012. If the rumours are true, there’s bound to be some displeasure from Microsoft’s partners who would be launching their own Windows 8 tablets Microsoft refuses to confirm or deny the rumours Apple and Google both have devices that are sold as their own although they both use OEMs to manufacturer the devices for them. Microsoft hasn’t had the same success as Apple in creating their own brand of products. The Xbox 360 is their only major success. The other products such as the Zune and Kin smartphone failed to impress. Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system is slated to be launched in 2012  with support for desktops as well as tablets based on the the ARM architecture as well as traditional x86 and x64 systems.

Facebook And Microsoft Join Hands Against Child Pornography

Child Pornography is one of the worst things to happen since the birth of the internet.  The battle against the victimization of children is one that is being fought by agencies worldwide, and it now has over 500 million friends to help them out.

Together for a good cause...

According the Microsoft Blog, Facebook is joining Microsoft in the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s PhotoDNA program to combat child pornography.  For those who are unaware of what the PhotoDNA program is all about. It was developed by Microsoft, working with digital imaging expert Dr. Hany Farid of Dartmouth College (North Hampshire) and it can identifies certain images irrespective of changes made to the image like resizing or cropping.

Microsoft began implementing PhotoDNA technology in Bing and SkyDrive, including images posted to SkyDrive through Hotmail. In over two years the PhotoDNA software was able to identify over 1,500 matches on SkyDrive and 1,500 matches through Bing’s image search index .Facebook is the first online service provider to join Microsoft and use the PhotoDNA software. To stay in perspective, Facebook services host more than 30 billion pieces of shared content, including photos, Web links, news stories, blog posts and more. Searching through them for child pornography will be a tough task, but not impossible thanks to PhotoDNA.

Microsoft Launching Google Docs Competitor, Office 365 This Month

Google took the lead ages ago by providing a free Office suite replacement on the web. Microsoft followed suit and it has been working on a web-based office suite called Office 365. It’s been in beta for a long time and it’s finally time to be launched. According to Neowin, the suite is all set to launch sometime this month.

Free services for consumers also available

According to a Tweet post by Jon Roskill from Microsoft, the date set for the launch this year on the 28th of June. He also states there are some 100,000 customers on beta. The beta first launched in late 2010 to limited users after which it was made available as a public beta in April, this year. Those who register for the beta will also get an additional month of free access to the service. The Office 365 suite will include Exchange, SharePoint, Lync (which isn’t available to Mac users) and Office Web Apps 2010. To compete with Google’s mostly free Docs service. Microsoft also has a free version available for non-business or enterprise users. Docs.com is one of them. For business users, the schemes for Office 365 start from $10 a month to $27 a month.