Everyone and their dog knows that a mobile platform is dead in the water these days if it lacks third-party developer support. Why? Because consumers now expect that there be myriad applications for their selection and employment on any serious handset line. Microsoft has been pressing hard to grow the WP7 developer pool since the phone line came out last year, and has done so with some success. At last count, there were more than13,000 WP7 applications....

Microsoft is growing its media partnerships for its Xbox Live service, with the likes of the BBC and Channel 4 in the UK, and HBO and Bravo in the US being added to its offering. In itsannouncementearlier today, Microsoft said it plans to roll out “the next generation of TV entertainment on Xbox LIVE”, which is its online service for Xbox 360. The offering will vary by location, and 40 new broadcasters and entertainment services will be added, including Bravo, Comcast, HBO GO, Verizon FiOS and Syfy in the U....

In a move that is sure to cause an eruption of cheers around the homebrew and hacking communities of the world, Microsoft is working to make the Kinect as open as possible in a bid to grow platform development. At a Microsoft Research open day itwas revealedthat a personal software development kit (SDK) for the Kinect will be released “this spring,” throwing open the gates for a great horde of developers to delve and get their hands dirty with Microsoft’s massively popular motion-sensing gadget....

Microsoft has promised to dramatically change the way that it releases CRM products, moving from “the traditional 3 years between major releases” for Microsoft Dynamics CRM to a “semi-annual release cycle (spring and fall).” Also in the works is an “automatic update” to Microsoft Dynamics CRM in the final quarter of 2011, and a “scheduled update” to Dynamics CRM in the middle of 2012. The scheduled update will provide a year’s flexibility for customers to implement it....

Reports that Nokia is about toenter negotiationswith Microsoft to sell off its phone division have set technology websites alight on Monday, with a particular Eldar Murtazin, mobile phone leaker to the stars, at the centre of the rumours. With reports gaining momentum, Nokia has moved quickly to squash speculation and put Murtazin firmly in his place. Mark Squires, Communications Director for Nokia took to Twitter to comment on buyout rumours, posting the followingshort message:...