Microsoft News Tracker

Recently there have been increasing rumblings about an unprecedented defect rate on the order of 30% in Microsoft’s Xbox 360 game console (e.g. [1], [2]). Today Microsoft acknowledged the problem and promised to fix it at the estimated cost of $1 billion:

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Microsoft is hoping to boost the Xbox 360’s anemic sales performance in Japan by launching the Elite version there on October 11 at $89 dollars off the US price. I suspect it’s going to take more than that.

Microsoft today announced that they will be opening a new software development center in Canada:

Microsoft Corp. today announced that it intends to expand its presence in Canada by opening a new software development center in the greater Vancouver, British Columbia, area. The Microsoft Canada Development Centre will open in the fall of 2007 and will be home to software developers from around the world.

“Microsoft is a global company, and our greatest asset is smart, talented, highly skilled people,” said S. Somasegar, corporate vice president of the Developer Division at Microsoft. “Our goal as a company is to attract the next generation of leading software developers from all parts of the world, and this center will be a beacon for some of that talent.”

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The Vancouver area is a global gateway with a diverse population, is close to Microsoft’s corporate offices in Redmond and allows the company to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S.

Since S. “Soma” Somasegar is providing the quote, one suspects it will be a developer tools oriented center. I hope they have their real estate lined up already - otherwise, the price just went up. Update: Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos is downplaying the immigration angle and says the center will initially have 200 employees.

Meanwhile, back in Redmond, Microsoft bought an unused 28 acre parcel from Nintendo of America:

Nintendo Co. said Tuesday that it reached a deal to sell Microsoft a vacant 28-acre parcel across from Nintendo’s North American headquarters. The agreement confirms widespread assumptions that Microsoft would buy the land.

Microsoft will keep the land in reserve for possible development in the future and use it to help alleviate a parking shortage in the meantime, said Lou Gellos, a company spokesman. The parking garages at the company’s adjacent RedWest campus are often filled to capacity.

The deal will close in mid-July at which point the price will be known.

Microsoft’s Kevin Beares unveils the Community Technology Preview (CTP)Program for “Centro,” Microsoft’s mid-market server bundle:

We have released a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Windows Server Code Name “Centro” and the team is looking for program participants to provide confidential feedback.

Follow the link for the requirements and the application procedure.