Amazon launches its own game studio, goes social with Living Classics on Facebook

Amazon is committing itself to gaming much more seriously than providing a storefront: it just launched its own game development house. The simply titled Amazon Game Studios is starting out gently by producing a Facebook hidden object game, Living Classics, that lets the socially inclined dig around through scenes from well-known literature -- what else would you expect from the Kindle's creator? While the free, me-too game isn't going to give Microsoft or Sony any frights just yet, the company has the ambition of making "innovative, fun and well-crafted" titles. Amazon is actively recruiting more help for the studio as we write, so we'd expect more grandiose work before too long.

iPhone Add-On Will Let You Shoot 3D Pics, Videos

A cone-shaped add-on for the iPhone 4 and 4S will let you shoot 3D pictures and video from an easy to use app.
3DCone, the brainchild of Saturn3Designs, converts your iPhone into a a stereoscopic camera. It’s ideal for turning moving scenes into 3D images. You can check out some samples on the team’s YouTube channel.

Would you want to shoot from your phone in 3D? Have you tried any apps for 3D iPhone photography? Let us know if you think this cone is something big for iPhone photography.

Microsoft Builds A Robot So You Can Be In Two Places At Once

Microsoft spends over $9 billion on research and some of that money goes toward pretty cool things like putting Skype on wheels.
At its research lab in Redmond, Microsoft is working on a robot that will let you roam the room while on a videoconferencing call, controlled by you over the Internet. Using two cameras, a high-def display, this robot lets you control what you look at while on Skype, the Internet-calling service Microsoft acquired last year.
CNN has dubbed it the "robotic boss." The cable network's reporter seems to think managers will use it to hang with employees while they are really sprawled on a beach somewhere. We're not so sure about that, but it does show what the next generation of videoconferencing could look like.
Here's CNN's video of the device.
These clever researchers have come up with other types of Skype robots, too, like one that can take play with your dog when you are at work. This pet robot lets you see and talk to your dog through Skype, throw a ball and even give a treat.

Microsoft introduces Outlook.com, Hotmail's planned successor

Back in June, there were leaks about an alleged new Microsoft mail client -- "Newmail" -- something LiveSide.net described as a Metro-style Hotmail."

On July 31, Microsoft took the wraps off a preview version of that new client, which it is formally christening "Outlook.com." (The screen shot above is an example of what the new Outlook.com interface looks like.)

Microsoft is billing Outlook.com as a new free mail service that pulls features from Hotmail and Exchange. It is designed for personal/consumer use; Microsoft continues to position Outlook as its business e-mail client. Outlook.com is integrated with Windows and Office, and can pull in Twitter, Facebook, Gmail and LinkedIn contacts. The new mail client has the Metro look and feel. And it is providing users with more granular control over which ads they see and where they see them.

In some countries, @Hotmail email addresses are not pariahs. But in others, they're considered as unhip as @aol addresses. While Microsoft is not currently requiring Hotmail users to move to Outlook.com, the longer-term plan is to convince them to move to Outlook.com. There's no word on when (or definitively if) Microsoft will pull the plug on Hotmail.com, but I'd guess there is a date on someone's calendar at Microsoft as to when this will happen.

Those who've been following the increasingly regular feature updates that the Hotmail team has added to the service will be familiar with Outlook.com's features. The ability to view previews of attached photos; to "sweep" unwanted messages in bulk; to weed out "gray" (junk) mail more easily; and to access Microsoft's Office Web Apps (the Webified versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote) from inside mail are all part of Outlook.com. (I'm not really sure which unique Exchange features are part of Outlook.com. Anyone?)

Microsoft is providing new Outlook.com users with 7 GB of free cloud storage through SkyDrive. (If you already have a SkyDrive account, I don't believe you get an extra 7 GB added to your total available storage if you sign up for Outlook.com, however.) As it has been doing with Hotmail, Microsoft is trying to wean Outlook.com users from sending attachments. Instead, the focus is on saving files, photos and other content to the cloud, with "smart layouts" in email messages showing recipients what they can see via links and/or downloads.

On Windows devices, including Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs, users will have the option of choosing which mail client they want to use (when they click on the Mail app). One of the permitted choices will be Outlook.com. And on other mobile devices and phones -- not just Windows Phones, but any phone that supports Exchange ActiveSync -- Outlook.com will be a supported mail option, as well.

For those wondering about Skype integration, especially given this week's news regarding Google replacing Gmail video chat with Google+ Hangouts, Microsoft is dangling the promise of, at some point in the future, being able to launch Skype video calls from inside Outlook.com inboxes without having to use the Skype app. (It sounds like the ability to use Outloo.com plus video calling from the Web will be another option here.)

Microsoft is not commenting on when it expects Outlook.com will advance beyond the test stage. As of today, it is available in preview form. Those who already have @hotmail.com and/or @live.com email addresses that they want to move to @outlook.com can click "Upgrade to Outlook.com" in the options menu. Those who do not have existing Microsoft consumer mail accounts with those addresses can sign up for a new @outlook.com email address via www.outlook.com.

Microsoft teams up with shopping search engine for HTML5 digital catalogs

Dead tree product catalogs -- dated. Fortunate, then, at least for Mother Earth, that Microsoft's unveiled the results of its team-up with retail-focused search engine TheFind, several web-based Glimpse catalogs, offering the visual pizazz of a retail magazine without the carbon hangover. Injecting Redmond's HTML5 know-how into the shopping hub's catalog and social apps, it distills those functions into the single site. Stores including Brooks Brothers and Lands' End have already offered up their collections in the web store, but Techcrunch reckons the venture needs a little more work. The images appear to be little too compressed and blurred in the new format, while the detail view directs users to social network sharing rather than a product's description. But with Microsoft already offering the HTML5 juice that powers the online app for free, someone else might improve on the company's groundwork.