So Microsoft have been making a bit of a splash over the past 24 hours with the announcement of Windows Phone 7 Series.

I’m not going to go into the details of the OS, its hardware, its various features and whatnot – there are more than enough posts about that to go around.

What I want to talk about is why Microsoft, just like Apple, have completely missed the point.

So Christmas and the winter holiday season is nearly upon us – so you will all soon be looking out for what you can get your friends and family to celebrate.

I always have problems finding cool presents for my friends – they’re very much into technology and finding them something suitable and that I can afford is always tricky!

Fortunately there are some great value deals to be had at the moment that would make great presents, and won’t break the bank!!

Its high time we had a blog post about some juicy hardware to drool over, and I don’t really want to linger on the fruit company much longer, so time for some gorgeous Windows 7-powered pure awesomeness.

Now it’s not often that I’ll start a blog post with a sentence crammed of so may words of high praise for anything, let alone a piece of hardware I haven’t even had my hands on yet. But I think you’ll agree that this one is more than worth it – the Dell Adamo XPS.

This is a cross-post from the Microsoft Student Facebook page. Why not become a fan?

So the worldwide release of Windows 7 has happened, and everyone can now go and buy the latest operating system from Microsoft. In many ways Windows 7 revolutionises how you use your computer, and I’ve already written about the benefits of Windows 7 for students.

But what about when the work is all done and it’s time to play? Windows 7 has some fantastic entertainment enhancements, based on its legacy from Windows Vista and Windows XP Media Centre. Here’s an overview of the best bits you can expect with the new operating system.

Windows Azure is Microsoft’s new cloud computing and hosting platform, and you can get your hands on it today, for free!

Windows Azure is the next generation of cloud hosting solutions, offering both cloud hosting and cloud computation services in an environment that you already know and have worked with.

Built on the .net framework, Azure provides a flexible way of developing, testing and deploying scalable web services and applications.

From the Azure website:

Windows® Azure is a runtime environment in the cloud that delivers on-demand compute, storage, and automated systems management. Windows Azure provides developers with the ability to host, scale, and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft® data centers.

Now you can get your hands on Windows Azure today, for free! As part of the CTP, you can sign up and you will have an Azure account and demo application created for you to get you started with the platform. If you post a comment below when you sign up (don’t forget to leave your e-mail!), I’ll also make sure you get access to high-quality material on Azure to help you begin developing or learning more about the platform.

To get your free Azure account, sign up now at Free-Azure.com