Category msn

Learn to surf like a dude (in two days)

1 comment By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in msn, video Tagged with htc, mobile, mobile journalism, surf, video, windows phone November 16th, 2010 @ 2:37 PM

A couple of weeks back I was commissioned by the MSN Him channel to write a feature on learning to surf. I’ve always played around with the idea of being a surfer, lots of my mates are into the sport, but I’ve never plucked up the courage to give it a crack.

The problem is that it’s bloody cold in Britain and I’m a bit of a woose, so the commission gave me a great opportunity to sort my act out and get into the water.

I also took down with me one of the new Windows Phone 7 HTC Mozart devices to record with. Got some great learns, and some great shots. Big up to Bristol surf legend Richie Jones for giving me a few pointers and Pete Atherton from the Extreme Academy who trained me up over the two days.

See you in the water soon!

Read: Learn to surf like a dude (in two days)

MSN launches new MSN Games channel

0 comments By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in msn Tagged with games, gaming, halo, kinect, Mario, msn games, nintendo, playstation, xbox October 22nd, 2010 @ 2:34 PM

MSN today launches a new MSN Games channel www.msn.co.uk/games that will provide a real focus on a wide a range of gaming content, encompassing lifestyle and family titles, as well as releases for the more hardcore gamers. Gaming editorial on MSN is currently supported by the Tech & Gadgets channel but as part of the refresh, all existing content will be taken out of MSN Tech & Gadgets and merged into the new channel.

While continuing to cover hardcore gaming titles like “Grand Theft Auto”, “Forza” and “Halo”, MSN Games will also focus on casual gamers and more family-orientated games, such as Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing and Sims, as well as the best in free online games, including Bejewelled and Mah Jong Tiles.

Celebrity gamer and comedian, Iain Lee, will continue to provide his expert opinion in his hugely successful, monthly podcast, GameCast. MSN Games will also include weekly updates of the UK games chart, the latest gaming news, reviews, previews of forthcoming releases, as well as regular polls, user challenges and exciting ‘best of’ features.

Steven Wilson-Beales, MSN Games Content Manager, said: “MSN is delighted to be able to offer users a channel that is dedicated to the gaming industry. The gaming industry has evolved. It was once a place only for hardcore gaming, but now it’s for them and all the family. Research shows there are a huge number of gamers who own consoles and regularly play games, but do not consider themselves hardcore gamers. We wanted to create a channel that reflects the needs and interests of both these categories and have paid particular attention to the console market, to provide current content that is engaging, relevant and most importantly, enjoyable for the user.”

MSN Games has been created with casual and hardcore gamers in mind, following the success of the Gamer hub, which attracted 975,000 unique users monthly in the UK⁽¹⁾. For view the new channel, go to www.msn.co.uk/games.

MSN in the Connected Universe

0 comments By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in microsoft, msn, strategy Tagged with content strategy, convergence, microsoft, msn, portals October 22nd, 2010 @ 1:43 PM

Here’s a great overview of MSN from Geoff Sutton, General Manager of MSN International Media and Scott Moore, Executive Producer MSN US.

Robbie Williams on MSN Xclusives

0 comments By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in msn, music Tagged with interview, msn music, msn xclusives, robbie williams October 22nd, 2010 @ 1:26 PM

Wow – so it’s been a great couple of months on MSN Xclusives. We’ve already had Kylie Minogue, Pixie Lott and Katy Perry guest editing our Music section, and now we’re following up with Robbie Williams, Take That, Rihanna and Justin Bieber! It’s all going to be very exciting.

So visit the section now to watch our interview with Robbie, view his extensive archive of videos and, of course, read about what he’s up to in his very own words.

MSN and Shoothill create Battle of Britain interactive guide using Deep Zoom, PhotoSynth and Bing Maps

0 comments By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in msn, strategy Tagged with battle of britain, bing, deep zoom, msn, photosynth September 16th, 2010 @ 12:23 PM

by Alistair Bruce, MSN Senior Content Manager
To commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, we’ve launched this feature which is a great example of how MSN, working with partners, uses Microsoft technology to tell stories in different ways and to bring them to life.

Firstly, the series contains a striking photo and document archive contained within one single image – the iconic shot of St Paul’s with London blazing in the background – which users can zoom into to see hundreds of compelling pictures from The Blitz in great detail. This Deep Zoom mosaic was built in Microsoft Silverlight and features images, captions and scans of original secret documents detailing the Luftwaffe’s bombing missions.

The second feature in the series is our custom-built ‘TimeMap’, an immersive educational application built in Microsoft Silverlight which overlays historical maps with those of the present day on a live Bing Maps Platform. Using the ‘TimeScope’ feature, Users can see historic German target allocation maps and original aerial reconnaissance photos belonging to The Imperial War Museum, showing the Luftwaffe’s bombing targets in London and Coventry from gas works and power stations to water works and docks.

Lastly, the guide also allows Users to explore three interactive PhotoSynth images of some of the aircraft that took part in the Battle of Britain, including the Hawker Hurricane I, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb and the Heinkel He111 H-20. Users can navigate around these images in a virtual tour to see these incredible planes from every angle.

http://news.uk.msn.com/in-depth/world-war-two/battle-of-britain/

Katy Perry on MSN Xclusives

0 comments By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in msn, music Tagged with katy perry, msn xclusives, xclusives September 9th, 2010 @ 3:50 PM

Here’s the third instalment of MSN Xclusives – this time featuring Katy Perry. If you watch the videos you can see that she was really fun to interview, and very honest in her answers posed by MSN Music Editor James Hurley. It’s already doing really well on the network but let me know what you think!

Katy Perry on MSN Xclusives

Pixie Lott on MSN Xclusives

0 comments By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in msn, music Tagged with msn music, msn xclusives, music, pixie lott, xclusives August 30th, 2010 @ 3:27 PM

August saw the fantastic Pixie Lott guest editing MSN Music for the second Xclusives month. Before we head into September (which features an even bigger act) I thought I’d take some screen grabs. A pleasure to interview, looking forward to the release of her album very soon.

Kylie Minogue on MSN Xclusives

0 comments By Steven Wilson-Beales Filed in msn, music Tagged with deep zoom, deepzoom, fashion, interviews, kylie minogue, msn xclusives, xclusives July 2nd, 2010 @ 2:16 PM

Yesterday, we relaunched our MSN Xclusives brand in the MSN Music channel. Building on the success of our previous shows with The Pussycat Dolls and Sugababes and our great guest editorial work with the likes of Cheryl Cole and Rihanna – we’ve now launched a new monthly format that combines the power of both ideas.

http://music.uk.msn.com/xclusives/

Each month we’ll be publishing an extensive editorial package around a major artist. That means something new for chart fans that they can’t get anywhere else. More artists to be announced very soon.

First up – Kylie Minogue!
Right now you can check out:

· Exclusive Kylie Minogue interview – one of the very few granted to online in the UK

· Kylie Answers MSN User Questions

· Kylie talks about Fashion

· And not forgetting our incredible KYLIE MINOGUE DEEP ZOOM!

Hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think.