Broken Certificates Force Microsoft To Put Windows Phone Marketplace App Publishing On Hold

About two weeks ago, Microsoft deployed its new Windows Phone Dev Center with a completely rebuilt backend infrastructure. While this transition went smoothly at first, Microsoft encountered an embarrassing bug this week that caused it to put a temporary stop to app publishing to the Windows Phone Marketplace. The bug causes issues with Microsoft’s new digital certificates it uses to sign apps and many Windows Phone users haven’t been able to download any new apps since the beginning of the week.

According to Microsoft, this issue only affects phones that were upgraded to Windows Phone 7.5. The company also says that just a small number of apps are affected by this, but the ones that are include some very popular apps like the New York Times app and cross-platform messaging service WhatsApp.

Microsoft says it has identified the cause of this issue and is “already planning to roll out a fix.” The company did not provide any estimate for when it plans to resume app publishing or when users can expect the affected apps to be available for download again.

Here is Microsoft’s statement regarding this situation:

We’ve encountered an issue with our new digital certificates that impacts Apps published in the last few days as a result we have temporarily stop publishing new apps. Please note: all published Apps remain available in the marketplace.

Please know we are working to resolve these issues as quickly as we can and will keep you posted as to when publishing has been resumed.

There are currently only about 10 comments in Microsoft’s official developer thread about this problem.

Windows Phone 7 is the successor of the Windows Mobile 6.5 mobile operating system in development by Microsoft, scheduled for release by October 2010. Microsoft’s goal is to create a compelling and predictable user experience by redesigning the user interface, disallowing partners to modify or replace it, integrating the operating system with other services, and strictly controlling the hardware it runs on.

? Learn more jQuery(function() { jQuery("#tabs-crunchbase").tabs(); });

View the original article here

Microsoft already hiring for next generation Surface

Microsoft Surface won’t be launching until October, but the company is wasting no time in getting the ball rolling on the next generation of Surface devices. A dozen Microsoft job ads have been discovered by TechRadar, and they’re all related in one way or another to future iterations of Surface. Microsoft, for its part, maintains that the only Surface devices are the two tablets that have been announced, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t planning for the future.

Microsoft should be planning for the future too, since the tablet industry moves at a breakneck pace. If Microsoft wants to compete with the big boys, it’s going to need to be offering new things at a pretty fast rate, which is precisely why it has put these job ads out. The job ads were posted between June and August of this year, and include positions like component specialists, mechanical engineers, and materials experts.

In other words, Microsoft isn’t planning to merely update Surface, but to build new products in the Surface line. We already knew that Microsoft was planning to make Surface into a family of products, and it looks as if the company is already beginning to work toward that. These job ads all say “We are currently building the next generation and Surface needs you!” so Microsoft’s intentions seem pretty clear.

So there you go – we may all be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the first Surface, but Microsoft is already gearing up for the next generation. Don’t expect Microsoft to explain these job ads anytime soon, as the company will definitely want to keep any work on the next devices in the Surface line as secret as possible. We’ll update you when new information surfaces, but for now, just know that Microsoft is taking this Surface deal very seriously.

View the original article here