Microsoft

Well it's been said, as written on Phil Taylor's blog that we should expect a Microsoft Flight Simulator 11 at the end of 2010, perhaps in good time for 2011 and possibly being called FS11 or Microsoft Flight Simulator 11.  The official name for the next version of Flight Sim has still to be confirmed.  We've collected some comments and views about the next flight simulator and posted them with this article.

Microsoft have today announced their support in 23yr old Barrington Irving's round-the-world flight.  Microsoft's community website, FSinsider.com are providing real-time tracking of the flight from data from the aircraft.  Click on Read More for the full story.

Microsoft has announced that they will be sponsoring both International Flight Simulations Conventions, held in Denver, Colorado, USA and in Birmingham, UK. Microsoft will be demonstrating FSX and will be giving presentations about the technology and features of the next generation of Flight Simulator. For more information, click on Read More.

Microsoft has announced that it will delay introduction of Windows Vista for consumers until January 2007. What does this mean for flightsimmers? Well, since the next version, FSX, is meant to take advantage of the 64-bit dual processor features of Vista it means a delay until FSX can be fully used, even though a version of it is still on track for release in late 2006. For more details, and our analysis of what this means for the flightsim hobby, click on Read More.

Microsoft Corp.  will provide a stripped-down version of Windows from next month while it decides whether to appeal against a European Union court order, its general counsel said on Wednesday.  The EU's Court of First Instance earlier ordered Microsoft to carry out European Commission sanctions immediately.  To read the full story, click on Read More.

... What would you like to see in FS2006?  Forum captain RadarMan has had a great idea regarding what you would like to see in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2006. The idea of this forum topic is to gather what you guys (the public) want to see in the next flight sim and once we have compiled a list and following, submit the information off to the Microsoft Flight Simulator team. Posts are already booming down at the forums, come down and tell us what you would like in FS2006!

Microsoft has now released another in the series of Software Development Kits (SDK) for Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight. The new Terrain SDK explains how to add new line and polygonal data such as roads, rivers and coastlines. It also explains how to add custom terrain and covers importing landclass and DEM data. 

Microsoft has today announced the release of the first Software Development Kits (SDK) for Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight. The first five SDKs available include ABL, ATC Voicepak, Aircraft Container, FSEdit and Multiplayer/Flight Instructor.

Microsoft announces opening of their FS2004 Website: "Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the official Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight site is now live at http://www.microsoft.com/games/fsinsider/. Visitors to the newly launched site will be able to celebrate the past and explore the present as Microsoft unleashes its ninth version of the venerable Flight Simulator franchise. The rich history of powered aviation as well as the history of the Microsoft Flight Simulator franchise is presented on the site, including an article on the history of flight by Lane Wallace, columnist and west coast editor of Flying magazine. The site also features historical accounts, in-flight screenshots and cockpit images of the 24 aircraft. Visitors will also be able to download videos and keep tabs on events related to the 100th anniversary of the first flight. Enthusiasts around the world will experience the history of aviation with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight. As the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of powered flight in 2003, A Century of Flight allows virtual pilots to feel what it's like to take the controls of nine historic aircraft -- the record-breakers, the workhorses and the innovators -- such as Charles Lindbergh's Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, the Douglas DC-3 and the world's first successful powered aircraft, the 1903 Wright Flyer.