Last night in West Los Angeles, Microsoft teamed up with Best Buy and Major League Soccer to celebrate the grand opening of the Windows Store Only at Best Buy. Hundreds of customers and fans were treated to clinics and drills on a custom-built soccer field in the Best Buy parking lot, with a special appearance from U.S. National Men’s soccer star and LA Galaxy legend Cobi Jones, as well as hands-on demos of fitness and nutrition apps like Daily Workouts, Endomondo and BallStrike on Windows 8 devices.

Later that night, lucky fans were able to meet former U.S. Men’s National Team player Clint Mathis and legendary Galaxy star Mauricio Cienfuegos. Here’s what some of the attendees had to say about their experience, via Twitter:

LA radio personality @ChueyMartinez turned up the excitement at the event:

We here baby #winstoreBBY in #WestLA I'll be here from 3:30- 5:30 Pico & Sawtelle Come out and say hi!! @bbynews :) pic.twitter.com/DllwwJy3qL

— Chuey Martinez (@ChueyMartinez) August 7, 2013

Live Tiles is part of what makes a Windows Phone device a Windows Phone device. Live Tiles are what make your phone truly your phone. Personalized. Beautiful. You.

That magic doesn’t happen all by itself though, as Thomas Fennel, a program manager on the Windows Phone developer tools team writes in a post over on the Windows Phone Developer Blog.

The Dell Inspire House in the Hamptons has been hosting creative people from a range of industries and interests. Aug. 2-4 was “World Changers Weekend,” in which game changers from GirlUp, the UN Foundation and Dwell came together to focus on inspiring and empowering girls to make a difference in the world. The event included organic brainstorms with a network of inspirational leaders and motivated youth -- all of whom used Dell PCs and Windows 8 to solve problems, make changes and bring tech front and center.

And by love, I mean XAML? Windows 8 app developers can find a fresh batch of tips, tricks and how-tos for localizing their apps with XAML in the latest post on the Windows App Builder Blog.

Pure open-world candy.

That’s what IGN Entertainment calls “Watch Dogs,” a game that received more than 90 awards and nominations at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

In the game, you control a vigilante named Aiden Pearce who can hack into everything from the city’s electronic systems to security cameras to people’s bank accounts. He can then use his skills to destroy (or save) lives or, in the case of multiplayer, jump into someone else’s game and covertly attack them.

As Pearce says in this trailer on Xbox Wire, in "Watch Dogs," the city becomes your weapon and your enemies have nowhere to hide.

Sony’s announcement today of new VAIO | red edition PCs will come as welcome news to those who like a flash of color with their favorite devices, such as Brandon LeBlanc, chief blogger for Windows, who writes, "I love the color red,” in a post on the Windows Experience Blog. He reports on VAIO | red edition, which are a limited number of VAIO Duo, Pro, and Fit models “that come in a lustrous, rich, glossy red finish.”

Check out this post on the Windows Experience Blog for an impressive roundup of back-to-school bargains from Best Buy, Staples, Office Max, Fry’s and Walmart. Free copies of Office 365 University and gift cards sweeten many of the deals.

Over a billion people use Office. That’s 1 in 7 people on the planet who rely on Microsoft’s productivity apps to get things done. And for Office 365’s customers in business, government and education, those apps are an essential part of their operations. That’s why the Office 365 team works so hard to make sure their cloud services offer rock-solid reliability, as Office exec Rajesh Jha writes in a post on the Office 365 Technology blog today.

From all his years on “American Idol” and “The X Factor” Simon Cowell has become familiar to millions of viewers as the guy who is hardest to please and quickest to unleash honest zingers. But Skype put him in the hotseat as thousands of fans – and even some celebrity pals – sent in video questions for Cowell.

Skype’s Big Blog posted details about the interview with Cowell, who fielded the recorded video messages at his posh home shown to him and curated by rising young Youtube stars Meghan Camerena and Joe Sugg. They divided the best questions into four categories: Cowell’s Career, Simon’s Secrets, Music Matters and Celebroulette.

Xbox’s Major Nelson is here to show you what to expect when you’re expecting (nay, highly anticipating) the launch of Xbox One.

Be sure to watch the video above as he gives a first look at Xbox One by unboxing it right before your eyes, and keep watching as he shows you an up-close-and-personal look at its components and explains some of the new console’s particulars. Read Xbox Wire for additional info, including even more insider details from Albert Penello, our director of product planning for Xbox One.

You don’t have to hunker down in front of a TV or spend a day at the stadium to keep up with your favorite baseball teams, now that At Bat 13, the official app of Major League Baseball, is on Windows Phone 8.

Watch live baseball games through the free MLB.TV Game of the Day or access your MLB.TV Premium subscription to watch every out-of-market game. You can also listen to radio broadcasts covering games, and keep track of league action through a live scoreboard, standings, and schedules. Pin your favorite team to your Start Screen for quick access and get scoreboard updates right on your Lock screen.

So much of our lives are tied to our smartphones, including our finances. So if you’re a Wells Fargo customer and have a mobile device running Windows Phone 8, this part of your life just became a little more convenient. The Windows Phone Blog reports that with this new, free app, you can check account balances, make transfers, and deposit checks using your phone. It can also help you locate the nearest ATM, too.

Fact: The market for apps is global.

Fact: There are many potential customers who speak your language, but many more who speak languages other than your native tongue.

Fact: Windows Store is available in 230 international markets and more than 106 languages, but only about 7 percent of apps are localized to more than one language.

Given the facts, shouldn’t you consider having your app support multiple languages? The Windows 8.1 XAML platform provides some great infrastructure for building world-ready apps, details of which you can read on the Windows App Builder Blog today.

John W. Thompson recently sat down with Microsoft’s Channel 9 to share insights on his experience as a member of Microsoft’s board of directors as part of our Director Video Series.

Some of the most amazing interactive experiences in video games, animated movies, and more are powered by 3D modeling technology. And some of the biggest challenges creative professionals encounter working with 3D models is the process of sharing them for review – especially for teams trying to collaborate remotely.

Autodesk has heard the cries of frustration, and has published a solution called FBX Review app. This app, now in the Windows Store, enables Windows 8 tablets and PCs to be used for 3D model and animation review. Did we mention it’s free? Whether you’re working in 3D or just having fun with it, this tool will help you explore multiple dimensions of awesome.

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at “Brothers – A Tale of Two Sons.” The game features two heroes on the same journey to find the Water of Life, the only thing that will save their father.

It takes a novel approach to multiplayer – rather than controlling its two heroes separately, the brothers are controlled simultaneously with the Xbox controller’s two thumbsticks – the left hand is big brother, and the right hand is little brother.

The game, which launches today for 1,200 Microsoft Points as part of Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade, is like a fairytale in a storybook “where you don’t know what’s going to happen on the next page,” says Josef Fares, the game’s director.

The Windows Store Only at Best Buy launched Wednesday in the Los Angeles market, and is teaming up with Major League Soccer to highlight ways adults and kids can stay fit as they go back to school. There is everything from soccer drills on a full-size field in the parking lot to the latest Windows 8 fitness and nutrition apps. Soccer legend Cobi Jones (above) even showed off soccer and fitness tips to kids at the grand opening celebration. For more images from the event, check out this slideshow.

Since its launch in 2011, Microsoft’s electric vehicle charging program has grown to 11 EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment) stations on its Redmond campus with 18 locations.

The program was launched as part of an effort to create an environment that welcomed increased usage of electric vehicles in the Puget Sound region.

“More than 30 new electric vehicles are registered by Microsoft employees each month, however the exact number of EV drivers is difficult to determine as some drivers choose not to register their vehicle and use the charging facilities available. Due to growing demand and greater use, there is a plan to add more stations in the next 12 months,” writes Josh Henretig over on the Microsoft Green Blog.

Four standouts from Bing’s stellar suite of Windows 8 apps are now available on Windows Phone, the Bing Blog reports. The mobile versions of the apps – Bing News, Bing Sports, Bing Weather and Bing Finance – are as elegantly designed, highly personalized and packed with world-class content as their desktop counterparts.

Read on for a look at all four:

Bing News
Keep tabs on the latest headlines all day long with articles, videos and images from blue-chip content partners like Associated Press, New York Times and Reuters. You can also track your favorite topics and news sources, and even pin them right to your Start Screen.

Wednesday marks the official launch of the Windows Store Only at Best Buy. In celebration of the launch, we are throwing an event in Los Angeles that shows how technology can activate and invigorate a healthier lifestyle.

With more than one-third of U.S. adults and nearly 18 percent of U.S. children described as obese according to the Centers for Disease Control, technology is more important than ever as a major tool in reversing those trends. Windows 8 apps integrate personalized coaching, nutrition advice and fitness gaming into active routines.

One of the world’s largest airline groups, International Airlines Group (IAG) – the parent company of British Airways and Iberia – has chosen Microsoft Office 365 for its 58,000 employees, enabling its far-flung workforce to collaborate virtually anytime, anywhere around the world.

“Giving our employees the tools and freedom to achieve more in their day-to-day activities was a key component in our decision to engage with Microsoft,” said Nigel Underwood, chief information officer for IAG. “Office 365 will allow employees to collaborate and achieve their work tasks regardless of the platform, product or device. This is an excellent example of IAG enabling change within the group to create a common IT platform for our airlines which will be more efficient and reduce our costs.”

Big news from Tokyo: The Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company plans to deploy 30,000 Windows 8 tablets to its sales personnel starting in September.

This will be Japan’s (and one of the world’s) largest deployments of Windows 8 tablets to date, and is a close cooperation between Fujitsu Ltd. and Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.

The company will use the Windows 8 tablets to improve service and enhance communications with its customers, including using video and other content to explain its products. The tablets will also give the insurance company a competitive boost by streamlining contract processing and helping eliminate the need for printed documentation, all while providing enhanced security.

Who better to kick off Microsoft’s new store-within-a-store at Best Buy than kick-for-a-living soccer star Clint Mathis and his fellow Major League Soccer (MLS) players and coaches?

In June, Microsoft announced a partnership with Best Buy to create the Windows Store Only at Best Buy at 500 locations across the U.S. and more than 100 Best Buy and Future Shop locations in Canada. Wednesday, just in time for the back-to-school shopping season, the first of these Windows Stores will open at the West Los Angeles Best Buy, with a fleet of MLS players and coaches on hand to help celebrate. The soccer players will help show shoppers how to stay fit for back-to-school – from soccer drills on a full-size field in the parking lot to healthy food tips to the latest fitness and nutrition apps for Windows
8 like Daily Workouts, Fitbit, Endomondo, MyPlate Calorie Tracker, BallStrike and MLS MatchDay.

Got a fantastic idea for a new mobile app but aren’t sure your coding chops are up to snuff to make it happen using the standard development tools?

No problem! With today’s launch of Windows Phone App Studio, you don’t need to be a coding ninja to create a great app.

“Windows Phone App Studio is a free, Web-based app creation tool designed to help anyone quickly bring an idea to life by applying text, Web content, imagery and design concepts to any one of a rich set of customizable templates,” General Manager of the Windows Phone Apps & Store Team Todd Brix writes today over on the Windows Phone Developer Blog.

There may be no such thing as a free lunch (unless of course you’re one of those people who harvests berries alongside the highway), but this weekend there’s free Hulu Plus on Xbox Live. Normally you would need an Xbox Live Gold membership to access such a treat, but not so this weekend.

This joyous gift of free unlimited instant streaming of popular TV shows and movies on Xbox Live lasts through Sunday. For more details on this and also how to get two months of Hulu Plus free, check out Xbox Wire.

The marriage of Hulu Plus and Xbox Live means access to a vast library of entertainment. But add Kinect, and you’ll also have the ability to play, pause or rewind shows and movies with a wave of your hand or the sound of your voice (“Xbox, pause -- I need popcorn”).