A Microsoft official said the company has no plans to extend Windows XP's looming retirement date in order to give companies whose business systems run on the aging OS more time to migrate to a newer version of Windows--and that could be a problem for those who have yet to begin the transition.

"There's absolutely no chance" that Windows XP's April, 2014 end-of-life date, when Microsoft will end all support, will be extended, said Rich Reynolds, general manager for Windows Commercial marketing, in an interview.

Check out intense gameplay action from each of the nine multiplayer maps available along with the very first glimpses from our upcoming expansion pack Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand.

Hi-Rez Studios has finally set a launch date for the closed beta of its new free-to-play FPS, Tribes: Ascend. Those with beta keys will be able to strap on their jetpacks and start bouncing around on Friday, November 4th.

The announcement was made by Hi-Rez's Todd Harris during a lengthy 35-minute audio interview. He says gamers should not panic if they haven't received a beta confirmation email yet, as the selection process is still taking place.

"We have a date, you heard it here first. The team is working hard for closed beta to start on Friday, November 4th, so, a few weeks away. We plan on announcing that more broadly next week, and as you may have known if you've been following us, we wanted to start in September originally, that was kind of our original plan, but there were a few adjustments that we wanted to make before beta."

"Specifically, some things we've been working on are character progression elements, those were things that weren't in alpha, but will be in beta... and secondly, with the changes or improvements based on feedback from the alpha testing group... Disc jump strength was one, some challenge that people had in chasing down flag cappers which is a big part of the game, basically ability to quickly gain momentum from a standstill, and even overall speed of the game."

You can still apply for the Tribes: Ascend beta at the official website, although acceptance is not guaranteed. Todd says you can also get beta access via competitions or by pre-ordering a special "VIP starter pack" for the game. More information about this will be coming next week.

The developer of Battlefield 3 has gone some way to explaining why the Battlefield 3 Beta restricted players to a small map devoid of any vehicles. Speaking to The Guardian, DICE producer Patrick Liu said the map was chosen specifically to assist with the beta testing procedure.