Redmond, U.S.A. — Major global brands, including Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, Johnson & Johnson Services, Rooms To Go, Bank of America and PCL Constructors, are among the early adopters deploying Windows 8-based apps to address their business needs and engage consumers in new ways.

From offering partners sneak peeks at TV shows and movies, to staying in lockstep with consumers at retail, to helping keep workers safe by preventing construction site incidents, these companies are discovering how Windows 8 apps can improve the way they do business.

“It’s so great to see a number of the world’s most well-known companies choosing Windows 8 to advance their businesses,” said Erwin Visser, senior director of Windows Commercial Marketing at Microsoft. “Windows 8 opens new doors for businesses to improve the way they collaborate and share information, enhance customer experiences, uncover new business opportunities, and much more.”

Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution

Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, a division of Twentieth Century Fox responsible for the global distribution of its library of television series and feature films, has developed a Windows 8 app for its industry-leading customer site, FoxFast.com. FoxFast.com was created to give broadcast partners 24/7 access to screen the vast library of programs, as well as to easily access all the marketing materials needed to create and support launches.

With an increasingly mobile business landscape and the division’s transition to a fully digital distribution model, the studio needed a simple method for broadcasters to securely screen its products and download their marketing assets on-the-go. Creating the Windows 8 app was the next natural evolution for FoxFast.com — a touch-first app that scales to work on a variety of devices — making the site’s offerings accessible anytime, anywhere around the world. Like FoxFast.com, the new app provides customers with an authenticated user experience to securely screen content and manage marketing assets. The FoxFast app is now available in the Windows Store for download.

Johnson & Johnson Services

Johnson & Johnson has developed a new Windows 8 app called the Digital Health Scorecard. Available in the Windows Store, the app provides consumers with a simple way to understand the state of their health and what they can do to lessen their long-term risk for developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. According to the World Health Organization, these common conditions account for three out of every five deaths around the globe. The insight gained from the Digital Health Scorecard can help engage and motivate people to make small changes that can lead to healthier, happier lives.

The Digital Health Scorecard has been designed to be fast and easy to use. The app can and should be reused on a regular basis so that people can understand their progress over time. Johnson & Johnson has led the effort to develop the science behind calculating the score and will update it over time as new data becomes available.

Rooms To Go

Rooms To Go, a furniture retailer, has developed a Windows 8 line-of-business app that provides an intuitive, touch-enabled point-of-sale experience for customers, taking advantage of continuous connectivity. The app consists of a suite of mini-apps that allow the sales associates to stage the sales process and transaction in-store without leaving the customer’s side. Customers can also seamlessly browse the full line of available inventory through the app and conceptualize different room settings. This allows for a cost-effective solution for all sales associates across 175 stores.

Bank of America

Bank of America has developed the Bank of America Mobile Banking app for Windows 8 that gives customers a digital experience that is optimized for the Windows 8 user interface and takes advantage of features such as Live Tiles.

Customers have the convenience and accessibility of checking balances, paying bills, making transfers, locating ATMs and banking centers, making deposits, receiving alerts, and redeeming BankAmeriDeals offers from tablets, laptops and desktops.

PCL Construction

PCL Construction, a construction company based in North America and Australia, relies on technology to enable the business. PCL considered Windows 8 a promising new platform for improving the capabilities available to its employees, with a particular focus on field staff, executives and frequent travelers. The company developed a Windows 8 line-of-business app called the Safety Management Center that allows its field staff to record observations while on the construction site and simultaneously fill out inspection forms remotely — helping employees address potential incidents on the job site before they occur. More importantly, Safety Management Center is helping PCL deliver on its ongoing goal of zero safety incidents.

Read more about Windows 8 enterprise customers developing apps on the Windows for your Business blog. More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

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Kicking criminal butts and taking the law into his own hands, Danny Trejo (‘Machete’, “Sons of Anarchy”) ignites the screen in the gritty, violent and enthralling film ‘Bad Ass’, arriving on Blu-ray and DVD June 5 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Inspired by the viral video of a vigilante citizen taking action into his own hands, ‘Bad Ass’ also stars Ron Perlman (“Sons of Anarchy,” ‘Hellboy’) and Charles S. Dutton (‘Alien 3’).

Decorated Vietnam hero Frank Vega returns home only to get shunned by society leaving him without a job or his high school sweetheart. It’s not until 40 years later when an incident on a commuter bus, where he protects an elderly black man from a pair of skin heads, makes him a local hero and he’s suddenly celebrated once again. But his good fortune suddenly turns for the worse when his best friend Klondike is murdered and the police aren’t doing anything about it.

Directed by Craig Moss (‘The 41 Year Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall And Felt Superbad About It’), ‘Bad Ass’ is inspired by the Epic Beard Man video that captured two men’s highly charged verbal and brutal physical altercation on a public bus in Oakland, California. Posted to YouTube, the video spread like wildfire and the heroic elder bearded man was anointed Epic Beard Man. The video has garnered more than five million views.

The ‘Bad Ass’ Blu-ray and DVD has a featurette and audio commentary. Both the Blu-ray and DVD are now available for pre-order.

The second big DVD release coming from Twentieth Century Fox is more Noir than a straightforward action flick, though it still promises to deliver on the excitement front.

Hailed as “a crime twist worthy of Hitchcock and dialogue worthy of the Coen Brothers” (Screen Daily), ‘Thin Ice’ arrives on Blu-ray and DVD June 12 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Starring Oscar-nominee Greg Kinnear (‘As Good As It Gets’, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’), Academy Award winner Alan Arkin (‘Little Miss Sunshine’), Billy Crudup (‘Almost Famous’, ‘Jesus’ Son’) and Lea Thompson (‘Back To The Future’), this intriguing caper premiered to critical praise at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Mickey Prohaska (Kinnear) is a small-time insurance agent looking for a way to jump-start his business, reunite with his estranged wife (Thompson) and escape the frigid Wisconsin weather. This self-proclaimed master of spin believes that salesmanship is about selling a story — all he needs is a sucker willing to buy it. He hits pay dirt with a lonely retired farmer (Arkin) who is sitting on something much bigger than an insurance commission. But Mickey’s attempt to con the old man spins out of control when a nosy, unstable locksmith (Crudup) with a volatile temper dramatically ups the stakes, trapping him in a spiral of danger, deceit and double-crossing.

The Thin Ice Blu-ray and DVD offers three bonus features including a behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes and a look at the Sundance premiere. The Blu-ray will feature both the theatrical and Director’s cuts of the film.

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Moviegoers across the U.S. and Canada will be among the first audiences anywhere to experience TITANIC in 3D at the exclusive “sneak preview” fan screening events, set for Monday, April 2nd in Canada and Tuesday, April 3rd in the U.S. Presented exclusively in RealD, these one-night only special advance screenings will take place at 6:30pm at select 3D movie theaters across N. America.

Each TITANIC in 3D Sneak Preview Pack includes:

• One ticket to the movie sneak preview
• A collectors edition pair of TITANIC RealD 3D glasses
• A limited-edition TITANIC movie art lithograph

(While supplies last)

Tickets for these April “sneak preview” events are on sale now both on-line, and at participating theatres. For event locations around the country, to purchase tickets, or to learn more about this exclusive event, please go to: WWW.TITANI

CMOVIE.COM/FANSNEAKPREVIEW

James Cameron, who also directed the breakthrough 3D epic AVATAR, will bring TITANIC to life as audiences have never seen it before, digitally re-mastered and harnessing the innovative technology of StereoD. The re-release of TITANIC also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic setting sail on April 10, 1912.

Written, directed and produced by James Cameron, TITANIC is the second highest grossing movie of all time. It is one of only three films to have received a record 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director; and launched the careers of stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Called “A spectacular demonstration of what modern technology can contribute to dramatic storytelling” by Variety upon it’s release in 1997, the long in the works 3D conversion was overseen by Cameron and his Lightstorm producing partner Jon Landau who produced the hit movie.

Released by Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, TITANIC returns to theaters for a limited engagement beginningApril 4th in 2D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D. Learn more about TITANIC in 3D at HTTP://WWW.TITANICMOVIE.COM/

Image Courtesy of   https://www.facebook.com/TitanicMovie

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