Either way, Microsoft has rolled out a massive new update for Microsoft 365 customers. The focus of this upgrade is on meetings, but it seems Microsoft has thrown the kitchen sink at it. This is a beefy update laden with new tools. With that in mind, I’ll get right down to the business to describing the new features. First up, Microsoft wants us to spend less time preparing for meetings....
However, Microsoft has not described what the fully featured app will include. It is clear the company wants to expand the reach of the service in a useable manner across platforms. There are already applications available on Android and iOS platforms. In the post, the company points out that it has used customers feedback from the Desktop Notifier to create the new full-app experience. “We’ve gotten tons of great feedback on the current desktop notifier, and we’re excited to deliver a more full-featured desktop app....
However, it seems the software package first adopters of the Duo receive will not be the final one. Instead, Microsoft looks to be working on constantly improving the app bundle that is available on the smartphone. According to a new Redmond job post, the company is looking for a Senior Software Development Engineer. Under this role, the employee will work on Android apps that highlight the dual-screen of the Surface Duo....
Microsoft took the criticism on board and announced last November it would audit AnyVision. It seems the company agreed with protestors of the investments and M12 has now divested its stake in the controversial company. Furthermore, Microsoft says it won’t make any future investments in AnyVision. Even when making the initial investment last year, Microsoft said it was subject to AnyVision complying“with its six ethical principles to guide its facial recognition work: fairness, transparency, accountability, nondiscrimination, notice and consent, and lawful surveillance....
In terms of the latter, MSN.com will remain as the branding, but will be shown as being “powered by Microsoft News”. As for the company’s MSN News on iOS and Android, these will both now be known only as Microsoft News. In terms of end users, this is essentially a rebranding and nothing more. However, Microsoft says the new service highlights its consolidation of tools and services into a single aggregating platform for news curation: “Microsoft News represents the ways we keep people informed across the web, phone and PC, using our long-tested approach of curating news via publishing partnerships, human editors, and AI....
If you’re wondering why having a 64-bit version of OneDrive is important, Microsoft explains it makes it easier to manage large files. Of course, this will depend on whether your version of Windows 10 supports 64-bit. “The 64-bit version is the right choice if you plan to use large files, if you have a lot of files, and if you have a computer that’s running a 64-bit version of Windows,” Microsoft’s Ankita Kirti says in a blog post....
In its report, FireEye says OneDrive has observed this significant rise, the largest amongst its three rivals, Dropbox, Google Drive, and WeTransfer. In fact, the service went from being comfortably the safest cloud storage provider in terms of malicious files last year to be the second worst. Dropbox continues to be the worst of the bunch, with 80% of malicious file usage growth. This continues from last year, where Dropbox was also the worst....
As the name suggests, Auto Fix in Microsoft PowerPoint automatically helps you to organize slides and presentations. Formatting across a presentation is usually a time consuming and frustrating experience. With Auto Fix, PowerPoint will do the hard work for you. The feature automatically adjust spacing, sizes, connectors, and alignments. Microsoft says there are some limitations, such as a lack of support for SmartArt, group shapes, and any slide elements that overlap....
However, VP of gaming Phil Spencer confirmed that while Xbox considered that route, it won’t be the case for 2019: “This is going to be a fun E3 for us … we had a discussion internally. Should we go big? Should we save some money? No, we’re going to do our thing and we’re going to go and be as big at E3 as we’ve ever been.” What to Expect As is customary, the company didn’t comment on any of those ‘big’ plans....
The Windows 10 PC webcam will function alongside the Windows Hello facial recognition authentication. On Xbox One, the camera will bring back a feature from one of Microsoft’s failed devices… Kinect. Specifically, the Kinect feature that would previously allow users to automatically sign in by simply moving in front of the camera. We guess both webcams will come with Microsoft’s Surface hardware branding. Certainly, Surface chief Panos Panay hinted in October the company will be building a webcam eventually: “Look at the camera on Surface Hub 2, note it’s a USB-C-based camera, and the idea that we can bring a high fidelity camera to an experience, you can probably guess that’s going to happen....
If you are unfamiliar with UI Fabric, it is a collection of UX frameworks from Microsoft. Developers access the tool to build cross-platform experiences that are unified in terms of UI. Microsoft says Fluent UI combines the Fabric and Stardust frameworks together and make them available through GitHub. According to the company, linking the frameworks allows Microsoft to work in unison on a shared code base. “This is what we mean when we say Fluent is Microsoft’s design-to-code system....
Microsoft Bookings is a service which allows users to view and manage their calendar while providing them with a customer list they can easily manage. Microsoft’s latest application lets you create bookings or make changes to existing ones, and provides users with a list of staff members and their availability. Owners of an Office 365 Business Premium subscription can use Bookings to respond to customers easily and quickly. The app also gives directions to where the users’ next booking is....
The Team Foundation Server (TFS) is a Microsoft product tailored for Microsoft Visual Studio and Eclipse on all platforms. TFS provides the following: Source code management (either with Team Foundation Version Control or Git) Reporting Requirements management Project management (for agile software development and waterfall teams) Automated builds Lab management Testing and release management capabilities Microsoft’s Team Foundation Server covers the entire application lifetime and enables DevOps capabilities. Team Foundation Server 2015 Update 4 RC The fourth update for TFS 2015 is possibly the final software update for this product....
When sent out yesterday, Microsoft did not issue a changelog with the Windows 10 SDK. However, today the company has taken to the Windows Blog with the full release notes. As you can guess getting this close to the release to manufacturing (RTM) for Redstone 5, changes are limited in the new SDK. Still, there are some noteworthy changes. For example, MSIX support has been added, allowing developers to package applications as MSIX....
Specifically, Microsoft Research says the results were better than previously seen. According to the team, the AI could classify documents, extract evidence-based medical information, recognize named entities, and more. Training NLP models for a specific role, such as in biomedicine, research indicated using domain-specific data provides accuracy. Microsoft wanted to extend this potential by tweaking the concept behind AI training. While domain-specific data is accurate, previous testing worked on the assumption “out-of-domain” data was also useful....
While controllers for VR and AR headsets already exist, Microsoft Research describes a haptic pad that allows fine finger movement on virtual objects in the virtual space. Because manipulation is fine-tuned, objects are compliant. Microsoft Research calls the system TORC (Touch Rigid Controller) is a rigid pad that has no moving parts. Instead, an array of sensors allows users to use it with visual feedback, voice coil actuators, and dexterity....
This is the first release on the Alpha Ring since August 16 and brings the Xbox One software to build 16270.3006. Insiders will also see this update listed as rs3_release_xbox_dev_1710.170828-1900. Microsoft is continuing to prepare the Xbox One for the Fall Creators Update (rs3). The build number (1710) suggests the update will not be finalized until October. That is interesting in the wider scheme of the Fall Creators Update, because it is widely expected to arrive for Windows 10 PCs in September....
One Reddit user posted an image that is apparently an official document from the device. The document suggests the Surface tablet will be introduced this week. Additional information points to the hardware coming with a new bespoke Type Cover. The information coming from a source on a subreddit dedicated to Surface products. While an announcement this week may seem unlikely, it is not entirely impossible. We remain very sceptical though....
Project Ada is a giant two-story structure that inhabits building 99 on Microsoft’s campus. The AI that powers the strange glowing pavilion translates the facial expressions, noise data and voice tones of the local area into a powerful light display. According to designer Jenny Sabin, it’s the first time an architectural structure has been driven by AI in real-time. To do so, it combines 3D printed nodes, fiberglass rods, and photoluminescent yarn to create a “living, breathing thing”....
In recent years, though, things have changed. Speaking to Business Insider, Guthrie discussed how the company, even before Nadella, was shifting to be more open, differentiated, and growth-oriented. “What we’re trying to do in our spaces is be less reactive to the other competitors and just get super laser-focused on our customer, and really work back and say how do we be uniquely differentiated to serve their needs,” he explained to the publication....
