Author: Microsoft Stories

The Redmond giant is working on their own Windows 10 powered smartphone, which might be dubbed as the Surface Phone. The concept of the phone shows that it will feature a bezel-less screen, an additional keyboard for typing, a Stylus aka Surface Pen, three LED flashes on the rear, and probably a fingerprint sensor embedded into the screen itself.

“In engineering, you’re looking to solve a problem, you have goals in mind,” says Sriram Rajamani, Managing Director, Microsoft Research India, speaking to Gadgets 360 at the sidelines of a conference in Bengaluru last week. “With research, you’re working on things that might have a 20-year timeline. For example, on our team, we have Ravi Kannan, a very gifted scientist, who worked on algorithms as a mathematics problem. He wasn’t looking at applying it, he was just interested in it as a mathematical problem. But today, the algorithm that he developed is so important for search engines.”

With the Xbox One Scorpio and the PS4 Pro, Microsoft and Sony are introducing a brand new paradigm to console gaming that has simply not existed so far. And yet, while this is something new for consoles, other consumer electronics like tablets, mobiles, and PCs, all see constant iteration. In an interview with TechRadar, Microsoft’s Albert Penello emphasized that the specific needs of the console market must be kept in mind as Microsoft moves forward with this new paradigm.

Loyalists of Microsoft’s Xbox are now in for a great time as the Redmond-based company is offering an extra game to users on the purchase of a new Xbox One S bundle. This offer is live in the United States until October 1. With this offer, Xbox loyalists purchasing a new Xbox One S Madden bundle get to enjoy Fifa for no extra cost. Buyers of the Xbox One S Halo Collection bundle will be eligible to play Destiny: Rise of Iron for free.

Microsoft acknowledged that the Windows 10 adoption pace had slowed when it claimed the new operating system was running on approximately 400 million devices. The company reset the Windows 10 uptake status on the same day it kicked off the 2016 edition of its Ignite conference in Atlanta. Microsoft’s last Windows 10 update was at the end of June, a month before it halted the free upgrade for consumers and small businesses running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.

Microsoft continued its push to get companies on the hybrid cloud train, with the launch of several products all tailored at helping bridge on-premises datacenters and the public cloud. The company announced that Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 will be available for purchase on October 1, and generally available in mid-October. On top of that, it unveiled new Azure functionality that makes it easier to monitor both public cloud infrastructure and on-premises datacenters in one control plane.

Microsoft announced its plans to power its data centers around the world using 50% renewable energy by 2018. The company also plans to boost its use of renewable power for its data centers to 60% by the early 2020s. Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental & Cities Strategist, made the announcement at the VERGE16 conference last week. Microsoft’s latest announcement came on the same day that Apple committed to 100% renewable energy use by joining RE100, a global initiative by influential businesses. To date, RE100 has amassed membership from 77 corporations, including Microsoft.

One of the biggest security risks for computer users is their web browser. According to Microsoft, 90 percent of phishing emails use the browser to initiate attacks, which can then be used to help attackers establish a beachhead inside a company. Microsoft is aiming to better protect users and organizations from the threats that they face with a new feature called Windows Defender Application Guard. It’s designed to isolate Microsoft Edge from the rest of the files and processes running on a user’s computer and prevent computer exploits from taking hold.

Walt Disney Co and Microsoft Corp joined a list of potential suitors for Twitter Inc., according to media reports. Twitter shares were marginally down at $23.33 after-market trading. The microblogging service has reportedly started talks with a number of technology companies to sell itself, including Google parent Alphabet Inc. and may receive a formal bid soon. A source told Reuters that Salesforce.com Inc. is also in pursuit.

Microsoft has announced its desktop operating system Windows 10 is now running on 400 million active devices. Speaking at Microsoft Ignite, Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President, Windows and Devices Group, said, “Windows 10 now has 400 million monthly active devices. The adoption has been 150 per cent faster than Windows 7.” Microsoft Windows 10 was launched in July 2015 as a unified operating system for all devices.