Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft has rolled out a new update for its Arrow launcher for Android. The app now supports notification badges for apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Skype. This feature was already available in the app, but with limited support. So starting with version 2.1, the most popular messaging apps should be supported as well. The new update also offers effects, material design animations and support for 24-hours display format, a feature that was highly requested by users.

Microsoft released a firmware update for its hybrid Surface Pro 3, more than three months after releasing its last update for the product in April. The firmware update provides improvements to battery life during sleep mode, and also improves the keyboard’s stability as per the change log on the company’s website. The latest update is also said to improve the setting driver’s stability for Surface Pen.

Mumbai based Xpress Computers has become a Microsoft Authorized Education Partner (AEP), demonstrating its ability to meet Microsoft academic customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment. Anthony Salcito, Vice President of Education for Microsoft’s Worldwide Public Sector, said, “This authorization, along with our other education partner initiatives, gives our partners recognition of their areas of expertise and our academic customers the confidence that they are buying from academic IT specialists.”

Halo Wars 2, developed by The Creative Assembly, was scheduled to release this fall but has been delayed to February 21, 2017 for Xbox One and Windows 10. It will support the upcoming Xbox Play Anywhere feature which means a digital copy purchased on Xbox One nets you a free Windows 10 copy along with cross save capability.

New footage of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s campaign was showcased at San Diego Comic Con. Dubbed “Black Sky”, the mission sees Settlement Defense Front forces attacking the UNSA (players) during a relatively peaceful period. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is out on November 4th for Xbox One and PC. Those who pre-order the Legacy Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition will also receive Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered with 10 multiplayer maps from the base game.

Hangar 13’s Mafia 3 is looking better with each passing day, offering a throwback to a 1968-style culture of mob violence set in New Bordeaux. A new live-action trailer showcases not just the violence that protagonist Lincoln Clay doles out to those who crossed his friends but also highlights how it’s affecting the man. It will be releasing on October 7th for Xbox One and PC.

Microsoft has decided to make a few changes to its Account service and Skype account. The user is now required to sign into the Xbox Services at least one in the preceding 5 years to keep the gamertag associated with the account. This move has been taken to free up user tags that have not been used in a long time. Microsoft has added a prohibition on posting of terrorist content, in its Code of Conduct section. The company has also added a section for group messaging services, and Bing Places services.

Microsoft has added a host of new features to its OneDrive, allowing users to find and view photos easily. Keeping in mind the Pokémon mania, the Redmond based giant also added a Poké detector feature that makes it easier to find all Pokémon screenshots at one place. “When you have the OneDrive app on your phone and camera upload is turned on, the screenshots you take from the game are automatically saved to OneDrive and 150 Pokémon are identified for your searching and viewing pleasure,” said Douglas Pearce, Group Program Manager for the OneDrive team.

DNA storage is a sci-fi fantasy that might as well turn to reality. Karin Strauss and other scientists at Microsoft Research is working to convert digital information to DNA. They aim to help companies and institutions archive huge amounts of data for decades or centuries, at a time when the world is generating digital data faster than it can store it. The idea is once translation between two codes is made, strings of DNA can be custom-made to carry the new code, and hence the information that code contains.

Microsoft’s 3D Touch was reportedly being tested on a prototype device named McLaren, before the Redmond-based company decided to abandon its plans to focus on Windows 10 instead. Now Windows Central got their hands on with the device and has reviewed it. Nokia McLaren’s design puts it right in between Lumia 1020 and Lumia 925, according to Windows Central. It had a 5.5-inch display, and was powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset, 2 GB RAM and 32GB internal storage.