Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft has made hardware more of a priority in recent years, what with the Surface Pro line of tablets and Surface Book laptop. But these devices might be just the beginning of Redmond’s PC push. If a couple new reports are any indication, the company is also about to jump into the desktop PC game. Windows Central informed that the company is hard at work on the Surface AIO, an all-in-one desktop PC that could soon join Microsoft’s existing Surface product lineup.

Ultimate gaming is soon going to be more fun with Microsoft starting the Xbox summer sale from July 5 with discounts between 40 to 60 percent on over 250 games. In addition, Microsoft will also offer Xbox One consoles with special pricing. Xbox Live Gold members will receive an additional 10 percent discount. The games will also include Xbox 360 hits which can be played on Xbox One. Phil Spencer, wrote, “We believe gaming should be fun for everyone.”

Though support for Xbox Live Anywhere will be added to Windows 10 with the Anniversary Update in August, the service itself will launch on September 13. The service essentially allows players to purchase a game digitally on Xbox One and receive it for Windows 10 at no extra cost. The ability to share progress, Achievements and much more has also been promised. Titles which support Xbox Play Anywhere will be marked on Xbox.com to avoid any confusion.

Microsoft named Gavriella Schuster as its new Global Channel Chief. Schuster, a 21-year Microsoft veteran takes over Microsoft’s channel at a time of major transition and transformation. In her new role Schuster is tasked with guiding tens of thousands of partners as they transition to a cloud solutions business model and tackle the massive Windows 10 upgrade cycle. Schuster said, “There’s more opportunity now than there has ever been for our partners, not only cloud and customers embracing cloud, but what customers are calling their No. 1 priority, which is their own digital transformation.”

Microsoft announced that customers can now purchase a joint licensing agreement for its cloud-based Operations Management Suite and its on-premises System Center Infrastructure Manager. Packaging these separate but related management platforms will encourage customers to use public cloud resources and make it easier to manage hybrid clouds. Jeremy Winter, Product Manager for System Center and Services, Microsoft, says, “As customers look to be more agile and efficient, they’re exploring how they can leverage the cloud. Organizations are straddling both on-premises infrastructure management and cloud resources. There’s no longer a single set of management technology inside a company, they’re really using multiple tools.”

HyperX has launched the Cloud X Pro Gaming headset worth Rs 9,999 to be sold on both retail and online platforms. The headset has been designed specifically for Xbox users and matches the consoles style and convenience. Microsoft and HyperX partnered up back in January to develop a licensed headset for the Xbox One. Hyper X is a high-performance product division of Kingston Technology and works on gaming accessories, DDR4 and DDR3 memory, USB flash drives and SSDs.

The HRD ministry is mulling launching its Massive Open Online Courses platform ‘Swayam’ on August 15. The ambitious project will host over 2,000 courses for up to three crore students across the country and is likely be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Swayam is an Information Technology platform which will host Massive Open Online Courses and provide high quality education on various subjects from school level (class 9-12) to Under Graduate and Post Graduate students covering all disciplines. The HRD Ministry has roped in Microsoft as the technology partner for this venture.

Encouraging consumers to buy the new Surface Pro 4 as well as the soon-to-be-old version of the Xbox One, Microsoft will be giving them away in a July to August deal on the Store. The Surface 3 line is coming to an end at the end of the year and the smaller, 4K and HDR-supporting Xbox One S is around the corner with an August release date.

The robot revolution is coming, and people like Elon Musk and prominent scientists are concerned about what this could portend for humanity. They have suggested that we carefully think through what it would mean to live with artificial sentinels that could easily outstrip our own intelligences, and whether it’s really worth bringing them into the world to make our chat apps a little better. As part of a lengthy June 28 op-ed for Slate on the future of AI, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella outlined six imperatives for artificial intelligence, and four things that humans must impart into AI systems they build.

Students at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications will cover the 2016 Presidential election season for a global audience through a unique partnership with Skype in Media. Eugene Ho, Director, Product Management for Skype, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. By outfitting the Newhouse School with studio-grade broadcasting Skype TX units, student broadcasters can offer viewers from around the world access to a unique political perspective, enabling them to perceive the election through the eyes of millennial voters.”