Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft has worked to transform OneNote from its initial lecture-hall focus into a note-taking app for everyday needs. Now, Microsoft is releasing its first ever official importer tool for OneNote, which it claims can migrate all of Evernote content into OneNote. Once users import them to desktop, those notes will sync across OneNote on all devices. To import the notes, users will need to either have Evernote for Windows installed, or manually export notes from Evernote on the Web.

Microsoft has released the source code for an open-sourced operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. The new OS runs on network switches. The Software for Open Networking in the Cloud is a toolkit code along with kernel patches for bending switch hardware as per the user’s wish. This will help with the hardware’s functionality and applications and eliminate the need for depending on a proprietary firmware through a traditional networking vendor.

Dave Coplin, Chief Envisioning Officer, Microsoft discussed about the rise of the robots, the weakest link, artificial intelligence and a 15-hour week. The ponytail-sporting CEO said, “I believe everybody should be able to make a positive contribution to humanity.” Being good at what machines can’t do well could be the way forward; the perfect blend would be one that involves both humans and machines working together. That could radically change the way we work and make entire segments of the economy more creative.

Microsoft’s Visual Studio added support for the R programming language with the unveiling of the open-source R Tools for Visual Studio; it is now available in public preview. The release includes an R editor, code auto completion, debugging, built-in git and GitHub support and an R plotting window and R Markdown/knitr support for exporting reports to Word or HTML format. Shahrokh Mortazav, Data Group Partner Director, Program Management, Microsoft called R “decidedly the most popular statistical/data analysis language in use today.”

Microsoft Surface Pro 3, the 2-in-1 detachable tablet, is now being offered at a discounted rate in the country. Amazon is the sole official seller of this device in the country, and the site has just reduced its price by 20 percent to Rs 58999 from Rs 73990. This new retail value applies to the Pro 3 version that comes with a fourth generation Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB worth RAM inside it.

The GenNext Hub, a Reliance Industries and Microsoft Ventures backed startup accelerator, announced the graduation of 11 technology startups from the second batch of its accelerator program. The accelerator enables entrepreneurs to build their companies through an immersive, four-month-long program. The companies which graduated are Algo Engines, Creditseva, Curefy, Efficient Bazaar, eLoan, Fieldomobify, FiTicket, Noroc Solutions, Pickcel, Playfiks, and VDeliver. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “Our technologies power nearly 4,000 startups in the country today and we will continue supporting the startup ecosystem through our various programs.”

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is larger than Italy and is a daunting subject to photograph. For National Geographic photographer Stephen Alvarez, who undertook a challenge as part of his assignment to capture the Seven Natural Wonders of the World with Lumia, the journey to the Reef brought forth plenty of challenges. Most of the Great Barrier Reef lies underwater, forcing Stephen to create and build a custom waterproof housing (not available for sale) for the Microsoft Lumia 950. He used the rear-facing PureView camera of the device with a 20-megapixel advanced BSI sensor, F1.9 Zeiss optics, triple-LED natural flash, fifth-generation optical image stabilization, ISO12800, 4K video, and a 5-megapixel wide-angle front-facing camera to shoot spectacular underwater imagery.

Microsoft revealed that security of customer data and compliance with regulations are both “enduring principles” that the company keeps in mind while designing its products. Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft, said, “Around data, we are at the very beginning of even understanding what are the frameworks of law, what are the regulations because there got to be enduring principles that you have to navigate and keep constant. These are the enduring principles on a worldwide basis, not just in one jurisdiction, not in one country…you really have to think through not after the fact but in the design decisions of the products that you use and the products that you build.”

Microsoft wants to help businesses bring their meeting rooms into the future of video-conferencing without compromising on their budget. The software giant has announced two new Skype for Business initiatives aimed at getting existing technology connected to its work communications service. One of them, named Project Rigel, is aimed at helping companies turn meeting rooms into video-conferencing centers able to host interactive Skype meetings.

Microsoft Ventures had announced its latest batch of 12 this week. Nine of these startups have already raised funding, with some having as much as US$4 million in their pockets. Together, they have raised US$18 million. The 16-week program that generally focuses on later stage startups consist of CanvasFlip, CloudCherry, and Teewe as alumni among others. Apps that have been created by these startups include chats for education, IoT for industrial equipment, Big Data for banks and actuaries and more.