Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft has finished rolling out Skype’s much-anticipated real time voice translation service to all of its Windows users, according to a post on the Skype blog. Skype can understand Mandarin, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, and translate one to another as you video call your Skype contacts. Skype also offers a text translation service that works in over 50 instant message languages.

In an interview, Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “Our mission is to empower every individual and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. Therefore, our culture is based around the world of empowerment, helping our employees to achieve more because we want to carter to every person on the planet, we have an inclusive environment.” Rohit Thakur, Head of HR, Microsoft India, said, “As people come into Microsoft are all unique, they come with unique backgrounds, they have unique experiences and they want to contribute in their own unique way and our culture allows for that. It allows for maximizing their individual potential.”

While PlayStation and Nintendo are far older, more entrenched gaming brands than Microsoft, having multiple decades of history, and iconic hardware and software under their belt, it appears that in the immediate here and now, Microsoft is far more at the forefront of gamers’ minds than either of them. A study conducted by marketing firm ScribbleLive over CES seems to confirm as much.

Microsoft has announced plans to further expand its aggressive Windows 10 distribution strategy. Its “Get Windows 10” alerts will begin to arrive on business PCs, the company reported. Get Windows 10 is part of Microsoft’s plan to push Windows users to adopt its new OS. The app checks users’ PCs for Windows 10 compatibility and sends a notification when the device is ready to upgrade.

Broadview Networks, a leading provider of cloud-based business communications and information technology services, announced today that its 100 percent cloud-based unified communications solution, OfficeSuite™ Phone, now integrates with Microsoft™ Skype™ for Business, an industry-leading collaboration platform.

Members of the Windows Insider Program got their first new beta build of Microsoft’s operating system for 2016. The new build features improvements to OneCore, the underlying shared core of Windows that’s on all the devices running Windows 10 including Xbox One, smartphones and even Microsoft’s HoloLens. According to Microsoft Vice President Gabe Aul, the structural changes to OneCore are almost at the point where Microsoft is comfortable letting teams check in new features for Windows 10, which is good news for those of us looking for a taste of new functionality Microsoft has in store.

Online marketplace Flipkart has launched services for its consumers on Microsoft’s new Windows 10 platform. Building on Flipkart and Microsoft’s constant efforts to make technology adapt to consumers and deliver an enhanced end-user experience, Flipkart’s new universal Windows app will offer consumers a seamless app experience across all form factors, the company said. The new universal app will offer a more personalised app interface with features such as customised shopping recommendations, merchandising and notifications, and interactive guided search.

Microsoft has purchased technology assets from Event Zero, which provides management software for Skype for Business Online. The deal is intended to enhance the management tools built into Microsoft’s business communications software. Specifically, Microsoft has bought technologies underlying Event Zero’s UC Commander product suite.

Microsoft has released a small but powerful shortcut in the latest update to its Outlook iOS app, it’s now more deeply integrated with Skype so you can turn events scheduled in your calendar into live, virtual meetings. The app now has a ‘Skype Meeting’ switch you can turn on when creating or editing an event so that when the meeting is about to start, you can just tap to join the relevant call via Skype.

Microsoft quietly announced today that it’s making it easier for small businesses to upgrade to Windows 10, by making the ‘Get Windows 10’ app that prompts users to upgrade more widely available.Starting later this month Microsoft says businesses running Windows 7 Pro or 8.1 Pro will start seeing the upgrade app appear in their task bar, asking them to take advantage of the free upgrade.