Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft’s voice-based virtual assistant, Cortana, has received an update in India that has broadened the categories of interests in the app.The virtual assistant now includes new categories of interests such as daily routine, music, food, fitness, and finance among others. Until now, Cortana just included two categories for news and weather. As of now, it is not clear whether the new category was rolled out via an update or has been added by the company directly.

Microsoft is going all out to ensure that a billion device run Windows 10. With a little over three weeks to go before Microsoft Windows 10 is available to consumers, Microsoft Executive Vice President of Operating Systems, Terry Myerson, said, “We’ve been really pleased with the strong response to Windows 10 since we kicked off reservations in early June, with millions of reservations. We want to make sure all of you have a great upgrade experience, so we’ll roll-out Windows 10 in phases to help manage the demand.”

Twitch revealed that the most popular press conferences being streamed from its site – the biggest host for streaming anything gaming related – was Microsoft’s E3 press conference, where viewership peaked at 840,000 viewers. Neither Sony nor Nintendo managed this kind of a showing, though, bafflingly enough, EA managed to post similar numbers too. Guess the allure of Mass Effect must have been high for most people.

Microsoft has published an exhaustive printable guide that aims to help users find the Windows 10 edition that’s right for them. The document, which is available as a table, lists salient features from all four consumer and business Windows 10 editions but excludes Windows 10 Mobile (consumer and enterprise) as well as Windows 10 IoT.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today launched the ‘Smart Classroom’ project as part of the country-wide ‘Digital India Week,’ becoming the first state in the north-east and second in the country to have a smart classroom. The ‘Smart Classroom’ project was undertaken by the state government in partnership with Microsoft India to effectively implement technology in education and create an environment where students and teachers communicate, collaborate, create, access and consume content, officials said.

Software major Microsoft has agreed to support ‘digital villages’ in Maharashtra and develop a ‘smart MIDC’ apart from setting up a cyber-security centre in Pune. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited Microsoft’s office in Seattle, the Microsoft Cyber-crime Center, and met Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and appreciated the contribution of data centres for ‘Make in Maharashtra.’

M Narendra Modi, who released his vision for a Digital India yesterday, has also managed to charm IT conglomerates at home and abroad. Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft, wrote, “Microsoft is proud to be a part of Digital India launch and believes that technology can uniquely support the government’s initiatives in key areas including: rural Internet connectivity, digital cloud services and communications and productivity services for the Government.”

Starting Aug.1, Microsoft’s volume licensing customers — typically enterprises and other large organizations — can download Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education from the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC), according to Terry Myerson, Executive vice president of the recently formed Windows and Devices Group (WDG). Myerson said Microsoft plans to ship Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Home on July 29.