Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft is continuously improving their Azure platform with addition of several new helpful features. The company added Azure virtual machines with new processors, Intel Xeon, Azure Key Vault security service and SQL Server Connector. They have also introduced Azure G-Series virtual machines (VMs) for public cloud applications. Now a Docker gallery can be easily accessed by users on Azure Ubuntu VM as the latest Docker engine can be used instantly.

Microsoft has finally revealed some of its big name releases for the coming months. First up is Undead Labs’ State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition which will be releasing on April 28th. Next is Ori and the Blind Forest, an indie platformer that will be releasing on March 11th. Finally, there’s rollercoaster title Screamride which will be out on March 3rd.

The Department of Telecom has in principle agreed to a proposal to tap unused spectrum in terrestrial TV frequency bands for offering broadband services. Technology major Microsoft had recently proposed that the unused frequencies, technically called white space, could be used for broadband services. “The concept looks implementable but we will have to see how gaps in spectrum bands can be used without causing interference to existing operations. We will undertake detailed pilots and studies on this,” said a DoT official.

Microsoft, through its YouthSpark initiative and with a volunteer organisation, is providing basic IT and job skills to sex workers and their children at the ‘Pahal Centre’ on Garstin Bastion road in New Delhi. “There are certain groups who lack access to opportunities more severely than others and require more targeted intervention. The youth we are working with at the Pahal centre are one such segment,” says Madhu Khatri, head – Citizenship, Microsoft India.

According to data from website Zauba, a total of 502,468 units of Lumia 535 smartphone have been imported into India. The combined worth of all these devices is a whopping $30.3 million (roughly over Rs.180 crore).

According to a recent Gartner report, by 2017, about 90 per cent of Indian IT organizations will have open source software (OSS) embedded in their mission critical platforms. In the January-June 2014 period, Microsoft led with 31.8 percent share of the software vendor market, followed by Oracle at 12 percent, SAP (6.5 percent), IBM (5.5 percent) and Synopsys (4.2 percent).

The Huffington Post announced that for the second year, it will collaborate with Microsoft Corp. at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2015 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, which will take place from Wednesday, January 21 to Saturday, January 24, 2015. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Microsoft at Davos for a second year,” said Arianna Huffington, chair, president, and editor in chief, Huffington Post Media Group.

Swipe ‘Ultimate Tab 3G’ is India’s lightest 10.1″ easy-to-connect removable pogo pin keyboard tablet allowing users dual use: Tablet as well as Laptop. For use as a laptop, for the first time in India, its introduced with direct USB 3.0 slot for easy file sharing. Swipe Ultimate Tab 3G comes pre-loaded with Genuine Windows 8.1 operating system and 1 year free subscription of Microsoft Office 365.

Microsoft has announced that it is rolling out the Denim update for all Windows Phone 8.1 devices. The update includes an improved Cortana. Users can also wake up the digital assistant by saying “Hey Cortana”. Cortana is now available in the US, China and the UK in ‘beta’, and in ‘alpha’ in Australia, Canada, India, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

The head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, Phil Spencer, has said the ability to take screenshots will come soon to Xbox One. “Giving people more ability to share their great gaming moments on the platform, whether it’s just as a screenshot as their background or through many of the different social networks that we allow people to share their content through, is a long term commitment that we have,” said Spencer in a video.