Recent News

Last week, Microsoft began serving some Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users with a full-screen notice that reminded them of the July 29 end to the free Windows 10 upgrade offer and urged them to accept the deal. The full-screen notification appeared when users unlocked the OS at the log-in screen. “Sorry to interrupt, but this is important,” the notice stated. “Windows 10 free upgrade offer ends July 29.” Customers may choose to upgrade immediately, ask that the reminder reappear later, or permanently dismiss the message and Microsoft’s plea.

The Microsoft Garage team just launched Thinga.me, a mobile-focused service (currently iPhone-only) that has users collecting real objects. If users want to share favorite apparel or a vintage toy collection, they just have to take photos and Thinga.me will cut out the backgrounds and drop them into the themed gallery of choice. Users can also tag and share collections to help others find what they’re looking for.

Microsoft’s Cortana is getting smarter by the day. A new update for the iOS app now lets users save location-based reminders. The update tagged as version 1.9.0 will now help Cortana remember things for users. While the reminders can be added via voice, Microsoft’s Cortana can now remember those location and time based reminders and will prompt users when needed. The new update also adds improved feedback input experience as well.

Microsoft has announced the introduction of free Skype Meetings in US. It is an online tool that will enable small businesses to hold HD video conferencing on its Office Blogs. Skype Meetings will give the user’s ability to share screens over the conference calls, join in on a Skype meeting using a personalized URL, message one another, share PowerPoint presentations and their screens during the call. The new feature also has a laser pointer and whiteboard function to add productivity and make the presentation more engaging.

Rockstar’s iconic western, Red Dead Redemption has just been revealed to be getting backwards compatibility on the Xbox One. This will happen as early as July 8 and will apply not only to the main game but also its much loved expansion named Undead Nightmare. This announcement has been made by Microsoft’s Major Nelson via his Twitter account, and has pleased many since it was the most requested to get this feature.

Microsoft is on a mission to modernize Skype and with that is bringing some much needed features that will help it keep up with its competitors in the messaging space. Skype is now rolling out new features that lets users send across files that are up to 300MB in size to friends and groups. The Skype team also announced that files can now be shared even if recipients are offline. Moreover, the same files can be downloaded more than once, so there is no need to ask for the same file once again in case users happen to modify or lose the original.

The Xbox Ultimate Game Sale, Microsoft’s version of a summer sale for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows 10 titles will officially be underway on July 5th but Larry Hryb did recently outline the deals that players could expect. There are 250 deals in total ranging with some games being discounted by more than 60 percent.

According to the latest statistics revealed by the company, almost 45% of all PC gamers are now using Windows 10. This makes it the most used OS on Valve’s service by any metric, and it also indicates that by and large, PC gamers are upgrading to Microsoft’s new offering en masse. Windows as a whole has 96% of all PC gamers.

WISeKey International Holding Ltd, a leading Swiss-based cybersecurity company, announced its participation in Microsoft CityNext, a global initiative empowering cities, businesses and citizens to re-imagine their futures and cultivate vibrant communities. Per Bendix Olsen, Microsoft Worldwide Public Sector, said, “We’re thrilled to partner with WISeKey on Microsoft CityNext. While cities are feeling the strain from economic challenges, Microsoft CityNext ushers in innovative technology solutions to create opportunities for cities and their citizens, enabling them to accomplish what they never thought possible. We’re inspired by our diverse partner ecosystem and know that working together we can help cities realize their full potential.”

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.