In the News

Most of us use WiFi only to access the Internet on our phones, tablets and laptops. However, with the right apps, there is a lot more that you can do with your wireless connection. The app ‘Plex’ available on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms is one such app. Users can use it to play video, audio and view photos stored on your computer. One of the highlights of Plex is that it automatically organizes multimedia by downloading associated information like cover art and movie/TV show information.

Microsoft certainly seems to be pushing 4K gaming with their upcoming console, the Xbox One Scorpio which is scheduled to launch next year. However as previously reported, Microsoft is not going to set any mandate on how developers will use all that power. The Scorpio is a 4K ready machine but in the end it’s up to the developers on how they want to use it.

According to Rod Fergusson, Studio Head at Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition, users will have to download 11GB before you can jump in. “To clarify – if digital, no day one patch since all 54.6 gigs are downloaded. If physical disk then there will be 11 gig download,” Fergusson tweeted earlier this week. Microsoft is trying to incentivize the digital release of Gears of War 4. Buying Gears of War 4 digitally for the Xbox One nets you the Windows 10 version as well thanks to Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere program.

Microsoft recently announced that its data centers globally would be powered by 50 percent renewable energy by 2018. “As we begin to tap the power of the cloud to address these challenges, we must also ensure that we are building a responsible cloud. Tremendous amounts of energy will be required to power this data-driven revolution. The leading cloud companies have a responsibility to address this energy usage. And Microsoft believes that, we have the opportunity to drive change that will benefit not only our company but the world,” said Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s Chief environmental strategist, on Microsoft’s Green Blog.

Microsoft wants more and more people to use its app store. But that’s not going to happen while it remains a relative Wild West. As a result, Redmond is working hard to add some much-needed checks and balances to its platform. One of these is age ratings. Developers have up to today to rate their games using the International Age Rating Coalition’s (IARC) system. There are also ratings available for specific markets, like North America, Europe, Germany, Australia and Brazil.

Microsoft is planning to commercialize a unique and indigenous bug-detecting technology and make it available to customers and partners. According to a zdnet.com report, the service codenamed “Project Springfield” was developed internally by Microsoft Research to find and remove bugs in Microsoft products. “This (service) is about finding really deep bugs that are hard to find with conventional testing,” Vikram Dendi, Chief Product Officer with Microsoft Research NexT, was quoted as saying.

If you’ve been mulling over the purchase of a game console for some time now, this October might be the best time to pick one up. But which one should you go for? Judging by the deals we’ve seen, it’s now possible to grab a PlayStation 4 for Rs 26,000, or an Xbox One Kinect bundle for the same price. If you’ve got your heart set on a certain game, just pick the console that offers it.

Microsoft has upgraded the user interface on the Office 365 App Launcher to make it look more like the Windows 10 start menu. The experience is designed to be consistent across desktops and Microsoft Surface devices. There is now a tabbed layout with three sections, home, new and all. The home screen where users can organize and pin their most used applications.

Microsoft has officially released a new version of Skype for Linux. The latest update includes a range of improvements in the previously existing features alongside new additions especially integrated to make the user experience more convenient. Users will now be able to mute notifications for specific conversations and even disable emoticons. Support for system HTTPS proxy and /me command have also been integrated with the latest version.

Nine students from the CSE and IT departments of V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College have bagged placements in software giant Microsoft. Tankala Dinesh Kumar (CSE), Murakonda Nagarjuna (CSE), Pullagura Sravya (CSE), Putcha Rohit Kumar (CSE), Saranam Sai Raghavendra Krishna Kiriti (IT), Sumanth Kumar Gogineni (CSE), Mallela Padma Priya (CSE), Yalamanchili Harika (IT) and Gopavarapu Ravali (IT) are the lucky students to have bagged jobs with the software giant