In the News

Microsoft and Mercedes are currently working on a new project called “In Car Office”, which will allow you to accomplish work-related duties while doing the morning commute. In Car Office will let users integrate calendar, to-do list, and contacts with car’s navigation facility. It will also show popups when there’s an upcoming meeting, allowing the driver to call the participants from the in-car voice system.

Microsoft, Google and Salesforce have officially adopted the EU-US Privacy Shield framework, enabling them to receive personal data from the European Union (EU) in compliance with the new standards. They are now among the 103 companies, out of the 5,526 signatories, that have so far signed up to replace the defunct Safe Harbour framework. Facebook, Apple and Twitter are yet to adopt Privacy Shield. The European Commission adopted the Privacy Shield in July to facilitate the transfer of personal data from the EU to the US.

Kingston’s HyperX CloudX Pro has brought along with itself Microsoft’s certificates for the Xbox One. At its core, the HyperX CloudX Pro is the same as the Cloud II with no tweaks to the design of the headset. It’s black in color all over with classy grey aluminum sides, which is a lot better than the red and black signature Cloud II color. The build quality is sturdy with the aluminum frame of the headband extending into pronged holders for the ear cups. The large 53mm neodymium magnets are capable of producing an open soundscape and a boom bass that never seems to get too big and troublesome.

With September, the two new titles available for free are Earthlock: Festival of Magic for the Xbox One and Forza Horizon for the Xbox 360. The magic of backwards compatibility ensures the latter works on Xbox One consoles as well. While Earthlock will be available from September 1st to 30th, Forza Horizon will only be available from September 1st to 15th. From September 16th onwards, it will be replaced by the original Mirror’s Edge till September 30th.

Microsoft added cadence choices for beta testers in its Office Insider preview program. Previously, only Mac users of Office 2016 were able to pick between “slow” and “fast” preview release tempos. Now, the same options are available to customers running Office on Windows and Windows Mobile. Microsoft added that the two-track setting is “coming soon” to Android and iOS customers. Kirk Koenigsbauer, Corporate Vice President, Office 365 Client Applications, said, “The Fast level provides even earlier builds of Office, more frequently. In fact, these builds are what Microsoft employees have access to internally.”

Microsoft is trying to make it faster for people to download Windows updates by using the vast network of PCs around the world to deliver them. A new beta build of Windows 10 released enables Delivery Optimization by default, which lets PCs download update bits from other computers connected to the internet. Those bits can be delivered alongside those brought in from Microsoft’s servers, to help speed up the process of downloading updates, especially on less reliable network connections.

Virtual reality headsets are considered the hot new PC devices, and Asus is planning to stake a claim of its own. Asus said it intends to release VR headsets. VR headsets can be versatile 3D PCs that make 2D laptops and desktops look pale in comparison, Asus said at the IFA trade show in Berlin. “Asus has a few VR options coming up really soon. Once that happens, you will be free from devices and immersed in 360 degrees of pure entertainment that will blow you away,” said Jen Chuang, Asus’ design center Director. Asus didn’t provide further details, but the company seems to want to focus on untethered VR headsets, or perhaps even mixed-reality headsets like Microsoft’s HoloLens.

Digital marketplace, G2A, has once again thrilled game lovers by making FIFA 17 available at G2A.com through Pre-Orders– for the special price of only 2,999 INR. FIFA 17 will be released on 29th September 2016, enabling gamers to enjoy the latest version of the hugely popular video game. FIFA 17 will transform the dynamic of football video games; bubbling with energy, passion, and true-to-life action, the game can be played on Xbox One, Play Station 4 and PC at a cost-effective price.

Microsoft has launched the Inking Feature for its Office suite of apps. The feature can sense the approach of an active pen and lets the user start drawing. The feature works with Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps. The feature requires the device to have at least 1GB of RAM and should be running Android v4.4 or above. Users can also use the feature with their finger if they have a pen or stylus. They can also set the color and thickness of the pen. Users can also interact with the drawn ink as it they were shapes.

Microsoft is setting up a cybersecurity center in the heart of New Delhi to arm governments and private agencies with all-round intelligence on cyber-attacks within the country. The center, which is likely to be in Connaught Place in close proximity to most government establishments, would target the spread of malware by monitoring the Internet traffic flowing through the country. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said. “Security is becoming a big conversation topic, especially when we are talking about the cloud.”