In the News

India’s SMB landscape contributes significantly to India’s GDP and hence growth. But SMBs are at a greater risk of being targeted by cyber criminals. Bringing security to the fore with an aiming to further awareness, Microsoft India and PwC India have for the first time joined hands and are conducting a series of joint activities including webinars. Together, they are spreading awareness about the various security related issues which irk SMBs and rob them of money as well as business. Through the webinar, PwC also highlighted the need for aligning the businesses with regulatory frameworks

The tech giants are coming together to fight and prevent online hate speech. Automated abuse filter by Yahoo, Quality filter by Twitter, and now a dedicated website has been launched by Microsoft to control online hate speech. The Redmond Company has launched a dedicated website where you can report hate speech not just on Live, but also on Docs.com, OneDrive, Outlook, Skype, and Sway. The website accepts reports from anyone across the globe.

Speaking to GamingBolt, Reinhard Pollice, Business and Product Development Director at THQ Nordic discussed his take on all the new systems coming up. He said, “VR platforms are definitely a new generation, but right now they aren’t replacing anything, just broadening it and bringing some exciting new possibilities. Neo, Scorpio, and the NX seem to be more traditional gaming consoles with a lot of power which is great as working on consoles always meant strict limitations.”

Microsoft just updated Office Applications on Android with easier sharing and collaboration features. Word, Excel and Powerpoint got updates, for both the mobile and tablet versions. All three apps now have the ability to add contacts via email addresses, and invite them to collaborate on the document. The changes can be tracked in real time, and users can see who are editing a document. Additionally, while sharing, there is an option to check a “can edit” control. This allows shared documents to be either viewed or edited by the contact it is shared with.

Last month, Microsoft updated its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for Office 365 users with AI-focused features. Now, the Redmond-based company has introduced the Ink math assistant in OneNote, which will help users solve mathematical equations easily. The newly added feature Ink math assistant in OneNote not only converts handwritten equations into text and then solves them, but also teaches users how to solve the equations step-by-step. This feature is very much in line with the Editor feature introduced by the company for Microsoft word last month, which helps you with your language skills.

Earlier this month, Microsoft claimed that the company was close to solving the battery issues some users were experiencing with the Surface Pro 3. Now, the Redmond-based company has finally rolled out an update and says that it fixes the issue battery life issue on some Surface Pro 3 models. Comparing the issue with fuel in a car’s tank, the company said, “Think of this like a fuel gauge in a car, where the car looks to the fuel gauge to determine how much to fill the tank. In this case, if the fuel gauge isn’t working right, the car would also not be able to fill the tank-even though the tank is fine.”

Computer electronics major Dell India announced that people buying Windows 10-based PCs across its brands will get Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 edition bundled with the devices, starting August 20. Dell’s personal computer range – Inspiron, XPS, Alienware and Vostro with Office Home and Student 2016 is available at a starting price of Rs 25,890 and onwards.

For years, Microsoft has been delivering speedy and accurate Bing results with experimental servers called Project Catapult, which have now received an architectural upgrade. Microsoft has now redesigned the original Catapult server, which is used to investigate the role of FPGAs in speeding up servers. The proposed Catapult v2 design is more flexible in circumventing traditional data-center structures for machine learning and expands the role of FPGAs as accelerators. Microsoft presented the Catapult v2 design for the first time earlier this month at the Scaled Machine Learning conference in Stanford, California.

September is usually a month of big releases, and this year looks to be no exception. Be it arcade racing across the Australian outback, playing with the world’s best football players or exploring a Twin Peaks-style world, there’s a lot to look forward to. The list of games releasing next month includes FIFA 17, Forza Horizon 3, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017, BioShock: The Collection, Mother Russia Bleeds, ReCore, Virginia, and more.

In an interview, Microsoft India boss Bhaskar Pramanik reflects on the company’s journey over the last five years, the core aspirations that he lives by and where he would like to see the company five years hence. Read what he has to say about the most important changes in Microsoft in the last five years.