In the News

In an interaction, Meenu Chandra, Senior Attorney, Lead, Digital Crimes Unit of Microsoft India, said, “Recent years have seen the rapid growth of the Internet and growing reliance of societies on information systems. From hackers causing mischief to organized crime syndicates employing sophisticated financial ruses, the surge of sophisticated, targeted cyber-attacks highlights the need for improved defenses. At Microsoft, security is a core focus and we invest more than a billion dollars in security research and development. We are working with partners across the globe in better approaches to secure digital assets in a mobile first, cloud first world.”

In an interview, Aaron Greenberg, head of Xbox marketing, said, “For us, we think the future is without console generations. We think that the ability to build a library, a community, to be able to iterate with the hardware we’re making a pretty big bet on that with Project Scorpio. We’re basically saying, ‘this isn’t a new generation; everything you have continues forward and it works.’ We think of this as a family of devices.”

Microsoft has announced Xbox Wireless. It’s a new ecosystem of compatible hardware and peripherals. Existing Xbox One consoles and accessories are Xbox Wireless ready. “While this is the first partner device to have built-in Xbox Wireless support, it won’t be the last. We are currently working with other partners such as Astro, PDP, Turtle Beach, and many more,” posted Will Tuttle, Xbox Wire Editor in Chief on the official Xbox website. “Going forward, you should expect to see both new PCs and new accessories that support Xbox Wireless as we create new ways for our fans to play seamlessly across devices.”

The Xbox One has managed to make a remarkable turnaround in terms of perception, but in terms of where it matters, hard sales numbers, the Xbox One is still trailing far behind its immediate competition, the PlayStation 4. Surely this is something that rankles for Microsoft- especially since they spent most of the previous generation in the driver’s seat with the Xbox 360. However, in an interview with Engadget, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg said, “I think what you’re seeing is that the console market is really healthy, console sales are doing really well in general, software sales are strong. It’s been a good industry for both of us, and we’re innovating in different ways.”

Microsoft wants users to switch to OneNote. It’s not the first time Microsoft targeted disgruntled Evernote users, either. In March, the company unveiled its importer tool for Windows, aimed squarely at those looking for an Evernote alternative. Now, the importer is coming to Mac. Microsoft points out that the $69 price tag for Evernote Premium would get you all of the apps included in Office 365 Personal (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher and Access) as well as 1TB of cloud storage and 60 minutes of free calling on Skype.

Cisco has taken a huge leap in cutting its collaboration war with Microsoft, through increased interoperability with Skype for Business technology. Through unveiling Cisco Meeting Server, the tech giant said the system connects Cisco meeting rooms with others using Skype for Business, unifying two systems that have previously gone head to head in the market. While competition remains fierce however, the move suggests the ice is thawing between the industry’s biggest two collaboration vendors.

The medical industry could be set for a “revolution” with the emergence of more complex artificial intelligence, one of Microsoft’s top researchers told CNBC, as technology giants look to enter the health care space. “I think artificial intelligence is probably the biggest transformation in the IT industry. Medical is such a big area in terms of GDP that that’s got to be a good bet,” said Christopher Bishop, lab Director at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, U.K.

WinTel, Microsoft Windows and Intel, are teaming up to play an active role in further developing the technology of virtual reality. It is natural to expect a lot when they decide to join hands for a common venture. That being said, VR headsets till date have only been accessible either through high-end graphic cards equipped PCs or smartphones. But there still hasn’t been a kind of innovation that targets the mainstream PCs yet. Hence, the two companies announced at Intel’s developer conference that they will work together to ensure that mainstream PCs are able to run Virtual Reality.

Microsoft is getting into the Windows 10 spirit for Windows 7 and 8.1 users. No, the company is not returning to its nagging tactics for the (now expired) free upgrade to Windows 10. What Microsoft is doing is making updates to Windows 7 and 8.1 much easier and similar to how it handles Windows 10 updates. Beginning in October 2016, both older operating systems will receive a cumulative rollup patch available each and every month via Windows Update.

Starting in October, the .Net Framework Monthly Rollup will provide regular security and quality updates. Microsoft in October is introducing .Net Framework Monthly Rollup to provide security and quality updates to its programming model for Windows. “The .Net Framework Monthly Rollup is a single install that updates each supported .Net Framework version on a machine to its latest respective update level,” said Microsoft’s Stacey Haffner.