In the News

Microsoft launched its Edge browser last year, and like any other application, it still has quite a few bugs. Microsoft already made it pretty easy for Edge users to post their feedback and bug reports through its UserVoice and Issue Tracker, but has now simplified it even more. According to the blog posted by Microsoft, developers can file a bug in three easy steps.

Microsoft is busy working round the clock to have its Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update ready for rollout. The update for Windows 10 PCs and tablets started rolling out from August 2 while the Windows 10 Mobile rollout is still expected. Dona Sarkar, Head of the Windows Insider Program, announced, “Right now, the team is laser-focused on preparing to release the Windows 10 Anniversary Update to Mobile devices and we think we’re almost ready. You can help us out by making sure you are running Build 14393.67 (KB3176931) on your phone and sending in feedback on any issues you run into via the Feedback Hub.”

Microsoft is working hard on making its Word Flow, the best swipe keyboard available for iPhones. To compete with its contemporaries, Microsoft has planned few updates for Word Flow including a feature that will allow users to search different types of content simultaneously. Users will get GIFs, images, and results from the web, contacts, and also emoji. Results will be displayed in tabs, so the users can easily pick the desired one and insert it into the conversation.

GE and Microsoft are uniting their cloud computing technologies in a partnership that will bring GE’s industrial internet platform, Predix, to businesses running on Microsoft Azure. The companies say the combination of Predix with Azure will bridge GE’s digital expertise in industry and manufacturing, and Microsoft’s forte in information technology. “Working with companies like GE, we can reach a new set of customers to help them accelerate their transformation across every line of business from the factory floor to smart buildings,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a statement announcing the partnership.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 anniversary update was launched on August 2. However, only a day later, a freezing issue was discovered. Good news is, Microsoft has finally acknowledged the bug. The company is currently working on a fix. They also revealed that only a small number of computers are actually affected by this issue. “Microsoft has received a small number of reports of Windows 10 freezing after installing the Anniversary Update on systems with the operating system stored on a solid-state drive (SSD) and apps and data stored on a separate drive. This issue does not occur when starting Windows 10 in Safe Mode,” the company said.

A group of Ph.D. students from the MIT Media Lab and researchers from Microsoft Research have come up with a temporary tattoo with which users can control their smartphone. The wearable can turn into a touchpad to remotely control smartphones, or share data using NFC (Near Field Communication). The technology is called DuoSkin and according to the researchers, one can design a circuit using any graphic software, stamp out the tattoo in gold leaf (which is conductive to electricity) and then apply other commodity materials and components that would make the tattoo interactive.

In an interview, Joseph Sirosh, Global Head of Data Group, Microsoft, said, “I have managed machine learning teams here for over 10-15 years. It is an interesting, good and strong community of machine learning experts and users in India. Now, the public sector is starting to catch on, with the Andhra Pradesh government looking at analyzing and predicting school dropouts and so on. I think there is enormous potential. There are startups that are using many of the cognitive APIs to build solutions for enterprises.”

Indians have played a key role in the success of technology powerhouses globally. From Google to Microsoft, Cognizant to NetApp, Indians run some of the world’s biggest and best companies. After a 22-year stint with the company, Satya Nadella was appointed as the chief executive officer of Microsoft in February 2014. The Hyderabad-born 47-year-old has a BE from Manipal Institute of Technology, MS from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

According to a study led by Indian-origin entrepreneur, Microsoft’s employees are more innovative than Apple’s, and Facebook’s staff are less creative than most tech workers. The findings showed that Facebook lags behind the others in cultivating a culture of creativity. “The study data tell us that in terms of adventurousness, Microsoft employees tend to be neck-and-neck with Apple’s, and much more adventurous than Google, Facebook, or IBM employees,” said, Samar Birwadker, Founder and CEO, Good & CO.

Beam, an “interactive livestreaming service”, has been acquired by Microsoft. Chad Gibson, Partner Group Manager for Xbox Live, noted how this would help bridge the gap between playing games and watching them side by side. “We at Xbox are excited about this convergence between playing and watching, and want to provide gamers with the freedom and choice to have great multiplayer experiences across all of Beam’s platforms. This acquisition will help gamers enjoy the games they want, with the people they want, and on the devices they want.”