In the News

Pune boy Aalok Sathe, studying in Class 12, has won Bronze medal at the 14th International Linguistics Olympiad promoted by Microsoft Research India. One of the 12 international science olympiads held globally, the contest evaluated participants’ computational thinking, analytical reasoning and logical deduction. More than 170 students from 30 different countries, including India, the US, Japan, Germany and Singapore participated this year to test their skills in tackling some of the toughest puzzles in language and linguistics.

Microsoft is rolling out a large update to Xbox One, a patch that was detailed at their E3 2016 event in June. The update brings a variety of new features including its digital assistant Cortana, for players in the US and UK. Cortana on the console has been made to look and function just like its Windows 10 counterpart

In the Big Data Roundup for the week ending July 31, 2016, Microsoft has infused Office 365 with machine learning, Tableau is putting data visualization control back in IT hands, GE is supplying an IoT developer kit for its Predix offering, Snowflake Computing has updated its cloud-based data warehouse, and Teradata has acquired Big Data Partnership.

In the Big Data Roundup for the week ending July 31, 2016, Microsoft has infused Office 365 with machine learning, Tableau is putting data visualization control back in IT hands, GE is supplying an IoT developer kit for its Predix offering, Snowflake Computing has updated its cloud-based data warehouse, and Teradata has acquired Big Data Partnership.

Microsoft has officially ended the free upgrade promo for Windows 10. For those who didn’t get the free upgrade, will now have to pay a price of $119.99 for the license. Microsoft had rolled out Windows 10 on July 29 and continued to offer it for an entire year. Therefore, users who were able to get the free upgrade can use it without paying any money. This action was a part of the Get Windows 10 app campaign.

With barely four days left for Microsoft’s much awaited anniversary update on August 2, the company has announced the addition of two new Windows 10 variants to its already populated line-up. The new Windows 10 variants, Education and Pro Education, are designed keeping in mind the unique needs of rapidly evolving K-12 institutions. The two new variants join the already available Windows 10 SKUs (stock keeping units or versions) that will be updated and released alongside the Anniversary Update on August 2.

This year’s roster of Microsoft-published Xbox One games such as Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition, and Recore sport cheaper prices and are up for pre-order right now. Amazon India has Gears of War 4 listed at Rs. 3,998 as is Forza Horizon 3. Meanwhile Recore will set you back by Rs. 3,298. In addition to these is Killer Instinct: Definitive Edition which includes all seasons of Microsoft’s fighting game as well as its characters and content; all at Rs. 3,298.

The state government in association with Microsoft is developing a mobile app which is built on the Microsoft platform Kaizala. This is set to empower Dwcra groups in the state. Representatives from Microsoft met Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to discuss about the app. The application will help showcase the products made by the Dwcra women and also help market them. The application will also be useful for internal communication among them.

Fancy an email ID in your mother tongue? Given the Indian government’s aim, American tech giants Google, Microsoft and homegrown providers like Rediff could soon be signing you up for email addresses in the desi language of your choice. At a meeting convened last month, the government asked email service providers to enable users to sign up for addresses in local languages, starting with Hindi.

The “Microsoft India Citizenship Report 2015-16” highlights the achievements of Microsoft’s citizenship initiatives in the country. The company has so far equipped more than 7.7 lakh government school teachers with IT skills across 12 states in India under its Project Shiksha program. Microsoft is also running digital literacy initiatives under the YouthSpark program for marginalized communities, with a special focus on girls and young women.