In the News

Everyone, who’s anyone in the tech industry, from Jess Bezos to Mark Zuckerberg has signed an open letter to Congress urging them to put $250m of federal funds towards providing every student in the US with the opportunity to learn computer science. Some $48 million has been raised privately, including $23 million from the likes of Microsoft and Google towards Code.org, plus additional funds from both of these companies and others specifically geared towards schools.

Paragon Solutions, an advisory consulting and systems integration firm, announced it has achieved a Silver Microsoft Project and Portfolio Management competency. To earn a Microsoft silver competency, partners must successfully demonstrate expertise through rigorous exams, culminating in Microsoft certifications. Phil Sorgen, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft, said, “By achieving a silver competency, organizations have proven their expertise in specific technology areas, placing them among the top 5 percent of Microsoft partners worldwide.”

Microsoft has started testing its app handoff feature allowing apps to handover data across devices to enable users continue where they left off. The Windows 10 feature, codenamed Project Rome, aims to let Windows 10 apps connect and share data with other devices via Bluetooth and the Internet.

Otis Elevator Company and its parent company, United Technologies Corporation, are looking towards building a strategic alliance with Microsoft. It will accelerate development of digital solutions for smart building equipment, such as elevators, to improve energy efficiency and make people more productive. Tito Arciniega, Vice President, Worldwide Industry and Global Accounts, Microsoft, said, “United Technologies is at the forefront of an essential shift, using technology to make buildings and transportation function more efficiently and move the world forward.”

Nasstar PLC announced that they had achieved the coveted Microsoft Gold Hosting Partner certification for their datacenter hosting operations. Nasstar PLC is now an accredited Microsoft Gold Hosting Partner, certified to deliver solutions that meet Microsoft’s stringent demands within its field of expertise. Nigel Redwood, CEO, Nasstar, said, “Achieving our Microsoft Gold Hosting Certification was an important milestone for Nasstar and our technical team, senior management and board of Directors are all justifiably proud of this fantastic achievement.”

Gears of War 4, the biggest Xbox One exclusive this year, is now available for Xbox One owners. The Xbox Store is the only place users can get their pre-orders and pre-download from as of now. It will let users play a bunch of multiplayer modes including team deathmatch, dodgeball, and co-op team deathmatch that lets the palyer and four others square off against hardcore bots.

The open beta for Gears of War 4 is now available on Xbox One, for Xbox Live Gold members. This beta is for the multiplayer alone and promises some new maps, characters and modes from the closed beta that was going on since April 18th. The open beta will be available until May 1st and if gamers hit level 20, they will receive some exclusive rewards for use in the final game.

Microsoft is bringing its excellent Windows Phone keyboard to the iPhone. The new iOS version will let users tap or swipe to type out words and intelligently predict words for sentences. The company had promised a beta period, but it appears the app is freely available in the US App Store.

Certification Bootcamps are now available for all Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 exams at Training 4 Microsoft CRM. Since Microsoft released the latest exams for Dynamics CRM 2016 in February, there has been a complete absence of Certification Bootcamps and training courses for individuals and organizations looking to skill up. Now, with the release of Training 4 Microsoft CRM’s Certification Bootcamps, all Microsoft Dynamics exams have a matching Certification Bootcamp to help examinees skill up and pass their exams.

Microsoft’s Surface phone has been making headlines for months now and is rumored to be unveiled in “early 2017.” The company recently updated its ‘Minimum hardware requirements’ page for Windows 10 Mobile, and added MSM8998 SoC as a compatible processor with the OS. Notably, Qualcomm is yet to debut the MSM8998 chipset. MSM8998 could be Qualcomm’s next-generation high-end chipset, the Snapdragon 830.