In the News

After initial reservations, the Centre is now open to allowing pilot projects and technological experiments by companies such as Google and Microsoft for expanding their Internet reach in India. “We must be liberal in permitting experimentation of new technology for connectivity. Let there be pilots, Project Loon and Microsoft’s project (White Spaces), let the new experimentation happen… When the results come, we will take policy initiatives consistent with security requirements. I am very open with experimentation of new products,” said Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Skype has now received a much needed update which hides your IP address by default. The move is essentially aimed at protecting the privacy of Skype users, as earlier users could see each other’s IP addresses. The new update is primarily addressed at gamers, given the booming popularity of the online gaming space.

Microsoft’s Mimicker Alarm for Android wakes your body up and then attempts to get your mind churning. Once the alarm wakes you up, the Mimicker alarm asks you to choose from three different games to get your mind ready for the day in 30 seconds. The games include taking selfies, pictures of coloured objects and repeating phrases.

Microsoft continues to bolster the lineup of Xbox 360 games that are playable on the Xbox One, thanks to their backwards compatibility initiative- over 100 games are playable on the system. The crown jewel of this batch is The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings– the excellent Xbox 360 version of CD Projekt RED’s second entry in the Witcher saga can now be played on the Xbox One, allowing many the chance to play through more of Geralt’s adventures. Check out the full list of games.

Microsoft is going to try and capitalize on what has been a pretty good end of 2015 with an event better start to 2016 by showing off what it plans for this year at a special event in February. The company is going to unveiling its complete line-up for the rest of the year, while also showing some new things surrounding its operating system, Windows 10.

Microsoft has rolled out an update for its Skype app on Android with new features that now lets users schedule Skype calls in Outlook. It also integrates Microsoft Office apps for Google’s platform. Although you could already schedule Skype calls using Outlook, users can schedule calls in Outlook using Skype. All you need to do is to tap on the person you want to plan a call with and then click on the ‘Schedule a call’ option inside the Menu tab in the Skype app. Using calendar is also possible. You would have to create an event and send the invite.

Betting big on advanced analytics and machine learning on its Azure cloud, Microsoft is planning to ramp up its market reach through its existing clients across verticals and government initiatives in India. According to Microsoft Bing Search and Advertisement India and R&D General Manager Russ Arun, “Big data analytics, coupled with machine-learning algorithms, holds immense potential in terms of driving fundamental changes in critical areas like education and health. To that extent, advances in computing can help governments and society create relevant interventions in pressing issues.”

Ratan Tata-backed Infinite Analytics’s personalization engine has been integrated into Microsoft Dynamics AX, an ERP (enterprise resource planning) suite that provides end-to-end retail solutions connecting people, information and processes. Infinite Analytics, a predictive analytics company based out of Boston and Mumbai, was founded by MIT alumni Akash Bhatia and Purushotham Botla three years ago and has its genesis in a class taught by Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.

Businesses may adopt Windows 10 earlier and boost the PC market in 2017. The global PC shipment market is expected to total 287 million units in 2016, a decline of one per cent year over year, but on pace to increase four per cent in 2017.“Ultramobile premium devices are expected to drive the PC market forward with the move to Windows 10 and PCs built around Intel’s Skylake architecture,” said Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. “We expect that businesses will deploy Windows 10 faster than with previous Windows upgrades.”

iQor, a global provider of customer interaction and product support services, today announced that it has been named as Microsoft’s service partner for hardware support in North America. iQor currently supports a wide range of Microsoft devices in Europe, Asia and Latin America.