In the News

Microsoft at its event in New York City is expected to reveal a new Surface device alongside giving updates about its Windows 10 operating system. Ahead of the launch, two new possible product names that are expected to star at the event have made it to the Internet. According to leaked trademark filing, Microsoft may launch its new Surface Laptop alongside an overhauled Paint app dubbed Paint 3D. Brian Conroy, a trademark agent and solicitor based in Dublin, has also discovered Microsoft is after Surface Studio, Surface Dial, and Dial trademark filings. Unfortunately, there are not many details available about the Surface Studio, Surface Dial, and Dial as of now.

Ubisoft Massive’s The Division may not have been the Destiny killer many had hoped or expected it to be, but it remains a popular game with a rather active player base. That player base will be glad to know that, after a down time of three hours, The Division is now back online and available to play if you first download update 1.4 for the game, which is now available too. Update 1.4 comes in at 5GB, so it makes some rather substantial changes to the game on the client side, too.

Microsoft has usually been on point as far as their offerings for Xbox Live Games with Gold have gone over this past year or so. For the month of November, Microsoft will be offering Super Dungeon Bros., and Murdered: Soul Suspect to Xbox One owners. Super Dungeon Bros. is alright, while Murdered has an interesting premise, which it entirely squanders with botched execution. On the Xbox 360 side, the offerings are far better, subscribers get Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon as well as The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition.

Microsoft will launch the Xbox One Scorpio, their new console in Holiday 2017. It promises to be the strongest, most powerful console ever. According to Microsoft, it will be ‘the only console capable of true 4K and hi-fidelity VR’, which technically isn’t untrue, but is still being a tad unfair to especially how great the PlayStation VR is.

Partnerships between major technology companies and payment technology companies, have made online transactions more convenient to the end user, as well as merchants. MasterCard announced that it had integrated Masterpass into Samsung Pay, Microsoft Wallet and Android Pay by Google. Visa has opened its digital payment service to online wallets, and announced Google as one of its first customers. Eric Lockard, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft said “We’re excited to bring Masterpass to Microsoft Wallet users. Masterpass provides an additional payment option for our customers who look to the Microsoft Wallet to conveniently checkout at their favorite online shopping sites.”

Microsoft released a statement, which warns users of the issue that now goes under the name “Hicurdismos”. The problem begins when users are greeted with the infamous ‘Blue Screen Of Death’ (BSOD). Affected users are then required to call the Microsoft Support team on a toll-free number that is mentioned on the ‘fake’ screen. Victims are tricked into calling the help desk on the given number only to be answered by the hackers. Users are then made to install additional software (malware), further affecting the system.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced the availability of Modern Workspace, a smart conference room service built in collaboration with leading technology and service providers. HPE Enterprise Services will spearhead smart conference room setups to simplify meeting arrangements and enhance employee collaboration with Microsoft Skype Room Systems including room management and audio/video accessories from EventBoard and Logitech. “The next generation of Skype Room Systems enables a complete Skype for Business meeting room experience in practically any meeting space with a display or projector,” said Giovanni Mezgec, General Manager, Office Partner Marketing, Microsoft.

Technology decision makers in Indian enterprises are the highest adopters of public Cloud solutions in the world, a survey by Microsoft revealed. “Fifty-seven per cent respondents from India have adopted public Cloud solutions and 33 per cent respondents stated that their companies use hybrid Cloud, a combination of public and private Cloud solutions,” the findings showed.

Just days ahead of the release of the Skyrim remaster, it seems that The Elder Scrolls Skyrim: Special Edition will indeed be living up to its name, and provide a truly special rendition of the classic game. In a gameplay footage, Skyrim‘s remaster looks good, although it is also evident that there isn’t that much of a change from the original game. The Elder Scrolls Skyrim: Special Edition will be launching later this month on Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Microsoft is expecting that the newfound success of Xbox One in the US and UK will continue into the holiday season. At their newest financial briefing, they noted that they expected gaming to continue to a driver of growth for the company, especially on Windows 10, and for the Xbox One to continue performing well in North America and UK. “Gaming is a leading driver of engagement on Windows 10, and opens up new experiences and scenarios across Windows devices,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said. “For the past three consecutive months Xbox One has been the number one selling console in the United States giving us strong momentum heading into the Holiday season.”