Recent News

Insomniac Games’ Sunset Overdrive is one of the best Xbox One exclusives available. Thanks to Microsoft being its publisher, it will be staying on the platform for a good long time. Insomniac Games is certainly interested and stated numerous times that it would like to release a PC version. Microsoft likes the game but a spokesperson told GameSpot that it has no news on whether a PC version will happen.

There were reports since April that Microsoft was testing a number of Xbox One Upgrades. These are now known to be the Xbox One S and a secretive undertaking known as Project Scorpio. Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox division at Microsoft, spoke to NZgamer addressing some of these concerns. Spencer did confirm that the device would be a premium device, but not unlike the prices of previous consoles. TechTimes notes that the console with the record for the highest price so far was the PlayStation 3 with a price of $600.

Microsoft went all out earlier this year saying that it is betting big on bots. Satya Nadella who believes that apps will replace bots recently revealed that 45000 developers are using the Microsoft Framework. It should be noted that using the Microsoft Bot Framework is not limited to Skype, bots can be created for Facebook Messenger, and also other chatting platforms. According to VentureBeat, 34000 developers are building bots on Facebook Messenger. The report further adds that Messenger VP David Marcus had used the same figure two weeks ago when discussing the number of developers using Messenger.

Microsoft has been adding new features to Windows 10 since its first release in July 2015. But this time, the software giant is set to offer not just the latest Windows experience but also the newest Ubuntu version. “WSL will install Ubuntu version 16.04 (Xenial) instead of Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty) in an upcoming release. This change will apply to Insiders installing new instances (lxrun.exe /install or first run of bash.exe),” said Russ Alexander, Program Manager, Microsoft, while announcing the WSL updates.

Microsoft has developed a unique app for iPhone users which will help them identify flowers. The app created by Microsoft Garage has been named as Flower Recognition. In order to know the name of a flower using the app, the iPhone user either needs to click a picture of a flower or can provide one from the phone’s camera roll. Though, Flower Recognition has been rolled out to iOS 8.2, it is currently available only in China.

Most of us use WiFi only to access the Internet on our phones, tablets and laptops. However, with the right apps, there is a lot more that you can do with your wireless connection. The app ‘Plex’ available on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms is one such app. Users can use it to play video, audio and view photos stored on your computer. One of the highlights of Plex is that it automatically organizes multimedia by downloading associated information like cover art and movie/TV show information.

Microsoft certainly seems to be pushing 4K gaming with their upcoming console, the Xbox One Scorpio which is scheduled to launch next year. However as previously reported, Microsoft is not going to set any mandate on how developers will use all that power. The Scorpio is a 4K ready machine but in the end it’s up to the developers on how they want to use it.

According to Rod Fergusson, Studio Head at Gears of War 4 developer The Coalition, users will have to download 11GB before you can jump in. “To clarify – if digital, no day one patch since all 54.6 gigs are downloaded. If physical disk then there will be 11 gig download,” Fergusson tweeted earlier this week. Microsoft is trying to incentivize the digital release of Gears of War 4. Buying Gears of War 4 digitally for the Xbox One nets you the Windows 10 version as well thanks to Microsoft’s Xbox Play Anywhere program.

Microsoft recently announced that its data centers globally would be powered by 50 percent renewable energy by 2018. “As we begin to tap the power of the cloud to address these challenges, we must also ensure that we are building a responsible cloud. Tremendous amounts of energy will be required to power this data-driven revolution. The leading cloud companies have a responsibility to address this energy usage. And Microsoft believes that, we have the opportunity to drive change that will benefit not only our company but the world,” said Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s Chief environmental strategist, on Microsoft’s Green Blog.

Microsoft wants more and more people to use its app store. But that’s not going to happen while it remains a relative Wild West. As a result, Redmond is working hard to add some much-needed checks and balances to its platform. One of these is age ratings. Developers have up to today to rate their games using the International Age Rating Coalition’s (IARC) system. There are also ratings available for specific markets, like North America, Europe, Germany, Australia and Brazil.