T3: Microsoft allows upgrades from Windows 7 or 8.1 to Windows 10 with a clean install

Microsoft has smoothed over the upgrade process with the latest preview build of Windows 10, meaning that those upgrading for free can perform a clean install of the new OS if they wish. “If you do a clean install of Windows 10 by booting off the media, you can also enter the product key from prior Windows versions on qualifying devices during setup,” said Microsoft’s Gabe Aul, Vice President, WDG Engineering Systems.

CIO: Windows tablets for business hit 10% share in second quarter

Microsoft and its Windows devices globally accounted for 6% of business smartphones and 10% of tablets in the second quarter of 2015, breaking the double-digit mark for business tablets for the first time, according to Strategy Analytics. Overall, the market research firm said business smartphone shipments were 89.3 million in the second quarter, while shipments of business tablets were 19.6 million.

CIO: Surface Book pre-orders sell out on Microsoft’s site

People who want to buy Microsoft’s new Surface Book laptop-tablet hybrid will have to look somewhere other than the company’s online retail store, for the moment. Fortunately for Microsoft, this means that there’s healthy demand for the machines. It’s a positive sign that the Surface Book, which marks Microsoft’s entry into the laptop market, has clearly piqued users’ interest.

Economic Times: Microsoft ties up with Wudstay to facilitate hotel bookings on Windows platform

Microsoft has entered into a partnership with budget accommodation marketplace Wud-Stay to facilitate hotel bookings on the Windows platform. This is the American technology company’s first tie-up in online budget accommodation business in India. “Millions of Windows users in the country now have an opportunity to book a WudStay and enjoy additional discounts or purchase special packages on their Windows devices,” said Harish Vaidyanathan, Director-independent software vendor programmes, Microsoft India.

Bloomberg: Microsoft wins patents on HoloLens design

Microsoft has locked up the rights to more of the features of its HoloLens headset. The Redmond company received a half-dozen design patents that appear to apply to features of the holographic headset, covering components like the visor, display screen and arms that wrap around the wearer’s head.

The Economic Times: New Windows 10 build brings smarter Cortana, messaging experiences

Microsoft just released a new build of Windows 10 to consumer testers in the Fast ring. Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 10565 brings a number of features that are expected to arrive in next month’s anticipated Threshold 2 update. The biggest feature of the release is a unified messaging app for Windows 10 that integrates Skype messaging, calling and video.The app also brings message notifications to the Action Center, and to help you multitask, you can even quickly respond to messages using Quick Reply.

Yahoo: Microsoft to control software updates for Windows 10 Mobile

Microsoft will set the tone for when users of Windows 10 Mobile handsets will receive the latest updates. The software giant said it’s working with mobile carriers to test software updates for its new Windows 10 Mobile operating system and will use their feedback, according to a statement sent to CNET. But the company “will decide when to send the updates out based on input from mobile operators and Windows Insiders.”

First Post: Microsoft Office 365 now available from Indian datacentres

Two weeks after making Azure available locally in its three Indian datacentres, Microsoft has now announced locally hosted Office 365 services in India. “With the launch of our three new datacentres in India, Office 365 becomes the first global commercial cloud service to provide productivity and collaboration services from within India,” Rajesh Jha, Corporate Vice President for the Office 365 team, said. With the local data centres, Microsoft will be able to offer a locally hosted model which will address the data privacy for compliant and regulated industries such as BFSI and the government.