Recent News

Microsoft has introduced a buyback offer for its affordable Lumia 535 smartphone. Under this deal, buyers of the device are currently able to purchase the smartphone at Rs 5999, if they have another low-end handset that they wish to exchange. Microsoft had launched this handset in India in November last year as a low-end Windows Phone 8.1 device featuring an admirable camera setup.

Microsoft has launched its cloud version of its PhotoDNA service, which helps law enforcement services and websites detect illegal images including those depicting child sexual abuse from massive photo libraries. PhotoDNA, launched in 2009, was developed by Microsoft in collaboration with Dartmouth College has helped over 70 companies like Facebook and Twitter identify illegal photos for removal but it required substantial time, money and expertise to run it.

Fitbit has announced the Fitbit for Windows 10 app, delivering a more engaging and fluid app design that lets users personalize the way they interact with key pieces of their health and fitness journey across all their Windows devices. Through new Windows 10 app features, people at all fitness levels can now more easily access and log their most important personalized data in real-time. Fitbit helps users track their steps, activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep, providing the information they need to more successfully reach their goals.

Ever since the Windows 10 launch in the country, there has been a lot of hype and curiosity around Cortana, Microsoft’s very popular virtual assistant, and its expected arrival on the upgraded Windows version. Though there is still some time till the much-touted feature is rolled out on Windows 10 in India, as the excitement builds up, let’s look at what makes Cortana a feature that is so worth waiting for.

Global technology giant Microsoft will be working with the Andhra Pradesh government on a pilot project called the ‘White Spaces’ in Srikakulam, a technology that uses unused television spectrum to deliver low cost Internet connectivity. It is for the first time that this kind of a technology is being implemented in India. Highlighting the potential of TV White Spaces, the Chief Minister (N Chandrababu Naidu) said that the project will help in the last-mile connectivity.

The game, Halo 5: Guardians, will depict interstellar combat in new levels of graphical realism and offer new twists in multiplayer capabilities. It will be the latest game in the Halo series, one of the biggest in the industry, with more than $3.5 billion in global sales. “With Halo 5, we’re getting back to what the core of the game is,” says Frank O’Connor, Franchise Development Director for Halo.

Cortana – Microsoft’s alternative to comparable virtual assistant services like Siri and Google Now – can do more than perform boring tasks like sending texts and managing your schedule. Cortana’s also on constant standby for a round of fun, corny banter. Cortana editorial manager Jonathan Foster says, “”We want people to feel positive [whether] it’s because they think she’s funny or intelligent or contextual or just really understands them.”

Microsoft likes to trot out the stat that it’s invested $15 billion in building out Azure, its cloud computing product where you swipe a credit card and get access to essentially infinite computing power. That $15 billion bet could have a big payoff for Microsoft. There are indications that Azure is gaining steam to challenge that leadership position. “Azure’s growth has been incredible,” says Azure CTO Mark Russinovich. “It’s been a fun challenge to meet the demand.”

New data from Net Applications, a U.S. analytics firm, suggests that users have taken a shine to Windows 10: Microsoft’s new OS ended last week powering a record 3 percent of all Windows devices. Back of the envelope calculations show that 3 percent figure represents approximately 45 million systems.

Microsoft will begin inviting users to test the new iOS and Android apps of Skype for Business, the enterprise communications software whose latest version was launched a few months ago. The preview will include a number of benefits including a redesigned in-call experience. The new call screen features larger buttons to make it easier to manage a call on a phone’s smaller screen.