Recent News

The article decodes the swanky new office of Microsoft India in Gurgaon. The perks for working a company like MS are many. You get to play on Xbox, can get a foot massage while at work. If you feel like putting your aiming skills to test, you may also try darts and of course there’s the Banyan Tree. Bhaskar Pramanik, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “Our new office is futuristic and flexible, enabling our employees to realize their full potential. The new space effortlessly blends work, creativity and collaboration. I am proud that our Indian heritage stands in our design too”.

If a report published by Microsoft is true, then by 2025, India will be home to 700 million broadband subscriptions. That number is 30 times more than what we have today, 20 million. During the same period, the entire European Union will add only 105 million new broadband subscriptions, from about 143 million in 2012 to 248 million in 2025. Paul Nicholas, Senior Director, Global Security Strategy and Diplomacy, Microsoft, said, “But the risks are not just from the commonly recognized sources such as criminals, malware or even targeted cyber-attacks. They can emerge from policies as well”. Highlights of the report were presented to a group of visiting journalists in Redmond last week.

Cyber Learning, the award winning provider of IT learning and certification solutions for academic and workforce segments and the company that brought the Microsoft Office Specialist Certification to India, announced the COMPUDON Season IV India Champions in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint, culminating India’s most popular and the only validated technology skills competition on Microsoft Office since its inception in 2011. COMPUDON – the gateway to the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship – is a platform for students in India to showcase their mastery in using key Microsoft Office applications. Eligible students from all states of India competed for the title of “India Champions”. Pankaj Dikshit, Academic Area Sales Lead for India, Microsoft said, “Microsoft Certifications help students around the world gain skills that will help them get jobs and a better life. COMPUDON has helped students in India embrace the Office Certifications so they can compete on a global stage”.

Nick Parker, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft recently unveiled Toshiba’s new Windows 8.1 based budget tablet at the sidelines of the ongoing Computex 2014 event. Japanese manufacturer Toshiba has developed the tablet in collaboration with Microsoft and Intel. There is however no word about the pricing and availability of the device as of now. The Toshiba Encore 7 tablet features a 17.78-cm (7-inch) display with a 1024×600 pixels resolution. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3735 processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. It comes with 16GB of inbuilt storage which is expandable via micro SD card. The tablet runs Windows 8.1 OS and sports a front-facing camera.

The article outlines the efforts of the winners of Microsoft Youth Spark who are stepping out of their comfort zones and are making a difference in the society in their own unique ways. As part of the initia¬tive, the global Youth-Spark program creates opportunities for 300 million youth giving entrepreneurial skills and helping them realize their potential. Gaurav Mittal, one of the winners of the initiative designed Eye-D short for eye-device is a micro¬controller and phone combination for solutions for visually challenged like guidance, bus routing, face identification and color identification etc. It’s a handheld device that assists them in their bus travels, matching their shirts with pant, read text and other things. He claims to have developed a few prototypes and received funds for a 3D printer and a Windows Phone.

Microsoft has urged Windows 8 users to upgrade to Windows 8.1 as the due date of June 13 approaches. Microsoft announced that all Windows 8 updates and patches will only be valid for those who have upgraded to the base version of Windows 8.1. Those who will still remain on Windows 8.0 and fail to upgrade on time will be left out and receive no updates and patches. The upgrade from Windows 8.0 to Windows 8.1 is completely free and users who have purchased a licensed version of Windows 8.0 should upgrade to Windows 8.1 at the earliest. To do so, simply hit the Windows automatic update in the control panel and download the updated version for free.

Ahmedabad-based Bitscape Infotech Pvt Ltd (BIPL) has won the prestigious Microsoft Worldwide Partner of the year Award for 2014. The award recognizes the partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. The awards will be presented at Washington DC, USA next month where Microsoft will unfold its plans for the new financial year for the company, beginning July. Kartik Shah, CEO and Managing Director, Bitscape Infotech said, “the company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft Corp. partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions-based on Microsoft technology”. Phil Sorgen, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp said, “Microsoft’s success as a company depends on great partners, and Bitscape Infotech is a shining example of the kind of innovation our partner ecosystem drives year after year”.

Speaking at the Computex trade show in Taipei, Microsoft’s Nick Parker, who handles the company’s partnerships with device makers, said the new handsets could be out by the end of the year. Compared to current models, which are in the “fours, fives and sixes,” he said referring to prices between $400 and $699, the new phones would have price points in the “ones, twos and threes.”