Items tagged with Microsoft
Lots of smartphone and tablet users have been excited at the prospect of the Microsoft Surface Duo that skirts the line between the two devices with a fold-out screen and the ability to make calls and have a larger screen for work or play. Holiday 2020 is when we thought the device would land, but rumors continue to persist that the Surface Duo Android phone might be ready sooner than we think. Sources who claim to know what Microsoft is cooking up say the hardware and software for the Surface Duo are essentially done. Microsoft is reportedly working on finalizing the top-level OS customization and in-box app experiences that are specific to Surface Duo. That the software and hardware are complete...
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Nearly 30 years ago, Microsoft first introduced us to an addictive little game called SkiFree. Available in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack 3 for Windows 3.x, the game had you skiing down a mountain jumping ramps, avoiding downed skiers, steering around (or jumping over) natural obstacles, and trying to avoid a seemingly unstoppable yeti. Microsoft is allowing a new generation to enjoy some of that same downward-scrolling gameplay with a new surfing game. But to play this new title, you’ll need to first install the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser. One further stipulation is that the game is not available with the stable build of the browser; you have to install...
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Microsoft has been trying for months to root out and eliminate various bugs related to the Search box in Windows 10, and the company thinks it finally has things figured out. By way of a new optional Windows 10 update (KB4535996) for builds 1903 and 1909, Microsoft says a stubborn search issue is no more, along with a few other other fixes. The trouble with Search first began with the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (1903) delivered last year. After the issue arose, Microsoft pushed out an initial fix, stating in the patch notes that it "addresses an issue that causes high CPU usage from SearchUI.exe for a small number of users. This issue only occurs on devices that have disabled searching the web...
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Microsoft has issued the latest update for the highly anticipated Flight Simulator 2020. The update was issued on February 27th and sticks to some key changes that were made in the last update. Namely, Episode 7 and Episode 8 have been swapped. This was to allow the devs to bring multiplayer to testers more quickly. Multiplayer has been highly requested, according to Microsoft. Episode 7 that was pushed back is the update that will bring IFR flights into the mix. The latest update doesn't have any key new features or changes for the game. Devs note that they are "putting the finishing touches" on Episode 8 that will outline multiplayer capabilities for the game. As for when Episode 8 will debut,...
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Microsoft revealed a number of new details about its upcoming Xbox Series X console earlier this week, including "Quick Resume" functionality. According to Microsoft, Quick Resume allows you to hop back into gameplay in an instant from a suspended state. Quick Resume will suspend the state of multiple games, which is a big advantage over the current Xbox One family of consoles that can suspend gameplay for just one game. Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb unleashed a bit more information on Quick Resume this week in a podcast. According to Major Nelson, the resumed state "survives a reboot", which is a great feature to have in the case of a system crash or system maintenance that...
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It will still be several more months before Microsoft launches its Surface Duo, a new dual-screen device that you can slip in your pocket. The Surface Duo is essentially an Android phone developed with the cooperation of Google on the software side. We don't have a ton of details yet, though a leaked video points to an interesting "Peek" feature. Twitter user WalkingCat posted the video, which shows the Surface Duo partially unfolding to give users a peek at any Android notifications that might exist. The notifications appear on the right-side of the Surface Duo, and users can swipe to interact with them. It looks as though they can be deleted as well, without opening the Surface Duo completely....
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Microsoft is investing heavily into its next-generation Microsoft Edge browser, which is based on Google Chromium. And as you might expect, Microsoft wants to get as many people over to the new Edge as soon as possible. With that in mind, the company has announced that Windows Insiders who are currently enrolled in the Release Preview ring will begin seeing Edge pushed to them automatically. If you are a regular consumer that hasn't already manually installed Edge, and don’t have any plans to use the browser anytime soon, the update will eventually makes its way to you whether you like it or now [more on that later]. “You can wait for it to be installed in a future...
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Microsoft has announced that it will be expanding Microsoft Defender ATP to the Linux operating system very soon. Microsoft has been working to expand its security solutions outside of its own Windows universe. The announcement of the public preview for Linux is the latest move for Microsoft in its expansion. Microsoft offers no specific timeframe for the software debut other than saying the public preview will open "in the next few days." The software giant will offer preventative capabilities for Linux servers that will include a full command line experience to configure and manage the agent, initiate scans, and manage threats. The company plans to offer a Microsoft Defender Security Center...
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Microsoft is presumably putting the final touches on Windows 10X, a special version of Windows designed for dual-screen devices like the Surface Neo. Some of Windows 10X's colorful design language will probably land on the regular version of Windows 10 as well. While we wait, there are two ways to bring the Windows 10X experience to your PC. As we outlined earlier this month, one way is to try out the Windows 10X emulator Microsoft recently made available. "We focused on creating an emulator experience that behaves naturally and adapts to the different device postures. This is an early preview of the experience and you will see updates regularly that follow the same standard Insider builds process,"...
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Microsoft Xbox Series X Confirmed With Beefy 12 TFLOP AMD Radeon RDNA 2 GPU And Hardware Ray-Tracing
Microsoft spilled the beans on its next-generation Xbox Series X game console last year, letting us know that it would be powered by a 7nm AMD Ryzen 3000-class processor and Navi graphics. It was also revealed that the console would bring a revolution in a game loading times thanks to its ultra-fast solid-state drive (SSD). Today, Microsoft is delivering some additional critical hardware details on the Xbox Series X, including the fact that the GPU will be based on next-generation AMD RDNA 2 architecture. First-generation RDNA architecture is included in today’s crop of Navi-based Radeon desktop and laptop graphics cards, but RDNA 2 brings a number of optimizations...
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Microsoft is tweaking the local account settings within Windows 10, this time outside of the U.S., and is upsetting some Windows users in the process. Towards the end of 2019, Microsoft began testing a Windows 10 process that prevented users from signing into Windows during setup with an offline account. This was a change from offering the "offline account" sign in option during setup. The "offline" account was only offered to users after they were forced to create a Microsoft account, then allowing the account to be retroactively disabled after setup. It appears that Windows 10 users outside North America are also now losing the offline account option during setup. Microsoft is reportedly rolling...
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When new drivers come out, it's sometimes a good idea to hold off updating until others have done so, to see if any unintended consequences arise. This is especially true for graphics drivers, though it applies to any hardware driver, really. Well, you may not have a choice, with the changes Microsoft is making to Windows Update. This could be either good or bad, depending on your perspective. Here's the deal—starting today, Microsoft is making changes to Windows Update in an effort to "streamline things a bit." Specifically, all of Microsoft's partners now have the option of publishing drivers as automatic, rather than optional. "This grants access to driver flighting, and gradual rollout....
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Ever since Microsoft efforts to rule the mobile world with Windows 10 Mobile fizzled out, the company has been on a mission to bring many of its software products to Android and iOS. The latest move by the company to spread its wares around comes with the announcement that it will make Defender software available on both popular mobile platforms. The company has previously made Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) available to both desktop-based Windows and macOS platforms. By extending support to Android and iOS, Microsoft taps into an install base that is measured in the billions. As you're well aware, Android has particularly been a focal point for frequent malware attacks,...
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If you gave the Windows 10X emulator a spin, you may have noticed a more colorful experience with dressed up icons and other bits. Apparently the same visual changes are headed to the regular versions of Windows 10. Microsoft is at least testing things out, as the latest preview build in the Windows Insider program looks a bit different than previous builds. This applies to users who are subscribed to the Fast ring. These builds come fast and furious, with Microsoft typically rolling out new preview builds every week, giving Fast ring users the earliest access to new features. The caveat is stability—Microsoft says to "be prepared for issues that might block key activities or might require...
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