Items tagged with Microsoft
Microsoft has been doing everything in its power to ensure that its customers are running the most recent versions of Windows 10. Microsoft's motivations are understandable, as newer Windows 10 builds have all of the latest features and security updates to ward of attacks from nefarious parties. The latest users that are under the microscope from Microsoft are those running Windows 10 1803 users, which is better known as the April 2018 Update. However, that version of the operating system has now reached end-of-life, which means that after this week's Patch Tuesday, it will no longer receive updates from Microsoft. As a result, these customers will soon be automatically upgraded...
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Microsoft's brand-new Surface Pro X convertible began shipping to customers earlier this week, and we've already seen that the device is surprisingly accessible when it comes to repairability. And we also can't argue with the good looks of the device, which has rounded edges, a slimmer chassis, and smaller display bezels than the Surface Pro 7. However, one aspect of the Surface Pro X that has come under fire from reviewers (and those that plunked down at least $999) is app compatibility -- or rather, the lack thereof in many cases. This problem was confounded by the act that it wasn’t made clear in the Microsoft Store that the Surface Pro X is incompatible with a number of apps...
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Most of us will never get the chance to sit in the cockpit of an actual commercial jet or perform barrel rolls in something smaller. The next best thing is to take to the skies in a computerized simulation, and Microsoft's Flight Simulator as been the gold standard in the consumer space for a long time. A new version is in the wings, and there is a new alpha build coming out. Microsoft announced it will be opening up testing for the Tech Alpha 2 build. Anyone who was selected to participate in the Tech Alpha 1 should expect an email on updates to the Tech Alpha 2 build, as they have been automatically registered. Microsoft says it will provide updates on the timeline for the Tech Alpha 2 release...
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Microsoft's Surface Pro X first began shipping earlier this week and it marks the company's return to building convertibles powered by Arm processors. The company first tiptoed into this arena with the Surface and Surface 2. Today, however, the teardown experts at iFixit have gotten their inquisitive hands on the Surface Pro X and have given it a proper examination to determine its repairability. Given that the Surface Pro X features an all-new design compared to the Surface Pro family of convertibles, iFixit wasn't quite sure what to expect when it comes to gaining access to the internal components. However, they were pleasantly surprised to find that both the SSD and...
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There may exist a parallel universe where Android is second fiddle to Windows Mobile. Or maybe Microsoft's ill-fated (in this universe) mobile operating is so dominant that Android falls by the wayside, relegated to a footnote in the history of tech. Things did not work out that way in the universe we reside, though according to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Windows Mobile could have won the war, had he not been distracted with an antitrust case brought forward by the US Justice Department. It is a relevant topic, particularly in today's political climate where presidential candidates debate on whether big companies like Facebook should be broken up. Microsoft faced a similar scenario back...
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During a presentation at the Microsoft Inspire 2019 event, Julia White, CVP of Azure Marketing, announced "the future is here" following a nifty demonstration of the HoloLens 2. And indeed it is, with regards to Microsoft's second-generation augmented reality headset—HoloLens 2 has begun shipping to select customers. While there are many consumer AR and virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality headsets on the market, HoloLens 2 is geared more towards the enterprise and professional sectors. That is reflected the price—it costs $3,500 for the headset alone, and there are other subscription packages that include business oriented add-ons. Microsoft HoloLens 2 Technical Specifications...
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Will artificial intelligence be humanity’s savior or downfall? Many people have begun to evaluate the potential consequences of AI as it becomes more integrated into our everyday lives. Microsoft president Brad Smith recently warned that AI could be a “formidable weapon” with “unintended consequences” if human beings do not use caution. Smith spoke at the 2019 Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. He gave a very Jurassic Park-esque warning and stated, “We shouldn’t just ask what computers can do, we need to ask what they should do.” He noted that we are the first generation to allow machines to make decisions that are typically made by human beings. He...
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Microsoft launched its highly anticipated -- and might we say good lookin' -- Surface Pro X convertible early last month. The device is notable for its inclusion of a custom, Qualcomm-based Microsoft SQ1 SoC. The SQ1 is an offshoot of the Snapdragon 8xc, and thus is an ARM-based design rather than the x86 processors from Intel that Microsoft has typically used. Today, the Surface Pro X is finally shipping with prices starting at $999. That price will get you a device configured with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB storage. Opting for the $1,499 mid-range configuration will get you 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. Finally, the flagship model is priced at $1,799 and doubles storage capacity to...
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November is here, and that means it's time to start some holiday shopping. It also means that Black Friday is only a few weeks away. This year many retailers are showing off their Black Friday deals already, including Microsoft which notes that most of its deals will start on November 28 at 12:00 am ET. Among the best of the deals is a Surface Pro 7 and Type Cover bundle that will start at $799. This particular bundle will be available starting on November 22. The Surface Pro 7 tablet in the bundle is the base model with a 10th generation Intel Core i3 processor, 128GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM. It's worth noting that while the Black Friday deal says it starts at $799, including the Type Cover,...
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Microsoft Office and its various iterations is perhaps the most well-known and widely used office productivity suite on the planet. That popularity extends to smartphone and tablet platforms, as Office apps are available for both Android and iOS. However, in order to use the various apps within the Office family, you previously had to download each separately. Microsoft is currently testing a new version of Office that will combine all of the major software components into a single app. In this case, perennial favorites Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be combined into a single Office Mobile app Instead of having your documents siloed within their respective apps, all of your Office documents...
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Microsoft took us all by surprise when announced that its EdgeHTML-based Edge browser would be getting a ground-up redesign to leverage Google's Chromium engine. For Microsoft, it was a move that was meant to bolster the appeal of its first-party browser, which has been languishing far behind Google Chrome after once dominating the scene throughout much of the late 1990s and early 2000s with Internet Explorer. The new Chromium-backed Microsoft Edge browser has up until this point been available in both Canary, Dev and Beta channels, but the company has now announced that the first release candidate build has been released. The release candidate is available for both Windows (Windows...
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Today's a big day in the world of game streaming. While Google and Microsoft are both developing paid services (Stadia and Project xCloud respectively) that will allow you to stream games to just about any device, the former also has a more localized option just for Xbox One owners. The company just announced that Xbox Insiders on the Alpha or Alpha-Skip-Ahead ring can now begin testing Xbox Console Streaming. This feature is currently in the "preview" stage, and is only available to Xbox Insiders residing in the United States and the United Kingdom. With Xbox Console Streaming, you will be able stream/play any Xbox One game that is installed on you console to an Android device (i.e. a smartphone...
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Microsoft has attempted several times to fix a Start menu problem in Windows 10 build 1903 (May 2019 Update), the latest effort coming as part of the most recent cumulative update, KB4522355. Unfortunately, affected users report the issue persists even after applying the fix. As with before the update, they are seeing an error message when accessing the Start menu. "Critical Error. Your Start menu isn't working. We'll try to fix it the next time you sign in," the error message states. Affected users are instructed to "Sign out now" when this happens. I have not seen this myself, nor have I experienced the other issues Microsoft addressed with KB4522355, those being stall outs in the Cortana Search...
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Last summer, Microsoft initially launched its Xbox All Access financing program for Xbox One purchases. Instead of paying the full upfront costs for an Xbox One S or Xbox One X console, those payments could be financed monthly over a 24-month period with Xbox All Access. Now that the holiday season is starting to ramp up again, Microsoft is burning back Xbox All Access. Like before, the bundle includes the Xbox One hardware along with a 24-month membership to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The base bundle with an Xbox One S All-Digital Edition costs $19.99/month, while stepping up to the Xbox One S will set you back $22.99/month. If you want a flagship Xbox One X, that cost balloons to $30.99...
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