Items tagged with NASDAQ:MSFT
Kenny Rogers famously sang about knowing when to hold your cards and knowing when to fold 'em (and run). Microsoft appears to be taking that lesson to heart in the digital assistant space, and rather than try to usurp Amazon's popular Alexa with its current set of cards, it has decided to play a different hand—going forward, Microsoft will focus on making Cortana available as a skill. Work on this has already begun. Cortana has been available as a skill since last year, and at Microsoft's Build 2018 conference, Microsoft demonstrated how Alexa and Cortana could work together in Windows 10...
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Remember the Windows 10 Mobile operating system? Just a few years ago, Microsoft was billing it as a credible alternative to Android and iOS and delivered some relatively cool features like Live Tiles on the lock screen and its Continuum mode that allowed users to extend their smartphone to a desktop experience. However, Microsoft has for the most part abandoned new feature update to Windows 10 Mobile and long shuttered production of its Lumia line of smartphones. So, it should come as no surprise that Microsoft has announced a final end date support: December 10th, 2019. The last major release...
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Google’s G Suite has long been a cheaper alternative to Microsoft’s Office 365 plans. However, this price gap is quickly shrinking. Google recently announced that it will be increasing the price of G Suite Basic and Business by 20 percent. This is the first time Google has upped the pricing in over a decade. G Suite Basic Edition will increase from $5 to $6 USD per user/month, while the Business edition will increase from $10 to $12 per user/month. There will be a few pricing adjustments based off of the markets in various regions. The new pricing will be effective starting April 2nd,...
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Microsoft has started pushing out a new preview build of Windows 10 (build 18317) to Windows Insiders who are subscribed to the Fast ring, and with it comes a pretty big change. The latest preview build separates Search and Cortana in the taskbar so they can be developed independently. "Some Insiders have had this update for a few weeks now, and we appreciate all the feedback we’ve received about it so far! For those new to this update, when it rolls out to you, you’ll find clicking the search box in the taskbar now launches our experience focused on giving you the best in house search...
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If you've been putting off installing the Windows 10 October 2018 Update -- for obvious reasons -- avoiding it will soon become a lot harder in the coming weeks. Microsoft announced yesterday that it is now pushing out the October 2018 Update to all but a select few systems. If you recall, back in December, Microsoft began making the major OS update available to what it called "advanced" users who manually clicked the "Check for Updates" button in Windows Update. However, the company is now pushing its first wave of the update to all remaining users who have otherwise avoided upgrading....
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There have been rumors going around for a while now that Microsoft was ready to unveil the second generation of its HoloLens wearable at Mobile World Congress 2019. Microsoft has now sent out invites to its MWC event, which will be held on February 24 at 5 pm CET (11 am ET). On hand at the event will be Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, CVP Julia White, and Alex Kipman. Kipman being on hand for the event is believed to be a tip that HoloLens 2 will be unveiled, as he is known for his work on the wearable. Recent rumors have suggested that HoloLens 2 will use a Snapdragon 850 SoC. That would mean...
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Could Microsoft be preparing for an influx of mobile devices with dual or folding displays running Windows 10? That appears to be the case according to a new report issued Tuesday morning. According to sources within Microsoft that spoke with The Verge, the company is committing a lot of resources not only into supporting future devices that will incorporate innovative display form-factors, but also will be producing its own first-party Surface hardware that will include some of the same design trends. Microsoft has long been rumored to be developing a dual-screen device...
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An increasing number of companies are trying their hand at game streaming services, which remains a niche sector but could one day be huge. Sometime soon, we may be able to count Amazon among them. That's because the world's largest online retailer is reportedly developing a game streaming service to rival those that are offered by Sony (PlayStation Now), NVIDIA (GeForce Now), and others. In a sense, Amazon is already in the game streaming space. The company acquired Twitch in 2014 for $970 million and has since incorporated it into its Prime member subscription. Amazon Prime subscribers who own...
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Microsoft seems to be having a bad run of luck with its Windows updates as of late. By now you are probably familiar with the various issues that affected the October Update for Windows 10, such as a file deletion bug that prompted Microsoft to pause the update's roll out. Well, it turns out users are seeing problems in Windows 7 as well. Image Source: Flickr via Andrew Mason Earlier this week, Microsoft issued its Patch Tuesday updates to Windows PCs, as it does on the second Tuesday of every month. Typically those go without too much trouble, and that appears to the be the case on Windows 10....
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If you want a trip down PC gaming memory lane, look no further than this MSDN blog post from this DirectX Developer Blog. DirectX has been around in one form or another since 1996, which is starting to really make us feel old. Over those 2+ decades, Microsoft's DirectX team has tested hundreds of graphics cards as they have honed their API with subsequent generations. So, what did these engineers do with the old hardware once they finished testing? Did they just toss them in the trash? Did they send them on a slow boat to China to sit at an e-waste facility? Nope, they've been stored in boxes "in...
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Are you tired of manually deleting files to make way for a Windows 10 update? A solution is on its way! Microsoft will now reserve at least 7GB of your device’s storage to help facilitate smooth Windows 10 updates. Windows currently does not check to see whether a user has enough space on their device before beginning an update. Users who currently do not have enough storage space usually receive an error message and must delete some of their files. Windows 10 19H1, also known as version 1903, will save at least 7GB of a device’s storage to guarantee that there is room for any...
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Back in the old days, Windows users simply allowed the operating system to update as needed at times when the PC wasn't in use (to avoid obvious conflicts with your workflow). That certainly hasn't been the case of late with Microsoft's Windows 10 updates bringing a slew of bugs and issues for users to contend with. PC users on Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise have the option of pausing Windows updates for up to 35 days. However, there is the caveat that after your 35-day pause is over, you can only pause updates again after installing the most recent updates. Even with that caveat,...
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The October 2018 Update for Windows 10 may have gotten off to a rocky start, but that has not deterred Microsoft from forging ahead with its next major update, which is due out sometime in the first half of this year. As work progresses on its next major update, Microsoft has made available a new test build to Windows Insiders who are subscribed to the Fast ring, and with it comes a few interesting changes. For one, Microsoft has disabled Cortana's voice-over instructions during the installation phase, based on user feedback. This default setting applies to Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education...
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It's been a minute or two since the last time Microsoft overhauled its game controller for its Xbox consoles, or otherwise made any significant changes. Is a redesign coming? Perhaps so, according to new patents the company filed, which detail some alternations to the trigger design and other parts of the controller mechanics. To be clear, Microsoft has not yet announced a new controller. There has been chatter of a second generation Xbox Elite Wireless Controller, and there have even been some leaked images, but nothing official. The Elite is sort of a different beast anyway—it's billed...
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