Items tagged with NASDAQ:MSFT
Out of all the upgrades to Windows 10 so far, the October 2018 Update appears to be causing the most trouble, and it's not just a single issue. After pulling the initial update to squash a file deletion bug that was affecting some users, Microsoft recently began doling it out again, and now IT professionals are complaining of even more issues. The biggest one involves a mapped drive bug that seems to have carried over from the initial rollout. For those affected, mapped drives fail to connect. This was an issue that was brought up back at the beginning of October. "Testing the new 1809 update,...
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Contrary to some of the speculation that is out there, the Xbox One X is not the the end of the road for Xbox. Phil Spencer, executive vice president of gaming and head of the Xbox brand at Microsoft, confirmed as much during E3 earlier this year, and now he's followed that up by saying he is "very excited" about the future of Xbox. This has not always been a given. Game consoles have become more PC-like with the latest generation of game systems, and have also gone the way of incremental upgrades, like the Xbox One S followed by the Xbox One X. On top of it all, there has been a resurgence in...
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After a month of doom and gloom, Microsoft is finally re-releasing the Windows 10 October 2018 Update. That’s right, we’re roughly halfway through November and Microsoft has just now gotten to the point where it is semi-comfortable with distributing the update. We say “semi” because you still have to actively seek it out and there’s no guarantee that it’ll be readily available. According to John Cable, Director of Program Management for Windows Servicing and Delivery, Microsoft has “thoroughly investigated and resolved all related issues”...
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Another holiday shopping season is upon us, and Microsoft is ready to charge in with discounts on its Xbox One consoles, games and accessories. From November 18 until November 26, Microsoft will offer its powerful Xbox One X console for just $399.99. If that’s too steep for your wallet, then you can also save $100 on a Xbox One S Minecraft Creators bundle, or there is a $70 discount on select other Xbox One S bundles. Microsoft will also sell its Xbox One wireless controllers with a $10 discount between 11/22 and 11/26. These offers are made all the more tantalizing by a free digital copy...
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Gamers haven't liked that Microsoft has seemed to turn a cold shoulder on the PC gamers out there in favor of developing games on the Xbox consoles in recent years. Microsoft has been trying to alleviate those concerns with talks of renewing its commitment to PC gaming for years, but nothing has ever come of that promise. Things are changing with Microsoft now announcing that it has purchased a pair of PC-centric game development studios that focus heavily on RPG games: Obsidian and InXile. Microsoft's acquisition announcement is not only good news for PC gamers in general, but for fans of Obsidian...
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Windows 10 PC users who like the idea of an Amazon Alexa device, but don't want another gadget sitting on their desks have a new option that will let them turn their Windows 10 desktop, laptop or other device into an Alexa smart speaker, thanks to the recently launched Alexa app for Windows 10 PCs. The Windows 10 PC app doesn't support all of the functionality that you might be used to with an Alexa smart speaker or smartphone. More specifically, the Alexa app only supports voice interaction on Android and iOS devices. No support for voice interaction means that you won't be able to say...
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We love free games with no strings attached, and that's just what Microsoft has in store for Xbox One and even Xbox 360 gamers today. If you’re a fan of the popular Crackdown series of games, Microsoft is making the original Crackdown available for free today. The game was originally released for the Xbox 360 platform, but thanks to the Backwards Compatibility program, Xbox One users can also acquire the game for free. And as an added bonus, Crackdown is one of a handful of Xbox 360 titles that has been remastered to take advantage of the 4K playback capabilities of the Xbox One X. The original...
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Windows 10 is a hot mess right now, depending on your perspective. After rolling back the October 2018 Update for Windows 10 to address a file deletion bug and other quirks, some Windows 10 Pro users this week were being told (incorrectly) that their license was actually for Windows 10 Home, and that they would need to do something about it. Microsoft advised affected users to just ignore the message, and believes it now has a handle on the situation. It's not clear if the activation issue is somehow related to the October 2018 Update, only that the timing roughly coincides with its release and...
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Redmond, we have a problem. Some users who have Windows 10 Pro installed report getting a notification telling them their Windows license is no good, even though it's valid and has been working correctly for months or years. Apparently there is something wonky going on with Microsoft's activation servers. Complaints landed on Reddit, starting with a user who said he has been running Windows 10 Pro just fine for years, dating back to when he migrated from Windows 8 Pro to Windows 10 Pro for free. "I got a notification saying my key is Windows 10 Home version and that I need to install it... WTF...
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Microsoft hasn't exactly had smooth sailing with regards to its most recent major update for Windows 10. The company launched the October 2018 Update early last month, which was fraught with problems including a file deletion bug. Microsoft quickly pulled the update and has yet to release a replacement. Despite this setback, Microsoft is continuing to work in parallel on the next major release of Windows 10 Build 19H1 (which stands for 2019, First Half). Microsoft has just fed a build to testers on this track: Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18277. This latest release...
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Gamers looking for something new to play on their Xbox One have a special Free Play Days weekend coming up that will let you play a couple of cool games at no cost to see how you like them. Free Play Days on Xbox run from November 8-11, which is Thursday through Sunday. The two games that are free to play are PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (PES 2019). The best part is that players who don't have an Xbox Live Gold membership will be able to play online with their friends during the event, without having to purchase the online membership. Microsoft is undoubtedly...
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Many of you reading this might not even have the October 2018 Update for Windows 10 installed, as Microsoft yanked the second annual upgrade to fix a file deletion bug. Microsoft is testing a fix to Windows Insiders, but so far has not resumed downloads to the public. Be that as it may, Microsoft is also currently testing its Spring 2019 Update. We don't know if that's what it will be called, as Microsoft has changed the naming convention a few times since Windows 10 first hit the scene. Here's a history of releases so far: Windows 10 (1507) Threshold 1 Windows 10 (1511) Threshold 2: November Update...
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A new Microsoft patent application has emerged that Redmond filed on May 1, 2017, but was only published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on November 1, 2018. The patent application shows an interesting feature that might turn up on a future version of the Surface Pro. The feature is a second supplemental display on the back of the Surface device that Microsoft has dubbed a "reflective display" and it would sit right above the hinge for the kickstand on the back. The abstract on the patent explains the screen would be a reflective multi-layer structure that forms an external surface...
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Microsoft continues to make headway on its buggy October 2018 Update for Windows 10, which at this point looks like it might not be ready for prime time until November. Who knows when it will start rolling out again. In the meantime, Microsoft fixed a Zip file extraction flaw in the October 2018 Update and is testing an updated release to Windows Insider subscribers. The Zip file extraction bug was one of several that plagued the initial roll out of the October 2018 Update to the general public, before Microsoft yanked it offline. There was an issue when attempting to extract Zip file contents...
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