Category: Microsoft

Microsoft Releases Official Remote Desktop Apps For iOS and Android

Coinciding with the release of Windows 8.1, Microsoft has unveiled Remote Desktop apps for iOS and Android.

RDM has long been a way for users to remotely access Windows desktops, whether from another computer or a mobile device. While this is Microsoft’s first foray into official iOS and Android apps for the service, other solutions from large companies like Citrix and Splashtop have adequately filled the gap for years.

What Microsoft’s remote desktop version has going for it is its price — free — and its official support of Windows 8.1, which is rolling out now. The app also supports Network Layer Authentication (NLA) which, according to Microsoft, “completes user authentication before you establish a remote desktop connection and the logon screen appears. This is a more secure authentication method that can help protect the remote computer from malicious users and malicious software.”

The app is a bit rough around the edges, according to initial reviews, lacking pinch-to-zoom and multiple desktop size support. In other words, you’ll be doing a lot of scrolling if your computer’s native resolution is much higher than your phone’s or tablet’s. Of course, you’ll have to install the host software on that PC in the first place, so the solution isn’t quite plug-and-play.

October 19, 2013
Windows Phone 8 GDR3 Update Is Now Official
Micxrosoft has announced the third update to the Windows Phone 8 OS – this is known as GDR3 or General Distribution Release 3.

The company stated on their blog that the update includes several key features such as a “bigger Start screen” that now houses six Live Tiles and “paves the way for future Windows Phone devices with 5- and 6-inch” with 1080p displays. In addition, GDR3 supports Qualcomm’s 8974 quad-core processor and comes with Driving Mode, screen reader (help the blind and visually impaired use their device), plus better storage management, new rotation lock, and improved internet sharing feature for making a hotspot with Windows 8.1 devices.

You’ll also find that another much-requested feature has made it: broader custom ringtone support. At long last, you’ll be able to put your own sounds to use on text messages, instant messages, emails, voicemails and reminders.

The company outlined three key objectives of the update:
1. Enable incredible new Windows Phone devices.
2. Enhance the platform with new capabilities for current users and partners.
3. Improve overall quality.”
Microsoft says that the GDR3 update will begin rolling out to device owners within the coming weeks and that this will continue for several months. That’s pretty vague considering there are many device users eager to get a look at what’s on offer, but Microsoft says in its press release that availability will vary depending on several factors including device model and carrier.
October 14, 2013
Windows 8.1 Will Come With Updated Fresh Paint App

Microsoft recently launched a port of its Windows 8 drawing app Fresh Paint for Windows Phone 8 and today the company announced that it has released an updated Fresh Paint app for the people who are using the public preview version of Windows 8.1.

In a blog post, Microsoft said that the Windows 8.1 preview version of the app adds a new watercolor medium alongside the previous oil color paint. Microsoft states, “Like the oil paint medium in Fresh Paint, the colors can mix and blend, but, like real watercolors, they will bleed into your canvas or paper to create vibrant works of art.”

In addition to image filters and new options, Fresh Paint also brings several other goodies supposed to improve the overall experience on a tablet.

“We’ve improved pen and stylus input to better work with pressure and the eraser (pick up a Surface to try out a great stylus experience). We’ve added the ability to save custom palettes, so if you have a favorite set of colors you can keep them handy. And, we’ve made dozens of other little changes throughout the product–such as adding the ability to import a painting directly from SkyDrive,” Microsoft explained.

In case you’re already running Windows 8 and you installed Fresh Paint, the new version will be automatically deployed on your computer once you make the move to Windows 8.1, Microsoft noted.

With the app on Windows Phone, you can starting a painting and save it to SkyDrive. You can then finish your work on your PC by selecting the “Save To” icon in the Fresh Paint app.

Fresh Paint for Windows 8.1 launches alongside the operating system update on October 18th. The app for Windows Phone 8 launches on October 14th.

October 11, 2013
Report : Windows Phone 8.1 To Remove Back Button Compulsion

Windows Phone 8.1 is set to inspire hope in the Microsoft loyalists, who expect great things from its future versions. Paul Thurrott, one of Microsoft’s most vocal critics and supports, is hearing that WP8.1 is set to address most of those incumbent issues, including API unity with Windows RT, an improved multitasking experience, support for even bigger screens, and removal of the hardware back button requirement.

Specifically, Windows Phone is expected to reach API unity of around 75% with Windows RT, bringing more desktop-like classes to the mobile OS. As screen sizes get bigger and chips more powerful, users will be able to do an increasing number of complex tasks without tablets or laptops, and Microsoft realizes its Office ecosystem is primed for such things.

The removal of a hardware back button requirement for Windows Phone 8.1 is also in the cards, since like Android the behaviour is often predicated on how a specific developers wants it to act; on-screen back buttons are more consistent. The home button will likely remain, along with search, but we’ll see.

More importantly, multitasking is set to receive an overhaul in Windows Phone 8.1 Microsoft is already addressing the issue of “closing” apps in the upcoming GDR3 update, but Windows Phone 8.1, codenamed ‘Blue’, is expected to go even further, allowing for better background notifications and behind-the-scenes updates.

[Via]

October 10, 2013
Microsoft Pays Out First $100,000 Bounty For Finding Windows 8.1 Bug

Today, Microsoft announced one researcher, James Forshaw, has been awarded a whopping $100,000 for finding and reporting a new mitigation bypass exploit in Windows 8.1.

James Forshaw, who heads vulnerability research at London-based security consulting firm Context Information Security, won Microsoft’s first US$100,000 bounty for identifying a new “exploitation technique” in Windows, which will allow it to develop defenses against an entire class of attacks, the software maker said on Tuesday.

Forshaw earned another US$9,400 for identifying security bugs in a preview release of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 11 browser, Katie Moussouris, senior security strategist with Microsoft Security Response Center, said in a blog.

“Coincidentally, one of our brilliant engineers at Microsoft, Thomas Garnier, had also found a variant of this class of attack technique. Microsoft engineers like Thomas are constantly evaluating ways to improve security, but James’ submission was of such high quality and outlined some other variants such that we wanted to award him the full $100,000 bounty,” Microsoft explained.

Microsoft has now paid out over $128,000 in bug bounties. Six “very smart people” received the prizes, said Moussouris.

Not all of them kept the cash. Ivan Fratric of the Google security team was awarded $1,100 for finding an Internet Explorer 11 (IE 11) bug, but donated it to the Save the Children Fund. Fermin Serna, also from Google, gave $500 for finding a bug in the IE 11 Preview release to the Seattle Humane Society.

October 9, 2013
Microsoft to Launch Remote Desktop For Android and iOS Devices

Microsoft will launch the Windows Server 2012 R2, and will release its Remote Desktop app on Windows, Windows RT and OS X, but also on iOS and Android, probably by end of this month.

The press release further shows, with Windows Server 2012 R2 Microsoft is introducing the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, available for download in application stores later this month, to provide easy access to PCs and virtual desktops on a variety of devices and platforms, including Windows, Windows RT, iOS, OS X and Android. However, this is the first time Microsoft’s remote desktop is available for rival platforms, but having said that this could be a problem for current apps which perform the same function.

The remote desktop for the iOS version will support iOS 6 and 7, while the Android variant will support everything from Gingerbread upward. No information is available on the date of the release yet.

[toggle title=”Press Release “]Microsoft unleashes fall wave of enterprise cloud solutions
Oct. 07, 2013
New Windows Server, System Center, Visual Studio, Windows Azure, Windows Intune, SQL Server, and Dynamics solutions will accelerate cloud benefits for customers.

REDMOND, Wash. – Oct. 7, 2013 – Microsoft Corp. on Monday announced a wave of new enterprise products and services to help companies seize the opportunities of cloud computing and overcome today’s top IT challenges. Complementing Office 365 and other services, these new offerings deliver on Microsoft’s enterprise cloud strategy.

Satya Nadella, Cloud and Enterprise executive vice president, said, “As enterprises move to the cloud they are going to bet on vendors that have best-in-class software as a service applications, operate a global public cloud that supports a broad ecosystem of third party services, and deliver multi-cloud mobility through true hybrid solutions. If you look across the vendor landscape, you can see that only Microsoft is truly delivering in all of those areas.” More comments from Nadella can be found on The Official Microsoft Blog.

Hybrid infrastructure and modern applications

To help customers build IT infrastructure that delivers continuous services and applications across clouds, on Oct. 18 Microsoft will release Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2. Together, these new products empower companies to create datacenters without boundaries using Hyper-V for high-scale virtualization; high-performance storage at dramatically lower costs; built-in, software-defined networking; and hybrid business continuity. The new Windows Azure Pack runs on top of Windows Server and System Center, enabling enterprises and service providers to deliver self-service infrastructure and platforms from their datacenters.

Building on these hybrid cloud platforms, customers can use Visual Studio 2013 and the new .NET 4.5.1, also available Oct. 18, to create modern applications for devices and services. As software development becomes pervasive within every company, the new Visual Studio 2013 Modern Lifecycle Management solution helps enable development teams, businesspeople and IT managers to build and deliver better applications, faster.

Enabling enterprise cloud adoption

Recognizing that most enterprises will take a hybrid approach to cloud, Microsoft wants to help customers utilize their investments in on-premises software solutions toward the adoption of cloud computing. On Nov. 1, Microsoft will offer Enterprise Agreement (EA) customers access to discounted Windows Azure prices, regardless of upfront commitment, without overuse penalties and with the flexibility of annual payments.

As another part of this effort to reduce cloud adoption barriers, Microsoft on Monday announced a strategic partnership with Equinix Inc. Building on recently announced partnerships with AT&T and others, this alliance will provide customers with even more options for private and fast connections to the cloud. Customers will be able to connect their networks with Windows Azure at Equinix exchange locations for greater throughput, availability and security features.

Governments are among the most demanding enterprise customers. To help U.S. federal, state and local government agencies realize the benefits of public cloud computing, Microsoft is introducing its Windows Azure US Government Cloud. This will offer U.S. government customers a dedicated community cloud for data, applications and infrastructure, hosted in the continental U.S. and managed by U.S. personnel. Windows Azure has been granted FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board Provisional Authority to Operate, making it the first public cloud of its kind to achieve this level of government authorization.

Data platform and insights

As part of its vision to help more people unlock actionable insights from big data, Microsoft next week will release a second preview of SQL Server 2014. The new version offers industry-leading in-memory technologies at no additional cost, giving customers 10 times to 30 times performance improvements without application rewrites or new hardware. SQL Server 2014 also works with Windows Azure to give customers built-in cloud backup and disaster recovery.

For big data analytics, later this month Microsoft will release Windows Azure HDInsight Service, an Apache Hadoop-based service that works with SQL Server and widely used business intelligence tools, such as Microsoft Excel and Power BI for Office 365. With Power BI, people can combine private and public data in the cloud for rich visualizations and fast insights.

People and devices in the cloud

The proliferation of cloud applications, data and consumer devices is moving many enterprises to a bring-your-own-device model. The new release of Windows Intune, also available Oct. 18, combines with System Center Configuration Manager to help IT departments give mobile employees security-enhanced access to the applications and data they need on the Windows, iOS and Android devices of their choice. This unified management environment for PCs and mobile devices complements the new access and information protection capabilities in Windows Server 2012 R2.

Further, with Windows Server 2012 R2 Microsoft is introducing the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, available for download in application stores later this month, to provide easy access to PCs and virtual desktops on a variety of devices and platforms, including Windows, Windows RT, iOS, OS X and Android.

Software as a service business solutions

The next major version of the company’s CRM solution, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online Fall ’13 will be available later this month, helping make customer interactions more personal via contextual information for deeper insights than the previous version, delivered on a variety of devices.* The on-premises version is expected to be available later in the fall for deployment either in-house or hosted by a partner. More information is available here. In addition, Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2013 R2 is now available, offering small and midsize businesses interoperability with Office 365, full multitenant support, and a range of tools designed to support large-scale hosting of the application on Windows Azure.

More information on Monday’s announcements can be found at the Microsoft News Center.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

* Devices include Windows 8 tablets and iPad tablets with Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013; Windows Phone 8, iPhone and Android phone shortly following the release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013.[/toggle]

October 9, 2013
Skype Enables Chat Sync Across Devices

If you’ve been using Skype for awhile, you know that there are quite few changes that need to be made to the application before its on par feature-wise with a lot of the other messaging applications on the market such as WhatsApp and WeChat. Thankfully, it looks like some much needed changes will be coming in the future.

One particularly noteworthy feature specific to mobile users is the promise that chat synchronization across devices will be improved. This is something that anyone who used Skype on multiple devices will have noticed can be a problem. Send a large number of text based messages from the desktop version of Skype and when you launch Skype on another computer or a phone, you’ll currently find that there can be quite a delay as message history is downloaded. While no details are provided, Mark Gillet says:

“We are working to synchronize chat message status across all of your devices so you will know the current status of all of your chats on every device you use to interact with Skype. This capability will be rolling out across clients over the next few months”.

Skype is also in the process of moving from their original peer-to-peer (P2P) foundation powered by the desktops of yore to one that is cloud based. The benefit of the Skype Cloud is improved battery life for devices and better connections, at least according to the Skype team.

October 5, 2013
Microsoft : Xbox One Kinect Won’t Fetch Data For Advertisments

The development team at Microsoft says that it currently has no plans to use the motion tracking and identification powers of the Kinect sensor to power personalized advertising that intrudes on a user.

Albert Penello, one of leaders preparing the launch of the next-gen console, says that his team has more pressing concerns linked to the upcoming launch.

In a previous interview, Penello suggested that because the Xbox One’s Kinect can read facial expressions and determine levels of engagement, Microsoft could provide this data to advertisers.

“This is the point that seems to draw some controversy,” Penello said.

However, “nobody is working on that” kind of technology at the moment, Penello said. “We have a lot more interesting and pressing things to dedicate time towards. It was an interview done speculatively, and I’m not aware (emphasis original) of any active work in this space.”

If such an advertising initiative were to come to fruition, Penello said users can be sure that it would not happen without people having full control over it. “Period,” he said.

Penello proceeded to illustrate how Microsoft is protecting users’ privacy on Xbox One. “First, Kinect can recognize your face and log you in automatically. There could be some cool features we could enable if we stored that data in the cloud, like being able to be auto-recognized at a friend’s. I get asked for that feature a lot. But, for privacy reasons, your facial data doesn’t leave the console.

“Second: You’ll see us do some things around Skype that freezes the video when Skype is not in focus (meaning, it’s not the primary app). If you go back to the home screen, or launch another app, we actually stop the video stream. We do this so the user can’t even ACCIDENTALLY have the video stream going on in the background.

“I’ll say this – we take a lot of heat around stuff we’ve done and I can roll with it,” he concluded. “Some of it is deserved. But preventing Kinect from being used inappropriately is something the team takes very seriously. Hope that helps.”

[Via]

October 5, 2013
Microsoft and HTC in Talks to Put Windows on Android Phones

After buying Nokia’s windows devices, the Lumia range and services business, it seems that Microsoft is now planning to grow the windows phone market.

As reported by Bloomberg, Microsoft is talking to HTC about adding its Windows operating system to HTC’s Android-based smartphones at little or no cost, people with knowledge of the matter said, evidence of the software maker’s struggle to gain ground in the mobile market.

The report also claims Microsoft operating systems chief Terry Myerson discussed lowering the license fee or dropping it entirely as an incentive. The sources is not clear on whether the devices might run both operating systems at once, or let users choose just one. Terry Myerson was planning to visit Asia this month and meet with senior executives at Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC to discuss his proposal, as per the source.

October 4, 2013
Slow Growth: Windows 8 Reached 8 Percent of Web Traffic

When Windows 7 was newly launched the web traffic for Windows xp went down, which is because whenever a new operating system comes up in the market it usually grows faster than the previous generation of OS.

Windows 8 does not seem to behave the same way, as the total web traffic on windows 8 reached 8 percent worldwide, whereas Windows 7 grew faster and has 46.4 percent of web traffic currently. Ever since its launch Windows 8 is been treated with mixed emotions, some like the way it looks some find it to be complicated. The rise in Windows 7 use corresponds to a drop for Windows XP, which shows that customers are less likely to choose a new Operating System. However, Microsoft has faced problems with the new Operating System overall, but they might have a different plan considering Microsoft to take over Nokia for Its Lumia, we might have something big coming up soon.

[via]

October 2, 2013
Apple is Worlds Top Brand, Coca-Cola Left Behind

The Best Global Brands report is coming up since 2000, the previous brand which was at the top most position was Coca-Cola which now fell to number 3. For the first time in its 13-year history, Best Global Brands have a new leader of its annual study of the most valuable brand names, which is Apple.

Not only has Apple replaced Coca-Cola as first among the 100 most valuable brands based on criteria that include financial performance as well. Apple came over Coca-Cola, which had led the study since it began in 2000, with a brand value Interbrand assessed at $98.3 billion. However, Google came in at second place with a brand value of $93.3 billion, ahead of the soft drink maker’s $79.2 billion value.

Other positions of different brands can be seen below:

September 30, 2013
Microsoft Streams Halo 4 To Demonstrate Cloud Gaming

Microsoft’s Halo franchise is set in space, but the cloud is where today’s most interesting advancements seem to be happening for the Mast Chief-helmed video game series.

Microsoft has long been suspected to have been working on its own brand of cloud streaming technology for Xbox software, and the latest reports suggest they’re making progress on that front.

The Verge writes that sources familiar with Microsoft’s internal machinations describe a demonstration by company officials that showed Xbox 360 blockbuster Halo 4 running smoothly via network streaming on both a PC (presumably running Windows 8) and a Windows Phone device, specifically the 4″ Nokia Lumia 520.

We understand that Microsoft is building the service as a way to stream games to its Windows devices. Microsoft’s demonstration included a Windows Phone with a Xbox controller attached through an accessory, and a low-end hybrid PC. Microsoft has not yet branded the cloud games service, and officials stressed it was simply prototype at this stage.

It seems unlikely Microsoft will have their cloud game streaming service ready in time for the launch of PlayStation Cloud, which Sony has announced for release in early 2014.

This could be the company’s answer to making the vast library of Xbox 360 backward compatible with the forthcoming Xbox One console. It could be utilized for “more complicated things like rendering full games like a Gaikai and delivering it to the box.”

September 27, 2013
Microsoft To Merge Windows Phone And Windows 8 App Store

Microsoft is planning to merge both Windows Phone appstore and Windows appstore in to a single appstore according to reports.

It isn’t entirely clear whether this will result in complete cross-platform compatibility for both Windows 8 and WP8 apps — like Apple’s iPhone and iPad App Store — or if it’s more a case of designing an app store that both platforms will then use independently of each other.

Terry Myerson, the VP of Operating Systems at Microsoft, said that this unification will allow both apps stores to work as one, but did not go into detail on how users would be able to use different apps on different sized hardware.

One set of developer APIs will also encourage developers to build apps for the platform. Currently the developer interest in Windows Phone is less compared to iOS or Android, this should change as the combined appstore becomes quite bigger and will attract more eyeballs.

But all apps wont work on all platforms, like Windows Phone apps wont work on Windows RT tablets, and some of the desktop apps wont work on Windows RT tablets. Windows RT runs on ARM architecture and desktops use Intel chips in most cases.

We expect this unified app store to be released sometime in Spring 2014 alongside a slew of new updates to the Windows ecosystem.

[Via]

September 27, 2013
Bill Gates Says the Combination of ‘Ctrl + Alt + Del’ Was a Mistake

Bill Gates, Microsoft’s chairman and co-founder admitted that the tricky combination of keys used to reboot machines was not well thought out.

Forcing early computer owners to simultaneously press the difficult key combination of Control-Alt-Delete to log on to their machines was a mistake, the Microsoft co-founder said in an interview at a Harvard fundraising campaign. The command was originally designed to reboot a PC and on older versions of Windows was used to log-in, but since Windows 8 launched, it has been used to access the task manager bar.

He explained the original idea was to use a taxing key combination to ensure it was difficult for other software to fake a log-in screen and steal passwords.

[youtube id=”cBHJ-8Bch4E” width=”100%” height=”300px”]

September 27, 2013
Rumoured Microsoft Surface Mini Specs Leak, Might Release Next Year

Microsoft hasn’t yet confirmed plans for a Surface Mini tablet, but sources close to the matter revealed earlier this year that a new device aimed to compete with the iPad mini and Nexus 7 is likely to arrive by December.

Analysts working at IHS iSuppli have told CNet that a Windows RT powered tablet with a 7.5-inch display is being worked on by Microsoft. This ‘Surface Mini’ tablet will use a 4:3 aspect ratio 1,400 x 1,050 pixel display and it is also possible it will be equipped with mobile broadband connectivity. Earlier analyst insights provided to CNet suggested that the device will hit mass production early in 2014.

Another report from ZDNet reporter Mary Jo Foley reads :

One of my sources who has been solid on Microsoft’s roadmap in the past says the Surface Mini is coming, but not in calendar 2013. Supposedly, this source claims, Microsoft is going to launch the Surface Mini in early 2014. The reason? The Surface Mini is going to come preloaded with a Windows 8.1 update, that is codenamed “Spring 2014 GDR.”

Of course, if the Surface Mini is coming, things certainly won’t be easy for Microsoft competing on the market against products such as the Google Nexus 7 and Apple’s iPad Mini. And there are also other players: HP with their Slate 8 Pro which runs Android and Slate 7 HD, and Toshiba with their Encore 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet.

So are you interested in playing with a smaller tablet from Microsoft? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

September 26, 2013