Category: Microsoft

With the Surface Studio Microsoft just made the Most Creative Desktop Ever

Microsoft may have just launched the most creative Desktop PC ever. For a price of $2999 the 28 inch Desktop comes with what Microsoft is calling a PixelSense display a resolution of 4500 x 3000 (192 PPI), which still does not beat the iMac 5K screen but there is something extra. The screen supports a 10 point multitouch capacitive input and also takes inputs from the surface pen.

You will get an option of 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB RAM and a choice between 6th Generation Intel Core i5 or i7 chips. The hardware comes loaded with Windows 10 Pro and has a tiny desktop footprint. The hinge of the main unit folds down to become more “Surface” like, and graphics get options betweenNVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GDDR5 or GTX 965M 2GB GDDR5 or GTX 980M 4GB GDDR5 depending on which combination of hardware you buy. You also get to choose between a 1 TB or a 2 TB Hybrid HDD with Rapid tech. With the Surface Sudio you will get the Surface Pen, Surface Keyboard and Surface Mouse in the box. The surface dial which you will see in the video below is an extra US $ 99.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzMLA8YIgG0

October 27, 2016
Microsoft Launches Xbox One S

At the E3 Conference, Microsoft has launched new console dubbed the Xbox One S. Available in a new “robot white” color, the Xbox One S is 40 percent smaller than the original Xbox One.

It also includes a built-in power supply, and now finally can be placed horizontally or vertically with an optional stand.

The new console will have one of the three USB ports and the pairing button to the front of the Xbox One S alongside the newly added IR blaster. There is no more a Kinect port, however, Kinect for Xbox One will still be compatible with Xbox One S via the Xbox Kinect Adapter for USB connection.

Xbox One S will be available in select markets starting early August for $399 USD, with the 1TB Xbox One S for $349 USD and the 500GB Xbox One S for $299 USD arriving thereafter. The Xbox One Vertical Stand will also be available for standalone purchase for $19.99 USD.

June 14, 2016
Microsoft Buys LinkedIn for $26.2 billion

Big news for the tech industry, LinkedIn the social network for professionals has been acquired by Microsoft for $196 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at the whopping US $26.2 billion including all of LinkedIn’s current cash holdings.

LinkedIn will retain its distinct brand, culture, and independence. Jeff Weiner will remain CEO of LinkedIn, reporting to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. The complete takeover will happen by the end of this calendar year.

The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals, Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet.- Nadella

We all know what came of the Microsoft-Nokia deal, and hope there is nothing similar on the books here.

Microsoft and LinkedIn will host a joint conference call with investors on June 13, 2016, at 8:45 a.m. Pacific Time/11:45 a.m. Eastern Time/9:15 p.m. IST to discuss this transaction. The call will be available via webcast at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-89PWn0QaaY

June 13, 2016
Microsoft Officially brings Project Astoria to an end

In a sad turn of events,the United States based tech giant, Microsoft, has announced that its shelving of making a Windows Bridge for Android, a tool which would have allowed turning Android apps into universal Windows apps able to run on all types of Windows devices.

“Project Astoria” was brought into existence at the 2015 Build conference alongside “Project Islandwood.” The latter gave developers a platform to port over iOS apps to numerous Windows 10 devices (including Xbox and PCs). Interestingly, while microsoft has called time on “Project Astoria”, its sister, “Project Islandwood” is still alive. This news also comes on the heels of Microsoft’s much talked about aquisition of cross-platform application development company Xamarin.

Throwing more light on the move, Kevin Gallo, director of program management for the Windows Developer Platform team for Windows 10 at Microsoft, wrote in a blog,

“We received a lot of feedback that having two Bridge technologies to bring code from mobile operating systems to Windows was unnecessary, and the choice between them could be confusing. We have carefully considered this feedback and decided that we would focus our efforts on the Windows Bridge for iOS and make it the single Bridge option for bringing mobile code to all Windows 10 devices, including Xbox and PCs. For those developers who spent time investigating the Android Bridge, we strongly encourage you to take a look at the iOS Bridge and Xamarin as great solutions.”

February 26, 2016
Microsoft Lumia 650 Dual-SIM Variant Passes FCC

A month ago, the single SIM variant of the Microsoft Lumia 650 had passed the FCC hurdle. The leaked live image of the device also confirmed a metal frame for a more premium finish. Today, the second, dual-SIM variant of the device with the model number RM-1154 was FCC certified and has been approved for sale.

The 5-inch 720p display device is likely to come bearing the Snapdragon 210 chipset clocking at 1.1GHz. A 2,000mAh battery pack in the 650 is small, especially when compared to the Lumia 640 (2,500mAh) and the Lumia 550 (2,100mAh).

It is also rumoured that there will be a larger Lumia 650 model expected with XL attached to it. The Lumia 650 XL is said to sport a 5.4-inch screen while most of the specs under the hood will remain the same as the Lumia 650.

From what the specs tell us, and this is yet unconfirmed, the Lumia 650 lacks both juice and power, but does well with the exterior design, and a pricing of under Rs. 10,000 (similar to the Lumia 550) will be needed for this device to tempt the masses.

February 8, 2016
GoPro and Microsoft Sign Deal for File Storage Tech

Microsoft and GoPro have announced a deal that would allow the action camera manufacturer to take advantage of the software giant’s file storage and other system technologies.

Both the tech companies have decided to keep the terms of the agreement confidential leaving the media speculating about which patents have been targetted in the deal.

In a statement, president of Microsoft Technology Licensing, Nick Psyhogeos, said, “This agreement with GoPro shows the incredible breadth of technology sharing enabled through patent transactions. Microsoft meets the demand in wearable tech licensing, an area that is continuously growing. Microsoft has a wide array of partnerships with firms from all industries in order to provide optimized solutions for global customers.”

The likely inclusion in the licensing partnership is the exFAT file system. ExFat is particularly interesting due to its capacity to store large media files, and keeping in mind the fact that GoPro cards below 64 GB still have to use in the old FAT format this partnership with Microsoft for licensing of the ExFat file system could be great news for the company.

February 6, 2016
Leaked Images of Lumia 850 Suggest a 5.4 Inch Screen

Looks like there is some good news in store for Microsoft fans. As new leaked images of Lumia 850 appear online, there seems to be hope for this device making an appearance in 2016. It is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 617 chipset.

The leaks suggest the screen-size to be marked at 5.4 inches, along with a front facing flash and something that could potentially be an iris scanner for Windows Hello. Images also suggest presence of a micro-USB port, which doesn’t look like Type-C but a 2.0 port. There is also a 3.5mm jack at the bottom.

There are rumours suggesting that the Lumia 850 may have been cancelled, but if it does make it to the market, the device would be available in four colour variants -white, gold, dark silver and black. We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available.

February 3, 2016
Microsoft to Build Under Water Data Centers

Building data centers underwater might sound bizarre but in the age where cars are starting to drive themselves, and computers can read the user’s mind, is it really something to be shocked at? Microsoft certainly doesn’t think so.

The global tech giant is currently working on something that it calls “Project Natick”, and its website states its purpose: “to understand the benefits and difficulties in deploying subsea data centers worldwide.”

No joke, it’s really happening. Microsoft has researched and tried out underwater data centers. This project was first proposed in 2014, and now it has effectively tested an underwater data center as part of Project Natick.

Microsoft said of the project, “Project Natick is a Microsoft research project to manufacture and operate an underwater data center…Project Natick reflects Microsoft’s ongoing quest for cloud data center solutions that provide rapid provisioning, lower costs, high responsiveness, and are more environmentally sustainable.”

The trial project which gave satisfactory results included a steel capsule placed 30 feet under the water in the Pacific Ocean. The capsule was covered with a range of sensors to monitor the kind of environmental challenges the capsule faced. Microsoft has revealed the findings of this trial project have given them great encouragement, and Microsoft has stressed that this could be the future of data center installations.

Data centers, which power basically everything we do on a daily basis contain thousands of computer servers which generate enormous amounts of heat which when not controlled properly can lead to crashing of these servers. Microsoft engineers say putting the data centers under cold ocean water could fix the problem.

Microsoft has also revealed that this new radical solution may be easier to install than current solutions which takes up to 2 years. The new system would be up and running in not more than 90 days.

February 3, 2016

Spec Battle: Moto X Force vs Lumia 950XL vs Nexus 6P vs HTC One M9 vs Galaxy S6 Edge+

Motorola launched the Moto X Force in India with a price tag of Rs 49,999 for the 32GB variant and Rs 53,999 for 64GB option. The phone was launched globally last year as Droid Turbo 2 and now it has arrived here with its much talked about ShatterShield display.

On the specs front, Moto X Force packs a 5.4 inch Quad HD display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core chipset along with 3 GB of RAM. The two internal storage options of 32 GB and 64 GB are expandable up to 2 TB with the help of a microSD card.

The USP of the device is its super-hardy screen. Motorola claims to have integrated a ‘Moto Shattershield’ technology in the display of Moto Force which, it says, is the first shatterproof screen in a phone ever. The company feels confident enough to affirm the screen would stay intact for up to four years, owing to the multiple layers of different materials used in making it capable of absorbing shock and providing protection against cracking. The phone also boasts of two touchscreen layers, which make sure that the smartphone can be used even if one of the layers is cracked.

With the given specs and price tag, a few other devices come to mind like the Lumia 950XL, Nexus 6P, HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. The Moto X Force not only has a strong exterior but does impressively in the hardware department as well. The AMOLED display is sharp and bright despite the layers of glass on top. The X Force also has a giant battery that will provide enough of juice to get you through the day and then some.

However, the camera in the moto X Force isn’t the best, especially when compared to the Galaxy S6 Edge+, Lumia 950XL and even the dubious HTC One M9. The Moto X Force also comes with a pretty bland design, which pales in front of the Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Nexus 6P which come with a premium look and feel to it that fit the price bracket.

Let’s see where the Moto X Force stands when compared to these devices. Based on the specs, let us know your winner in the comments below.

Specification	Moto X Force	Lumia950XL	Nexus 6P	HTC One M9	Galaxy S6 Edge+
Display	5.4 inch Quad HD AMOLED	5.7-inch Quad HD AMOLED	5.7-inch QHD Corning Gorilla Glass 4	5.2-inch WQHD, Corning Gorilla Glass 3	5.7 inches Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with Corning Gorilla Glass 4
Resolution	1440 x 2560 (~540 ppi pixel density)	2560×1440 (518ppi)	2560 x 1440 pixels (518ppi)	1440x2560p (441ppi)	1440 x 2560 pixels (518 ppi)
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810, Octa-core 64-bit	Qualcomm Snapdragon octa-core 810 v2.1	2.2GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6795T	Exynos 7420
GPU	Adreno 430	Adreno 430	Adreno 430	Adreno 430	Mali-T760MP8
RAM	3 GB	3GB	3 GB	3GB	4GB
Storage	32 GB, 64 GB	32GB	32 GB/ 64 GB/ 128 GB	32 GB	32/64 GB
Expandability	2 TB	200GB	N/A	128GB	N/A
Rear Camera	21 MP, f/2.0, phase detection autofocus, dual-LED (dual tone) flash	20MP, PureView, Zeiss optics, OIS, triple LED natural flash, and4K video recording	12.3 MP, laser autofocus, dual-LED flash	20MP + 2MP Duo Camera	16 MP, f/1.9, 28mm, OIS, autofocus, LED flash
Front Camera	5 MP, f/2.0, LED flash	5MP, wide-angle 1080p	8 MP, 720p@30fps	4MP HTC UltraPixel	5MP, f/1.9
Battery	3,760mAh	3340mAh	3450mAh	2840mAh	3000mAh
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth v4.1, A2DP, EDR, LE, GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC, Infrared port, microUSB v2.0	Wi-Fi: MIMO, WLAN IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.1, 4G LTE	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac; Wi-Fi MIMO support; Bluetooth 4.0 LE; GSM bands 850/1900; 3G bands; GPS with AGPS; NFC, USB Type-C	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, DLNA, hotspot, bluetooth v4.1, A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC, microUSB v2.0	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, bluetooth v4.2, A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, NFC
Operating System	Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)	Windows 10	Android 6.0 Marshmallow	Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with HTC Sense 7	Android OS, v5.1.1 (Lollipop)
Price	Rs 49,999 (32GB)/ Rs 53,999 (64GB)	Rs 49,399	Rs 39,999	Rs 52,500	Rs 53,900

February 1, 2016

Microsoft Launches Nokia 230 Dual SIM in India

Feature phones still exist and they’re still going strong. This is established by Nokia, a brand known for making feature phones that the human race grew up on. Microsoft today announced the launch of a brand new feature phone, the Nokia 230 Dual SIM in India.

The Nokia 230 Dual SIM brings some flavour to the feature phone category with a premium look and feel to it thanks to its metallic construction. The phone is designed for those who want a high-end phone as far as feature phones are concerned, and are not too fond of making that leap to touchscreen devices.

Speaking at the launch, Ravi Kunwar, Director- North, Microsoft Mobile Devices, “Amidst the burgeoning market for touch-enabled smartphones, there was a latent need in the market for a premium quality, non-touch feature phone with enhanced features.”

On the specification front, the Nokia 230 Dua SIM sports a 2.8-inch QVGA display with up to 32GB of memory via MicroSD. The handset comes with 2MP front and back cameras with LED flash and an aluminium back for a sturdy hold.

Other features include Opera Mini Browser, Bing Search, MSN Weather, FM Radio, MP3 and video player, and Bluetooth audio support for headsets.

The handset’s 1200mAh battery promises up to 23 hours of talk time and 22 days of standby time. All of this comes at a price of Rs 3,949. The Nokia 230 Dual SIM is available in Silver and Dark Silver colour options.

January 28, 2016
Microsoft’s New Alarm App Will Have You Clicking Selfies at Dawn

The desire to innovate and come up with new things is pretty much making everyone lose their marbles in the tech world, and we are definitely not complaining. Some of these innovations are useful, some redundant and some plain bizarre. We’ll let you decide which category this new Microsoft app should fall under.

The company has developed an alarm app called Mimicker Alarm which includes games and tongue twisters for the user to complete before the alarm can be turned off. The activities are divided into three categories -Express Yourself, Color Capture, and Tongue Twister.

https://youtu.be/VWJyCYkMc3Y

Once the alarm goes off, the user has thirty seconds to click a selfie or complete a tongue twister or find the right coloured object before the alarm goes off again. While answer to existence for some, the app has the potential of being super-annoying for others. Microsoft, however, has left no loose ends. The app is user-friendly enough to allow you to customize these games. You can still look for a red coloured object within the confines of your warm room without having to brave the cold.

“We’re a lot nicer than other alarms. You start with dismiss or snooze. If you snooze, the default is five minutes to delay the game. If you dismiss, we mute the alarm – but then you have 30 seconds to complete this challenge. And if you don’t complete that game in time, we assume you’ve fallen back asleep and then the alarm will start ringing again. You only need to complete one game to shut off the alarm. You can choose the sounds and which games you want to play,” says Allison Light, a program manager on the team.

Once you’re done looking pretty for your morning alarm, the app also allows you to share the “mimics” on various social media platforms. Share it around and get phones buzzing all over. Why should others sleep when you’re up, right?

Mimicker Alarm is up for free download on Google Play.

Source

[poll id=”40″]

January 22, 2016
Microsoft To Donate $1Billion in ‘Cloud Computing Services’

Microsoft yesterday took a giant leap towards fulfilling its mission of giving back to society, and acknowledged through philanthropy the growing importance of cloud computing in the modern age.

The Redmond-based company made an announcement yesterday to donate $1 Billion worth of ‘cloud computing services’ to university researchers, and non-profit organizations. These services, billing into multiple digits, would be doled out to these universities, and over 70,000 such organizations over the span of next three years.

Microsoft’s Hyderabad-born CEO, Satya Nadela, who was at the heart of this decision said that he believes that cloud computing has become a vital resource for addressing the world’s problems that many of these institutions and non-profit organizations are trying to fix, and as such this is the best way to help them in their cause.

In an online post Satya Nadela elaborated on the reasons behind this decision. He said,

” Last fall, world leaders at the United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals to tackle some of the toughest global problems by 2030, including poverty, hunger, health and education.
A careful read of those goals reveals the central role that data and cloud computing must play for analysis and action.”

This particular project will be a part of a greater three-part Microsoft donation program.In what will be welcome news to the various organizations who will be helped by it, yesterday’s announcement will see the company expand its global donation program to include its full suite of cloud services.

The particular suite will include Microsoft Azure, allowing nonprofit organizations to use Microsoft’s vast data centers for their apps and Enterprise Mobility Suite that will enable the organizations to manage all their devices/apps/data on a cross-platform basis.

January 20, 2016
Microsoft Lumia 650 Likely to be the Only Lumia Phone this Year

The official announcement of the Lumia 650 budget smartphone is just around the corner. Reports suggest that Microsoft is planning to unveil the device on the 1st of February. But that’s not all the rumours are suggesting. Word is that the Lumia 650 might be the only Lumia device from Microsoft this year.

This news contradicts earlier reports that Microsoft will also launch the Lumia 750 and 850. While some believe that the two devices are still on the cards, there are many who believe that the launch has been cancelled citing the reason that Microsoft wants to focus more on its Surface phone. Microsoft is planning to launch a Surface phone that will sport Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chipset later this year.

The 5-inch 720p display Lumia 650 is likely to come bearing the Snapdragon 210 chipset clocking at 1.1GHz. A 2,000mAh battery pack in the 650 is small, especially when compared to the Lumia 640 (2,500mAh) and the Lumia 550 (2,100mAh).

Furthermore, it is the single-SIM variant that has been cleared by FCC with the model number RM-1152 suggesting the device will first launch in the United States. Microsoft will also offer a dual-SIM variant for the device.

From what the unconfirmed specs tell us, the Lumia 650 lacks both juice and power but does well with the exterior design, and a pricing of under Rs. 10,000 (similar to the Lumia 550) will be needed for this device to tempt the masses.

January 17, 2016
Microsoft Working on a Snapdragon 820-Powered Windows Phone

Microsoft might have a new device in the works that going to rock Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 chipset. Geekbench database revealed that Microsoft is working on a faster, more powerful device than the recent Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones. Before moving on, it must be known that the listing cannot be confirmed and must be taken with a pinch of salt.

According to the Geekbench listing, the unnamed Microsoft phablet will sport a 6-inch display (2560×1440 pixels). Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset will be powering the device along with a 2.2GHz quad-core Kyro CPU and an Adreno 530 GPU. The GFXBench also lists internal specs such 20MP primary camera, a 12MP selfie shooter, and 64 GB of internal storage.

The listing does seem a little off as well, mentioning RAM at 1.5 GB only, though it is likely to be twice as much given the specs of the device. Furthermore, the chances of the device being a new Lumia phone is high, since Microsoft is the only manufacturer currently developing high-end Windows 10-powered devices.

These are just speculations as of now. We’ll know more in the coming months on whether Microsoft is in fact working on a 6-inch Windows 10 phablet powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset.

Source

January 13, 2016
Microsoft Ends Support for Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10

The first generation of netizens would fondly recall their days of web browsing and how Internet Explorer played such an integral part in it. But looks like it’s time to let go and move on, folks, as Microsoft finalised its withdrawal of support for the browser. The company would no longer offer technical support or security updates for Internet Explorer 8, 9 and 10.Microsoft had declared its plan to end support for the browser first in July 2014, and starting today, these plans have gone into action. However, the company would still continue to support Internet Explorer 11 and Microsoft Edge. Microsoft Edge comes embedded with any device running on Windows 10, and also offers integration with Cortana.

If users wish to continue using the older versions of the browser -not sure if there are many takers for it to begin with -Microsoft warns you against malicious software that might harm your computer. According to statistics, one in every five internet user was still using Internet Explorer 8, 9 or 10 in December. However, looks like now users might want to experiment with other options, especially since there are so many available to them -Opera Mini, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari et al.

January 12, 2016