With this release, Microsoft has bumped To-Do on iPads and iPhones to v1.53. Only one new feature is available, but it is a useful one. The app now lets users add a task straight into a Planned smart list. Planned smart lists are a way to organize tasks for up to five days. The To-Do app automatically generates content in the Planned list, choosing items it believes are most important....
However, that doesn’t mean students can’t run regular desktop apps at all. Apps simply have to be packaged and uploaded to the Windows Store. When students install apps they will run in an isolated container, ensuring that the rest of the system isn’t affected. Alternatively, teachers can choose to upgrade the laptop to Windows 10 Pro at any point to gain access to full Windows features. According to Myerson, Microsoft traveled the world speaking to teachers about the OS and found the importance of stability....
One contractor told Motherboard the fact they have permission and the ability to listen to users shows “how lax things are in terms of protecting user data”. While not wanting to be named, the contractor says personal communications are often heard. They cite “phone sex” as common when reviewing audio, as well as users entering personal information such as their address into Cortana. As we reported in the previous story, Microsoft’s terms and conditions state the company listens to audio content on Cortana and Skype....
Microsoft rolled out version 8.35.76.30 for the general Skype experience. This update is available to users on Android, iOS, Mac, Linux, Linux Snap, Web, Desktop, and Microsoft Store on Windows 10. There is a good reason why Skype is getting an update across platforms. Microsoft has redesigned the theme picker across Skype and added new color gradients to the experience. In terms of the theme picker, Microsoft has simplified the user interface by combining the picker with color choice....
The update was announced by Office 365 Marketing exec Ron Markezich. Among the new features revealed was additions for the Skype for Business Cloud PBX. Microsoft has also made changes to its call analytics experience for IT admins. Markezich says the new features and existing platform “advance our goal of putting communication at the heart of productivity with Skype.” Here are the specific changes announced today: Availability of Auto Attendant and Call Queues, two new calling features in Skype for Business Cloud PBX....
While MVA will start to be closed at the end of next month, Microsoft says the service will be phased out throughout 2019. Virtual Academy provides free online training by experts to help users build technical skills and advance their career opportunities. Microsoft says users can check their dashboard to see which courses are no longer available. The company adds completion certificates will only be issued for courses finished before January 31, 2019....
During a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA) on YouTube, the Windows engineering team says Windows 11 will not get the ability to move the taskbar to the sides or top of the screen. In other words, it will remain locked in its classic position at the bottom. Not Necessary It is worth noting Windows 11 boasts a fresh taskbar/Start menu experience. According to Tali Roth, Head of Product for Microsoft, it would be too much work to add the ability to move the taskbar....
When web searching on Bing, the new feature will present a “Click here to open in a new tab” option. This basically allows users to avoid using a mouse click to open a site in a new tab. It is worth noting the option as detailed above is hidden behind an icon and displays when hovering on the icon. We can see how this will be extremely useful in situations of research....
Microsoft recently showcased the bot’s full Duplex capabilities, which allow it to make phonecalls to users. Breakthroughs in conversational AI also lets it speak in a natural fashion, rather than just simple commands. With this collaboration, the company will be more active in one of the world’s fastest growing AI markets, and hopes to help foster innovation. “As the global and Chinese AI market keeps evolving it’s very important to have a global perspective,” Microsoft Executive Vice President Harry Shum said at Microsoft AI Innovate on Monday....
Specifically, Nvidia’s RTX graphics card with path-traced ray tracing is now part of Minecraft on Windows 10. Nvidia says in a blog Tuesday that the availability is for all its GPUs that support the new technology. You may remember Nvidia first announced RTX ray tracing for Minecraft almost exactly a year ago. At the time, the company was just showcasing what the future would look like. Today, the future is here and Minecraft is getting an aesthetic bump....
Among the new features is an introduction of more commands to Minecraft PE and Windows 10. Mojang has added /title, /stopsound/, /difficulty, and several other commands to the game. UI tweaks are also part of version 1.0.5, such as a change to the way the magnifying glass appears over text. As for bug fixes, the update solves some gameplay problems. For example, the Ghast Fireball is now much more accurate and villagers no longer loot an inventory when the player dies....
Long the runaway dominant leader in search, lawmakers accuse Google uses several underhand tactics to remain on top. For example, regulators claim the company pays other service to be the default search tool. Mozilla is one of those companies but says Firefox shouldn’t become collateral damage in the case. In August, the company reportedly recommitted to Google in a deal that is worth up to $450 million. This timing of the renewal raised some eyebrows considering Mozilla had announced it was laying off 250 employees....
We already new Mozilla was working on an autoplay block as the company detailed the feature in a roadmap earlier this year. At the time the company promised a solution that “doesn’t break websites”. That latter statement is important. While autoplay ads can be annoying and sometimes dangerous, in many cases they are not. Some sites use them for advertising, which is fine. The worst these harmless enough videos do is shock you if the volume is mysteriously loud....
Whether it’s a Meltdown and Spectre-level problem is arguable, but it is certainly a concerning development. Hackers could exploit the vulnerability to gain access encrypted hard-disks when a PC in sleep mode. With access, the bad actors could steal data from the storage. The flaw lies within firmware located on “most modern computers” which leave encryption keys open to attackers. Cold boot attacks could be used to enter a hard disk and steal its data....
These features will help the hard of hearing, but they also point to the company’s inclusive design principles. These additions will also help situations with a quiet speaker or fast speaker, or in noisy environments. Interestingly, the live captions and subtitles also support real-time translation. Speakers can have their speech output in a total of 12 spoken languages, and over 60 on-screen. They can also adjust size, color, and other options....
The latest issue facing the platform has seen thousands of private recordings become available online and available to anyone. According to The Washington Post, security researcher Patrick Jackson found 15,000 recordings when scanning unsecure cloud storage. There’s a chance this was caused by users mistakenly uploading private recordings to public servers. However, there’s clearly some design element that pushes this mistake if so many are making it. Jackson agrees with this, telling The Post that Zoom should be cautioning about the potential for error....
“From a privacy perspective Microsoft Edge and Yandex are qualitatively different from the other browsers studied. Both send persistent identifiers than can be used to link requests (and associated IP address/location) to back end servers. Edge also sends the hardware UUID of the device to Microsoft and Yandex similarly transmits a hashed hardware identifier to back end servers.“ These persistent identifiers could be used to discover a user’s real identity....
Microsoft and Samsung worked together to design an impressive 2-in-1 tablet. The Galaxy Book will come in 10.6- and 12-inch versions, featuring a pen and a keyboard, and is powered by Windows 10. According to Microsoft’s blog post about the Galaxy Book announcement, Samsung’s new tablets will provide “easy access to the full desktop Microsoft Office experience.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdmFS3taYWI Galaxy Book specs Samsung’s Galaxy Book is already in the spotlight thanks to its impressive specifications and capabilities....
Known Leakster “Ice Universe” has published details about the Exynos 2200 SoC. It seems the mRDNA GPU will feature six of AMD’s RDNA 2 Compute Units. This will provide the chipset with 384 stream processors. Samsung will construct the SoC on its soon to launch 4LPP FinFET process. Ice Universe has been on a role this week because before the latest leak, he also revealed the codename for the Samsung chip....
According to reports in South Korea, Samsung is hedging against predictions the economic downturn will affect chip sales. While many of the company’s rivals are heeding the warning, Samsung obviously believes will remain. It is worth noting we are still leaving a major two-year shortage of processors, so demand could still be there for new semiconductors. Reuters suggests Samsung is taking this decision in an effort to increase its market share in the processor industry while others are slowing down....
