SciKit-learn is a machine learning library that is used by developers creating Python models. As such, it is hugely popular and underpins many artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions. Founded in 2018 by French organization Inria, the open-source library as the goal to “foster the development of scikit-learn and support the community that builds it”. Microsoft has joined the SciKit-learn consortium as a platinum member, allowing the company to sponsor the library through development....

Founded by the Linux Foundation, the consortium now has some of the biggest players in tech on board, including Microsoft. Part of the focus of the group is to unite cloud vendors, hardware manufacturers, and developers into an entity that promotes common open source standards to protect data use. In a joint statement between the companies, the Linux Foundation said data in use security is often ignored: “Confidential computing focuses on securing data in use....

In just a few years, the Hackathon has grown from an event of 75 people to one of over 600. Hundreds of so-called ‘ability hacks’ have risen from this practice, including OneNote Learning Tools, Seeing AI, and EyeGaze Wheelchair. It’s fair to predict that this year’s event will be even bigger, and may even beat the record of 100 ability hacks in the 3-day period. Microsoft’s Accessibility Promise The event is just a small part of Microsoft’s wider push for accessibility, innovated by now ex-employee Kat Holmes....

As we reported last month, a couple of new features have been added in Microsoft Launcher 5.8. Among them is direct integration with Microsoft Intune for IT admins. The Launcher works on Intune Fully Managed Devices. With this integration, admins can control device configuration from the home screen. Elsewhere, Microsoft has improved the install tools. For example, users will now see that the Launcher adds new app icons automatically when an application is installed....

All users can update to the new version now and get the same additions we recently saw on the beta release. Leading the way in terms of new features are safety features for parents to manage child use. App activity monitoring and the ability to track the whereabout kids are now part of the launcher. Microsoft is also trying to further entice users to Bing search. However, this search ability is only available in the United States, where Bing still holds some market sway....

Version 4.5 introduces some good productivity features, but also some visual ones. Users can now change the size of their dock, home screen, and drawer icons independently to suit their preference. This means you can have more prominent icons on the dock, and smaller ones on your app screen. On Android Nougat and above, you’ll also be able to set wallpapers for your home and lock screen, as well as blank pages in vertical mode....

On the Bing Maps, users can view various aspects of the outbreak, including cases per country, currently active cases, recovered cases, and fatalities. In the United States, the interactive map offers more granular controls, such as state-by-state information. Users can do deeper dives into individual countries or states. When a nation is selected, Bing search will surface news stories and videos related to COVID-19 from that country. When I tested the tool, the stories seemed to be lagging behind the very latest news information so I hope Microsoft can resolve that....

Before getting into the details, it is worth noting that Microsoft Patch Tuesday events help to shore up services from vulnerabilities. For example, Microsoft patches against zero-days that either new or already exploited. That makes Patch Tuesday essential in some cases. However, there has been an increasing issue where Microsoft patches are fixing one issue but causing others. We have seen this recently with a fix for Windows Search that has left users unable to boot their PCs....

Focusing on increasing performance, Microsoft has completely changed the Xbox app backend on Windows 10. Previously, the app was built on the company’s Electron Application Framework. This is an open-source engine built on Google’s Chromium. Windows Central reports Microsoft has now abandoned Electron and will instead use React Native UWP, which is a version of a rendering engine developed by Facebook. Apparently, the change has allowed significant performance gains for the Xbox PC app....

Other than that, little is known about the Pro 7, but the patent gives some additional hints. The document itself describes a magnet-oriented technique that would hold the Surface Type Cover closed when you aren’t using it. This would stop assumedly cover both orientations, both closed in your bag and folded behind the device when it’s in tablet mode. It’s not a particularly exciting development, but the Surface Type Cover diagrams hold some additional hints....

Now Microsoft wants Skype to tap into some of Zoom’s users. Just weeks ago, Zoom was a relatively popular but not dominant enterprise video communication tool. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the platform has become the communication tool of choice for tens of millions. Interestingly, Zoom has even escaped its enterprise leanings and is being used by individuals for personal use. Since that meteoric rise, the company has faced numerous problems....

Quantum computing has the potential to transform the world in which we live. Complex problems, such as major global issues. However, under current conditions, normal computers would take billions of years to reach a solution. Quantum computing promises to revolutionize calculation and complete equal tasks in days or even hours. However, so-called quantum speedup is possible when research teams use algorithms to leverage quantum mechanics… specifically entanglement and superposition. These two principles can help scale-up calculations....

With the release of a new app simply named ‘Office’, Microsoft appears to be changing that. The offering has appeared on Insider builds, and it ties everything together nicely. Office is basically a hub for the suite, letting users access its various apps and displaying recent documents, @mentions, and comments. According to Microsoft, this app is based on the redesigned Office.com, which also means the shiny new icons. The app also lets you pin documents for later reference and quickly search for documents, people, and sites....

Of course, that makes plenty of sense considering the Xbox 360 was released in 2007 and replaced by the Xbox One in 2013. Microsoft is already to release the Xbox Scarlett next year. This will put two generations between the Xbox 360. Still, the company is continuing to support the console in terms of security and stabilization updates. As we saw in August, this latest release is focused on squashing bugs....

Disk Cleanup has been part of the Windows makeup since Windows 7. It is especially important for removing older Windows builds after an update. These previous versions take up Gigabytes of free space, so having a tool to automatically remove files is important. Despite its ability, the truth is a third-party solution would also be more dynamic and powerful than Disk Cleanup. In its goal to modernize Windows adjustments through the Settings app, Microsoft is going to eventually kill off Disk Cleanup....

View’s main product is Dynamic Glass, which adjusts the tint to let in different amounts of light. The idea is to replace the need for blinds and find a middle ground between nice views and healthy levels of natural light. According to Microsoft, a recent study has found a 50% reduction in eye strain, headaches, and drowsiness. The company will now use Azure IoT in smart buildings for window and floor controller devices....

By snapping up the two game-developers, Microsoft is furthering its push to bolster its own gaming studios. The company has repeatedly said the Xbox brand will rely on exclusive titles to differentiate in the future. As for Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment, Microsoft’s involvement is a well-timed intervention. Obsidian is a noted role-playing game (RPG) developer that has created games such as Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2....

In terms of which services are receiving patches this month, 20 bugs in Microsoft Edge were fixed, while 121 vulnerabilities were found across Windows Azure, Office, Exchange Server, Visual Studio, and .NET Core. According to bug hunting group The Zero Day Initiative, the number of patches is higher than normal and significantly more than usual August Patch Tuesday rollouts. “It’s almost triple the size of last year’s August release, and it’s the second largest release this year,” the group points out....

Microsoft explains the two vulnerabilities exposed the same vulnerability. Both zero-days allowed attackers to elevate privileges on Win32k, a major part of the running operation of the Windows OS. The company lists the flaws as CVE-2019-0803 and CVE-2019-0859. Microsoft names the vulnerabilities as the same, even though they were both found independently by Kaspersky Lab and Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. Win32k was found to be failing to handle memory properly. An attacker exploiting this flaw could run arbitrary code in the kernel and gain system rights....

“In some embodiments according to the present disclosure, producing the background story behind user-created content can be facilitated by gathering and collecting suggestions for the background story at various points in time during the creation of the content[…]The suggestions can be gathered at points in time based on a recorded history of the process of producing the user-created content.” One example this could come in useful is when sharing a video or pictures of a trip to social media....