Firstly, the preview SDK contains bug fixes and changes to API surface area. A number of changes have come to the C/C++ ETW code generation of mc.exe, with the -mof parameter becoming depreciated. If the -mof generator isn’t used, the C/C++ header is compatible with kernel mode and user mode, regardless of the use of -km or -um. It does so by using the ETW_KM macro to determine which mode it’s being compiled for and then pulling it the appropriate APIs....

Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux Terminal can be downloaded and installed on any Windows 10 Insider build beyond 16215. It will eventually become available to anyone who runs Windows 10 Fall Creators Update or later. With the use of the new app, users of Windows 10 can run Ubuntu command line utilities such as bash, ssh, git, apt, and more. In order to use the feature, one first needs to use “Turn Windows features on or off” to turn on the “Windows Subsystem for Linux” option....

Many of these fixes are the same as we saw last week’s updates, with some additional changes unique to the version. Generally, they’re fairly minor fixes and improvements, but they should add to the feeling of stability and refinement in older versions. The highlights for build 17763.652 are as follows: “Updates an issue that may cause Internet Explorer to stop working when you drag a tab to create a new window....

‘My People’ was supposed to be part of the Windows 10 Creators Update, however, Microsoft delayed its release back in January. This feature will combine Mail, Skype, and social networks into a taskbar icon for each person, Microsoft says in the announcement blog post. Users will be able to drag and drop files to the taskbar, get unique notifications, and more. Now, this feature has reached Insiders thanks to the latest Windows 10 Preview Build....

When the US armed forces go to war, the government is backed by the best technology available, both in terms of hardware and software. That technology must come from somewhere and traditionally tech giants have supplied the government with software solutions. The situation is changing around a growing controversy, but Microsoft’s Brad Smith says the company will always backup the government Smith spoke to Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business Network this week and said, “we see artificial intelligence entering the world of militaries around the world....

With so many staying at home in self or imposed isolation, Mixer’s viewers aren’t dwindling by any means. However, there are quite a few other factors to consider that have been leading to hardship for some. Economic uncertainty and job loss is one of them – with many fans unable to continue their regular donations. Additionally, while there have been a couple of notable game releases and updates, many have been delayed, and Xbox devs have been asked not to drop them at peak times....

According to Microsoft, uptime is extended and guaranteed in Azure SQL Database thanks to perks added to the new SLA. It is worth noting the new agreement is specifically for customers using the “Business Critical” tier on the platform. Microsoft calls the new agreement the 99.995 percent SLA. As the name suggests, the SLA guarantees uptime to the 99.995th percentile. The company says downtime will be limited to an estimated 26....

As for its replacement, Microsoft is recommending customers start using the more secure Modern Authentication (OAuth 2.0). Microsoft has been promising this shutoff for several years, much to the dismay of many Exchange Online customers. However, as the company promised, the depreciation of Basic Auth will happen gradually. The October 1 end date is merely the start of the process. In April, Microsoft announced the date for the shutoff would be October 1....

While Microsoft this week confirmed the Basic tier is being sent into the sunset, at the time of writing it is still available. For example, the SKU is listed on the Azure Active Directory pricing page alongside the Free, Premium P1, and Premium P2 editions. Basic version of the cloud identity management solution is available as an Open Volume License, Cloud Solution Providers program, and via Microsoft Enterprise Agreements. Earlier this week, Alex Simons, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Identity Edition, confirmed on Twitter Azure AD Basic is being removed....

“Establish a separate device for administrative tasks that is updated and patched with the most recent software and operating system,” it says. “Set the security controls at high levels and prevent administrative tasks from being executed remotely.” The recommendations follow a number of high-profile hacks and malware in the past couple of years. Microsoft itself suffered an Outlook breach via a compromised support agent account, while flaws in several popular software have led to zero-day exploits....

Baker has played an important role at Nintendo over the last decade. In December, he announced he was leaving the Japanese giant after 12 years. It was unclear at the time where he would be going, but today has explained the situation. During his time with Nintendo, Baker became and increasingly important figure. He has been heading the company’s indie game relations in recent years and thriving. Indeed, many of the indie titles available on the Switch were driven to the console by Baker....

On the WordPad application, banner apps for Office Online apps were discovered by Rafael Rivera. According to the report, Microsoft is using six banner messages. It is worth noting the ads below the ribbon are still in experimental so the slogans could change in time. Microsoft could also decide not to use the ads long term and remove them. Below are the current messages on the ad banners: Try Word online for free....

Both measures are designed to bring Microsoft Teams more inline with Zoom. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom became the go-to video communication tool for enterprise and personal use. Indeed, the company saw its monthly userbase increase from 10 million to over 300 million. While Microsoft Teams is not a complete competitor to Zoom (Teams also handles other workplace collaboration tools), Microsoft wants it to become one. By increasing visible video participants to 49, the company is moving in line with Zoom....

With that in mind, Microsoft’s recently announced work on bumping Teams video support to 49 users is important. Zoom allows up to 49 people to participate in a video call at the same time. This has allowed the service to become the de facto video communication tool of the stay-at-home era created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Zoom increased its userbase from 10 million users to over 300 million in the space of six weeks....

The main issue comes in the form of jittery gameplay. The time between frames varies, causing a strange, lag-like experience. As a result, media outlets have been calling for a thirty fps lock. However, the fix may not be so simple. Microsoft can’t go in and makes changes to the engine on a whim. Xbox Platform PM Bill Stillwell took to Twitter to explain further. “We can’t just ‘lock’ an unlocked engine to 30 fps,” he said....

By adding support for grouped lists, users can now collect lists and reduce the clutter on the app. Microsoft To-Do uses the feature to help users collect similar tasks within the same group. This makes it easier to find a task opposed to scrolling through numerous separated tasks. In an announcement blog post, Microsoft says users can use list groups for vacation checklists. Other examples offered by the company include: “Heading home for the evening?...

The first feature lets users swipe to move back and forwards between songs while on the ‘Now Playing’ screen. The second could be more useful, letting users search and play music locally and from their OneDrive collection. This means that users will no longer have the annoyance of the Groove collection when they know a song is on their phone. Oftentimes, those tracks are of a higher quality, so it’s a basic but definite step up....

Project Rome has been available on Android and iOS since 2017. The software is designed to bring developers closer to a cross-platform environment, something Microsoft says is now the norm for customers. Creating solutions across operating systems is not easy, so Project Rome is a platform that makes that process easier. Fluidity between platforms is an important part of modern application development. “Our vision with Project Rome is to deliver a personal operating system that is not tied to a device or a platform....

Now, however, that functionality now better extends to emojis. A new emoji prediction panel puts the right one right at a users fingertips. After typing a sentence, users receive suggestions of up to 18 emojis that match it. It’s joined by a total of eight new themes, all in the ‘oxygen’ style and available free of charge. The Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Dark Blue, Purple, and Pink colors should give some new vibrancy to the typing experience....

Now, the company has announced a new update for Visual Studio for Mac, which adds a web editor, improved .NET Core support, and several new features. In the announcement blog post, Microsoft says that “Over the past few months [Microsoft has] been working on porting C# code that was originally designed to work on Windows to the Mac. Luckily for [Microsoft], the architecture of Visual Studio is so good that reusing the code has been a breeze....