“You may have seen that we have announced a Free-Tier for Azure Cosmos DB,” the official Cosmos DB Twitter account confirmed. “Due to a technical glitch, this announcement went out early. Free Tier will officially be announced and available on March 6. Stay tuned. We hope you like it.” Azure Cosmos DB was announced at Build 2017. This is a cloud database service is a brand-new platform created from the ground up....
This is a feature update, although Microsoft does not like to call it that as Windows is now developed as a service. Either way, the Fall Update is big and loaded with new features. Microsoft has revamped the Xbox One dashboard to add customization tools such as the release comes with Microsoft’s overhauled dashboard for the Xbox One. The company is calling on Fluent Design elements for the new aesthetic....
Microsoft has listed 10 issues that are currently under investigation. Nine of those problems have results in Microsoft putting a “compatibility hold” on some devices. This means some users on specific hardware cannot update to the Windows 10 May 2020 Update. We already discussed one of the issues last week. Microsoft blocked the installation of the update for users with Memory Integrity enabled on their PC. For users with those tools running, trying to install Windows 10 version 2004 will result in the following block message: “Your PC settings need to be adjusted before upgrading to the latest version of Windows 10....
Microsoft engineer Jen Gentleman took to Twitter to confirm Dark Mode is coming to the Windows Console with version 1903. The release will further the company’s unification of the darker theme across Windows 10 apps and services. The screenshot below shows how the Windows Console will look with the black interface, including the darkened title bar. While this is hardly a seismic change, it does bring more color unification to Windows 10 and makes the OS look more refined....
The company announced said it is launching an Xbox Live cross-platform software development kit (SDK). Developers can leverage the SDK to bring Xbox Live functionality to any game on iOS and Android. Microsoft initially included Nintendo Switch in its announcement but later deleted that compatibility. We guess Switch support will arrive at a later date. This is the full Xbox Live package, which includes achievements, friend lists, clubs, Gamescore, and more....
Microsoft has quietly bumped the price of Windows 10 Home off the shelf. If you are unfamiliar with downloadable Windows 10 (again, most receive the platform pre-installed), it usually comes with a so-called “Windows tax”. Customers buying the download version of Windows 10 Home will now have to pay $139, which is a $19.01 increase over the previous $119.99 price. While most people will get Windows 10 Home pre-installed, there is a subset who need the physical version....
1 Iranian attacks2 Chinese attacks In a post, Microsoft says the breach attempts were targeting emails accounts of those close to the campaigns. Microsoft points out most attacks were prevented. Tom Burt, Corporate Vice president for Customer Security & Trust for Microsoft says some attacks may have been gone undetected. Russian hackers seem to come from a group known as Strontium, also known as Fancy Bear or APT28. Microsoft says the team of hackers have been extremely active over the last year....
Principles The statement highlights those principles, which will create an open relationship with unions: “We believe in the importance of listening to our employees’ concerns. Our leaders have an open door policy, and we invest in listening systems and employee resource groups that constantly help us understand better both what is working and where we need to improve. But we recognize that there may be times when some employees in some countries may wish to form or join a union....
Specifically, the company will slash the ten-year support lifecycle it currently offers to just five years. This new support timeframe will start with the release of Windows 10 21H2 during the second half of 2021. Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC is a variant of the platform that allows enterprise customers to use Windows without cloud services. Many organizations are still holding out on cloud migration for various reasons. However, that migration is hard to ignore, especially as Microsoft is full steam ahead in support of it....
If you are unfamiliar with Databricks, it is an analytics service based on Apache Spark. It aims to simplify data information by streamlining workflows and allowing one-click setup. “Azure Databricks is designed in collaboration with Databricks whose founders started the Spark research project at UC Berkeley, which later became Apache Spark,” explains Rohan Kumar, corporate vice president, Azure Data said earlier this year. “Our goal with Azure Databricks is to help customers accelerate innovation and simplify the process of building Big Data & AI solutions by combining the best of Databricks and Azure....
Events are the building blocks of most modern applications. Event-based programming has become the most popular method of creation for developers. Events within an app include uploading a photo, responding to user clicks, updating a database, etc.) Microsoft says it created Azure Event Grid to give developers smoother tools for event-programming. Serverless platfroms like Azure Functions and Logic Apps have become important tools for event-based developers. Event Grid makes event-based and serverless apps easier to create and functions as an extension of Azure....
This is a bundle package that includes an Xbox One S console with 1TB of storage and a controller. The hardware is all decked in purple. In terms of games, what are Microsoft offering considering Fortnite is free (Battle Royal, at least)? Well, Redmond is giving access to an exclusive Dark Vertex Cosmetic Suit that is only available with this bundle. Of course, Fortnite is as much about collecting items as it is gameplay, so this may appeal to many gamers....
“Starting today, Microsoft Defender ATP customers who have turned on preview features can access Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac via the onboarding section in Microsoft Defender Security Center,” Microsoft says in an announcement. Windows Defender ATP was launched in 2016 and is aimed at enterprise customers on Windows 10. The service provides an early barrier against cyberattacks, detecting and dealing with incoming threats on enterprise networks. On Mac devices, Defender ATP features UI that is based on the Windows 10 version....
“We’re very excited about Crackdown 3, and so are many fans, and so it’s a difficult call to move the release date,” she said in an email interview. “However, we want to make sure to deliver the right game, with the right quality, and at the right time. Crackdown 3 is a hugely ambitious game and we want to ensure we deliver the right experiences all the way through every part of the game, whether that’s campaign, co-op multiplayer or our competitive multiplayer mode, Wrecking Zone....
Obtained by The Verge, the document discussed the pocket-sized Surface device. From various other pointers, we know Andromeda is a hinged device with two screens. Like a mini-laptop but the size of smartphone. We have written before about the possibilities for Andromeda. The device is rumoured to be as powerful as a full laptop, but ultra-portable. Perhaps the biggest what if is in regard to its mobile capabilities. Will Andromeda be a smartphone, the almost mythical Surface Phone?...
Available in Microsoft Edge 105, the new feature is known as Windows Controls Overlay. This is an API tool for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) that Microsoft has been planning for around two years. Microsoft has put plenty of R&D into trying to make PWAs feel more like a native experience. The company’s results rely on changing the UX of the apps instead of focusing on performance. So, a PWA will have a title bar of an app that matches the OS default instead of its own title bar....
Power users will be familiar with slowdown if they are running multiple open browser tabs on a system that does not have much RAM. Microsoft Edge could ease the resource burden with Sleeping Tabs. This interesting new feature will allow Edge to automatically make background tabs idle and consume less power. Microsoft is currently testing the new tool on the Canary testing channel (build 87.0.643.0) on Windows and Mac. As you may know, the Canary channel is the first and most unstable Edge testing ground....
Anyway, it turns out Microsoft Edge has won an Emmy. That’s because the awards body also recognizes select tech support within the TV and film industries. “The Technology & Engineering Emmy Award was the first Emmy Award issued in 1949 and it laid the groundwork for all the other Emmys to come,” said Adam Sharp, President & CEO, NATAS. “Weare especiallyexcitedtobehonoring these prestigious companies and presenting our gala again at the NAB Show where the intersection of innovation, technology and excitement in the future of television can be found....
1 Keeping Partners in the Loop2 Improving Virtualization on iPad This week, Microsoft has expanded on the abilities of Windows Virtual Desktop. The company also seems to have fulfilled a promise to keep virtualization partners relevant despite WVD. Furthermore, Microsoft has also promised some virtualization improvements on Apple’s iPad. One of the obvious concerns about WVD was that it would make Microsoft’s virtualization partners redundant. Citrix is one of those major collaborators and at its Citrix Summit this week, the company teamed with Microsoft to discuss details of WVD and mergence with other virtualization tools....
According to Business Insider, the company has informed employees already working at home that they will continue to do so until October. It is worth noting some Microsoft employees continue to go to work, but most are not working at home. Also, the extension also only includes employees in the United States, where 85,000 of Microsoft’s 144,000 global workforce are located. On Monday, the company circulated an internal notice telling staff they can remain at home even when the government lifts stay-at-home orders....
