The chat was wide-ranging, from Xbox’s competition to exclusives and the changing role of gaming in user’s lives. However, perhaps the most stand-out quote from Gwertzman concerned Phil Spencer’s dogged mission to reach the world’s 2.8 billion gamers. “Phil says, over and over again, that we in the gaming division need to find a way to reach the 2.8 billion gamers in the world that we believe there are. That’s a number that you hear over and over again in internal meetings....

According to Microsoft, the feature stops malware and other threats from accessing and changing Windows 10’s system memory. KDP will allow developers to leverage programmatic APIs to change some parts of the Windows kernel to read-only. “For example, we’ve seen attackers use signed but vulnerable drivers to attack policy data structures and install a malicious, unsigned driver,” Microsoft’s Base Kernel Team points out. “KDP mitigates such attacks by ensuring that policy data structures cannot be tampered with....

It seems the ad notifications are set to default in Windows 10 builds. Microsoft is promoting a new Office 365 and OneDrive bundle. I don’t particularly want to repeat the offer here, because then Microsoft is getting even more (free) advertising. However, you can check out the screenshot (courtesy of Thurrott) below to see what the promotion is. Needless to say, Microsoft is getting some heat for this decision. Redditors have been calling the company out on this tactic and pointing out that even those with existing Office 365 subs are seeing the advertisement....

It now appears Microsoft is shifting its strategy somewhat. Speaking to Business Insider, he said: “Last year we said consoles, and we’ve shipped a console and we’ve now detailed another console. I think that’s plural,” he said, in reference to the disc-less Xbox and Scarlett. “Technically that is plural. Right now, we’re focused on Project Scarlett and what we put on stage.” All of this seems to indicate that the company won’t be launching another, more affordable Xbox alongside Scarlett as was initially assumed....

One of the stumbling blocks for developers has been the slow publishing process in the Microsoft Store. Whether its updating the price, a description, announcing new features, or adding screenshots, the publishing process in the store is slow. Today, Microsoft is addressing the situation. The company says publishing times for certain actions are now much faster. In a Windows Blog post, Microsoft says submissions that do not update packages (no software updates) will publish faster....

Of course, Centaurus is just a codenamed, with the name to be unveiled alongside the device. We reported last week that Surface Centaurus is predicted to be announced at Microsoft’s Surface press event on Oct. 2. Much of Microsoft’s work on folding screen technology has been on the hinge mechanism. Over the years, we have charted numerous patents focused on making the folding screen as functional as possible. In the latest Microsoft Patent ideas (published by Patentscope), shows that Surface Centaurus may feature a 360-degree hinge....

At least, that is what Microsoft is suggesting. The company insists Windows 11 does warrant the new rebranding and is not simply a re-designed Windows 10. Microsoft talks about security improvements, but also says the OS was created with a focus on accessibility. With over one billion Windows users, Microsoft says crossing the “disability divide” is important. Windows 11 will become the most accessible version of the OS the company has ever made: “Accessible technology is a fundamental building block that can unlock opportunities in every part of society....

This Microsoft Teams tool allows users to change the background effects in meetings. According to the email, the ability to upload images for customized backgrounds will land in May. This means only pre-selected backgrounds will be available at first. Back in 2018, Teams received a tool that allowed users to blur their background during video calls. This quickly became a popular feature. Early in 2019, Microsoft announced it would bring custom background to the service....

While these features are targeting small businesses, they can theoretically be used by any user of Microsoft Teams on Web. First up is the introduction of background effects coming to Teams on Web. This is a good example at a small business feature that any user will find useful. Essentially, it brings custom backgrounds to the web version of Teams for the first time: “Custom backgrounds are now available to web users....

1 Teams on Mobile2 Another Push Against Slack3 Teams iOS Update In its announcement today, Microsoft said Teams has been adopted by over 500,000 organizations, including 91 of the Fortune 100. Over two years, Microsoft Teams has been made available in 44 languages in 181 regions. Microsoft says Teams will soon receive nine new languages: Hindi, Filipino, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, and Malayalam. “Over the past two years, Teams has grown significantly in both new capabilities and customer usage, as the hub for teamwork that brings people together and fosters a culture of engagement and inclusion,” Microsoft 365 general manager Lori Wright says....

Showcased by the Windows Insider team this week, the new Windows 10 Start Menu show how the design will look without Live Tiles. However, Brandon LeBlanc of the Windows Insider team, points out Microsoft has no plans to remove Live Tiles entirely. Instead, users would be able to choose to disable Live Tiles to bring the new icons to the forefront. Microsoft says it wants a universal aesthetic driving by Fluent Design across the Windows 10 Start Menu....

Exclusive games are one of the only true differentiators between the Xbox Series X|S and the PlayStation 5. Both console platforms deliver mostly the same performance levels. So, most games become PlayStation or Xbox fans based on exclusive content. Both Microsoft and Sony have their fair share of exclusive content. On Xbox, there are triple A franchises such as Gears of War, Forza, and Halo, while on PlayStation there is God of War and Gran Turismo, among others....

Windows watcher Florian Beaubois found the ad in the newest Windows 11 preview. Showing the result on Twitter, other users went to the Microsoft Editor to see if they seen the same. Some users did see the ad while others didn’t. Microsoft says the fact anybody seen the ad is a mistake because the test is currently internal: “This was an experimental banner that was not intended to be published externally and was turned off,” says Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager for Windows, to The Verge....

According to a blog post from Microsoft, the company will pay $7.5 billion in cash to acquire ZeniMax. Yes, that’s significantly more than the $2.5 billion Redmond paid to acquire Minecraft in 2014. Minecraft has gone on to become the best-selling game of all time under Microsoft’s wing. While the company will not expect Bethesda titles to deliver similar results, there is just as much ambition behind this purchase. Microsoft points to a shift towards a player-centric gaming market instead of the traditional device-centric market....

The tech giant put an end to its ‘Music Pass’ subscription pass last October, causing a widespread upset. It became a glorified local music player, and we noted then that it would struggle to compete with default offerings. Despite the withdrawal, Microsoft will continue to update its apps on Windows 10, Windows Phone, and Xbox as promised. However, with cross-device compatibility, it’s likely the userbase will fall there too. The truth is that many users have migrated to Spotify as suggested, preferring a unified streaming experience....

For search, users will notice the ability to exclude certain tasks to make it easier to find what they want. Specifically, you can hide completed to-do’s via the ‘more’ menu in the top right corner. By default, To-Do search shows tasks in their order on your list, so this should help. It also reduces visual clutter, making it easier to focus on the right elements. Navigation Improvements and Organization More useful to some will be a minor addition to To-Do for Windows 10’s detail view....

The company debuted the Unified Update Platform (UUP) in November 2016. Microsoft developed the platform to reduce the size of updates and to make finding new updates more efficient. This is particularly important for feature updates. UUP is essentially a way to make Windows updates more seamless by reducing the amount of data included in the update package. Microsoft says it is now bringing a public preview of the service to on-premises Windows systems....

Office Lens gives users tools to trim, enhance and make images of whiteboards and docs. The service then saves the content into Microsoft’s OneNote app. Images can be converted to PDF, PowerPoint, and Word files. The top requested feature Microsoft mentions is the ability to scan multiple images. With this feature, users can scan more than one image and save them into a single PDF, Word or PowerPoint files on OneDrive....

Unfortunately, Microsoft has not expanded on which new features will be added to the experience. We do know the new abilities will be found under the Draw tab. If you use OneNote Online and in app form for Windows 10, you will know the two are different. The web version has limited functionality, especially when it comes to drawing. For example, draw capabilities are limited to a pen and highlighter....

AirMap is a Santa Monica, Calif.-based company found in 2014. It provides and airspace management platform for drones. While companies are racing into the unmanned vehicle market with hardware, AirMap is finding solutions for keeping drones in the air and to keep airspace safe. As the drone market explodes, the number of vehicles in the air will increase year on year. Systems and standards will be required to make sure the airspace is safe....