Since its debut, the video has gone viral. To ride the popularity, a Microsoft employee has created his own ad that replaces Google Assistant with Microsoft’s own Cortana. Katie Anderson, Business Strategy Manager at Microsoft, recreated the Home Along ad with Cortana. As you may know, Cortana is a productivity-focused assistant these days, designed to boost enterprise efficiency. To highlight this face, Anderson’s video removes the consumer-automations of Google Home....

Customers can treat themselves Christmas with a new Surface Pro 4 with up to $200 off select models. More specifically, all versions of the device have the price reduction, aside from the entry level unit. That means the $899 Intel Core m3 Pro 4 is exempt from this deal. All other models have significant cuts. For example, the mid-range Surface Pro 4 is now $899. That’s down from $999 thanks to a $150 reduction....

Microsoft Exchange Server is in the midst of an attack through an exploit first used by the HAFNIUM group. More threat groups have since targeted the exploit. Microsoft has sent out patches for all versions of the service, including those out of support. Microsoft says updating Exchange Server is the best way to avoid the exploit. Furthermore, the company has launched a tool to help customers know if they have been breached....

With this expansion, the Twitter solution template now has four fully supported languages (English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Additionally, there are now also 11 preview languages: Danish, German, Greek, Finnish, Japanese, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Turkish. Power BI customers use the Twitter template as an end to end brand and campaign management solution. It gives users such as marketing managers to gather information based on Twitter trends. It can be set up in a few clicks and helps find positive and negative tweets that can be replied to....

If you’re unfamiliar with the feature, it can be used to clean up Windows installs without users needing to remove personal files. With PCs that come with bloatware, Fresh Start can help clear the clutter without compromising important files. However, users are finding Fresh Start is missing since the launch of Windows 10 May 2020 Update. This is interesting because it seems Microsoft also missed the tool. Certainly, Windows Insiders have been pointing out it is missing while previewing the May 2020 Update....

This means Microsoft Flight Simulator is leaving a relatively long period of Alpha builds. Anyone who has been testing the game in alpha will be automatically promoted to the closed beta. The next step seems to be Microsoft putting a rubber stamp on when the full game will be released. It’s worth noting the company is hosting a game showcase on July 23. There’s a solid chance Flight Simulator will play a part in that virtual event....

However, you will need a Microsoft Account to access Microsoft Forms, at least if you want to create your own surveys and quizzes. It is also worth noting subscribers to Microsoft 365 Personal and Microsoft 365 Family get some more templates and tools such as allowing more people to share and complete their designs. Microsoft Forms is a platform that helps professionals and educators create content in minutes. Forms can be surveys, feedback forms, or quizzes....

Unlike many other sitcoms, cameos on The Big Bang Theory usually play themselves, and that will be the case with Bill Gates. CBS has posted a pre-show synopsis for the episode. Airing in late March, Gates will pay a visit to lead female character Penny (Kaley Cuoco) at her place of work. If you have watched The Big Bang Theory and stuck around passed into its 11th season then you will be aware it is a show about mega-geeks....

If you have charted the history of Windows 10 since its 2015 launch, you will know this is important. The way the platform updates is undoubtedly the most complained about aspect of Windows 10. Microsoft decided to make updates automatic. This essentially means that they can happen at any time and without much of a warning. Users are given a distinct lack of control over update timing. The results of this policy have been amusing, but have also been annoying....

The invite confirms that the event will kick-off at 10 am ET, which is 3 pm GMT, 4 pm CEST, and 7 am PDT. Microsoft Surface head Panos Panay says it will reveal “what’s next for Surface & Microsoft”, which is more or less what you’d expect. However, that processor hint seems to play into previous rumors. Leaked specs (via WindowsArena) indicated that a new Surface Pro 7 will have an ARM variant....

Amid reports of thousands of layoffs, Microsoft detailed a restructure within its sales and marketing teams. Reports from Reuters confirm that the reshuffle will affect employees under executive vice presidents Judson Althoff and Jean-Phillipe Courtois, as well as chief marketing officer Chris Capossela. All three sent memos to their teams detailing the structure of the redesign. The new strategy will allow for a closer focus on the company’s accelerating cloud business, and a merger of its SME and enterprise customers unit....

Still, version 2.2 of Windows Template Studio does get some interesting new features. Among them is a 3D Launcher. Elsewhere, Microsoft has focused on keeping the service running efficiently, with enhancements to Wizard abilities and improved documentations. Here is the feature changelog: 3D Launcher feature Wizard enhancements Improved documentation Improved testing Bug fixes Windows Template Studio was released last year as a new service specifically for developers of Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps....

Under the temporary cut, Trump offered reduced tax rates for companies looking to bring money into the country. Rather than the usual 35% tax, Microsoft only had to pay 15.5% on cash on 8% on non-cash assets.Independent.ie, The result was $665 billion pouring into the US, with Microsoft accounting for over 10% of that. The move means the company now has less than $70 billion in cash outside of the US....

Those with an existing Samsung Cloud subscription will get their current storage quota free on OneDrive for a year. Migraters will also get an additional 15GB for a year on top of OneDrive’s free plan. All of this is a very good reason to switch to OneDrive, but it’s worth noting that the process is irreversible. Once you switch to Microsoft’s service, you can’t switch back. Any Samsung Cloud storage you paid for will be refunded, but your data will remain on Samsung’s service for some reason....

“In our first meeting with M12, we instantly realized that they shared our perspective and values on both privacy and responsibility by design for children.” SuperAwesome has enjoyed a strong growth patterns as it secured major clients such as Lego, NBC, Hasbro, and Mattel. Now reaching 500 million, the platform is a major investment opportunity. Enter M12, which has recently opened its first European office alongside locations in Seattle, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, and Bengaluru....

In this case, Windows 10 preview 16251 is a Fall Creators Update build that dropped last month. As we reported at the time, the build comes with important additions. Chief among them is Android support for Windows 10. Users can now link an Android smartphone to a Windows PC. At the moment, the integration is limited to web browsing across Android and PC. Microsoft explains how this feature will work on Windows 10....

Known as Pen Focused View, the tool provides a way to take notes with a digital pen without any distractions. Essentially, in these situations, Microsoft OneNote will now switch to a full-page view automatically. In this mode, the app will display important tools that help with pen notes, such as custom pens, colors, and so on. However, users can opt to hide the Pen toolbar when in Pen Focused View....

A new Microsoft Patent describes a system for simpler communication. Titled STARTING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION BASED ON CAPTURED IMAGE, the patent aims to use a captured image to connect with contacts within the photo. In other words, the solution would connect with contacts in an image without the need for email addresses or phone numbers: “Techniques for starting an electronic communication based on a captured image are disclosed in. In some embodiments, a computer system detects that an image has been captured by a camera on a first mobile device of a first user, where the captured image has been captured by the camera at a point in time, and, in response to detecting that the image has been captured, the computer system identifies at least one other user in the captured image....

According to the Microsoft Patent description, the company is developing devices that send out light from a central source. For example, a device could have a reflector in an arc configuration to receive light from the source. Microsoft describes this system in the patent notes: “The reflector can have a cross-sectional reflector profile taken transverse to the arc that includes a first portion having a swept profile that transitions to a second portion having a reverse swept profile....

The patent was discovered by MSPowerUser (MSPU) and is titled “MEETING PREPERATION MANAGER”. Microsoft originally filed the patent back on June 19, 2019 and it was published on WIPO on January 2, 2020. In the Microsoft Patent, the company describes a tool that would make it easier for users to organize meetings, prepare for them, and manage ongoing preparations. Sure, Microsoft already has tools geared towards this baked into services such as To-Do, Teams, and Outlook....