OOBE stands for “Out of the Box Experience” and is the install walkthrough you navigate for new Windows installations. The blue background guide is also available on major feature updates. In Windows 10, the OOBE allows users to configure their settings during system setup. For example, they can customize privacy levels, choose preferred services, select a keyboard layout, setup internet connections, and choose a language. The OOBE also gives users the ability to customize their personal experience....

The image below is impressive for several reasons, such as with the number of threads in Task Manager. However, that’s not the whole story as there are actually 896 cores and 1792 threads when the Windows DataCenter machine runs hyperthreading. More importantly, it seems this machine can access all of those cores and threads. Under the hood, Microsoft is using Intel’s Xeon Platinum 8180. This is the chip giants most powerful Skylake-SP CPU and the one with the most cores (28 with 56 threads)....

In a note last week, Microsoft says it will discontinue delta updates for Windows 10 builds moving forward. The company says it will only use full and express updates from February 2019 as it seeks a more streamlined update model. Before continuing, it is worth highlighting what each specific update package has been used for. In its announcement, Microsoft explains the difference between Windows 10 delta updates and full and express updates:...

As a result, prospective buyers will be happy with the latest price cuts. The Surface Pro 4 with an i5, 4GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD is now $200 less. The Surface Book can also be obtained for a premium, with savings of $250. Surface Line Prices So, what does that look like in numbers? Fairly encouraging, when combined with the Black Friday deals Microsoft announced. Here’s the full list:...

1 Release Notes2 Three Years Old Microsoft is celebrating the three-year anniversary of Outlook for mobile and has decided to do so in style. The company has announced a massive update for the email client on iOS and Android. Some of these features will help transform Outlook for mobile and appeal more to business users. Included in the release is integration with Microsoft Teams and Office Lens. Elsewhere, Microsoft has added a Favorite Notifications ability....

To achieve that, the company is testing a new “Touch Mode” that can be found on the Microsoft Edge Canary channel. However, it is currently only available to select users on the testing channel and not everyone. Even so, Touch Mode does exactly what it says on the tin, providing more touch-friendly controls and menus for Edge. This information comes from Reddit user Leo Varela, who is one of the testers to receive Touch Mode and showed images of the new feature in action....

Microsoft has responded officially to the leak, explaining how the accidental release happened. Perhaps more importantly, the company offered instructions on how Insiders can roll back to a previous build. The accidental leak is Windows 10 Preview Build 18947. Insiders on Slow and Fast Rings were able to download it, and probably did so believing it was an official release. While it may seem interesting on paper to have a super-early Win10 version with a new Start menu, most Insiders probably don’t want this build and are now stuck on it....

The problem appeared to be widespread as there were dozens of complaints from Windows Phone 8.1 users. Disgruntled OneDrive customers said they were unable to sync files to or from their smartphone. Microsoft addressed the problem on Sunday, saying it was investigating the issue. The company returned on Monday to say it has found the problem and directed users to keep up to date on this page, which would add more information....

Episode 5 of the Feature Discovery series covers the soundscape of Flight Simulator, including audio simulation technology, how physical aircraft was recorded, and the fine differences in world soundscape between different regions and in various weather patterns. Meanwhile, the invites for the Tech Alpha 1 test build will stop by the end of today. That will close off Insider’s last chance to experience that specific test, but another is coming soon....

More importantly, a startup no longer needs funding to join the Founders Hub. That means any startup can apply to take part and receive benefits from the program. Microsoft for Startups Founders Up is an extension of the Microsoft for Startups platform that has been available in 2018. It adds a service for receiving Microsoft benefits to help a startup grow. Founders Hub works as an extension by providing users with direct access to coaching and the ability to use popular products like Microsoft Teams, Azure, and Microsoft 365....

The dev team previously confirmed that the game will have dynamic weather and seasons, but this is the first time we’ve seen the snow in action. Though Microsoft provides no details on how it achieved the effect, you can see a white blanket enveloping the tops of buildings as lakes ice-over. Assumedly, this feature will tie in with the game’s use of real weather data to accurately simulate wind speed, humidity, pressure, and another of other factors....

The current HoloLens hardware packs an Intel CPU, but we have increasingly see Microsoft turn to ARM. From Always Connected PCs to Windows 10 on ARM, the company believes the future of computing is by blending mobile and PC processing positives. Qualcomm has been a partner of Microsoft’s in Always Connected PCs. The XR1 chip was announced last month and is the world’s first dedicated CPU for virtual, mixed, and augmented reality....

As you may know, monthly cumulative releases are specifically for making fixes and rolling out security patches. One of the surprising things about the update formally known as July “July 9, 2019—KB4507456 (Security-only update),” is that is came with a Compatibility Appraiser, KB2952664. If you’re unfamiliar with this tool, it is used to find problems that could stop Windows 7 PCs from updating to Windows 10. Microsoft wants Windows 7 users to make the upgrade to Windows 10 before the former is left unsupported....

With the integration, Microsoft is once again showing its ongoing plans for LinkedIn. The company paid over $26 billion for the company last year. LinkedIn instantly provided Microsoft with over 400 million customer data profiles for enterprise markets. That data can be used across Microsoft services, such as Office 365. By using the social network as a direct link into Dynamics 365, the company can use the network as a recruitment data store for its suite....

Despite the takedowns, Microsoft says customers remain at risk and need to keep their security robust. Emotet is a relatively old and solvable trojan that has been around since 2014. However, threat actors have evolved the botnet to become the most dangerous in circulation. It is used by a threat group known as Mummy Spider (TA542) to deploy other malware types such as Trickbot. Microsoft says its efforts to disrupt Emotet by breaking infrastructure means activity has fallen significantly....

With this latest release, Microsoft Launcher is getting a digital health feature. Users will be able to see screen uptime, app usage, and information such as when the device was unlocked. Microsoft Launcher will display stats from 24 hours or the last week, depending on user choice. This feature represents another step of functionality for the Launcher as it increasingly becomes a one-stop-shop for Android users. Users may recognize the functionality of the digital health feature as it closely resembles Apple’s iPhone Screen Time or Android’s Digital Wellbeing services....

Still, the new Microsoft Rewards card is likely to be the most appreciated addition. From it, users can see a list of tasks they can complete each day to earn points. Once completed, the list updates, making it easy to track and get rewards quickly. You can also earn points just for using the launcher. It’s joined by several smaller tweaks that make the Launcher a smooth experience. Folders have been tweaked significantly by removing their fullscreen nature....

WindowsBlogItalia (WBI) reports that Microsoft has launched Office desktop for all Windows 10 S PCs. To clarify, since launching the platform in May, the productivity suite was available for Microsoft’s own Surface Laptop. Since then, a trickle of laptops running Windows 10 S have arrived. These devices are aiming to capitalize on the back-to-school market. If you are unfamiliar with the OS, it is a lighter version of Windows 10 aimed at educators and students....

While these new Xbox Avatar items are cool in themselves, what makes them better is they are all completely free. It seems the related properties are using Microsoft’s system to get some free advertising, while in return users get free items. Win-win. For Game of Thrones fans, the new Jon Snow and Daenerys costumes are likely to be appealing, as is the pet Viserion that can now accompany your avatar....

Currently available for Office Insiders on the Beta Channel, the new feature is part of OneNote Windows and Web version 2207 (Build 15427.10001). As you would expect, the voice dictation tool allows users to use their voice to input notes into OneNote. Microsoft says the tool is “AI-backed” and currently supports over 50 languages. Some of the languages are in preview, so the accuracy of voice recognition may be lower than non-preview languages....