And feature packed it is too. With the integrated tools, users can add more power to insights and understand network health and performance in more detail. Microsoft says the Azure Network Watcher works within PowerShell, CLI, Portal, Rest API and SDK. The company created the service to help customers diagnose critical problems. In the past, this meant a time-consuming process of accessing packet data in a virtual machine. Now this can be achieved more rapidly....

It was a powerful feature that Microsoft felt was surplus to requirements. The company was wrong as Outlook.com users have since made bringing back Skype integration their number one request. This week, Microsoft is finally listening to users and bringing Skype integration back. Once again, a button for the service sits on the top bar and brings core features like messaging. As this is a new Outlook.com experience, the Skype integration looks and feels different....

Microsoft appears to be making a major move in the brain computer interface field. The company is exploring ways in which BCIs could be used to control a computer. In an effort to further development, the company has patented several methods of note. In one patent (below), Microsoft describes a brain reading capability. If integrated in an app, the technology could understand what a user’s intended action is and automatically execute it....

Now that version 19H1 has left the Fast Ring for the release channel, Microsoft can merge branches. The company has been using Skip Ahead in recent months to preview Windows 10 20H1, which will launch next year. “Hello Windows Insiders, today we are moving the Fast ring forward to 20H1 and merging the small group of Insiders who opted-in to Skip Ahead back into the Fast ring with the release of Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20H1 Build 18875....

Since 2010, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre has been Human Resources VP for IBM in the company’s Asia Pacific and Growth Markets division. Microsoft has poached her from IBM, although the company says the timing of the transition is not yet finalized. As CDO at Microsoft, McIntyre will push the company’s current organization-wide initiatives to create a diverse and inclusive environment. As well as internal management, the executive will be tasked with building collaborations with outside companies to advance diversity in the tech industry as a whole....

That Designer app was first spotted through a leak online, before Microsoft provided some later information about the app. However, what the company never said was what the app would actually be. Now, we know that it delivers DALL∙E 2 benefits on Windows 11 to provide AI art capabilities. It essentially works as an editor with drag-and-drop functionality. Microsoft is positioning it as a rival to apps such as Canva....

This is part of Microsoft’s Airband project and Viasat becomes the first satellite partner to join the initiative. The collaboration will bring internet to underserviced communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. Furthermore, the project will also expand its existing reach in Angola, Senegal, and Egypt. It is an important first step for Airband as Microsoft works towards its goal of providing internet to 250 million people worldwide – 100 million in Africa – by the end of 2025....

By working with Wirehive, Microsoft has the potential for engaging more companies in Azure development. Indeed, there are 25,000 digital agencies in the U.K., so Microsoft will be appealing to those as potential customers. Discussing the collaboration, Microsoft’s Vice President of U.K. Commercial Partners, Joe Macri, said: “As part of our partnership, we have already created a go-to-market plan to empower digital agencies with the relevant tools, signing up more than 200 agencies to the Microsoft Partner Programme as a result....

A new Microsoft patent related to Surface devices points to work on a system for touchless input. Such a device would allow users to interact with a smartphone, tablet, or PC without touching the screen. Instead hardware navigation would be achieved with hand and face gestures. We have seen this kind of technology before, such as on the never-released Nokia McLaren (image). It is worth noting Microsoft filed this patent way back in 2016, although it was only approved by the U....

“This is a step that helps us gain control of our own energy destiny, and meet our renewable-energy goals,” said Microsoft’s government affairs director Irene Plenefisch. Continuing, she praised PSE as being “very innovative and flexible in thinking about this.” Microsoft has reduced its emissions by over 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent since its commitment in 2012. At its mountain view campus, the company has over 2,000 solar panels....

First up is the addition of G-code support within the File Explorer when running PowerToys in Windows 10 and Windows 11. This is for both thumbnails and the preview pane in File Explorer. Elsewhere in the update, PowerToys is getting direct web searches for the first time. Through a web search plugin within the Run via tool, users can select an action phrase and the query will be sent to the default web browser you choose....

In a blog draft published by Reuters, Smith says finding global standards will make it easier to police government activity in a cyber environment. Government-backed cyber attacks have featured prominently in the news in recent years. The U.S. Presidential Election was marred by accusations that the Russian government undermined the Democratic Party. Emails from the Democrats were disclosed in what U.S. Intelligence says was a state-led attack. Smith says civilians must be protected in cyberspace, and a Digital Geneva Convention will provide the stimulus to governments: “Just as the world’s governments came together in 1949 to adopt the Fourth Geneva Convention to protect civilians in times of war, we need a Digital Geneva Convention that will commit governments to implement the norms needed to protect civilians on the internet in times of peace....

“This can help employees make more informed decisions faster, with Azure Government enabling them to process data on edge devices or utilize deep learning capabilities to accelerate facial recognition and identification,” said a blog post from January 2018. After many pointed out the conflict of the sale and its critique of the Trump administration’s decision, it backtracked. It updated its statement to note: “Microsoft is not working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U....

A software engineer named Eric Fiscus, who is working on Project Scorpio, dropped a hint on his LinkedIn page. Fiscus is also working on Microsoft’s recently confirmed Project Neon design overhaul for Windows 10. In his jobs description, Fiscus writers under Xbox Scorpio Prototyping the following description: “I’m currently prototyping Xbox Scorpio Motion Design language, which is targeting Holiday 2017. What are we going to do with 6 teraflops of graphical processing power?...

Brands like Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Ford Motor Company have all stopped their ads on the platform. However, Microsoft’s decision arguably is the most interesting. Certainly, Redmond has become the first big tech company to join the boycott. Still, the company seems to be distancing itself from the ongoing Facebook ad boycott and says it has wider reasons for abandoning the platform. In an internal Yammer post, Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela says the company is “concerned about where its ads are shown”....

Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case so far. Microsoft ran into problems in India, where the government thinks the company should have to bid for the utilization. However, Fierce Wireless reports that the Redmond giant is pushing for further expansion in the US. Specifically, it wants certain spectrums to remain licensed for public use. “We strongly support action at the FCC to ensure that enough TV white-spaces channels remain available for unlicensed use and hope the FCC will finalize commercially reasonable white-spaces rules soon so we can move ahead,” said Dave Heiner, VP of regulatory affairs at Microsoft at a committee hearing....

Microsoft’s earbuds are a direct competitor to other buds such as those from Samsung and Apple’s AirPods. Like those devices, they are touch, gesture, and voice controlled. While users can control all aspects of the Surface Earbuds on the device itself, the Surface Audio app will offer accompanying customizations. For example, users can adjust audio levels, move the equalizer, and set up touch gestures. Furthermore, the app is essential because it is needed to download and install firmware updates for the Surface Earbuds....

You may think Immersive Reader would already have Reading Coach baked in, but that has not been the case. Now it is becoming a part of Microsoft Teams, it will be available to M365 customers. In a blog post to announce new changes to its reading portfolio, Microsoft describes Reach Coach in the following way: “Reading Coach is a reading practice tool for students that automatically generates individualized exercises based on each student’s specific needs....

With Microsoft leaning more and more towards 3D, Office Insiders in the Slow Ring can now get their hands on Office 3D models in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Users can use the models to increase the visual quality of their documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and notebooks. You can easily insert an Office 3D model and then rotate it through 360 degrees. In PowerPoint, users can bring 3D models to life with the Morph transition, creating animations between slides....

Microsoft announced the launch at its Ignite conference in September after a trial since April. However, it noted that System Center 2019 won’t be available until the first half of 2019. Unfortunately, while the other products are available, some will have a limited launch. In its blog post, the tech giant noted that while Exchange Server is available, it requires Windows Server 2019. Server 2019 was recently pulled due to quality issues, so it will only be accessible to existing customers....