However, while Microsoft has been accused of being too secretive about its Windows 10 data collection, in mixed reality the company is more upfront. ONMSFT reports how the company uses a public booth to collect motion data for product improvement. One of the booths was located outside a physical Microsoft Store in San Francisco. Volunteers are asked to help Microsoft in its research and data collection for mixed reality. Inside the booth is a camera setup that maps motion data on the volunteer’s face....

Earlier in the month, we reported the launch of the Invoke would happen this week. While the smart speaker market is very niche, it is arguably important. For the Invoke, Microsoft decided not to create its own Surface product. Instead the company provided the software power to renowned audio company Harman Kardon. The result is a cylindric device that features premium sound from three 1.75-inch woofers and three 0.5-inch. Harmon Kardon promised true 360-drgree sound....

Both pages were found by Microsoft watcher WalkingCat. The question is, do these pages point to an imminent launch of the Surface Laptop 4? WalkingCat estimates the device will arrive soon, maybe as early as next week. The support page does not show any details about the laptop. However, we have previously reported Microsoft will provide an AMD variant of the device. A new AMD variant would continue Microsoft’s relationship with AMD following the launch of an AMD version of the Surface Laptop 3 two years ago....

Last week, the company published a timely blog post about how its app prevents users from outside an organization from jumping in. A clear reference to “Zoombombing”, though Microsoft didn’t mention its competitor by name. The ad follows the same principles, highlighting Teams’ use in industries where data protection is vital without calling out Zoom specifically. In it, Microsoft highlights its software’s role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Teams calls from healthcare workers, police, universities, researchers, and companies praising the software....

These monthly summaries are a good way to see what was made available during a month. While many features will be well reported, some may have slipped under the radar. One of the goals of September was to boost the performance of Microsoft Teams across platforms. Microsoft explains launch times for the desktop version have improved by 30%. This gain was possible by the app now delaying the launch of “non-essential operations”....

It seems instead that Microsoft Teams simply suffered for having too many people accessing the service. As the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) continues to spread with its epicenter in Europe, many countries are in full lockdown. Because of this, more people are working from home and relaying on services like Microsoft Teams for work and collaboration. Europe’s remote workforce has increased exponentially in just a week and put strain on services like Teams....

SWIFT is a global leader in financial messaging and will leverage Azure to create secure and more efficient operations. Microsoft detailed the partnership in a blog today, following an official unveiling at Sibos 2018. The companies say they have already worked through a proof-of-concept. That functional test included hosting SWIFT infrastructure and payment authorization through Azure. “This is a big step forward in demonstrating the potential of the cloud in improving back-office operational efficiency....

During the Q&A, Niehaus responded to a user asking for clarifications about the new lingo. He wrote that “New Windows 10 releases in the Semi-Annual Channel are initially to be used for pilot deployments. After about four months, we’ll declare that the release is ready for broad deployment.” The new names for Windows 10 releases will be “Semi-Annual Channel (Pilot)” and “Semi-Annual Channel (Broad).” Niehaus also clarified that “Regardless of the terms, the 18 months is for the release, e....

Named the Update Aquatic, it will introduce tons of features, from dolphins to tridents, shipwrecks, icebergs, and new blocks. It’s a good cut off point, and the team has good reason to cease improvements. In September of last year, Microsoft launched the Better Together update, which runs on the new Bedrock Engine. As well as support for more advanced graphics, it enables cross-platform play across Xbox One, Windows 10, mobile, and Switch....

It seems the latest Microsoft To-Do release is focused on fixing some issues with the app. However, there are also some new abilities. For example, Microsoft has added more snooze options, allowing more control over the snooze time. This snooze feature was first announced back in December and has been in preview since. Elsewhere, Microsoft has added a new design for the My Day section. In this area, suggestions will now pop up, allowing users to more easily add them to tasks....

“So [it´s] basically a free Xbox One with the purchase of a Surface Pro 4,” Terry Myerson, head of Windows and devices at Microsoft, told The Verge in an interview. The student offer starts today and will run until August 14th. Microsoft initially targeted the Surface 3 for students who are looking for a cheaper model of the Surface Pro devices. It is not yet known whether a new model will take its place....

As such, Microsoft has made several very important changes that will have a noticeable impact on users: “Internally, our engineers work in development cycles with various milestones. The active development branch (called ‘RS_PRERELEASE’) is where the teams check in all their latest code changes into the OS,” explained Windows Insider Program senior program manager Brandon LeBlanc. “Moving forward, the Fast ring will receive builds directly from this active development branch and new features will show up in these builds first....

Microsoft has brought several changes to the Outlook app on Mac. For example, the company has focused on making the app simpler and easier to use. This is in evidence in a new account setup ability. Outlook will no longer request the email address and password twice when a wrong password is entered to an IMAP account. Further changes include browser authentication for Google accounts. Previously, Google account owners would authenticate within the Outlook app....

The Your Phone update for Windows 10 20H1 focuses on expanding functionality of the service while also adding more Android smartphone support. If you are unfamiliar with Your Phone, it is a service that lets users mirror their Android smartphone on a Windows 10 PC. As interesting as the feature is, in preview it has been limited. Microsoft promised it would allow Your Phone to connect Android applications to Windows 10....

Microsoft is reported to be releasing a cumulative update for Windows 10 Mobile today. Users have found the build on the BuildFeed website under the release branch. It seems this release has been approved as February’s Patch Tuesday cumulative update. The build number for the new update is 14393.823, which is a sizeable jump from current production build 14393.693. There is no concrete information on what this Windows 10 Mobile cumulative update will fix....

Specifically, Windows Terminal version 1.5 is now available in preview. That means last month’s version 1.4 preview is now making its way to full release. Version 1.4 brings embedded hyperlinks, blink graphics, and jump lists to general availability. As for version 1.5, it also has a lot of new features on board. Full hyperlinks are now supported, while the Terminal now detects hyperlinks without user input and allows the Crtl + click buttons to open links in a browser....

According to a report from Windows Latest, the company has placed a job listing seeking a software engineer. The role will involve working on a team that “[leads] the way on creating and improving File Explorer user experiences.” This team is working on Windows 10 and Windows 10X, according to the listing. “Join our team of unique individuals as we merge our rich history of familiar experiences with modern innovations to create the worlds’ best PC!...

In fact, Microsoft says users will need to be upgraded to MacOS Sierra or High Sierra to receive updates for Office 2019 for Mac. Microsoft’s announcement flew under the radar slightly. Taking to its Office blog, the company urged users to update to MacOS version 10.12 or later: “As of the Office 365 for Mac September 2018 update, macOS 10.12 or later is required to update to the new version of the Office client apps for Mac and receive new feature updates....

Known as Power BI B2B, the ability will bring far more usefulness to the service. For example, companies may work with numerous suppliers or contractors and can use B2B to manage data from networks of companies. Power BI has allowed employees in an organization to view these reports, but access for partners was not available on mobile. With B2B, partners can now access reports and view contents on their handset....

As the name suggests, this is the third generation of Qualcomm’s Windows on ARM processors Snapdragon 8cx. The new silicon is built on a 5nm process that promises a 40% increase in single-core performance. However, it is the multi-core performance that stands out, 85% better than the previous generation. GPU performance has 60% gains, and 60% better per watt performance compared to a x86 chip. All in, Qualcomm is positioning the Snapdragon 8cx as the answer to performance issues that have plagued Windows on ARM machines from day one....