The location data will be used to improve various products, including Bing Maps, Cortana, Windows, and more. “This deep partnership with TomTom is very different from anything Microsoft has done in maps before,” explained Tara Prakriya, Partner Group Program Manager of Azure Maps and Connected Vehicles. “TomTom hosting their services in the Azure cloud brings with it their graph of map data. Manufacturing maps in Azure reduces the latency to customer applications, ensuring we offer the freshest data through Azure Maps....

Specifically, the court will hear the Google vs Oracle case in March. Oracle had previously gained an advantage when the US Court of Appeals reversed a previous decision that deemed Google’s use of Java API package in Android as “fair use”. With the decision reversed Google appealed to the court and a new date (March) was set move through the case again. On January 6, Google issued its opening brief and has gained support from several rivals....

With folder protection, OneDrive will automatically sync images, folders, and documents. This is important because the service backs up a Windows 10 PC without needing to do anything. Some people use more than one PC, perhaps a personal and work machine. Now with OneDrive users can sync content automatically across machines. Using this feature, folders can also be synced across PCs. Microsoft first detailed folder protection back in June. Back thin, the company called the feature “Known Folder Move”....

Not least because it furthers Microsoft push towards brining its mixed reality solutions to mobile platforms. The company is now sending Windows Mixed Reality solutions to Android and iOS. It is worth remembering these apps and services have been limited to HoloLens and VR headsets until now. Android will score a version of Remote Assist in preview this spring, while iOS will get an exclusive tool for previewing products. On HoloLens, Remote Assist is a troubleshooting app that lets users share what they are seeing through the headset camera....

Speaking on Windows Blogs, product chief Panos Panay confirmed a preview is coming. “We will … expand support for running x64 apps, with x64 emulation starting to roll out to the Windows Insider Program in November,” Panay says. “We are working closely with Acer, HP, Lenovo, Samsung[,] and Surface to bring these Windows 10 on ARM innovations and products to our shared customers.” So, we can now expect Windows 10 on ARM to finally support x64 applications starting this November....

In its security advisory, Microsoft acknowledged the issue and provided several temporary workarounds. “An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Microsoft Exchange Server. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could attempt to impersonate any other user of the Exchange server,” said the company. “To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker would need to execute a man-in-the-middle attack to forward an authentication request to a Microsoft Exchange Server, thereby allowing impersonation of another Exchange user....

As we already know, Microsoft is hosting a media event on October 2 in New York City. This will be for the company to present its new Surface hardware. The likely candidates for launch are a new Surface Pro 5 and possibly updated versions of other Surface products like the Surface Book 2. While the Pro 5 would be an entirely new device, the others would be new versions of existing products....

According to Microsoft, web content filtering is coming to Microsoft Defender ATP as a standard feature. This means organizations won’t need to have any additional licenses or costs on top of the regular service. Web content filtering is driven by Microsoft Defender ATP and is available in the Microsoft Edge browser. Furthermore, the tool will also work on Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers. It is worth noting the feature has been in preview but is now reaching general availability....

If you are unfamiliar, in terms of Xbox-related news Gamescom is a massive event. Indeed, next to E3 it is the most important game event for Microsoft. Larry Hryb (Major Nelson), director of programming for Xbox Live published a blog announcing Forza Horizon 4 will launch at Gamescom. In further game announcements, Microsoft will unveil the “Forsaken Shores” DLC for Sea of Thieves. This content adds more areas for the map and a deployable rowboat....

This tool is available on Windows and Mac and, yes, it is already available on Google Chrome. That was one of the reasons Microsoft Edge moved to Chromium. Both Edge and Chrome can now share features and Microsoft and Google can collaborate on building functionality into both browsers. As Microsoft tries to entice Windows users to the new Microsoft Edge with ads, features like this are important. Certainly, the ability to even use PWAs was not available on the legacy Edge....

Of course, the one caveat is that you have and Xbox One console. A beta testing ground, the program serves as a replacement for the Xbox Preview Program and lets users test Xbox One features before their full release. As well as opening the doors fully, Microsoft has also simplified how the program is structured. Since launch, the Xbox Insider Program has been somewhat confusing in its structure of preview branches....

Not only is Microsoft partnering with OpenAI, the company is becoming an active investor in the company. Indeed, Redmond is ploughing $1 billion into the company. In return, OpenAI will move all its services to Azure. Furthermore, the AI developer will also make Microsoft its preferred partner for commercializing new AI solutions. Microsoft will work with OpenAI to develop new AI supercomputing tech with the aim of solving major global issues: “The companies will focus on building a computational platform in Azure of unprecedented scale, which will train and run increasingly advanced AI models, include hardware technologies that build on Microsoft’s supercomputing technology, and adhere to the two companies’ shared principles on ethics and trust....

“We are continuing to hire in a BIG way for our #YourPhone team focused on building cross device experiences,” wrote director of program management Vishnu Nath on Twitter. “Come join us as we are looking for (20+) Software engineers including managers and PM!” Nath works on Your Phone, Microsoft Launcher and Microsoft Edge, all of which are becoming more intertwined in the Android and Windows 10 ecosystem. Earlier in the year, Your Phone received support for notification syncing to the desktop, and some devices can mirror their screen entirely in preview functionality....

Lightform is largely a derivative of Illumiroom, however, it is not wholly developed by Microsoft. Illumiroom was announced at CES 2013, leveraging Kinect as a camera and projector system to blur virtual content with the real-world environment. It was an early pointer towards Microsoft’s augmented reality efforts. Among the abilities of Illumiroom were the ability to extend field of view, introduce new content interactions, and change how the real-world environment looked....

This year, CEO Satya Nadella will be joined by the executive vice president of worldwide commercial business, Judson Althoff. Following him will be CVP of Office marketing Kirk Koenigsbauer and many more. These high-ranking executives should offer a unique perspective on business and technology, as well as the inner workings of the company. However, it’s also a lot more than that. “Our flagship partner event provides attendees with the opportunity to really connect with Microsoft employees, with industry experts, and with other partners,” said Gavriella Schuster, CVP of worldwide channels and programs....

Many tutorials exists for learning Python code on Windows 10. However, these guides typically skip the absolute basics and assume most people interested in code have already passed this step. The Python team was to make it easier for Windows 10 users to access the language. Firstly, the team helped create an installation of Python on the Microsoft Store. Through this application, users can find clear instructions on installing and using the language on Windows 10....

Specifically, Windows 11 is receiving the KB5007215 update, which brings the OS to build 22000.318. Microsoft says the security patch is a “B” release and is available for all versions of Windows 11 and Windows 10 that the company supports. In build 22000.318, Microsoft points to the following changes: “Addresses an issue in which certain apps might have unexpected results when rendering some user interface elements or when drawing within the app....

These days, Windows is run as a service. That means Microsoft updates the platform twice per year with new features. No new abilities or features are added in between, although patches are delivered monthly. Redstone 4 is the next major feature package, due to launch next spring. Microsoft has yet to officially announce the next Windows 10 update for end users. However, on the Insider the Redstone 4 previews are coming thick and fast....

This has been a bad month for Intel. While the company should have been focusing on new product launches, it has been embroiled in a scandal. Meltdown and Spectre is a flaw found in a majority of the company’s chips. Intel issued a patch, but it was faulty from the start. Worse, the company buried the information in financial results, saying the patch could lead to “data loss or corruption....

Microsoft says joining the network is another step to giving customers more protection from patent trolls. If you are unfamiliar with the LOT Network, it is a nonprofit that aims to fight patent infringements. “Microsoft has seen this problem firsthand. We’ve faced hundreds of meritless patent assertions and lawsuits over the years, and we want to do more to help others dealing with this issue,” Microsoft explains. “In most cases, the opportunists behind these assertions were not involved in the research and development of the ideas that came to be embodied in patents....