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As was widely expected, Game Mode is something of a tuning feature for system resources. It tweaks the resources to dedicate more game-specific power to the CPU and GPU. At the Game Developers Conference last week, Microsoft confirmed the feature will allocate several CPU cores to game rendering. In doing so, other tasks are pushed to the background. For example, a system with six cores would use four cores for dedicated gaming, with the remaining cores taking care of other tasks....

OpenClassrooms is among the leading massive open online course (MOOC) platforms. Its services include access to courses across disciplines such as product design, programming, and management. Under its collaboration with Microsoft, the platform will develop programs on Microsoft’s projects. While it is clear Microsoft wants to have it pick of the best AI graduates, the company says masters-level graduates will have a choice of companies seeking AI employees. “The demand for AI and machine learning opportunities has never been stronger,” says OpenClassrooms co-founder and CEO Pierre Dubuc....

The Hub will handle activation and workflow provisioning, connecting to existing APIs to reduce the cost of upgrading. According to the IDEMIA, it’s the first to make eSIM functionality possible in Windows Enterprise devices. “IDEMIA’s eSIM Orchestration Hub is an excellent solution for MNOs looking to support Windows Enterprise eSIM devices without having to undergo significant upgrades to their network. That’s why we partnered with the IDEMIA team to enable faster and easier adoption of eSIM technology in Enterprises worldwide,” said David Lemson, director of program management for Windows IoT and Networking....

This month, the Redmond giant plans to launch a program exclusively for AI startups in Station F. It’s made possible through a partnership with INRIA and will replace the previous project. The first startup to join the family is Recast.ai, a startup that helps customers build, manage, host and launch chatbots. It’s something that aligns with Microsoft’s own advancements with Ruuh and Zo, as well as its Bot Framework. However, Microsoft France developer experience leader Christophe Shaw says, “We don’t plan to invest or acquire startups through this program....

That will mean hundreds of thousands of nonprofits will benefit from Microsoft technology and discounts. In a blog post, the company explains in its fiscal 2022 (ending June 30, 2022), it gave over $3.2 billion in grants and discounts to over 300,000 nonprofit organizations. To kick off its new expansion commitment, Microsoft says it is increasing technology pledges to public museums and public libraries around the world: “Building upon our long history of supporting nonprofit museums, these newly eligible organizations, including over 2 million libraries across 99 countries, can further their mission by allowing technology to do more with less, to extend their reach, increase their engagement and leverage efficiencies in their workflow....

‘Full duplex’ refers to AI’s ability to communicate in both directions simultaneously, such as a phone call. It enables more natural conversation, letting people talk to the chatbot like you would a friend on the phone. Xiaoice has had full verbal conversations with over 600,000 people in China, who were informed that she was a bot. Microsoft AI head Harry Shum says this kind of collaboration is essential, but so is the relationship with developers....

With the new Cortana update, the app has a few new features. First among them is that Cortana is now undocked from the taskbar. Essentially, this allows the app to behave like any other. Users can move and resize the application. Elsewhere in the update, Cortana is continuing to move away from consumer-fronted to the “personal productivity” tool Microsoft has promised. Among the new skills available are the ability to create meetings, query meetings, and join meetings through voice on Microsoft Teams....

Those who follow Microsoft’s mobile exploits, this is a rare update. The company rarely updates and app across all platforms at the same time. Mostly, apps are slightly different depending on platform, with some having more features than others. Microsoft has been criticized by Windows phone users for neglecting its own mobile platform. The company has instead favored sending new apps and updates to iOS and Android first. With that in mind, it is good news to see Microsoft show some love to Windows phone with this release....

Starting with the Personal Vault, Microsoft is giving users a “protected area in OneDrive” to store their files. The company says users can implement “strong authentication” to access the files. This feature comes at an ideal time for Microsoft. Earlier today, we reported on data that shows OneDrive has seen a 60% surge in the amount of malicious files hosted on the service. In its report, FireEye says OneDrive has observed this significant rise, the largest amongst its three rivals, Dropbox, Google Drive, and WeTransfer....

Quantum Development Kit gives developers tools to learn how to program a quantum computer. The tool was launched alongside Microsoft’s Q# programming language for simulating quantum computing. Microsoft’s service has a compiler for scalable quantum computing. Visual Studio integration and Azure cloud support allows over 40 logical qubits of power. The kit also contains debugging capabilities, as well as extensive libraries, samples, and documentation. With the latest update, Microsoft has brought the following features to Quantum Development Kit:...

Scott is the current Chief Technology Officer and will fold Shum’s role into his existing duties. Microsoft confirmed the shuffle through an internal announcement on November 13, as reported by ZDNet. Harry Shum will stay with Microsoft until February 1, 2020. However, Scott will start in his new position immediately. Until leaving the company, Shum will be an advisor to CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft founder Bill Gates. In the internal note, Nadella explained Shum’s contribution to Microsoft....

If you are unfamiliar with Microsoft Viva, it is a new employee experience platform comprised of several components. Microsoft 365 underpins the Viva experience, which aims to provide a suite of tools across learning, resources, insights, knowledge, and communications. Viva Connections is just one component of the platform, which also so far includes Viva Topics, Viva Learning, and Viva Insights. This week, Microsoft confirmed it is going to adding Glint to Viva, but features will not arrive until 2023: “We are excited to share that Microsoft is bringing the Glint solution into Microsoft Viva to make listening and acting on employee feedback an integral part of how businesses engage and develop their talent in the new era of hybrid work....

Dynamics 365 for Operations was first last July and was made generally available in November. The for Operations suite arrived alongside the roll out of Dynamics 365. An extension of the SaaS, Dynamics 365 for Operations offers a new header to allow clients to move smoothly between applications. It is an evolution of Microsoft’s former Dynamics AX service for Azure. As a business management solution, it adapts across Retail, Distribution, Manufacturing, Public Sector and Service industries....

Customer Manager is part of the Office 365 Business Premium plan and will become unavailable as part of the subscription on that date. Meanwhile, ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley says officials are telling customers Invoicing will be retired on February 8, 2020. “To help customers who have been using Microsoft Invoicing, we’ve worked with Invoice2Go to offer the eligible customers a special one-year subscription”, a spokesperson told ZDNet. “Similarly, to help customers who have been using Outlook Customer Manager to track customers and deals, we’ve worked with Nimble CRM to offer eligible customers a free one-year subscription....

According to Windows Latest, Microsoft is internally testing how it delivers new feature and cumulative updates. Specifically, the company could move away from its current model. At the moment, Microsoft launches twice-annual feature updates and monthly cumulative (Patch Tuesdays) for Windows 10. Now it seems Microsoft is planning to roll out new features individually instead of as a big update package. In other words, the twice annual feature updates would end and be replaced by regular individual updates....

At its core, InPrivate Desktop will provide Windows 10 with a secure sandboxed environment. For organizations, this means they can execute third-party programs in a walled off safe area of the OS. This will be a major addition to the cybersecurity arsenal of companies. Running programs from third-parties is among the common ways businesses are duped into downloading malware. Attackers install malicious content on program files that otherwise seem legitimate....

Announced on March 1, Active Citizen is an immersive learning experience in Minecraft. Mojang Studios collaborates with Games for Changes and the Nobel Peace Center on the project. It is the latest in Microsoft’s efforts to use Minecraft as a force for good and for positive community. Since acquiring Mojang, Microsoft has seen Minecraft as more than just a game. As the most popular video game of all-time, it provides a platform to millions of users....

The season will continue the story of Jesse, but will include a new adventure. Voice actors returning include Patton Oswalt, Catherine Taber, Ashely Johnson, and Scott Porter. Telltale is still keeping quiet on the finer details, although the developer says YouTube stars Stampy Cat and StacyPlays will have cameos. The company also discussed the release in a post today: “As a simple treasure hunt goes wrong, trapping Jesse’s hand in a cursed prismarine gauntlet, we discover that maybe there are other downsides to fame, too – like having a dark and ancient power know your name....

The company has announced a roadmap of updates for Thunderbird throughout 2019. Speaking in a blog post, Mozilla’s Ryan Sipes said the company was striving to improve the aesthetic and functionality of the app. It is worth noting, while Thunderbird has fallen behind rivals, the differences in operation are clear. Whereas Microsoft and Google can throw resources and personnel at their clients, Mozilla is more limited. Indeed, Sipes says the team is growing, but confirmed how limited the organization is: “Our team grew considerably in 2018, to eight staff working full-time on Thunderbird....

According to BleepingComputer’s Lawrence Abrams, RedBoot encrypts user’s files, replaces the Master Boot Record, and then modifies the partition table. As the developer doesn’t provide a way to input a key, a bootable decryptor for each PC would be the only way to restore files. This happens despite its ransom screen, which asks victims to email the creator with their ID key for unlocking and payment instructions. “This computer and all of it’s files have been locked!...