Way back in July 2016, a court ruled that the US government could not force Microsoft to hand over emails stored on a foreign server in Ireland, even if US authorities were granted a search warrant for the data. However, the government were quick to appeal the judgement, escalating it …
Read More »Microsoft is experimenting with foldable phone/tablet hybrids
It looks like Samsung and LG aren't the only ones working on flexible display technology as it appears that Microsoft has also been experimenting with new designs. This week, a new patent from Microsoft was discovered, detailing what appears to be a Surface device with a foldable display, allowing you …
Read More »Former NFL player sues Epic/Microsoft, claims he’s in Gears of War
The trend of celebrities trying to sue game developers for using their ‘likeness' seems to be continuing this year. However, this time around it is not Rockstar in the hot-seat, instead, it is Microsoft and Epic Games. Late last week, former NFL player and professional wrestler Lynwood Hamilton came out …
Read More »Microsoft Azure to augment driving at CES 2017
Microsoft will be one of many companies showcasing automated driving features at CES 2017, but while many are striving for full automation, Microsoft and others' systems will augment human drivers. They will encourage inter-car communication, use AI bots that can analyse traffic and run in-depth analytics on everyone's driving style. …
Read More »Most Steam gamers are running Windows 10
Microsoft's strategy of giving away free upgrades to Windows 10 looks to have been worthwhile, as a year and a half on from its release, most gamers on Steam are running it. While Windows 7 64 still maintains a foothold, nothing else even comes close. Windows 10 adoption rate has …
Read More »Microsoft wants Cortana in the home, Amazon Echo competitor coming
It looks like Microsoft wants to get into the smart home business and it will be using Cortana to make it happen. Cortana has been Microsoft's digital assistant for mobile and Windows for quite some time and now, Cortana will be hitting smart home devices, like Harman/Kardon's new Amazon Echo …
Read More »Microsoft Hololens to go on sale in Japan in December
Microsoft is continuing the international roll out of its flagship augmented reality headset, the Hololens, by introducing it in Japan. Set to go up for pre-order in the country on 2nd December, devices are set to ship out in early 2017. This move will bring the number of territories where …
Read More »Tesla has been hiring Hololens developers
Elon Musk's electric car company, Tesla, has been making waves over the past year for its Model 3, its acquisition of Solar City and its push for power storage technology, but its future cars could be rather eye catching too. Tesla has recently hired on its second ex-Microsoft and more …
Read More »Xbox One Oculus Rift streaming mode coming soon
The Oculus Rift will soon be able to support streaming games from the Xbox One, in a cinema-mode that puts the user in front of a giant virtual screen. That means the games themselves won't be automatically turned into VR experiences, but you can play them in a variety of …
Read More »Microsoft is joining the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member
Microsoft has been going through some huge changes internally over the last couple of years and it looks like things aren't slowing down just yet. Today, Microsoft made the surprise announcement that it would be joining the Linux Foundation as a Platinum member, joining the likes of Intel, IBM, Samsung …
Read More »Microsoft doubles wind power investment to 500 megawatts
Microsoft has made another large investment in clean energy by signing two new agreements to purchase additional wind power. These deals will see it acquire a further 237 megawatts of green energy, nearly doubling its total to 500 megawatts. Microsoft considers this another step on the road to making its …
Read More »Microsoft’s CEO sees mixed reality as the ultimate computer
Microsoft has been going through plenty of changes since Satya Nadella took over as CEO and now that the company can admit that it “clearly missed the mobile boom”, Microsoft has turned its attention to figuring out what the next best thing will be. We may already have a good …
Read More »Microsoft to hike UK software prices by 22 percent due to Brexit
Following the continued downturn of the British pound compared to the U.S. dollar following the referendum on the U.K. leaving the EU, Microsoft has announced a big jump in its software prices. Businesses can expect to pay 13 per cent more for local software and as much as 22 per …
Read More »Phil Spencer expects everyone to adopt Play Anywhere in future
Head of Xbox at Microsoft, Phil Spencer, is so confident in the company's new “Play Anywhere” initiative, that he thinks other big publishers will get on board with it in the future. Presumably he means giving players free copies of their games for the PC if gamers buy them for the …
Read More »Windows Paint can now handle 3D objects following big update
If like us, you usually only use Windows Paint when Photoshop isn't to hand, then you'll likely be impressed by the trailer for the newly updated version of Microsoft's photo editing application. Not only are their new tools and a refined interface to work with, but Paint can now handle …
Read More »Microsoft Edge is going virtual to protect your browsing
Windows Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge is the next big update coming to Windows 10 and it's going to encapsulate the Edge browser inside a virtual machine, making it much harder for hackers and malware to attack your machine through a browser exploit. Essentially, it will isolate the browser …
Read More »Surface Pro 3 users face more battery issues
It seems that Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is still proving to be an issue for the company and its customers alike as battery issues keep cropping up. Earlier this year, Microsoft patched a bug that caused the Surface Pro 3 to incorrectly display battery percentages but now another battery-related problem …
Read More »Microsoft to shutter UK Skype branch, 400 jobs at risk
VOIP firm and Microsoft subsidiary, Skype, is set to close its doors in the UK. Not the service itself of course, but the British office will soon be shuttered for good. This will put some 400 jobs at the London based headquarters at risk, with most likely to be dissolved. …
Read More »Microsoft may ditch Lumia soon in build up to Surface phones
There has been talk of Microsoft dropping the Lumia range for some time now but it looks like the company might finally be ready to take the plunge, with reports indicating that Microsoft will “end sales” of Lumias before the end of this year. Why would Microsoft ditch the Lumia? …
Read More »Microsoft may reveal all-in-one Surface in October
We have been hearing whispers about Microsoft's plans to expand its Surface line beyond tablets and the Surfacebook for a few months already. However, it looks like things are finally starting to come to fruition as reports this week are claiming that Microsoft is set to reveal its first all-in-one …
Read More »Ministry of Defence switches servers to Microsoft’s new UK centres
Microsoft has opened up its first UK based datacentres in London, Cardiff and Durham, prompting many companies and organisations to switch over from alternatives to the new facility. One big move of note, is that the Ministry of Defence has moved its data from military held servers to Microsoft's cloud platform. …
Read More »Not running Windows 10? You might not be able to use Kaby Lake
Intel's upcoming refresh of its CPU line up, currently codenamed Kaby Lake, will only work with Windows 10 PCs and will not function on the likes of Windows 7 or 8.1. That means if you want to stick to those older versions of the Microsoft OS, you better avoid buying …
Read More »Microsoft gives first look at the upcoming Surface Book 2
We have heard that Microsoft is working on new Surface devices for some time now and according to the current rumours, we will start to see new Surface tablets in early 2017, following the launch of Intel's new Kaby Lake processors. However, it looks like we can expect a Surface …
Read More »Microsoft to bring more games to Steam ‘where it makes sense’
Recently Microsoft decided to bring its Sci-Fi action game ‘Quantum Break' to Steam. Previously this game was exclusive to the Windows 10 Store, so the move brought new hope that future exclusives may also come to Steam, even if it is a few months after launch. However, it looks like …
Read More »Microsoft to bring Windows Holographic to Windows 10 PCs next year
Microsoft has been working on Augmented Reality technology for a while now but it looks like things are going to pick up again next year with the launch of the WIndows Holographic platform, which aims to make all Windows 10 PCs compatible with devices like the Hololens, or even Intel's …
Read More »Microsoft Hololens now available in ‘Commercial Suite’
Microsoft's Hololens has been available to early adopters for a while now – with a hefty $3,000 price tag to boot. Now though it's set for commercial availability, with Microsoft shipping it out to business as part of its new “Commercial Suite” package, which a number of new features designed …
Read More »Microsoft just acquired a live streaming service of its own
Live streaming is a huge part of gaming these days, which became even clearer when the Xbox One launched with Twitch streaming functionality built-in. However, it looks like Microsoft wants to get into the live streaming business itself as it just acquired Beam, an ‘interactive' live streaming service, which gives …
Read More »XBOOK One S laptop now available for custom orders
If you like the look of the new Xbox One S but don't think it's portable enough, there's one man who can solve that: Ed Zarick. Mere days after the official release of the console, he's managed to fit one into his own custom built laptop chassis, creating the world's …
Read More »You no longer have to be a developer to buy the Hololens
Earlier this year, Microsoft officially began selling its first Hololens devkit, though there were some hoops to jump through before purchasing one. For a start, you had to be a developer and you had to register for approval with Microsoft. Oh, and you also had to have $3000 handy. Now, …
Read More »Microsoft is cutting more jobs, close to 3000 people affected
Ever since acquiring Nokia, Microsoft has been routinely cutting down on its workforce. First the company planned to cut 18,000 jobs by the end of March 2015, then shortly after that a further 7,800 job cuts were announced. In May of this year another batch of 1,850 jobs were cut …
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