Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. “Together with Spektacom and Star Sports, we are bringing the power of Azure and Azure Sphere to one of the world’s most celebrated games – cricket – transforming how it’s played, coached and watched.”
Microsoft
Microsoft and Alibaba Artificial Intelligence Beat Humans in Reading Test
They have beaten us at chess, co-written a pop album. Now computers are taking a step ahead into human world: the reading comprehension test.
In the test administered last week, Microsoft and Alibaba subjected their artificial intelligence systems to queries from the Stanford Question Answering Dataset, which assessed reading comprehension. The computers’ answers were compared against average human responses and ranked.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will be available starting on Oct. 17
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will be available starting on Oct. 17, along with the first Windows Mixed Reality headsets from third-party hardware makers, but no timeline feature.
The new version will include revamped Windows Inking technology, better OneDrive integration to access files on demand, security upgrades, a new Game Mode that provides more processing power for video games, and a new feature in the Windows Photos app called Story Remix for combining photos, videos, 3D technology and ink to tell stories and annotate video.
Official Announcement:
Create and play this holiday with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update coming Oct. 17
Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa will begin “talking to each other”
Microsoft’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa will begin “talking to each other”
Read more:
https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2017/08/30/hey-cortana-open-alexa-microsoft-amazons-first-kind-collaboration/
Microsoft unveils Windows 10 S, a more powerful competitor to Chrome OS
At its event in New York today, Microsoft announced a new iteration of Windows 10: Windows 10 S – Microsoft challenger to Chrome OS.
Microsoft is calling it a “streamlined” version of Windows 10, optimized to run on lower end hardware. The OS is limited to only run apps from the Window Store, but they can still be full Win32 apps – they simply have to be available from the store.
Nokia brings folders and other features to Windows Phone with its Lumia Black Update
From today, Nokia is rolling out new Lumia Black software update bringing new App Folder interface that allows Windows Phone users to stack apps and settings into a folder Tile on the Start Screen. This update is first scheduled to roll out to Lumia 1020 and and Lumia 925 devices from today. Other Lumia models will be updated in next coming weeks.
Other bunch of updates include – rotation lock, custom tones for messages, emails, and reminders, and a new Driving Mode feature that’s designed to limit notifications while you’re driving. Multitasking improvements, including the ability to close apps, are also included.
Microsoft reportedly narrows its future CEO to Ford, Nokia, Skype and Azure leaders
Reuters is reporting that the company now has a shortlist of just about five names, including Ford CEO Alan Mulally, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, Microsoft cloud boss Satya Nadella, and former Skype president Tony Bates.
Steve Ballmer’s Emotional Exit Speech Leaks [Video]
Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer is one of the world’s hardest charging executives. He moved to tears on Thursday which is likely his last annual company meeting with employees.
This video to 13,000 Microsoft employees in Seattle shows him crying as he says farewell after 13 years as CEO of the company and another 20 years by founder Bill Gates’ side before that.
A couple of months ago, Microsoft confirmed that he would be retiring in couple of months and the company is in the search for a new CEO.
Ballmer says, “Soak it in all of you. You work for the greatest company in the world. And I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…” Finally he exits the stage roaring his thanks to the crowd and jumping for high fives, to the song “The Time of My Life” from the movie ‘Dirty Dancing’.
Watch the video below and it’s definitely worth watching.
[via]
Microsoft Officially Talks Windows 8.1: Start Button, Boot To Desktop, IE11
Windows 8.1 update is coming soon and Microsoft officially discussed several things about the new changes that are going to be available in this update. Major improvements include Start Button, Boot to Desktop, IE 11, deep SkyDrive integration, etc. This update is free to Windows 8 users and preview build is expected to be released sometime around June 26. Carry on reading to find out what’s new in Windows 8.1.
UI Improvements:
- As previously rumored, Start Button is back!
- New Live Tile sizes: Windows 8.1 offers extra small and extra large size for live tiles.
- Auto app updates
- Boot to Desktop: Windows 8.1 users will not have an option to boot directly into desktop instead of modern UI
- Desktop background image on Start
New Features:
- Improved and global search
- IE11
- You can now snap more than 2 apps.
- Active lock screen that can do things like display image slides, take a Skype call without unlocking the device
- App sync across devices
- Deeper SkyDrive integration
- Small screen support
More details and screen shots from official post over here. Are you excited with the new features in Windows 8.1? Share your thoughts in the comments below:
Start Button Is Back In Leaked Windows 8.1
Welcome back Start Button! Microsoft seems to be really listening to Windows 8 users. We now have a leaked screenshot of the latest Windows 8.1 preview leaked build.
Paul Thurrott from WinSuperSite posted some screenshots showing the brand new Start button fashioned as a Windows 8 icon.
When you hover over Start button, the button changes color, with a black background and the accent color used on the flag logo. Yes, it looks exactly like the Start Charm, with similar animations.
The post also confirms that Windows 8.1 will allow users to boot directly to desktop mode, although he says that Microsoft has turned off that option by default. Rejoice with following images:
And yes, there seems to be an option to boot to desktop directly instead of Modern (aka Metro) UI and it’s off by default. Are you excited to upgrade?