Articles about Microsoft

In a new blog post, Windows chief Terry Myerson has detailed how Microsoft will be rolling out Windows 10 to the world.

The process begins with Microsoft giving a build of the new OS to its OEM partners. If you thought getting the OS ready for a July 29 launch was going to be tight, bear in mind OEMs will have the OS quite a bit before then. After that, retailers around the world will get their copies in order to upgrade customer devices. And then Windows Insiders will get their copies, starting on July 29. Yes, Myerson says "starting" on that date. There’s no guarantee you’ll get the OS at the end of the month.

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Earlier this week The Register published a story about WiFi Sense, saying the feature "smells like a security risk". The publication is making a huge deal out of it, even though the way it works has been known ever since Microsoft introduced it in the Windows Phone 8.1 preview builds more than a year ago. So it is not news today, and acting like there is something noteworthy to say about it at this point seems disingenuous to me and, quite frankly, clickbait.

For those who are not familiar with it, WiFi Sense is a feature that allows Windows Phone 8.1 -- and Windows 10 -- users to easily share access to Wi-Fi passwords with their contacts and friends. In this day and age, if Apple or Google introduced such a feature the media would go crazy. But, no. Microsoft is criticized for trying to make things easy for its users. How silly is that? Some of the things The Register says about Wi-Fi Sense reveal no proper knowledge of the feature.

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Vandals have struck in California's Bay Area leading to a disruption to web traffic. The FBI is investigating the incident which occurred when several fiber optic cables were severed in Livermore, around 50 miles east of San Francisco.

The attack took place at about 4.30 am PT Tuesday, and caused problems for ISPs as well as Microsoft Azure. Backbone providers were hit hard, and web users over a wide area suffered from reduced performance. This is far from being the first attack on internet cables in the area, and the FBI is seeking help from anyone with information that could bring the perpetrators to justice.

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In the last couple of weeks there have been two new Surface models announced. Just a couple of days ago we learned of the new, cheaper Core i7 Surface Pro 3, and just before this the traveller-friendly 4G LTE Surface 3 -- still no news of the Surface 4 or Surface Pro 4, sadly.

In the UK, business and enterprise customers will be able to buy their 4G LTE Surface 3 from O2. The company has a three month exclusivity deal with Microsoft that means this is the only place the 10.8 tablet will be available during this period. As well as being the sole source of the device, O2 has a few deals to entice would-be customers into making a purchase.

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Windows 8.x enjoyed a good month in May. The tiled operating system finally overtook Windows XP for the first time in six months -- its gains coming mostly at the expense of Windows 7. But it was all change again in June according to the latest usage stats from web analytics firm NetMarketShare.

The latest figures show Windows 8.x losing share -- or business as usual you might say -- going from 16.63 percent to 16.02 percent. That’s a drop of 0.61 percentage points. Windows 8.1 actually gained 0.24 percentage points, but Windows 8 lost 0.85 percentage points. Still overall it remains comfortably ahead of XP now, so there's that consolation prize.

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While the Wi-Fi version of Surface 3 has been available to consumers and businesses for nearly two months now, the same cannot be said about the 4G LTE counterpart. It only went on sale two weeks ago, and only in Japan, and is not yet available in any other markets where the slate is offered.

This is about to change as Microsoft today announces that this week the 4G LTE version of Surface 3 will also be available to prospective business customers in Germany and UK. Consumers will have to wait a bit longer, however.

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Hey... wait a minute. Didn't we just get a new build of Windows 10 yesterday? Yes, of course we did. Less than 24 hours ago, Microsoft released build 10158 and today there is something of a surprise announcement for Windows Insiders who are signed up to the Fast Ring: another new preview version in the form of build 10159.

Microsoft has been criticized for the speed at which preview builds have been trickling out, and it seems that the company is listening to feedback. You'll notice that there is only a single digit build increase, but Gabe Aul reveals that this doesn't mean there's nothing to see. As well as more than 300 bug fixes, there is also "one very interesting change".

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Another week, another Windows 10 build. Microsoft today announces that it is releasing a new Windows 10 build -- which might as well be the last build before RTM -- to Insiders in the Fast ring.

With this new build dubbed 10158, Microsoft aims to bring stability to the desktop operating system and make things smoother and pleasant to look at. In addition, the company is also finally bringing the Microsoft Edge branding while also introducing some new features. Cortana is becoming cooler than ever, too. Below is a brief summary of everything you get from the new build.

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When consumers think back to the 90's, there are two companies synonymous with personal computing -- Microsoft and AOL. People bought Windows computers and connected to the web with the AOL ISP. Hell, I begged my dad for my first computer when I learned I could talk to girls in AOL chat rooms. In hindsight, I was probably talking to old men pretending to be girls, but I digress.

Both Microsoft and AOL are still quite successful -- the former much more than the latter -- and today, they announce a decade-long extension and expansion to existing agreements. Microsoft is handing over the keys to a large portion of its advertising business, while AOL search will begin using Bing.

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Let the countdown begin. One month from today, July 29th, Microsoft releases Windows 10. Three weeks ago we asked what you like about the operating system. Many of you are testers, and keeping with the spirit of the "beta" in our site's name, we just had to inquire.

Microsoft hasn't made this transition easy enough, even before the code's release. For starters, there is, or was, or may still be, or may never stop being, confusion over who is eligible  for the free upgrade. Microsoft kind of, sort of, clarified who gets and who doesn't -- and those of you who are Windows Insiders, and remain so, can continue on the forever free track, albeit running betas. Based on our poll posted last week, 10 percent of you without valid licenses will stay with the Windows Insider program to keep the free software coming. More than half of you plan to stick with the testing track.

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The Fourth of July is almost here. You know what that means, right? USA Independence Day! Yes, on this day, Americans will barbeque delicious meats and watch fireworks to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and subsequent defeat of the tyrannical British empire. Of course, our former oppressors are now one of our greatest allies.

Microsoft is one of the most famed American companies, and one of its founders, Bill Gates, is a great example of how anyone can become a success within America's borders. Today, Microsoft announces that it is celebrating the people that earned the USA its freedoms -- our veterans -- by sponsoring a 60 day, 3,400 mile relay race called the "Old Glory Relay". What great news so close to July 4th!

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It can't have escaped your attention that we are now on the home straight for the release of Windows 10. With just a month to go, there are a few loose ends to tie up with the operating system itself, but there are also areas of the Windows ecosystem that are receiving attention ahead of the launch. One such component is Family Safety, Microsoft's parental control system.

Now renamed to Microsoft Family, the settings can be used to monitor and restrict what younger computer users are able to do on a computer. As well as the change of name, Microsoft Family is now part of Microsoft Account and there has been a bit of a redesign to make it easier to get around.

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The Quran, sometimes written Koran, is the holy text of the Islamic religion. It literally translates to "the recitation". Most religions have such books to guide their beliefs and provide some foundation for how to proceed in life.

You can read many such works online, and Microsoft is aiding in this with Islam 360, a searchable Quran app. The software giant has talked it up, though it isn't particularly new. Instead Microsoft wants to alert those who aren't aware of its existence and tout the features it brings along.

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While we await news of the Surface Pro 4, Microsoft has revealed another model to the Surface Pro 3 lineup. The latest addition is a Core i7 model, bringing the total number of Surface Pro 3s featuring this version of Intel's processor to three.

In all there are now six Surface Pro 3 models to choose from, and the new Core i7 model makes it cheaper to jump into the higher end of the range. While the new model features the same processor and same 8GB of RAM as the very top of the Surface Pro 3 range, storage has been dropped to 128GB to help keep the price down.

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Since debuting Chromecast has continued to gain wider support, with new services being added regularly. Now Microsoft, which has a history of supporting Android with apps and updates, is getting in a bit deeper.

The company has added support for Chromecast in it's latest update. Version 3.2 of the app allows customers to "cast" photos and videos right from their phone or tablet and display them on the big screen.

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