Articles about Microsoft

Online censorship is rife. In many countries, notably China, citizens are prevented from accessing certain websites at the behest of their government. To help provide access to information and unbiased news, freedom of information organization Reporters Without Borders has set up mirrors to nine censored websites so they can be accessed from 11 countries that blocked them.

As part of Operation Collateral Freedom, Reporters Without Borders is mirroring the likes of The Tibet Post International which is blocked in China, and Gooya News which is blocked in Iran. Mirrored sites are hosted on Amazon, Microsoft and Google servers which are unlikely to be blocked by a censoring country.

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Microsoft and Cisco believe the next generation of tools is on the way and that the cloud will be a key feature. There's little surprise in that statement, as things have been trending in that general direction for a while now. Microsoft and Cisco aren't strangers either, as the two have been partnered before, so the latest news simply expands on that relationship.

This time around a tool is being unveiled. According to Microsoft's Aziz Benmalek "next-generation services require close compatibility between hardware, software, network, storage and compute", and the firms have teamed up for a new product called Cisco Cloud Architecture for the Microsoft Cloud Platform. Benmalek claims that engineers from both companies have worked closely the ensure the integration between products from each. The result is combining Windows Azure Pack and Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI).

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The hubbub surrounding Superfish has died down in the news now, but that doesn't mean the problem has been eradicated. Not only has the fiasco hurt consumers it has eroded the reputation of computer maker Lenovo. To its credit the company acted quickly, working with Microsoft and Superfish to alleviate the problem and attempt to regain consumer trust.

Microsoft aided on the Superfishing trip by adding the Win32/CompromisedCert to its Malicious Software Removal Tool, which is included in all modern versions of Windows. Many customers likely don't even know this tool is there, as there is no icon for it. It will run on its own in the background, but a manual launch can be accomplished by accessing "Run" and typing "MRT".

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Higher education is damn expensive -- yes, damn. Many young people in America are taking out massive student loans to fund their education. As bad as the debt problem is, I stand by the fact that your education is the best investment you can make. It may sound like a cliche, but knowledge is power. You should strive to learn as much as you can. Unfortunately, many people go to college for the degree and not necessarily for the knowledge. This is understandable, as many employers just want to see that you have a degree.

Lately, however, I have been very intrigued by MOOCs. If you are not familiar, it stands for massive open online courses. Essentially, the courses are for the most part free, enabling people of all backgrounds, the opportunity to learn. I am currently taking one with edX -- one of the most popular providers of these open courses. Today, I am pleased to find out that Microsoft is partnering with edX to offer courses taught by its employees and experts. The best part? Most of them are free!

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While I did graduate from the world-renowned Stony Brook University, it took me longer than usual. Sadly, I was what you would call a "higher education adult learner", meaning I was older than most of the students and only went part-time because I had to work a job. This wasn't a bad thing from a learning perspective, but I did not get to participate in the full college experience. In other words, I was working while the younger students were participating in clubs and watching sporting events. Truth be told, I am a huge basketball fan, and I regret not going to any games while attending.

Luckily, my alma mater is only one win away from going to the big tournament for the first time ever. Yes, if the Stony Brook Seawolves defeat Albany on Sunday, we get to experience the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Even if they don't make it, I can still enjoy watching the games, but more importantly I can enjoy building my brackets. If you aren't familiar, this means picking the teams that will win and advance in the tournament. For some, picking winners (and gambling) is more fun than the actual sport! This year, Microsoft has partnered with the NCAA to make Bing the official bracket data partner. Will the search-engine pick winners?

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When it was announced that Microsoft was making Windows 10 available as a public preview, there were promises of frequent build updates. There have now been a number of builds of Windows 10 Technical Preview, but as it has now been more than a month since the last update, the natives are starting to get restless. We've had to keep our interest piqued with screenshot leaks.

Gabe Aul has taken to the official Windows blog to explain why builds seem to be taking longer to be released. He goes on to reveal that we could see a new build this week or next week. So what's been going on?

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Quite often, when a person buys a desktop from a manufacturer like HP or Dell, it will come with a wired keyboard and mouse. For the most part, the included input devices are passable, but nothing to write home about. Please know, however, that there is a whole world of great keyboards and mice out there -- including wireless options -- ready to make your hands happy.

Today, Microsoft announces a new wireless solution called the Designer Bluetooth Desktop -- a wireless keyboard and mouse. It connects by, you guessed it, Bluetooth, meaning a dongle is not needed if your machine has such a radio. The Designer moniker is quite appropriate, as not only are they both svelte, but stylish too.

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Apple has finally announced the new lighter-than-Air MacBook we were all waiting for. And, as expected, it's spectacular. It's so attractive that I can't possibly imagine why my colleague Brian Fagioli would claim that Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 is better. We are living on the same planet, aren't we?

Brian is terribly wrong, of course. But I'm not surprised, because he is, after all, a Surface Pro 3 user, and has been from the get-go. So it's easy for him to miss all the things that make the new MacBook so much better. He could only come up with six reasons to make his case. I offer nine reasons -- tangible benefits -- that prove otherwise!

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Microsoft continues to update its latest gaming console on a regular basis, though the company also keeps the Xbox 360 alive as well. Now a new update rolls out to the Xbox One, bringing all sorts of features that fans have been waiting for since the box debuted in late 2013. In fact, Xbox Live's Larry Hryb, AKA Major Nelson, states "This month’s system update on Xbox One brings you some of the most-requested features by our fans".

First up is screenshots, which should make many gamers happy. Simply double-click the Xbox button on the controller to snap a shot, then press Y to save it. Or, even better, you can say "Xbox take a screenshot" and handle both tasks at once.

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I have wanted an Xbox One since launch, but have delayed my purchase for multiple reasons. I'm at the point now where we are too far removed from launch to pay full retail. In other words, for me to dive into Xbox One ownership, I need a deal.

Today, Microsoft announces a deal that may be hard to resist. The Xbox One Halo: The Master Chief Collection Bundle comes with four Halo games. The best part? The price remains the same -- $349. In other words, the games are free!

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We aren't too far removed from the death of Windows XP -- sure you can still use it, but you do so at your own peril as the operating system is no longer supported by Microsoft (businesses can pay for extended support -- protection money, if you will). That hasn't stopped many individuals, and indeed even businesses, from continuing to run the OS despite potential for disaster. Granted, that may not be huge, but it is still a very real concern.

Now Windows Server 2003 faces a similar fate, with an impending date of July 14th, 2015 slated to bring an end to another staple of the enterprise. Like Windows XP, customers will not be happy -- enterprises move slowly and upgrades can be costly, not to mention proprietary software that may not work once the move is complete.

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I can attest firsthand to the rising health-care costs everyone talks about. My mom went to hospital on January 30th for outpatient surgery. Still woozy from anesthesia, she left her Nokia Lumia Icon Windows Phone in the bed's blankets. The hospital ships the linens to Canada for cleaning, and, well—cue the violins—that handset is gone to cellphone heaven or into someone's greedy, grubby hands. Wouldn't you know, Medicare won't cover the cost of replacing the phone.

Neither will Asurion pay up. The nerve. When reporting the phone lost, Verizon suggested adding insurance to the phone line and later filing a claim. The Lumia could be replaced for $99 deductible. I must admit to a little apprehension, but, hey, cost was just 10 bucks. Damn, three attempts to file a claim all failed, with Asurion insisting that the phone was lost before insurance was applied. Either these insurers are smartypants, or this is a popular scam. Whichever, mom's hospital visit was an unexpected, health-care cost.

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Mobile World Congress has wrapped up in Barcelona, Spain and now we're left to sort through the torrent of information that came out of the event. There were countless announcements made for all manner of mobile news, with new phones taking center stage in the midst of the chaos. Microsoft was prominent at the event, with several things to reveal.

There was the unveiling of the Lumia 640XL, a mid-range device that qualifies as a "phablet" with its 5.7 inch screen. It even comes with a 13 MP rear camera, a feature that the Lumia line is famous for. It's a step up from the Lumia 640, which is a scaled down version. The screen is still large at 5 inches, while the rear camera is a solid 8MP. Both phones are expected to be available soon via AT&T.

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After a five-year gap, Microsoft has unveiled the first public beta of its forthcoming Office 2016 for Mac with the release of Microsoft Office for Mac 2016 Preview. The new release is free for all Yosemite users during the remainder of the product’s pre-release phase, with the final version slated for release later this year.

Office for Mac 2016 Preview ships with five components: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. It boasts a refreshed and optimized codebase, Retina-friendly visuals and support for full-screen mode.

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There are unlikely partnerships, and there are unlikely partnerships -- Google and Microsoft certainly make for strange bedfellows. At developer conference ng-conf in Salt Lake City, Google's Angular team revealed that it has been working with the TypeScript Team from Microsoft to produce Angular 2.

The worlds of TypeScript and AtScript have converged, resulting in the collaborative effort that is Angular 2. The new version of the JavaScript framework will be written in TypeScript and will be used to develop the next generation of web sites and web apps.

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