Posts

A new Microsoft patent describes how the Surface Duo and Neo’s folding hinge mechanism will work. The information continues the patent spree Microsoft has been on in recent months. It’s worth remembering both upcoming Surface devices are still in prototype. In other words, Microsoft is still developing, tweaking, and testing the hardware. In this new patent, we get a closer look at how the closing mechanism on the devices could work....

Discovered by WindowsUnited, the patent would use the hinge as an extra screen for notifications. Any folding screen Surface device would have two separate displays. The device could either be a single large screen when open or a book of two screens when closed. Microsoft proposes having the hinge act as a third screen, or as the company describes it “a third screen region”. “An apparatus comprising: a plurality of screen areas including at least a first screen area, a second screen area, and a third screen area; a hinge coupled between the first screen area and the second screen area, the third screen area being provided on the hinge; and one or more processors that perform operations, comprising: determining information to be displayed on the third screen area based at least in part on a state of the hinge; Determining whether content from the first screen area is dragged to the third screen area; and providing the content as input to an application associated with the third screen area....

“A cover for a mobile device includes solar panels and an integrated keyboard,” reads the abstract. “The solar panels are positioned on a stand of the cover and angle associated with the solar panels can be changed so as to maximize input from a light source. The cover can be used to supply power and keyboard input to a mobile device while in use.” It wouldn’t be the first company to deliver a solar-powered computer, but it could be the first 2-in-1, and one with the most compact form factor....

You may remember I discussed Cameo early last month when it was announced for PowerPoint Live on Microsoft Teams (coming in August). Well, Microsoft is now rolling it out to the wider PowerPoint experience, adding the feature to the Recording Studio. If you are unfamiliar with the Recording Studio, it is the place on PowerPoint where users can create, edit, and share videos of their presentations. Microsoft says Cameo allows users to use the camera to “make the video recording of your presentation even more personal and create an immersive storytelling experience....

That means the feature is coming to Windows 10, macOS, Android, and iOS. The tool is designed to give users instant feedback on their oral presenting skills including warnings for filler words, tips about culturally inclusive words, or flagging cliches. Presenter Coach is only active in rehearsal mode to ensure students aren’t distracted while actually giving the presentation. At the end of a rehearsal, students get a report with detailed stats....

Since rebooting PowerToys, Microsoft tweaked existing tools and added new ones like Keyboard Configuration. This year, Microsoft updated the suite to include the following tools: Image Resizer, Window Walker, File Explorer previews for Markdown (.md) files, and PowerRename. Elsewhere, Microsoft has also brought multi-monitor support to FancyZones. As we reported in April, a new Launcher is also available. PowerToys is an open source solution users can download from the official GitHub page here....

However, Microsoft now says it will bring the app back into the development cycle. This means new features will come to the classic OneNote experience. Furthermore, Redmond says it will also become the default applications on new Office installations. That changes will begin in March 2020. Of course, the natural conclusion is this could mean the end for the UWP OneNote for Windows 10. Microsoft says the app will continue to be supported....

The Bing Custom API was introduced first at Build 2017 and Microsoft has been developing the feature since. As the name suggests, Bing Custom Search allows organizations to create their own customer search experiences. Microsoft says the technology is based on three levels: The engine will find on-topic sites, the Bing ranker is applied, and relevant search results are found. Cognitive Services was used to create the API and allows organizations to create search solutions to meet their needs....

How exactly it improves the search capabilities is quite unclear. Photos already lets users search by people, places, and things, as well as the text in images. The add-on comes in at 93MB, which isn’t an insignificant size. In our testing, we couldn’t see any major difference between either the objects Photos can detect, nor the results it returned. It still failed to live up to the capabilities of Google Photos, for example and was unable to properly detect basic elements like beards or grass....

Customers will find Windows Forms are turned off by default. To activate them, head to Tools > Options > Environment > Preview Features. If you’re unfamiliar with Windows Forms, it is an open source solution framework for building applications in Windows 10. Microsoft has been working on bringing the tool to dotnet for some time. The company says a full integration is close, but development continues in preview to get functionality and performance just right....

1 More AI2 Security The highlight of the announcement is automatic transcription for video and audio content. AI will work within OneDrive and SharePoint to transcript video and audio. This is the same artificial intelligence the company uses in its existing Microsoft Stream service. “While viewing a video or listening to an audio file, a full transcript (improving both accessibility and search) will show directly in our industry-leading viewer, which supports over 320 different file types....

Microsoft is the dominant force in the workplace chat market with Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams. In an effort to continue to best Google Hangouts and Slack, the company said it would consolidate those two platforms into one under the Teams branding. Teams was launched globally in March and was announced last November. The service is integrated into Office 365 and is already underpinned by Skype for Business. It simply makes sense for the two different platforms to become one....

“Today, we are excited to announce significant enhancements to our Ethereum on Azure offering,” says Cody Born, Azure Global software engineer. “These improvements are the first of a series of releases designed to enable production-ready consortium Blockchain networks suited for enterprise scenarios.” After talking to its customers, Microsoft has decided on the following additions: High availability of Blockchain network presence: To ensure the provision of a fair and secure network, Microsoft has incorporated cross-region-Azure VM Scale Sets and Managed Disks....

This is one less stepping stone toward the General Availability of the new platform in early November. However, before that, .NET 7 Release Candidate 1 will be followed by Release Candidate 2 in the coming weeks. Either way, all eyes are now on RC1. This provides a look at the backbone of the new features that Microsoft will introduce when it launches .NET 7 fully at its .NET Conf 2022, starting Nov 8....

According to a new report from Microsoft sleuth Walking Cat, the Microsoft Research division has published a paper for a project that improves VR controls. Specifically, the research adds bimanual haptics to virtual reality. In a paper titled Haptic Links: Bimanual Haptics for Virtual Reality Using Variable Stiffness Actuation, Microsoft’s team has developed a new haptic feedback system. allows haptics to simulate the force between two separate sensors. Connections are created through electro-mechanics that can create variable stiffness between two VR controllers....

Microsoft will invest in resources to combine cloud, AI, and research for its healthcare partners. The first collaboration is with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which seeks to increase the productivity of clinicians. The pair will combine Pittsburgh’s state of the art healthcare delivery network with Microsoft’s technological expertise to bring new solutions to market. “Despite UPMC’s efforts to stay on the leading edge of technology, too often our clinicians and patients feel as though they’re serving the technology rather than the other way around....

Last week, Microsoft seemed to have released the app to all Windows 10 users. I speculated this was strange as Your Phone is surely an October 2018 Update (Redstone 5) feature. It turns out I was right and someone in Redmond had accidentally released the app early… it was quickly pulled. Your Phone is among the most interesting Windows 10 features Microsoft has debuted this year. It is an app that lets users mirror their Android smartphone screen directly to their PC....

Of course, Microsoft accommodating other platforms is not the company spreading software goodwill. There is profit to be made and that largely explains the company’s new-found openness. It’s paid dividends too as Microsoft is one of Android’s leading developers (you can put iOS in there too). In terms of Timeline, a recent tweet by Vishnu Nath, head of program management, Microsoft Mobility Experiences, confirmed development of an Android implementation is ongoing....

Microsoft has been hinting at integration with Windows 10 for some time. Indeed, there is already some links between Xbox Game Pass and the Microsoft Store. However, most games on the subscription service are only available on Xbox One consoles. Of course, to make Game Pass a viable option on Windows 10, Microsoft will need more third-party support. Whether the company has that in place remains to be seen. Either way, CEO Satya Nadella says the service is certainly coming to PC....

While it has been a long time coming, the relevant pricing changes have been made to the Microsoft Store App Developer Agreement. Announced yesterday (March 5, 2019) and effective immediately, developers can receive up to 95 percent of revenues. Specifically for consumer app developers, the new ADA will appear the next time they log into their Partner Center dashboard. A developer or anyone with administrative allowance can accept the new ADA before update or managing apps....