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1 Focusing on Productivity2 The App Market There have been several missteps in the consumer market over the years, too many to list here. Although, the management of Windows Phone and its eventual demise is the obvious example. Even Windows 10’s success has been built in business as consumers have generally turned away from PC. Surface has grown and is now doing well, but other consumer-focused services have collapsed. Groove Music, Microsoft Band, and the ongoing app gap showcase how Microsoft has struggled to appeal to consumers....

In another push towards regular app-like functionality on the platform, Microsoft has a new ability. Specifically, Progressive Web Apps through Chromium Edge can now run on start-up of a PC. Currently available in testing on Chromium Edge, the feature will be available when PWAs are installed on a PC. In other words, it’s currently an option. Microsoft could make it a default eventually, but we think its good users get the choice....

In a Microsoft AMA on the company’s official Community Forums, employee Mike Cure confirmed ongoing support. He said Microsoft Security Essentials will receive signature updates beyond January 14th. “Will Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) continue to protect my computer after the end of support? No, your Windows 7 computer is not protected by MSE after January 14, 2020. MSE is unique to Windows 7 and follows the same lifecycle dates for support....

Starting with Windows, Microsoft has finally brought a new release to the Fast Ring. As noted last week, we have been in the odd situation of the Slow Ring having higher build number than the Fast Ring. Microsoft clarified why that is the case. There seems to have been a problem that was stopping Fast Ring release that kept the branch stuck on build 8117.xxxx. Since the issue did not affect the Slow Ring, Microsoft kept sending releases to that branch....

Microsoft watcher WalkingCat has uncovered an application called Microsoft Huddle. Interestingly, this app was already available on the Microsoft Store. In the Store description, Microsoft Huddle can help “you and other HoloLens users can easily meet and collaborate in mixed reality.” By using the Microsoft Huddle Companion app, users can send their content from their PC. While the app was available in the Store it has since been removed. This suggests Microsoft did not want it to be seen yet....

The add-ins will be available to all users on Outlool.com and Office 365 commercial email accounts. Additionally, add-ins for Gmail users will be brought to Android soon. With the roll-out, Outlook add-ins are now available on the web, Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. The key benefit of the add-ins is their ability to make task processing easier. Users can add more functionality to the Outlook experience by making important services and features easily accessible....

WSL was brought to the Microsoft Store a year ago, making it easier for users to access the service. According to the company, there are clear advantages to installing the store version of WSL. For example, users receive more frequent and faster updates, error printing is more efficient, and they can also get system support. Microsoft also details the following benefits that are available via WSL on the Microsoft Store:...

While the date confirmation may be a surprise, Microsoft has previously said the support would end. One of the more interesting things about this upgrade path has been its seeming availability to everyone. Moving from Windows 7/8 to Windows 10 through assistive tech is supposed to be for users who need accessibility features. However, Microsoft never placed a verification system to check if users need these features. This meant anybody could essentially update, even if it was morally in poor form....

Yes, this is something of an unusual cumulative update as Microsoft typically reserves cumulative updates for Patch Tuesday. The company’s monthly patch event is only six days away, but clearly there was no time to wait for solving issues in Windows 10 October 2018 Update. Of course, Windows 10 version 1809 has been plagued by issues since it launched at the start of October. Microsoft was forced to pause the update due to it deleting user files....

SciKit-learn is a machine learning library that is used by developers creating Python models. As such, it is hugely popular and underpins many artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions. Founded in 2018 by French organization Inria, the open-source library as the goal to “foster the development of scikit-learn and support the community that builds it”. Microsoft has joined the SciKit-learn consortium as a platinum member, allowing the company to sponsor the library through development....

Founded by the Linux Foundation, the consortium now has some of the biggest players in tech on board, including Microsoft. Part of the focus of the group is to unite cloud vendors, hardware manufacturers, and developers into an entity that promotes common open source standards to protect data use. In a joint statement between the companies, the Linux Foundation said data in use security is often ignored: “Confidential computing focuses on securing data in use....

In just a few years, the Hackathon has grown from an event of 75 people to one of over 600. Hundreds of so-called ‘ability hacks’ have risen from this practice, including OneNote Learning Tools, Seeing AI, and EyeGaze Wheelchair. It’s fair to predict that this year’s event will be even bigger, and may even beat the record of 100 ability hacks in the 3-day period. Microsoft’s Accessibility Promise The event is just a small part of Microsoft’s wider push for accessibility, innovated by now ex-employee Kat Holmes....

As we reported last month, a couple of new features have been added in Microsoft Launcher 5.8. Among them is direct integration with Microsoft Intune for IT admins. The Launcher works on Intune Fully Managed Devices. With this integration, admins can control device configuration from the home screen. Elsewhere, Microsoft has improved the install tools. For example, users will now see that the Launcher adds new app icons automatically when an application is installed....

All users can update to the new version now and get the same additions we recently saw on the beta release. Leading the way in terms of new features are safety features for parents to manage child use. App activity monitoring and the ability to track the whereabout kids are now part of the launcher. Microsoft is also trying to further entice users to Bing search. However, this search ability is only available in the United States, where Bing still holds some market sway....

Version 4.5 introduces some good productivity features, but also some visual ones. Users can now change the size of their dock, home screen, and drawer icons independently to suit their preference. This means you can have more prominent icons on the dock, and smaller ones on your app screen. On Android Nougat and above, you’ll also be able to set wallpapers for your home and lock screen, as well as blank pages in vertical mode....

On the Bing Maps, users can view various aspects of the outbreak, including cases per country, currently active cases, recovered cases, and fatalities. In the United States, the interactive map offers more granular controls, such as state-by-state information. Users can do deeper dives into individual countries or states. When a nation is selected, Bing search will surface news stories and videos related to COVID-19 from that country. When I tested the tool, the stories seemed to be lagging behind the very latest news information so I hope Microsoft can resolve that....

Before getting into the details, it is worth noting that Microsoft Patch Tuesday events help to shore up services from vulnerabilities. For example, Microsoft patches against zero-days that either new or already exploited. That makes Patch Tuesday essential in some cases. However, there has been an increasing issue where Microsoft patches are fixing one issue but causing others. We have seen this recently with a fix for Windows Search that has left users unable to boot their PCs....

Focusing on increasing performance, Microsoft has completely changed the Xbox app backend on Windows 10. Previously, the app was built on the company’s Electron Application Framework. This is an open-source engine built on Google’s Chromium. Windows Central reports Microsoft has now abandoned Electron and will instead use React Native UWP, which is a version of a rendering engine developed by Facebook. Apparently, the change has allowed significant performance gains for the Xbox PC app....

Other than that, little is known about the Pro 7, but the patent gives some additional hints. The document itself describes a magnet-oriented technique that would hold the Surface Type Cover closed when you aren’t using it. This would stop assumedly cover both orientations, both closed in your bag and folded behind the device when it’s in tablet mode. It’s not a particularly exciting development, but the Surface Type Cover diagrams hold some additional hints....

Now Microsoft wants Skype to tap into some of Zoom’s users. Just weeks ago, Zoom was a relatively popular but not dominant enterprise video communication tool. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the platform has become the communication tool of choice for tens of millions. Interestingly, Zoom has even escaped its enterprise leanings and is being used by individuals for personal use. Since that meteoric rise, the company has faced numerous problems....