Posts

“An interesting pattern emerged during these conversations,” said the VS Code team. “We saw many developers trying to use VS Code to develop against containers and remote VMs configured with specific development and runtime stacks, simply because it is too hard, too disruptive, and in some cases impossible, to set up these development environments locally.” This is apparently a major drawback for Python developers and has been causing a hesitance to switch to Microsoft’s software....

Currently in development are features including new sounds, emoji access, key press animations, and the ability to search for and input animated GIFs. Yes, these changes will bring the Windows 10 virtual keyboard in line with those available on mobile devices. The new keyboard experience is called the WonderBar and it was built for Windows 10X. If you’re unfamiliar with this SKU, it is a modular version of Windows 10 that is built for single and dual screen devices....

“We’re talking about incidents per device of less than 0.001%.” So, are we really talking about that kind of mega-reliability? Gavin says the company has improved its reliability on newer devices and “issues” are very rare indeed. According to his statistic, less than one in 100,000 Surface products will have a fault. Ok, I know there are plenty of raised eyebrows out there, and probably with reason. As is usually the case, Gavin is offering some clouded corporate speak....

Well, that independent study is now complete, and Microsoft is publishing the details. Microsoft Surface devices are beautiful and ergonomic, but they are amongst the worst devices to repair. You can write off any kind of at-home repair and Surface has consistently scored the lowest fixability scores with iFixit. Last year, the company’s shareholders took action to force a Right to Repair initiative that would include an independent study. The original resolution was filed by As You Sow on behalf of Microsoft shareholders....

In a humorous ad titled ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’, the company musically declares that the iPad isn’t a real computer. “Grandma, don’t run out and by an iPad. It was fine when I was 6, but now I’m 10. My dreams are big so I need a real computer, to do all of the amazing things I know I can,” sings a girl. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g8ZR0KY7M4 The ad carries on the tradition of the companies bashing each other but may fall a bit flat during the holiday season....

A new Microsoft Patent discovered by Windows Latest points to a “Smart Speaker System with Microphone Room Calibration”. This suggests Microsoft is at least exploring its own Surface speaker device. Some of the specs including an optical sensor which means it could be useful in reading attendees at a conference or meeting. It also has a microphone array with six microphones for voice activation. Other than that, this is a patent light on details, which could mean this is an early development....

Starting in 2018, 21Vianet will invest in new infrastructure to triple the capacity of Azure cloud in China. The company operates Microsoft’s platform in the country and deals with the complexity of Chinese law. Under the laws of the country, foreign cloud providers must partner with a local company to sell services. 21Vianet is Microsoft’s partner and the companies are trying to expand into what is a major cloud frontier....

The new tool is rolling out in general availability for Microsoft Teams on desktop and the web. With this feature, meeting admins can access professional interpreters to translate meetings into other languages. This happens in real-time, so attendees can select their preferred language and hear the translation. Microsoft says the translation will be louder than their speaker. This allows the interpreter to be heard over the sound of the ongoing meeting....

With this feature, people who speak different languages can connect and communicate. This is achieved through the Inline message translation, while translates posts in chat and Microsoft Teams channels. Importantly, this happens in real time, allowing fluid translated conversations. The release is part of Microsoft’s deeper artificial intelligence integrations in Teams. Announced in March, Inline message translation is part of an AI packages that will roll out in stages. In terms of other AI improvement Microsoft is making in Teams, here’s the list:...

The first meetings related improvement is the ability to start and stop call recordings from the app. This feature has been available on desktop for some time, so it’s great to see it on other platforms. Only the meeting organizer or those from the same organization can start a recording, so I can see this being useful when traveling. On top of this, Microsoft is looking to emulate some features of regular phone calls....

Over the last couple of years, we have seen Microsoft drastically expand Teams with regular feature updates. It is now one of the most popular collaboration platforms and thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such is the popularity of Teams, Microsoft is now integrating it into Windows 11. With so many features, the chance of things going wrong in Microsoft Teams increases. Users may have to conduct troubleshooting and servicing of the platform....

With this collaboration, .NET developers can now create directly in Ubuntu and receive new features and security patches via Microsoft updates. This is available for .NET 6. Users can now install packages onto Ubuntu via an install dotnet6 command. “Ubuntu now has an end-to-end story from development to production with ultra-small supported container images, starting with the .NET platform”, said Valentin Viennot, Product Manager, Canonical. “We think it’s a huge improvement for both our communities; collaborating with the ....

Back in October, Microsoft To-Do gained a new smart list called Planned. With this list, users can collect and organize tasks for up to five days. The To-Do app automatically generates content in the Planned list, choosing items it believes are most important. While we like the feature, not all users need it. Microsoft says with the latest release of To-Do for Windows 10, there is now a settings option to hide the Planned list from the side bar....

For those unfamiliar with Parature, it was purchased by Microsoft for around $100 million in 2014. At the time, the customer care service vendor had 100 employees, who then joined the company. Parature’s strong points were quickly integrated into Dynamics 365, but Microsoft said it would still offer it as a standalone service. That changed at the end of last year when reports said the Redmond giant was preparing to shut down....

Chile’s government announced on August 9, 2022 that the country will adopt DST officially. This means the country will advance its clocks by 60 minutes. This will happen on September 10 instead of September 4. In its caution, Microsoft describes the following issues that may befall Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11: “Time shown in Windows and apps will not be correct. Apps and cloud services which use date and time for integral functions, such as Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Outlook, notifications and scheduling of meetings might be 60 minutes off....

Speaking specifically about the USB Type-C dongle and said it is currently called the USB-C Docking Adapter. The peripheral will plug directly into the Surface Connect port and features a USB Type-C port on the other end. Back when Microsoft announced the dongle in May, Surface head Panos Panay discussed Microsoft’s plans for USB Type-C: “I love the technology in Type-C, I believe in Type-C. When Type-C is ready for our customers, to make it easy for them, we’ll be there....

Developer Mojang says that the company remains in talks with Sony about bringing cross-play to the PlayStation 4. Cross-play allows players across platforms to play Minecraft with each other. Cross-play is surely the future of multiplayer gameplay. Microsoft with Minecraft is among the first major companies to embrace the idea. Cross-play works across Nintendo Switch, PC, and mobile editions of the game. However, there was one gaming giant missing from Microsoft’s announcement....

In response to its dwindling use, Mozilla will axe default support in its browser. Firefox 69 will cut out the plugin with its Nightly test build, requiring users to enable it manually if it’s required. The said that this change meets its Flash depreciation roadmap. Fortunately, few people will miss this functionality. According to W3Techs, 3.9% of today’s websites use the plugin. Technologies like WebAssembly, HTML5, and WebGL have filled the gap in a much more efficient and secure way....

It’s a response to the growing concern over the safety of user data, and the knock on effect is a faster browsing experience and tiny file size. The app also reduces visual clutter, though the catch is the cutting of some features. Firefox Focus users won’t be able to open multiple tabs, for example, or install extensions. That makes it a tough sell for users who use their phone for productivity but should be fine for opening occasional links from social media....

Many users like to have a universal aesthetic, which makes the OS-wide Dark Mode toggle in Windows Settings ideal. However, for those who want to be able to change individual services more easily, it’s more frustrating. For example, it involves digging around in individual app settings. For Windows 10 itself, there is no way to easy toggle Dark Mode outside of opening the Settings app. One third-party developer is aiming to make switching between dark and light easier....