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In its release notes, Microsoft says the tool will update any Surface Dock attached to a Surface hardware. Now called the Surface Dock Firmware Update (a slight change from the previous Microsoft Surface Dock Updater), implementing the tool is harder than Microsoft suggests. Like before, the update tool is only available through the Surface Tools for IT download page. That’s not really a major problem and if you’re heading to that page, the tool is listed as Surface_Dock_FwUpdate_1....

Much like a safe inside a house, the vault requires additional authentication methods to access. Users can enable a fingerprint, PIN, SMS code or mobile authenticator to make sure their most important documents are protected even if their account is compromised. Examples Microsoft gives are photocopies of passwords and IDs and tax records. These are files that it would be nice to be able to access from anywhere but have previously been deemed too risky to store in the cloud....

He is planning on pursuing his personal passion of using AI technologies as a positive voice for human rights. Connell says in his profile that he is “taking a long-term leave of absence from Microsoft to lead an effort around human rights.” According to his LinkedIn profile, Derrick Connell started working as a milk boy at his family’s business in Ireland. Since September of 2011, he has been the Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Bing and Cortana, leading the product and engineering teams on both....

Whiteboard first leaked back in July and has since been running in private preview. The idea behind the app is it provides a “limitless canvas” for inking and collaboration on Windows 10. Users can collaborate on the app in real time across devices on the platform. If you are running the app, you can see where other user contacts are and interact with their editing and updates. Real-time collaboration works integrated with Office 365 subscribers, while it also supports photo uploading....

There are many reasons why a user may want to revert to Windows 10. Maybe the platform is buggy, your PC performance is slow, peripherals don’t work, or the platform does not work with your organization’s software. Whatever reason, Microsoft does have a path to return to Windows 10. While it is an easy path to walk, Microsoft is throwing some obstacles in the way. Specifically, the company is giving users a race against time to head back to Windows 10....

In an interview with Computing, Tony Pepper, CEO of Egress praised Microsoft for its efforts, but also warned the company against stifling its partners. Speaking specifically about Office 365, Pepper says Microsoft is adept at “plugging the gaps”. He means the company can bring functionality and services without stepping on what is offered by partners and OEMs. He says Redmond has “really stepped up [its] game over the past five years....

At the moment, the service is available as a technical preview. Microsoft says customers can replicate IaaS-based applications in Azure. This can be achieved across regions without the need for additional software or devices. Microsoft Principal Program Manager Rochak Mittal says the disaster recovery works with Azure Backup for IaaS VMs to create business continuity: “As you move production applications to the cloud, Azure natively provides you the high availability and reliability that your mission critical workloads need....

One soon-to-launch feature is one that has been oft-requested by users. Microsoft will bring a new Wish List feature to the Microsoft Store in the near future. As the name suggests, the feature will let you select apps you like and/or want for purchase at a later date. Of course, the major benefit of the Wish List is it allows you to come back to apps you may have seen before....

Microsoft’s award says what it does on the tin. The Surface Book was the best laptop PC over the last year, a solid achievement. Especially when we consider some of the competition. Nominees for the award included Dell XPS 12, Lenovo Yoga 900S, HP Spectre x360, Acer Aspire Switch 12 S, and the Apple MacBook. The T3 Awards are among the biggest tech shows. Indeed, the event is known as “the Oscars of Tech” and has been running for ten years....

Microsoft first signaled its intentions to provide custom background in Microsoft Teams in April. It’s been a long time coming as the company promised the ability for a long time. Early in 2019, Microsoft announced it would bring custom background to the service. As the name suggests, this Microsoft Teams tool allows users to change the background effects in meetings. This extends background features that have been part of Teams for two years....

It’s true, Microsoft and Sony have only really locked horns in the gaming market, managing to stay relatively distant in other areas. However, the rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation as been fierce. In fact, when it comes to matters such as Cross Play for Minecraft the relationship between the companies has been frosty at best. So, we can chalk the new Microsoft/Sony partnership down to another example of Microsoft doing its best to freeze hell over....

Part of that could be the rumored chat-based interface known as Conversational UI. Like Google Assistant, Cortana will apparently interact with users through text. The idea is to persuade users who don’t want to speak into thin air. In terms of notifications, Bowden reports that user will be able to filter between Cortana’s cards and notifications, while quick settings will move to a dedicated control panel. We’ve already begun to see evidence of this in the latest Insider build, which brings some of Cortana’s cards to the Action Center....

Business Insider reports Microsoft’s decision is in view of the ongoing importance of cloud-based services during the COVID-19 outbreak. The company has seen a surge in users across Azure cloud services bother in enterprise and consumer. Office 365, Microsoft Teams, and Skype are just three Microsoft apps currently thriving. So, why is Microsoft not continuing hiring across the board? After-all, CEO Satya Nadella has said the company is well positioned to emerge from COVID-19 lockdowns “pretty strong”....

According to Microsoft, it will stop access to Microsoft 365 back-end services next year (2023). This is two years before Office 2016 and Office 2019 reach end of support. Customers became concerned Microsoft was going to block those customers access Microsoft 365 back-end services after next year. Microsoft has now confirmed that is not the case. Users running Office 2016/2019 will still be able to access Microsoft 365 back-end services....

Azure Storage Explorer is a way of analyzing large streaming data sets in real time. While it may seem similar to Azure Analysis Servicer, Data Explorer allows combined data from multiple sources into a single analysis model. ADX reached general availability in February. With the latest update, ADX has gained support for virtual machine (VM) disk management. Thanks to this integration, Azure customers can get a higher upload and download speeds when accessing managed disks....

1 Changelog2 Other Windows 10 Versions It is worth noting the update is optional so it will not be coming to your machine automatically. Microsoft says the update is specifically for users running older versions of Windows 10, including the October 2018 Update. The build in question is 17763.720 for the October 2018 Update and comes with numerous fixes. Among them is solving a problem where Windows Hello Face Authentication would stop working during a system restart....

Users who wish to keep their notes safe from prying eyes can now add passwords to each separate section. In addition, the new update brings reordering of Notebooks to the OneNote Windows 10 app, which allows users to sort their Notebooks however they like by clicking and dragging. New Shapes gallery Microsoft’s latest update to the OneNote for Windows 10 app also adds a new menu. Available in the Draw tab, users can find the Shape gallery which lets them insert lines, basic shapes, diagrams, and flow charts....

In a new post on its processor support page, Microsoft is updating the processor SKUs that work on Windows 11. If you cannot upgrade to the OS because of your processor, don’t get too excited. Microsoft is not adding previously unsupported chips to the list. Instead, the company is adding new processors such as Intel’s 13th Gen Raptor Lake-S CPUs and AMD’s Ryzen 7000 series desktop CPUs. There are also other CPUs from both companies added to the list, which you can see below:...

As we have seen on the Windows preview, the update is bringing several big changes to Visual Studio. Among them is a new user interface that promises to make the platform easier to use. Microsoft also says there are significant performance improvements to bring more stability to customers. In terms of specific perks for macOS users, Microsoft says the update brings complete support for native accessibility features on Apple’s platform....

However, despite the metric, it was still hit by the pandemic. Despite its efforts to help out with the virus, scared investors have resulted in a drop from a peak share of $188.70 in February to $144.45 today. On Sunday, Forbes reported that its stock had dropped by a “staggering” 27%, versus a 32% fall in the S&P 500 as a whole. Comparatively, Apple was at $327.70 in February and now sits at $241, a 26....