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To assess drivers, HAMS uses the wealth of sensors already in smartphones. The GPS and accelerometer can be used to determine the route and the severity of braking. Meanwhile, the phone’s front-facing and rear cameras both check the driver’s awareness and ability to perform maneuvers. “The research challenges we address in HAMS pertain to effective detection and monitoring in challenging settings. Some of these challenges arise because HAMS is retrofitted onto legacy vehicles, and so it must contend with variation in vehicle configuration, driver seating, and even the smartphone mounting,” said Microsoft in a blog post....

Microsoft moved three places from seventh position last year. The company had 3,081 patents granted in 2019, a year-on-year increase compared to 2,353 in 2018. Microsoft’s 31% increase in patent activity was the second largest upturn in the top 10. It is worth noting, the way patents are developed, filed, and granted plays a part in the rankings. For example, there is a lag between when a company applies for a patent and when it is received....

The first to go is Business Scanning or DSM. Microsoft doesn’t note any replacements for this feature and says that no devices currently support it. As a result, it’s unlikely to cause any major issues. The FontSmoothing setting will also be removed. The anti-aliasing setting will be replaced by Windows 10 ClearType, which all text uses by default. Joining it on the cutting room floor is the Hologram app, which is succeeded by the Mixed Reality Viewer....

Yesterday’s Windows 10 April 2018 Update allowed Microsoft to sneak in an April release. The upgrade has been delayed all month and it was through it would get an official announcement in May. Instead, Microsoft got clever by launching it for manual downloads only. The wider automatic updates will begin next week. While it usually flies under the radar, new builds see features removed from Windows 10 as well as new ones added....

As always, Microsoft is asking Insiders to provide feedback on the new additions. The company will continue to tweak this build through and eventually to full release. I expect that to move swiftly, so end users may see this update soon. I mentioned changes to the look of OneNote. Microsoft has made it easier for users to view and edit notes. This has been achieved by creating more space through reducing UI components such as context menus and the ribbon....

As originally reported by ComputerWorld, the patent helps workers monitor their stress and anxiety levels. Anyone in the workplace will be familiar with pressure and stress that can sometimes come from nowhere. While Microsoft does not describe hardware, the Emotion Detection feature would likely work within the context of a device. Maybe a smartphone, but more likely a smartwatch, fitness band, or other wearable. This device would monitor blood pressure and heart rates during work hours and provide an anxiety score and a “wellness recommendation”....

One area Microsoft has tried to keep an unbiased system is in its Microsoft Political Action Committee (MSPAC). This division makes political donations to both sides of the aisle. In the light of the recent attack on Capital Hill and refusal from some Republicans to commit to a peaceful transition of power, Microsoft employees have spoken out. Last week, the U.S. Capitol Hill was attacked by supporters of Donald Trump as the U....

The plot was acquired for $48 million in August and was previously deemed heavily polluted by the US Air Force. Microsoft snapped up the land after it was declared a Superfund sites because of toxic substances in the soil and water on the site. Microsoft has now applied to re-zone the land for a “5 building technology center”. The company has not explained what exactly the center will be for, but it will be a significantly sized complex it seems....

The malware was discovered while the team at Cylance was studying malicious scripts that were rarely detected by antivirus. A malware file using PowerShell was using a obfuscation method to hide the scripts from detection tools. Cylance describes the file in question as a ZIP with a PDF document and VBS script embedded. Through testing, the company found the malware was discovered by just three antivirus products. In terms of delivery, the package is quite standard and matches familiar obfuscation techniques, such as compressing the malware and encrypting it within code:...

Since December, some Microsoft 365 subscribers have been using Project Cortex in preview. Today, Microsoft announced the program is now moving to the next phase of its preview. Specifically, invites will be sent to a new set of applications. “We’re opening a limited number of spaces for the next wave of our Project Cortex private preview program. Applications are open through April 8, 2020. We’ll notify selected participants by the end of April....

A similar situation happened when Sony opened pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 a week ago, with unprecedented demand for the console. It seems consumers want both the Xbox Series X and the PS5. The clear demand ends any conversations about the gaming market moving away from consoles because of an increase in digital services. Indeed, Microsoft itself is part of this conversation. When the company confirmed its acquisition of Bethesda this week, much of the chatter was about how cloud gaming is the future and how the purchase will drive Microsoft’s ongoing push with Project xCloud and Xbox Game Pass....

Now, ahead of the Windows 10 Creators Update release, Microsoft has released .NET Framework 4.7, which brings a big set of improvements. Microsoft´s .NET Framework 4.7 is included in the Creators Update, therefore users should upgrade to the Creators Update as well as install the latest update to Visual Studio 2017. This latest update brings many changes such as High DPI support for Windows Forms, Improvements for System DPI aware Applications, and more....

Arrow Launcher 3.0 Changes One of the biggest complaints about 3.0 was the inability to have a completely blank apps page. The space provided a useful separation for some users and the ability to look at their background in closer detail. Thankfully, the ability is back with 3.2. Microsoft has also re-introduced the ability to hide icon titles and added some new features to boot. Here’s the full changelog: “Apps page: Hide icon title; lock App & Widget position; moveable app draw icon (as shortcut widget); add blank apps page DateTime widget: show next alarm time; support multiple cities weather Setting: Introduce new features with video snippet Document: support PDF format Swipe right to BACK for all pages”...

Microsoft Drivers 4.1.6 Changes Microsoft Drivers 4.1.6 comes with support for SQL Server, Azure Database and Azure SQL DW from any application with PHP 7+. Here are the new additions: “Merged Linux and Windows code. Enabled connection pooling with unixODBC. To enable pooling: in odbcinst.ini, add Pooling=Yes to the [ODBC] section and a positive CPTimeout value to [ODBC Driver 13 for SQL Server] section. See http://www.unixodbc.org/doc/conn_pool.html for detailed instructions. PECL packages for Windows....

Now you have control over the feature update This is an interesting change Microsoft has included, the update won’t be automatically installed. That means you have control over the feature update to install it or not. For the last couple of Windows feature updates, Microsoft has just given it to anyone who hits the ‘Check for updates’ button in Windows Update. But now Windows update notify there’s a feature update is available, And you need to hit the download button if you want to install it....

It is possible to save sessions and see them later, while users can also create and share session collection. Of course, Microsoft will also be live streaming throughout Build 2017. Among these live streams will be the keynote announcements, product reveals, tech sessions, lectures, and more. Specifically, for Windows developers, Microsoft says Build 2017 will provide the following: Improvements that help you immediately engage your users with beautiful UI and natural inputs Team collaboration and connectedness to streamline and improve your development experience Services that make it easier to reach customers and learn what they want from your software Connected screens and experiences that make your end-to-end experience stickier and more engaging Mixed reality and creating deeply immersive experiences...

If you’re unfamiliar with Remote Desktop, it is an app that allows users to connected to the PC remotely from another device. However, there are also some changes to the UI experience. For example, when a user account is deleted, a confirmation UI is now shown. Furthermore, Microsoft has tweaked the UI for the Connection Center on Remote Desktop. Below is the full changelog for Version 10.0.4. Confirmation UI is now shown when deleting user accounts and gateways....

Instead, the company is pointing users in the direction of SwiftKey, its other (also excellent) virtual keyboard. Microsoft is putting an interesting spin on the demise of Word Flow on iOS. In a support note on the Microsoft Garage page, the company says the “Word Flow experiment is now complete”. Users are then pointed towards SwiftKey. The company is certainly not killing Word Flow because of a lack of quality....

Microsoft explains the platform brings online and offline blended learning and teaching tools. The focus of Project Sangam will be connecting skills learning programs with relevant jobs. To achieve this, the platform leverages LinkedIn’s job search capabilities. India has been chosen for Project Sangam because there is a widening skill gap in the country. Nadella described the platform as “simple yet powerful” and expanded on why it is important for Indian customers: “India’s challenge is to take any college graduate and realise their potential on what they are capable of instead of which college they studied from....

As we explained when it launched, Build 15042 introduces a number of minor features. It is part of Microsoft’s final lap towards the Creators Update full release in April. We fully expect preview updates to increase over the coming weeks. We also expect the number of features to decrease. That latter expectation was certainly met with Windows 10 Build 15042. However, there were some tweaks and additions to the platform....