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Masterpass, the omni-channel digital payment service from Mastercard, is connecting with Microsoft Wallet. You’ll soon be able to shop at hundreds of thousands of online merchants that accept Masterpass. The Masterpass vision is to support all forms of commerce to address the full range of consumer needs. In bringing two iconic consumer brands together, users of Windows 10 phones, tablets and desktops that are also Mastercard cardholders will have a simple and secure way to pay online. Why else are we excited to be working with Microsoft? Reach: With more than 400 million monthly active devices now running Windows 10, the Windows platform represents a great way…

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/daa452f3d726903a6ad73bd8fbb629f3.gif Our Microsoft Windows 10 Event is taking place this week, and we invite you to join us to see what’s next for Windows 10. You can watch the livestream of our #MicrosoftEvent this Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016 at 10AM EDT/7AM PDT. If you’re a member of the press, you can watch the keynote here. Tip: Ask Cortana* to “Spark my imagination.” *Cortana available in select markets. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Learn more about Instagram’s arrival on Windows 10 PCs and tablets and next week’s Microsoft Windows 10 Event, or head over here to read our Windows 10 Tip on four ways to get the most out of Microsoft Edge. Here’s what’s new in the Windows Store this week: Pre-order Halo Wars 2 for Xbox One and Windows 10 Play Video Restricted Content Confirm your age to continue month JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember day 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 year 20162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981…

In this edition of Weekend Reading, we have stories on a historic milestone in speech recognition, an AI supercomputer in the cloud and significant advancements for the Government Cloud. Microsoft has made a major breakthrough in speech recognition, creating a technology that understands a conversation as well as a person does. In a paper published Monday, a team of researchers and engineers in Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Research reported a speech recognition system that makes the same or fewer errors than professional transcriptionists. The researchers reported a word error rate (WER) of 5.9 percent, down from the 6.3 percent WER the team reported just last…

One of the best parts of my job as Microsoft’s chief evangelist is the opportunity it affords me to interact with students. They represent the next generation of innovators, makers and builders, and it is their creativity and hunger to drive change that will help shape what our tomorrow will look like. With that in mind, I am excited to announce the launch of the 2017 Imagine Cup – now celebrating its 15th year as Microsoft’s marquee global student technology competition. This is a big milestone for Imagine Cup, and I’m proud of how we’ve positively impacted the lives of young developers all over the world. To celebrate this special anniversary and match the passion…

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14951 for Mobile and PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. What’s new in Build 14951 Refining the customization experience for precision touchpad (PC): Since last week, we’ve continued working in this space, and have another set of improvements headed your way. To start with, we’ve hooked up our keyboard shortcut picker, so now if you choose that option on the Advanced gestures page, you’ll be presented a recorder so you can capture your favorite key combo – perhaps WIN + Alt + D or WIN + F to start with? Secondly, we’ve added a Change audio and volume option to the…

At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We care deeply about how we achieve that mission and our lasting impact on the world. Across the company, we are working to apply the power of technology to ensure corporate responsibility, safeguard human rights and protect our planet. This commitment is central to why many of our employees come to work every day, and it impacts the type of products and services we develop. In our 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report, which we published today, you will find information about our policies and business practices which reflect our commitment to maki…

Microsoft has made a major breakthrough in speech recognition, creating a technology that understands a conversation as well as a person does. In a paper published Monday, a team of researchers and engineers in Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Research reported a speech recognition system that makes the same or fewer errors than professional transcriptionists. The researchers reported a word error rate (WER) of 5.9 percent, down from the 6.3 percent WER the team reported just last month. The 5.9 percent error rate is about equal to that of people who were asked to transcribe the same conversation, and it’s the lowest ever recorded against the industry standard …

From the election of Pope Francis to the passing of Nelson Mandela to Miley Cyrus’ MTV #twerk heard ’round the world, 2013 was full of big headlines and viral hits. Yet The New York Times’ top story of the year was the humble result of a vocabulary survey of 350,000 randomly selected Americans conducted by a then-intern at the paper. Instead of presenting these findings in a written article, “How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk” achieved breakout success as an interactive data visualization. It asked readers 25 questions such as “How would you address a group of two or more people?” or “How do you pronounce ‘aunt’?” and then heat-mapped their responses to the most simil…

We’ve showed you how to get started with extensions and how to enable the dark theme in Microsoft Edge – today, we’re talking about how you can get the most out of Microsoft Edge in four easy ways. Pin tabs for quick access https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/65babc4010a2f016c415668d0f02e13d.gif See your favorite websites in the same place every time you open Microsoft Edge. Just right-click on an open tab and select Pin. Web notifications https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/8824b87221aff66fea8b868b5386f377.gif Web Notifications in Microsoft Edge allows sites to display notifications relevant to you even when you are a…

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Read more about the HP Elite x3, now available in Microsoft Stores and this week’s milestone for Microsoft HoloLens, or head over here to learn how to get started with the Windows Ink Workspace. Here’s what’s new in the Windows Store this week: Gears of War 4 now available on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/7d50506e8fd4d687f414342b0b0499e4.jpg We’re thrilled to announce the official release of Gears of War 4 ($59.99 Standard Edition, $99 Ultimate Edition) with fans around the world. Available exclusively on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC, Gears of War …

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/18e4098315490b6040887e2481bb6fb7.jpg Today, the Microsoft Casual Games team is proud to announce that Microsoft Mahjong, the classic tile-matching game, is now updated for Windows 10 with Daily Challenges, a new look and feel, and 20 new puzzles exclusively for Windows 10. You can now enjoy a total of more than 40 puzzles for hours of tile-matching fun! Microsoft Mahjong is now a Universal Windows App, which means new experiences can be created and added to the game faster than ever on both Windows 10 PCs and Windows 10 mobile devices. Head over to Xbox Wire to read about all the new features in the game available…

Weather woes, election exhaustion, darkening days – there’s lots of justification this weekend for curling up on the couch with nibbles and beverages. Or for leaping off it and screaming at your television. Either way, the NFL is sure to oblige with some distracting entertainment. And Microsoft Surface tablets will come in handy on both sides of the TV screen. Surface Pro tablets are going into their fourth season helping the NFL’s pro football teams plan their plays. Coaches and players huddle on the sidelines, tuning out the deafening roar of the crowd, to analyze full-color images from previous offensive or defensive series and decide on their next drive. The up…

We’re excited to share that the Instagram app for Windows 10 is expanding beyond its current mobile availability and is optimized for tablets and PCs today. The app is free to download from the Windows Store. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/37f34f18ff299c4235ce02ccf205b39f.png We welcomed the Instagram app for Windows 10 mobile back in April, and you can now use the app right from your Windows 10 tablet or PC with Windows-only experiences such as Live Tiles, which let you see new photos and notifications right from your home screen. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/099d1c5be74378a9b20bdeb01cf4a13e.png Here are some of t…

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14946 for PC and Mobile to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. What’s new in Build 14946 Customizing your precision touchpad experience (PC): Last week, we announced that we’d been working on refining your touchpad experience. This week, we’re taking that one step further. When you go into Settings > Devices > Touchpad, you will now find a section called “Other gestures”. In this section, you now have basic customization options for your three and four finger gestures. For taps, you can select between Cortana, Action Center, play/pause or middle mouse button, and …

Today, HP Inc. unveiled an awesome updated lineup of Windows 10 PCs for the holiday season, including new Windows 10 laptops, an all-in-one and a 4K display. With these new devices, you can draw and markup webpages in Microsoft Edge, talk to your own personal digital assistant in Cortana and enjoy their overall design excellence, quality and performance, whether you’re at home or on-the-go. Let’s take a look at HP’s new devices: HP Spectre x360 with Windows 10 delivers powerful performance in sleek package HP has taken its most successful premium laptop PC and made it even better. By optimizing the PC for the latest 7th Generation Intel Core processors, and addi…

Today, we’re thrilled to celebrate the official release of Gears of War 4 with fans around the world. Play Video Restricted Content Confirm your age to continue month JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember day 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 year 20162015201420132012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000199919981997199619951994199319921991199019891988198719861985198419831982198119801979197819771976197519741973197219711970196919681967196619651964196319621961196019591958195719561955195419531952195119501949194819471946194519441943194219411940193919381937193619351934193319321931193019291928…

In July we unveiled a new approach to business apps, and today I’m excited to share more about the capabilities coming to customers in Dynamics 365 – our new cloud service with purpose-built apps that enable you to address specific business needs (like sales automation, operations or customer service) and start small with the assurance that the solution can grow as your needs do. Powered by advanced analytics and machine learning – what we call Intelligence – Dynamics 365 will usher in a new era of business agility for you, our customers. Intelligence for your entire business – backed by deep experience Across Microsoft we’ve invested billions, over multiple decade…

Today, the HP Elite x3 goes on sale in Microsoft Stores. We’re taking a closer look and giving you an overview of some of the benefits the HP Elite x3 offers. Announced at Mobile World Congress, the HP Elite x3 is HP’s premium new mobile device powered by Windows 10. It’s lightweight, sports Gorilla Glass 4, is water resistant and is equipped with a battery that packs a major punch. With great built-in features like Cortana*, Continuum** and Microsoft Edge, the HP Elite x3 also features a camera sensor and fingerprint reader that allow you to login securely to the device with Windows Hello***. Features include: Expandable 2TB of storage via SIM card 8 MP fron…

Today, we’re talking about how to get started with Windows Ink* in four easy steps. Windows Ink is part of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update and lets you capture ideas quickly and naturally with a pen or touch-enabled device. Get started with the Windows Ink Workspace https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/dd46b63b1d0639e3017624a8c3214399.gif First, find the Windows Ink Workspace, your canvas for all the ink-powered features and apps on your PC. The Workspace has built-in experiences like sketchpad, screen sketch and Sticky Notes, as well as apps optimized for pen use. Press the Windows Ink Workspace button in your system tray at the bottom righ…

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/daa452f3d726903a6ad73bd8fbb629f3.gif Join us to see what’s next for Windows 10, save the date to watch the livestream of our #MicrosoftEvent in New York City on Wednesday October 26, 2016 at 10AM EDT/7AM PDT. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Head over here to read this week’s Windows 10 tip on how to write on the web with Microsoft Edge. Over in the Windows Store you can watch Star Trek: Beyond and The Flash in the Movies & TV section, and pick up everything you need for Halloween in the Haunted Hub collection. Here’s what’s new in the Windows Store this week: Early access begins today with Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/13e3da2c9a07376800f660fce4b8428d.jpg Today, fans who purchased Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition can experience the beginning of the new Gears saga four days…

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14942 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. What’s new in Build 14942 Hide app list on Start: We are releasing a new feature that enables you to collapse the app list in the Start menu. This has been a top feedback request from Windows Insiders. You can try it out by going to Settings > Personalization > Start and turning on “Hide app list in Start menu”. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/b1af0f9e81c9468390da125daea67e62.png Photos app update: With the latest Photos app update on your PC, the Photos app on your PC is now more beauti…

Last week’s big AI announcements eclipsed a lot of other news at Microsoft. This week, we march forward with all sorts of exciting announcements from cloud to startups to nano technology and gaming. Hold on tight as Weekend Reading gives you the light-speed tour of recent happenings at Microsoft. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/d51a0ed07f97af404fa6dbd129f7c43c.jpg Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and president Brad Smith revealed that the company has invested over $3 billion across Europe to date – in effect, doubling its cloud capacity in Europe in the past year. The Microsoft Cloud is now supporting European customers such as the UK Ministry of Defe…

Today, fans who purchased Gears of War 4: Ultimate Edition can experience the beginning of the new Gears saga four days before the Oct. 11 global launch with early access on Xbox One and Windows 10. Play Video Restricted Content Confirm your age to continue month JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember day 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 year 2016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995199419931992199119901989198819871986198519841983198219811980197919781977197619751974197319721971197019691968196719661965196419631962196119601959195819571956195519541953195…