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https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/a9e1bb1ab3d549199b8943c5742d15a6.jpg Welcome to Jurassic World, the only luxury resort with dinosaurs! In this downloadable content (DLC) for Minecraft, you’re the park manager who can craft and train dinosaurs, build exhibits and solve problems. Use vehicles and your team to solve disasters or go on expeditions to find dinosaur DNA. See how long you can keep the park open for a high score. This DLC includes 21 popular skins and more than 60 dinosaurs and hybrids. Get all the details on Minecraft. The post Jurassic World DLC arrives on Minecraft appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/ee40d784b8969228d044ee3ddf95a6bd.jpg Microsoft Flight Simulator Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available on Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass for PC (Beta) and Steam – for anyone who’s ever dreamed of flying, exploring the world, or visiting your favorite destinations. To celebrate the return of the beloved franchise, all players will be able to claim a free “Aviators Club” livery set as a special thank you for being one of the first to take flight from now through Sept. 30. The set will be available starting Wednesday, Aug. 19 for this limited time in the in-sim marketplace, and includes Microsoft Flight Simulator-inspired liveries for all aircraft available in the Standard, Deluxe and Premium Deluxe Editions. Read more about Microsoft Flight Simulator on Xbox Wire. The post Take to the skies with Microsoft Flight Simulator, available now appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20190 to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. What’s new in Build 20190 New post-update experience We know that it doesn’t always feel clear what changed with a major update, or even how you can learn about and try out new features and improvements. This means that updates can feel time consuming without real benefit to you, and we want to change that. We’re introducing a new first run experience via the Tips app that highlights the most exciting changes on your PC after a major Windows 10 feature update is installed. After installing this build, Insiders will see the Tips app is launched highlight some of the most recent new features from the latest Insider Preview builds in the Dev Channel. To see this experience on your device, make sure the “Show me the Windows welcome experience” checkbox in Settings > System > Notifications & actions is checked. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/cb69036429ed8a259c5ed6e5da6b4153.png This experience will show up for Windows Insiders in EN locales such as US, UK, AU, IN, and CA. Improved Graphics Settings experience While this isn’t a new feature all together, we have made significant changes based on customer feedback that will benefit our customers’ Graphics Settings experience. We have made the following improvements: We’ve updated the Graphics Settings to allow users to specify a default high performance GPU. We’ve updated the Graphics Settings to allow users to pick a specific GPU on a per application basis. If you’re a power user that has multiple high performance GPUs and would like to specify which of those GPUs should be the one used for high performance uses cases, you can now do that by going to Settings > System > Display > Graphics settings or Settings > Gaming > Graphics settings. What this means is that an application that asks for a high-performance GPU will by default use the high-performance GPU you specify on this page. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/16635566f758c021e6b341dfba58769d.jpg Now if you want even more control, we have also added the ability for you to specify exactly which GPU you want an app to run on using the new “Specific GPU” option. As you can see below, an application can be set to run on your GPU of choice. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/bfb6378b0d407e4d79ce6527c67c35bd.jpg Updates for developers The Windows SDK is now flighting continuously with the Dev Channel. Whenever a new OS build is flighted to the Dev Channel, the corresponding SDK will also be flighted. You can always install the latest Insider SDK from aka.ms/InsiderSDK. SDK flights will be archived in Flight Hub along with OS flights. Changes and Improvements Based on feedback, we’re updating the new Japanese IME to support switching between Hiragana and Katakana by using CTRL + CAPSLOCK and ALT + CAPSLOCK (respectively), as was supported with the previous version. Fixes We fixed a Windows Subsystem for Linux 1 related error that would output: ‘The I/O operation has been aborted because of either a thread exit or an application request’. Please see this Github issue for details. We fixed an issue that could result in explorer.exe being unresponsive on touch-capable devices after resuming from hibernation. We fixed an issue with the new search box in the default apps settings pages, where search results would appear to draw on top of one another when deleting characters from the search box. We fixed an issue where if you switched to an English keyboard using WIN + Space and then switched back to the Chinese Pinyin IME, typed punctuations would Chinese even if “Use English punctuations when in Chinese input mode” was enabled. We fixed an issue where when Narrator was enabled it could result in the on-screen PIN pad unexpectedly appearing when focus is set to the login screen. We fixed an issue resulting in Features on Demand (FOD) failing to enable with error 0x8000FFFF in recent builds. This is also believed to be the root cause for some Insiders finding that the sfc /scannow command would repeatedly fail citing a pending reboot. We fixed and issue that could result in the calling window (for example, Microsoft Edge) hanging if an authentication prompt was raised and then not interacted with and timing out. Known issues We’re working on a fix for an issue where some Microsoft Store games protected with Easy Anti-Cheat may fail to launch. We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build. We’re working on a fix for an issue where the min/max/close buttons are stuck in their original positions after resizing a UWP app. If you move the app window the position should update. We’re investigating reports that the new taskbar experience for pinned sites isn’t working for some sites. We’re working on a fix to enable live preview for pinned site tabs. We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site. We’re working on a fix for an issue where pinned sites don’t show all open tabs for a domain. In the meantime, you can fix this by pinning the site’s homepage rather than a specific page (e.g. pin microsoft.com rather than microsoft.com/windows). We’re working on a fix for an issue where Alt + Tabbing to a browser tab sometimes moves the previously active browser tab to the front of the Alt + Tab list as well. The letter headers in the Start menu’s all apps list have unnecessary left padding when the all apps list was set to hidden. REMINDER: Mark your calendars for our next webcast! We have announced that the new home for the Windows Insider Program webcast will be on Twitch! Join on August 18th! Important Insider Links You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here, including a list of all the new features and updates released in builds so far. Not seeing any of the features in this build? Check your Windows Insider Settings to make sure you’re in the Dev Channel. Submit feedback here to let us know if things weren’t working the way you expected. If you want a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring, head over to Flight Hub. Please note, there will be a slight delay between when a build is flighted and when Flight Hub is updated. Thanks, BLB The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20190 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re releasing 20H2 Build 19042.450 (KB4566782) to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel. We have fixed an issue in Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps that allows single sign-on authentication when an app does not have the Enterprise Authentication capability. With the release of CVE-2020-1509, UWP applications might begin prompting the user for credentials. Security updates to the Microsoft Scripting Engine, Internet Explorer, Windows Graphics, Microsoft Graphics Component, Windows Kernel, Windows Input and Composition, Windows Media, Windows Shell, the Windows Wallet Service, Microsoft Edge Legacy, Windows Cloud Infrastructure, Windows Authentication, the Windows AI Platform, Windows Fundamentals, Windows Storage and Filesystems, Windows Update Stack, Windows File Server and Clustering, Windows Hybrid Storage Services, Windows App Platform and Frameworks, the Microsoft JET Database Engine, and Windows SQL components. For more information about the resolved security vulnerabilities, please refer to the Security Update Guide. Thanks, BLB The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19042.450 (20H2) appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/56fa95f719cce134c861b73129a09f42-1024x578.jpg Kids are getting more screen time than ever these days, and that has lots of parents understandably worried. So this was a great time for the launch of the free Microsoft Family Safety app for iOS and Android that helps you manage time spent on devices and in apps. Visit the post on the Windows Home and Family Resources Blog to find out how to create a safe space for your kids to explore online, set up limits to help your children get a good balance of screen time, go over activity reports with your family, and help keep their gaming safe. The post Got kids? Help protect them with the new Microsoft Family Safety app appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Because the world is in unchartered territory with COVID-19 impacting people, organizations and economies this year, we’re excited to announce that we’ve pivoted Microsoft Ignite from a week-long, in-person event to two global events that are free, 48-hour digital gatherings. The first event is Sept. 22-24, and registration will open on Sept. 3. We’ll be adding a second Microsoft Ignite in early 2021 to create an additional opportunity to connect with our technical communities, and to share the latest product developments. We’ve learned from the global digital events we’ve held this year that we now have the opportunity to bring the whole global community together in one place to create a truly worldwide event. For this reason, we’re not going to be holding Microsoft Ignite Tour events in different cities around the world this year; instead Microsoft Ignite will bring all global participants together and include the opportunity for local community meetups, will have language localization, and participants will also be able to get skill building with Microsoft Learn and certifications. Finally, I want to clarify that the second Microsoft Ignite event to be held early next year will not replace Microsoft Build. We’ll continue to host Microsoft Build as the forum for our developer communities to come together. Visit www.microsoft.com/events to stay connected on all Microsoft events. The post Microsoft Ignite 2020: Empowering the technical community to help customers innovate and rebuild in a changing world appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20185 to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. What’s new in Build 20185 Improving DNS configuration in Settings We’re making a few changes to the Network section in Settings: Making DNS settings more easily accessible: Editing your DNS server assignment is now a top-level option when you go into your network’s properties page. Encrypted DNS controls in the Settings app: Encrypted DNS (DNS over HTTPS, or DoH) can help increase privacy and security while browsing the web. You can now configure DoH directly in the Settings app to more easily take advantage of this feature: For ethernet connections: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Status. Click Properties, then select Edit IP assignment or Edit DNS server assignment and it will be available in the popup For Wi-Fi connections: Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi. Click the adapter properties link, then select Edit IP assignment or Edit DNS server assignment and it will be available in the popup. Currently you will not see the encryption options if you go to the individual network’s property page You can add any IP address listed here to unlock the DoH dropdown and choose to use encryption. Once encryption is enabled, you can confirm it’s working by looking at the applied DNS servers in the network properties and see them labeled as “(Encrypted)” servers. If you want to try a custom DoH server we don’t recognize yet, you can configure an IP address to be recognized as a DoH server by using the netsh command documented here at the end of the blog post. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/7783c5f1f83fba22ff585bc2c57ac6fc.png As always, appreciate your feedback! New ADMX Backed Policies for MDM Starting with Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20175, we have enabled 647 new MDM policies across 56 ADMX files to enable commercial customers to configure policies that are also supported through Group Policies. Contains ADMX based Policies such as App Compat, Event Forwarding, Servicing and Task Scheduler. These new policies can be configured using Intune custom profile. Intune UX is planned to be available later this year. ADMX file name: AddRemovePrograms.admx AppCompat.admx AuditSettings.admx CipherSuiteOrder.admx COM.admx Cpls.admx CtrlAltDel.admx DigitalLocker.admx DnsClient.admx DWM.admx EncryptFilesonMove.admx EventForwarding.admx FileServerVSSProvider.admx FileSys.admx FolderRedirection.admx Help.admx HelpAndSupport.admx kdc.admx LanmanServer.admx LinkLayerTopologyDiscovery.admx MMC.admx MMCSnapins.admx MSAPolicy.admx nca.admx NCSI.admx Netlogon.admx OfflineFiles.admx PeerToPeerCaching.admx PerformanceDiagnostics.admx PreviousVersions.admx QOS.admx Reliability.admx Scripts.admx sdiageng.admx Securitycenter.admx Servicing.admx Setup.admx SharedFolders.admx Sharing.admx Shell-CommandPrompt-RegEditTools.admx Smartcard.admx Snmp.admx TaskScheduler.admxtcpip.admx Thumbnails.admx TPM.admx UserExperienceVirtualization.admx W32Time.admx WinCal.admx WindowsAnytimeUpgrade.admx WindowsConnectNow.admx WindowsMediaDRM.admx WindowsMediaPlayer.admx WindowsMessenger.admx WinInit.admx Other updates for Insiders Introducing Your Phone Apps – access your Android phone’s apps directly from your PC The Your Phone app continues to evolve. We are happy to announce another exciting feature, a seamless continuation of our vision and promise to help you be more productive and keep you in your flow. Tap into the power of Your Phone app with Link to Windows integration on select Samsung devices to instantly access your phone’s mobile apps directly from your Windows 10 PC. There’s no need to install, sign-in or set up your apps on your PC, saving you time and hassle. You can conveniently pin your favorite mobile apps to your Taskbar or Start menu on your PC for quick and easy access. When you launch an app, it opens in a separate window outside of the Your Phone app enabling you to multitask. So, whether you need to quickly reply to a conversation, respond to your social posts, or order food, you can do it fast using your PC’s large screen, keyboard, mouse, pen and touch screen alongside your other PC apps! https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/981c0c28f97305545318d655cf5ac056.gif And we are not stopping here. Later in the year, Samsung Galaxy Note20 users will experience the power and convenience of running multiple apps side by side and we will continue to work with Samsung to bring this feature to additional devices. Apps will launch in separate windows enabling you to interact with multiple apps at the same time. So, whether you are working on a document, keeping up on your social media feed or simply staying connected with family and friends, everything is accessible in one place, so your flow is never broken. Starting today, Android phones supporting Your Phone app’s Phone screen feature will be able to preview the Apps feature. See list of supported devices here. The ability to run multiple apps simultaneously is currently not available and will be introduced later this year. Give this feature a try and provide us with your valuable feedback as we continue to test, learn, and improve the overall experience. You can provide feedback within the Your Phone app under Settings -> Send Feedback. Key Features: See a list of your installed Android apps directly within the Your Phone app. Add your frequently used apps to the favorites section or search among your apps for even quicker access. Launch any mobile app directly from your PC. Apps and your mirrored phone screen launch in a separate window on your PC. Pin your mobile apps to Windows Task bar or Start menu. Stay in the know by keeping an eye on the app notification badging (unread notifications) in the All apps list or your Favorites. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/4f5f92bd4227a27e10f90ee9fd371173.png Apps feature requirements: PC running Windows 10 October 2018 Update or later. However, we always recommend updating to the latest version of Windows 10, Your Phone app and Link to Windows. Available on select Android phones running Android 9.0 or greater with the Link to Windows integration. Check out the list of supported phones here. Phone and PC must be on the same Wi-Fi network. Known Issues/Limitations: Some apps might block the ability to cast to other screens and you will see a black screen instead. Some games and apps might not respond to interactions from your PC mouse or keyboard. You will need to use a touch-enabled PC to interact with them. Audio from apps will play from your mobile device. Ability to run multiple apps will rollout out later in the year. Updates for developers The Windows SDK is now flighting continuously with the Dev Channel. Whenever a new OS build is flighted to the Dev Channel, the corresponding SDK will also be flighted. You can always install the latest Insider SDK from aka.ms/InsiderSDK. SDK flights will be archived in Flight Hub along with OS flights. Changes and Improvements We’re moving the 3D Viewer app into the Windows Accessories folder in the Start menu all apps list. Fixes We fixed an issue where sometimes the “close all windows” action in the Taskbar wasn’t closing all of the open tabs for pinned sites. We fixed an issue that could result in the network icon in the Taskbar saying there was no internet although there was an active connection. We fixed an issue where dragging and dropping an app from Start’s all apps list over to the tile grid to pin it wasn’t working for certain apps. We fixed an issue where the letter headers in the Start menu’s all apps list had unnecessary left padding when the all apps list was set to hidden. In order to address an issue where the tiles were difficult to read against certain backgrounds when using full screen Start we’re adjusting the background to be slightly less transparent. We fixed an issue where when using a Start menu layout applied by MDM, tile groups may disappear after a few days of uptime without rebooting. We fixed an issue where if a notification included an inline image the app icon would be slightly out of line with it. We fixed an issue where launching an app from its taskbar jumplist wasn’t working for certain desktop bridge apps and instead would result in the app disappearing from the taskbar. We fixed an issue resulting in excessive network traffic when using the Open File dialog to navigate to shared network folders where previous versions where enabled. We fixed an issue that could result in a blank icon displaying instead of a plus button on the main Default Apps page in Settings after uninstalling the app set as default. We fixed an issue where opening Storage Settings then immediately going into one of the sub-pages and then back could result in the page not loading. We fixed an issue resulting in the new Microsoft Edge not being listed in the App History section of Task Manager. We fixed an issue impacting touch keyboard launch reliability. We fixed an issue where TextInputHost.exe would enter an unresponsive state, leading to clipboard history, the Emoji Panel, and dictation not appearing when pressing their corresponding keyboard shortcuts. We fixed an issue that could result in not being able to paste the first entry in clipboard history. We fixed an issue that could result in ARM64 devices bug checking when resuming from hibernation. Known issues We’re working on a fix for an issue where some Microsoft Store games protected with Easy Anti-Cheat may fail to launch. We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build. We’re working on a fix for an issue where the min/max/close buttons are stuck in their original positions after resizing a UWP app. If you move the app window the position should update. We’re investigating reports that the new taskbar experience for pinned sites isn’t working for some sites. We’re working on a fix to enable live preview for pinned site tabs. We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site. We’re working on a fix for an issue where pinned sites don’t show all open tabs for a domain. In the meantime, you can fix this by pinning the site’s homepage rather than a specific page (e.g. pin microsoft.com rather than microsoft.com/windows). We’re working on a fix for an issue where Alt + Tabbing to a browser tab sometimes moves the previously active browser tab to the front of the Alt + Tab list as well. Opening a WSL 1 distribution can result in the error: ‘The I/O operation has been aborted because of either a thread exit or an application request’. Please check out this Mark your calendars for our next webcast! We have announced that the new home for the Windows Insider Program webcast will be on Twitch! Join on August 18th! Important Insider Links You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here, including a list of all the new features and updates released in builds so far. Not seeing any of the features in this build? Check your Windows Insider Settings to make sure you’re in the Dev Channel. Submit feedback here to let us know if things weren’t working the way you expected. If you want a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring, head over to Flight Hub. Please note, there will be a slight delay between when a build is flighted and when Flight Hub is updated. Thanks, BLB The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20185 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Today, we are excited to share the latest innovations in our partnership with Samsung, bringing together Samsung’s new devices for productivity with the best apps and services across Microsoft 365, Windows 10 and Xbox to help you across work and play. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/09a4bacc55dd0f7ddb03ddb73df0b07a.jpg We know technology is more important today than ever before. While life has changed for everyone, some important things remain the same. People need to connect. They need to work. They need to play and enjoy life. Together, Microsoft and Samsung are addressing these needs, creating experiences and devices that are easier to use than ever before while providing greater flexibility and access to the tools you need from any place at any time. Since we announced our long-term partnership last year, we have been working closely to co-engineer experiences that help you move seamlessly between your devices and your life. Today, we share new integrations that will make this even easier. Seamless connection between PC and Phone We all rely on a variety of devices everyday across our work and personal lives, which often leads to disconnected experiences. A phone buzzing while you are in your work flow on your PC is the last thing you need, especially with the constant stream of interruptions we are facing while trying to work in new conditions. Microsoft’s Your Phone app and Link to Windows integration on select Samsung devices, enables you to stay in the flow by allowing you to take calls, check notifications, see photos and messages, all from your Windows 10 PC. Now, on your Samsung Galaxy Note20, you can access and interact with your favorite mobile apps directly on your Windows 10 PC through the Your Phone app [1]. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/76c9c2571dbe1b4858e8361baa6a987d.gif When you launch an app, it opens in a separate window, allowing you to multi-task and saving you the time and hassle of sign-in or set up. You can also pin your phone’s Android apps to your Windows 10 taskbar or Start menu for quick and easy access, making things like checking out your social feed or ordering your lunch while you wrap up a conference call even easier, without ever picking up your phone. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/fb4a9c65a97f75837f10bc0d5c0f73bf.gif Samsung Galaxy Note20 users can now access a single mobile app on their PC [2], with the power and convenience of running multiple apps side by side available later this year. Whether you are working on a document, keeping up on your social media feed or simply staying connected with family and friends, everything is accessible in one place, so your flow is never broken. Productivity wherever you are We are also making it seamless to transition between your Galaxy Note20 and Microsoft 365 apps with instant access to your most important notes across your devices. Coming soon, notes from Samsung Notes can automatically sync with your OneNote feed in Outlook on the web or OneNote as an image. You can quickly jot down your notes from a meeting or grocery list with your S Pen on Galaxy Note20 and have instant access to the content in your productivity apps like Outlook and OneNote. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/0ffea52d0a96e897df96c497a0052855.gif You will also be able to sync Samsung Reminders from your Galaxy Note20 to your Windows 10 PC across Microsoft To Do, Outlook and Microsoft Teams experiences, so you can view and edit from anywhere, keeping your reminders aligned across your phone, PC and apps. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/53487375957e898fb4bacf867c9c1616.gif For the past year, Outlook has served as the app for personal productivity on new Samsung phones. We’re excited to announce today that we’re extending this integration to include Samsung Galaxy watches, including the new Galaxy Watch3. As the native email app on your most important devices across the Samsung ecosystem, Outlook will help you stay organized and productive. Custom optimization for S Pen will also be available on Galaxy Note20, making it easy to write or ink on photographs from your gallery. And Outlook brings Play My Emails to Android devices [3], offering a voice forward, hands-free way to listen and respond to what’s new in your inbox so you can get time back in your day. With OneDrive on Samsung Galaxy phones, you have your important files, documents and photos at your fingertips across devices. You can set your phone’s camera roll to automatically sync to OneDrive with Gallery, so your photos and videos are protected and always accessible. And with OneDrive Personal Vault you can store and protect important files with peace of mind behind an extra layer of identity verification. You can keep digital copies of your passport, ID cards, insurance, taxes and other sensitive files in OneDrive and access them securely on your device wherever you are [4]. Xbox Game Pass in your hands Today, we also announced Xbox is partnering with Samsung to make gaming more accessible to players around the world, via the cloud. With cloud gaming (beta) as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Microsoft’s gaming subscription service, members can play Xbox games on their Xbox console, PC and Android devices using an Xbox controller. Mobile players can play over 100 high-quality Xbox games directly on their Galaxy phone or tablet. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/08/0b42f2733a7f63949e6ae858678e0cb4.jpg Beginning Sept. 15, you’ll be able to experience the best of Xbox Game Pass by downloading the app from the Samsung Galaxy Store, giving you the freedom to access expansion packs, downloadable content and more. Whether it’s racing through the beautiful English countryside in Forza Horizon 4 on a new Galaxy Note20 during a lunch break, or fighting alongside your pet llama in Minecraft Dungeons on a Tab S7 at home once the workday ends, Galaxy devices provide the best way to pick up and play games directly from the cloud. Customers who pre-order the new Galaxy Note20 have the option to select the Gaming Bundle at purchase, which includes three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Additionally, Samsung is including the all-new Power A MOGA XP5-X Plus Bluetooth Controller with an attachable phone clip with the Gaming Bundle to ensure those Galaxy Note20 customers enjoy a great cloud gaming experience. Pre-orders begin today and cloud gaming as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate goes live in 22 markets in North America, Europe and South Korea beginning Sept. 15. With Xbox Game Pass on your Samsung Galaxy, your Xbox games are always in your pocket. We are excited to continue working together with Samsung to create new experiences that enable your devices to work together seamlessly across work and play to help you stay in your flow – whatever that may be. [1] Users must link their Galaxy device to their Windows PC through ‘Link to Windows’ on phone and Your Phone app on PC, follow the set-up prompts, including being signed into same Microsoft account. Link to Windows is preloaded on select Galaxy devices. Your Phone requires latest Windows 10 Update on the PC. Galaxy device must be on and connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the PC. Some mobile apps may restrict content to be shared on other screens or may require a touch screen to be able to interact with them. Ability to run multiple apps simultaneously will start rolling out in November 2020. [2] Beginning 8/21 with retail availability of Samsung Galaxy Note20. [3] U.S only. [4] OneDrive Basic 5 GB free accounts and 100 GB plans can store a maximum of 3 files in Personal Vault. A Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription is required to store more than 3 files in Personal Vault. The post Microsoft and Samsung expand partnership, empowering you across work and play appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Every year, more than 11 billion tons of waste is produced worldwide according to the United Nations Environment Programme. A byproduct of our daily lives and every sector of the world’s economies, the trash we discard pollutes our land, clogs our waterways, depletes our natural resources and contaminates the very air we breathe. We recognize the urgent need to protect the world’s ecosystems and reduce the carbon emissions that come from the creation, distribution and disposal of waste. That’s why today we’re announcing our goal to become zero waste in Microsoft’s direct operations, products and packaging by 2030. Our zero waste goal is the third sprint in Microsoft’s broad environmental sustainability initiative launched earlier this year focusing on carbon, water, ecosystems and waste. We are setting ambitious goals for each and empowering our customers with the technology and our learnings to do the same. To address our own waste creation, Microsoft will reduce nearly as much waste as we generate while reusing, repurposing or recycling our solid, compost, electronics, construction and demolition, and hazardous wastes. We’ll do this by building first-of-their-kind Microsoft Circular Centers to reuse and repurpose servers and hardware in our datacenters. We’ll also eliminate single-use plastics in our packaging and use technology to improve our waste accounting. We will make new investments in Closed Loop Partners’ funds. And finally, we’ll enlist our own employees to reduce their own waste footprints. By 2030, we will divert at least 90 percent of the solid waste headed to landfills and incineration from our campuses and datacenters, manufacture 100 percent recyclable Surface devices, use 100 percent recyclable packaging (in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, countries), and achieve, at a minimum, 75 percent diversion of construction and demolition waste for all projects. This work builds on our ongoing waste reduction efforts that started in 2008 which resulted in the zero waste certifications of our Puget Sound Campus and our datacenters in Boydton, Virginia and Dublin, Ireland. Microsoft Circular Centers To meet the growing demand for our cloud services, our datacenter footprint – and the 3 million servers and related hardware that power it – must expand. Today, these servers have an average lifespan of five years and contribute to the world’s growing e-waste problem. To reduce this waste, we plan to repurpose and recycle these devices through new Microsoft Circular Centers, which will be located first on our new major datacenter campuses or regions, and eventually added to existing ones. YouTube Video Click here to load media Using machine learning, we will process servers and hardware that are being decommissioned onsite. We’ll sort the pieces that can be reused and repurposed by us, our customers, or sold. We will use our learnings about reuse, disassembly, reassembly and recycling with design and supply chain teams to help improve the sustainability of future generations of equipment. Microsoft Circular Centers build on our earlier circular cloud initiatives to extend the lifecycle of our servers and minimize the waste sent to landfills. In Amsterdam, our Microsoft Circular Center pilot reduced downtime at the datacenter and increased the availability of server and network parts for our own reuse and buy-back by our suppliers. It also reduced the cost of transporting and shipping servers and hardware to processing facilities, which lowered carbon emissions. We expect the Microsoft Circular Centers to increase the reuse of our servers and components by up to 90 percent by 2025. Eliminating single-use plastics in packaging Approximately 300 million metric tons of plastic are produced ever year, 50 percent of which is used one time. And, half of this plastic waste comes from packaging. The scale of this problem and its impact on our oceans, waterways and land requires bold action, which is why we are eliminating plastics from our business-to-business packaging for all Microsoft primary products and within our datacenters by 2025. This includes plastic film, primary product packaging and our IT asset packaging. https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/prod/prod/2020/08/Global-Plastic-Production-5f29286c5e3fa.png Improving waste data Today, there is no consistent, high-quality data about the amount of waste, the type and quality, where it is generated and where it goes. In addition, data differs considerably depending on the waste category. For example, data about hazardous waste and electronics is well accounted for and tracked due to regulations and robust management systems for both. However, data about construction and demolition waste does not have consistent measurements or reporting. Waste data needs a standardized methodology, better transparency and higher quality. Without more accurate data, it’s nearly impossible to understand the impact of operational decisions, what goals to set, and how to assess progress, as well as an industry standard for waste footprint methodology. Since we can’t solve a problem that we don’t fully understand, we are investing to digitize waste data across the company to identify opportunities to improve waste data collection. This digital solutions for our operations will include technology to track and report on dashboard waste, Power BI platforms for e-waste chain-of-custody, and improving Microsoft Power Apps which helps us capture real-time waste data. As we gain clarity and confidence in our broader waste footprint we will include more precise waste data in our public reporting. Climate Innovation Fund investment: Closed Loop Partners We’re investing $30 million in Closed Loop Partners’ funds to help accelerate the infrastructure, innovation and business models for supply chain digitization, e-waste collection, food waste reduction, and recycling industry products to build a more circular economy at scale. Closed Loop Partners is a pioneering investor in circular economy innovation with a track record of working with corporate partners to pilot new solutions. In addition to benefiting from the technologies that are being developed, we plan to use learnings from our partnership to inform Microsoft’s circular economy initiatives in our devices and cloud value chains, specifically packaging, e-waste and waste diversion from landfills. Empowering our customers We will share our learning from our own zero waste journey with our customers, who are already using our technology to better understand, measure and reduce their own waste footprint. In 2019, Microsoft partnered with H&M, Target, PVH Corp. and others to establish a global standard powered by Azure called Circular ID. This platform tracks a garment in an effort to create a more sustainable fashion economy by reusing clothing through rental, resale or recycle, rather than destruction. Dutch nonprofit Madaster Foundation is also using digital identities to eliminate waste. Madaster’s platform tags materials with an identity, so they can be recycled, resold and reused, driving more sustainable construction decisions. Vancouver-based SPUD, an online organic food delivery company, built a logistics platform on Microsoft Dynamics 365 that uses AI to lower food waste. In one year, SPUD diverted 265,971 kilograms of waste from the landfill, preventing 444 tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere, and saved 3,564,275 liters of water. Of course, recycling and reusing materials to divert them from landfills is key to reducing waste. The Colchester Borough Council in the U.K. provide services to 192,500 residents, from licensing to recycling. The council is moving function-specific systems to Dynamics 365, unifying its data across intelligent business applications. The recycling tracking system provides reporting via Microsoft Power BI, showing data like heatmaps of problem spots for collections or where residents need more encouragement to recycle. Enlisting our employees Our employees play an important role in our company’s waste footprint. As we did with our carbon and ecosystems announcement, we are inviting our employees to participate in our waste reduction efforts. To show employees the impact of their actions and how much waste they generate, we are developing an internal Power BI waste data dashboard. This will be available starting with employees based at the Puget Sound campus and expand to campuses around the world. The dashboard will display the average waste generated per employee and can be used to test effectiveness of waste reduction campaigns, implementation of a waste prevention initiatives and more. In addition, we will launch our first waste reduction challenge, a month-long, online challenge connecting individual action to collective impact later this year. Our employees will have the opportunity to learn how they can participate in Microsoft’s corporate waste program and commit to taking impactful action in their daily lives. The challenge will focus on actions employees can take at home during the global health crisis. These challenges will incorporate themes of waste prevention, material reuse, circular economy and waste equity. We will also create more opportunities for our employees to become actively involved, both in company-wide activities, like our annual weeklong hackathon that will include a call for proposals on waste reduction. Our collective challenge No one person or organization can solve the global waste problem. It will take all of us doing our part, including using better data to understand the problem and make smart waste policy decisions. Zero waste is an ambitious goal, but minimizing our own waste footprint is essential to preserving the natural resources and reducing the waste-associated carbon emissions to ensure our economies and societies around the world thrive for generations to come. The post Microsoft direct operations, products and packaging to be zero waste by 2030 appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/5ee47fc33e616c31e04a1f2f66f24f8b-1024x578.jpg With today’s exploding growth of virtual classes and hybrid learning models, it’s more vital than ever to equip your student with a laptop that has the power, adaptability and longevity for the “new normal.” The Windows Home and Family Resources Blog has a new post recommending a Windows 10 PC powered by a 10th Gen Intel Core processor. Whether your budget is $300 or $1,300, the post gives you advice on how to choose a machine with ample speed and power, as well as the screen size and battery life to help your student learn efficiently and reliably. Plus, Windows 10 PCs deliver compatibility and built-in accessibility features that over 1 billion users enjoy worldwide and are in wide use throughout Fortune 500 companies and beyond. The post Buying a new computer for your student? Check out 3 things to look for appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald J. Trump, Microsoft is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States. Microsoft fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President’s concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury. Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020. During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President. The discussions with ByteDance will build upon a notification made by Microsoft and ByteDance to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The two companies have provided notice of their intent to explore a preliminary proposal that would involve a purchase of the TikTok service in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and would result in Microsoft owning and operating TikTok in these markets. Microsoft may invite other American investors to participate on a minority basis in this purchase. This new structure would build on the experience TikTok users currently love, while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections. The operating model for the service would be built to ensure transparency to users as well as appropriate security oversight by governments in these countries. Among other measures, Microsoft would ensure that all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States. To the extent that any such data is currently stored or backed-up outside the United States, Microsoft would ensure that this data is deleted from servers outside the country after it is transferred. Microsoft appreciates the U.S. Government’s and President Trump’s personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country. These discussions are preliminary and there can be no assurance that a transaction which involves Microsoft will proceed. We do not intend to provide further updates until there is a definitive outcome to our discussions. The post Microsoft to continue discussions on potential TikTok purchase in the United States appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re releasing 20H2 Build 19042.423 (KB4568831) to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel. This release is a re-release of 20H2 19042.421 from last week but brings it to parity with the Windows 10 May 2020 (20H1) servicing as of today. Thanks, BLB The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19042.423 (20H2) appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/44c631e721532c72a0ae3a37cdc86eed.jpg Ashen Winds, the latest Sea of Thieves monthly update, is here for free for all players across Windows 10, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass and Steam. Powerful Ashen Lords arrive on the Sea of Thieves in raging flames and blinding ash clouds – and now their skulls can be taken and wielded as fiery weapons. Accessibility improvements such as single-stick control, alongside new Pirate Emporium pets and discounts, round out this monthly offering. Get all the details on Xbox Wire. The post Latest Sea of Thieves update, Ashen Winds, now available appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20180 to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. IMPORTANT NOTE: Insider Preview Builds 20161 and below will expire on July 31st. To avoid hitting this expiration, please update to Insider Preview Builds 20170 or newer. What’s new in Build 20180 We are turning on much of the new features mentioned on July 1st in Build 20161 including theme-aware tiles on Start. The new pinned sites capability mentioned with last week’s flight of Build 20175 is still only available to a subset of Insiders. Updates for developers The Windows SDK is now flighting continuously with the Dev Channel. Whenever a new OS build is flighted to the Dev Channel, the corresponding SDK will also be flighted. You can always install the latest Insider SDK from aka.ms/InsiderSDK. SDK flights will be archived in Flight Hub along with OS flights. Changes and Improvements Based on feedback, we’re changing the tablet posture logic for 2-in-1 devices to now only apply when using a single screen. Based on feedback we’re updating the new folder icon in the Start menu’s All app’s list to be a little smaller so it better aligns with the size of the other icons. We’ve updated the search box in the Default Apps settings pages to improve performance. Fixes We fixed an issue in the last flight where Magnifier wasn’t following the curser in the previous build when the zoom was higher than 100%. We fixed an issue where Task Manager wasn’t showing the Publisher name for UWP apps. We fixed an issue when using the Pinyin IME where tapping “/” on the keyboard wouldn’t produce the right character when using full width mode. We fixed a couple issues that could result in crashes when using Alt+Tab to switch to browser tabs. Known issues We’re working on a fix for an issue where some Microsoft Store games protected with Easy Anti-Cheat may fail to launch. We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build. We’re working on a fix for an issue where the min/max/close buttons are stuck in their original positions after resizing a UWP app. If you move the app window the position should update. We’re investigating reports that the new taskbar experience described above isn’t working for some pinned sites. We’re working on a fix for an issue where sometimes the “close all windows” action in the taskbar doesn’t close not all of the open tabs We’re working on a fix to enable live preview for pinned site tabs. We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site. We’re working on a fix for an issue where pinned sites don’t show all open tabs for a domain. In the meantime, you can fix this by pinning the site’s homepage rather than a specific page (e.g. pin microsoft.com rather than microsoft.com/windows). We’re working on a fix for an issue where Alt + Tabbing to a browser tab sometimes moves the previously active browser tab to the front of the Alt + Tab list as well. Opening a WSL 1 distribution can result in the error: ‘The I/O operation has been aborted because of either a thread exit or an application request’. Please check out this Github issuefor the latest updates. Catch up on the webcast and more on the Windows Insider YouTube Our past webcasts are now available on the Windows Insider YouTube. We also have some new videos about making the most of the program, and we’ll continue to use this channel for webcasts and how-to content. Subscribe now to see what’s next and keep up with our latest videos! Important Insider Links You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here, including a list of all the new features and updates released in builds so far. Not seeing any of the features in this build? Check your Windows Insider Settings to make sure you’re in the Dev Channel. Submit feedback here to let us know if things weren’t working the way you expected. If you want a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring, head over to Flight Hub. Please note, there will be a slight delay between when a build is flighted and when Flight Hub is updated. Thanks, BLB The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20180 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/18b89302c9b8a26db37850f271491f47.jpg Grounded, the new survival adventure game from Obsidian Entertainment, is now available through Steam Early Access and Xbox Game Preview with Xbox Game Pass, so you can also play on PC. In this game, players wake up in a suburban backyard after being mysteriously shrunken to the size of an ant. Guided by a robot named BURG.L, players must explore, build and survive while confronting new dangers and perils. Find more details at Xbox Wire. The post Now available: Grounded, a new survival adventure game appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/1a0fa44893f1f5bfe1c8368187b8dcd5-1024x578.jpg There’s a lot of competition out there for good jobs, but the good news is that with a little preparation and tools from Microsoft, you can make a solid first impression. Learn how to do so in a new post on the Windows Home and Family Resources Blog. There you’ll find info and resources for creating a well-designed, well-written résumé with Word, establishing your professional identity with a great LinkedIn profile, and preparing for your interview with Presenter Coach. Check it out, and good luck on your search! The post 3 ways to use tech to make a good impression in your job hunt appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re releasing 20H2 Build 19042.421 (KB4568831) to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel. What’s new in Build 19042.421 Theme-aware tiles in Start We are freshening up the Start menu with a more streamlined design that removes the solid color backplates behind the logos in the apps list and applies a uniform, partially transparent background to the tiles. This design creates a beautiful stage for your apps, especially the Fluent Design icons for Office and Microsoft Edge, as well as the redesigned icons for built-in apps like Calculator, Mail, and Calendar that we started rolling out earlier this year. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/dabfa329dfacdc1a2669002649ed75d6.gif This refined Start design looks great in both dark and light theme, but if you’re looking for a splash of color, first make sure to turn on Windows dark theme and then toggle “Show accent color on the following surfaces” for “Start, taskbar, and action center” under Settings > Personalization > Color to elegantly apply your accent color to the Start frame and tiles. ALT + TAB between apps and sites Are you a multitasker? With this build, your tabs open in Microsoft Edge will start appearing in Alt + TAB, not just the active one in each browser window. We’re making this change so you can quickly get back to whatever you were doing—wherever you were doing it. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/634dd641ac5d268c671631222138c910.gif If you’d prefer fewer tabs or the classic Alt + TAB experience, we’ve added some settings for you under Settings > System > Multitasking. You can configure Alt + Tab to only show your last three or five tabs or choose to turn this feature off completely. This feature requires a Canary or Dev build of Microsoft Edge (version 83.0.475.0 or higher). Improving pinned sites in Microsoft Edge We have another new feature we’ve been working on to make you more efficient when browsing the web: quick access to tabs for your pinned sites. Clicking a pinned site on the Taskbar will now show you all of the open tabs for that site across any of your Microsoft Edge windows, just like you’d expect for any app with multiple open windows. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/f50733d9580bd7b17dd3b245952a8634.gif This feature requires Microsoft Edge Insider Build 85.0.561.0 or higher (Canary or Dev Channel). NOTE: Since this is an early preview, existing sites on your Taskbar will not experience this new behavior until you remove and re-pin them. A more personalized Taskbar for new users We want to help customers get the most out of their PCs from day one, and that starts with offering a cleaner, more personalized, out-of-box experience to give you the content you want and less clutter. This provides us with a flexible, cloud-driven infrastructure to test customer reception of default Taskbar content and tailor these layouts based on user and device signal. We will evaluate the performance of individual default properties, monitoring diagnostic data and user feedback to assess an audience’s reception. Using this information, we will tune default layouts to minimize clutter and perceptions of bloatware. Please note that this experience is limited to new account creation or first logon scenarios. We will not use Programmable Taskbar to alter the Taskbar layout on existing accounts. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/2a484fd68334970e192f8a1138aedc73.jpg Improving the notification experience We are making some changes to improve the notifications experience in Windows 10. First, know where your toast is coming from by checking out the app logo at the top. Done with the notification? Select the X on the top right corner to quickly dismiss and move on with your life. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/5db65c59e8b5b819bd9203996bf7b8c3.png And second, we are turning off the Focus Assist notification and summary toast by default, so we will no longer let users know that Focus Assist has been turned on through an automatic rule via a notification. This can be changed back to the previous behavior via Settings. Making Settings even better We’re continuing to work on bringing capabilities from Control Panel forward into Settings. As part of this ongoing effort, we are migrating information found in Control Panel’s System page into the Settings About page under Settings > System > About. Links that would open the System page in Control Panel will now direct you to About in Settings. We are also bringing new improvements like making your device information copyable and streamlining the security information shown. And don’t worry—if you’re looking for more advanced controls that lived in the System page in Control Panel, you can still get to them from the modern About page if you need them! https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/329ddd5b6ac1257e88fbc73d79d9e7a9.png There will be more improvements coming that will further bring Settings closer to Control Panel. If you rely on settings that only exist in Control Panel today, please file feedback and let us know what those settings are. Improving the tablet experience for 2-in-1 devices Previously, when detaching the keyboard on a 2-in-1 device, a notification toast would appear asking if you wanted to switch into tablet mode. If you selected yes, you would switch into tablet mode. If you chose no, it would give you the new tablet posture experience introduced in the May 2020 Update (or simply the desktop on earlier versions of Windows 10). We are further updating this experience by changing the default, so that this notification toast no longer appears and instead will switch you directly into the new tablet experience, with some improvements for touch. You can change this setting by going to Settings > System > Tablet. Some users may have already seen this change on Surface devices. And to address confusion with some users getting stuck in tablet mode on non-touch devices, we are removing the tablet mode quick action on non-touch devices. In addition, new logic is incorporated to let users boot into the appropriate mode according to the mode they were last in and whether the keyboard is attached or not. Modern Device Management (MDM) improvements The new Local Users and Groups modern device management (MDM) policy allows an administrator to make granular changes to a local group on a managed device, on par with what has been available to devices managed with on-prem Group Policy (GP). Changes, Improvements, and Fixes We fixed an issue that causes error messages to display in the English US (en-US) language instead of in the non-English language you selected. This occurs when you install a non-English language pack before installing the latest cumulative update. We fixed the toast notification that appears at restart when you update from Windows 10, version 2004. We fixed an issue that causes non-English strings to disappear, which might affect the text on the tiles of the Start menu. We fixed an issue that prevents you from using sharing functionality in Microsoft Office. This occurs when Conditional Access is enabled. We fixed an issue that occurs when a third-party application loads hidden tabs into Internet Options. We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge IE mode that occurs when you open multiple documents from a SharePoint site. We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge IE mode that occurs when you browse using anchor links. We fixed an issue with pasting mixed content of images and text from Microsoft Word into Internet Explorer. We fixed an issue that might cause Microsoft browsers to incorrectly bypass proxy servers. We fixed an issue in the Windows Push Notification (WNS) service that prevents you from selecting a virtual private network (VPN) interface to make outbound connections. As a result, you lose connectivity with the WNS service when forced tunneling is used. We fixed an issue that might cause the Magnifier to stop working in Microsoft Excel in certain scenarios. As a result, Microsoft Excel might also stop working. We fixed an issue that prevents you from installing some .msi apps. This occurs when a device is managed by a Group Policy that redirects the AppData folder to a network folder. We fixed an issue that might display 4K high dynamic range (HDR) content darker than expected when you configure certain non-HDR systems for HDR Streaming. We fixed an issue that causes new child windows to flicker and appear as white squares on server devices that are configured for stark visual contrast. We fixed an issue that causes the Settings page to close unexpectedly, which prevents default applications from being set up properly. We fixed an issue that causes all open Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps to close unexpectedly. This occurs when their installer calls the Restart Manager to restart File Explorer (explorer.exe). We fixed an issue that prevents Windows 8.1 apps from projecting to a secondary display when those apps use the StartProjectingAsync API. We fixed an issue that prevents family safety features, such as time limits and activity reporting, from working on ARM64 devices. We fixed an issue with File Explorer’s preview of .msg files when Microsoft Outlook 64-bit is installed. We fixed an issue that causes a KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE (139) stop error when Windows resumes from Sleep and turns on certain Bluetooth headsets. We fixed an issue that might prevent certain display driver reset utilities from properly reinstalling the same driver on the system. We fixed a reliability issue in WDF01000.sys. We fixed an issue that causes memory leaks when an application calls the CryptCATAdminCalcHashFromFileHandle() function. The leaked memory is reclaimed when the application closes. Improves support for non-ASCII file paths for Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) Auto Incident Response (IR). We fixed an issue that prevents some machines from automatically going into Sleep mode under certain circumstances because of Microsoft Defender ATP Auto IR. We fixed an issue that prevents some machines from running Microsoft Defender ATP Threat & Vulnerability Management successfully. We fixed an issue that prevents Microsoft Defender ATP from applying file exclusions in some cases, which leads to application compatibility issues. We fixed an issue in Microsoft Defender ATP that prevents some machines from reporting the installed applications to Threat & Vulnerability Management. We fixed an issue that causes automatic investigations to fail in Microsoft Defender ATP. Improves Microsoft Defender ATP’s ability to identify malicious code injection activities. We fixed an issue that prevents some applications from printing to network printers. We fixed an issue that might cause a printer to be a hidden device in Device Manager after a restart. We fixed an issue that might cause the Print Management console to display script errors when you enable the Extended View option. We fixed an issue that causes printing to fail in certain scenarios. We fixed an issue that might prevent a Windows 10 device from reaching the internet when using a wireless wide area network (WWAN) LTE modem. However, the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) in the notification area might still indicate that you are connected to the internet. We fixed an issue that might prevent internet connectivity on some cellular modems after upgrading to Windows 10, version 2004. We fixed an issue that causes telephony applications to lose the first four digits. We fixed an issue with in-memory parity bitmaps that can cause data integrity issues on Parity Storage Spaces. We fixed an issue that prevents the creation of a storage pool using Manage Storage Spaces in Control panel. We fixed an issue that might cause the Microsoft Remote Assistance process (msra.exe) to stop working when a user is receiving assistance during a computer session. The error is 0xc0000005 or 0xc0000409. Thanks, BLB The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19042.421 (20H2) appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/72a0929ee31355b59206ef64d951f31f.jpg The first chapter of Tell Me Why, the latest narrative adventure from Dontnod Entertainment and Xbox Game Studios, is now available for pre-order for PC for Windows 10, Xbox One and Steam. Its scheduled release is Aug. 27. This game focuses on the story of twins Alyson and Tyler Ronan, who reunite for the first time in 10 years after their mother’s death. Upon returning to their childhood home in rural Alaska, the Ronans realize that their shared past may not be as they remember it. Tell Me Why seeks to drive inclusive storytelling within the AAA gaming space, as it used on-the-ground research and partnered closely with cultural, mental health and gender advocates to ensure that the game is truly representative of the identities it represents. Get all the details on Xbox Wire. The post You can now pre-order Tell Me Why’s first chapter appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we’re releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20175 to Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel. Windows Insiders with PCs that have AMD processors will be able to receive this build. IMPORTANT NOTE: Insider Preview Builds 20161 and below will expire on July 31st. To avoid hitting this expiration, please update to Insider Preview Builds 20170 or newer. What’s new in Build 20175 Improving pinned sites in Microsoft Edge Earlier this month, we announced ALT + TAB between apps and sites, the first of our new productivity enhancements coming to Microsoft Edge on Windows 10. Today, we’re announcing another feature we’ve been working on to make you more efficient when browsing the web: quick access to tabs for your pinned sites. Clicking a pinned site on the Taskbar will now show you all of the open tabs for that site across any of your Microsoft Edge windows, just like you’d expect for any app with multiple open windows. Please let us know what you think! https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/f50733d9580bd7b17dd3b245952a8634.gif This feature is currently rolling out to a subset of Insiders today and requires Microsoft Edge Insider Build 85.0.561.0 or higher (Canary or Dev Channel). NOTE: Since this is an early preview, existing sites on your Taskbar will not experience this new behavior until you remove and re-pin them. For more details on our new multitasking improvements, check out our post on the Microsoft Edge blog. Introducing Reset-AppxPackage For some time now, you’ve been able to reset your UWP apps in Settings – with today’s build we’re now exposing this ability via PowerShell as well. To do this, you’ll need the appx package name, so your use of the command may look like this: >> Get-AppxPackage *calculator* | Reset-AppxPackage The benefit of enabling this via PowerShell is that if needed you will now be able to run the reset commands for certain system components that are not currently listed as available to reset in Settings, for example Start. Please note by nature of this command, if you choose to run it it will reset your experience back to the default experience and you will lose the associated app data. Make a more personal connection with Eye Contact on Surface Pro X Powered by artificial intelligence capabilities of the Microsoft SQ1 processor, Eye Contact helps to adjust your gaze on video calls so you appear to be looking directly in the camera on your Surface Pro X. Windows Insiders can turn this feature on via the Surface app on their Surface Pro X. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/7395420e4c7efa64b0fbff4552d9a54b.png Other updates for Insiders More new icons: As part of our ongoing efforts to update the iconography across Windows, Insiders will notice we have begun rolling out a new icons for both Sticky Notes and the Snip & Sketch app via updates from the Microsoft Store. Just like with the new Settings icon in the last build, these new icons look great on the Start menu with the theme-aware tiles introduced in Build 20161! https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/8809db7753120122b418d2ada715a568.png https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/6c9d97822865c854f600bbf64b3e322e.png Updates for developers The Windows SDK is now flighting continuously with the Dev Channel. Whenever a new OS is flighted to the Dev Channel, the corresponding SDK will also be flighted. You can always install the latest Insider SDK from aka.ms/InsiderSDK. SDK flights will be archived in Flight Hub along with OS flights. Fixes We fixed an issue causing some systems to crash with a HYPERVISOR_ERROR bugcheck. We fixed an issue resulting in tiles sometimes flashing unexpectedly in the Start menu when animating We fixed an issue where the option the set Alt + Tab to “Windows Only” wasn’t working. We fixed an issue that could result in apps unexpectedly appearing black when viewed under Magnifier with a large magnification. We fixed an issue that could result in some stutter when gaming. We fixed an issue resulting in Narrator not working with touch when touching a XAML item. We fixed an issue resulting in Search not closing after selecting certain items in the search results. We fixed an issue resulting in flickers when logging in. We fixed an issue resulting in fonts not displaying correctly in some apps in the last two flights. We fixed an issue that could result in Settings crashing if it’d been opened but minimized to the Windows Update page, and then you navigated to another settings page by clicking a URI. We fixed an issue where clicking a link to System would result in an empty and unclosable Control Panel instance. Known issues We’re working on a fix for an issue where some Microsoft Store games protected with Easy Anti-Cheat may fail to launch. We’re looking into reports of the update process hanging for extended periods of time when attempting to install a new build. If you are impacted by an issue where when pressing space while using the Korean IME in Edge and Chrome the last character was deleted, this has been fixed in Chromium as part of Bug 1099125. We’ll be removing this from the known issues with the next flight. We’re working on a fix for an issue where the min/max/close buttons are stuck in their original positions after resizing a UWP app. If you move the app window the position should update. We’re investigating reports that the new taskbar experience described above isn’t working for some pinned sites. We’re working on a fix for an issue where sometimes the “close all windows” action in the taskbar doesn’t close not all of the open tabs We’re working on a fix to enable live preview for pinned site tabs. We’re working on enabling the new taskbar experience for existing pinned sites. In the meantime, you can unpin the site from the taskbar, remove it from the edge://apps page, and then re-pin the site. We’re working on a fix for an issue where pinned sites don’t show all open tabs for a domain. In the meantime, you can fix this by pinning the site’s homepage rather than a specific page (e.g. pin microsoft.com rather than microsoft.com/windows). We’re working on a fix for an issue where Alt + Tabbing to a browser tab sometimes moves the previously active browser tab to the front of the Alt + Tab list as well. Catch up on the webcast and more on the Windows Insider YouTube Our past webcasts are now available on the Windows Insider YouTube. We also have some new videos about making the most of the program, and we’ll continue to use this channel for webcasts and how-to content. Subscribe now to see what’s next and keep up with our latest videos! Important Insider Links You can check out our Windows Insider Program documentation here, including a list of all the new features and updates released in builds so far. Not seeing any of the features in this build? Check your Windows Insider Settings to make sure you’re in the Dev Channel. Submit feedback here to let us know if things weren’t working the way you expected. If you want a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring, head over to Flight Hub. Please note, there will be a slight delay between when a build is flighted and when Flight Hub is updated. Thanks, BLB The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 20175 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

In January, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella, President Brad Smith, and Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood launched a bold new environmental sustainability initiative focusing on carbon, water, waste and biodiversity. We began this work by announcing one of the most ambitious carbon commitments put forward by any company: Microsoft will be carbon negative by 2030 and remove from the environment more carbon than we have emitted since our founding by 2050. We outlined a detailed plan to get there and committed to providing updates on our progress. We have been working hard to turn our commitments into action and, today, we are announcing seven important new steps on our path to be carbon negative by 2030. We have launched a new coalition, Transform to Net Zero, and we’re announcing the private preview of the new Microsoft Sustainability Calculator. We’ve taken concrete steps to reduce our carbon emissions by reducing our dependence on diesel-fuel backup power at our datacenters by 2030 and also remove 1 million metric tons of carbon from the environment this fiscal year. We’ve updated our supplier code of conduct. We’re investing $50 million in Energy Impact Partners’ (EIP) global platform for innovation of new technologies to transform the world’s energy and transportation systems. We also launched an innovative new partnership that ties together our renewable energy purchases and investments in communities disproportionately affected by environmental challenges. Read about these measures and more on the Microsoft on the Issues blog. The post Important new steps on our path to be carbon negative by 2030 appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Our partner ecosystem is essential to delivering transformative solutions for customers. Each year, we hear countless success stories from customers around the world and across industries who depend on our partners’ innovation, dedication, and service. But in the past year — and in the past few months especially — we’ve seen firsthand exactly what our partner community offers in a dramatically changing world: unlimited potential. The potential to adapt, to connect, to innovate, and to achieve more. The Microsoft Partner Network serves as a catalyst to equipping businesses and customers with the technology and tools needed to succeed in an evolving digital economy. Now in its 17th year, this year’s Microsoft Inspire will be the first time we come together for a digital-only event, a shift that underscores the times we’re living in, as well as our partners’ resilience. It’s an example of how, even amid widespread disruption, our ecosystem has continued to help customers adapt to a dramatically changing environment. And when you combine the power of our offerings with the innovation of our partners, that impact takes on even greater significance: https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/2020/07/JPG-How-Microsoft-Partner-Network-helpls-customers-1024x501.jpg From Africa, to Antarctica, to the Americas, Asia, and everywhere in between, our partner ecosystem is driving digital transformation around the world. Microsoft Inspire is an opportunity for those partners to connect, to reflect with us on the past year, and to look ahead at how we can collectively grow both in the near future and long term. In the past week alone, we’ve made some exciting announcements with Citrix, Land O’Lakes and Finastra as we head into the conference. Here’s a glimpse at some additional announcements we are sharing today: We continue to build innovative ways for partners to serve customers and manage their business amid changing work environments. Enhancements to Azure Lighthouse, which was initially announced during Microsoft Inspire in 2019, bring multi-factor authentication and Privileged Identity Management support, which are direct results of customer feedback. Microsoft’s series of Cloud Practice playbooks for partners continues to expand, with two new playbooks aimed at helping partners build an effective cloud practice: the Microsoft Azure Center of Excellence playbook guides partners on how to scale an Azure-focused practice, and the App Innovation Practice Development playbook outlines the customer demand for cloud-based applications and how partners can be successful using Microsoft technology. Two new bundled services for Lenovo Managed Services are designed to help small- and medium-sized businesses support Microsoft software productivity, security and collaboration. Power Platform and Dynamics 365 are supporting the path back to the workplace by delivering critical digital infrastructure needs. New Power Platform solutions can help bring employees back to the workplace safely by enabling customers with Location Readiness, Employee Health and Safety Management, Workplace Care Management and Location Management tools, so they can continually monitor conditions and respond where needed. Our partners are critical in bringing these solutions to our customers. This was evident during our initial COVID-19 response in March and April, with solutions such as the crisis communications template, which enabled customers to quickly stand up customized solutions for their specific needs because our partners were there and ready to help. Innovation across Dynamics 365 applications including Customer Voice, Connected Store and Fraud Protection are focused on making sure we’re helping customers weather the current crisis while also setting them up for future agility and resilience. These new capabilities will help sellers and merchants accelerate the shift to digital operations, understand and respond to customers’ needs, and set them up for success as the world continues to respond to the crisis while ultimately establishing a digital foundation to reimagine what’s next. Azure continues to help companies accelerate their journey to and in the cloud. Azure Stack HCI, the latest in Microsoft’s hybrid portfolio and now in public preview, brings hybrid capabilities to customers’ datacenters while enabling them to leverage existing skills and investments. As customers are increasingly moving their workloads to the cloud to save money, increase efficiency and innovate, we are committed to giving them more choice and the best solutions for their hybrid needs. Some of our key partners already delivering Azure Stack HCI solutions include Dell EMC, HPE and Lenovo. Azure Migrate enhancements enable customers to respond to rapidly changing conditions in record time by conducting richer datacenter assessments, enabling server migrations and adding modernization for containerizing applications. We are also introducing support for Azure VMware Solution assessments. Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams deliver new solutions for a secure and collaborative workplace. Teams is delivering new ways for Microsoft partners and developers to extend the Teams meeting experience with third-party apps and services that can make meetings more interactive, engaging and effective. New capabilities in Teams help Firstline Workers connect and engage with information, apps and coworkers while enabling organizational agility. The new Communities feature provides access to Yammer announcements, updates, discussions and events directly from Teams; Walkie Talkie, now in public preview, enables secure push-to-talk communication; and new features streamline shift scheduling and task publishing for Firstline Managers. New public preview of Microsoft Endpoint Data Loss Prevention in Microsoft 365 helps customers identify and protect information on endpoints. Because it’s built into Windows 10, Office Apps, and Microsoft Edge, no agent is required, and it can be deployed quickly. It is also integrated with existing data loss prevention in Microsoft Teams, Exchange and SharePoint, helping customers meet compliance requirements across Microsoft 365. New enhancements to the Power Platform experience within Teams makes Teams an even more powerful hub for teamwork and business process. Microsoft Dataflex, a relational database now built into Teams at no additional cost, enables customers to create, deploy and manage apps and chatbots with Power Apps and Power Virtual Agentwithout ever leaving Teams. This new functionality will empower business users to rapidly respond to changing business needs and create customer solutions within the collaboration app they use every day to get work done. Universal Print is a new Microsoft 365 service solution for customers who need a simple, easy, secure print experience as they move to the cloud. The service opens many opportunities for reseller and hardware partners as customers look to deploy printers without a need for a complex hybrid print setup. We continue to make strong progress on our goal to be carbon negative by 2030 by bringing customers and partners along on the journey. To accelerate business action towards a net zero carbon economy, Microsoft is working together with eight other leading corporations to launch a new coalition, Transform to Net Zero. New private preview of the Microsoft Sustainability Calculator provides our cloud customers transparency into their total carbon emissions – scopes 1, 2 and 3 – resulting from their cloud usage. An update to our Supplier Code of Conduct requires suppliers to calculate and report their greenhouse gas emissions data. The first investment from the $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund is focused on technologies to transform the world’s energy and transportation systems. A new partnership with Sol Systems focuses on securing 500 megawatts of renewable energy and strategic investments in communities disproportionately affected by environmental challenges. We’re excited about the possibilities ahead as we continue to empower partners with the training, skills, support, value and security needed to drive new opportunities and positive outcomes for customers. More details on the announcements listed here and many others can be found in the Microsoft Inspire Book of News. Visit Microsoft Inspire 2020 to follow news and highlights from Microsoft Inspire. We look forward to seeing where the potential of our partner ecosystem will take all of us in the months to come. The post Microsoft Inspire 2020: Empowering partners to make more possible appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Microsoft Inspire is a chance to connect with, and celebrate, our valued partners all around the world. Today, we are excited to announce that the FastTrack Ready Partner program is expanding to include the new Microsoft Edge. Learn more about the program—and additional Microsoft Edge news and features—below. Microsoft Inspire announcements Microsoft Edge joins FastTrack Ready Partner program—Next month, the FastTrack Ready Partner program expands to include Microsoft Edge, giving customers even more options to get help with deploying and configuring the new Microsoft Edge in their organizations. Starting August 2020, eligible customers with 150 or more paid seats of Windows 10 Enterprise can work with a FastTrack Ready Partner to receive deployment guidance for Microsoft Edge. Organizations can also receive deployment guidance directly from FastTrack. FastTrack offers more than deployment guidance for eligible customers—it also offers compatibility support at no additional cost through the App Assure program. The App Assure promise is this: if an organization’s web apps and sites work on Internet Explorer 11, supported versions of Google Chrome, or any version of Microsoft Edge, those web apps and sites should work on the new Microsoft Edge. If not, the organization can contact App Assure for remediation support. FastTrack and App Assure provide deployment and compatibility support to help organizations transition as smoothly as possible to the new Microsoft Edge. Eligible customers can submit a Request for Assistance (RFA) by contacting FastTrack. Endpoint Data Loss Protection (DLP) public preview now available—Microsoft Edge is the only browser that natively supports Microsoft Endpoint DLP and eliminates the need to install, maintain and upgrade additional data loss prevention software for the browser. As more work shifts to cloud-powered applications accessed via the browser, having the right data protection and governance approach is critical. Microsoft Endpoint DLP not only addresses regulation and privacy, but also mitigates data leakage and risk when using Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 devices. With native support in Microsoft Edge, customers can easily extend their control over sensitive data when accessing information via the browser. Starting on July 21, Microsoft Endpoint DLP will be available for public preview and we encourage customers to try it before general availability. Learn more here. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/563a14a226d2dded3548cbbf19ea72dc-1024x674.jpg Microsoft Edge news Microsoft Edge rated highest in phishing and malware protection—60% of the time people spend on the PC is within the web browser, and it has become the primary way we work, learn and play. That’s why it’s critical that your web browser enables productivity and helps keep you safe. We’re excited to share that in two recent independent studies published this month by NSS Labs, Microsoft Edge is the highest scoring browser in the phishing and malware security reports. We are dedicated to the security of our users and are eager to continue pushing for further innovations. Read the full report for more details. Features and updates Easily switch between work and life—Here’s a work from home situation you’re probably familiar with. You’ve kept your browsing separate with both a work and personal profile, but when you’re using your personal profile a coworker pings you with a work link. You try to open it, but instead of using your work profile, the link tries to open in your personal profile (where your work credentials are not saved). With Automatic Profile Switching, Microsoft Edge opens the link in the correct profile saving you the time and hassle of re-entering credentials. If you try to access a work link while browsing in your personal profile—or vice versa—Microsoft Edge will prompt you to switch profiles before opening it. Links that need work credentials open in your work profile, and links that need personal credentials open in your personal profile—it’s that simple and is available now. To enable, go into “Multiple profile preferences” in your Profile settings. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/3e747b747d2430ab0c681b611c907232.gif Organize your ideas with Collections now on mobile—Collections allows you to easily collect and organize content from across the web. Now you can access, add and organize Collections on your mobile device—pull up a recipe you saved while cooking or access an internal work site you saved on the go. Download the iOS or Android Microsoft Edge mobile app to get started. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/e462ac80c8c54029b9bf8144be107013.gif Do more with notes in Collections—You can now add a note to an item in a collection. Notes stay attached to an item even if you drag and drop to rearrange your collection. To try this new feature, right-click on an item already in Collections and select “Add note.” You can now also change the background color of notes to organize them and find them faster. Try it now in the desktop version of Microsoft Edge. Listen to PDF files and make edits easier—The web is for everyone, and for some, listening can be easier than reading. Read Aloud for PDF not only supports auditory learners, but also frees up users to listen to PDF content while carrying out other tasks. We’ve also improved PDF file editing. Users can now save edits back to the working PDF file instead of needing to save a new copy each time they make an edit. This feature is now generally available. Translate full web pages into 54 languages—Microsoft Edge can now translate web page text into one of 54 languages with the press of a button. To get started, navigate to the reading preferences in Immersive Reader, select your language of choice, and see the words change instantly to your preferred language. Translate in Immersive Reader is now generally available. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/a475c665217fc3dcfb172282aa7e9739.gif Thanks for checking out the first installment of “What’s new in Microsoft Edge”! Be on the lookout for future blogs where we’ll share news, upcoming features and all things Microsoft Edge. The post What’s new in Microsoft Edge – July 2020 / Microsoft Inspire Edition appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

In Sri Lanka, a cloud-based auction system keeps buyers and sellers socially distanced during COVID-19, safeguards a 150-year old tea industry, and protects the livelihoods of almost 2 million people. Microsoft Inspire, our annual partner conference, kicks off tomorrow and we have transitioned the event to an all-digital format to maintain social distancing amid the global pandemic. This new format requires an evolution in how we engage with our partners to share content and ideas while providing an opportunity to connect with each other, consider the influential tech trends that lay ahead, and work together to bring innovation to life for our mutual customers. This change in approach exemplifies the many ways customers across industries are adapting in a COVID-19 world. By using digital technologies, they are becoming more resilient, accelerating their recovery, and maneuvering to anticipate customer needs. https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/2020/07/Cr_Fed-Ex-express-courier-packages-master_az_3569_160-112-1024x641.jpg FedEx and Microsoft combine a global digital logistics network and the power of the intelligent cloud to transform commerce. There are many examples this past quarter of how our customers are embracing change, including “remote everything,” while uncovering innovation — and opportunity — in a new normal. In a multiyear collaboration with FedEx, we shared plans to reinvent the end-to-end commerce experience globally, creating opportunities for FedEx customers and enabling businesses to better compete in a growing digital landscape powered by Microsoft Azure and Dynamics 365. We also launched a cloud platform in partnership with Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) and Adobe to provide WBA customers with personalized health care and shopping experiences, further enhancing WBA’s loyalty program and advancing its digital transformation. Plus, we are continuing to partner with software companies like Workday and SAS to deliver new solutions at scale on Azure to help our joint customers improve business performance with our cloud technologies. Collaborating with these companies and other ISVs allows us to introduce more repeatable solutions into the marketplace and accelerate our customers’ cloud journey. https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/2020/07/cr_HoloLens-1024x642.jpg Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the United Kingdom uses Microsoft HoloLens to protect doctors while providing patient care amid the coronavirus pandemic. In healthcare, the industry continues to make advances in research and primary care to prevent infection, treat, or find a vaccine for COVID-19. In support of those and other efforts, we launched Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare. It is our first industry-specific cloud offering that brings together trusted and integrated capabilities for customers and partners to enrich patient engagement and connect health teams to improve collaboration, decision-making and operational efficiencies. We also announced alliances with ImmunityBio to perform computational analysis on the coronavirus using the power of our cloud, and UnitedHealth Group to launch ProtectWellhttps://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/2122.png, a return-to-workplace protocol powered by Microsoft cloud and AI technologies that helps manage employee symptom screening to create a safer work environment. In London, doctors at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust have adopted HoloLens to limit the number of clinicians needing to enter high-risk areas of their hospital during COVID-19, while maintaining the highest levels of care and saving up to 700 items of personal protective equipment (PPE) per ward each week. Baltimore, Maryland-based Johns Hopkins shared how it is combining the power of Azure and AI with its research expertise to support its inHealth Precision Medicine Analytics Platform to drive new medical discoveries and improve disease management. NHSX/NHS Digital are enabling organizations across England to support first-line workers during the pandemic, providing as many as 1.2 million workers with Microsoft 365 digital tools while Premera Blue Cross, the leading health insurance provider in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, has deployed 500 Surface devices for its office workers to deliver wellness and prevention care to more than 2 million of its members. In financial services, BNY Mellon announced the launch of three new data and analytics solutions offerings and the expansion of our relationship to build data, technology and content solutions for investment managers. Volkswagen Financial Services is adopting a DevOps approach to help consumers and businesses buy and lease VW vehicles and fleets across 80 web apps in nearly 10 countries. And in the Netherlands, Rabobank is strengthening client relationships and driving sustainable growth by migrating 40,000 employees to Microsoft 365 to deliver a secure and cooperative workplace experience. In manufacturing and logistics, we announced a partnership with Sony Semiconductor Solutions to make AI-powered smart cameras and video analytics easier to access and deploy across industries – for instance, a manufacturer might use smart cameras to identify hazards on its manufacturing floor in real-time before injuries can occur. We also shared how we are working with Hitachi to build resilient supply chains and equip first-line workers with predictive maintenance and remote assist capabilities to boost productivity and operational efficiency. Additionally, GE Aviation announced they are offering a new digital fuel dashboard at no cost to commercial airline customers using its Azure-enabled event measurement system as a way of providing operational efficiency and agility to customers affected by the pandemic. https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/prod/2020/07/cr-img-9370-Citizen-Care-Pod-1024x629.jpg Citizen Care Pod Corporation, based in Canada, collaborates with WZMH Architects, PCL Construction, Insight Enterprises and Microsoft to launch a custom mobile testing unit to help reopen the economy. Regardless of industry, organizations are embracing these technologies as part of business continuity planning and as a strategy to modernize operations and customer experiences. PCL Construction began manufacturing and assembling Citizen Care Pods, retrofitted from shipping containers and powered by our cloud and AI technologies to support reliable, convenient COVID-19 testing for patients. Capitol Records is using our Power Platform to share marketing information across the product lifecycle, helping facilitate and streamline cross label projects, reduce costs and empower employees through no-code application development. Competitive esports organization Cloud9 is giving its teams an edge over opponents by combining data scientists and our cloud to find meaningful insights to boost individual and team performance, and our work with the Chattanooga Film Festival helped provide virtual experiences for the community under a shelter-in-place order, hosting the feature and film content on our cloud and supporting live events on Teams. In Sri Lanka, the coronavirus very nearly shut down the country’s renowned tea industry, so the Sri Lanka Tea Board and its Tea Traders Associations, with the help of a local Microsoft partner, developed an e-auction system using Azure and Teams to maintain social distancing and save almost 2 million jobs. As organizations adapt to a COVID-19 world, their sense of purpose is taking on new meaning and encompassing where they are uniquely equipped to leverage technology innovation for good. This past quarter highlighted multiple examples of this trend, which we call “purpose-driven digital,” the art and science of leveraging technology innovation to drive business and societal outcomes for good. At Microsoft, we share this purpose and are honored to be a trusted partner and strategic advisor as we work with customers to bring new innovations to life now and in the days ahead. The post Harnessing technology to adapt across industries: Customers embrace remote everything and purpose-driven digital for a better future appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/6fdd1bc93e3828c983eaa30342cd2483.jpg 17-inch Lenovo Legion 5 laptop Following the spring launch of the Lenovo Legion lineup that focused on a better keyboard and thermals, Lenovo has added AMD Ryzen processors to five new gaming PCs — the 17-inch Lenovo Legion 5 laptop, the Lenovo Legion 5P laptop, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 laptop for entry-level gaming, plus the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 and IdeaCentre Gaming 5 desktops. AMD Ryzen 4000 H-Series Mobile Processors can improve laptop performance by raising clock speeds — making games, content creation and productivity applications all run much faster. When paired with available NVIDIA GeForce GPUs, this gaming portfolio can tackle the latest games with impressive speed. The Lenovo Legion 5 laptop comes in two sizes (17-inch and a 15-inch size that’s already available with AMD Ryzen CPU) and is equipped with up to AMD Ryzen 7 4800 H-Series Mobile Processors paired with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs. It is expected to be available starting at $1089.99 in September. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/f7869072b1723cd8ffc63ac1ed00328d.jpg 17-inch Lenovo Legion 5 The 15-inch Lenovo Legion 5 laptop with up to AMD Ryzen 7 4800 H-Series Mobile Processors and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU is expected to be available starting at $1019.99 in August. It’s also available now with up to NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU starting at $759.99. Ideal for eSports, the Lenovo Legion 5P laptop has up to AMD Ryzen 7 4800 H-Series Mobile Processors and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs. At up to 300 nits of brightness, the 15.6-inch Full HD wide-viewing angle display has lightning-fast 144Hz refresh rate for under a 5ms response time to reduce screen tearing. The enhanced thermal performance of Lenovo Legion Coldfront 2.0 is engineered to help keep heat away from players’ fingertips and minimize noise. It also uses an integrated thermal module for greater thermal efficiency. Dedicated media keys and number pad make video editing and setting macros a snap. This 15-inch Lenovo Legion 5P laptop will not be offered in North America, but will be available in select markets. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/31517703388a4d4515f75750eb8943cf.jpg Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3  laptop With improved thermals, the new 15.6-inch IdeaPad Gaming 3  laptop has up to AMD Ryzen 7 4800 H-Series Mobile Processors and up to crystal-clear full HD wide-viewing angle display with a slim bezel design. It’s expected to be available starting at $659.99 later this month. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/2a54c884f19b24c23c8f33108f54745c.png Lenovo Legion Tower 5 If you’re looking for a set-up to match marathon gaming sessions, the new Lenovo Legion Tower 5 includes up to AMD Ryzen 9 3950X desktop processor with 16 cores. It’s expected to be available starting at $829.99 in October with AMD Ryzen 7X Desktop Processors in North America. Finally, the new IdeaCentre Gaming 5 is available in iridescent Chameleon Blue and offers up to AMD Ryzen 7 3700X desktop processors paired with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU made to help you move faster and aim better, while GeForce RTX 2060 graphics reveal the depth and visual fidelity of real-time ray-tracing. It will not be offered in North America, but will be available in select markets. Get more details at Lenovo. The post Lenovo expands Windows 10 PC options by adding AMD Ryzen processors to 5 gaming PCs appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2020/07/78289d856e1f4be07a962e1c3bcbf1bf-1024x578.jpg At Xbox, they’re listening to players, game developers, content creators and streamers. And based on that feedback, Phil Spencer, executive vice president of Gaming at Microsoft, has laid out a road map to the future of gaming and Xbox in a new blog post. “We’re building a future where you and your friends can play the deepest, most immersive and interactive games ever created across your Xbox console, PC and mobile devices,” he writes. Commitments include new technology to reduce hate speech and toxicity and empowering creators of diverse backgrounds to develop new stories. With Xbox Series X, all games will look and play best on the newest console – whether they come from Xbox Game Studios or publisher and developer partners. If you have or are considering Xbox Game Pass, note that all Xbox Game Studios titles will launch the same day as their global release. And all Xbox Game Studios titles that will be released in the next few years—such as Halo Infinite—will be available on Xbox Series X and Xbox One. Xbox Series X will also be the first console ever to launch with four generations of compatibility on day one. With the new Smart Delivery technology, you don’t need to buy the same game twice – once for the current console generation and once for the next generation. You always have the best available version of supported games on whatever Xbox console you are playing on, at no additional cost. Xbox Play Anywhere digital titles also enable you to buy once and play on both Xbox consoles and Windows 10 PCs. “It’s a future in which you get more value from your games. And where everyone is welcome,” Spencer writes. Get details on all this and more on Xbox Wire. The post Phil Spencer on the future of gaming appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...