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Did you know easy snipping is just a single step away, thanks to the Windows 10 October 2018 Update? Since it’s available in the Microsoft Store, Snip & Sketch (originally introduced as part of the Windows Ink Workspace under the name “Screen Sketch”) can update faster and more frequently. It’s already had four app updates with new features since it was introduced in the fall. Unlike Screen Sketch, the Snip & Sketch app will show up on the taskbar and in the task switcher (Alt+tab), which makes it much easier to multi-task. You can also set the window size, and it even supports multiple windows. To quickly snip and share a screenshot, press the Windows key + Shift + S to bring up a snipping toolbar – use it to snip a rectangle, something a bit more freeform, or full screen and it will go straight to your clipboard. If that’s all you need, you can take it from there. Check it out in action: https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/04/0f1630c3aa90523ae2565d936b8ec89a.gif But you may want more. Immediately after taking a snip, you’ll get an invitation to take your snip to the Snip & Sketch app where you can annotate and share. If the Windows key + Shift + S keyboard shortcut is too long to remember, there are three easy entry options: Just click the pen tail button. If you have a digital pen, go into Pen & Windows Ink Settings – you’ll find Screen Snipping is now an option for single click. This will launch you directly into our snipping experience. Press Print Screen. Go to the Settings app and search for “PrtScn”, which will take you to a page with a toggle switch that says “Use the Print Screen key to launch screen snipping.” Turn on this toggle to start snipping with just a single key press. Press the quick action button in Action Center, labelled “Screen snip.” It should be there as soon as you upgrade, but if not, you can always enable it via Notifications & Actions Settings. Find out more about the creation of Snip & Sketch and how to use it over at the Windows Community. If you like Snip & Sketch, check out more Windows 10 Tips. The post Windows 10 Tip: Snip & Sketch appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

In December, we announced our intention to adopt the Chromium open source project in the development of Microsoft Edge on the desktop. Our goal is to work with the larger Chromium open source community to create better web compatibility for our customers and less fragmentation of the web for all web developers. Today we’re embarking on the next step in this journey – our first Canary and Developer builds are ready for download on Windows 10 PCs. Canary builds are preview builds that will be updated daily, while Developer builds are preview builds that will be updated weekly. Beta builds will come online in the future. Support for Mac and all supported versions of Windows will also come over time. In these first builds we are very much focused on the fundamentals and have not yet included a wide range of feature and language support that will come later. You’ll start to see differences from the current Microsoft Edge including subtle design finishes, support for a broader selection of extensions and the ability to manage your sign-in profile. We look forward to people starting to kick the tires and will be refining the feature set over time based on the feedback we receive. Along with what’s visible in the browser itself, we’ve also begun to make contributions back to the Chromium open source project. These include areas like accessibility, touch, ARM64 and others . We’re working directly with the teams at Google and the broader Chromium community on this work and appreciate the collaborative and open discussions. . We look forward to continued engagement with the community to progress Chromium in these areas and others. We hope those of you who are comfortable testing early software or are part of the open source community developing browsers will use these builds at least a little bit every day. Ultimately, we’re looking for your feedback – what’s working well, what’s not working and what things you’d like to see in the final product. The more you use early builds and give us feedback, the better we can make the final product. In fact, your use at this early stage helps us find bugs that we can fix for not just the next version of Microsoft Edge, but other browsers built using Chromium as well. If you’re ready to participate, we invite you to visit the Microsoft Edge Insider and download now. You can also read more about the new preview builds and our participation in the Chromium community on the Microsoft Edge Developer Blog. Thank you to everyone who is engaging with us on this work. We look forward to sharing more details and updates as we continue on the journey. Thanks, JoeB The post Microsoft Edge preview builds: The next step in our OSS journey appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

While regular updates are critical to keeping modern devices secure and running smoothly in a diverse and dynamic ecosystem, we have heard clear feedback that the Windows update process itself can be disruptive, particularly that Windows users would like more control over when updates happen. Today we are excited to announce significant changes in the Windows update process, changes designed to improve the experience, put the user in more control, and improve the quality of Windows updates. In previous Windows 10 feature update rollouts, the update installation was automatically initiated on a device once our data gave us confidence that device would have a great update experience. Beginning with the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, users will be more in control of initiating the feature OS update. We will provide notification that an update is available and recommended based on our data, but it will be largely up to the user to initiate when the update occurs. When Windows 10 devices are at, or will soon reach, end of service, Windows update will continue to automatically initiate a feature update; keeping machines supported and receiving monthly updates is critical to device security and ecosystem health. We are adding new features that will empower users with control and transparency around when updates are installed. In fact, all customers will now have the ability to explicitly choose if they want to update their device when they “check for updates” or to pause updates for up to 35 days. We are taking further steps to be confident in the quality of the May 2019 Update. We will increase the amount of time that the May 2019 Update spends in the Release Preview phase, and we will work closely with ecosystem partners during this phase to proactively obtain more early feedback about this release. This will give us additional signals to detect issues before broader deployment. We are also continuing to make significant new investments in machine learning (ML) technology to both detect high-impact issues efficiently at scale and further evolve how we intelligently select devices that will have a smooth update experience. I’m pleased to announce that the Windows 10 May 2019 Update will start to be available next week in the Release Preview Ring for those in the Windows Insider Program. We will begin broader availability in late May for commercial customers, users who choose the new May 2019 Update for their Windows 10 PC via “check for updates,” and customers whose devices are nearing the end of support on a given release. I’d now like to share the details of our new update controls and the enhancements to our approach to transparency and quality coming with the May 2019 Update. New features that put customers more in control of updates With the release of the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, we are introducing new features that provide additional clarity and control over the update experience, both for feature updates and optional monthly non-security updates. New, straightforward controls were designed to help prevent updates from occurring unexpectedly and to make it very clear which type of update is selected. At the heart of this change is a new “Download and install now” option in Windows Update settings. Download and install now option provides users a separate control to initiate the installation of a feature update on eligible devices with no known key blocking compatibility issues. Users can still “Check for updates” to get monthly quality and security updates. Windows will automatically initiate a new feature update if the version of Windows 10 is nearing end of support. We may notify you when a feature update is available and ready for your machine. All Windows 10 devices with a supported version will continue to automatically receive the monthly updates. This new “download and install” option will also be available for our most popular versions of Windows 10, versions 1803 and 1809, by late May. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/04/e72f421e5e0cd1ad79bb4dde65111ba4-1024x560.jpg Additional improvements to put users more in control of updates that are being introduced with the May 2019 Update include: Extended ability to pause updates for both feature and monthly updates. This extension ability is for all editions of Windows 10, including Home. Based on user feedback we know that any update can come at an inconvenient time, such as when a PC is needed for a big presentation. So, we’re making it possible for all users to pause both feature and monthly updates for up to 35 days (seven days at a time, up to five times). Once the 35-day pause period is reached, users will need to update their device before pausing again. Intelligent active hours to avoid disruptive update restarts. The active hours feature, introduced in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, relies on a manually configured time range to avoid automatically installing updates and rebooting. Many users leave the active hours setting at its 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. default. To further enhance active hours, users will now have the option to let Windows Update intelligently adjust active hours based on their device-specific usage patterns. Improved update orchestration to improve system responsiveness. This feature will improve system performance by intelligently coordinating Windows updates and Microsoft Store updates, so they occur when users are away from their devices to minimize disruptions. Expanded focus on quality Quality is extremely important to us. While we are always making investments in how we approach and improve quality, I’d like to highlight several specific improvements we are making with the May 2019 Update. Expanding Release Preview The final May 2019 Update build will spend increased time in the Release Preview Ring of the Windows Insider Program, allowing us to gather more feedback and insights on compatibility and performance at scale before making the update more broadly available. During this period, we are significantly expanding interaction with our ecosystem partners, including original equipment makers (OEMs) and independent software vendors (ISVs), which should help improve initial quality across a variety of devices, hardware and software configurations. OEMs will begin manufacturing new PCs and devices with this same build, and both OEMs and ISVs will begin deployment of the May 2019 Update internally with their employees. Additionally, Microsoft will aggressively internally deploy the May 2019 Update during the Release Preview period and encourage employees to do the same on their personal devices. By carefully studying data from this expanded population and for this additional time, we will gain increased confidence in Windows quality before offering it to a broader audience later in May. Early detection of low-volume, high-severity issues We’re fortunate to have many millions of customers sending us feedback. Our desire to find the most impactful issues quickly required us to think differently about how we apply natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to identify high-severity issues faster, even when few people report them. We are building the capability to detect all types of low-volume, high-severity issues, and have specifically advanced our capability in the area of data loss. This work includes streamlining and automating the clustering, classification and routing of the ~20,000 pieces of customer feedback we receive daily and prioritizing the top issues for investigation by engineers, improving our high-severity issue detection capability to hours versus days, as shown below: https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/04/ce4328e42cbb412bd524046e8c54a3ff-1024x480.jpg Next generation of ML-based intelligent rollout We are also evolving our intelligent rollout ML model to better differentiate devices that will have a good update experience. We have added new label criteria so we can train the model on a broader set of issues, such as display or audio issues after update. In addition, we have implemented an ensemble approach that enables the model to predict the individual label criteria (e.g., rollback, operating system crash, application issues, etc.) related to the update experience as well as the full collection of criteria to improve our ability to accurately predict and troubleshoot issues. New public dashboard for increased issue transparency One of our core principles is transparency, and we are continuing to invest in clear and regular communications with our customers on status and when there are issues. We will be launching a new Windows release health dashboard later this month that will empower users with near real-time information on the current rollout status and known issues (open and resolved) across both feature and monthly updates. This will build on the Windows 10 Update History page that we currently use. Details for each Windows 10 version will be represented on one page that can easily be searched by keyword, including important announcements, new blog posts, service and support updates and other news. Users will be able to share the content via Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and email. (The dashboard will also feature Dark mode, the same popular feature users love, that was recently introduced in Windows 10.) https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/04/2b85d15a5b9b082919b66b6e5cc75b21-1024x765.jpg Windows 10 May 2019 Update rollout approach The May 2019 Update will start to be available next week in Release Preview. We will rollout the production-quality Release Preview in phases for early adopters through the Windows Insider Program. Users already taking part in the Release Preview will receive monthly updates via normal channels. In late May, we will begin availability for those users on a currently supported version of Windows 10 who seek to update via “Download and install now” (limited to devices with no known compatibility issues). We will also begin the phased rollout using our ML model to intelligently target those devices running Windows 10, version 1803 or prior versions that our data and feedback predict will have the best update experience. We will proactively monitor all available feedback and update experience data, making the appropriate product updates when we detect issues, and adjusting the rate of rollout as needed to ensure all devices have the best possible update experience. Our commercial customers can begin their targeted deployments in late May, which will mark the beginning of the 18-month servicing period for Windows 10, version 1903 in the Semi-Annual Channel. We recommend IT administrators start validating the apps, devices and infrastructure used by their organizations at that time to ensure that they work well with this release before broadly deploying. The May 2019 Update will be available in late May through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update for Business, the Volume Licensing Service Center for phased deployment using System Center Configuration Manager or other systems management software. Providing update control, quality and transparency We believe the steps we’ve taken provide Windows customers more choice and control on updates while continuing to enhance our focus on quality. With a more robust and longer Release Preview and further investments in machine learning for both high-severity issue detection and our next generation of intelligent rollout, our goal is to provide the best, transparent Windows update experience. We look forward to sharing more about the rollout of the May 2019 Update and new quality-focused innovations in future posts and on our new Windows release health dashboard. The post Improving the Windows 10 update experience with control, quality and transparency appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

One year ago, we announced our commitment to invest $5B in IoT (Internet of Things) and intelligent edge – technology that is accelerating ubiquitous computing and bringing unparalleled opportunity for transformation across industries. Our commitment is to a build trusted, easy to use platform for our customers and partners to build solutions – no matter where they are starting in their IoT journey. Our customers are embracing IoT as a core strategy to drive better business outcomes, improve safety and address social issues – from predicting and preventing equipment failures, optimizing smart buildings for space utilization and energy management and improving patient outcomes and worker safety. From the intelligent cloud to the intelligent edge, this year has been one of tremendous growth – in IoT technology portfolio, partner ecosystem and customer momentum – and we are only just beginning. Accelerating customer innovation in IoT from cloud to edge across industries What’s truly exciting is seeing our customers achieve real business outcomes with Azure IoT and intelligent edge-based solutions. Our IoT platform is powering customer solutions with thousands of devices, at scale, and the number of devices supported has grown nearly 150 percent year-over-year. This year, many customers such a Starbucks, Chevron, Walmart, Walgreens, BMW, Volkswagen, Toyota Material Handling Group and more are leveraging Azure as their cloud platform with IoT and AI services to accelerate their digital transformation. Starbucks is using Azure Sphere to connect select equipment, enabling its partners (employees) more opportunity to engage with customers. This includes everything from beverage consistency, waste reduction, the management of energy consumption and predictive maintenance. With Azure and our IoT services, Chevron is connecting a critical piece of equipment – heat exchangers, which manage the heat from fluids flowing through it as part of the plant’s fuel processing – to do predictive maintenance and ultimately prevent unscheduled outages. In Walmart’s technology center in Austin, Texas, which is designed accelerate digital innovation, the retail leader is embracing IoT as a way to save energy and prevent product loss. Walmart is using thousands of IoT sensors on HVAC and refrigeration systems that process a billion daily data messages from stores worldwide. As part of Microsoft’s partnership with Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) to make health care delivery more personal, affordable and accessible for people around the world, WBA will use a portfolio of connected IoT devices for nonacute chronic care management, delivered by Microsoft’s cloud, AI and IoT technologies. This week with BMW Group, we announced the Open Manufacturing Platform (OMP), a new technology framework and open community to share smart factory solutions across the automotive and manufacturing sectors to significantly accelerate future industrial IoT developments. This year Volkswagen announced a partnership with Microsoft to create the Volkswagen Automotive Cloud with Azure and Azure IoT Edge to create a seamless experience for drivers from the moment they enter, use and leave their vehicles. From 2020 onwards, more than 5 million new Volkswagen brand vehicles per year will be fully connected and will be part of the IoT cloud. By infusing solutions with artificial intelligence, mixed reality and the IoT, Toyota Material Handling Group is providing solutions to customers meet the global rise in ecommerce, and move goods quickly, frequently, accurately and safely. With Microsoft technologies, the solutions range from connected forklift and field service systems available today to AI-powered concepts that pave the way for intelligent automation and logistics simulations – all designed with Toyota’s standards for optimizing efficiency, operation assisting and continuous improvement. The stories continue to roll in. New innovations in our IoT platform In the last year, we launched more than 100 new services and features in our IoT platform, designed to make IoT solutions more secure and scalable, reduce complexity, make our platform more open and create opportunities in new market areas. Our core focus has been to address the industry challenge of securing connected devices at every layer, as well as advancing IoT to create a more seamless experience between the physical and digital worlds. Simplifying IoT and securing IoT endpoints at scale IoT is complex, requiring deep knowledge of cloud, security and devices, but the business benefits are significant. With Azure IoT Central, which became generally available this year, we have created a way for businesses to get started in IoT by quickly provisioning a solution in just a matter of hours and with built-in security features. With valuable data moving closer to the edge, IoT security demands a holistic approach. This year we introduced Azure Sphere, a world-class security solution for connected microcontroller devices (MCUs), which go in everything from smart-home and medical devices to equipment on the factory floor. Windows 10 IoT Core Services includes security and reliability updates for the operating system to keep device security up to date. Azure Security Center for IoT now includes support for Azure IoT services to proactively monitor IoT devices, enabling businesses to implement security best practices for detecting and mitigating threats. Delivering spatial intelligence at scale IoT is no longer just about connected endpoints. It’s the sum of the endpoints – the digital objects – that create a holistic solution. We see significant opportunity for our customers to use spatial intelligence to manage physical assets and spaces with digital models and mapping across smart spaces, cities and buildings. This fall, we introduced Azure Digital Twins to enable customers and partners to query data in the context of a space – rather than from disparate sensors – empowering them to build repeatable, scalable experiences that correlate data from digital sources and the physical world. Azure Maps provides developers from all industries powerful geospatial capabilities, and new MR services including Azure Spatial Anchors and Azure Remote Rendering enable customers to create precise points of interest in with mixed reality in physical space as well as enable interactive, high-quality 3D models. Bringing AI to the edge The proliferation of IoT devices and resulting massive amount of data requiring real-time intelligence are fueling the need to move compute and analytics closer to where the data resides. This year, we open sourced the Azure IoT Edge runtime, providing developers have even greater flexibility and control of their edge solutions, enabling them to modify the runtime and debug issues for applications at the edge. Over the past year, we added five new Azure Cognitive Services that can run locally on an edge device, and we’ve made it easier to deploy your own Azure Machine Learning models on Azure IoT Edge. We’ve also enabled high-speed inferencing at the edge with Azure Data Box Edge. Growing the Microsoft IoT partner ecosystem We’re proud to have one of the largest and fastest-growing partner ecosystems with more than ten thousand IoT partners from intelligent edge to intelligent cloud. Partners are critical to our customers’ success in IoT, bringing rich domain expertise across industries so customers can see clear value to their business, as well as integration for critical apps and infrastructure to increase time to value. This year, we announced more than 70 new partnerships in IoT, which help our customers build IoT solutions faster. At CES we announced our collaboration with Universal Electronics to launch a new digital assistant platform for the home built on Microsoft Azure using AI and IoT services. PTC announced ThingWorx Industrial Innovation Platform on Microsoft Azure to deliver a robust solution for Industrial IoT and digital product lifecycle management. At MWC, we announced new partnerships with SAP, and Cradlepoint. SAP Leonardo IoT will integrate with Azure IoT services providing our customers with the ability to contextualize and enrich their IoT data with SAP business data within SAP Leonardo IoT to drive new business outcomes. With Cradlepoint, we’re enabling customers to connect their IoT infrastructure to cloud-based applications to a global satellite communications network and to help bridge the OT and IT collaboration gap, respectively. We’re also working with several device partners to accelerate development at the intelligent edge. With Qualcomm, we created an Azure IoT Starter Kit to enable developers vision AI solution and run their AI models on the device. With NXP, we announced the public preview for Windows 10 IoT Core with built-in Azure connectivity, to enable secure, power-optimized devices for the intelligent edge. We’re also partnering with NVIDIA and DJI to integrate third-party SDKs to simplify development and increase time to value of AI applications at the edge. Looking ahead: Industry opportunity in IoT We are one year into our four-year investment. Our priority over the next three years is clear: make it easy for any company to create scalable, secured IoT solutions. We partnered with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to better understand the trends and opportunity for the industry at large. Our findings, captured in the whitepaper here, indicate IoT is moving into broad adoption and yet, some of the greatest barriers to success are not just about technology – it’s also about business strategy and executive leadership. More than 60 percent of executives we surveyed indicated these to be bigger elements of success than technology. One in four executives we surveyed indicated that their companies’ IoT initiatives underperformed expectations. The findings highlight key ingredients for a successful IoT innovation project. You’ll continue to see more announcements from us and our partners and customers to help our customers and partners in their IoT journeys. You can read more about adoption of IoT across industries in the BCG whitepaper. The post One Year In: How our $5B investment in IoT and intelligent edge is accelerating customer, partner and solution innovation appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/04/c83ea2bc06e9f4ebf60162d24a136204-1024x536.jpg It began more than 20 years ago, in the days before sensors monitored soil health, before smart shelves managed product levels, before artificial intelligence and IoT-enabled cameras reduced violent crime. Before the term “Internet of Things” had been coined, Microsoft Windows was there—but not just on our PCs. It was quietly running on the smallest, embedded devices—the precursors to the intelligent, connected devices of today. In fact, Windows IoT is more than two decades in the making, and now, Windows IoT is helping businesses of all sizes achieve digital transformation and delight customers with secure, modern experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds. Read on to discover how Windows IoT has evolved into one of the most trusted IoT platforms—and learn about the groundbreaking capabilities that are coming soon. Windows IoT Core: a history of innovation Since the 1990s, we’ve been innovating our popular Windows OS to meet the needs of device manufacturers, providing a familiar, cost-effective, and secure platform. We were already optimizing Windows for small, single-purpose embedded devices ranging from toys to telephones through our Windows CE and Windows NT Embedded products. Over the years, we have continued to build on this groundbreaking work. Back when Windows IoT Core was introduced, it was the first time you could run the Windows OS on tiny computers, such as the Raspberry Pi. Designed for device makers, our initial focus was on development kits and building a community of Windows IoT developers. From there, we expanded to meet the needs of commercial customers who wanted long-term support, including a high-quality development environment. Today, Windows 10 IoT Core is a mature product that enables manufacturers to go to market quickly with small-footprint devices that are secure, low cost, and built for the intelligent edge. Windows IoT Core provides a royalty-free OS for prototyping, developing and testing IoT devices. Providing security and maintenance for a multitude of devices in the field can be extremely challenging, so one of the biggest additions we’ve made recently is Windows 10 IoT Core Services. Windows 10 IoT Core Services ensures long-term OS support and services for managing device updates and device health. Benefits include reduced operating costs with over-the air-updates for OS, apps, and drivers—plus 10 years of OS system support and enhanced security. Additionally, with the release of Windows 10 IoT Core on NXP i.MX 6, 7 and now 8M series of application processors, we have support for industrial grade silicon. Meanwhile, we continue to work behind the scenes on products that haven’t been announced yet. The evolution of Windows IoT Enterprise For customers wanting the full power of Windows 10, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise provides a locked down, full version of Windows 10 that delivers enterprise manageability and security to IoT solutions across multiple industries. It shares all the benefits of the worldwide Windows ecosystem, including the same familiar application compatibility, development and management tools as client PCs and laptops. Licensed for fixed-purpose, smart devices, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise features advanced capabilities that make it much easier to configure and lock down mission critical devices. This means that developers can spend more time creating outstanding solutions, without worrying about the nuts and bolts. Like Windows 10 IoT Core Services, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise includes long-term support. With the critical nature of security, being able to get security updates over the course of ten years without having significant changes in the OS is of enormous value. Both Windows 10 IoT Core and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise offer easy integration with the Microsoft Azure platform, simplifying scale and device management, as well as the implementation of advanced features like hardware-assisted machine learning inferencing and containers. Bringing it all together with Azure IoT Edge Azure IoT Edge extends cloud intelligence and analytics to edge devices, providing a secure and easy way for developers to move cloud and custom workloads to the edge and tap the power of Windows 10 IoT. Azure IoT Edge enables seamless deployment of AI and advanced analytics capabilities, and the Azure IoT Device Agent for Windows makes it easy for operators to remotely configure, update and monitor edge devices. IoT Edge modules, implemented as Docker-compatible containers, enables management of device updates and the deployment of business logic at the edge. Multiple modules can be configured to communicate with each other, and custom modules can be developed to provide insights offline and at the edge. Again, 10 years of ongoing support, security and patch management add to the ROI as well as customer confidence. The future of Windows IoT In late February, we announced the availability of Windows Server IoT 2019, which can securely handle the largest edge computing workloads. Windows Server IoT 2019 brings the power of high-availability and high-performance storage and networking to the edge, addressing latency and connectivity requirements and enabling customers to maintain data on-premises while securely storing and analyzing large amounts of data. Additionally, we’ve got some thrilling product advancements lined up over the course of the next 12 to 18 months, focusing on end-to-end security, simplicity and cost-effectiveness. We are working with OEMs to bring existing devices onto a new, modern OS—and helping them connect to the cloud. Microsoft is making substantial investments in cloud connectivity and using the power of Windows to accelerate our customers’ journeys to the cloud and the intelligent edge. From a developer perspective, we are focused on efficiency and making Windows a great place for machine learning through innovations like AI at the edgeWinML allows developers to harness the capabilities of any Windows 10 device to use pre-trained machine learning models—both custom and off-the-shelf—making it immensely powerful and ideally suited to intelligent edge devices. WinML accelerates the evaluation of deep learning models on Direct X12-capable devices. It also evaluates on local hardware, enabling low latency and high performance for quick results. A great example of the benefits WinML brings to IoT solutions is IoT-PREDICT. This predictive maintenance solution from ActionPoint runs on Windows 10 IoT Enterprise and uses machine learning, as well as data analytics and advanced capabilities, to help manufacturers reduce equipment downtime, save money and drive operational efficiency. Windows Embedded and now Windows IoT have provided device builders and developers innovative products that offer security, simplicity and flexibility, backed-up with commercial grade support, including 10 years of support with our Long Term Servicing Channel. Windows IoT is accelerating digital transformation and enabling customers to build secure, connected products and modern experiences that delight customers. We’re proud of how we have helped reshape the business landscape through IoT and the intelligent edge. And we’re thrilled about the road ahead. Stay tuned to see how we continue to lead global IoT innovation. Meanwhile, be sure to tune into the IoT in Action on-demand webinar, Windows IoT: Business Transformation, to discover how Windows 10 IoT can help you get up and running quickly. You’ll learn how, with a platform that spans cloud, OS and devices, Microsoft IoT technology is uniquely positioned to simplify the IoT journey. You can also watch the Windows IoT in Manufacturing webinar to hear how our partners are empowering device manufacturers to build secure, connected enterprise and consumer devices with Windows 10 IoT. Watch and discover how you can create trusted, connected solutions that improve business and customer experiences – regardless of company size, technical expertise, budget, or industry. The post Evolution of Windows IoT: The foundation for your intelligent edge appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

The dissemination of news and information has always been the machinery that powers our democracy. Our society relies on stalwart reporters and news organizations to pursue the truth and hold the powerful accountable, even as the industry faces daunting challenges from political retaliation to economic viability. In support of these efforts, we are proud to announce the two recipients of the first phase of our grant program, in partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ): Josh Landis of Nexus Media News (Washington, D.C.) and Verah Okeyo of The Nation (Kenya).https://blogs.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/2019/04/ICJF_OMB-headshot-300x300.jpg An award-winning journalist, Landis is the founder and director of Nexus Media News, a nonprofit science, tech and environmental news service that has partnered with outlets such as Popular Science, Fast Company, Quartz, Huffington Post, PBS and National Geographic Voices to report on stories about our environment. The news service is part of Climate Nexus, which has been changing the conversation on climate change and clean energy “from an argument to a constructive search for solutions” since 2011. With the grant, Landis plans to use data visualization to show how climate is transforming residential and commercial real estate markets, and the possible impact that “climate gentrification” might have on communities in the coming years. More than 7,000 miles away, Verah Okeyo works as a global health reporter at The Nation, the largest daily independent newspaper in Kenya and part of the Nation Media Group, which also operates in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. A 2012 graduate of Maseno University, Okeyo proposes to use demographic health surveys, studies and research to track Kenya’s child mortality since 1965. Rather than selecting a county or a set of circumstances from the outset, the investigation will follow a meaningful analysis of the available data and plans to showcase the findings across multiple mediums, including print, online and television. Each candidate will receive $7,500 and hands-on data visualization training using Microsoft Power BI. To supplement their analytics and help ground their stories in fact, Landis and Okeyo will also conduct field investigations, going where the stories – and the numbers – take them. Today we’re also kickstarting the second phase of the grant program, which focuses on immersive storytelling projects. Whether it is in-the-trenches livestreams with multi-language captions, augmented reality that allows real-life exploration or interactive visuals powered by numbers, immersive storytelling can communicate human experiences with great intimacy. We’re honored to work side by side with newsrooms and journalists to help deliver impactful stories. We’re keenly aware that not every journalist has the same resources, which is why we work both on the individual and industry level. Our collaborations have run the gamut from our local KING5 broadcast station’s investigation into state vaccination rates to POLITICO Europe’s ambitious undertaking to educate the European electorate on how country-level politics shapes continental governance. Supporting the goals of people like Landis and Okeyo to convey complicated stories in a way that speaks to audiences, reinforces our mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We look forward to introducing you to more journalists who are doing the hard work of telling the story of their communities to the world. Please visit ICFJ to learn more about the program and all their great work. The post Visualizing the news: Introducing the winners of our data journalism grant program appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Did you know you can change File Explorer to a theme that’s easier on the eyes, thanks to the Windows 10 October 2018 Update? https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/a2b65b066f7be59249f749280e163fb5.png As the Windows Insider blog explains, “Adding a dark theme to File Explorer has long been a top Insider request,” but it meant “breaking new ground to provide a dark theme to legacy parts of the shell.” The post goes on to explain the process of creating and refining the UI design, with the help of Windows Insiders’ feedback. “For example, Insiders told us that they’d like to see more use of grey tones — which we added to areas like the view pane. We also adjusted the address bar and ribbon colors. (The effect is that your eye is drawn more to the content in the center of the screen.) And take a close look below at the Navigation Pane. We removed the folder backplates from the folder icons and enlarged the icons to make them stand out more on high DPI displays.” Detailed suggestions like these helped the team move from a basic dark theme into the kind of functional design that users demand with applications like File Explorer. Want to try out dark theme on your PC? Go to Settings > Personalization > Colors, scroll to the bottom of the page and change the default app mode from Light to Dark. Check it out in action: https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/c994efd5af9c359253e4d200115e2981.gif If you’re using the Windows 10 October 2018 Update, File Explorer will automatically update from light to dark after you change this option. To confirm whether or not your PC is running this version, you can go to Settings > System > About, where it will say Version 1809 in the Windows Specifications section. If you see Version 1803 or a lower version number, the Windows Update Assistant can help you update to the latest version of Windows 10. Check out more Windows 10 Tips. The post Windows 10 Tip: Dark theme in File Explorer appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

It’s a time of great disruption but great opportunity in the manufacturing industry, as businesses seek to find novel ways to create new business value, empower and upskill their workforce, optimize their operations and innovate for a sustainable future. Advanced technologies like AI, mixed reality and automation are helping drive Industry 4.0, creating a future where “intelligent manufacturing” is a reality. Today, we are introducing updates that help bring this reality even closer for our customers and partners, to deliver increased security, productivity and efficiency, which will help them achieve new business outcomes. As we head to Hanover, Germany, next week to join global leaders at the world’s biggest trade show for industrial technology, we are announcing several improvements to our trusted, innovative manufacturing solutions, including: Azure is now the first major public cloud with end-to-end security for IoT for your devices, hubs and cloud resources. We are adding advanced threat protection for IoT to three key services: Azure Security Center for IoT can now be used to implement security best practices and mitigate threats across entire IoT projects including hubs, compute and data. Azure Sentinel, the first cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) offering, can now protect the entire enterprise from threats including those affecting IoT devices. Azure IOT Hub now integrates with Azure Security Center for IoT to provide IoT security information directly inside the hub portal experience. The introduction of OPC Twin and OPC Vault in our Azure Industrial IoT Cloud Platform solution, which respectively provide manufacturers a digital twin of their OPC UA-enabled machines and significantly enhance security and certification management. We’re also announcing important enhancements to the Connected Factory solution accelerator, which now integrates with OPC Twin to greatly simplify the process of installing IoT Edge. An expansion of Azure IP Advantage to IoT, which extends Azure IP Advantage benefits to Azure customers with IoT devices connected to Azure, and devices that are powered by Azure Sphere and Windows IoT. Additionally, qualified startups who join the LOT Network have the ability to acquire Microsoft patents through LOT for free. You’ll find more details on the Azure IoT Platform updates in this blog from Sam George, and more information on Azure IP Advantage below. We will also share additional business updates including: Intelligent innovations for industry: Onsite at Hannover Messe we will showcase our wide range of offerings for manufacturers including breakthroughs in AI experiences, mixed reality with HoloLens 2, business-ready solutions with Dynamics 365 and tools to close the skills gap with Microsoft 365. Customers achieving business outcomes: We’re supporting leading manufacturers including Bühler, Electrolux, Siemens Gamesa and ZEISS as they accelerate their own innovations, as outlined below. New partner solutions: We continue to grow the ecosystem of partners collaborating with Microsoft to help manufacturers succeed, with several announcing news this week. The latest in our Future Computed book series: The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing explores the way manufacturers from across the world are embracing AI. It shares insights from our customers on the importance of creating the right company culture and talent pipeline to realize AI’s potential, and explores the role of public policy in addressing labor market disruption and fostering the ethical use of AI. We’ll preview the book’s key themes at Hannover Messe ahead of its release in May. More than 25 innovative companies will join us in our Hannover Messe booth to showcase how we are working together to harness IoT, mixed reality, AI and other key technologies that revolutionize manufacturing. Protecting and connecting the factory of the future Today we are sharing details about a series of new product and program advancements for the manufacturing industry prior to Hannover Messe: Azure IoT Security: The complexity and scale of the IoT and Industrial IoT (IIot) challenge is reinforced by leading market research firms estimating there will be over 20 billion installed end-point devices worldwide by 2020 — each of which pose a potential security risk. While some cloud providers address pieces of this puzzle, Azure is the world’s first cloud offering to deliver an end to end, unified approach to IoT security. Garth Beaumount, CISO for Volpara Solutions and an early adopter of Azure Security Center for IoT said, “The Microsoft Azure IoT Security solution provides us with management and threat protection for the full stack, including IoT devices, IoT hubs as well as the computing and data resources utilized by our solutions. Effectively saving us from ‘rolling our own’ and aligning our IoT security neatly with our other Azure based solutions and line of business application usage.” With Azure Security Center for IoT, customers can find missing security configurations across IOT devices, the edge and cloud. For example, they can check which ports are open on their IOT devices, confirm their SQL database is encrypted and act to remediate any issues. Azure Security Center for IoT protects from ever-evolving threats, drawing upon the vast threat intelligence information in the Microsoft Intelligent Security Graph, which analyzes six trillion signals per day. This means manufacturers can take advantage of a single view of security across all their Azure solutions — including Azure IoT solutions, from edge devices to applications — using hundreds of built-in security assessments in a central dashboard. With Azure Sentinel, users can hunt for or respond to active threats spanning the entire enterprise from IOT devices to Azure to Office 365 and on-premise systems. SecOps teams now have the right tools to reduce the surface attack of IoT solutions, remediate issues before they become serious, prevent attacks with machine learning and gain significant value from simplifying threat detection and security posture management for entire IoT deployments. Combining these new offerings with previously announced device security offerings such as Azure Sphere, customers will have access to IoT innovation with the confidence of end-to-end security that only Microsoft provides – spanning devices, the edge and cloud. You’ll find more information here. Connected Factory and Industrial IoT: In a connected factory, all machines communicate with each other, leveraging data, IoT and automation to monitor and control all aspects of production. We’ve enhanced our offering for these Industrial IoT scenarios by developing components that simplify and secure our customers’ digital operations. At our booth at Hannover Messe, we’ll be showcasing OPC Twin, which creates a digital twin for your OPC UA-enabled machines and makes the information model of that specific machine available in the cloud. Customers can control and manage their OPC Twins directly from the cloud by using microservices running on Azure. In addition, we’ll showcase our progress in security with OPC Vault. OPC Vault automates security management by creating, managing and revoking certificates for your OPC UA servers on a global scale. Both components provide simplicity and security for your industrial IoT solutions and are fully open source and available on GitHub. We also understand the importance of simplicity and speed in getting started with a proof-of-concept for Industrial IoT scenarios. For that purpose, we continue to enhance the Connected Factory solution accelerator, which is designed to accelerate proof-of-concepts in Industrial IoT and additionally offers OEE data across customers’ factories via a centralized dashboard. Today, Connected Factory integrates with an OPC Twin dashboard and empowers manufacturers to streamline the process of getting started with Industrial IoT and generating insights from their digital operations. Supporting business innovation As businesses become more connected, security remains paramount to success. Microsoft is taking end-to-end security one step further for our customers to protect their data and intellectual property: Azure IP Advantage: The Microsoft Azure IP Advantage program now includes new benefits for Azure IoT innovators and startups. We first announced Azure IP Advantage in February, 2017, to provide comprehensive protection against intellectual property (IP) risks for our cloud customers. We are now expanding the program to customers who are innovating in IoT and at the edge to do predictive maintenance, manage digital and physical assets, and improve overall efficiency, safety and quality of products—all of which create massive volumes of data and unique business innovations. We’re responding to input from our manufacturing customers and delivering greater value to the Azure IP Advantage program, with new benefits focused on the Azure-powered IoT ecosystem and startups, including: Uncapped indemnification coverage for Microsoft’s Azure Sphere and Windows IoT. Access to 10,000 patents for customers using Azure to power IoT devices to defend themselves against IP lawsuits. The ability for startups on Azure to acquire Microsoft patents for free. In addition to the expanded program, we also joined the Open Invention Network and the LOT (license on transfer) Network last year to help address patent assertion risk for our customers and partners. Taken together, we believe Microsoft offers the most comprehensive, end-to-end framework for addressing IP risks in the cloud. More detail can be found in this Microsoft on the Issues blog. Manufacturers building on Microsoft technologies Customers are leveraging Microsoft technology in their manufacturing operations and seeing real business results. Recent examples include: Bühler, one of the world’s largest providers of food processing solutions, is leveraging Microsoft blockchain technology to improve global food safety standards and reduce food poisoning rates, while increasing production efficiencies. Electrolux, the Swedish home appliance manufacturer, launched a new Azure IoT smart connected air purifier and app in a matter of weeks with minimal R&D time. The Pure A9 removes ultra-fine dust particles, pollutants, bacteria, allergens and bad odors from indoor rooms. Siemens Gamesa, the leader in renewable energy, is streamlining and automating how technicians inspect and maintain industrial wind turbines by migrating its autonomous drone-digital process to Microsoft Azure and infusing it with Azure AI. Integrating Azure AI services will greatly expedite the process, with image recognition reduced to 34 seconds, as opposed to 4 to 6 hours using the manual method, which also was prone to errors. ZEISS teamed up with Microsoft to present a spectroscopy measurement and data sharing solution that connects the compact all-round spectrometer ZEISS Corona process with Microsoft Azure. By uploading production data from spectroscopic analysis to the cloud, clients get invaluable insights about their products and production – whenever and wherever they need it. The solution can be implemented in food production processes to monitor important quality indicators (e.g. fat, moisture, salt content) directly in the production line. This enables production managers to react immediately to process variations and helps to increase quality and productivity, while using raw materials and energy in a more efficient way at the same time. Partners highlight new offerings Several of our partners showcasing their solutions at the Microsoft Hannover Messe booth will make news about their latest innovations, including: Intel is working with Microsoft on a new modern industrial PC reference design for factories and industrial applications. Using the reference design, which will be available later this year, device partners can build fully provisioned and customized industrial PCs that can be connected to a range of devices to discover, manage and analyze data in real time, using AI on the machine or in the Azure cloud. JDA, a leading global supply chain company, will be showcasing its new Azure-based Luminate solution, which serves as an end-to-end crisis control center allowing companies to see, interpret, and act on real-time information from the entire supply chain and extended third-party digital ecosystem. Empowering an intelligent manufacturing firstline From the front office to supply chain to the factory floor, Microsoft solutions can help improve manufacturing operations by streamlining daily work, driving greater efficiency, safety and productivity as well as helping enhance employee performance. For example: Microsoft 365 is equipping organizations, including Firstline Workers on the factory floor with the skills and tools they need to keep up with digital manufacturing in a secure environment. Microsoft Teams is transforming how today’s manufacturing workforce collaborates and communicates securely. Learn more how Microsoft 365 is being used in manufacturing here. Customers have a growing need to move cloud computing closer to the edge. Azure Data Box Edge helps meet this need as a powerful, AI-enabled edge appliance that sits within a customer’s own environment – in their data center or on a factory floor – right alongside their existing hardware. It brings Azure computing power to where data originates, eliminating any network latency. With mixed reality applications Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and Layout, companies are using Microsoft HoloLens and HoloLens 2 to dramatically boost productivity, compliance and safety. You’ll find more information about a broad range of Dynamics 365 innovations in manufacturing here. Available later this year, the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides for HoloLens and HoloLens 2 will empower employees to learn by doing, with step-by-step instructions guiding them to the tools, parts and institutional knowledge they need in real work scenarios. Delivering a unified approach to financial and business operations across manufacturing, supply chain, distribution and retail is made easier by Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. Intelligent, connected field service through Dynamics 365 Connected Field Service can help manufacturers quickly detect and resolve issues, leveraging connected devices and machine learning and in the process, driving efficiency and reducing costs. The future of manufacturing is all about applying new levels of intelligence across all aspects of operations, with disruption triggered by AI, mixed reality and IoT, redefining the value chain from engineering design to customer engagements to supply chains. We look forward to meeting with you next week to discuss how we’re empowering intelligent manufacturing around the world. Until then, please visit Microsoft at Hannover Messe 2019 for additional details about what’s planned, how to engage our team and where to find our booth in Hall 7, Stand C40. The post Manufacturing a better future: Microsoft announces intelligent industry innovations appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing 20H1 Build 18865 to Windows Insiders who have opted into Skip Ahead. Remember – these builds are from the 20H1 development branch. Some things we are working on in 20H1 require a longer lead time. IMPORTANT: As is normal with builds early in the development cycle, these builds may contain bugs that might be painful for some. If you take this flight, you won’t be able to switch back to the Fast or Slow rings without doing a clean-install on your PC and starting over. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC In Cursor & pointer setting, tooltips will now show when you move the mouse over the different color options. We fixed the issue where Narrator’s Copy command in Scan mode in Facebook’s “Write a comment” text field resulted in message “Item cannot take focus”. Narrator now announces the toggle state of checkbox in Listview. We fixed the issue where Narrator read “has finished loading” multiple times when loading a new page in Chrome. We fixed the issue where Narrator did not read cell content in Excel when using F2 to edit. We fixed the issue where Narrator said “end of line” when navigated to an empty cell while editing a table. Scan mode will now switch off to allow typing in the edit field of a spinner control. We fixed the issue where Narrator did not read aria-label information from button. Improved Narrator’s fallback logic for controls with no accessible name. Narrator will now present “invalid” or “required” properties on more controls. We fixed the issue where Narrator Braille showed the window title instead of the first line on the braille display when navigating to the beginning of the document with Ctrl + Home in a text editing area. Narrator Braille user can now reliably activate links by routing key. We fixed the issue where Narrator Braille did not render information on the braille display about the login pop up while creating a page in Facebook.com. We fixed the issue where Narrator Braille would show the accessible name in the beginning of every line in a text area. We fixed an issue resulting in a duplicate empty copy of certain folders being created on upgrade for some users. We fixed an issue where, if your computer supported Wi-Fi and you had the Performance tab set as default in Task Manager, on Task Manager launch, the Wi-Fi section in the Performance tab would appear to be selected, but the details displayed would be for the CPU section. We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing unexpected BitLocker prompts to encrypt certain drives, and then subsequently failing to encrypt. Known issues Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. Creative has released updated drivers for some affected X-Fi sound cards. Please refer to Creative’s website for details on your particular hardware and any available updates. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. Join the Bing Insider Program Test your skills. Get math help with Bing. Bing’s multiplication table is an interactive way to learn basic multiplication and quiz yourself on your progress. Have a math question you just can’t solve? Bing’s polynomial equation solver takes any polynomial and shows the factorization and solution. If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18865 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Thank you for your continued interest in Windows Admin Center! In this release, we have added a few new tools and functionality, all based on our top user feedback. Email notifications in Windows Admin Center is the #1 user request. We are enabling this with new Azure Monitor integration in Windows Admin Center. More details and setup instructions are below. A new tool to manage Active Directory Users and Groups is the #2 user request. The #5 request is a new tool to manage DHCP, and the #7 request is a new tool to manage DNS. These three preview tools are not included in the Windows Admin Center installer; you must install them from the Extensions manager in Settings. With these tools on the extension feed, they can be easily updated more frequently. To make this easier, we’ve made improvements to the notifications you get regarding extensions, which are described below. The #6 user request for Windows Admin Center is adding connections from Active Directory. In this release of Windows Admin Center, we added the option to search Active Directory when adding Servers or Windows 10 PCs to your connection list. Using wildcards in your search and adding multiple connections is supported. Finally, the Dark UI theme that was first introduced in Windows Admin Center Insider Preview 1812 is no longer an experimental feature; if you haven’t tried it yet, check it out in the Personalization tab in Settings! If you missed last month’s Windows Admin Center Insider preview release, you can check out the new shared connection list, and SDN features here. Extension notifications To help make extension discovery and update easier, we’ve added the following features: https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/e33d230e3d31ea339efec11bfbc90d82.png Notification will appear when you connect to a server/cluster and there is an extension available that supports the hardware manufacturer and model. Information for implementing this in the extension package will be provided to our extension developer partners and you will start seeing these notifications as partners update their extensions in the future. In the next release, we plan to provide an option to turn off these notifications if the user chooses. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/37cf550901e7636b3232982034fdff00.png Notification will appear if you open a tool/extension and an update for the extension is available to install. (Known issue: In desktop mode, the notification will tell you to contact your gateway admin to install the update, and this will be fixed in an upcoming release.) New tool – Active Directory https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/42207ec00739106e8a03ef3a89f3aca4.png After installing the Active Directory extension from the extension feed, the tool will appear when you connect to a server that is a domain controller. In this version of the tool, you can: View domain details such as DNS root, forest, and domain mode Create users, configure basic user properties, and group memberships Create groups and manage membership Search for users, computers, and groups (search limited to 10 of each type in this release) View details pane for users, computers, and groups Enable/disable, and remove user or computer objects Reset user passwords Configure resource-based constrained delegation on a computer object (use this to configure single sign-on for your Windows Admin Center gateway deployment!) New tool – DNS https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/f36c2767f926894f7e0b9cf5730fb723.png After installing from the extension feed, the DNS tool will appear when your server is configured as a DNS server. In this version of the DNS tool, you can: View details of DNS Forward Lookup zones, Reverse Lookup zones and DNS records Create Forward Lookup zones in different types (primary, secondary and stub), configure Forward lookup zone properties like master servers, dynamic update, zone file location, etc. Create Host (A or AAAA), CNAME or MX type of DNS records, configure DNS records properties such as FQDN, TTL, etc. Create IPV4 and IPV6 Reverse Lookup zones in different types (primary, secondary and stub), configure reverse lookup zone properties like Network ID, zone file name and location, Master Servers, etc. Create PTR, CNAME type of DNS records under reverse lookup zone, configure DNS records properties such as HOST IP Address, FQDN, TTL, etc. New tool – DHCP https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/68e9ae4c00b4c29a8c3f8dbb0d2ec976.jpg After installing from the extension feed, the DHCP tool will appear when your server is configured as a DHCP server. In this version of the tool, you can: View IPV4 and IPV6 scope details such as IP distribution status, usage of IP addresses, address exclusions and address reservations. Create IPV4 and IPV6 scopes, configure scopes properties such as IP address range, Router, lease duration of DHCP client and Activate/Deactivate IPV4/IPV6 scopes Create address exclusions and configure start and end IP address Create address reservations and configure client MAC address (IPV4), DUID and IAID (IPV6) Azure Monitor https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/605d86b71e1264b9c0be3f2e8e58dc75.png Our #1 UserVoice request was to enable email notifications from Windows Admin Center. Now, with the added integration with Azure Monitor, you can configure custom email notifications about your server health, using the robust alerting framework of Azure Monitor. With Azure Monitor’s free 5 GB of data per month/customer allowance, you can easily try this out for a server or two without worry of getting charged. Read on to see additional benefits of onboarding servers into Azure Monitor, such as getting a consolidated view of systems performance across the servers in your environment. Set up your server for use with Azure Monitor, coming this week! Note: We are releasing this feature with Windows Admin Center Preview 1903 to Windows Insiders today, however there is a pending API update in Azure that is not rolled out yet. The feature will not be functional end-to-end until the update in Azure is live by the end of the week, March 29th. From the Overview page of a server connection, click the new button “Manage alerts”, or go to Server Settings > Monitoring and alerts. Within this page, onboard your server to Azure Monitor by clicking “Set up” and completing the setup pane. Admin Center takes care of provisioning the Azure Log Analytics workspace, installing the necessary agent, and ensuring the VM insights solution is configured. Once complete, your server will send performance counter data to Azure Monitor, enabling you to view and create email alerts based on this server, from the Azure portal. Create email alerts Once you’ve attached your server to Azure Monitor, you can use the intelligent hyperlinks within the Settings > Monitoring and alerts page to navigate to the Azure Portal. Admin Center automatically enables performance counters to be collected, so you can easily create a new alert by customizing one of many pre-defined queries, or writing your own. Get a consolidated view across multiple servers If you onboard multiple servers to a single Log Analytics workspace within Azure Monitor, you can get a consolidated view of all these servers from the Virtual Machines Insights solution within Azure Monitor (tackling another top 10 UserVoice request!) Note that only the Performance and Maps tabs of Virtual Machines Insights for Azure Monitor will work with on-premises servers – the health tab functions only with Azure VMs. To view this in the Azure portal, go to Azure Monitor > Virtual Machines (under Insights), and navigate to the “Performance” or “Maps” tabs. Visualize apps, systems, and services connected to a given server When Admin Center onboards a server into the VM insights solution within Azure Monitor, it also lights up a capability called Service Map. This capability automatically discovers application components and maps the communication between services so that you can easily visualize connections between servers with great detail from the Azure portal. You can find this by going to the Azure portal > Azure Monitor > Virtual Machines (under Insights), and navigating to the “Maps” tab. Note: The visualizations for Virtual Machines Insights for Azure Monitor is currently supported for the following Azure regions only: East US, West Central US, West Europe, and Southeast Asia. You must deploy the Log Analytics workspace in one of these regions to get the additional benefits provided by the Virtual Machines Insights solution described above. Known issues Azure Monitor – If you try to set up Azure Monitor and get an error, then Azure has not finished rolling out a required API update. Please try again later; the update in Azure is scheduled to complete by the end of the week, March 29th. Virtual Machine Settings – If you attempt to change a VM setting within a Hyper-Converged or Failover Cluster connection, you will receive an error notification and the setting change will fail. The workaround solution is to connect to the Hyper-V host that the VM resides on as a Server connection and make the VM setting change there. This bug will be fixed in the next release. Network – If you have configured an Azure Network Adapter, the value under Microsoft Azure Virtual Network Gateway Address will be formatted as a hyperlink but leads to an invalid address. [20420185] Extension update notification – In desktop mode, the notification will tell you to contact your gateway admin to install the update. This bug will be fixed in the next release. [20646984] Azure Update Management onboarding – If you get an error setting up or using Azure Update Management, this is a known issue which will also be fixed by the Azure API change described in the Azure Monitor section above. If you have already installed the MMA agent, or install the agent using the new integration for Azure Monitor, you will not be able to onboard the server to Azure Update Management through the UI in Windows Admin Center. If Azure Update Management is already configured (whether through Admin Center or another way), you can still onboard the server to the Azure Monitor Virtual Machines Insights solution using the Windows Admin Center UI. Chrome users may see 403 Forbidden response from WAC after upgrading. The workaround is to close *all* open chrome tabs (make sure there are no chrome.exe processes running). After restarting chrome, everything will function normally. We have an error message that makes this clear, but chrome users with multiple windows admin center tabs open during upgrade will not see the message. How to Download Registered Insiders may download Windows Admin Center Preview 1903 directly from the Windows Server Insider Preview download page, under the Additional Downloads dropdown. If you have not yet registered as an Insider, see Getting Started with Windows Server on the Windows Insiders for Business portal. We value your feedback! The most important part of a frequent release cycle is to hear what’s working and what needs to be improved, so your feedback is extremely valued. Send us feedback via UserVoice. We also encourage you to visit the Windows Admin Center space on the Microsoft Tech Communities forum to collaborate, share and learn from experts. Terms of Use All pre-release software made available to you via the Windows Server Insider program are governed by the Insider Terms of Use No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows Admin Center Preview 1903 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Last week in Seattle, leading innovators, entrepreneurs and business minds came together to discuss best practices for startup funding and operations at M12’s inaugural summit. It was humbling to see almost 80 companies in our portfolio gathered from around the world, and to reflect on the progress we’ve made since we started the fund nearly three years ago. Our team has grown to more than 20 people supporting portfolio companies across 11 countries and 38 cities, seen four exits, and created new channels to ensure capital is reaching startups, such as our competitions to find female founded and led businesses and entrepreneurs innovating with AI. In the days and weeks leading up to the summit, one thing I am particularly proud of is our pulse on the startup community, the relationships we’ve built there and our unwavering focus on doing what’s right for the entrepreneur. We’ve learned some important lessons, including one of the most egregious contributors to the poor reputation of corporate venture capitalists (CVCs) – terms and conditions like “Rights-of-first” (ROF), which we believe favor the corporation and restrict the startup. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. ROF terms restrict that for entrepreneurs. Simply put, ROF terms limit an entrepreneur’s ability to maximize their exit valuation. Stifling those options can be detrimental to a startup’s growth and consequential to the return profile of founders and all the investors. That’s why at M12, we believe ROF and similar terms are neither necessary nor valuable. While we’ve always believed this, we weren’t following through in practice when other CVCs utilized these rights in companies we invested in, leading us to ask for the same during the first year our fund operated. And while we’ve never asked for these terms if the other investors didn’t have the same, in retrospect, we should have never asked at all. Since then, we’ve stopped asking for any special rights regardless of what other strategic investors held in the company and we’ve started actively educating entrepreneurs to resist these terms and try to remove them if they already exist. We firmly believe that being fully aligned with founders is the only way to drive value to all stakeholders, including M12 and Microsoft. So, we want to go one step further. Instead of simply thinking, “What’s best for us,” we want to encourage the CVC community to start thinking “What’s best for all,” starting with adopting similar rules of engagement M12 currently employs to benefit the entire startup ecosystem: M12 will not require any ROF term as part of its investment. Ever. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s good for business. As part of our due diligence, M12 will evaluate the business upside not only for our fund, but also whether we can meaningfully help you. If M12 chooses to invest, we’re with you for the long term, for your company’s lifecycle. That may mean different things at different times, but we won’t be driven by artificial milestones or deadlines. If M12 chooses not to invest, we will explain why. We will also try our best to suggest other ways you can gain funding or other resources to grow your business. It’s time to reinvent what it means to be a CVC and live up to what makes us an attractive investment partner to begin with – empowering entrepreneurs through investments, insight, and unparalleled access to Microsoft. The next time a founder asks me if we are a strategic investor, I want to be able to say, “It shouldn’t matter because we’re all aligned in fostering your success.” To learn more about M12, visit its website. The post Meeting entrepreneurs on their terms: Why we don’t require any “special rights” appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Did you know you can identify parts of speech with different colors, thanks to the Windows 10 October 2018 Update? Microsoft Edge is the only browser with Microsoft Learning Tools built-in that help improve reading and focus. Now you can separate words into syllables and highlight parts of speech, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives. Along with highlighting parts of speech, you can now also change the color as well as turn on an indicator right over what you’ve highlighted, making it much easier to identify the part of speech. Check it out in action: https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/95d57cbead45f820e841af333d27b298.gif If you like this, check out more Windows 10 Tips. The post Windows 10 Tip: Grammar tools appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing 20H1 Build 18860 to Windows Insiders who have opted into Skip Ahead. Remember – these builds are from the 20H1 development branch. Some things we are working on in 20H1 require a longer lead time. We will begin releasing 19H2 bits to Insiders later this spring after we get 19H1 nearly finished and ready; once 19H1 is “nearly finished and ready” we’ll also use the Release Preview ring for previews of drivers and quality updates on 19H1. IMPORTANT: As is normal with builds early in the development cycle, these builds may contain bugs that might be painful for some. If you take this flight, you won’t be able to switch back to the Fast or Slow rings without doing a clean-install on your PC and starting over. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle. What’s new in Build 18860 Bringing SwiftKey’s Typing Intelligence to Even More Languages As many of you know, we’ve been working on bringing SwiftKey’s typing intelligence to Windows. We’re excited to announce that we’re expanding support to these 39 languages: Afrikaans (South Africa), Albanian (Albania), Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Armenian (Armenia), Azerbaijani (Azerbaijan), Basque (Spain), Bulgarian (Bulgaria), Catalan (Spain), Croatian (Croatia), Czech (Czech Republic), Danish (Denmark), Dutch (Netherlands), Estonian (Estonia), Finnish (Finland), Galician (Spain), Georgian (Georgia), Greek (Greece), Hausa (Nigeria), Hebrew (Israel), Hindi (India), Hungarian (Hungary), Indonesian (Indonesia), Kazakh (Kazakhstan), Latvian (Latvia), Lithuanian (Lithuania), Macedonian (Macedonia), Malay (Malaysia), Norwegian (Bokmal, Norway), Persian (Iran), Polish (Poland), Romanian (Romania), Serbian (Serbia), Serbian (Serbia), Slovak (Slovakia), Slovenian (Slovenia), Swedish (Sweden), Turkish (Turkey), Ukrainian (Ukraine), Uzbek (Uzbek) What does this mean for you? Basically, we’re updating the underlying language model when typing in each of these languages, to improve the accuracy of the autocorrections, shapewriting, and predictions. You’d notice this when using the touch keyboard, or the hardware keyboard text predictions (if enabled). If you use these languages above to type, help us make your typing experience even better by sharing feedback! (being as specific as possible, if you can). We’ll be posting a Quest about this improvement in the Feedback Hub soon. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed a Microsoft Edge crash encountered when interacting with combo boxes in PDF forms. We fixed an issue that could result in night light being on after an upgrade, even though all the settings showed that night light should be off. We fixed an issue where using the slider to adjust the night light strength could result in night light getting stuck on. We fixed an issue where night light was skipping the fade transition when it was turned off (manually or scheduled). We fixed an issue resulting in increased battery drain while the screen was on in recent builds. We fixed an issue resulting in the “…” menu contents being clipped for certain apps like Voice Recorder and Alarms and Clock when the app was full screen. We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing bugcheck green screens citing a KERNEL_SECURITY_VIOLATION error. We fixed an issue preventing certain VMs from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds – the VM would hang on the black screen with the Windows logo. We fixed an issue where right-clicking a Wi-Fi entry in the taskbar network list when using light theme would bring up a dark theme’d context menu. We fixed an issue resulting in Settings crashing for some Insiders when clicking the Apps section. Known issues Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). When performing Reset this PC and selecting Keep my files on a device that has Reserved Storage enabled, the user will need to initiate an extra reboot to ensure Reserved Storage is working again properly. Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. Join the Bing Insider Program Now that Selection Sunday has passed, it’s time to get your brackets ready for March Madness! From First Four to Final Four, Bing has you covered with current brackets, game schedules, rankings and more. If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18860 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18362 (19H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle (which currently is 19H1). General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed an issue resulting in the Connect app crashing on launch for some Insiders. We fixed the issue with Microsoft Store app upates not automatically installing. Known issues Microsoft Store app updates do not automatically install on 18356+. As a workaround, you can manually check for, and install updates via the Microsoft Store app. Open Select “…” > “Downloads and updates” > “Get updates”. FIXED! Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Fast ring and switch to the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. REMINDER: Getting the latest Windows 10 app updates We have locked down the inbox apps in 19H1. These simplified versions of some of the inbox apps are what will ship with 19H1 when it is released. As a result, Insiders may have noticed that some features have disappeared from these apps. This was probably most noticeable with the Photos app. Insiders can get these features back by going into the settings of an inbox app like Photos and clicking the “Join preview” button. Join the Bing Insider Program Now that Selection Sunday has passed, it’s time to get your brackets ready for March Madness! From First Four to Final Four, Bing has you covered with current brackets, game schedules, rankings and more. If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18362 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are pleased to release a new Insider build of the Windows Server VNext Semi-Annual Channel release. Available Content Windows Server vNext Semi-Annual Preview The Server Core Edition is available in the 18 supported Server languages in ISO format and in English only in VHDX format. Windows Server Core App Compatibility FoD Preview Windows Server Language Packs Windows Admin Center 1902 Activation for preview keys has been disabled effective with this build. You may still install and this preview build for development and testing purposes without activating. Symbols are available on the public symbol server – see Update on Microsoft’s Symbol Server blog post and Using the Microsoft Symbol Server. Matching Windows Server container images will be available via Docker Hub. For more information about Windows Server containers and Insider builds, click here. How to Download Registered Insiders may navigate directly to the Windows Server Insider Preview download page. If you have not yet registered as an Insider, see GETTING STARTED WITH SERVER on the Windows Insiders for Business portal. We value your feedback! The most important part of a frequent release cycle is to hear what’s working and what needs to be improved, so your feedback is extremely valued. For Windows Admin Center, Send us feedback via UserVoice. We also encourage you to visit the Windows Admin Center space on the Microsoft Tech Communities forum to collaborate, share and learn from experts. For Windows Server, use your registered Windows 10 Insider device and use the Feedback Hub application. In the app, choose the Windows Server category and then the appropriate subcategory for your feedback. In the title of the Feedback, please indicate the build number you are providing feedback on in this format: [server #####] Title of my feedback We also encourage you to visit the Windows Server Insiders space on the Microsoft Tech Communities forum to collaborate, share and learn from experts. Windows Server Known Issues Error after remoting to machine with RDP post FOD installation. The error message indicates immediately that the remote session has ended with potential reasons, followed by a black RDP screen. This only impacts remoting to a physical machine with Server Core + FOD. Applies to App Compat FOD MMC.exe only: Multiple Active Directory Users and Computers snap-ins added to the same MMC.exe instance could show inconsistent or no data on part of the snap-ins after adding extra columns to the UI view. Wokaround: for UI user management, use a separate MMC for each ADUC (DSA.MSC) snap-in. A local user’s last logon time output from “net user username” may not be recorded even when the user has accessed the server’s network share. Scheduled startup tasks may fail to run. An event is logged, ID 101 with the error code ERROR_LOGON_FAILURE when the failure occurs. A virtual machine may not report all virtual fibre channel (vfc) LUNs after powering on if there are 2000+ vfc LUNs. WMI queries from the host show the LUNS available. Restarting the VMMs may show the LUNS again as available. DCPromo fails if the interface metric of the physical NIC is larger than Loopback Interface Third-party password filter dlls may not be notified when the local Administrator account’s password was changed. Attempting system image recovery from an image located on a network share may result in error “A specified logon session does not exist. It may already have been terminated”. Server FODs are not retained after in-place (or B2B) upgrade. Domain Controller rename updates incorrect attributes in AD leaving orphaned data behind (ValidateSPNsAndDNSHostNameActual). This can be reproduced by adding a new FQDN, setting it as primary, restarting the domain controller, then removing the current FQDN. Checking the msDS-AdditionalDnsHostName, msDS-AdditionalSamAccountName and servicePrincipalName attributes will incorrect values. Invalid file may be created in %Systemroot%\System32\LogFiles\Sum by User Access Logging Self-service users cannot install Feature on Demand (FOD) packages and Language Packs for Windows Server Update Service (WSUS), System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), and Autopilot scenarios. A container host may become unresponsive due to a deadlock when attempting to mount a volume. On an affected system, Docker hangs on all commands. When a Windows Defender Application Guard container crashes, the resulting type of dump may be unexpected. Terms of Use This is pre-release software – it is provided for use “as-is” and is not supported in production environments. Users are responsible for installing any updates made available from Windows Update. All pre-release software made available to you via the Windows Server Insider program are governed by the Insider Terms of Use. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows Server vNext Insider Preview Build 18356.1 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18361 (19H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle (which currently is 19H1). General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed an issue preventing certain VMs from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds – the VM would hang on the black screen with the Windows logo. We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing unexpected BitLocker prompts to encrypt certain drives, and then subsequently failing to encrypt. Known issues Microsoft Store app updates do not automatically install on 18356+. As a workaround, you can manually check for, and install updates via the Microsoft Store app. Open Select “…” > “Downloads and updates” > “Get updates”. Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Fast ring and switch to the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. REMINDER: Getting the latest Windows 10 app updates We have locked down the inbox apps in 19H1. These simplified versions of some of the inbox apps are what will ship with 19H1 when it is released. As a result, Insiders may have noticed that some features have disappeared from these apps. This was probably most noticeable with the Photos app. Insiders can get these features back by going into the settings of an inbox app like Photos and clicking the “Join preview” button. Join the Bing Insider Program Now that Selection Sunday has passed, it’s time to get your brackets ready for March Madness! From First Four to Final Four, Bing has you covered with current brackets, game schedules, rankings, and more. If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18361 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

At HP Reinvent, the company’s largest global partner event, HP unveiled a variety of new offerings designed to transform experiences across work and life – including a ground-breaking security service, a cutting-edge commercial virtual reality (VR) headset, as well as new consumer and commercial PCs. As the security landscape continues to evolve, HP aims to address endpoint challenges through a new security-focused managed service designed to enforce policies, actively monitor, proactively respond and defend against the threat of undetected attacks. HP DaaS Proactive Security Service is designed to go beyond anti-virus solutions and provide a critical extra layer of defense. As the world’s most advanced isolation security service for files and browsing on Windows 10 PCs [1], this service extends protection and security intelligence to transform endpoints from biggest risk to best defense. It provides real-time malware protection for computing endpoints and threat analytics through HP TechPulse. The service also includes a security self-assessment tool and score; and cyber security solutions including assessment, incident response and cyber insurance services from Aon, a leading global professional services firm. It will be available in more than 50 countries worldwide in April. The DaaS Proactive Security Service with Aon offerings will be available in the U.S. in April, with additional geographies to be added later this year*. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/550010d1ea8419a8d94ccda3654bbaff-1024x576.jpg HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset Also at HP Reinvent, the company revealed the HP Reverb Virtual Reality Headset – Professional Edition. It’s ultra-light at 1.1 pounds and ultra-immersive with redesigned optics to increase the visual “sweet spot.” It joins HP’s comprehensive VR portfolio with panels measuring 2160 x 2160 per eye, with double the resolution [2] and a 114-degree field of view. It has integrated Bluetooth with pre-paired motion controllers right out of the box and support for Windows Mixed Reality and Steam VR. With Windows Mixed Reality’s inside-out tracking, setup is easy – just plug in the VR headset and start the experience. “With more than 2,500 VR experiences available and counting, Windows Mixed Reality continues to serve as the home for cutting-edge innovations that are fundamentally changing the way we work and play,” says Alex Kipman, a technical fellow with Microsoft. “The HP Reverb headset is an amazing example of the type of innovation we are seeing take place as we push forward and bring the next era of computing – the era of mixed reality – to the masses.” HP worked closely with customers and found out that VR-based training has a 75 percent retention rate compared to lectures at 10 percent and reading at 5 percent [3]. HP Reverb also features integrated headphones with spatial audio and smart assistant-compatible dual microphones for a greater immersive experience and collaboration in multi-user VR environments. The HP Reverb Professional and Consumer Editions are expected to be available in late April for $649 and $599*, respectively. HP has also expanded its AMD commercial portfolio, designed for modern small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/060882e58d45bda4c8ce6c1344e8dfce-1024x870.jpg HP ProBook 445R G6 Powered by 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen mobile processors, the HP ProBook 445R G6 and HP ProBook 455R G6 help professionals stay productive in the office and on the go. The new notebooks adopt the elegant design concept found across the HP EliteBook portfolio, featuring an ultra-slim aluminum chassis with crisp lines and clean edges. The 180-degree hinge allows users to lay the devices flat, making it easier to share content and collaborate, while HP Noise Cancellation reduces background noise by up to 20dB [4], providing a robust audio and video conferencing experience. They’re expected to be available in June*. The HP ProDesk 405 G4 Desktop Mini delivers the performance, expandability and security that SMBs need in a compact and stylish design. The PC is the company’s first 400-series desktop mini; it features a 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen PRO processor with built-in Radeon Vega graphics and can support up to three displays [5], serving a new market of customers who need a powerful system to create content coupled with the advanced security and manageability capabilities of the AMD processor. It is expected to be available in April for a starting price of $499*. With 84 percent of Gen Z workers preferring in-person communication and virtual tools like Skype as a way to meet face-to-face with colleagues [6], HP’s Zoom Room solutions make it easier for IT decision makers to choose a conferencing and collaboration solution that best meets the needs of their organization. These solutions provide easy, customizable and flexible meeting room options that are secure and manageable for small, medium and large organizations. They’re expected to be available starting in July*. HP also announced HP Premier Care Solutions to enhance its premium commercial notebooks, including HP EliteBooks and HP ZBooks. The new line-up of HP ENVY laptops and x360s features HP Command Center for powerful performance, sophisticated design with a geometric pattern for audio and thermal venting, and robust security – including a biometric fingerprint reader, a privacy camera kill switch and an optional HP Sure View privacy screen [7] to ensure screen content isn’t exposed. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/17d9973742c2f9d65265eaa80e61816a-1024x871.jpg HP ENVY 13 Laptop Built with mobility in mind, the HP ENVY 13 Laptop features the latest Intel processors to power up to 19 hours of battery life [8] – nearly a 41 percent improvement versus the previous generation. It is expected to be available in April through HP.com for a starting price of $899.99. The new HP ENVY x360 13 features a powerful 2nd Generation AMD Ryzen processor and up to 14.5 hours of battery life [8] in a convertible form factor. It is expected to be available in April for a starting price of $699.99*. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/46880e912b93215981401aa09a9dc85b-1024x871.jpg HP ENVY x360 13 HP ENVY x360 15 offers versatility with either an AMD or the latest 8th Generation Intel Core processor [9], with up to 13 hours of battery life [8], a 28 percent top-bezel reduction versus the previous generation and an optional AMOLED display for stunning colors and brightness for browsing or streaming video. Versions with both Intel and AMD processors are expected to be available in April via HP.com and also available through Best Buy beginning in May. The Intel version has a starting price of $869.99, while the AMD version starts at $799.99*. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/ce3a205102befa2742ebc7e8bc657e9e-1024x871.jpg HP ENVY 17 Laptop The HP ENVY 17 Laptop is built for performance with an 8th Generation Intel Core processor and NVIDIA GeForce MX250 graphics for productivity, creativity and entertainment. The 17-inch device offers a better screen-to-body ratio for a more immersive viewing experience, thanks to its 45 percent top bezel reduction versus the previous generation. It is expected to be available in April via HP.com for a starting price of $899.99, and also available through Best Buy beginning in May*. [1] Based on HP’s internal analysis of isolation security services that offer SaaS and managed services that include on-board and configure, compliance enforcement and malware threat analytics. Most advanced based on hardware VM isolation-enforced protection with individual browser tabs and apps in isolation as of March 2019. [2] HP Reverb at 2160 x 2160 per eye with 9.3M Pixel doubles the resolution of similar price point. [3] According to a MASiE 2017 Report (January 2017, by Bobby Carlton) in a study carried out by the National Training Laboratory. [4] The test setup and results are based on Delta SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) from 3QUEST(3-fold Quality Evaluation of Speech in Telecommunications) test as defined in ETSI TS 103 106 specification with testing performed in a train station background noise. Results will vary based on type and surroundings [5] Displays sold separately. Support for up to three video outputs via two standard video connectors and an optional third video port connector, which provides the following choices: DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.0, VGA or USB Type-C with DisplayPort Output. [6] Stillman, David, and Jonah Stillman. “Gen Z@Work: How the Next Generation Is Transforming the Workplace.” Harper Business, an Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2017. [7] HP Sure View integrated privacy screen functions in landscape orientation. Optional available on select FHD Sure View panels. [8] Windows 10/MM14 battery life will vary depending on various factors including product model, configuration, loaded applications, features, use, wireless functionality and power management settings. The maximum capacity of the battery will naturally decrease with time and usage. See www.bapco.com for additional details. [9] Multi-core is designed to improve performance of certain software products. Not all customers or software applications will necessarily benefit from use of this technology. Performance and clock frequency will vary depending on application workload and your hardware and software configurations. Intel’s numbering, branding and/or naming is not a measurement of higher performance. *PRICING and AVAILABILITY: Not available in all countries, pricing from HP.com, subject to change without notice. See Best Buy for pricing details. The post Unveiled at HP Reinvent: Latest innovations in PC experiences for work and life appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Did you know you can help improve focus while reading web articles by highlighting sets of one, three or five lines, thanks to the Windows 10 October 2018 Update? Microsoft Edge is the only browser with Microsoft Learning Tools built-in that help improve reading and focus. While you’re in Reading view on Microsoft Edge, you can turn on Line focus in Reading preferences and choose how many lines to see. The lines will move with you as you scroll down the page, making it easier to focus your eye and your attention. Check it out in action: https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/ff6c99c8a509c4c95c6ed4ac13456555.gif If you like this, check out more Windows 10 Tips. The post Windows 10 Tip: Improve focus as you read web articles appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18358 (19H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle (which currently is 19H1). General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC FOR GAMERS: We have addressed an issue with Game Mode that may degrade game streaming and recording quality. Here’s the latest on trying out our new Windows gaming technology: Still haven’t had a chance to get the game State of Decay for free (for a limited time)? We’ve added even more slots! Whether you’ve tried it in earlier builds or haven’t had the chance yet, these instructions have everything you need. Installed the Insider version of State of Decay already? We’ll be trying out another update later today. To get it, launch the Store app, click […] and then “Downloads and Updates”. Once installed, you shouldn’t see any difference in the game – it’s just a test update – but please let us know if anything doesn’t work! [*]We fixed an issue that could result in the thumbnails in Alt + Tab sometimes becoming offset. [*]We fixed an issue where certain upgrade paths could result in the contents of the Recycle Bin being left under Windows.old. [*]We fixed an issue resulting in upgrades failing at 18% or 25% and rolling back for some Insiders. [*]We fixed an issue resulting in some Insider experiencing green screens with error KERNEL_SECURITY_VIOLATION. [*]We fixed an issue resulting in some apps using the Windows Installer failing to install recently. Known issues Microsoft Store app updates do not automatically install on 18356+. As a workaround, you can manually check for, and install updates via the Microsoft Store app. Open Select “…” > “Downloads and updates” > “Get updates”. Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. We’re investigating an issue preventing VMware from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds. Hyper-V is a viable alternative if available to you. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Fast ring and switch to the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. Windows Defender Application Guard as browser extensions in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox To extend our container technology to other browsers and provide customers with a comprehensive solution to isolate potential browser-based attacks, we have designed and developed Windows Defender Application Guard extensions for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/1674344f49ed9d17ad95395e6e974ed6.png How it works The extensions for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox automatically redirect untrusted navigations to Windows Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge. The extension relies on a native application that we’ve built to support the communication between the browser and the device’s Application Guard settings. When users navigate to a site, the extension checks the URL against a list of trusted sites defined by enterprise administrators. If the site is determined to be untrusted, the user is redirected to an isolated Microsoft Edge session. In the isolated Microsoft Edge session, the user can freely navigate to any site that has not been explicitly defined as trusted by their organization without any risk to the rest of system. With our upcoming dynamic switching capability, if the user tries to go to a trusted site while in an isolated Microsoft Edge session, the user is taken back to the default browser. To configure the Application Guard extension under managed mode, enterprise administrators can follow these recommended steps: Ensure devices meet requirements. Turn on Windows Defender Application Guard. Define the network isolation settings to ensure a set of trusted sites is in place. Install the new Windows Defender Application Guard companion application from the Microsoft Store. Install the extension for Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browsers provided by Microsoft. Restart the devices. Intuitive user experience We designed the user interface to be transparent to users about Windows Defender Application Guard being installed on their devices and what it does. We want to ensure that users are fully aware that their untrusted navigations will be isolated and why. When users initially open Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox after the extension is deployed and configured properly, they will see a Windows Defender Application Guard landing page. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/7e90b4ba1ea7339d812b21574890eaf5.png If there are any problems with the configuration, users will get instructions for resolving any configuration errors. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/d3b6e10b0daca58cd5f115fff0c2a0f4.png Users can initiate an Application Guard session without entering a URL or clicking on a link by clicking the extension icon on the menu bar of the browser.https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/8b311aa4250f92b10ab8920c63412a11.png Where to get it The Windows Defender Application Guard extension for Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox is rolling out to Windows Insiders today and will be generally available very soon. This is available for users on Win 10 Enterprise and Pro SKUs on 1803 or later. Get the Google Chrome extension Get the Mozilla Firefox extension Get the Microsoft Store companion app Submit feedback here. Contact our team if you have any questions. REMINDER: Getting the latest Windows 10 app updates We have locked down the inbox apps in 19H1. These simplified versions of some of the inbox apps are what will ship with 19H1 when it is released. As a result, Insiders may have noticed that some features have disappeared from these apps. This was probably most noticeable with the Photos app. Insiders can get these features back by going into the settings of an inbox app like Photos and clicking the “Join preview” button. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18358 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing 20H1 Build 18855 to Windows Insiders who have opted into Skip Ahead. Remember – these builds are from the 20H1 development branch. Some things we are working on in 20H1 require a longer lead time. We will begin releasing 19H2 bits to Insiders later this spring after we get 19H1 nearly finished and ready; once 19H1 is “nearly finished and ready” we’ll also use the Release Preview ring for previews of drivers and quality updates on 19H1. IMPORTANT: As is normal with builds early in the development cycle, these builds may contain bugs that might be painful for some. If you take this flight, you won’t be able to switch back to the Fast or Slow rings without doing a clean-install on your PC and starting over. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC Notepad now automatically restores unsaved content when Windows restarts for updates. We’ve enabled microphone in Windows Sandbox, which among other things will improve several accessibility scenarios. We’ve enabled microphone in Windows Sandbox, which among other things will improve several accessibility scenarios. We’ve added functionality to configure the audio input device via the Windows Sandbox config file. We’ve fixed an issue in which the Windows Sandbox time zone was not synchronized with the host. We’ve enabled the Shift + Alt + PrintScreen key sequence in Windows Sandbox which activates the ease of access dialog for enabling high contrast mode. We’ve enabled the ctrl + alt + break key sequence in Windows Sandbox which allows entering/exiting fullscreen mode. We fixed a recent issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing bug checks upon lid close, monitor plug, or monitor unplug. We fixed an issue resulting in preferred region settings getting reset on upgrade in the last few flights. We fixed an issue resulting in the Chinese version of multiple games not working. We fixed an issue in memcpy that caused some drivers to hard-hang the system on load; this could manifest as a hang on upgrade, depending on the system. We fixed an issue from recent builds that could result in monitors being missing from the built-in Color Management application. We fixed an issue causing Explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when Jump list content was updated. We fixed an issue where text scaling values did not persist across upgrades for Win32 applications. Due to a Narrator reading reliability issue for the “Change how capitalized text is read” feature, the feature has been disabled starting in build 18855. We fixed an issue that could cause the touch keyboard to crash when switching from IME-based languages to another language. Known issues Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). While this flight contains some night light improvements, we’re continuing to investigate reported issues in this space. When performing Reset this PC and selecting Keep my files on a device that has Reserved Storage enabled, the user will need to initiate an extra reboot to ensure Reserved Storage is working again properly. Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. We’re investigating an issue preventing VMware from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds. Hyper-V is a viable alternative if available to you. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. Boost your social media presence With Bing Pages, we will build your social media brand like we did for this celeb. You can promote your own posts on Bing.com, and these get promoted on relevant Bing queries. Try it out and tell us what you think. Your support will help us identify and smooth out the kinks before we launch externally! If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18855 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Our government agencies have a unique opportunity to deliver massive impact on the lives of U.S. citizens – an impact that can be accelerated and emboldened by technology innovation. However, these same agencies are challenged to modernize and keep pace with the changing technology landscape, while simultaneously reducing costs, protecting data and meeting stringent compliance regulations. To ensure the government can achieve its critical, mission-driven work, and improve citizen services, hundreds of CIOs and top decision-makers from federal, state and local government agencies are turning to secure cloud infrastructure, which can seamlessly enable operations efficiencies, and provide services that are faster, more reliable and more secure. Government is taking a Cloud Smart approach Right now, we’re seeing the evolution across U.S. government from a Cloud First approach – with an emphasis on just getting everything in the cloud – to a Cloud Smart approach – with a focus on embracing modern capabilities and equipping agencies with the technology tools needed in accordance with their mission needs. The recently revised Federal Cloud Computing Strategy is the first cloud policy update in seven years. We believe it constitutes more than labelling and is the right way forward to make the most of the incredible possibilities of cloud in advancing agencies’ missions. In recent years, commercial technology has increasingly found a foothold in the government market and Cloud Smart embraces best practices from both the federal government and the private sector. Cloud Smart is about equipping agencies with the tools, knowledge and flexibilities they need to not only move to cloud, but to fully embrace the potential of its many value-added capabilities such as Platform-as-a Service (PaaS) and Artificial Intelligence. Securely enabling the mission end to end All government cloud offerings are not the same, and Microsoft is committed to supporting the needs of government across all branches and levels enabling them with capabilities that support the advancement of their mission from end to end. We’ve built the most trusted, comprehensive cloud for government which includes Azure Government, Microsoft 365 Government, and Dynamics 365 Government. Government organizations across the United States increasingly are turning to our powerful cloud offerings to modernize – becoming more productive, collaborative and efficient all while protecting sensitive data and privacy. Microsoft is delivering them the right capabilities where they are needed, when they are needed as the sole provider with offerings that span infrastructure, platform and software capabilities and services (IaaS, PaaS and SaaS) designed to meet government’s unique compliance needs. To make it easier for agencies to efficiently modernize quickly and accelerate the speed in which they achieve a return on their cloud investments, Microsoft has worked with our government customers to achieve the most certifications of any cloud provider with more than 79 compliance certifications supported at every level of government to help them achieve their necessary requirements. We also invest $1 billion dollars per year on security and much of that goes to ensuring we deliver our customers the most trusted cloud platform. Today, we’re announcing several advances across our landscape of comprehensive government cloud solutions, demonstrating our commitment to the unique needs of our customers and further differentiating our offerings: Microsoft Teams is now available across all government cloud environments Since launching Microsoft 365 Government last year, we’ve continually made investments to empower government with the newest tools for mobile productivity and secure collaboration, bringing together the best of Office 365, Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS), and Windows 10 to meet agencies’ complex compliance and security requirements. Today, we’re announcing Microsoft Teams, a product core to our vision for delivering intelligent and modern collaboration and communications, is now available in our Government Community Cloud (GCC) High and Department of Defense (DoD) environments exclusively for the U.S. government and its partners. This means Teams is now available across all our government cloud environments including GCC. Microsoft Teams’ chat-based workspace enables teams of government professionals to be more productive by giving them a single and secure location that brings together everything they need including chats, meetings, calls, files, and tools. Integrated access through this hub for teamwork across multiple Office 365 services enables agencies to leverage their current investments and improves collaboration by providing central file sharing, co-authoring and many more functions making it possible for government customers to better deliver against their mission. Introducing Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement for Government Today we’re also announcing the availability of both Microsoft Power Platform (March 2019) and Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement (April 2019) for government professionals. These two new products will enable government to unlock new capabilities and features in three core areas: new business applications; new intelligent capabilities infused throughout; and transformational new application platform capabilities. Once agencies have the infrastructure for harnessing data, they also need a layer atop that data that enables them to get insights easily. Microsoft Power Platform for Government is a system that will allow them to take three key actions on data: analyze, act, and automate. The system uses Power BI, PowerApps, and Flow working together to help anyone, regardless of technical ability, to make data-driven decisions. Joining Power BI, PowerApps and Flow standalone apps are now generally available for government agencies and their partners in GCC. PowerApps and Flow general availability will also land in Microsoft 365 and Office 365 in spring 2019. We are also offering Dynamics 365 Government Customer Engagement for GCC High. This means agencies can now access customer service, contact centers, correspondence management, grants management, task management, mission planning and even more purpose-built cloud applications than they were able to previously. New Microsoft 365 Government security and mobile enhancements Recently we introduced Outlook Mobile for our GCC High and DoD customers. This update means the architecture of Outlook mobile now meets the security and compliance needs of Office 365 U.S. GCC High and DoD customers. Now government employees have advanced capabilities across email, search, and calendar from their mobile devices, so they can focus on what’s important and get more done for their citizens. Coming soon, government agencies using Office 365 Threat Intelligence in GCC will gain new capabilities that automate investigation and remediation of cyber threats to help them reduce the burden on their IT security teams and decrease response times. This is the latest addition to comprehensive set of Microsoft 365 Government tools designed to help government protect, detect and respond to cyberattacks. Continuing our investments in government innovation, security and compliance Microsoft is helping customers across the full spectrum of government, from the state and local level, to every military branch and all federal cabinet departments. We currently serve nearly 10 million U.S. government cloud professionals across more than 7,000 government entities diligently meeting their unique needs by deliver the highest levels of security and compliance. Microsoft enables the digital transformation of government by offering effective, modern, enterprise-class cloud capabilities. Our government customers are driven by critical missions, and we are committed to helping them evolve their IT modernization efforts with innovative and trusted cloud, productivity and mobility solutions. As government agencies face a range of new challenges in meeting their missions, we are committed to enabling them to work smarter, with agility and confidence – using technology that can unlock the opportunities ahead. Learn more about how government agencies are using Microsoft cloud technology here. The post New Microsoft 365 and business applications technologies enable government to modernize for the mission appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18356 (19H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle (which currently is 19H1). Other Updates for Insiders Take your phone’s screen to the big screen We are excited to provide an early preview into the newest feature for the Your Phone app – phone screen. You can now mirror your Android phone’s screen directly on your PC without having to dig for your phone. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/ea6a644a7837a7433b712b54a1fd7261.png The new phone screen feature gives you easy access to your phone apps on your PC. Whether scheduling a ride to the airport or checking your social updates, do it with ease from the comfort of your PC without having to take your phone out of your bag or go back and forth between devices. Go ahead, give your thumbs a break, and get things done faster with your keyboard and mouse. https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/03/745e440054126e76fb77412b282dbea5.png This feature will gradually roll out to Insiders on 19H1 builds. It may take a few days for this feature to show up inside the Your Phone app (version 1.0.20701.0 and above). You can use the Your Phone app on any Windows 10 PC running Windows builds 1803 (RS4) or newer and any Android phone running Android version 7.0 or newer. But the new phone screen feature is initially only compatible with a limited set of devices. Surface Go will be the first device in the Surface lineup to preview this feature. We will continue to expand the list of devices over time for both the PC and phone. We look forward to your feedback as we continue to test, learn, and improve the overall experience. Phone screen requirements: Select Android phones* running Android 7.0 or greater (*Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+/S9/S9+). Windows 10 PC with a Bluetooth radio that supports low energy peripheral role. How to check if your PC supports this. Latest 19H1 preview build (18335+ recommended). Android phone must be on, within Bluetooth range of the PC, and connected to the same network as the PC. Known issues: Touch input doesn’t work yet Always on display will not be shown on the phone screen displayed on the PC Blue light preferences will not be applied on the phone screen displayed on the PC Audio will play out of the phone speakers, not the PC Double clicking may bring down notification center Some games and apps do not support mouse interactions (e.g. Pokémon Go, Merge Dragons, Feedly) If you turn on the setting to hide soft keyboard when a physical keyboard is present your soft keyboard will disappear whenever you’re within Bluetooth range of your PC regardless of the state of the Your Phone app or phone screen session General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed a Microsoft Edge crash encountered when interacting with combo boxes in PDF forms. We fixed an issue that could result in night light being on after an upgrade, even though all the settings showed that night light should be off. We fixed an issue where using the slider to adjust the night light strength could result in night light getting stuck on. We fixed an issue where night light was skipping the fade transition when it was turned off (manually or scheduled). We fixed an issue resulting in increased battery drain while the screen was on in recent builds. We fixed an issue resulting in the “…” menu contents being clipped for certain apps like Voice Recorder and Alarms and Clock when the app was full screen. We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing bugcheck green screens citing a KERNEL_SECURITY_VIOLATION error. Known issues Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. We’re investigating an issue preventing VMware from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds. Hyper-V is a viable alternative if available to you. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Fast ring and switch to the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. Go Places with Bing Ready to plan your Spring or Summer vacation? Use Bing itineraries to customize your next trip. Choose where you’re going and when, and explore different attractions, restaurants, hotels, and more! Add these to your itinerary and continue to plan your perfect trip. If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program. REMINDER: Getting the latest Windows 10 app updates We have locked down the inbox apps in 19H1. These simplified versions of some of the inbox apps are what will ship with 19H1 when it is released. As a result, Insiders may have noticed that some features have disappeared from these apps. This was probably most noticeable with the Photos app. Insiders can get these features back by going into the settings of an inbox app like Photos and clicking the “Join preview” button. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18356 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

After 10 years, support for Windows 7 is coming to an end on January 14, 2020, with Office 2010 following shortly thereafter. We are here to help you with recommendations for what to do next and answer questions that you may have about end of support. End of support means that your Windows 7 or Office 2010 software will no longer receive updates, including security updates. But, there’s good news – Windows 10 is the most secure Windows ever and Office 365 delivers the latest in personal productivity. Together they make a perfect pair to help you do everything you were doing before – safer, faster and easier. To help our customers get advanced notice of this change, we are reaching out with information and resources. Beginning next month, if you are a Windows 7 customer, you can expect to see a notification appear on your Windows 7 PC. This is a courtesy reminder that you can expect to see a handful of times in 2019. By starting the reminders now, our hope is that you have time to plan and prepare for this transition. These notifications are designed to help provide information only and if you would prefer not to receive them again, you’ll be able to select an option for “do not notify me again,” and we will not send you any further reminders. Just as software has changed over the years, so has hardware. To learn more about the latest line-up of modern PCs and information for moving from Windows 7 to Windows 10, just click on the “learn more” button on the notification. If you want to get started today, you can visit www.microsoft.com/windows7 to find out more. The transition to Windows 10 and Office 365 has never been simpler and this site is designed to help you along that journey. The content available will help you with data transfer to easily get your photos and documents onto a new PC. It will also show you tips for choosing a new device and getting up to speed quickly with the familiar but newer versions of Windows and Office. Once you have started with a new device, online support is always a single click away – whenever you’re ready, we’re here to help. You can also visit a physical Microsoft Store for help with any technology issue no matter where you purchased the device. For commercial customers, you’ve been on this journey for a while now. Check out this blog post from January or go here to learn more about the shift to a modern desktop with Microsoft 365 – including Windows 10 and Office 365 – for your business. Thank you to all of you who have loved Windows 7 and Office 2010 and for letting us serve you and be part of your lives. We’re grateful for your loyalty and we’re here to help you through this transition. Thanks, Matt The post Making the transition to Windows 10 and Office 365 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Did you know there are now more ways to improve your reading and focus, thanks to the Windows 10 October 2018 Update? Microsoft Edge is the only browser with Microsoft Learning Tools built-in that help improve reading and focus. You’ll notice more customization options in reading view, such as increasing text spacing, or choosing from a wide array of background colors and themes that work best for you. Check it out in action: https://blogs.windows.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/2/2019/02/345c039cd6dd279b7bab9dbc40e40511.gif If you like this, check out more Windows 10 Tips. The post Windows 10 Tip: Increase text spacing and choose themes and colors using the learning tools built into Microsoft Edge appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18353 (19H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. If you are looking for a complete look at what build is in which Insider ring – head on over to Flight Hub. You can also check out the rest of our documentation here including a complete list of new features and updates that have gone out as part of Insider flights for the current development cycle (which currently is 19H1). General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We’ve enabled microphone in Windows Sandbox, which among other things with improve several accessibility scenarios. We’ve added functionality to configure the audio input device via the Windows Sandbox config file. We’ve fixed an issue in which the Windows Sandbox time zone was not synchronized with the host. We’ve enabled the Shift + Alt + PrintScreen key sequence in Windows Sandbox which activates the ease of access dialog for enabling high contrast mode. We’ve enabled the ctrl + alt + break key sequence in Windows Sandbox which allows entering/exiting fullscreen mode. We fixed a recent issue resulting in some Insiders experiencing bug checks upon lid close, monitor plug, or monitor unplug. We fixed an issue resulting in preferred region settings getting reset on upgrade in the last few flights. We fixed an issue resulting in the Chinese version of multiple games not working. We fixed an issue in memcpy that caused some drivers to hard-hang the system on load; this could manifest as a hang on upgrade, depending on the system. Here’s the latest on trying out our new Windows gaming technology: Still haven’t had a chance to get the game State of Decay for free (for a limited time)? More slots are available again! Whether you’ve tried it in earlier builds or haven’t had the chance yet, these instructions have everything you need. Installed the Insider version of State of Decay already? We’ll be trying out an update later To get it, launch the Store app, click […] and then “Downloads and Updates”. Once installed, you shouldn’t see any difference in the game – it’s just a test update – but please let us know if anything doesn’t work! Known issues Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD). Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue. We’re continuing to investigate feedback in the night light space. Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue. We’re investigating an issue preventing VMware from being able to install or update Windows Insider Preview builds. Hyper-V is a viable alternative if available to you. Known issues for Developers If you install any of the recent builds from the Fast ring and switch to the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings. REMINDER: Getting the latest Windows 10 app updates We have locked down the inbox apps in 19H1. These simplified versions of some of the inbox apps are what will ship with 19H1 when it is released. As a result, Insiders may have noticed that some features have disappeared from these apps. This was probably most noticeable with the Photos app. Insiders can get these features back by going into the settings of an inbox app like Photos and clicking the “Join preview” button. Join the Bing Insider Program Going somewhere? Save time and money on your next trip. Use Bing Maps to plan your route and see gas prices, hotels, attractions, and restaurants along the way. If you want to be among the first to learn about these Bing features, join our Bing Insider Program. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 (and Brandon!) The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18353 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...