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Hello Windows Insiders! Today, we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17101 (RS4) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring. We are also releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17604 (RS5) to Windows Insiders who have opted into Skip Ahead. Flighting to Skip Ahead Right now our focus is on stabilization for RS4. As part of the stabilization process, we have “forked” RS4 into its own branch called “RS4_RELEASE” just like we did with RS2 and RS3. Going forward – RS4 builds will come from the RS4_RELEASE branch. This also means that we intend to release new RS4 builds to Insiders more quickly to both the Fast and Slow rings as these builds we include mostly bug fixes. In RS3, we experimented with the idea of flighting two different releases at the same time with something we called Skip Ahead. A subset of Insiders were able to choose to “skip ahead” to the next release of Windows 10 and receive builds from RS4 while we were finishing up RS3. That experiment went well as our engineering teams benefited from the early feedback. So we’re going to do it again! https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/823c3133fbc408ad86e909df0c32941c-1024x576.png Up until today – Insiders who opted into Skip Ahead previously were receiving the same exact RS4 builds as Insiders in the Fast ring since Build 17017. Skip Ahead never “turned off” and many Insiders remained in Skip Ahead since joining at the beginning of RS4. Starting today – Windows Insiders who opted into Skip Ahead will now start receiving new builds for RS5 which is our next Windows 10 release. These builds will come from the RS_PRERELEASE branch. We are only allowing a small subset of Insiders in the Fast ring to opt in to Skip Ahead as we still need Insiders to hammer on RS4. Because many Insiders who opted in last time remained in Skip Ahead, the limit for Skip Ahead has already been met. This means that if you are not already in Skip Ahead, you will see the Skip Ahead option under Settings > Update & Security > Windows Insider Program greyed out. If we open Skip Ahead up for more Insiders, we’ll let you know. However once we’ve finished RS4, we will move everyone in the Fast ring back to the RS_PRERELEASE branch and then the Fast ring and Skip Ahead will be back to receiving the same builds again. Please be aware that builds from RS_PRERELEASE will get less stable as teams start checking in new code. So, things will likely be a little rough as they normally are at the beginning of the development cycle for a new Windows 10 release. If this concerns you or makes you uncomfortable, you may want to consider opting out of Skip Ahead and simply wait for the Fast ring to transition back to RS_PRERELEASE down the road. What’s new in Build 17101 & Build 17604 Input Improvements Emoji design updates: Based on your feedback and to improve consistency, we’ve made adjustments to the design of some of our emoji. Examples of updated emoji include: Before: https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/372ea7ad718f8564e6d37e39f8ff51e7-1024x146.png After: https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/8da3c3292a108f6be4b49e062bd83199-1024x146.png Emoji search comes to more languages: Earlier in RS4, we updated the Emoji Panel to support browsing and picking emoji in many new locales. With today’s build, we’re bringing search support to more locales too! Now you can find an emoji by keyword in over 150 locales, including English (Great Britain), French (France), German (Germany), Spanish (Spain), and more. This will help you get the emoji you want easily and quickly. As a reminder, to bring up the Emoji Panel set focus to a text field and press WIN + (period) or WIN + (semicolon). https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/65ea3525b8a583b711489f1d88ce1d82-1024x625.png Windows App Permissions UWP File System Access: With this build we’re giving you more control so you can now decide which UWP apps can access your full file system. Particular UWP apps will be granted permission to have broad file system access. This capability will be granted on a per app basis by Microsoft. If a UWP app has the broad file system access restricted capability, you will receive a consent dialog prompting you to accept or deny the request. If at any time you change your mind about the decision, you can go to Settings > Privacy where you’ll find a new Settings page for File System Access. On this page, you can turn access on or off globally, and if it’s on you can also turn it on or off for each app that has requested the capability. UWPs with broad file system access will not appear in the Photos, Videos, or Documents privacy settings pages. If you grant broad file system access, this includes Photos, Videos and Documents. New features for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations Last year, as part of the Windows 10 Fall Creator’s update, we announced a new edition of Windows designed for demanding mission critical scenarios targeting advanced users. As part of RS4, we are adding two more features for our most advanced users running these mission critical scenarios: A new power scheme – Ultimate Performance: Demanding workloads on workstations always desire more performance. As part of our effort to provide the absolute maximum performance we’re introducing a new power policy called Ultimate Performance. Windows has developed key areas where performance and efficiency tradeoffs are made in the OS. Over time, we’ve amassed a collection of settings which allow the OS to quickly tune the behavior based on user preference, policy, underlying hardware or workload. This new policy builds on the current High-Performance policy, and it goes a step further to eliminate micro-latencies associated with fine grained power management techniques. The Ultimate Performance Power plan is selectable either by an OEM on new systems or selectable by a user. To do so, you can go to Control Panel and navigate to Power Options under Hardware and Sound (you can also “run” Powercfg.cpl). Just like other power policies in Windows, the contents of the Ultimate Performance policy can be customized. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/d40ba3d9faa3462691c3d282995a0618-1024x352.png As the power scheme is geared towards reducing micro-latencies it may directly impact hardware; and consume more power than the default balanced plan. The Ultimate Performance power policy is currently not available on battery powered systems. We’ll continue to tune and evaluate the power plan settings. To submit feedback please use the Feedback Hub and file your feedback under Power & Battery > Setting category. Productivity focused out of box applications: In the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the out of box experience for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations draws from the Pro edition of Windows 10. One area where this is noticeable is the suite of applications installed out of the box visible as tiles in the start menu. In the next release for Windows, you will see for Windows 10 Pro for Workstations productivity and enterprise focused applications in place of consumer applications and games. This was one of the top feedback shared with us by our partners and users and we’re delivering this in our next update. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/f7ed6665ee7b034f9750705b28e0885f-1024x665.png If you’re a Windows Insider running the Workstation or Enterprise edition, you can see these features in Builds 17079 or greater. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC (Build 17101) We fixed an issue from the last flight were some PCs failed to resume from hibernate (requiring a hard reboot to recover). We fixed an issue resulting in 3 and 4 finger gestures on the touchpad being unresponsive in the last two flights. We fixed an issue after upgrading to the last flight where Start didn’t work for Insiders who’d had HomeGroup added as a folder to appear on Start. We’ve updated the touch keyboard so that if you try to shapewrite in an unsupported text field or when the typing resources aren’t installed, you won’t see the shapewriting trail as you swipe your finger over the keys. We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard showed an English layout with no IME on/off key when an East Asian keyboard is the only input method on your system. We fixed an issue where if you install a font product from the Microsoft Store, then later install a new build (feature update), the Store package will remain installed, but the fonts within the package are not installed. Until this is fixed, the temporary workaround is to uninstall the product from the Apps page in Settings, then re-acquire the product from the Store. We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard might stop invoking automatically after locking the PC and then unlocking the PC by using the touch keyboard to enter your PIN or password. We fixed an issue where the Japanese IME sometimes wouldn’t turn on correctly. We fixed an issue where the floating dictation UI could be unexpectedly tiny. We fixed an issue that could result in the mouse cursor suddenly jump to screen corner while mouse was moving in a List Control. We fixed an issue that could result in tabs hanging and not loading content recently in Microsoft Edge after using the browser for a few days with an adblocker enabled. We fixed an issue resulting in newly installed Microsoft Edge extensions not appearing in the Extensions pane in the last two flights. We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge where favicons in light theme were unexpectedly getting black backgrounds. We fixed an issue that could result in UWP apps sometimes launching as small white rectangular boxes. We fixed an issue resulting in certain fingerprint readers not working in recent flights. We fixed an issue where Windows Hello failed to work on Surface Laptops with the last build. We fixed an issue that could result in the labels for files on the desktop overlapping their icons. We’re updating the “Advanced graphics settings” link on the Display Settings page to now just say “Graphics Settings”. When your volume is muted, the volume icons in the Sound Settings page will also now appear muted. If you click the Reset button on the App volume and device preferences page, it will now also reset any app specific volumes you’ve set back to default (100%). We fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x80070057 in recent builds. We fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x803FB005 in recent builds. We fixed an issue where bringing up Game bar using the Xbox button on an Xbox One controller didn’t work in some games. We fixed an issue where in the text box for the Mixer stream title using non-character keys (e.g. Tab, Delete, Backspace, etc.) might cause the game to hang for a few seconds. We fixed an issue where keyboard and mouse input might not work correctly in the Game bar when playing a first person game (e.g. Minecraft). We fixed an issue where in some games—such as Destiny 2 and Fortnite—mouse and keyboard input would still go to the game while Game bar was open. We fixed an issue during first shutdown/boot, or reboot, where for some users the device goes into a boot loop and the OS never loads. Known issues (Build 17101) We have observed seeing longer-than-normal delays during install at the 88% mark. Some delays are as long as 90 minutes before moving forward. Please be patient as the install will complete successfully. Plugging in an external optical drive (DVD) will cause an Explorer.exe crash. Settings will crash if you open the Themes Settings page. Buttons on Game bar are not centered correctly. Selecting a notification after taking a screenshot or game clip opens the Xbox app’s home screen instead of opening the screenshot or game clip. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC (Build 17604) We fixed an issue from the last flight were some PCs failed to resume from hibernate (requiring a hard reboot to recover). We fixed an issue after upgrading to the last flight where Start didn’t work for Insiders who’d had HomeGroup added as a folder to appear on Start. We’ve updated the touch keyboard so that if you try to shapewrite in an unsupported text field or when the typing resources aren’t installed, you won’t see the shapewriting trail as you swipe your finger over the keys. Fixed an issue which may have caused a Microsoft Edge tab to crash after playing video when some extensions are enabled We fixed an issue resulting in newly installed Microsoft Edge extensions not appearing in the Extensions pane in the last two flights. We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard showed an English layout with no IME on/off key when an East Asian keyboard is the only input method on your system. We fixed an issue that could result in the mouse cursor suddenly jump to screen corner while mouse was moving in a List Control. We fixed an issue resulting in certain fingerprint readers not working in recent flights. We fixed an issue where Windows Hello failed to work on Surface Laptops with the last build. We’re updating the “Advanced graphics settings” link on the Display Settings page to now just say “Graphics Settings”. When your volume is muted, the volume icons in the Sound Settings page will also now appear muted. If you click the Reset button on the App volume and device preferences page, it will now also reset any app specific volumes you’ve set back to default (100%). We fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x80070057 in recent builds. Known issues (Build 17604) 3 and 4 finger gestures on the touchpad are unresponsive. The Japanese IME sometimes can’t turn on in UWP apps. If you encounter this issue switch to a Win32 application (e.g. Notepad), turn the IME on there, then switch back to the UWP app. Plugging in an external optical drive (DVD) will cause an Explorer.exe crash. Bringing up Game bar using the Xbox button on an Xbox One controller doesn’t work in some games. In the text box for Mixer stream title, using non-character keys (e.g. Tab, Delete, Backspace, etc.) may cause the game to hang for a few seconds. Selecting a notification after taking a screenshot or game clip opens the Xbox app’s home screen instead of opening the screenshot or game clip. In some games—such as Destiny 2 and Fortnite—mouse and keyboard input will still go to the game while Game bar is open. Buttons on Game bar are not centered correctly. Keyboard and mouse input may not work correctly in Game bar when playing a first person game (e.g. Minecraft). Alt + Tab out of and into the game should fix this. Settings will crash if you open the Themes Settings page. Introducing the Windows App Preview Program We’re making it easier to try out the latest app updates with Insider Preview builds with the new Windows App Preview Program. We heard feedback from Windows Insiders that having to opt-in to Skip Ahead to receive the latest app updates wasn’t ideal as it required Insiders to also be on super-early and sometimes unstable builds of the OS. Insiders told us they wanted to be able to try out the latest app updates but be on the latest Insider Preview builds from the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings. Now through the Windows App Preview Program, Insiders in any ring can opt-in to preview individual apps. Insiders can opt-in to previews for the following first-wave of apps: Feedback Hub Microsoft Photos Microsoft Sticky Notes Microsoft Tips Paint 3D Windows Alarms & Clock Windows Calculator Windows Camera Windows Mixed Reality Viewer Windows Voice Recorder To opt-in to a preview for an app just go to the Settings or About page of the app and click the “Join preview” button. If the limit has been met for that app preview for the app you will get a notification on clicking the button and as more slots open up you can join the preview. Additionally, if you need to leave an app preview you can do so by also going to the Settings or About page and clicking the “Leave preview” button. These apps are rolling out previews in the next few days, so keep checking the app Settings/About page! https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/653e71adbad0d404db97666a085e0951-1024x793.png If you are an Insider who has already opted into Skip Ahead – you don’t need opt-in to preview these apps. We will continue to push the latest app updates to you just like before. Right now, the Windows App Preview Program is available to Windows Insiders. We will be looking at the feedback we receive from Insiders with the goal of evolving the Windows App Preview Program over time. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17101 for Fast & Build 17604 for Skip Ahead appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

It’s hard to believe that 2018 is almost two months old! Speaking on behalf of everyone on the mixed reality team at Microsoft, we are excited about the year to come. We have a lot of fun things planned. Because I love mixed reality so much, I thought February 14th (Valentine’s Day for those who celebrate) would be the perfect day to kick off a new regular update from us. Each month we will share some news on what we are doing, and we will highlight some of the great work coming to market from our customers and partners. Let’s get going with what we have to share today! Making it easier to get your hands on HoloLens We have heard loud and clear that people are looking for additional ways to get HoloLens. To support that demand we have two important program updates to share. HoloLens expands to more markets First, I’m happy to announce we will soon be making HoloLens available in Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. To all the developers, creators, partners, and customers we will now work with – welcome! With these new additions, HoloLens is now available in 41 markets around the world. HoloLens now available for rent Second, many of our customers have expressed a desire to rent HoloLens, so that companies can evaluate before purchasing or increase their inventory temporarily to support tradeshows and events. Today, we are excited to help remove this barrier and announce that customers in North America can now rent a HoloLens from our partners at ABCOMRENTS. We are also working to bring this program to additional markets in the months ahead. We look forward to sharing those details soon. For those in the USA and Canada who are interested in renting HoloLens devices, please visit this link. Continued adoption of mixed reality The best part of my job is seeing what people around the world are doing with mixed reality. The innovation and development we see on the platform inspires us to create the software and tools needed to bring the potential of mixed reality to life. Over the first six weeks of 2018, we have seen some really great work from our partners and customers. Here are a few of my favorites. Trimble expands their mixed reality product portfolio https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/b91466fe31870fecb1edfcdcd80fdafc-1024x683.jpg Last month, Trimble announced Trimble Connect for HoloLens and a new hard hat solution for HoloLens that improves the utility of mixed reality for practical field applications. Trimble has paid close attention to how to support HoloLens as a high-value tool for firstline workers and are continuing to increase their impact on the market. Trimble Connect for HoloLens is a mixed-reality solution that improves coordination by combining models from multiple stakeholders such as structural, mechanical and electrical trade partners. The solution provides for precise alignment of holographic data on a 1:1 scale on the job site, to review models in the context of the physical environment. Trimble Connect for HoloLens is available now through the Microsoft Store. Trimble’s Hard Hat Solution for Microsoft HoloLens extends the benefits of HoloLens mixed reality into areas where increased safety requirements are mandated, such as construction sites, offshore facilities, and mining projects. The solution, which is ANSI-approved, integrates the HoloLens holographic computer with an industry-standard hard hat. Trimble’s Hard Hat Solution for HoloLens is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2018. HP unveils Windows Mixed Reality Headset – Professional Edition Last week, we saw HP announce the HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset – Professional Edition. What we love about this headset is the work HP is doing to enhance the way work is done within a set of industries we also care deeply about – Engineering Product Dev and design reviews, AEC (Architecture, Engineering & Construction) reviews, and MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) training use environments. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/54713d216579a0d0d744cbac29cf1a0a-1024x773.jpg Just like the consumer edition, this headset delivers 1440×1440 resolution per eye and up to a 90Hz refresh rate. For businesses, this headset is the perfect combination of comfort and convenience as it comes with easy to clean, replaceable face cushions. It also uses a double-padded headband, easy adjustment knob and front-hinged display for a superb experience for one or more users. Honeywell introduces mixed reality simulator to train industrial workforce and help close skills gap https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/7ec5d393d7feba8541d64bc369e2939c-1024x576.jpg Earlier this week Honeywell Process Solutions announced a cloud-based simulation tool named Honeywell Connected Plant Skills Insight Immersive Competency. This new offering uses mixed reality to train plant personnel on critical work activities. With as much as 50 percent of industrial plant personnel due to retire within the next five years, Immersive Competency is designed to bring new industrial workers up–to–speed quickly by enhancing training and delivering it in new and contemporary ways. By implementing experiences that take advantage of both HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality immersive headsets, Honeywell has been able to deploy a solution that directly links industrial staff competency to plant performance by measuring the training’s effectiveness based on real outcomes. We look forward to sharing more next month. If you have any questions or needs, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter – @lorrainebardeen. And – if you celebrate – enjoy Valentine’s Day! Here’s a little something for you. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/b39fd8865a48363a774b89598ad70987-e1518625049125-1024x212.jpg Lorraine Mixed Reality at Microsoft – February update Tweet This The post Mixed Reality at Microsoft – February update appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

We’re excited to announce Microsoft for Startups, a new program that delivers access to technology, go-to-market and community benefits that helps startups grow their customer and revenue base. We are committing $500 million over the next two years to offer joint sales engagements with startups, along with access to our technology, and new community spaces that promote collaboration across local and global ecosystems. Startups are an indisputable innovation engine, and Microsoft is partnering with founders and investors to help propel their growth. https://mscorpmedia.azureedge.net/mscorpmedia/2018/02/Microsoft-for-Startups.jpg Grow with unparalleled access to customers. Microsoft for Startups takes a unique approach to connect qualified startups with new customers and channel partners. Microsoft has over 40,000 sales representatives and hundreds of thousands of partners whose goal is to drive adoption of Microsoft cloud solutions into companies of all sizes and industries worldwide. The program provides dedicated resources to prepare startup marketing and sales teams to effectively sell their cloud solutions to enterprise organizations in partnership with Microsoft’s global sales organization and partner ecosystem. Build on a trusted cloud that scales with you. The program provides startups with up to $120,000 in free Azure credits, enterprise grade technical support and development tools – supporting the languages of their choice, such as Node.js, Java and .NET. In addition, qualified startups also get access to productivity and business applications, including Office 365 and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Connect to the right resources at the right time. Microsoft for Startups helps startups at every stage in ecosystems around the world: Microsoft Reactors are physical spaces where entrepreneurs, developers, investors and the business community can come together to interact, learn and share. Over the next month, we will open the doors on new Microsoft Reactor spaces in London, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Shanghai and Beijing. These spaces join our existing locations in Redmond, Seattle, San Francisco and New York. Microsoft ScaleUp (formerly Microsoft Accelerators) is an immersive global program that offers late-stage and series A startups who have the greatest propensity to take advantage of Microsoft’s growth programs, such as co-marketing and co-selling opportunities, hone their infrastructure and build their businesses. Microsoft Ventures is Microsoft’s strategic venture capital investment team whose mission is to be an active partner at key stages of a startup’s growth, typically investing between Series A and D. Startups inspire us by pushing the envelope of the possible and building products that improve our personal and professional lives. Microsoft is excited to partner with startups to empower every person and organization on the planet. To learn more, please visit Microsoft Startups. The post Grow, build and connect with Microsoft for Startups appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/3b1a4ebb008455af0e147d1b1c6dde60-1024x576.jpg We’re excited to announce that Amazon Music for Windows 10 is now available to download in the Microsoft Store* in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Japan. With Amazon Music on Windows 10, you can enjoy, discover, and share millions of songs from today’s chart-topping artists wherever and whenever you want. Amazon Music includes two streaming service options, Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music. With Amazon Music Unlimited, subscribers can explore a full catalog of tens of millions of songs, thousands of hand-curated playlists and stations at their fingertips, on all their devices, with new releases from today’s most popular artists. Included in your Prime membership at no additional cost, Prime Music offers ad-free access to more than two million songs with over one thousand playlists and stations. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/a115e4e8c406d76e6560d04d6e08cb48-1024x576.png We’re proud to collaborate with Amazon Music to make it easy for customers to enjoy music anytime, anywhere with ad-free listening and on-demand and offline playback on Amazon Music. You can also learn more about today’s exciting news over on the Amazon Music Blog. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/b92725251871d5e000e46855b915ef51-1024x576.pnghttps://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/e16bad95037433c4a9c1e10c0e16d023-1024x576.pnghttps://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/5023ffb030d8b0f18ddfbe7753acf152-1024x576.png *Available on Windows 10 PCs and tablets. To download this app, your PC or tablet must be running the Windows 10 Anniversary Update or greater. If you’re not sure which version of Windows your PC is running visit this link. To learn how to get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update click here. The post Amazon Music for Windows 10 available now from Microsoft Store appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are releasing Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17093 to Windows Server Insiders. This build is a preview build of the next Semi-Annual Channel release of Windows Server. For more information on the Semi-Annual channel, please see the Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel overview. Also available is Project Honolulu Technical Preview 1802. What’s New in Build 17093 for Windows Server There are no new features in this build. What’s New in Project Honolulu Technical Preview 1802 Release Summary In this release, much of the work was under the hood – performance improvements, accessibility, and support for high-availability deployments. New in UI, we’ve rolled out a new settings experience – select the gear icon in the upper right of the window to check it out! The link to extension manager lives there, as well as additional settings that are described below. Another new feature is tagging – added based on feedback we’ve heard from customers who use Honolulu to manage many machines that they would benefit from the ability to organize connections to help sort and filter. In the Server Manager solution, you may notice that we’ve enabled some feature detection logic – for example, if you are managing a machine that does not have the Hyper-V role, you won’t see the Virtual Machines or Virtual Switches tool. Or, if you are managing the localhost, you won’t see Remote Desktop or PowerShell. This logic has not yet been added to all tools (ex. Storage Replica will always be displayed.) Finally, many of you may be happy to hear that we’ve added Hyper-V host settings. You can find them inside settings on the server overview tool. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/b60ea672bcb74dda234e9690c6a2ee71.png Performance We took the new tree control that was added to Files and Events last release and updated the rest of the tools in the Server Manager solution. Accessibility Starting with the Shell/Navigation and data table, we have begun implementing accessibility features such as support for keyboard navigation and screen readers. We will expand on these features in subsequent releases. High-Availability You can now deploy Project Honolulu in a failover cluster for high availability of your Honolulu gateway service. We’ve provided 3 PowerShell scripts that enable you to easily install, update, or uninstall Project Honolulu onto an existing failover cluster. You’ll need a Cluster Shared Volume to persist data across the cluster, but the scripts will install Project Honolulu and configure certificates on all the nodes. By deploying Project Honolulu on a failover cluster, you can ensure that you are always able to manage the servers in your environment. See the HA deployment guide for setup instructions and link to the scripts. Settings – Localization The language drop-down menu is no longer disabled! Honolulu is in the process of being localized, so if you are multi-lingual, please experiment with non-English languages. If your OS or browser is configured to a supported language, Honolulu should automatically select that language. When installing, the MSI will be localized to the Windows region language setting, not the input language. Please let us know if you discover text that has been translated incorrectly. Settings – Access This section only applies when you are running Honolulu as a service on Windows Server. Here you can define security groups (either Active Directory, or local machine groups) for both user and administrator access to Honolulu. Previously, to access the Honolulu service, users were required to have logon access on the gateway machine. Now you can configure your environment in such a way that users can access the Honolulu service without the rights to log on to the gateway machine. The default behavior is unrestricted; any user that navigates to the gateway URL will have access to the Honolulu interface. Once you add one or more security groups to the users list, access is restricted to the members of those groups. If you want to enforce the use of smartcard authentication, you can specify an additional required group for smartcard-based security groups. In this case, a user will have access if they are in any security group AND a smartcard group. On the Administrators tab, you define the security groups that will have privileges to change Honolulu settings. Smartcard groups work the same way here as for the user list. The local administrators group on the gateway machine will always have full administrator access and cannot be removed from the list. The administrators list supports the same AND condition for smartcards groups as the users list. Tagging To help you manage your list of connections, we’ve added the ability to assign tags to each entry in your connection list. Honolulu remembers the tags that you have previously used for easy selection. You can assign tags when adding a single connection or importing a list of connections. Known Issues for Project Honolulu Roles & Features – If you check multiple rows, then click the button to clear the selection, the items will remain checked in the UI, but have successfully be deselected on the back end. To reselect, you must manually uncheck and recheck the item, or refresh the page. [1802-15409823] Access Settings – When you add or remove a security group, it can take a few minutes for the access control to be applied. [1802-15377945] If you encounter other issues, please post on the Project Honolulu space in the Windows Server Community for Insiders. Available Content Server Insiders have the choice of Server Core Edition in ISO or VHDX format. The images are pre-keyed – no need to enter a key during setup. Matching Windows Server container images will be available via Docker Hub. For more information about Windows Server containers and Insider builds, See Windows Containers Documentation click Windows Containers Documentation and Using Insider Container Images. Symbols are available on the public symbol server – see Update on Microsoft’s Symbol Server blog post and Using the Microsoft Symbol Server. This Server Insider pre-release build will expire on July 2nd, 2018. How to Download To obtain the Insider software downloads, 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. It’s all about 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. Use your registered Windows 10 Insider device and use the Feedback Hub application. In the app, choose the Server category and then the appropriate subcategory for your feedback. Please indicate what build number you are providing feedback on. Known issues with Windows Server Build 17093 On builds 17088 and higher, after Server Core OS installation, the user is requested to set the password – when the user does so, an error message is presented “The remote procedure call failed”. The install will still accept the password as expected. Upgrading a system to a preview build, starting with build 17088, may stall at 88% for 45 or more minutes before eventually being completed due to loading registry hives for each driver. When BitLocker is enabled and a system is started, the system prompts the user for the BitLocker PIN. Upon providing the correct PIN the first time, the system says the PIN is incorrect; however, if the user presses Enter a second time, the PIN is accepted. In‑place OS upgrade: BitLocker. Before performing an in-place OS upgrade, suspend (disable) BitLocker protection on any drives on the system. After the upgrade is complete, resume (re-enable) BitLocker protection. In-place OS upgrade: Domain Controllers. During an in-place OS upgrade, Active Directory (AD) Domain Controllers (DC) might not be upgraded correctly. Back up any AD DCs before performing an in-place OS upgrade. Using container images from Windows Insider Program on a Windows Server Core host will fail, and may crash the host. As a workaround, you can add isolation=hyperv when running or building the containers; for example: docker run -isolation=hyperv microsoft/nanoserver-insider. When Hypervisor Code Integrity (HVCI) is enabled, a system may fail to start. On affected systems, firmware locates UEFI runtime services in memory described as Memory-Mapped I/O (MMIO). Testing of the Windows core may fail because of a timeout while attempting to load the test libraries. 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, which takes precedence over any license agreement that may be in the product. The post Announcing Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17093 and Project Honolulu Technical Preview 1802 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Today, the team over at Rare have revealed the system requirements for Sea of Thieves on Windows 10! This marks an exciting time for the team as they move towards the games launch on March 20, as it gives you the chance to see what the performance will be like on your system; https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/3b7d33b28c4f7636a19dc44a166ff942-1024x576.png For more detail into how Sea of Thieves has been built from the ground up for Windows 10, and for more technical insight into all the great features coming to PC, head over here to read more about today’s news! The post Let’s talk about specs for Sea of Thieves appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Divya Kumar is on the Microsoft Edge team; Tom Westray is on the Virgin Galactic team. We’ve all stared into the depths of the night sky, identified far off planets, and the Milky Way; but only fewer than 600 people have traveled above and beyond Earth’s atmosphere and into space. At Virgin Galactic, our rocket scientists, engineers and designers from around the world are united in creating something new and lasting that could change that – the world’s first commercial spaceflights for private astronauts and science research. We’re on the edge of a golden age of space exploration, which has the potential to transform our business and personal lives in ways we can only yet imagine. Virgin Galactic’s vision to open space to change the world for good and to become the spaceline for earth is ushering in a new era that could make space accessible to more people and for more purposes than ever before. Along with the hundreds of future astronauts who have already made reservations to fly, it is important to create an inclusive experience for as many people as possible to join the journey. Today, we are excited to share that this vision of inclusivity led to a unique collaboration between Virgin Galactic and Microsoft Edge: together we have developed a fully revamped, mobile-friendly and touch-optimized website for Virgin Galactic that features virtual experience through WebVR, accessible to all on the web. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/0b8e0c85b918f658d80a22808481ce13-1024x576.jpg Partnering with Virgin Galactic offered the Microsoft Edge team a unique opportunity to use web technology as a digital gateway to tell the story of the future of human space exploration through unique, exclusive and memorable experiences. The website is built to create a deeper connection between the global population and space travel by demonstrating how space exploration, research and transportation has the potential to improve life for everyone. It tells the story of Virgin Galactic and a new wave of astronauts as they pioneer space access for all. It also honors the beginning of a new era, where spaceflight discoveries are open to more people than ever before with modern web technologies, making that vision accessible through Microsoft Edge. When people come to the website for the first time, I want them to realize that anything is possible. It’s real, it’s in front of them. They can touch it and see it and immerse themselves and play. — Beth Moses, Chief Astronaut Trainer, Virgin Galactic https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/bc6eaf49528e5bd35b652c24298c4690-1024x640.jpg The digital portal, launched today with Microsoft Edge, brings awe-inspiring details of this journey to life for aspiring astronauts. Microsoft engaged a third-party interactive agency to envision and develop the new website. The very latest in web technology delivers the thrill of space travel to a broader audience than ever before — possible through 2D, 3D, and virtual reality experiences. These new website features include: Innovative mixed-reality – With immersive browser WebVR, and anyone can tour the space fleet using Windows Mixed Reality devices. Hotspots provide key details about the WhiteKnightTwo mothership, spaceship VSS Unity and the Virgin Galactic team. A parallel 3D tour is offered for aspiring astronauts without VR devices. Micro-interactions, parallax and animations – Enjoy a fluid site experience by interacting with a variety of VSS Unity features, the sensation of views in parallax, and animations that enhance your discovery. Mobile-friendly and touch-optimized – In keeping with the goal of a captivating venture, the site is mobile-friendly and touch-optimized for intuitive use. The spirit of what Microsoft Edge is bringing to the Virgin Galactic website is a very kindred spirit. It’s the same creativity, the same innovation, the same storytelling mode that we have. — Julia Tizard, Vice President, Virgin Galactic https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/935bfca92d3ee2a7b5c967f2d57375d8-576x1024.jpg We want people to see the depth and breadth of Virgin Galactic: we are a company of people who want to change the world for good by opening up space for personal travel and science research. One of the Virgin Galactic tenets is to be delightfully surprising, and the work with Microsoft Edge delivers that with the new browser technologies on the website. It’s a visual experience, an audio and a mixed-reality immersive experience; the combined experiences have the potential sensory excitement which captures what we want people to feel when they go on a space flight. Try the experience today at virgingalactic.com! Virgin Galactic partners with Microsoft Edge to create an immersive web experience for aspiring astronauts Tweet This About Microsoft Edge Web Showcase Microsoft Edge Web Showcase is dedicated to partnering with organizations around the world to highlight extraordinary and exciting new ventures. This program explores opportunities to contribute to a diverse set of educational programs and to develop partnerships to showcase web technology. The post Virgin Galactic partners with Microsoft Edge to create an immersive web experience for aspiring astronauts appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

With the latest feature updates, you can now do a lot more with your PDF in Microsoft Edge like, customize different views, take notes, and even have your PDF read aloud to you! Check out all that the PDF viewer in Microsoft Edge has to offer: Text highlighting and handwritten notes Annotations in the browser is now extended to PDFs as well. Look for the “Add notes” button next to browser address bar to move into the annotations mode. The annotations toolbar has all the tools to highlight text or use Windows Ink to write on your documents. The toolbar also provides different colors for inking and the “Touch writing” button can be used to switch between annotating and scrolling and panning your document. And, if you’re not pleased with your annotation – the Eraser tool is there to remove things. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/30a8fb7df4ed514209ffe1b97e54a4ac.png Pop-up menu and text notes You can get to some of the features quickly through the pop-up menu that appears when you select any text. Once you select text, you will get an option to highlight the text quickly or add a text note. Click on the “Add a note” button and a text note will pop-up. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/c8df8a4f96efd67ba1e5f2cd9d43b324.png https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/cbb45ea4306e35f3c9663b561ef4f16e.png Easy navigation through the document The PDF toolbar offers all the necessary tools to view PDFs. You can click/tap anywhere on the screen to invoke and dismiss the toolbar. You can enter a page number to jump to any page of the document or use “Table of contents” to jump to a desired section. “Search” can help you find all the occurrences of a text in the document and then easily jump to the locations. Reading modes to suit your requirements You can use “Rotate” to rotate those upside-down documents and use “Layout” to choose between different reading layouts including one-page and two-page layouts. Like to have freedom when it comes scrolling – then you’ll like the continuous and page-wise scrolling options. The “Full screen” option, in the browser menu, allows for distraction-free reading of your documents and books as well. Pro tip: Try opening a PowerPoint presentation saved as PDF in single page layout with continuous scrolling off and go full-screen. You are now in presentation mode right from your browser. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/5f6d887ccc249c52149de98cd0f53b6a.png PDF form filling Every now and then we encounter forms to be filled which are in PDF format – and now you can fill them out within Microsoft Edge. You can even use the inking feature to sign the forms with your handwriting. Read aloud Now you don’t have to read those long research documents or books yourself because the browser will read them to you. Look for the “Read aloud” button in the toolbar to start reading your PDFs. Ask Cortana* Select any text within your PDF and click “Ask Cortana” and Cortana will give you all the necessary information of your search without even having to leave the browser tab. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/bcbe832516b5a9af8706114a8e5730c2.png So, the next time you open a PDF in Microsoft Edge, try out some of these features, and happy reading. Windows 10 Tip: 7 pro tips for getting started with Microsoft Edge as your PDF viewer Tweet This *Cortana available in select markets. The post Windows 10 Tip: 7 pro tips for getting started with Microsoft Edge as your PDF viewer appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Head over here to read more about the new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Xbox One X Edition for Forza Motorsport 7, check out HP’s new commercial devices designed for the modern workforce, or read this week’s Windows 10 Tip on getting started with the emoji keyboard! In case you missed it: Announcing the HypeZone Fortnite Battle Royale Channel on Mixer https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/f6626e6b16f11956fb9f1232e67d69fd.jpg This week, over at the Mixer blog, the Mixer team announced that they’ve expanded HypeZone to include a Fortnite Battle Royale channel! With Fortnite‘s player base of more than 45 million gamers, HypeZone Fortnite will host the action you’re craving from Fortnite‘s free 100-player PvP mode: One giant map. A battle bus. Fortnite building skills and destructible environments combined with intense PvP combat. The last one standing wins. We hope to see you streaming and cheering on your fellow Mixer broadcasters in their pursuit of Victory Royale! Start watching now at Mixer.com/HypezoneFortnite! Have a great weekend! The post This Week on Windows: Resume assistant from LinkedIn and Office 365, Forza and more appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today, we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17093 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring and for those who opted in to Skip Ahead. What’s new in Build 17093 Game bar Improvements We’ve given Game bar a makeover so it’s even easier to find what you’re looking for. Go to your captures, toggle your microphone and camera, and edit the title of your Mixer stream—all from new buttons on Game bar. Quickly check the time using the new clock. Choose a theme—Dark, Light, or your current Windows theme. Game bar settings are easier to use. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/2cd170db54fb3f8ac880ba4c7048cecf.png https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/d088593df8276d0e1ec9912c23f7451c.png Diagnostic Data Improvements Last week, we announced some new privacy tools as part of Data Privacy Day which included the Diagnostic Data Viewer that showed up for Windows Insiders in Build 17083. With our commitment to transparency and control, users can now delete the Windows Diagnostic Data that Microsoft has collected from your device. In Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback, you will find a delete button that deletes the Windows diagnostic data associated with your device. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/932529be6547c52e3e4880589dbb0203.png Note: The backend cloud system is currently under development and will be available to complete the Delete requests prior to public release of RS4. Graphics Improvements HDR Video on more Windows PCs: Many newer devices are capable of HDR video, but needed to be calibrated in the factory to enable HDR. Now, we are expanding HDR video access to more users via new functionality via Settings > Apps > Video playback. If the “Stream HDR video” toggle can be switched to “On”, your device can be calibrated for HDR video. To try our experimental calibration tool, click the link “Change calibration settings for HDR video on my built-in display”. This allows you to change the way HDR video appears on your device, allowing you to find your preferred balance between details in dark scenes and details in bright scenes. This tool is still early stage, and we’d love any feedback you might have as we are getting this tool ready for release with RS4. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/e3b76f542788f48364331a3fc4240fba-1024x735.png Note: By default, HDR video uses the full brightness of your screen, so it consumes a little more battery. Fear not: if you want the best of both, just check the box “Don’t increase display brightness when watching HDR video on battery” under “Battery Options” in Settings > Apps > Video playback. New Graphics settings for Multi-GPU Systems: In this build we’re introducing a new Graphics settings page for Multi-GPU systems that allows you to manage the graphics performance preference of your apps. You may be familiar with similar graphics control panels from AMD and Nvidia, and you can continue to use those control panels. When you set an application preference in the Windows Graphics settings, that will take precedence over the other control panel settings. Find the page by going to Settings > System > Display and scrolling down to the “Advanced graphics settings” link. (In future flights, you will see this link as “Graphics settings”.) The first step is to choose an application to configure. Choosing a “Classic app” will let you browse to an application on your system. Choosing a “Universal app” will let you choose a Store application from a list. By default, the application added to the Graphics settings page is given a “System default” preference. System default means that the system decides the best GPU for your application. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/d7ce934824f7922ff5a22965bbf68c5b-1024x640.png Once you’ve chosen the application, click on the application in the list and then click the “Options” button. The “Power saving” mode is a request to run the application on the most power saving GPU available. The “High performance” mode is a request to run the application on the most high performance GPU available. Generally, the power saving GPU is the integrated GPU on a system, and the high performance GPU is the discrete GPU or external GPU. If you have both a discrete GPU and an external GPU on a system, the external GPU is considered the high performance GPU. Remove an application from the list by clicking the application and clicking the “Remove” button. Removing an application is the same as choosing “System default”. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/51dc97e5190081fa9dda832b39ddc65d-1024x716.png Applications are always allowed to have the ultimate choice of which GPU to use, so you may see additional applications that do not follow the preferences you set. In that case, look for a setting within the application itself to choose a preference. If you have feedback about the feature, please reach out to us directly on the Feedback Hub. Go password-less with Windows 10 S! Do you hate entering your passwords all the time? So do we. Passwords are inconvenient and insecure. With Windows 10 S you don’t have to! Just download the Authenticator App and use it to set up your Windows 10 S PC. You will be able to go through the out-of-box experience, set up Windows Hello and access all your favorite apps and services – all without ever having to enter your password. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/44e36dcab001cac307da6c2f5fafd147-1024x574.png With the changes in this build, your Windows 10 S PC will automatically make your experience password-free. You will notice that if you have Windows Hello set up, you won’t see passwords anywhere in the Windows experience – not on the unlock screen nor in Sign-in options. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/3802697c9d0770ab672d0c3e629db39a-1024x578.png https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/d0d5350f2fcbc6a7365ae7f0b56a428f-1024x575.png Eye Control Improvements We first released eye control for the Windows 10 Fall Creator’s Update back in October 2017 and we’re excited to share some of the new capabilities we’re adding with today’s flight to enable a richer eye control experience. We’ve received a lot of great feedback requesting improvements to eye control – like easier controls for scrolling and quicker access to common tasks. All up, here are three areas we’re updating based on your feedback: Navigate more easily: We’re adding the ability to more easily scroll content, like email and websites. We also heard the need for a quicker way to click with the mouse, so in addition to precise mouse control we’ve incorporated direct left click and direct right click capabilities into the launchpad. Get there quick: Accelerate to common tasks with quick access to Start, Timeline, Settings, and device calibration, now available right from the eye control launchpad. Pause when you need to: We also received feedback on the importance of pausing or hiding the launchpad when not needed to avoid accidental clicks, so we’ve added a pause button on the launchpad. Eye control users now have the flexibility to hide the launchpad for uninterrupted reading, streaming, or relaxing without accidental clicking. Re-engaging the launchpad is simple too – just glance at the pause button in the top or bottom middle of the screen. Eye control is still in preview, and we welcome your feedback to help improve the experience! https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/d1049d55ee7375faaa8971eea82936a0-1024x138.png Windows Security Improvements Windows Defender is now Windows Security in Settings: We have renamed the settings page under Settings > Update & Security from “Windows Defender” to “Windows Security. This settings page has also been redesigned – putting emphasis on the various protection areas to keep you safe and secure on your PC. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/fe1efc74bc04d80e08c024789cc97262-1024x793.png Account Protection Pillar in Windows Defender: We’ve made it easier for users to protect their identity when signing in to Windows with the new Account Protection pillar in Windows Defender Security Center. Account Protection will encourage password users to set up Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint or PIN for faster sign in, and will notify Dynamic lock users if Dynamic lock has stopped working because their phone or device Bluetooth is off. Device Security Pillar in Windows Defender: We’re giving you greater insight into the security features integrated in your Windows device. The Device Security page provides you with status reporting and management of security features built into your devices – including toggling features on to provide enhanced protections. Bluetooth Improvements Streamlined Pairing and Connecting to Certain Bluetooth Devices: Starting with this build, Windows enables users to start pairing and connecting supported devices in a single click. When these devices are ready to pair and detected to be in range, Windows shows a notification to the user allowing them to quickly and conveniently start the pairing process. We want to thank the Surface Accessories team for partnering closely with us and having the first device available on the market supporting this great new experience, the Surface Precision Mouse. We are working with many other partners to grow the list of supported devices, and a number of them are on the way. To learn more, check out our blog post here. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/faea14c3ae1a4c19a0cbf8f441f4b4c0-1024x576.gif Microsoft Edge Improvements Evolving full screen mode (F11): With the Fall Creators Update we added F11 support to Microsoft Edge, to enable you to take full advantage of your screen real estate. Full screen removes the Edge frame so that only the webpage is visible. You can enter this mode by pressing the F11 key, and exiting using the same key. We’ve heard your feedback, and with this build we’re updating this experience so that without leaving full screen you can now access the address bar and navigate to other sites, add a site as a favorite, and more. To do this, simply hover your mouse at the top of the screen while in full screen mode, or using touch drag a finger down from the top of the screen, and the familiar controls will appear. As always, don’t hesitate to provide feedback so we can continue improving this feature. Clutter-free printing: Now you can print webpages from Microsoft Edge without ads and unnecessary clutter from the web. Enable the “Clutter-free printing” option in the print dialog and print only the content you want. Note: this option will only be visible for certain type of webpages. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/3d3474f06c7d21c3816ff7e1906a7433-1024x841.png Input Improvements Multilingual text support in Windows: If you type in more than one Latin script languages on Windows, you’re going to like this new feature. With the Touch Keyboard, you do NOT have to manually switch the language anymore! Simply continue typing in multiple languages and Windows will assist you by showing predictions from multiple languages to make you more productive. The additional step of manually switching between languages creates a barrier for users that are multi-lingual. We’re hoping that this feature can reduce that barrier and allow you to easily type in multiple languages. With this build, Windows supports up to 3 Latin script languages for multi-lingual text predictions. It picks the top 3 installed languages from Language Settings while suggesting predictions. You can turn the feature off by going to Settings > Devices > Typing > Multilingual Text Prediction. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/2aaa61ba1b638f92149704857af9dbf5-1024x590.gif Text Prediction support for a bunch more languages! If you’re using the touch keyboard in any of the following languages, you’ll now see words suggested as you type: Assamese, Bashkir, Belarusian, Greenlandic, Hawaiian, Icelandic, Igbo, Irish, Kyrgyz, Luxembourgish, Maltese, Maori, Mongolian, Nepali, Pashto, Sakha, Tajik, Tatar, Tswana, Turkmen, Urdu, Uyghur, Welsh, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu. Windows App Permissions Updated Privacy Settings navigation pane: To improve visual acuity, we’ve added new categories to the Privacy Settings navigation pane – here’s what it looks like: https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/f67ef375993e77821692c10504122ccb-1024x659.png View user dictionary: We’ve added a new section to Speech, Inking, & Typing settings under Privacy so that you can new view your user dictionary and easily clear it if need be. Ease of Access Improvements Narrator has been enabled in safe mode: You can now use Narrator when in safe mode! Note: It’s recommended for Narrator users to enter safe mode via msconfig.exe. On some devices you may need to use USB headphones to hear audio in safe mode. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) updates Note about launch speed: The first launch of each distro will be slow on this build. Some of our updates require sizeable changes to the Linux file system directories; applying those changes may take a few minutes. This should only happen once for each distribution you have installed from the store. WSL is more configurable with wsl.conf: We added a method for you to automatically configure certain functionality in WSL that will be applied every time you launch the subsystem. This includes automount options and network configuration. Learn more about it in our blog post. AF_UNIX allows socket connections between Linux processes on WSL and Windows native processes: WSL and Windows applications can now communicate with each other over Unix sockets. Imagine you want to run a service in Windows and make it available to both Windows and WSL apps. Now, that’s possible with Unix sockets. Read more in our blog post. Better file handling via folder level case sensitivity: One of the tricky problems sharing data between Linux and Windows comes down to file case handling. Windows isn’t case sensitive, Linux is. In the past WSL used exclusively process-based case sensitivity. Starting in 17089, NTFS has a new flag that can be set on directories to indicate all operations in those directories should be treated as case sensitive, which allows Windows applications to correctly open files that differ only by case. For an even more detailed list of WSL updates, read the WSL release notes. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed an issue where the network flyout didn’t have an acrylic background (Yay Fluent Design!). We fixed the issue causing VPN clients installed via the Microsoft Store to not work after upgrading to Build 17083. We fixed an issue where the Home text label was missing from the Settings navigation pane. We fixed an issue where Windows Security in Settings was missing an icon in the navigation pane. We fixed an issue where dropdowns in the new App volume and device preferences page under Sound Settings were truncated when the Settings window wasn’t wide enough. We fixed an issue where the new App volume and device preferences page under Sound Settings might have duplicate apps listed. We fixed issues with the slider controls for sound under Settings > System > Sound and “App volume and device preferences”. Thanks @MSWindowsinside, @CrazyCatsGot2 and @TheScarfix for reporting this! We fixed an issue in Windows Update Settings where if you’d selected restart to kick off an upgrade and then canceled the restart, the restart button in Settings would no longer be functional. We fixed an issue where the data limit dialog on the Data Usage Settings page had no margins. We fixed an issue where permissions for inbox apps were cleared out when upgrading to recent builds, resulting in you being unexpectedly re-prompted to enable or disable these permissions when you launched an impacted app. We fixed an issue where the Advanced display settings link was missing from Display Settings. We fixed an issue where going to Focus Assist Settings might crash Settings. We’ve updated the “Use my sign-in info…” text in Sign-in Options settings to be more clear. We fixed an issue where clicking the search entry from the app command menu of certain apps would crash explorer.exe. We fixed an issue where the night light quick action in the Action Center sometimes didn’t work due to a long running calculation of the schedule to automatically turn on/off night light. We’ve updated the Action Center context menu such that the three focus assist states are now collapsed under one expandable entry. We fixed an issue where sharing to Cortana Reminders wasn’t working in recent flights. We’ve updated the OneDrive Files-on-Demand state icon in File Explorer’s navigation pane so they now display closer to the file icon. We fixed an issue where burning an ISO file to CD threw an unexpected error “Selected Disc image file isn’t valid” in recent builds. We’ve updated the People flyout to now use your accent color when “Show accent color” is selected in Color Settings. We have fixed the issue where Win32 apps pinned to Start would display as blank live tiles that show only a name starting with “W~”. We fixed an issue where the Start layout might get reset if you upgraded straight from the Anniversary Update. We have fixed the issue where using Task View to switch to an app might result in touch not working properly in that app. We fixed an issue where using the new right-click options to delete groups of activities from Timeline might not delete the entire group. As we prepare RS4 for release, we’re removing the feedback button in Task View that was introduced for Insiders to give feedback on Timeline – thanks everyone who’s logged feedback so far! We welcome you to continue giving feedback via the Feedback Hub under the Desktop Environment > Timeline category. We fixed an issue where the text label for creating virtual desktops in Task View was truncated in certain languages. We fixed an issue where the app icons in the Open With dialog might appear pixelated on high DPI screens. We fixed an issue where music wouldn’t re-route back to audio peripheral if you skipped to next track before connecting the USB or Bluetooth audio device. We fixed an issue where the Windows.old folder wasn’t completely emptied and removed after cleanup. We fixed an issue where using Ctrl + Alt + Break in Hyper-V didn’t work to make a VM re-enter full screen mode. We fixed an issue where vmconnect couldn’t insert or eject an ISO/DVD drive. We fixed an issue that could result in lower frame rates in games in certain monitor configurations. We fixed an issue resulting in audio from Microsoft Edge sometimes becoming unexpectedly muted in the last few flights. We fixed an issue where when using Microsoft Edge with dark theme the text in the address bar might become black on dark grey. We fixed a number of issues impacting Microsoft Edge reliability in the last few builds. We fixed an issue resulting in opening a new tab in Microsoft Edge in recent builds potentially taking an unexpectedly long time. We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge file downloads to secondary drives failing in recent flights. We fixed an issue resulting in SVG images on certain websites not rendering in Microsoft Edge. When dragging a website from the address bar in Microsoft Edge in order to pin it to the favorites bar, you will now see the favicon and website name follow your mouse as you drag. We fixed an issue from recent builds where content copied to the clipboard using Web Notes in Microsoft Edge couldn’t be pasted. We fixed an issue where certain PDF files wouldn’t display their context menu correctly in Microsoft Edge. We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge potentially crashing on launch when using roaming profiles. We fixed an issue resulting in not being able to scroll components of certain websites when viewed in Microsoft Edge despite a scrollbar being visible. We fixed an issue resulting in not being able to use Flash on certain sites in Microsoft Edge in recent builds. We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge crashing recently if you clicked on the page when in caret mode. We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge in recent builds where clicking on link’s in the ‘Ask Cortana’ sidebar might open the page inside the sidebar instead of the main window. We fixed an issue from the last two builds where certain websites didn’t load in Microsoft Edge, although the name of the website was correct in the tab. We fixed an issue from the last two builds where an unexpected grey rectangle was visible in Microsoft Edge settings next to the word Settings. We fixed an issue from the last build where processes in Task Manager only showed at most 100mb of memory used. We fixed an issue where Narrator wouldn’t say anything if you were to use the arrow keys to navigate through text typed into Command Prompt. We fixed an issue an issue where the touch keyboard might be a pixel-width up from the bottom of the screen if the display scaling wasn’t 100%, leading to the keyboard unexpectedly dismissing if you tapped that area. We fixed an issue an issue resulting in the one-handed touch keyboard being unexpectedly large in recent builds. We fixed an issue from recently builds where shapewriting in the touch keyboard would stop showing text candidates if you were using it, dismissed the keyboard, re-invoked the keyboard, and tried to start shapewriting again. We fixed an issue from recent builds impacting Emoji Panel invocation reliability. Known issues We have observed seeing longer-than-normal delays during install at the 88% mark. Some delays are as long as 90 minutes before moving forward. Please be patient as the install will complete successfully. Some PCs will fail to resume from hibernate requiring a hard reboot to recover. If you install a font product from the Microsoft Store, then later install a new build (feature update), the Store package will remain installed, but the fonts within the package are not installed. Until this is fixed, the temporary workaround is to uninstall the product from the Apps page in Settings, then re-acquire the product from the Store. If an East Asian keyboard is the only input method on your system the touch keyboard will show an English layout with no IME on/off key. Until this is fixed, the workaround is to add a second keyboard language from the Region & Language Settings page, or to use the IME mode button in the taskbar. We’re investigating an issue where the Japanese IME sometimes can’t turn on in UWP apps. If you encounter this issue switch to a Win32 application (e.g. Notepad), turn the IME on there, then switch back to the UWP app. We’re investigating reports that 3 and 4 finger gestures on the touchpad have become unresponsive starting with the previous flight. Windows Hello will fail to work on Surface Laptops with this build. Plugging in an external optical drive (DVD) will cause an Explorer.exe crash. Settings will crash if you open the Themes Settings page. The Bug Bash continues! We are currently in the middle of our RS4 Bug Bash which runs until 11:59pm PST on February 11th. This will be our only Bug Bag for this release and we’re looking forward to your feedback! The Bug Bash is your opportunity to really dig into the features we’ve been working on for this release and let us know how it’s going and what you’d like to see addressed before we ship. We have a whole pile of quests lined up to help give you an idea of what to poke at and we’ll be adding new content throughout the Bug Bash so be sure to keep an eye on the Feedback Hub for more info. Yesterday, we held a Mixer webcast for the Bug Bash which you can view on-demand here. New to Bug Bashes? Here’s an overview of how it all works. To receive a Feedback Hub achievement for participating in the Bug Bash, you’ll need to be on the latest Fast or Slow build, log a least one piece of feedback in the Feedback Hub, and complete at least one quest in the Feedback Hub – achievements will be sent out after the Bug Bash has been completed. Microsoft Tech Summits This February, the Microsoft Tech Summits will be in 12 cities around the world! Registration is still open for Frankfurt and Cape Town! Don’t miss this free learning and networking event where you get to ask hard questions and tailor your learning experience to your goals. Plus, Windows Insiders who register are eligible to enter to win a trip to Microsoft Ignite 2018! 2018 Windows Insider Annual Survey There’s still time to participate in our 2018 Windows Insider Annual Survey! Thanks to everyone who has already completed our Annual Survey. If you haven’t had a chance to respond, there’s still time – and we’d love to hear from you. This survey is one of the most important tools we have for shaping the Windows Insider Program. It’s your chance to tell us what interests you most about the program – and how we can make your Insider experience even better. Looking for more news on the latest Windows features? Need more resources as a developer or IT Professional? Got an idea for taking the program in an exciting new direction? Or perhaps you’re simply happy with the program as it is now. Let us know! Click here to take the annual survey now.* The survey only takes 10-15 minutes to complete. But the input you provide will help shape the program for the rest of the year – and beyond. We look forward to hearing from you! *Note: Link leads to the English US version of the survey. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17093 for PC appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

It’s a keyboard shortcut – and it’s got smiley faces, people and celebration emojis, just to name a few. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/02/dc0a91a8e9fecb234654ef0371fc8ff1.gif Simply press the Windows key and the period button to get started! Have a great week! The post Windows 10 Tip: Get started with the emoji keyboard shortcut appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Check out our Windows 10 Tip on how to add 3D to your PowerPoint presentation in five easy steps, read more about the new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Xbox One X Edition for Forza Motorsport 7 – or, head over here to save up to 40% off hit movies and up to 60% off TV season passes, including fan favorites like Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. Check out all that Anime Month has to offer, now through Feb. 26 in the Movies & TV section of the Microsoft Store. Also – Feb. 5 kicks off National Entrepreneurship Week and, to celebrate, every Microsoft Store in the U.S. and Canada will offer free workshops and events to equip entrepreneurs with the skills and resources to achieve more. Head over here to learn more! Here’s what’s new in Microsoft Store this week: #AnimeMonth is back! Enjoy big savings on hit movies and TV season passes on #MicrosoftMoviesTV Redirecting... pic.twitter.com/1Z5eL7Knda — Microsoft Store (@MicrosoftStore) January 31, 2018 Introducing the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Xbox One X Edition for Forza Motorsport 7 Forza Motorsport 7 fans, get ready to experience a new level of power and performance with the launch of the 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Xbox One X Edition which is a free gift for all players. The specially designed F-150 joins the lineup of more than 700 cars in the game which showcases 60 frames per second racing on all Xbox One platforms and native 4K support on Xbox One X. With a custom livery based on Xbox One X’s codename “Project Scorpio” and numerous performance-minded upgrades, this Raptor is ready to intimidate all opponents in Forza Motorsport 7. While the truck is significantly taller than stock – over 93 inches tall (2.3 meters) on 38 inch BF Goodrich Krawler T/A tires – the team behind the Xbox One X Raptor still wanted it to retain the race truck’s Baja-tested performance characteristics. The Raptor’s livery was designed by illustrator Hydro74 and features a stylized “Project Scorpio” scorpion motif. Look closely and you can see that the scorpion’s body includes many details from Xbox One X, including the thumb sticks, d-pad, and ABXY buttons. Starting today, Forza Motorsport 7 owners can download the free Xbox One X Raptor from their Forza Motorsport 7 Message Center, as well as download a Ford F-150 Raptor Xbox One X Edition Windows 10 Theme set in the Microsoft Store. In addition, we’ve got a new Rivals event available today in the Featured Event channel, starring the Raptor. Look for the “Delivering the Sting” event and set your best time on the leaderboard. Can you tame the power of the Xbox One X Raptor? Read more over at Xbox Wire! In case you missed it: Have a great weekend! The post This Week on Windows: National Entrepreneurship Week, Anime Month and more appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://mscorpmedia.azureedge.net/mscorpmedia/2018/01/MSFT_illustration.jpg Illustration by Eli Neugeboren In today’s Microsoft second quarter earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella showcased how customers are using our technology to create digital business solutions. The 56 percent year-over-year growth in commercial cloud revenue — with broad-based growth across geographic markets and industry segments — is fueled by customer and partner success. Just this week, we announced news with Publicis Groupe, Columbia Sportswear and PTC. Communications and advertising giant Publicis Groupe is building its new AI-powered platform, Marcel, on Microsoft Azure and Office 365 to empower its 80,000 employees worldwide. Columbia Sportswear, innovator in active outdoor apparel, announced its choice of Dynamics 365 and Azure to its enhance worldwide consumer experience. Plus, PTC, a leader in product lifecycle management solutions that include Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality and 3D computer-aided design for the industrial sector, has selected Azure as its preferred cloud platform. Below are more customer highlights from this quarter. In the industrial sector, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) builds and services millions of products, from elevators in some of the world’s tallest buildings to aerospace equipment. UTC is using Dynamics 365 and Azure to help its massive field organization better predict and respond to customer needs. Chevron announced Azure as its primary cloud for intelligent, digitized oil fields in order to increase revenues, reduce costs and improve the safety and reliability of operations. Consumer product companies are innovating with the Microsoft cloud, too. Kohler has built a legacy of blending home comfort and style through innovation. This year marks Kohler’s entrance into the connected home market with a new line of kitchen and bathroom products, Kohler Konnect. For example, with Azure IoT, Kohler Konnect products respond to voice and in-app commands to manage bath temperature or start a shower. In real estate, CBRE entered the smart building market with a customizable, connected workplace solution to give property investors and occupants a single, seamless access point to building amenities and services. Powered by Azure IoT, the CBRE 360 mobile apps will allow users to locate colleagues and navigate the workplace, reserve workspaces, and access food and beverage services, as well as basic building and high-end concierge services. In retail, national grocery chain Kroger is leveraging Azure to power its EDGE (Enhanced Display for Grocery Environment) solution — a grocery-store shelf with digital screen displays showing prices, nutritional information and more. The system manages high volumes of data, better connects store management and customers and ensures stock does not run low. Home-improvement company Lowe’s worked with Fellow Robots to deploy autonomous LoweBots to assist with inventory data and shelf intelligence. As the LoweBot scans inventory on the shelves, Azure helps Lowe’s keep constant tabs on inventory and frees store employees to assist customers. Merkal Calzados, Spain’s leading retailer of affordable footwear, has chosen Dynamics 365 for retail, finance, operations, and customer service to transform how it selects and sources product, improve marketing and accelerate omnichannel growth. One of the world’s largest casual dining companies, Bloomin’ Brands, Inc., chose Azure to help its digital transformation across approximately 97,000 team members and almost 1,500 restaurants. The parent company of Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s and Fleming’s Steakhouse, Bloomin’ Brands is using Azure advanced analytics, machine learning and Power BI to enable guest engagement and convenience through mobile apps, websites and e-commerce, including the customer loyalty program. In the healthcare sector, UMB Healthcare Services, a division of UMB Bank, continues to improve its health savings account (HSA) solution, powered on Azure, by creating a seamless customer experience for 1.2 million HSA accounts. For example, ReceiptVault allows HSA owners to safely manage their health care receipts in one place, which is an important tax requirement. Aurora Health Care operates 15 hospitals, more than 150 clinics and 70 pharmacies throughout eastern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, Premera Blue Cross is the largest health plan in the Pacific Northwest, and UPMC is one of the largest integrated health care delivery networks in the U.S. These partners are working with us on a new AI-powered health bot project, currently in private preview. Powered by Cognitive Services and enriched with medical content, the bots give customers self-service access to their health-related questions and information. In the government space, Kansas City’s Azure-powered solution from Opti improves water quality and saves local citizens and companies money. The solution uses a wide range of data to control rainwater entry into the sewer system and could reduce the overall cost of the program by almost a billion dollars over 25 years. In the world of payment technology, Mastercard selected Microsoft 365 to support a modern workplace that empowers its employees’ teamwork and innovation. One of the largest companies in the payments space, Mastercard connects consumers, financial institutions, merchants and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories to achieve their vision of a world beyond cash. The company is also leveraging Azure for apps, including Masterpass, a digital mobile wallet and rewards program application. In the auto industry, Volkswagen Group Digital is piloting new forms of workplaces. The company recently deployed Surface Books, Surface Pros, Surface Studios and Surface Hubs in its 10X service design lab and Future Centers, and to run its collaboration application, DEON. DB Schenker, a division of Deutsche Bahn AG, focuses on logistics across air, land, sea freight as well as contracts logistics. The company turned to Windows 10 to help safeguard its business with intelligent, built-in security and to empower the productivity of its global, mobile workforce. Across the globe, industry leaders are choosing Microsoft to power their business strategies and new products, or support culture change. I am constantly inspired by our customers’ and partners’ digital ambitions and innovation, and I am eager to continue partnering with them on their digital journey. The post The story behind Microsoft’s earnings: The intelligent cloud powers customer innovation across industries appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Today, I am pleased to welcome PlayFab to the Microsoft family. PlayFab is a complete backend platform provider of services to build, launch and grow cloud-connected games. PlayFab’s tools are designed to be used by game developers across all platforms (mobile, PC and console). This acquisition extends the investments and work we’ve done on Microsoft Azure to provide a world-class cloud platform for the gaming industry. As Satya Nadella noted in our annual shareholders meeting, “We’re mobilizing to pursue our extensive opportunity in a 100-plus-billion gaming market. This means broadening our approach to how we think about gaming end to end, about starting with games and how they’re creating and distributed, and how they’re played and viewed.” https://mscorpmedia.azureedge.net/mscorpmedia/2018/01/PlayFab_squareBackground-300x300.png Over 1 billion people play games, fueling a thriving industry whose ecosystem is evolving and growing quickly. Many industries are moving to the intelligent cloud, and this trend is true in gaming as well. This means an increasing number of developers are looking to create connected games for mobile, PC and console devices that have a significant emphasis on post-launch operations. However, the cost and complexity of achieving this through custom-built, server-side tools and technologies is high, and PlayFab offers developers a compelling model that scales naturally with their games’ players. PlayFab’s backend services reduce the barriers to launch for game developers, offering both large and small studios cost-effective development solutions that scale with their games and help them engage, retain and monetize players. PlayFab enables developers to use the intelligent cloud to build and operate games, analyze gaming data and improve overall gaming experiences. The PlayFab platform is a natural complement to Azure for gaming (Visit azure.com/gaming for more info). Azure, with locations in 42 regions worldwide, provides world-class server infrastructure, allowing creators to focus on building great games with best-available global reach. For gamers, this leads to a higher, faster degree of innovation and better experiences. Incorporating PlayFab’s experience, growing network of game developers and powerful gaming-as-a-service platform into our product offering is an important step forward for gaming at Microsoft. PlayFab has served more than 700 million gamers and is currently powering more than 1,200 games with companies like Disney, Rovio and Atari. Its gaming platform powers some of the most prominent titles in the industry, such as “Idle Miner Tycoon,” “Angry Birds: Seasons” and “Roller Coaster Tycoon Touch.” Together, Azure and PlayFab will further unlock the power of the intelligent cloud for the gaming industry, enabling game developers and delighting gamers around the world. For more information on PlayFab, you can find a blog post from James Gwertzman, CEO and co-founder, here. Thanks, Kareem The post Microsoft acquires PlayFab, accelerating game development innovation in the cloud appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

3D in PowerPoint, Word and Excel, is now broadly available to Windows users with O365 subscriptions and the Fall Creators Update and will completely reinvigorate and make your standard presentations stand out. With the new 3D features, you can quickly and easily create presentations in just 5 easy steps. Today, we’re going to show you how to make your PowerPoint presentation pop! First, open a presentation in PowerPoint. You don’t need any fancy extensions or plug-ins, just the latest version of Office 365 will do. Inserting a 3D model is just as easy as inserting a photo or a video. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/41d80845b2e409e1b09e5022856cb8df.gif On the Insert tab, you’ll find the 3D Models drop-down to either add a model you’ve created in Paint 3D or grab one from Remix3D.com, an online community and catalog of 3D content. View, resize, and rotate your 3D object. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/e6103b8af198edc09d7a90534245551b.gif Drop it into the slide and use the controls to manipulate the model, rotating, sizing and positioning until you like the way it looks. A new contextual tab 3D Model Tools will appear, and you can use the preset 3D Model Views to choose the specific orientation you want your audience to see. Duplicate your slide and reposition your model to the next view you’d like to highlight. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/f432ee1f420f1684da1cb4b39a794bcf.gif No need to find different images to identify different perspectives. With 3D, you are in control! Use a brand-new transition type, Morph, with 3D models to create cinematic transitions between slides. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/d8af5f39cc72b7539c7a09bebe8c60fe.gif The final step is to add the Morph transition to automatically have your 3D object animate and shift in perspective seamlessly across all your slides. To see what else is new and available in the Fall Creators Update, check out this blog! The post Windows 10 Tip: Add 3D to your PowerPoint presentation in 5 steps appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Launched with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the reimagined Photos app helps you create videos of your memories with a soundtrack, theme and cinematic transitions. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert photographer and videographer, Photos makes it easy to get started. With today’s update, you can take your filmmaking to the next level by selecting yourself or nominating someone to be the star in your automatically generated creation. Photos will then build a video around the person you choose, pulling in relevant photos and videos, zooming in on your star, and choosing an appropriate theme. The new feature allows you to follow your child across the field in a montage of their soccer game, or highlight a friend at their birthday party reel. You can also choose yourself and start working on your award acceptance speech. Here’s how to get started in a few easy steps: Identify which photos and videos you want in your story https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/024e218fec564bc3835a0313fd8fddb0.gif Select the “Create” button on the top toolbar. Choose “Automatic video with music” and select content. Click the “Create” button on the top toolbar again and title your video. Then select “Create video.” Customize your video by remixing it https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/a0cb2aa224a1f983cdc9399af91cf4f3.gif Once you’re happy with your content selections, sit back and watch the app do its magic. Click the “Remix it for me” button until you find a story you like. Choose the star of the film https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/60089675aacaf0e2218ece24f2fe905d.gif Once the story is just right, use the “Choose a star” feature and the video will focus around that special person. Save and share with your friends Download the file or upload to social media, so all your friends can watch your creation. To access the new “Choose a Star” feature, you’ll just need to be running the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Simply open the Photos app and start creating! To learn how to get the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, check out this blog post. The post New feature update to Photos allows you to “Choose a Star” appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Head over here to read about the new “Choose a star” feature in the Photos app or how Xbox Game Pass expanded to include new releases from Microsoft Studios, check out our Windows 10 Tip on how to get started annotating your books in Microsoft Edge in this week’s Windows 10 Tip, and check out the Mixer blog, where the team is talking about major milestones in 2017, including what’s next for Mixer in 2018! In case you missed it: We had an amazing 2017 and accomplished so much thanks to our incredible community, and there's so much more on the horizon for 2018!An Amazing 2017: What's Next? pic.twitter.com/JNsk5EdK3A — Mixer (@WatchMixer) January 25, 2018 LG Electronics announces new LG gram Notebooks powered by Windows 10 Click to view slideshow. This month at CES, LG introduced its latest LG gram notebooks that deliver superior portability, enhanced powerful performance, with 19-22 hours of battery life on a single charge. Powered by Windows 10 and the latest 8th Intel CoreTM i7 and i5 processors and SSD storage, the newest LG gram devices are more efficient than their predecessors, and significantly faster with seamless 4K playback, super-stable processing and up to 1TB SSD in an ultra-light, ultra-slim laptop. LG’s new gram models are durable enough to use in the extreme environments, complies with U.S. military MIL-STD 810G durability standards for resistance to impact, shock, pressure, sand & dust, and temperature. This improved durability is achieved by the Nano-Carbon Magnesium full metal alloy body, which is 200% more durable than standard magnesium, at just ¼ of the weight. Features of the new LG gram Notebooks include: Highly efficient 72Wh battery that allows longer use without plugging in A second SSD drive slot for even more internal storage for those large video files. DTS Headphone:X technology built-in, so you can enjoy multi-channel sound of up to 11.1 channels and rich 1.5W hi-fi sur-round sound. Advanced features such as Touch Screen – perfect for drawing on and highlighting web pages in Microsoft Edge with Windows Ink; a Fingerprint Reader built into the power button, which enables you to power on and log in with Windows Hello with the press of a single button; and the optional ThunderboltTM 3 allows super-fast data transfer. Pricing and availability: The new LG gram notebooks – the Core i5 and Core i7 – are now available at Amazon.com in the U.S., Korea, and Japan, with other markets and retailers to follow soon after. Have a great weekend! The post This Week on Windows: Microsoft Education news, LG Gram notebooks, Photos app updates and more appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today, we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17083 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring and for those who opted in to Skip Ahead. What’s new in Build 17083 Font Settings and Fonts in the Microsoft Store Fonts are an important asset for your visual creativity. In this build, we’re introducing new experiences for managing your fonts in Settings, and for acquiring additional fonts from the Microsoft Store. You may be familiar with the Fonts control panel, which you could use to see the fonts that are currently installed, or to install or uninstall fonts. That control panel hasn’t been able to show off newer font capabilities, such as color fonts or variable fonts, and a refresh has been needed. In Build 17075, we’re providing a new Fonts page within Settings. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/4b811fd3ed80360dc9d9a769cfa1939f-1024x639.png The initial page for Fonts settings provides a short preview of each font family. The previews use a variety of interesting strings that are selected to match the primary languages that each font family is designed for together with your own language settings. And if a font has multi-color capabilities built into it, then the preview will demonstrate this. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/5eae0481ed654570f7d70d8fe9ef5c47-1024x639.png When you click on one of the family previews, it will take you to a details page that provides previews for each of the fonts within that family, along with other information about each font. There is a default preview string, but you can enter your own, custom preview string as well. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/89198049bce5e58ebe7ff9b7e6497707-1024x573.png For Web developers and advanced typographers that want to make use of OpenType Variable fonts, there is a separate variable-font details page that allows you to explore the continuous, variable-design capabilities of the font. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/0fe9a49ea5f2017add41930808b3ecb5.gif Along with the new Settings experience, we are introducing fonts as a new content type in the Microsoft Store. To find them easily, there is a link from the Fonts page in Settings directly to the Fonts collection in the Store. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/f3d8d6f2af17ff9085e2e134744b3266-1024x597.png Note that you need to be running build 17040 or later to be able to install the font packages in the Store. For now, we have a small set of curated offerings from Microsoft’s library of fonts, but this will grow over time. Make sure to come back regularly to see what’s new! We hope you’ll find the new font experiences in Settings and in the Store will enhance your own creativity. We’d love to hear your feedback via the Feedback Hub, or your reviews of the font offerings in the Store. Diagnostic Data Improvements Microsoft uses Windows diagnostic data to focus our decisions and efforts to provide you with the most robust and valuable platform possible. By participating in our diagnostic data programs, you have a voice in the operating system’s development, improving the overall product experience and quality through your insights. We value your privacy. Our commitment is to be fully transparent on the diagnostic data collected from your Windows devices and provide you with increased control over that data. As part of this commitment, we’re adding two new features in this build for Windows Insiders which can be found under Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback. Diagnostic Data Viewer The Diagnostic Data Viewer is a Windows app that lets you review the diagnostic data your device is sending to Microsoft, grouping the info into simple categories based on how it’s used by Microsoft. To get started, navigate to Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback. Enable the Diagnostic Data Viewer Toggle and then click the button below to launch the app. View your diagnostics events: In the left column, you can review your diagnostic events. Selecting an event opens the detailed event view, which shows the exact data uploaded to Microsoft. Microsoft uses this info to continually improve the Windows operating system. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/2e210a830bfa1c252f8ff82c2557c95f.jpg Search your diagnostic events: The search box at the top of the screen lets you search all of the diagnostic event data. The returned search results include any diagnostic event that contains the matching text. Selecting an event opens the detailed event view, with the matching text highlighted. Filter your diagnostic event categories: The app’s Menu button opens the detailed menu. In here, you’ll find a list of diagnostic event categories, which define how the events are used by Microsoft. Selecting a category lets you filter between the diagnostic events. More details about these categories can be found here. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/f9c2aeb018eaf68691229997531e3997.jpg Provide diagnostic event feedback: The Feedback icon opens the Feedback Hub app, letting you provide feedback about the Diagnostic Data Viewer and the diagnostic events. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/5fc90eaba5b5dfb6a3e7f28e54259330.jpg Opt-in for Standard User With our commitment to transparency and control, a standard user can now make changes to the Diagnostic Data levels. When an administrator sets the Diagnostic Data level, a user can choose to update the Diagnostic Data setting . This control also provides notifications when these settings have been changed by another user or an administrator. Timeline Improvements We’re thrilled to hear how excited Insiders are about Timeline! We’re also listening closely to your feedback and are pleased to announce several changes in this build to put you more in control of your privacy. You’ve told us through the Feedback Hub that you want us to make it easier to delete activities from Timeline. We agree that deleting multiple activities is cumbersome, which is why we added the option to delete everything from a given hour or day from the context menu. When you are in the default view, you will see a new “clear all from day” option when right-clicking on an activity. If you clicked “see all” to see activities for just one day, this option changes to allow you to “clear all from hour” instead. Because this option can clear a lot of activities at once, we will ask you to confirm this choice before deleting the activities. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/3e90315da8a86ad7032b1461d7b2b526-1024x257.png We made it easier to clear all activities for an hour or day. The second change gives you more granular control of the privacy of your activities. A new setting allows you to sync your activities to the cloud for a seamless cross-device experience. You can enable “Let Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud” in the settings app, or you can enable it via an option provided at the bottom of Timeline. Until new users enable this setting, Timeline will only show four days of activities. (If you are upgrading from an earlier WIP flight, you may not see this option as the setting is already enabled.) Windows Shell Improvements Quiet Hours gets a new name and more! With the expanding feature set in this area, we will now be calling it Focus Assist. Speaking of which, you can now also switch between the three Focus Assist modes by right-clicking the Action Center icon in the taskbar. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/de23fe48dfaee6de3e919ee1329aaf20-1024x581.png Making Windows Hello setup easier: We’ve made it easier for Microsoft account users to set up Windows Hello on their devices for faster and more secure sign-in. Previously, you had to navigate deep into Settings to find Windows Hello. Now, you can set up Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint or PIN straight from your lock screen by clicking the Windows Hello tile under Sign-in options. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/b6f94868e2a1e3730ee6f603a3ecda19.gif Windows Settings Improvements See your UWP app version numbers: We’ve heard your feedback, and in addition to the other work we’ve been doing on the UWP app settings pages in Settings we’ve also updated them to include the app version number for easy reference. As a reminder, the easiest way to get to the app settings page for a particular UWP app is to right-click the app in Start and select More > App settings https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/a4f8962e107882067560e754910af60f-1024x793.png New options for sorting your startup apps: Based on your feedback we’ve added a dropdown to the Settings > Apps > Startup settings page so you can choose to sort the apps listed by name, state, or startup impact. Hyper-V/WSL Improvements Windows Hypervisor Platform API: We have added an extended user-mode API for third-party virtualization stacks and applications to create and manage partitions at the hypervisor level, configure memory mappings for the partition, and create and control execution of virtual processors. A third-party client can run alongside a Hyper-V managed partition while maintaining its management, configuration, guest/host protocols and guest supported drivers. For further information, see Windows Hypervisor Platform. Ease of Access Improvements New setting to turn automatically hiding scrollbars on or off: We’ve heard your feedback and have added a new setting for those who would prefer their scrollbars stay always visible. It’s available under Settings > Ease of Access > Display. Turning this setting off will result in the scroll bars in UWP (XAML) apps persisting as scrollbars in their full expanded size, even when not interacting with them. Note: In this build Start won’t follow the setting – we’re working on it. You choose whether to enable or disable the color filters hotkey: In order to help reduce accidental invocation of this hotkey, we’ve added a new checkbox for this under Settings > Ease of Access > Color filters settings page. The default state is disabled. We’ve made a number of other Ease of Access improvements in Settings, including: We’ve added Narrator landmarks throughout Settings to quickly move between search, navigation list, and main landmarks. And for Narrator users, the page heading (shown visually at the top of each page) will no longer read out as being at the bottom of each page. In Settings > Ease of Access, we’ve shortened the name of the “Cursor, pointer and touch feedback” page to “Cursor & pointer size”. We’ve swapped the positions of Color Filters & High Contrast in the Settings > Ease of Access navigation list. In Settings > Ease of Access > High Contrast, we’ve switched the default theme to be “High Contrast Black”. We’ve added links to Settings > Ease of Access > Narrator Settings for learning how to use Narrator and for adding more voices. Also the cursor movement mode combo box in the “Use Narrator cursor” sub-section has been removed. We’ve updated the Settings > Ease of Access > Speech page to present information & settings about Dictation, Cortana, as well as Windows Speech Recognition. We fixed an issue where Settings > Ease of Access > Eye control was a blank page. We’ve updated the Ease of Access search terms & results to better align with the available settings. Duplicate search results have been removed. Throughout Settings > Ease of Access you’ll find new “Related settings” links. Windows App Permissions Control access to your pictures, videos, or documents folders: With this build we’re giving you more control so you can now decide which UWP apps can access your pictures, videos, or documents folders. If a UWP app needs access to any of these, a consent dialog will pop up prompting you to accept or deny the request. If at any time you change your mind about the decision, you can go to Settings > Privacy where you’ll find 3 new Settings pages (one for each of the folders). If you deny access to a particular folder, to protect your privacy that UWP app will revert to only being able to access its local app folder. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC Thank you for your support of the early testing we’ve done with Sets. Your feedback helps us as we continue to develop this feature. Starting with this build, we’re taking Sets offline as we ready RS4 for release. If you have been testing Sets, you will no longer see it – however, Sets will return soon in a post-RS4 flight! Thanks again for feedback, and we look forward to sharing new Sets features with you soon. We fixed an issue for those using Start menu with the all apps list hidden, where Start would crash if you clicked on one of the all apps list headers, changed the width of Start’s tile grid, then went back to the all apps list. We fixed an issue where clicking on a toast notification might take multiple tries since a single pixel drag initiated a swipe and resulting in the click being ignored. We fixed a high hitting reliability issue from recent flights resulting in explorer.exe potentially crashing if you dragged a Microsoft Edge tab from its window then put it back. We fixed an issue where the lock screen background would be lost after restart if “Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen” was turned off. We fixed an issue where the login screen over remote desktop would be blank instead of showing a password prompt in recent builds after waking the host from sleep. We fixed an issue resulting in Start not having the Reveal effect in recent flights. We fixed an issue where the all apps list in Start would become offset if you exited tablet mode while the all apps list was zoomed out to show only the headers. We fixed an issue resulting in the Uninstall, Share, and Rate & Review verbs not working from a UWP app’s context menu in Start in the previous flight. We fixed an issue resulting in the Store title bar overlapping the rest of the Store app when in tablet mode in the last two flights. With the recent redesign of Cortana’s Notebook, we’re shifting to use that as the primary entrance for Cortana’s lists, and removing the entry point for lists from Cortana’s navigation pane. We’ve updated Windows Defender’s systray context menu to now use the modern style. We fixed an issue resulting in rendering artifacts in the Clock and Calendar flyout when transparency was enabled. We fixed an issue that could result in Windows getting stuck on the rebooting screen for a long time. We fixed an issue where Settings would crash if you tried to change the state of the microphone or camera permissions in Privacy Settings. We fixed an issue where Settings would crash if you opened the notification settings for an app that had a notification waiting in the Action Center. We fixed an issue where Lock Screen Settings would crash if the “Force a specific default lock screen and logon image” group policy was set. We fixed an issue from recent flights where Settings might crash when navigating to “Email and App accounts”. We fixed an issue where Shared Experiences Settings took a really long time to load (30+ seconds). We fixed an issue resulting in microphone and camera settings in Privacy settings flipped to deny all device access after upgrading to recent builds. We fixed an issue where Windows Update Settings might show a red exclamation mark, but no text explaining why there was an alert. We fixed an issue where the width of the list of updates in Windows Update Settings would fluctuate as you scrolled it. We’ve made some tweaks to the Video Playback Settings page. We’ve made the decision to remove the recently added Keyboard Settings page under Settings > Time & Language and will consider returning it in a future release. If you’d like to add another keyboard to your language, you can do this as before from the Region & Language Settings page by selecting the language you wish to add to. Advanced keyboard settings (including overriding your default keyboard and emoji panel settings) are still available – the link to this page has been moved to Settings > Devices > Typing. Update and Shutdown is now available again as an option if you click the power button in Start when there’s an update pending. We fixed an upgrade issue resulting in a “Path Not found” error on “Staging apps on CreateMetadataDirectory” in the upgrade logs of you’d installed an app from the Store before upgrading and had moved it to a secondary drive (an option in Apps & Features Settings). If you were impacted by this issue upgrade would still succeed, however the app wouldn’t work after upgrading. We fixed an issue where the back button in Windows Defender Security Center would be invisible if you opened WDSC through a link in Settings. We fixed an issue resulting in the GraphicsPerfSvc service sometimes using an unexpectedly high amount of CPU in recent flights. We fixed an issue from the last two builds resulting in apps that came preinstalled with Windows potentially failing to update in the Store with error 0x80073CF9. We fixed an issue resulting in the copy action in Photos only working the first time it’s used. We fixed an issue where the embedded handwriting panel and the handwriting panel might show at the same time. We fixed an issue resulting in the handwriting panel unexpectedly appearing recently when tapping or panning certain win32 text areas. We fixed an issue where the numeric keypad of the touch keyboard didn’t work in certain password fields found on the web. We fixed an issue where using a child key on the Greek or Czech touch keyboard layouts to input accented keys wouldn’t work. We fixed an issue where the Emoji Panel’s Most Frequently Used section wasn’t updating. We fixed an issue where the Emoji Panel would close after a single emoji was entered in certain apps even if the option to enter multiple emoji at once was selected. We fixed an issue resulting in two finger scrolling using touch or mouse not working Word 2016 in the last two flights. We fixed an issue where running Magnifier with bitmap smoothing enabled and then closing Magnifier could result in text now appearing blurry, or the PC suddenly becoming slow/laggy. We fixed an issue from the previous flight where the Windows Defender icon might be missing from the systray, even if it showed as enabled in Settings. We also fixed an issue from the last two flights where the icon unexpectedly showed a warning even though no warning was visible once you opened the app. We fixed an issue where when opening Task View immediately after an upgrade you might need to wait 15-30 minutes before Timeline was visible. We fixed two issues impacting Timeline reliability. We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge not creating Timeline activities if used immediately after login. We fixed an issue where PDFs opened in Microsoft Edge on the previous flight would appear off to the right instead of centered. We fixed a high impact issue resulting in Microsoft Edge launch failures in the last two flights. We fixed an issue resulting in the Microsoft Edge title bar sometimes being the wrong color. Thank you everyone who shared their thoughts on the updates made to the Microsoft Yahei font – we’ve made the decision to return the font to its Fall Creators Update state while take your feedback into consideration. We fixed an issue resulting in certain devices hitting a bug check (GSOD) with error System Service Exception on the last two builds. We fixed an issue with Linux containers on Windows using Docker Community Edition for Windows (edge) on many machines. The docker pull or docker run commands will fail with an error “Not enough memory resources are available to complete this operation”. Known issues If you have a VPN client installed via the Microsoft Store, it won’t work after upgrading to this build. If you require your VPN client to work – you might consider holding off taking this new build. If you install a font product from the Microsoft Store, then later install a new build (feature update), the Store package will remain installed, but the fonts within the package are not installed. Until this is fixed, the temporary workaround is to uninstall the product from the Apps page in Settings, then re-acquire the product from the Store. When users try to create a Microsoft Edge InPrivate window from inside a Mixed Reality headset, a regular window will get created instead. Users won’t be able to use InPrivate inside Mixed Reality in this build. InPrivate on desktop is not affected. We’re preparing for the inclusion of OpenSSH Server as a deployment mechanism in Developer Mode. However, the UI code got checked in ahead of the components, and so while there is a “Use OpenSSH (Beta) for remote deployment” switch in the UI under Settings, it won’t work, and turning it on will break remote deployment to that device until the switch is turned off. Audio playback from Microsoft Edge is sometimes unexpectedly muted. A workaround is to minimize Edge, count to three, and then unminimize. We’re investigating reports that Win32 apps pinned to Start have blank live tiles that show only a name starting with “W~”. We’re investigating an issue where using Task View to switch to an app might result in touch not working properly in that app. If you encounter this, restarting explorer.exe will fix it. The link for “Advanced display settings” is missing in Display Settings. If you need to access this dialog for now you’ll need to open Run and run “rundll32 display.dll,ShowAdapterSettings 0”. Developer Notes Deploying an x86 app to a x64 PC remotely result in “FileNotFound” deployment failures if the target PC is running Build 17040 or higher. Deploying an x64 app to a x64 PC remotely or a x86 app to a x86 PC will work fine. Participate in our 2018 Windows Insider Annual Survey Our Annual Survey is one of the most important tools we have for shaping the Windows Insider Program. It’s your chance to tell us what interests you most about the program – and how we can make your Insider experience even better. Looking for more news on the latest Windows features? Need more resources as a developer or IT Professional? Got an idea for taking the program in an exciting new direction? Or perhaps you’re simply happy with the program as it is now. Now is the time to let us know! If you participated in last year’s Annual Survey – thank you! Based on survey results from you and other Insiders all over the world, we rolled out a long list of new tools, activities and content for the program, including: The launch of the Windows Insider Program for Business to better service the specific needs of IT Professionals and their organizations. A new wave of “Inspired by Insiders” articles showcasing Windows features shaped directly by Insider feedback. Multiple enhancements to our feedback channels to better address Insider’s request for more information about how and when we use your feedback. An easier way to install and manage Windows 10 Insider Preview builds across your organization. What exciting new developments will this year’s survey inspire? That’s entirely up to you! Just look for the email we sent earlier this week (subject line: Take our Windows Insider Annual Survey). Then click on the link to get to the survey in your language. The survey only takes 10-15 minutes to complete. But the input you provide will help shape the program for the rest of the year – and beyond. We look forward to hearing from you! Upcoming Bug Bash & Webcast We will be kicking off the next Bug Bash on February 2nd and will run until February 11th. We’ll have more details to share soon. We’ll also be doing the Bug Bash webcast on our Mixer channel on February 6th. Join us for some bug-bashing! No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17083 for PC appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/981297ea083c5562dc7fb33c0476602e-1024x682.png In a world that’s constantly evolving with new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and smart devices, our commitment to deliver on our Privacy Principles and work with you to evolve the Windows privacy experience doesn’t change. To kick off the new year ahead of Data Privacy Day we are giving our Windows Insiders an early preview of the Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer coming in our next release of Windows. Our commitment is to be fully transparent on the diagnostic data collected from your Windows devices, how it is used, and to provide you with increased control over that data. This is all part of our commitment to increase your trust and confidence in our products and services. In addition, the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard will enable you to see and manage more data associated with your Microsoft account. These changes are part of the greater enhancements we are rolling out now and in the coming months. Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer: The Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer provides even greater transparency to all the diagnostic data received from your Windows device. Available to everyone in the Microsoft Store, the Diagnostic Data Viewer is separate from the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard and allows you to see, search, and take action with your diagnostic data. You are able to see and search all Windows diagnostic data that’s in the cloud related to your specific device. The diagnostic data presented in the menu includes; Common Data, like the Operating System’s name, the Version, Device ID, Device Class, Diagnostic level selection and so on. Device Connectivity and Configuration such as device properties and capabilities, preferences and settings, peripherals, and device network information. Product and Service Performance data that show device health, performance and reliability data, movie consumption functionality on the device and device file queries. It’s important to note that this functionality is not intended to capture user viewing or, listening habits. Product and Service Usage data includes details about the usage of the device, operating system, applications, and services. Software Setup and Inventory such as installed applications and install history, device update information. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/6cf48c7b4c6182bee1a4c90a3df9d752.jpg The Diagnostic Data Viewer shows the exact details sent to Microsoft The Diagnostic Data Viewer provides you with the features such as view, search and filter of your diagnostic data, as well as the ability to provide feedback about the viewer. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/b8da806fc40673d5e07b073aa9d08aef.jpg The apps Menu button opens the detailed menu. In here, you’ll find a list of diagnostic event categories, which define how the events are used by Microsoft. Selecting a checkbox lets you filter between the diagnostic event categories. More details about these categories can be found here. Microsoft Privacy Dashboard We’ve updated the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard with a new Activity History page which provides a clear and easy to navigate way to see the data that is saved with your Microsoft account. The Microsoft Privacy Dashboard allows you to manage your data and change what data is collected by adjusting the privacy settings on your device or browser at any time. And in the coming months, we’ll also bring additional features that will allow you to; View and manage media consumption data, as well as product and service activity on the Activity History page Export for any of the data you see on the dashboard Delete specific items to allow for greater individual control Participants in the Windows Insider Program will have the first opportunity to explore all of these new features. They’ll also get an early look at some additional changes in functionality and settings in the coming weeks, and we’re looking forward to their feedback. Your data privacy will continue to be a priority towards making Windows 10 the best and most secure experience. From improving in-product control, transparency and information about your privacy, while providing a complete list of the diagnostic data collected at the Basic level, among others, to launching the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard and the enhancements we’ve made since then, we want you to be able to easily see and manage your activity data online across multiple Microsoft services. I look forward to the continued dialogue around our privacy enhancements and welcome you to submit your feedback here, too. Microsoft introduces new privacy tools ahead of Data Privacy Day Tweet This The post Microsoft introduces new privacy tools ahead of Data Privacy Day appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/10a91e10dfa08dd529221d267a066277-1024x601.jpg You can add highlights in four colors, underline, add comments or copy text. To see the menu with these options, simply highlight the preferred word or sentence with your mouse or finger. You can also select the Cortana icon from the same menu to find more information about the content you are reading without leaving the reading experience. Get started by downloading a book to personalize from the Books section in the Microsoft Store, and head over here to learn more about what’s new in the Fall Creators Update, or how to get the update! Windows 10 Tip: Annotate your books in Microsoft Edge Tweet This The post Windows 10 Tip: Annotate your books in Microsoft Edge appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are releasing Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17079 to Windows Server Insiders. This build is a preview build of the next Semi-Annual Channel release of Windows Server. For more information on the Semi-Annual channel, please see the Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel overview What’s New in Build 17079 for Windows Server In-place OS Upgrade: Customers are now able to upgrade their Windows Server, version 1709 installations to the current preview build using In-place OS Upgrade. This feature is available starting in build 17079. This feature also enables customers to perform build-to-build upgrade of the next released preview build. Running setup.exe, customers should be presented with the option to “Keep personal files and apps”, which causes the migration steps in setup.exe to run and upgrade Windows Server while preserving applications, data, and user settings. Please refer to the Known Issues section below for additional information. Tell us more. How might your organization benefit from upgrade functionality? Please let us know by completing this short survey. Thanks in advance. Survey link Developers and Containers Optimized Server Core container base images (30% smaller). Available on Windows Insider Docker Hub here MSMQ now installs in a Server Core container Key Application Compatibility bug fixes For more details, please see the Window Virtualization Blog here. Available Content Server Insiders have the choice of Server Core Edition in ISO or VHDX format. The images are pre-keyed – no need to enter a key during setup. Symbols are available on the public symbol server – see Update on Microsoft’s Symbol Server blog post and Using the Microsoft Symbol Server. As before, matching Windows Server container images will be available via Docker Hub. For more information about Windows Server containers and Insider builds, click here. This Server Insider pre-release build will expire on July 2nd, 2018. How to Download To obtain the Insider software downloads, 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. It’s all about 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. Use your registered Windows 10 Insider device and use the Feedback Hub application. In the app, choose the Server category and then the appropriate subcategory for your feedback. Please indicate what build number you are providing feedback on. Known issues with Windows Server build 17079 [NEW] When Hypervisor Code Integrity (HVCI) is enabled, a system may fail to start. On affected systems, firmware locates UEFI runtime services in memory described as Memory-Mapped I/O (MMIO). Running nanoserver-insider containers on a Windows Server Core host will fail, and may crash the host. As a workaround, you can add “—isolation=hyperv” when running or building the containers such as “docker run –isolation=hyperv microsoft/nanoserver-insider”. Known Issues with In-place OS Upgrade (1) Drives that are protected with BitLocker should have BitLocker suspended (disabled) before In-place OS Upgrade, and resumed (enabled) after In-place OS Upgrade. (2) AD Domain Controllers might not upgrade correctly – please backup any AD DC before applying In-place OS Upgrade. 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, which takes precedence over any license agreement that may be in the product. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17079 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/0aebc03cb2a4647a6b4dfb8031d50ea0-1024x576.jpg When we launched Xbox Game Pass in June 2017, we knew we wanted to craft a service with gamers in mind. That meant a diverse, expanding library of over 100 games and counting, matched with one monthly price and unlimited access to download and play full-fidelity experiences. We know our fans value having a variety of games to play at a low monthly price. We’ve also heard from fans that the ability to play new blockbuster games in Xbox Game Pass is important. So we’ve continued to explore new ideas to make this possible. Today, we’re excited to announce plans for a major expansion to Xbox Game Pass that underscores our commitment to deliver our fans the ultimate gaming subscription service. Xbox Game Pass expands to include new releases from Microsoft Studios Tweet This Moving forward, we plan to release all new Xbox One exclusive games from Microsoft Studios into Xbox Game Pass on the same date as their global release. This means that when Sea of Thieves launches on March 20, it will be included in Xbox Game Pass to all members. This plan to bring new games timed with their global release into Xbox Game Pass not only includes announced titles like Sea of Thieves, State of Decay 2, and Crackdown 3 but future unannounced games from Microsoft Studios including new iterations of our biggest Xbox One exclusive franchises such as Halo, Forza and Gears of War, on the same day they launch. Our fans have also asked for more choice in the subscription offerings available for Xbox Game Pass. As part of today’s library expansion, we are also pleased to announce that we are working closely with our retail partners, such as GameStop, to offer a 6-month Xbox Game Pass subscription card for those fans who look for a variety of ways to purchase and enjoy new games and services. The 6-month Xbox Game Pass subscription card will be available at select retail partners for $59.99 beginning March 20. By working closely with retail partners, Xbox Game Pass will have valuable ambassadors in popular destinations for gamers to discover new and exciting games and enjoy community. We’re truly humbled by the incredible response we’ve received to date for Xbox Game Pass, and we look forward to offering an unprecedented choice and value with Xbox Game Pass this spring and beyond. Read more about today’s news over at Xbox Wire! The post Xbox Game Pass expands to include new releases from Microsoft Studios appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

In the U.S. and abroad, fundamental rights and services like voting, healthcare, housing and education are tethered to legal proof of identification – you can’t participate if you don’t have it. Yet nearly one in six people worldwide – the majority of them being women, children and refugees – live without it. The lack of legal documentation not only strips access to critical services, it puts those trapped in the “identity gap” at risk for larger issues including displacement and child trafficking. As discussions begin this week at the World Economic Forum, creating universal access to identity is an issue at the top of Microsoft’s agenda, and we think technology can be a powerful tool to tackle this challenge. It was last summer that Microsoft took a first step, collaborating with Accenture and Avanade on a blockchain-based identity prototype on Microsoft Azure. Together, we pursued this work in support of the ID2020 Alliance – a global public-private partnership dedicated to aiding the 1.1 billion people around the world who lack any legal form of identity. To say that we were encouraged by its mission would be an understatement. We were inspired by it. Today, we are excited to share that we are deepening our commitment to this issue by formally joining ID2020 as a founding member. In addition to a donation of $1 million, we will commit resources and expertise to further develop a secure, portable form of digital identity and help implement it across governments and agencies. In the coming months, Microsoft, our partners in the ID2020 Alliance, and developers around the globe will collaborate on an open source, self-sovereign, blockchain-based identity system that allows people, products, apps and services to interoperate across blockchains, cloud providers and organizations. We will lend the technical expertise of our Identity team to provide guidance as the project scales, empowering people with direct consent over who has access to their personal information, and when to release and share data. We will also help establish standards that ensure this work is impactful and scalable. Our shared ambition with ID2020 is to start piloting this solution in the coming year to bring it to those who need it most, beginning with refugee populations. Amid a growing refugee crisis, we believe technology can play a powerful role when put in the hands of displaced people and the organizations that are supporting them. Over the last two years, Microsoft Philanthropies has donated $33 million in technology and funding to organizations that aid refugees and empower them to rebuild their lives. Closing the identity gap is an enormous challenge. It will take the work of many committed people and organizations coming together across different geographies, sectors and technologies. But it’s exciting to imagine a world where safe and secure digital identities are possible, providing everyone with an essential building block to every right and opportunity they deserve. The post Partnering for a path to digital identity appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/ea5aa704e14ef69e61ce466c0e8a7227.jpg Our ongoing commitment to empower every student to create the world of tomorrow continues today with several new announcements for education. Whether igniting interest in STEM, learning in 3D, helping students of all abilities improve their reading, writing, and comprehension, or saving teachers time and helping them collaborate, we know technology has the power to unlock limitless learning. I love hearing about the inspiring results we see from schools using Microsoft Education products, and we’ve been pleased to see more schools choosing Windows this year. This week at Bett, we’ll show new Windows 10 and Windows 10 S devices from Lenovo and JP, starting at just $189, providing more options for schools who don’t want to compromise on Chromebooks. We’ll add new capabilities to our free Office 365 for Education software, enabling any student to write a paper using only their voice and making it easier to access Teams via mobile devices. And we’re making STEM learning fun with a new Chemistry update to Minecraft: Education Edition and new mixed reality and video curricula from partners like BBC Worldwide Learning, LEGO®* Education, PBS, NASA, and Pearson. New Windows 10 devices starting at $189 and free professional development Affordability is the top priority for many schools. Shrinking budgets can lead schools to choose devices with a stripped-down experience and a limited lifespan, unfortunately costing more over time and offering less to students. Our new Windows 10 devices won’t force schools to compromise on features, giving schools cutting-edge tools like touch, inking, and 3D as well as free accessibility technology like Learning Tools, which improve reading comprehension by 10 percentile points for students of all abilities. This week, building on the success of our expansive education device portfolio, we’ll be showing new 2-in-1s under $300 and notebooks under $200. Our new devices include: Two new Lenovo devices to give schools great performance at a great price. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/bc36112382599b98931d7a4e516ca25c-1024x577.png The Lenovo 100e, a brand-new Intel Celeron Apollo Lake powered PC, starting at just $189 USD**. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/6ff3fd87a453e4f1c6506dd32d45b9d8-1024x684.png The Lenovo 300e, an affordable 2-in-1 convertible PC with pen support, starting at $279 USD. Two new devices from JP, one of our largest partners in emerging markets. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/216327e7372b2aa56b2234811a2e95fc-e1516598568114-1024x688.png The Classmate Leap T303 laptop with Windows Hello, starting at $199 USD. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/8a75cf62e79139dfee85659de7a8be11-e1516598515579-1024x739.png The Trigono V401 2-in-1 with pen and touch, starting at $299 USD. These new devices join the HP ProBook x360 11 EE, which continues to be one of our best-selling 2-in-1 devices in education at just $299 USD and the recently released HP Stream 11 Pro G4 EE PC starting at $225 USD. They are all spill resistant and ruggedized to avoid accidental breakage, have long battery life to avoid charging wires all over the classroom and have faster connectivity. With Intune for Education, it’s easy to set up and manage Windows devices. With Microsoft 365 Education schools can get our complete software solution with free Office 365 Education and starting next month, with purchase of certain Microsoft 365 Education licenses, they can also get free Professional Development to help train teachers on how to get the most from their new technology.*** Personalized learning drives better results Office 365 is built to support every type of learner, with assistive technology natively built-in and tools like Word, OneNote, and Teams that give every child a voice in the classroom. We are proud to offer teachers in 146 countries Office 365 Education for free, and there are a number of new updates coming to Office in the next month, including: https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/b526e41dce633f7f6503f58421403acb.gif Starting in February, we will introduce dictation in Office 365 to help students write more easily by using their voice. Microsoft Learning Tools improves for all students, especially the one in five students who have a learning difference. Starting in February, we will introduce dictation in Office 365 to help students write more easily by using their voice. Immersive Reader functionality will also expand to Word for Mac, iPhone, Outlook Desktop, OneNote iPad, and OneNote Mac with support for many new languages. OneNote Class Notebook, which has added more than 15 million new student notebooks since the beginning of this school year, will now include assignment and grade integration with the most widely used School Information Systems in the UK (SIMS Capita) and U.S. (PowerSchool). To further simplify classroom workflows, we are delivering on the number one request from teachers for Class Notebooks, enabling them to lock pages as read-only after giving feedback. In OneNote, we are also enabling Desmos interactive math calculators, a set of popular applications for STEM teachers. Teams, a digital hub for the classroom, is now accessible on iOS and Android so teachers and students can now keep track of their assignments and classroom conversations on their phones or tablets. To enable language learners to engage in classroom conversations, our newest updates will also make it easy to translate any conversation or chat into another language. PowerPoint will now allow teachers to record their lessons including slides, interactive ink, video, and narrations and publish to their Stream channel in Teams classrooms. This way, students can view from anywhere in advance of class, so class time can be used for conversation. Stream will also add automatic captioning to the videos to make them accessible to all learners. Our recently announced partnership with PowerSchool – the leading global education technology platform for K-12 – will help create classroom efficiencies, enable collaboration and provide insights that allow teachers to spend more time teaching and less time focused on administrative tasks. Sparking creativity with STEM Igniting a passion for STEM in today’s students will help prepare them for the future. We’re committed to giving teachers new ways to teach these subjects with fun curricula that sparks students’ innate creativity, a skill that is predicted to be one of the top three most desired skills by employers in 2020. One way we do this is through MakeCode, which today announced a new Cue Education app, available first on Windows, new curricula for Computer Science with MakeCode for Minecraft, and a new MakeCode for micro: bit Windows 10 app. Chemistry comes to life through Minecraft Nothing shows the power of creativity in STEM education more than Minecraft: Education Edition, which is already being used in classrooms in more than 115 countries. This spring, a new and free Chemistry Update will enable teachers to use the familiar world of Minecraft and game-based learning to engage students of all ages in chemistry. Through hands-on experimentation, students can learn everything from building compounds to more difficult topics like stable isotopes. Mixed reality for immersive learning Our research shows the most effective learning involves multiple regions of the brain. In the era of mixed reality – which includes augmented and virtual reality, we are working with our partners to deliver products and experiences that will help teachers push the boundaries of their curricula. Over the last year, we have seen of teachers and institutions using Microsoft HoloLens to bring to life in the classroom. With the release of Windows Mixed Reality immersive VR headsets that start at $299, we provide a more affordable entry point for mixed reality in the classroom. To support that effort, today we are announcing three important program updates: https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/c6bdad8449747a05c9ff3fe0df15cb6e-1024x683.jpg Pearson – the world’s largest education company – will begin rolling out in March curriculum that will work on both HoloLens and Windows Mixed Reality immersive VR headsets. These six new applications will deliver seamless experiences across devices and further illustrate the value of immersive educational experiences. We are expanding our mixed media reality curriculum offerings through a new partnership with WGBH’s Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms project****, for distribution nationally on PBS LearningMediahttps://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.3/72x72/2122.png. This effort brings cutting-edge Earth and Space Science content into classrooms through digital learning resources that increase student engagement with science phenomena and practices. To keep up with growing demand for HoloLens in the classroom we are committed to providing affordable solutions. Starting on January 22, we are making available a limited-time academic pricing offer for HoloLens. To take advantage of the limited-time academic pricing offer, please visit, hololens.com/edupromo. New partnerships in STEM learning Lesson plans that encourage hands-on and visual learning drive deeper engagement from students, and we’re excited to partner with some of the world’s most respected brands to bring teachers exciting new lessons in time for the next school year. Starting this March, we’ll be partnering with BBC Worldwide Learning to bring the stunning BBC Earth natural history film Oceans: Our Blue Planet to classrooms and museums around the world, starting with the release of the film in museums this March. As part of the multi-faceted partnership, we are also exploring ways to expand this content across the Microsoft Education portfolio. https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/58f6dd970b3495191ce51463dde50c39-1024x683.jpg Starting this March, we’ll be partnering with BBC Worldwide Learning to bring the stunning BBC Earth natural history film Oceans: Our Blue Planet to classrooms and museums around the world, starting with the release of the film in museums this March. And together with LEGO® Education, we’ll be offering a new free online Hacking STEM lesson plan that has students use the Pythagorean Theorem to explore and measure topography in 2D/3D space. Acting as environmental surveyors and engineers, students build tools with LEGO® bricks from the Simple & Powered Machines set or cardboard to create and visualize an initial transportation plan for the development of an island National Park in Excel. They then bring their National Park to life by adding topographic elements. With all of these new experiences available in time for the upcoming school year, there’s never been a better time for schools to try Microsoft Education. We will continue to work hard to deliver innovative technology for educators around the world to unlock limitless learning for students of all abilities. *LEGO, the LEGO logo are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2018 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved. **$219 global pricing ***If at least 30 qualified licenses are purchased between February 1, 2018, and December 31, 2018, you can schedule free in-person or virtual Professional Development led by certified Microsoft training partners. Learn more on microsoft.com/education. **** “Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms,” is a cooperative agreement awarded to WGBH from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under cooperative agreement award No. NNX16AD71A. The post Microsoft Education unveils new Windows 10 devices starting at $189, Office 365 tools for personalized learning, and curricula to ignite a passion for STEM appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! Head over here to learn more about Surface Book 2 coming to all Surface markets, catch up on the news about the Sea of Thieves Closed Beta, or, check out our Windows 10 Tips on staying in touch with My People and getting started with the Mixed Reality Viewer app. In case you missed it: Here’s what’s new in Microsoft Store this week: Need a good book? Check out Walter Isaacson’s reading list in the Microsoft Store https://winblogs.azureedge.net/win/2018/01/288b2af91576671b546a87cd0b02091c-1024x576.jpg Walter Isaacson is one of today’s most influential writers, authoring bestselling biographies about luminaries past (Leonardo da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin) and present (Steve Jobs). What’s on Isaacson’s reading list? Some very interesting volumes, indeed, which is why we’ve made his reading list our latest eBooks collection in the Microsoft Store.* The Walter Isaacson Collection features titles including Heroes of the Frontier, where Dave Eggers tells the story of a 30-something woman turning her back on convention and heading to Alaska to start life over. In Fantasyland, Kurt Andersen 
traces America’s relationship with false facts and delusion over the past 500 years. The fascinating, brilliant man behind just about everything important in the Information Age is profiled in A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age, by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman, and in Madison Park, Eric Motley tells how his upbringing in a small Alabama town founded by freed slaves gave him his deep belief in the American Dream. Check out the complete Walter Isaacson Collection here, and don’t miss Walter’s personal reviews on each title’s page in the Microsoft Store. Have a great weekend! *Market availability: Please check availability in your local Store. The post This Week on Windows: Mixed Reality Viewer app, Sea of Thieves, ebooks and more appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...