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Mixed reality will unleash the creativity of every person and every organization on the planet. Our journey has been filled with key moments in time that have shown us what is possible as we enter this next era of computing, the era of mixed reality. From the introduction of Microsoft HoloLens, the world’s first fully self-contained holographic computer in January 2015, to the welcoming of enterprise partners like Ford Motor Company, the inspiration and creativity we have seen customers and modern workplaces continues to inspire us and drive us forward. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/067a8f1c4ca3fe7b6c6d54330fa9563f.jpg Today, in San Francisco was another key moment in time. I had the privilege of sharing more about Microsoft’s mixed reality vison. We unveiled a Windows Mixed Reality headset from Samsung, the Samsung HMD Odyssey, which joins the family of Windows Mixed Reality headsets. I talked about the work we are doing with SteamVR and announced that AltspaceVR is joining our Microsoft team. Finally, we kicked off the holiday buying season by celebrating the availability of pre-orders for Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Mixed Reality at Microsoft We are standing at the threshold of the next revolution in computing. A revolution where computers empower us to expand our capabilities and transcend time, space, and devices. A revolution where we immerse ourselves in virtual worlds of our choosing and we accomplish seemingly impossible things while making lasting memories with the people we love. Our sense of what is possible is set to be transformed as we enter a new era of computing, the era of mixed reality. We have started to see this transformation take place in the modern workplace and soon we’ll see it in every facet of life. With mixed reality, our ideas move beyond the boundaries of paper, beyond the boundaries of screens, and beyond the boundaries of description. This is the fundamental promise of mixed reality. The barrier that exists between our physical and digital worlds will disappear. We believe we will have to evolve today’s devices and experiences to deliver on the promise of mixed reality. Since we introduced the world to mixed reality we have been committed to approaching this revolution in a patient, meaningful and holistic way. To achieve that we continue to: Embrace the entire continuum from augmented reality to virtual reality and everywhere in between Build cutting-edge devices and the technologies that power them, such as HoloLens Create a unified platform for applications and the services to target With Windows, we are delivering the only OS designed for the broadest range of inputs from traditional inputs like keyboards and mice, touch and ink, gamepads and our new industry defining motion controllers to now more natural human inputs such as gaze, voice, and gestures. This approach allows us and our ecosystem to embrace and take advantage of a wide range of experiences across the mixed reality spectrum – from simplified augmented reality to immersive virtual reality, to holographic computing – forever changing the way each of us work, communicate and play. Welcome the Samsung HMD Odyssey Today, we also unveiled the latest device to join our growing family of Windows Mixed Reality headsets: the Samsung HMD Odyssey. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/83fa925257757bc309bc83e08a31623d.png It was my pleasure to be joined by Alanna Cotton, Vice President and General Manager, Samsung Electronics America, who participated in our presentation. Here are the remarks Alanna shared: “When we began designing and engineering the Samsung HMD Odyssey with Microsoft, there was only one goal in mind, create a high performing headset that’s easy to set up and can transport people to the incredible world of virtual reality. Powered with dual AMOLED displays which Samsung is known for, that result in vivid colors and the highest resolution in the industry, built-in spatial AKG headphones, inside-out tracking, built-in microphone, and quick, responsive motion controllers, the Samsung HMD Odyssey immerses users with a 110° field of view as they discover the new frontier of Windows Mixed Reality. Samsung is committed to working across platforms to build cutting-edge technology, and we’re excited to partner with Microsoft to shape the future of virtual reality. But most of all, we can’t wait for you to take the Samsung HMD Odyssey out for a spin, and see it for yourself.” — Alanna Cotton, Vice President and General Manager, Samsung Electronics America I am thrilled to have Samsung join us on our mixed reality journey! You can learn more about the Samsung HMD Odyssey online. Immersive VR content on Windows Mixed Reality On October 17, Windows Mixed Reality fans can enjoy the more than 20,000 apps in the Microsoft Store. We recently announced that the hottest VR games are coming to the Microsoft Store and Windows Mixed Reality—titles like Obduction, Dreams of Dali, Space Pirate Trainer, Superhot, Arizona Sunshine, Luna, Skyworld, Move, Free the Night, Minecraft, Fantastic Contraption, and more will take advantage of the Universal Windows Platform. Gamers love choice, and there is no bigger collection of VR games than on Steam. Last month we shared that we are working with Valve to run SteamVR content on Windows Mixed Reality immersive headsets. Starting today, developers will be provided access to the Windows Mixed Reality SteamVR preview so they can try out their experiences. This holiday, consumers will get access to this preview. Also on October 17, Halo fans will be able to get their first glimpse of what mixed reality and Halo can feel like. Bonnie Ross, Head of 343 Industries, joined us as a holographic presenter to share details about Halo: Recruit, a fun, brief introduction into the world of Halo – where you’ll see several iconic characters in mixed reality for the very first time. AltspaceVR is now part of Microsoft We also welcomed the talented team at AltspaceVR to Microsoft. AltspaceVR is one of the pioneers in immersive communications bringing people together in virtual reality from over 160 countries to attend meetups, comedy shows, yoga classes, dance parties, and large-scale events hosted by NBC, Reggie Watts, Justin Roiland, Drew Carey and more. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/4497bbc62b79c25d50af477b6cfcb95c.png With the AltspaceVR team onboard we look forward to building the world’s preeminent mixed reality community. Windows Mixed Reality headsets now available for pre-order All Windows Mixed Reality headsets coming this holiday are now available for pre-order! To get yours now from the Microsoft Store, please check out the product-specific pre-order pages below. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/6b3a0303266530650386e1f49ca76831.png Acer Windows Mixed Reality Headset Dell Visor HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset Lenovo Explorer Samsung HMD Odyssey Mixed reality on Windows PCs all begins with the upcoming release of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. It’s the first spatial operating system – complete with a library of content that will inspire you, and a portfolio of the best, easiest to use and most affordable headsets paired with the most powerful motion controllers. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to download the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update on October 17 or upgrade to a new PC and start exploring these amazing new mixed reality capabilities. It’s an exciting time for our team, our partners, our customers, for all of us. As always reach out to me on Twitter with your questions and comments. I always want to hear from you. Alex The post The era of Windows Mixed Reality begins October 17 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Standard Edition – This edition features the full version of the game running at a silky smooth 60 frames per second. Players can collect over 700 Forzavista™ cars including the largest assortment of Ferraris, Porsches, and Lamborghinis in any racing game. With over 30 world-famous environments and tracks featuring dynamic weather and race conditions that change every time you return to the track, no two races are the same. Deluxe Edition – Deluxe Edition includes the full version of the game, VIP membership ($20 value), and both the Hoonigan and Fate of the Furious car packs. Ultimate Edition – This edition is for the Forza fan wanting it all. In addition to the content in the Deluxe Edition, Ultimate Edition owners will have access to the Forza Motorsport 7 Car Pass ($30 value). And with Xbox One X coming Nov. 7 even more players will get to experience gorgeous graphics in native 4K, at 60fps and HDR. If you haven’t experienced Forza Motorsport 7 yet, check it out now by downloading the free demo from the Windows Store here. See you on the track! The post Forza Motorsport 7 now available worldwide on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

With the continued advancement of music streaming today, all the world’s music has become easily accessible across a variety of devices, unlocking new ways to discover and experience music. As we continue to listen to what our customers want in their music experience we know that access to the best streaming service, the largest catalog of music, and a variety of subscriptions is top of the list. Which is why we’re excited to announce that we’re expanding our partnership with Spotify to bring the world’s largest music streaming service to our Groove Music Pass customers. Beginning this week*, Groove Music Pass customers can easily move all their curated playlists and collections directly into Spotify. Plus, you may be eligible for a 60-day free trial of Spotify Premium.** https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/ae6be41c20f4535651410cb90025e3af.png We will continue to invest in and update the Groove Music app on all Windows devices to support playback and management of owned music, but after December 31, 2017, the Groove Music app will no longer offer the option to stream, purchase, and download music. Transition your music with just a few clicks Beginning this week for Windows Insiders and rolling out broadly next week**, Groove Music Pass subscribers will be able to easily transition existing music collections and playlists to Spotify with a few clicks. Here’s how: 1. Launch the latest Groove app: Log into the latest Groove app version from the Windows Store or Xbox One. Once you’re signed into your account, you’ll see a pop-up window from Spotify with instructions on how to login or create a Spotify account. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/a614739c52ca23d77a53a0e3821624e8.jpg 2. Log in to Spotify: If you have an existing Spotify account, you’ll be prompted to input your username and password. If you’re new to Spotify, and on your PC, you’ll be asked a few basic questions to help you create an account, starting with a username. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/166efa9a7d78b9144fef9033d352eca2.jpg 3. Move your music: After signing into your Spotify account, we’ll move your music collection and playlists from Groove Music to Spotify. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/bffe91f788ecc9ee42fb051524a30e5c.jpg 4. Play music in Spotify: The process of moving your music to your Spotify account will take a few minutes. After completing step three, you’ll be able to listen to your music library in the Spotify app! https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/fa3b3021092d3727cf972ae507f999c9.jpg Spotify is the world’s largest music streaming service With Spotify on Windows, music fans will enjoy an incredible music streaming experience with a catalog of more than 30 million songs, popular playlists like Today’s Top Hits, RapCaviar, and Rock. This, plus on-demand access across all your devices (PCs, mobile phones, tablets, home entertainment systems, cars, gaming consoles, including the recently launched Spotify on Xbox One, and more). Whether you prefer to curate your own playlists or seek inspiration from others, Spotify’s extensive music library offers everything from the classics to classical, pop to hip hop, jazz, country, and the list goes on! Spotify also offers music fans a personalized music experience with playlists like Discover Weekly and Release Radar, so you can always hear your next favorite song. Exploring the music collection is as simple as searching keywords, browsing playlists, or discovering new music through tunes picked just for your taste. More partner music experiences to choose from The Windows Store offers a variety of music services in addition to Spotify, allowing customers to stream or download their favorite tunes wherever they are. Visit the Windows Store for a complete list of music services available. Our partners are at the center of delivering great experiences on Windows and enabling them to shine on our platform is a top priority. By collaborating closely with industry leaders like Spotify, we can deliver the music customers want and focus on new and innovative ways to experience music. Thanks to our community for your support on this journey. Feel free to check out the FAQ. *An update to the Groove Music app including the ability to move music to Spotify, will be available for Windows Insiders beginning this week. The Groove Music app update for Windows 10 and Xbox One devices will roll out broadly the week of October 9, 2017 and will enable Groove Music Pass customers to move existing music collections and playlists to Spotify. Groove Music Pass content will be available to move to Spotify until at least January 31, 2018. **To find out whether you may be eligible for a 60-day free trial of Spotify Premium, check out our FAQ. The post Microsoft to bring Spotify to Groove Music Pass customers appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

The Minecraft Team recently released the Better Together Update, designed to unify the console, mobile and Windows 10 PC versions of the game under one single Minecraft, which includes cross-platform play, infinite worlds, the community Marketplace and servers. And for Windows 10 PC players, integration with Paint 3D and Remix3D.com makes it easy to export and share 3D creations and inspire others. Today, we’re going to show you how to get started creating your very own 3D content in Windows! Start by opening a new creative world, or an existing creative world. If you are not using a creative world, you will need to enter creative mode by opening the in-game menu, enabling cheats, and changing your Personal game mode to “Creative”. This will allow you to use cheats, which are needed to enable the new Structure Block in-game. You will also need to change the Trust Player Permissions dropdown to “Operator”. This will allow you to use cheats, which are needed to enable the new Structure Block in-game. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/4a0987492596ff11564e14784ae624e1.png Build the object you’d like to export from Minecraft https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/dbfd75b40fade9f851f524e6591f8da0.png Give your in-game player a Structure Block Now you will need to give your in-game player a Structure Block by pressing “/” and typing the following command: “/give @p structure_block” without the quotation marks. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/89889d347d5aabc335731a60504d769b.png Now place the Structure Block on the ground near the creation you would like to export by holding the Structure Block in your characters hand, and right-clicking on the ground near your creation. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/32d53bfed08ab632ec3a5cc288c7653e.png Right-click on the Structure Block, and fill in the bounding coordinates for your creation. You will need to fill in the X, Y, and Z coordinates for both the “Size” and “Offset”. Then enter a name for your creation, and select “3D Export”. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/b18b4b008f1b2c44f8a81d2eef014002.png Now select “Export,” and to export your structure to Remix3D! This will also prompt you to save the model locally in File Explorer. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/50c8fd7d46e06b448cceb86b12ce8327.png Add a description and tags to your 3D model to classify your content on Remix3D. Once finished, select “Upload” and then “Visit Model” to go directly to our community and see our village created in Minecraft, after it has been uploaded to Remix3D.com! https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/cccc97d287b5c63c7dcc8837fcf4ab16.png Share your creations to social media directly from Remix3D and inspire your friends! Check out your creation on Remix3D.com and select your social media of choice to share your creation with friends. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/495385bc443d049e11b02474cc002bd3.png In case you missed it, here’s last week’s Windows 10 Tip: We hope this has inspired you to start creating in 3D! The post Windows 10 Tip: Export your Minecraft creations to Remix3D.com appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/a9deaf24200bef74e4ea782c620f0d4f.png You can get the all-cartoon Magical Wondergame, on Xbox One and Windows 10 as an Xbox Play Anywhere title (buy once to play on both console and PC)! We are a mixed bag of emotions to be able to bring you something we only dreamt of creating since we were kids. Get Cuphead on Windows 10 Cuphead is a side-scrolling action platformer with a heavy focus on boss battles. Traverse the interactive overworlds to help Cuphead and Mugman repay their debt to the devil on a bet they shouldn’t have made. This game was hand crafted using painstaking methods straight from the golden age of animation to capture the aesthetic of classic Disney and Fleischer Studios cartoons. You can read more over at Xbox Wire. Above all, we hope you simply have fun with Cuphead! The post Cuphead available today for Windows 10 and Xbox One appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/5394ed6cb1a78a643be29a2e7d35d535.jpg In addition to early access to Forza Motorsport 7, Ultimate Edition owners receive the Forza Motorsport 7 Car Pass, VIP membership and cars, and both the Hoonigan and Fate of the Furious car packs. Download the free Xbox One demos from the Windows Store! In Forza Motorsport 7, players on the Xbox One family of devices will experience racing at silky smooth 60 frames per second, HDR (Xbox One S and Windows 10 PCs), and 4K on Windows 10 PCs while collecting over 700 Forzavista™ cars, including the largest assortment of Ferraris, Porsches, and Lamborghinis in any racing game. With over 30 world-famous environments and tracks featuring dynamic weather and race conditions that change every time you return to the track; no two races are the same. And with Xbox One X coming Nov. 7, even more players will experience gorgeous graphics in native 4K, at 60fps and HDR, too. In celebration of the game’s launch, on Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. PDT, Tanner Foust – professional driver whose awards include four X Games gold medals, three Global Rallycross championships and two Formula Drift national championships – will go head-to-head with 2017 Indy Car Season Champion Josef Newgarden in the all-new Forza Motorsport 7 on Xbox Live Sessions, an interactive livestream hosted on the Mixer Xbox Channel. For even more details on the livestream, check out our Xbox Wire post from earlier this week. Download the free Xbox One demos from the Windows Store here. See you on the track! The post Play Forza Motorsport 7 four days early with today’s release of the Ultimate Edition appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

This week was testament to the transformative power of technology, both collectively and individually — from the thousands of business leaders gathered at Microsoft’s annual IT conference to a Philippine teenager whose blindness isn’t stopping her from pursuing a dream of creating her own software. A leader in digital transformation, Microsoft is launching a group that will help nonprofits move to the cloud. It is part of a new coalition focused on preparing U.S. workers for the digital economy. Microsoft is also partnering with two other companies to build the world’s first gas-powered data center. Join us for a run through the week’s news. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/803336ea6d21c989dadf125f4faea85f.png Microsoft held its annual IT event, Microsoft Ignite, in Orlando, Florida this week, welcoming more than 25,000 business customers. During the six-day event, the company showcased how it is helping customers transform their operations by integrating cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and mixed reality across products and applications. The conference, which wraps up today, included the announcement of a new programming language optimized for scalable quantum computers, as well as an expansion of Microsoft 365 with solutions to empower firstline workers and education customers. There was also news about new AI solutions for Dynamics 365 and additional capabilities for Microsoft Azure. Addressing the audience at Ignite, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said technology is profoundly impacting sectors ranging from agriculture to medicine. “There isn’t a single industry that isn’t being transformed,” he said. “We collectively have the opportunity to lead in this transformation.” https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/4eef6bab816ca6e06aa6f4a9b3e46234.png Nadella’s new book, “Hit Refresh,” was released globally this week. Nadella, who took over as Microsoft’s CEO in early 2014, describes “Hit Refresh” as an exploration of “the renaissance of a storied company and the implications of the coming wave of technology — artificial intelligence, mixed reality and quantum computing — which will soon disrupt the status quo impacting our lives, communities and economies.” In writing the book, Nadella says, he set out to tell a story about “Microsoft’s quest to rediscover its soul and imagine a better future for everyone.” Nadella is donating all proceeds from the book to Microsoft Philanthropies. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/f9724ce98741277dc79fef25048b4761.jpg In a neighborhood near downtown Seattle, Microsoft and two other companies are quietly working to reinvent the data center. Microsoft, McKinstry and Cummins recently launched the Advanced Energy Lab, the world’s first gas-powered data center. The pilot facility has 20 racks of servers that are directly connected to natural gas pipes and fully powered by integrated fuel cells instead of traditional electrical gear. That radically simplifies the process of powering servers and could almost double the energy efficiency of data centers — all while reducing costs and improving reliability. “Right now, data centers are powered by the electrical grid, which flows from a power plant, through multiple substations and transmission lines, and then must be converted into the right voltage for a data center before we can use it,” write Christian Belady and Sean James, general manager and principal, respectively, for Microsoft Cloud Infrastructure and Operations. “With fuel cells powered directly from the natural gas line, we cut out all those steps, and remove the energy losses that occur through this long transmission process.” https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/c7a2d9656d4c5b20ba16967c7505c6a9.jpg Early last year, Microsoft Philanthropies committed to donating $1 billion in cloud computing resources for nonprofit organizations. On Monday, the company furthered that promise with the announcement of a new Technology for Social Impact group dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations worldwide move to the cloud and provide the support they need. The new group will bring value to the nonprofit community in various ways, including discounts on Surface Books and Surface Pros and access to Microsoft 365 for Nonprofits, a “complete, intelligent solution” that will empower organizations to be more creative and collaborate more easily. “This new team will build the kind of robust ecosystem that today works so well for businesses,” writes Justin Spelhaug, Microsoft Philanthropies general manager. “We will continue to donate and discount cloud services for nonprofits.” https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/40ca1d13a022b77e7c38a01412eb10d1.jpg As industries are being reshaped by technology, the needs of the U.S. labor market continue shifting. In an effort to help modernize the nation’s workforce, Microsoft and other leaders formed a new coalition called the Rework America Task Force. Announced by the Markle Foundation on Wednesday, the group will focus on labor market reform that includes training workers in essential 21st century skills. “Too many Americans are being left behind by the changes brought about by globalization and technology,” says Zoë Baird, Markle Foundation CEO and president. “Workers deserve good jobs, solid career paths, and income growth. “At the same time, American businesses deserve a skilled workforce, ready for the new, digital economy,” Baird says. “The system wasn’t going to change on its own, so we’ve brought together some of the boldest leaders of all perspectives to tackle this challenge head-on.” https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/e524ef3fc7ce4c32afb6c6ab17e3db1f.jpg Technology is a powerful force not just for large organizations, but also for individuals around the world. This week we met ninth-grader Crystal Jhoy Banzil, who lives in the Philippines. She is blind, but is confident that technology will help her forge an independent and productive life and career. Banzil wants to learn how to code and someday create her own software. She takes afterschool classes at ATRIEV — Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired — a Philippine nongovernmental organization that provides access to information technology for those without sight or who have low vision. Microsoft has supported ATRIEV since 2008 as part of its YouthSpark Coding for Accessibility program. Banzil and her fellow students are learning to become digitally literate. “I really want to improve and build on things I already know and the things I am about to learn,” she says. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/e267aca75d0a8f1ae6e703b1d9d86d1e.jpg We were also inspired by two other young people we met this week. Matt Salsamendi and James Boehm were just 13 and 15 when they launched their first startup, a company so successful that Salsamendi dropped out of high school to help build it. What began as a gaming-server hosting business grew into the duo’s multimillion-dollar company well before either had graduated high school. They pivoted their hosting service to live game streaming, named it Beam for its faster-than-light latency and went on to win TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2016, an annual technology startup contest. In August of 2016, Microsoft acquired Beam, now known as Mixer. The same month, the business partners moved across the country, bought a house in Redmond and started their lives as roommates and Microsoft employees. Today, Salsamendi and Boehm are 19 and 21 years old, respectively, and have joined up with Xbox on a shared vision: to build a vibrant and interactive gaming community. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/4fc6518413ea53ac22c008b33b8b2723.jpg Fall is a good time for settling in with a good movie or TV show, and we’ve got two vintage faves for you. “Star Trek: Discovery” is now available on CBS All Access to tell fans what happened in the years leading up to Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise. You won’t find it on broadcast TV, so download and try it free for a week. “Spider-Man: Homecoming” reboots the enduring franchise and is available from the Movies & TV section of the Windows store three weeks before it’s on Blu-ray. “Game of Thrones” fans can tune into the seventh season, as new alliances are forged and old enemies meet each other on the battlefield. If that isn’t enough action for you, check out “Awakening the Nightmare: Halo Wars 2,” now available on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. The expanded game features new campaign missions, two new multiplayer leaders, two new multiplayer maps and more. That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend, and come back next Friday for the next Weekend Reading! The post Igniting business transformation, reinventing the data center and helping nonprofits move to the cloud — Weekend Reading: Sept. 29 edition appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! In case you missed it, read all about the news from Ignite, and check out our Windows 10 Tip how you can work better together with Microsoft Excel. In case you missed it: Here’s what’s new in the Windows Store: GAMES Halo Wars 2: Complete Edition & Awakening the Nightmare Expansion The explosive, real-time strategy of Halo Wars 2: Complete Edition ($59.99) is here and includes Halo Wars 2, Halo Wars 2 Season Pass and the Awakening the Nightmare expansion released today (included with Complete Edition, or $19.99 Standalone), delivering new blur cinematics and five campaign missions, including fight against the Flood from the Banished’s perspective. Raiders of the Broken Planet (Free, with IAP options) https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/78d4611865054e6e2ee10d8730e98333.jpg Challenging missions and playing for good or evil are the key elements of Raiders of the Broken Planet. Whether you’re playing 4 vs 1 or solo, whether you’re competing for valuable rewards or not, the world of Raiders offers epic battles against human invaders and warriors who know no fear. MOVIES & TV Game of Thrones Season 7 https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/bb2fc81f305b3429a142617871c95873.jpg As new alliances are forged, and old enemies meet each other on the battlefield, the Night King and his terrifying army of the undead threaten all of Westeros from the North. Watch every thrilling episode of the penultimate season of Game of Thrones ($27.99 HD, $20.99 SD) available now in the Movies & TV section of the Windows Store. Star Trek: Discovery on CBS (Subscription Required, Free Trial Available) https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/5a9e336aba9d402695e86fb450a07acb.jpg Fifty years ago, Star Trek debuted on television and an entertainment genre was born. Now, Star Trek: Discovery premieres on CBS All Access (Subscription Required, Free Trial Available) to show us what happened in the years leading up to Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise. That means a new ship, new characters and new missions. Watch it today with the CBS app for Windows 10. Spider-Man: Homecoming ($19.99 HD, $14.99 SD) https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/6d207a93b3b98f54573875723671c876.jpg With guidance from his mentor Tony Stark, Spider-Man begins to navigate his new identity as a superhero in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Watch the hit film tonight, available in the Movies & TV section of the Windows Store three weeks before Blu-ray. Plus, for a limited time, purchase Spider-Man: Homecoming and receive a free add-on for the Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite game on Xbox One! For full details, visit: aka.ms/mmtv Have a great week! The post This Week on Windows: Hit Refresh, Ignite, Halo Wars 2, Excel and more appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17004 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring who have opted in to Skip Ahead only. Insiders who joined Skip Ahead will continue to receive builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch which has transitioned to RS4 which is the release that will come after the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (RS3). Because we are just beginning development for RS4, Insiders shouldn’t expect to see a lot of big changes or new features just yet. Our focus remains getting the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update ready for release! Insiders will notice that the build numbers have jumped ahead again but this time to 17xxx. This is what we do normally at the beginning of development of a new feature update for Windows 10. Also – you may notice that the Windows Insider Preview branding has disappeared from the build (shown via the desktop watermark at the lower right hand corner). This should be back with the next build. What’s new in Build 17004 Fluent Design: As we progress into the next feature update, you’ll begin to see more and more elements of Fluent Design light up. We love the enthusiasm we’ve seen for Fluent Design, and with today’s build you’ll notice that Reveal is now visible on Start in All apps. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/42b057e4b6d0806375d75167d378cd31.png Microsoft Edge Improvements: We fixed an issue where typing a web address into the address bar from the New Tab and Start Page and would sometimes clear the text and not result in any page navigation We fixed an issue resulting in keyboard layout changes potentially not being applied when using Microsoft Edge after setting focus to the address bar. We fixed an issue where the tab previews for PDFs were black with a white bar on each side. We fixed an issue where the first time you pressed Ctrl + F to open Search, the search box doesn’t get focus. We also fixed an issue where you might be unable to type in the address bar after clicking on CTRL+F text field. We fixed an issue where “Open with previous pages” wouldn’t recover tabs after dragging a tab between two Microsoft Edge windows. We fixed an issue resulting copy/paste and the print dialog not working for those using the updated Youtube.com website design. We fixed an issue where Ctrl + Click on a link in a PDF wouldn’t open the link in a new tab. We fixed an issue resulting in PDFs potentially rendering blank after panning down a few pages and back up. We fixed an issue from recent flights where Alt + D wouldn’t bring input focus to the address bar when certain keyboards were active. Input Improvements: We fixed an issue resulting in the enter key not working properly in Facebook Messenger. We fixed an issue resulting in the Delete key on the full touch keyboard layout unexpectedly inserting a period in UWP apps. We fixed an issue resulting in a stutter when selecting long strings in certain single line editable text boxes (for example when naming favorites in Microsoft Edge). General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC RS4 builds include many of the same fixes included in the latest RS3 builds. We are introducing a new color wheel to Color & High Contrast Settings to help you get a feel for the effect of each of the different available color filters. You may see a Microsoft Edge shortcut on your desktop after upgrading to this build. You can delete the shortcut, upgrade from this build and it will not return. We fixed an issue resulting in Mod Organizer no longer load mods into Skyrim in recent flights. We fixed an issue resulting in the last flighted build sometimes green screening with a SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION in win32kfull.sys. We fixed an issue resulting in the WIN+X menu sometimes unexpectedly missing the accelerator key underline hints. Windows Insider Program + LinkedIn = AWESOME Windows Insiders! You’re going to see us doing a lot more with our friends in LinkedIn this year in order to provide YOU the best possible career and learning opportunities as part of our program. This week at Ignite, the LinkedIn folks are giving away 6 free courses on Deploying, Administering and Troubleshooting Office 365 that you might be interested in. Since we know many of you are following along on our MS Ignite adventures, we thought we’d share that info with you too. If you’d like to try these, click here! No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17004 for PC (Skip Ahead) appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16299 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring only (not Skip Ahead). As we mentioned previously, we are now at the point of the development cycle for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update where our focus is now on stabilization for release to the world. This means that we are releasing new builds to Insiders more quickly and that these builds will include mostly bug fixes. You’ll notice that this build continues to include a bunch of good bug fixes Insiders will enjoy. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed an issue some Insiders were experiencing where after upgrading to recent flights their optical drive wouldn’t be listed under This PC. We fixed an issue where Microsoft Edge might crash when scrolling embedded PDFs. We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing 0x80070005 when trying to upgrade to the last few flights. We fixed an issue where using the Automatic File Download notification to block an app from downloading files wasn’t working for UWP apps. We fixed an issue resulting in Windows Defender potentially downloading files selected to be online-only after using the file picker dialog and viewing their thumbnails. Team Updates It’s an incredibly exciting week for us. For the FIRST TIME EVER, the entire Windows Insider Team is at a conference to meet all of you. We are all at Ignite in Orlando this week. It’s been such an honor and a privilege to have gotten a chance to meet you all online all these years and this week it’s been simply magical to meet face-to-face. SO MANY of you have come by our booth, our round-table and our sessions to say hi and to talk to us about the program. You have given us hundreds of new ideas of things we want to do with you—and it’s only Tuesday! We’ll have a full trip report article on our website soon. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/52e475ce09671cb0ab62c71ec342530e.jpg This morning, we had a really fun 300-level session where all of us got on stage and had a chance to engage in conversation with you. Thank you for everything you do—even getting on planes to come see us. We love you. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16299 for PC appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

The hotly anticipated arrival of Halo Wars 2’s new expansion is finally here and with it, a new opportunity to take one of humanity’s oldest adversaries: The Flood. Awakening the Nightmare is a brand-new full expansion for Halo Wars 2, featuring new campaign missions played from a Banished perspective, two new multiplayer leaders, two new multiplayer maps, and Terminus Firefight – a unique new cooperative mode where players build both bases and armies to defend and survive against an onslaught of enemy forces. With the release of the new expansion and several months of updates to Halo Wars 2 since launch, the Ultimate Edition of the game will be replaced with Halo Wars 2: Complete Edition. The Complete Edition includes the base game, all Season Pass content and the Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare expansion, making this a great package for anyone who is looking to jump into the Halo Wars 2 experience. Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare is available now for $19.99 USD exclusively on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC. Read more over at Xbox Wire! The post Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare now available on Windows 10 PC and Xbox One appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

It took more than five months to lay Marea, the 4,000-mile-long cable between North America and Spain unveiled Friday, a “daunting feat today, but downright unthinkable 150 years ago,” writes Brad Smith, Microsoft president, and Carol Ann Browne, Microsoft director of executive communications, in a new post in the “Today in Technology” series on LinkedIn. In the 1850s, when American financier Cyrus Field set out to connect the New World with the old via an undersea wire, “news stories at the time deemed his ambitious attempts ‘only one degree, in the scale of absurdity, below that of raising a ladder to the moon,’” Smith and Browne write. But that ladder was raised. On Aug. 16, 1858, a telegraphic line of seven copper wires weighing one ton per nautical mile was successfully laid between the west coast of Ireland and Newfoundland, they write. “It was a huge event for people on both sides of the Atlantic. The cable officially opened when Queen Victoria sent U.S. President James Buchanan a message in Morse code ‘fervently hoping that the electric cable, which now connects Great Britain with the United States, will prove an additional link between the two places whose friendship is founded upon their common interests and reciprocal esteem.’” The cables were hailed as the “eighth wonder of the world” and “created a network of almost instantaneous communications and proved to be an early catalyst of globalization,” Smith and Browne write. “News that previously took weeks or months to reach its destination could be relayed within hours.” By the early 20th century, much of the world was connected by a network of cables. Today, more than 99 percent of international communications is routed through fiber optic cables, with much of it at the bottom of the world’s oceans, which is why Marea’s added subsea cable capacity across the Atlantic comes at a critical time, Smith and Browne write. “Submarine cables already carry 55 percent more data across the Atlantic than trans-Pacific routes and 40 percent more data than between the U.S. and Latin America. Without question the demand for even more data flows across the Atlantic will keep growing,” they write. Read the full post on LinkedIn. The post Another ‘ladder to the moon’ is raised from under the sea with Marea unveiling appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

Did you know Microsoft Excel can now help you work together better than ever before? Excel recently got an update with more ways to collaborate with other people, to make group projects for school or co-authoring reports in the office even easier. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/8fbed05cb77e365c71c2681327d3290f.gif If you’re working on a spreadsheet, you can now see where others are editing in the same workbook. Simply click on one of the profiles above the tool bar to see that person’s latest changes in real time! In case you missed it, check out our tips for using Word, PowerPoint and OneNote: Have a great week! The post Windows 10 Tip: Work better together with Microsoft Excel appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

It’s fantastic to be in Orlando at Microsoft Ignite and Microsoft Envision, with more than 25,000 customers and partners from around the world. The technologies we announced today give every organization new ways to grow their business, now and into the future. There is a lot to see, hear and experience at Microsoft Ignite, but here is my rundown of the top five announcements we made: Not-so-secret-ingredients: During his keynote, Satya showed how Microsoft is infusing AI and Mixed Reality into our products to help customers be the disruptors, not the disrupted. Just ask Ford or HP. All workers welcome: With Microsoft 365 for firstline workers and students, we’ve expanded our effort to change the culture of work. #WorkSmartTogether Bridge to the cloud: Azure Stack is now available through Dell EMC, HPE and Lenovo for ready-made hybrid cloud. Oh, and bonus, we’re helping customers save some serious cabbage with Azure Cost Management services by Cloudyn. Finding insights in petabytes: The new release of the world’s most popular database, SQL Server 2017, and enhancements to Azure Machine Learning will foster a new generation of intelligent apps and AI models. Quantum quest: We’ve been working on quantum computing for 12 years. Now we’re giving developers a new programming language and tools to ask the big questions and get even bigger answers, from a billion parallel universes. And while quantum theory and computing are based on imaginary numbers, there is nothing imaginary about all the advancements coming out of Microsoft Ignite. Go to microsoft.com/ignite to learn more. The post Reality meets imagination at Microsoft Ignite appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

We’re at Microsoft Ignite in Orlando, Fla., today with more than 25,000 business customers and IT leaders from around the world. We’ve shared news spanning Microsoft’s commercial businesses – Office 365, Windows 10, Enterprise Security + Mobility and much more – with a focus on how the company is empowering people and organizations to succeed in a rapidly evolving workplace and innovate for the future. Check out more details below on how Microsoft 365 is enabling a modern workplace and empowering all workers, students, and educators with technology to be more creative, productive and secure. Advancing intelligence, management and security to empower the Modern Workplace All Workers Welcome with Microsoft 365 Announcing Microsoft 365 Education, a single, affordable technology solution built for education https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/7e10df137c64e34c01c6398b4d29dbd6.jpg Maximizing IT’s Impact with Microsoft 365 Powered Devices Announcing Windows 10 S Devices for Firstline Workers https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/4d09c7d8a24aed63ae20793c2d51c640.jpg Stepping Up Protection with Intelligent Security https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/6f34e0d6ee09d09bd326c7a0c53342b2.jpg New Microsoft 365 Features to Accelerate GDPR Compliance Windows resources to help support your GDPR compliance https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/4aa63c2991609936d6d37434a2eb8d54.jpg The post Check out all the Microsoft 365 news shared at Ignite appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

With exactly eight months to go until the deadline, any organization that wants to do business with European Union (EU) residents will need to ensure compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). According to a recent report by Spiceworks, only 25 percent of organizations are prepared for this landmark regulatory requirement. At Microsoft, we are actively helping accelerate our customers’ compliance journey. Earlier this year, Brendon Lynch, our Chief Privacy Officer, announced our commitment to the principles behind GDPR and to helping organizations successfully comply with this new regulation. Today, we are sharing two new Windows resources, Accelerate GDPR compliance with Windows 10 and Accelerate GDPR compliance with Windows Server 2016 white papers, that will help you plan and prepare for the GDPR deadline. These important resources detail the security features and capabilities built into Windows that can help you comply with GDPR and implement the technical and organizational security measures to help protect personal data. For Windows 10 these compliance capabilities include: Threat Protection: Pre-breach Threat Resistance Threat Protection: Post-breach Detection and Response Identity Protection Information Protection Additional capabilities for Windows Server include: Credential and administrator privilege protections Secure the operating system to run your apps and infrastructure Secure virtualization Implementing the appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect personal data will take time, changes in process, expertise and training for your organization to comply with GPDR. For those just getting started, we recommended you begin your journey to GDPR compliance by focusing on four key steps: https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/9b0a5b442ad9acbe0d31493f61e4b29b.jpg While these requirements may seem daunting, Windows can help you effectively and efficiently address many of the GDPR requirements. Threat, identity & information protection As Brad Smith noted this summer, there is no privacy without security. That’s why we’ve always focused on security technologies and privacy features in our Windows operating system (OS) to help safeguard your information. With Windows 10, your ability to protect, detect and defend against the types of attacks that can lead to data breaches is greatly improved. Given the stringent requirements around breach notification within the GDPR, ensuring that your desktop and laptop systems are well defended will lower the risks you face that could result in costly breach analysis and notification. A key provision within the GDPR is data protection by design and by default. Helping with your ability to meet this provision are features within Windows 10 such as BitLocker Device Encryption. BitLocker uses the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) technology, which provides hardware-based, security-related functions. This crypto-processor chip includes multiple physical security mechanisms to make it tamper resistant, and malicious software is unable to tamper with the security functions of the TPM. We encourage you to learn more about security technologies in the Accelerate GDPR compliance with Windows 10 white paper. Identity protection, credential management & infrastructure security Security breaches can have profound consequences for your organization. Windows Server 2016 has built-in risk mitigation capabilities to help implement technical and organizational security measures to protect personal data. These include a secure operating system to run your apps and infrastructure, anti-malware technologies that protect your environment from threats and exploits, and identity protection and credential management solutions that enable you to move from passwords to more secure forms of authentication. These are important elements of our defense-in-depth strategy that, combined with a layer of information protection, is built into hardware and virtual systems. The GDPR requires you to implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect personal data and processing systems. In the context of the GDPR, your physical and virtual server environments are potentially processing personal and sensitive data. Processing can mean any operation or set of operations, such as data collection, storage, and retrieval. The ability to protect personal and sensitive data, that may be stored or accessed through desktops or laptops, will be further enhanced by adopting advanced authentication capabilities and access management. As you work to comply with the GDPR, understanding the role of your physical and virtual servers in creating, accessing, processing, storing and managing data that may qualify as personal and potentially sensitive data under the GDPR is important. Windows Server provides capabilities that will help you comply with the GDPR requirements to implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to protect personal data. Additional details can be found in the Accelerate GDPR compliance with Windows Server 2016 white paper. Get started today Together with Microsoft’s comprehensive Cloud portfolio and the Microsoft 365 solutions announced today, these new Windows resources can help you make meaningful progress in preparation for these regulations. I encourage you to check them out to see how Windows can help simplify your GDPR journey. In the coming months, we will continue to share how Windows is getting ready for GDPR and how using Windows can help you with your compliance journey. We also want to hear from you, so please also continue sharing your feedback and privacy questions. – Marisa The post Windows resources to help support your GDPR compliance appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16296 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring only (not Skip Ahead). IMPORTANT NOTE: You will be unable to install *new*/additional language packs on this build. Pre-existing language packs (language packs you’ve installed previously) will carry over and work just fine. As we mentioned previously, we are now at the point of the development cycle for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update where our focus is now on stabilization for release to the world. This means that we are releasing new builds to Insiders more quickly and that these builds will include mostly bug fixes. You’ll notice that this build continues to include a bunch of good bug fixes Insiders will enjoy. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed an issue where Hyper-V couldn’t create a VM on 3rd party network storage. We fixed an issue where for the first few minutes after clean installing a non-English build many inbox app names might unexpectedly appear with English app names. We fixed an issue where gaming apps using WebView with heavy use of HTML canvas might have unexpectedly had very low FPS in recent flights. Team Updates Just a reminder that next week, our entire team and a few of our Community Champs is going to be at Microsoft Ignite in Orlando. If you’re going to be at Ignite, please come and visit us at the Windows Insider Program booth as well as our two sessions WIP 100 and WIP 300 for some 1:1 time with us. We’re SO looking forward to meeting you! We’re also doing a Insider Pulse survey every week (usually on Fridays) where you can tell us how we’re doing! Please do these surveys! Weekly Insider Pulse #3 – Tell us how we're doing! https://t.co/sdiEo1uDo2 pic.twitter.com/A7HWD5RGVP — Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) September 22, 2017 No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16296 for PC appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Calling all Real Time Strategy (RTS) fans! You might remember that last month, we announced that Rise of Nations: Extended Edition would be arriving to the Windows Store, for a special price and with features like cross-network play with Steam! That day has come—Rise of Nations: Extended Edition is now available for purchase here. For a limited time, Rise of Nations: Extended Edition will be available in the Windows Store for a promotional price of only $4.99 USD. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/24b398f717ff76cec359ea55852367fd.jpg As a reminder, Rise of Nations: Extended Edition for Windows 10 includes both the original Rise of Nations game as well as the PC Game of the Year expansion, Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots. Read more about today’s news over at Xbox Wire! The post Rise of Nations: Extended Edition out now in the Windows Store appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Microsoft was full of interesting news this week, from an innovative, transatlantic project to a Microsoft HoloLens partnership that powers creativity to Xbox and “Minecraft” announcements that make games more fun. Here’s a look. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/8aa45306891740738e1b065354ceae2b.jpg A worker adjusts the Marea cable on a beach in Spain. Image by RUN Studios. Microsoft, Facebook and telecommunications infrastructure company Telxius have completed the highest-capacity subsea cable to cross the Atlantic. Called Marea (Spanish for “tide”), the 4,000-mile cable connects from Virginia to Spain, provides up to 160 terabits per second and will make transatlantic connections more resilient. Dependable infrastructure is crucial for internet and cloud services, but it was the 2012 devastation of Hurricane Sandy, which shut down connectivity services on the East Coast for days, that drove home the need for Marea. The cable is expected to become operational in early 2018. “Everyone expects that whenever they turn on their computer or their tablet or their phone, they’re going to work,” says Frank Rey, director of global network strategy for Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure and Operations division. “That’s what this cable is going to help enable.” Ford announced that it’s expanding its use of Microsoft HoloLens in designing vehicles, after successfully piloting the technology to improve creativity, collaboration and time to market. The company’s design process has traditionally involved expensive, time-consuming clay models. But HoloLens enables Ford designers to blend 3D holograms with the models and physical production vehicles for easier creativity and faster iterations. In gaming news, pre-orders for the new Xbox One X console began this week at local retailers around the world, including Microsoft Store and Microsoft.com. More than 130 games, including “Far Cry 5” and “L.A. Noire,” will be enhanced for Xbox One X with higher resolutions and faster framerates to take advantage of the powerful console. The week’s other big gaming news was the arrival of Better Together, “Minecraft’s” biggest update ever. The update unites players on console, mobile, VR and Windows 10 versions into one Bedrock family. That means it’s time to say goodbye to “Minecraft: Xbox One Edition” and “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition” and hello to a universal “Minecraft.” When it comes to security, staying ahead of threats is critical. That’s why Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is integrating automated investigation and remediation capabilities from Hexadite, which Microsoft recently acquired. “This takes enterprise security to a new level, enabling our customers to move faster from device, data and insight to action against modern-day threats,” writes Rob Lefferts, partner director, Windows & Devices Group, Security & Enterprise. Ever wonder how AI and the cloud help computers learn to read and comprehend natural language? The latest “Explanimators” episode from Microsoft Story Labs explores the world of machine reading – and how it will someday help doctors, lawyers and anyone who needs high-speed access to written, accumulated human knowledge. That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading and see you next week! The post Cabling across the Atlantic, designing cars with Microsoft HoloLens and pre-ordering Xbox One X – Weekend Reading: Sept. 22 edition appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

When it comes to computing, speed matters. So does resiliency. Today, we’re proud to announce the completion of the Marea subsea cable, which is unmatched in its capabilities. Spanish for tide, Marea is a joint project between Microsoft, Facebook and global telecommunication infrastructure company Telxius, that helps to upgrade the global internet infrastructure to better meet the rapidly growing demand for internet and cloud services in our increasingly connected world. Lying more than 17,000 feet below the ocean’s surface, Marea is the most technologically advanced subsea cable to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and the first cable to connect Virginia and Spain, landing in Virginia Beach and Bilbao. The value of partnering for success Recognizing a need for greater resiliency for networks across the Atlantic, Microsoft, Facebook and Telxius pursued the creation of Marea along a route south of existing transatlantic cable systems. Being physically separate from the other cables helps ensure more resilient and reliable connections for customers in the United States, Europe and beyond. The Marea cable’s new “open” design allows it to evolve with technology, ensuring the highest performance for users now and well into the future, even as the global population of internet users grows. And make no mistake, the demand is growing. Just think of the many high-bandwidth applications and content you use today such as Skype and Facebook Live, and the volume of streaming videos, movies and music consumed daily. This ability to interoperate with many different kinds of networking equipment brings significant benefits including lower costs and easier equipment upgrades, leading to faster growth in bandwidth rates. Completed in less than two years — nearly three times faster than is typical — Marea is a powerful example of the important role the private sector has to play in connecting the world. It also set a new standard for subsea cables because it is designed to meet today’s demand and evolve with the progress of tomorrow, allowing companies offering digital services to be better equipped to handle cross-border internet traffic, which is expected to increase eightfold by 2025. Rapid growth demands strong investment At more than 4,000 miles (6,600 kilometers) long and almost 10.25 million pounds (4.65 million kilograms) — or about the weight of 34 blue whales — the Marea cable is a feat of engineering, collaboration and innovation. The cable can transmit up to 160 terabits of data per second. That’s more than 16 million times faster than the average home internet connection, making it capable of streaming 71 million high-definition videos simultaneously. In a time when global economies are deepening their reliance on cloud technologies, and both private and public sectors are embracing the opportunities for growth and improvement through digital transformation, we’re energized by the impact the Marea subsea cable will have on the advancement of cloud computing and digital services. And we look forward to furthering our respective investments in building high-tech infrastructure to better connect our world, foster economic growth and advance technological capabilities. Learn more about the Marea project We’re excited to share this technological feat and take some time upon the completion to explore what the cable means for connecting businesses in the U.S. and Europe, as well as the next billion internet users in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. We will livestream the celebration from Williamsburg, Virginia, at 9:30 a.m. ET Friday (recorded playback will be available). Microsoft and our partners will be joined onstage by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. We hope you’ll join us online as well to explore our photos, videos and interactive multimedia features about the construction of the Marea subsea cable. Enabling the Azure cloud platform Marea will enhance the Microsoft Cloud, which is supported by one of the largest multi-terabit networks on the planet, through additional capacity and resiliency. As part of Microsoft’s mission to enable every person and organization to achieve more, we continue to grow Microsoft Cloud offerings and build out the unprecedented level of global infrastructure required to enable ever-faster and even more resilient connections. That’s why today we’re also announcing Azure Availability Zones, our latest infrastructure service, which increases Azure’s resiliency capabilities, broadens customer options for business continuity and enables customers to deliver highly available applications and cloud services around the world. Learn more on the Microsoft Azure Blog and the Azure site. Through our global infrastructure, our Azure cloud platform offers the scale needed to bring applications closer to users and customers around the world. The post Celebrating the completion of the most advanced subsea cable across the Atlantic appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/58b1b0c66f325ec7eefe84f300f38b0f.jpg Fans celebrate the grand opening of the flagship Microsoft Store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Today, we are pleased to announce plans to open a flagship store in London on Regent Street at Oxford Circus. This is one of the world’s most exciting shopping destinations and represents another step in our journey to meet our customers. The United Kingdom is home to some of our most passionate fans. We already enjoy connecting through our partners and in our digital stores, and look forward to bringing a physical store to the region as another great choice for customers to experience the best technology from Microsoft. Investing in more solutions for customers We are proud to see the impact that our physical stores have on the communities where we operate, from greater confidence in customers who visit in person and then shop online, to our partner ecosystem. Our customer experience in our physical stores generates confidence and trust in our products and services. Cindy Rose, head of Microsoft in the U.K. and our partner throughout the location selection process, says: “We couldn’t be happier to be opening a flagship store in the heart of central London at Oxford Circus, where two of the world’s most iconic shopping streets meet. We know our customers and fans, whether they are from London, the broader U.K. or just visiting, will love our bold plans for the space. This will be so much more than just a great place to experience all that is possible with Microsoft, but a real hub for the community where we’ll be bringing to life our passion for helping people explore their creativity through an ambitious program of workshops and training along with moments that work to unite the community.” Connecting one customer at a time Digital skills are critical in today’s world as the speed and pace of technological innovation accelerates. Microsoft Stores offer free workshops and digital training programs integrated into our daily store schedule so that students, entrepreneurs, educators, families and creators can succeed in the modern workplace. We regularly host opportunities for our customers to discover and learn through science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs, including YouthSpark camps where can learn about computer science, take Minecraft coding classes, leverage LinkedIn for business, and participate in Xbox game design sessions. Microsoft Store is a place to have fun! Our stores are hubs for local gaming communities, where fans gather to play their favorite games like “FIFA” or “Forza” during events or in one of the competitive tournaments in our Mixer NYC Studio. We are excited to extend similar experiences to our customers in London. Creating opportunity with the local community Our approach to retail is simple — a complete and quality experience for our customers to interact directly with Microsoft. We enter markets with the goal of strengthening the experience, creating more career opportunities, and contributing to the local community and entire region. We have seen this executed in our flagship locations in New York and Sydney — some of my favorite examples include seeing U.N. Youth Advocates gathered in our store to share their projects and ideas for empowering people in their own cities, towns and villages, or when students joined us from Regional New South Wales to participate in coding and Minecraft events. Our store stands for the best of Microsoft. We are excited to showcase gaming, mixed reality, AI (artificial intelligence), and all technology that empowers people to achieve more. Look for more details in the future! The post Flagship Microsoft Store planned for Regent Street in London appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog. Continue reading...

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/712ad4d29493da3d54c347796a2963f4.jpg With Windows 10, your pen or touch-enabled device arrives built-in with Windows Ink: the feature that helps you set your ideas in motion. You can easily capture your thoughts, and share and collaborate with classmates or co-workers using Windows Ink, whether you’re doodling with the sketchpad, drawing on a screen capture of your entire desktop, drawing in the Photos app, adding notes to your map, or writing and highlighting directly on webpages in Microsoft Edge. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/9a614006f9d54c94d54c4275e979fbb9.gif Add notes to your map in the Maps app Studies show that students who take handwritten notes instead of using a keyboard take fewer notes, but end up with a stronger understanding across the board; and, people who doodle while listening to a class, lecture or meeting can remember more than 20 percent more of what they were listening to later than the people who don’t. A great way to be more productive using Windows Ink is with Bamboo Ink from Wacom, a smart stylus seamlessly integrated for natural writing, notetaking and sketching experiences.* The pen is compatible with select Windows 10 PCs – you can find out if your PC is compatible by visiting this link. The Bamboo Ink pen has customizable buttons to allow you to personalize it and be more productive. Clicking the Bluetooth button once will open Windows Ink Workspace, your canvas for all the ink-powered features and apps on your PC. A double click will open Screen Sketch, where you can add notes to a screen capture of your desktop and share it easily. If you press and hold the Bluetooth button, you’ll open Sticky Notes, where you can take notes that become smart and active. Write an address and Maps will ready it for finding a route, jot down a few items and they’ll become an easy-to-manage checklist, or write down a flight number and click on the text when it turns blue to track a flight right in the Sticky Note.** You can customize these buttons at any time. The pen lets you write naturally with its thin-tip design for quick markup on the screen. It has three exchangeable fine tips (soft, medium, and firm) you can switch out to create the exact stylus experience you’re looking for. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/73805556161fa9d73316efac949f3aa4.gif Edit docs in Word With Windows 10, you can write a math problem on your screen in OneNote to get to the answer quickly, or see step-by-step instructions to help you learn how OneNote got the solution; draw with the built-in ruler in PowerPoint; or, edit docs in Word by using the pen to highlight words, strike through them and make them disappear, or circle text to select. https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/9e49d549ee5cb4d46124f373973b61e5.gif Built-in ruler in PowerPoint We’re excited to see partners like Wacom create devices that unlock Windows Ink in new ways. If you want to learn more about the pen, try it out in person through a product demonstration or purchase one for yourself, you can do so by visiting BestBuy.com, Best Buy U.S. stores, your local Microsoft Store or Microsoft.com. If you’re new to Windows Ink, check out our tips on getting started! *Touch-capable tablet or PC required. Pen accessory may be sold separately. Compatibility varies by device; visit wacom.com/comp for more info. **Cortana available in select markets; experience may vary by region and device. The post Unlock Windows Ink with the Bamboo Ink pen appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

We hope you enjoyed this week’s episode of This Week on Windows! In case you missed it, read all about the Better Together Update for Minecraft, and check out our Windows 10 Tips on how to make Start full screen and how to set up family features on your Windows 10 PC! In case you missed it: Here’s what’s new in the Windows Store this week: Forza Motorsport 7 Demo Experience the danger and beauty of competitive racing at the limit with Forza Motorsport 7, now available as an edge-of-your-seat free demo. Check out the difference that gorgeous graphics at 60fps and true 4K resolution in HDR make to your fun. And in the process, choose from more than 700 Forzavista™ cars to collect, including the largest assortment of Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis ever. Read more over at Xbox Wire! The Better Together Update for Minecraft is here Players using Xbox One, mobile, VR and Windows 10 versions of Minecraft are all one big, happy Bedrock Engine family with the release of the Better Together Update! Say goodbye to “Minecraft: Xbox One Edition” or “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition” and hello to a universal “Minecraft!” This update introduces cross-platform play, essentially creating a version of Minecraft that’s consistent no matter what device you’re playing on. For players using Windows 10 PC, we have integration with Paint 3D and Remix3D.com, making it easy to export and share your Minecraft creations with our 3D community at Remix3D.com. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/8a8c0c56423a5eaf86b908022c2d7154.jpg On the run from his old nemesis Captain Salazar and his crew of ghost pirates, Captain Jack Sparrow sets out in search of a legendary artifact which will give him total control over the seas. Watch Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales ($24.99 UHD, $19.99 HD) tonight, available two weeks before Blu-ray in the Movies & TV section of the Windows Store. Have a great weekend! The post This Week on Windows: Minecraft, Forza Motorsport 7 demo, Start screen tips appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

Hello Windows Insiders! Tonight we are rolling out Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16294 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring only (not Skip Ahead). This build might not be available for everyone as it rolls out so just be patient. As we mentioned previously, we are now at the point of the development cycle for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update where our focus is now on stabilization for release to the world. This means that we are releasing new builds to Insiders more quickly and that these builds will include mostly bug fixes. You’ll notice that this build continues to include a bunch of good bug fixes Insiders will enjoy. General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC This build has the fix for the bug that was causing some Surface Pro 3 devices to end up in a “unbootable” state where the Windows OS will not load and it appears to be stuck on a “spinning dots” screen. After installing this build, Surface Pro 3 devices should no longer get into this state. If you have a Surface Pro 3 in a bad state – follow the instructions on this forum post to get back up and running. We fixed an issue on Dutch builds where explorer could go into a crash loop if an app-requested downloads notification popped up from OneDrive. We fixed an issue where expand.exe couldn’t expand CABs that contained Japanese characters in the file name. We fixed a race condition that could result in window content being transparent (but showing the window frame) or stale after unlocking your desktop. We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders seeing error 0x800B010C when attempting to upgrade to the last few flights. No downtime for Hustle-As-A-Service, Dona <3 The post Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16294 for PC appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...

https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/c33eba8380eb49b85377b4a72ff19cf9.jpg What makes Windows 10 Creators Update the best version of Windows 10 ever? Quality. Our dedicated focus on customer obsession – listening and responding to user and partner feedback – are key to the quality improvements in Windows 10. The top areas we consistently hear about through our feedback channels are around power, performance, and reliability. These fundamentals are key elements that users look for in a device and value because they impact their everyday use, like longer battery life, faster web browsing, streaming videos longer and device stability. Knowing these elements are important to a great user experience, we’ve continued to invest in these key areas to deliver an even better user experience with the Creators Update. As a result, the Creators Update is the most performant and reliable version of Windows 10 ever! I’m excited to share a number of improvements in fundamentals that Windows 10 devices enjoy after updating to the Creators Update from the Anniversary Update. Improvements in quality for everyday tasks Battery life improvements With the Creators Update, we delivered battery life improvements – both big and small. I’d like to showcase a few of our efforts: Together with our device partners, we’re striving to make it so you’re able to get every ounce of battery life out of your PC. The new performance power slider feature lets you quickly trade performance of your device by switching to battery saver or best performance mode levels, allowing you to choose the power mode you want. For example, if you are playing a game, and want to max frames per second (FPS), or you are creating a 3D animation or video rendering and want max speed versus battery life – the slider is there to unleash the full power of your device. Device partners are beginning to enable the power slider on select new devices and current devices via an update. For example, when Surface Pro 4 users were recently updated to have the power slider, they saw an average uptick of over 5% battery life! Another way to get longer battery life is through operating system efficiencies. You can now stream movies online 2.5% longer and watch videos offline up to 5% longer with the Movies & TV app than in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Likewise, we know users spend a lot of time using their browser – surfing the web, watching movies and videos, or playing games online. I’m happy to report that the latest version of Microsoft Edge has brought a 17% improvement in battery life across every-day tasks like these! And compared to Windows 10 November Update the Mail app is now 40% more power efficient at syncing mail in the background – making sure you have more battery to spend on the things you love. These are just a few examples of efforts to reduce power consumption that impact your device’s battery life. Performance improvements When you’re ready to get down to work or play, you want your Windows 10 device to respond quickly. In the Creators Update, we’ve made starting up, and using your device, faster than the Anniversary Update in multiple ways: Booting up your device is now 13% faster, and logging in after boot is up to 18% faster. Unlocking your device with Windows Hello Facial recognition is up to 30% faster. Microsoft Edge is also up to 53% faster in the Creators Update thanks to efficiency improvements that make scrolling pages and loading pages faster, and website rendering and interaction more responsive. Two features used daily are the Start Menu and Windows Search, and we’ve improved both – the Start Menu opens faster, and we’ve optimized Windows Search performance. For devices on which multiple users log-in (e.g., classrooms) the first user log-in is up to 47% faster in the Creators Update. Reliability Like power and responsiveness, we know a reliable device is a must. A fundamental priority is that Windows devices be free from system issues and driver crashes. Given the diversity of the Windows 10 ecosystem – over 500 million active devices (from PCs to tablets to ATMs) running in 190 countries – key to this achievement is working with our partners. With well over 400 thousand ecosystem drivers on Windows 10, we work closely with device manufacturers to test and ensure the reliability of their device drivers. Month over month we strive for OS stability issues to trend to zero. With the Creators Update we’re making good on this goal: Among users who update to the Creators Update, we’ve seen an 18% reduction in users hitting certain system stability issues versus earlier versions of Windows 10. Our close collaboration with our ecosystem partners has resulted in a 39% total reduction in operating system and driver stability issues between the Anniversary Update and Creators Update. Reduced customer support volumes While we see our investment in the fundamentals and elsewhere reflected in our consumer and commercial customers adopting Windows 10, one of the best gauges of quality is how our customers perceive us. Our internal customer support teams are reporting significant reductions in call and online support request volumes since the Anniversary Update. During this time, we’ve seen a healthy decline in monthly support volumes, most notably with installation and troubleshooting update inquiries taking the biggest dip. Likewise, top OEM partners have reported reductions in OEM support calls over this same period. Improved quality as measured by customer support volume https://extremetechsupport.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/40b8322c4880d29642b3c7c9e232b45b.jpg While the number of support calls has diminished significantly, we’ve also expanded our feedback and communications channels. Through the Windows Insider Program, Feedback Hub app, Customer Service and Support, community forums and social media, listening to user feedback daily enables us to quickly identify, engage and respond to issues as they arise. Your feedback is our secret sauce! It enables us to make improvements across the fundamentals and other areas within our monthly updates. So please, keep the feedback coming using the Feedback Hub app! And of course, security While best in class security does not improve battery life or make your device faster, like reliability, security is top of mind for you and our partners. We are committed to providing the best-in-class security. In each new Windows feature update, we build the latest security technology deep into the operating system. In each new monthly quality update, we add another layer of security, one that tracks emerging and changing trends in malware and viruses. As always, being on the latest version of Windows 10 provides the most up-to-date security technology. To take advantage of all these improvements, and the new feature benefits Window 10 offers, update to the Creators Update today. Visit our Windows Security page to see which version your device is running and how to update. Once you start the update process you’ll be prompted to review your privacy settings first. Because we take your privacy seriously, starting next week, you will be prompted to review and confirm your privacy settings without delay. It will only take a few moments for what we believe provides you with the best balance between privacy, security, and control. Windows 10 Creators Update is the most performant and reliable version of Windows 10 ever! We are always improving Windows 10. By listening to user and partner feedback, we evolve Windows to make each quality update and each feature update better than the last. It also assures we continue to keep Windows 10 the most reliable, performant and secure version of Windows ever. The post Windows 10 Creators Update is the best version of Windows 10 ever appeared first on Windows Experience Blog. Continue reading...