Microsoft news recap: Xbox Series X Mini Fridges to be available to consumers, Microsoft Teams Bug Bounty Program launches, and more

Microsoft news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!

Microsoft Build scheduled for May 25 through 27, 2021

Microsoft’s annual developer conference, Build, has been announced for 2021, and will run from May 25 through May 27. The conference will be streamed online.

That moment you go to confirm the dates of #MSBuild and find this! Hey that is me!!! ? Can't wait! Let's do this!!! pic.twitter.com/bBdV9orRpz

— Donovan Brown #BlackLivesMatter (@DonovanBrown) April 1, 2021

Microsoft delays the “full” reopening of its Redmond campus to September 7

The full reopening of Microsoft’s Redmond campus has been delayed to September 7. Originally, a full reopening was planned for July 6, but this has now been pushed back by 2 months, with Microsoft saying it is to allow employees to “make summer plans”.

Microsoft will make Xbox Series X Mini fridges available for Xbox fans

Following the successful win of Twitter’s “Best of Tweets Brand Bracket” competition, Microsoft is coming through on its promise to offer Xbox Series X Mini fridges to consumers. It was close between Xbox and Skittles, with a 1% difference, but ultimately, Xbox came out on top.

Thanks to everyone who voted, this was down to the wire and thrilling to follow. Now that @Xbox won, we will move forward on our promise to make those Xbox Series X Mini Fridges. First one off the line will be filled with games & headed to our friends @Skittles of course! ???????? https://t.co/xeeN8yLGV8

— Aaron Greenberg ????????‍♂️????U (@aarongreenberg) April 2, 2021

Microsoft snags potential $21.88 billion U.S. Army contract for HoloLens headset production

A new $21.88 billion U.S. Army contract for the production of HoloLens headsets has been snagged by Microsoft, building on its pre-existing relationship with the U.S. Army.

This week in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams native notifications support is now rolling out on Windows 10

First announced back in August, Microsoft Teams has begun to roll out support for native notifications on Windows 10. Users will be able to choose between the existing notification style that is built into Teams, or to switch to the native notification system of their operating system, in this case Windows 10.

Microsoft Launches Teams Bug Bounty Program

Offering between $6,000 and $30,000 per security flaw, Microsoft Teams now has a Bug Bounty Program, aimed at encouraging white hat hackers to identify security flaws in Microsoft Teams and report them to Microsoft, to help bolster the security of its communication platform.

Microsoft Teams is adding Supervised private chats for educational institutions next month

Beginning to roll out in mid-April, Microsoft Teams is adding a new Supervised private chat feature for educational institutions. Supervised chats provides an alternative to the traditional 1:1 messaging system, allowing an educator to be present to monitor the chat between individuals, which is aimed at stopping inappropriate behaviour.

Microsoft Teams phones get new meeting stage, simplified sign-in experience, and more

A host of improvements have arrived for Microsoft Teams phones, including an improved sign-in experience, a new meeting experience, as well as an option to dock the call controls. The new sign-in experience in particular aims to simplify signing in, by allowing you to enter a code on another device, such as a computer or smartphone, in order to sign in.

That’s it for this week. We will be back next week with more Microsoft news.