Microsoft has finally launched its smallest, most portable and affordable Surface device yet – Surface Go – India.

While the company skipped the first two generations of Surface in India, Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4 were launched together in India in January 2016. The latest generation Surface Pro (2017) – at the time – which went on sale in the US in June last year was launched in India earlier this year.

In August, Microsoft announced the launch of the extended Surface family of devices in India – the Surface Book 2 and the Surface Laptop. Looks like Microsoft is now considering India as a definite market for Surface devices.

Surface Go Specifications

• Operating System: Windows 10 Home in S mode
• Display: 10-inch 1800 x 1200 | 217ppi | 3:2 aspect ratio | 10-point multi-touch | Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Processor: Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 615
• RAM: 4GB/8GB
• Storage: 64GB eMMC or 128GB SSD
• Ports: 1 x USB-C, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Surface Connect port, Surface Type Cover Port, MicroSDXC Card Reader
• Cameras: 5MP front camera | 8MP auto-focus rear camera
• Connectivity: Qualcomm Atheros (QCA61x4A) Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | Bluetooth 4.1
• Dimensions: 9.6″ x 6.9″ x .33″ (245mm x 175mm x 8.3mm)
• Weight: 1.15 lbs (0.52 kg) without keyboard/1.7lbs (0.77 kg) with keyboard

Surface Go is now available for pre-order in India exclusively with Flipkart starting from 12:01pm on December 15, 2018.

While the 4GB + 64GB variant is priced at ₹38,599, the 8GB + 128 GB variant is priced at ₹50,999. The black Surface Go Type Cover will retail at ₹8,699 and the colored Surface Go Signature Type Cover at ₹11,799.

Commercial customers can opt for Windows 10 Pro which brings essential business security features to protect devices and infrastructure from modern threats. Users can benefit from Windows Autopilot, whereby the Surface Go can be unboxed and configured from the cloud.

What are your thoughts on the Surface Go, and would you like to pick one up?

Perhaps, the fumbled release and subsequent PR nightmare of Windows 10 October 2018 Update has made the Windows team a bit gun shy about rolling out or amending seemingly frivolous features.

Regardless of the reasoning, the company appears set to scale back its People Bar feature in the next public Windows 10 update.

A relatively new Twitter reporter (@thebookisclosed) with an eye for code has been on a tear recently, unveiling recent Microsoft moves with a fair degree of accuracy, is now reporting that the company will be removing the feature over the next few Insider builds and ultimately drop support of it before the next public Windows 10 update.

In upcoming 19H1 Insider builds, the People Bar will show a deprecation notice. It's a shame to see something like this with rather interesting engineering behind it kick the bucket.

— Albacore (@thebookisclosed) December 13, 2018

At this moment, Microsoft has yet to comment on the Twitter post and most well-known reporters and observers have also remained relatively mum on the reporting.

However, the possible removal of the People Hub probably comes with little surprise to Windows 10 users as the Microsoft itself mentioned it zero times during its 2018 developer conference keynotes.

The removal of the People Bar may come as huge loss to those who used Skype or compartmentalized emailing to a large degree but it seems Microsoft’s telemetry might be showing that group was small enough to do away with the feature with minimum blowback.

As a personal observation, the People Bar not only lacked the developer support for new features but it also lacked the foresight from Microsoft.

Perhaps, Microsoft’s move to Chromium will help breathe some life into the concept of the People Bar by providing, out-of-the-box support for Android’s Messages PWA, giving Windows 10 users a native cross-platform messaging experience.

Microsoft has announced that Kaizala is now powering over 1000 organizations in India across government and business institutions.

Business organizations using this product represent a cross-section of industry sectors, from BFSI to manufacturing to retail, and include YES Bank, UPL, Alembic, Shopper’s Stop, and Eureka Forbes.

A ‘made for India’ product, Kaizala aims to enhance workplace productivity by bringing mobile-only workers, mainly first-line workers, into a digitally integrated modern workplace. It is, of course, backed by Microsoft Azure platform ensuring compliance with an organization’s data-use policies as well as GDPR.

Kaizala, a Microsoft Garage project introduced in 2016, was formally launched as a beta in February 2017 by Satya Nadella at the Future Decoded event in Mumbai. Later in the year, the company officially debuted the new product – Microsoft Kaizala.

At the launch, Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India said that the company is delighted with the rapid adoption in just over an year. “Microsoft Kaizala, with cloud scale & enterprise security, is enabling organizations to achieve more by empowering employees, engaging customers, and enhancing workplace productivity,” he said.

Microsoft Kaizala is now available in 18 languages including Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, and Telugu.

Microsoft also announced new, unique features like Me Chat and Persistent Chat for Kaizala. With Persistent Chat, messages are saved over time, hence, even when a user joins a group at a later stage he/she will be able to read messages that were exchanged prior to his/her joining the group. Me Chat is a user’s personal space where the user can save notes, messages, photos, and more. Users can find their saved items quickly with Search, and can forward them to whoever they want.

The company also announced Microsoft Kaizala Web in preview giving users the ability to use Microsoft Kaizala on their web browser. Also, users can now make audio and video calls to their Microsoft Kaizala contacts.

Microsoft Kaizala is a chat-based communication and data management tool. It is an enterprise ready, compliant and secure chat app. It offers organizations easy and simple way to share data for insightful decision making and gives employees an easy-to-use solution for efficient collaboration and improved productivity. Microsoft Kaizala provides controlled user access and data security in accordance with an organization’s policies and is compliant with data protection legislations such as GDPR, ISO 27001, SOC2 and HIPAA.

– Rajiv Kumar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft

Microsoft Kaizala is an open platform and has developers integrating their solutions to address diverse business needs. Microsoft Partners like WittyParrot, Bitscape, PC Solutions, et al offer custom solutions for businesses.

Microsoft Kaizala is now commercially available across 28 markets in Asia, Middle East, Africa, and South America. Microsoft also announced that it will be expanding the reach of Kaizala to Office 365 commercial plans worldwide.

The popular Telegram messaging app updated to Version 1.5 today on Windows computers and added a lot of new functionality.

In addition to new emoji, improved scaling for larger screens, 2x speed for video and audio, and Twitter and Instagram link previews, this update also added support for custom languages which means that anyone can now create and add their own languages for use on the platform.

Here’s the full release notes:

• Support for custom languages. Crowdsource a cloud-based language pack for Telegram in any language using our Translations platform – then apply it in real time.
• Interface scaling for large screens, up to 300% (up to 150% for macOS retina screens).
• ‘Count unread messages’ setting for the Badge counter in Settings > Notifications. Disable to show number of unread chats.
• Video messages displayed in shared media (under voice messages).
• Updated emoji. Farewell to question marks ?

Also in this update:

• Listen to voice and video messages in 2X mode if you’re in a hurry.
• Add a comment when sharing posts from channels.
• View all photos and videos in Twitter and Instagram link previews.
• Add emoji to media captions.

Telegram is a messaging app that’s popular in tech circles due to its enhanced encryption and future plans for its own cryptocurrency. Do you use Telegram? Let us know why or why not in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more Windows app content.

The atmospheric action and adventure title, BELOW, is now available to purchase outright on Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles or play for free as part of the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.

BELOW is designed to be challenging gaming experience with randomly-generated locations, little hand-holding, and permadeath (no respawning after a character dies). The game has been highly anticipated by gamers and gaming media alike since its initial reveal in 2013 but had been delayed for several years due to the developers wanting to perfect their creation before its release.

Here’s the official game description, trailer, and store link:

Test your adventurer mettle against The Isle’s procedural subterranean labyrinths. Explore a large, interconnected underworld crawling with cunning wildlife, deadly traps and stalked by a shadowy presence. Survive the perils of The Depths and unearth what lies below… or die trying.. BELOW is a procedural terrarium filled with life, mystery and death.

Explore the vast subterranean underworld of The Isle: a dangerous, unfathomable deep. Choose your path through the randomly generated labyrinth crawling with deadly monstrosities, traps and hazardous environments. Perma-death awaits at every false step, and there are no hints to guide you… Spelunking through The Depths of BELOW is a treacherous endeavour, with death around every corner. The world is alive with flora & fauna, and there are many ways to scavenge materials and harvest ingredients to create life-saving remedies or useful survival tools…

What lies below? Only the bravest wanderers will find out. The Depths are filled with secrets and danger. BELOW embraces the idea that players enjoy discovering secret areas, finding hidden passageways and unravelling the deepest mysteries hidden in the darkness…

Having you been waiting to play BELOW and will you buy it or play it with Xbox Game Pass? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more gaming content.

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BELOW

Developer:
Capy

Price:
$24.99

Forget the Xbox Onesie, Microsoft has just unveiled the ultimate item for the Windows fan: a beautiful sweater featuring the old-school Windows 95 logo. If you have yet to follow the Windows Twitter account, hurry up as Microsoft will send a few of these fashion items to some lucky fans via Twitter DMs.

Introducing the latest #Windows95 custom "softwear."???? Wish you could rock the #WindowsUglySweater? ???? your DMs, because we're giving a few lucky fans one of their very own. pic.twitter.com/84kQLtYsF2

— Windows (@Windows) December 13, 2018

After all these years, the old Windows 95 logo has probably become as iconic as something like the “rainbow Apple” logo, and any Windows fan born in the 80’s or early 90’s would definitely wear this sweater with pride. It’s too bad that Microsoft isn’t selling these on the Microsoft Store during the holidays, but in the meantime the company already send a couple to some employees and high-profile MVPs. As you can see, Chief Windows Insider Dona Sarkar, who is also a fashion designer gave it her seal of approval.

The only #Windows95 I allow in my life is this ridiculously good looking #WindowsUglySweater <3 This is #MicrosoftLife pic.twitter.com/v9dFjH5fTe

— Dona Sarkar at #AbilitySummit (@donasarkar) December 13, 2018

https://twitter.com/BenThePCGuy/status/1073349098357481472

Do you think it’s time for Microsoft to open an official Windows gear store, like the Xbox team recently did? If so, what kind of swag would you like to see on it? Sound off in the comments below!

Fortune Island, the first expansion for Forza Horizon 4 is now available on Xbox One and Windows 10. The DLC is free for owners of the Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Edition, but it’s also available in the Forza Horizon 4 Expansions Bundle ($34.99) or the Forza Horizon 4 Ultimate Add-Ons Bundle ($44.99).

“With extreme terrain, perilous weather conditions such as atmospheric storms and the Aurora Borealis, a brand-new Horizon treasure hunt and a host of new driving challenges, Fortune Island cranks the Forza Horizon 4 experience to 11,” wrote Brian Ekberg, Forza Community Manager. This first expansion also brings 20 new achievements to the game, which 500 Gamerscore points in total.

Developer Playground Games is planning a second DLC for the open-world racing game, but its content and release date are still unknown. We hope it will be as fun as the Hot Wheels for Forza Horizon 3, which received critical acclaim following its release last year.

Forza Horizon 4 recently won the best racing/sports game awards at the 2018 Game Awards, and it’s definitely the best Xbox/Windows 10 exclusive Microsoft released this year. If you haven’t tried it yet, the game is free to play with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, and Game PAss members can also save 10% off a standalone purchase of Fortune Island or 10% off each bundle.

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Forza Horizon 4 Expansions Bundle

Developer:
Microsoft Studios

Price:
$31.49

Earlier this week, Michael Fortin, Corporate Vice President, Windows published a blog post about Windows 10 monthly security and quality updates. The post details the different type of monthly updates, from the “B” releases happening on Patch Tuesday, to optional “C” and “D” patches that Microsoft ships later in the month.

Today, an article from PCWorld put an emphasis on these optional releases, highlighting the fact that these C and D updates are “beta code.” In the own words of Microsoft’s Michael Fortin, “the intent of these releases is to provide visibility into, and enable testing of, the non-security fixes that will be included in the next Update Tuesday release.”

We cover every new Windows 10 build on OnMSFT, and we always mention it when they come with known issues. Even Patch Tuesday updates sometimes come with known issues, so it’s not just “C” and “D” updates that can be problematic.

However, what the PCWorld articled failed to mention is that Microsoft has been releasing preview-quality updates for quite a long time. To our knowledge, the company changed its update schedule starting with Windows 10 version 1703 (aka the Creators Update). This is what Microsoft’s Michael Niehaud explained at the time:

Based on feedback from customers, we are making some adjustments to the updates that we are releasing for Windows 10, version 1703 (also known as the “Creators Update”). With these changes, we will routinely offer one (or sometimes more than one) additional update each month. These additional cumulative updates will contain only new non-security updates, so they will be considered “Updates” in WSUS and Configuration Manager.

So yes, Microsoft has been releasing more than one new build every month for quite some time now, and the optional quality updates that are released later in the month eventually end up in the Patch Tuesday for the following month. All Windows 10 updates, including these optional updates are cumulative, which means that they include all previously released fixes.

Microsoft re-explained its Windows 10 update servicing cadence back in August of this year, making it clear that the optional “C” and “D” updates are only available for seekers. Additionally, the company said that it may sometimes ship “out-of-band releases” to address critical bugs that cannot wait for the next Patch Tuesday. “These are reserved for situations where devices must be updated immediately either to fix security vulnerabilities or to solve a quality issues impacting many devices,” the blog post explained.

In case the August blog post wasn’t enough, the company also published the following 3 minutes video explaining everything about Windows 10 monthly updates:

To conclude, yes, Microsoft has been releasing optional quality updates since the release of Windows 10 version 1703 last year. These updates are a preview of upcoming quality fixes, and they’re only available for users who check for updates in Windows Update. These patches eventually end up in the following Patch Tuesday, which will be pushed to all Windows 10 users.

Again, the optional C and D updates sometimes come with known issues, but that’s also often the case with the monthly Patch Tuesday updates. In the past, Microsoft used the Windows Insider Release Preview Ring to test all new Windows 10 builds in the production ring, but the company has been doing this less consistently over time. Anyway, it may be a good idea to keep the Windows 10 update history page in your bookmarks, but you can also count on us to tell you all the details about new Windows 10 patches.

As another year comes to a close, Microsoft and Xbox will help players look back on how much they’ve done on Xbox One and Xbox Live. Much like the 2017 Year in Review tool, Xbox teased a new 2018 Xbox Year in Review experience on Twitter.

It’s coming. #XboxYearinReview pic.twitter.com/IMGFBNEgv6

— Xbox (@Xbox) December 13, 2018

This year will likely be no different than previous years in terms of Xbox statistics. You will be able to see your personal stats, including how much Gamerscore points you earned this year, your most played games, and total amount of hours spent playing games, as well as how your stats rank to other Xbox players in your region. You will be able to share your stats with friends over Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms.

Maybe Microsoft will share more information regarding our collective playing time on Xbox One and Xbox Live. How would you make the Xbox Year in Review better than previous years? Let us know in the comments below!

Since the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft received criticism for its data collection practices, with telemetry you can’t complelety turn off on the desktop OS. Earlier this week, users complained that Windows 10 apparently continues logging your Edge browsing history in the cloud even after disabling activity history on both the computer as well as online.

We reached out to Microsoft yesterday and we just got a response from Marisa Rogers, Privacy Officer, Windows & Devices Group. The exec admitted that the different privacy settings in Windows 10 can be confusing, especially the “Activity History” section which also exists on Microsoft’s online privacy dashboard:

“Microsoft is committed to customer privacy, being transparent about the data we collect and use for your benefit, and we give you controls to manage your data. In this case, the same term “Activity History” is used in both Windows 10 and the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard. Windows 10 Activity History data is only a subset of the data displayed in the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard. We are working to address this naming issue in a future update.” – Marisa Rogers, Microsoft

So yes, Microsoft plans some naming changes in a future Windows 10 update, but the company also confirmed that you can absolutely prevent your Edge browsing history from showing up on Microsoft’s online privacy dashboard. To do that, you have to follow these two steps:

1. Under Settings -> Privacy -> Activity history, make sure that “Let Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud” is not checked.
2. Under Settings -> Privacy -> Diagnostics & feedback, make sure that Diagnostic data is set to “Basic” (when set to “Full,” information about websites you browse is sent to Microsoft).

We made the test on one of our PCs this morning, and no web browsing data has been collected so far. In the end, the problem seems to be that turning everything off in “Activity History” doesn’t actually turn everything off, and privacy-conscious users currently have to look elsewhere to completely disable sharing Windows 10 apps and services Activity History with Microsoft. The company may well be committed to customer privacy, but this is another case where the execution could probably be much better.

The Windows team used a little tongue and cheek earlier today when teasing a software theme announcement via their Twitter account.

A simple tweet was sent out with the quote “Is this #thowback sparking your #90s nostalgia? Tune in tomorrow for a major “softwear” announcement.”

Is this #throwback sparking your #90s nostalgia? Tune in tomorrow for a major "softwear" announcement. ???? pic.twitter.com/O1Na3fupeQ

— Windows (@Windows) December 12, 2018

Judging by the image and the timing during the holiday season, it seems the Windows team may be preparing some time of wearable swag for anyone who has some upcoming holiday parties themed around “ugly/gaudy” sweaters.

Other than the sweater like design of the content in the image, there isn’t much else to gon on and there hasn’t been much in the way of leaks that would point toward a clothing storefront for Windows-themed merchandise as of late.

We’ll just have to keep an eye on the official Windows Twitter page for their big announcement tomorrow.

Windows Insiders are continuing to discover some unannounced new features in recent Windows 10 Insider builds. Some Windows Insiders are now testing a new header in the Settings app that includes shortcuts for Microsoft Rewards, Phone settings and more, but others are are seeing Cortana being separated from Windows Search today (via Thurrott.com)

Some testers previously found a way to separate the two using special software, but the change is now live for some Fast Ring Insiders running the latest build 18298.

@thurrott @bdsams @maryjofoley @TheRichWoods Looks like more A/B testing happening with 18298. 'Type here to search' and 'Talk to Cortana' separated on Taskbar. pic.twitter.com/iuAEd4tLvg

— Michael Reinders (@mdreinders) December 12, 2018

Just like the other test with the new header in the Settings app, it’s not clear if many Insiders will see this change. Microsoft has yet to confirm that it plans to separate Cortana from Windows Search in the upcoming 19H1 update for Windows 10, but it does make sense to de-emphasize the digital assistant. After all these years, Cortana is still only available in select markets, and it may well be better to make Windows Search stand on its own.

Cortana was the first digital assistant to ship on a desktop operating system, but the execution always left a lot to be desired. Now than Amazon’s Alexa is available in the Windows 10 Microsoft Store, Windows 10 users may soon be able to hide Cortana from the taskbar and replace it with their digital assistant of choice. However, this could just be some A/B testing and depending on Insider feedback, Microsoft may well keep Cortana in Windows Search. We’ll see what happens, but in the meantime let us know if you think separating the two would be a positive change in Windows 10.

Microsoft continues to face an uphill battle for cloud service provider supremacy, however, helping Switzerland’s largest bank migrate its data to the cloud definitely helps move the market share needle in a positive direction.

According to Bloomberg Technology, Microsoft and UBS Group AG have reached a deal to store data at the company’s purpose-built facilities neat Zurich and Geneva areas, beating out competitors Amazon and Google who incidentally have facilities in Switzerland.

The proposed transition is slated to occur sometime next year and reported to be worth “hundreds of millions of Swiss francs” for Microsoft.

Microsoft won the bid for UBS Group AG’s data transition and storage as its Azure services addresses two of the largest concerns from Finna regulators, who are pressuring banks in Switzerland to be secure and financially conservative while still adhering to strict privacy laws.

Banks in Switzerland, the world’s largest center for offshore wealth, are under pressure to cut costs as low interest rates and the dismantling of the nation’s banking secrecy squeeze profits. While using cloud services can eliminate the need to maintain costly data centers, Switzerland’s financial regulator Finma enforces strict laws regarding what data can be moved outside of the country.

Over the next few years, UBS is reported to have plans to outsource much of its own data center investments in favor of other, better-equipped cloud service providers based on their investor presentation.

Due to the secrecy involved with Swiss banking, neither Microsoft or UBS has much to say publically about the new arrangement. Mike Dargan, UBS’ chief information office offer brief acknowledgment and a vaguely optimistic comment about the deal to Bloomberg Technology.

“We’ve started to accelerate our journey into the public cloud space. UBS expects significant cost benefits from this strategy, while not compromising on security.”

As for further details, it seems UBS is still mulling over which of its applications it will allow Microsoft to host and client data has yet to be moved anywhere.

Microsoft Teams has been one of the company’s fastest evolving app this year, and all Teams users are invited to participate to an “Ask Microsoft Anything” session this morning. From 9AM to 10AM PST, members of the product engineering team will try to answer all questions from the audience on this page.

Microsoft Teams finally reached feature parity with Skype for Business this year, and the company is now pushing Teams as the default team communication app in Office 365. Microsoft also added guest access and a free tier to Microsoft Teams this year, but users are still requesting many other new features such as support for private channels, a compact chat layout, and more.

If you plan to participate to the AMA session this morning, we invite you to check out the most requested new features on the dedicated UserVoice website. Despite Teams being the fastest growing business app in Microsoft’s history, there is still a lot of room for improvement and we’re glad that the team is actively listening to users.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system seems to be preventing users from disabling activity logging in Windows 10. According to a report from Neowin, a user who disables “Activity History” in Windows 10 will still have their data logged in Microsoft’s servers, which can be accessed in the activity history of the privacy dashboard. We were able to confirm this to be true, as the Edge history continues to be logged despite telling to system not to store the data on both the computer as well as the cloud.

Microsoft introduced Timeline, an activity log of users’ browsing and document history accessed in Task View, in the April 2018 update of Windows 10. Of course, this browsing data can be turned off for both the system and cloud syncing, depending on the user’s privacy preference. However, if the data continues to be stored and logged despite switching the setting off, it’s easy for users to question the company’s seriousness of consumer privacy.

Windows 10 has long been subject to criticism over its collection of user data, resulting in Microsoft’s decision to “reduce, by about half, the volume of data we collect at the Basic level” in words of Terry Myerson, the company’s former EVP of the Windows and Devices Group.

Are you experiencing the same issue when you disable storing of your activity history in Windows 10? Let us know your thoughts about the issue in the comment area below.

Update: Microsoft responded to our questions about this issue, explaining that to turn off uploads to the Privacy Dashboard’s Activity History, you need to also set Settings>Privacy>Diagnostics and Feedback>Diagnostic Data to Basic

Microsoft has quietly started testing the addition of a new header in the Windows 10 Settings app. Microsoft watcher Florian B spotted the new design today on one of his PCs running the latest 19H1 build 18298, and Microsoft is apparently doing some A/B testing with this new design.

Interestingly, Florian B saw two versions of the new settings header in just a couple of minutes. The first one only had his MSA account on the left plus two shortcuts to Windows Update and Phone Settings, while the second version added a Microsoft Rewards counter that opens the web dashboard when you click on it.

Settings just got a facelift #Windowsinsiders pic.twitter.com/0UaBNjUu3U

— Florian B (@flobo09) December 12, 2018

It already changed again, rewards now (buttons are clickable). #Windowsinsiders pic.twitter.com/0pvClnS1Ar

— Florian B (@flobo09) December 12, 2018

Unfortunately, we’re not seeing this new header in our own Insider machines, so the pool of testers could be very limited. It also looks like Microsoft is able to push changes on the fly without users having to update or reboot their machines, so this new header could well evolve to get even more shortcuts. It’s not clear yet if you need to have the latest build 18298 to see this new header, but you likely need to be a Fast Ring Insider with a recent build to get the chance to see it.

Did you also notice the new header in Settings on your Insider PC today? Let us know in the comments below.

The popular Star Wars Battlefront II video game is getting a small mid-month update tonight that will make a variety of adjustments to the gameplay and add the General Kenobi appearance inspired by the character’s look in the Clone Wars animated TV series.

In addition to the new skin, Obi-Wan will also get some improvements that will make him look and play better for players, Geonosis will receive some visual upgrades, and a new stamina bar will be implemented which will apparently be easier to understand. The full list of changes can be read here.

In addition to the release notes for today’s update, some information on future updates were also teased. In 2019, lightsaber combat will be reworked, armoured skins for Clone Trooper officers will be added for free (see below for a preview), and an emote wheel will be introduced that will allow players to choose from more than two emotes during a match.

As with all previous updates, today’s update and all future ones will be completely free for all Star Wars Battlefront II owners.

Are you a fan of Star Wars Battlefront II? Let us know what content you want to see in future updates in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more gaming content.

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STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

Mozilla’s Firefox browser updated to Version 64.0 today and added some nice improvements that regular users may appreciate.

After installing the latest update, users will now be able to move multiple tabs at once, detect which tabs are using the most energy, and remove add-ons from their context menus. The biggest change for Windows 10 users, however, is the added support for native sharing.

Now, when users click on the ellipsis in the address bar and select Share, the Windows 10 share box will appear as it does in many other apps.

Here’s the full release notes for Firefox Version 64.0:

• Better recommendations: You may see suggestions in regular browsing mode for new and relevant Firefox features, services, and extensions based on how you use the web (for US users only)
• Enhanced tab management: You can now select multiple tabs from the tab bar and close, move, bookmark, or pin them quickly and easily
• Easier performance management: The new Task Manager page found at about:performance lets you see how much energy each open tab consumes and provides access to close tabs to conserve power
• Improved performance for Mac and Linux users, by enabling link time optimization (Clang LTO). (Clang LTO was enabled for Windows users in Firefox 63.)
• More seamless sharing on Windows: Windows users can now share web pages using the native sharing experience. You can access Share in the Page Actions menu
• Added option to remove add-ons using the context menu on their toolbar buttons
• New for enterprise users: Updated the policy engine on macOS to allow using configuration profiles to customize Firefox for enterprise deployments

Do you use Firefox on your Windows 10 computer? Let us know why or why not in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest for more tech content.

Some eagle-eyes Reddit users have noticed that the Xbox 360 video game, Fight Night Champion, is currently available for free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers.

While available to Gold users, this discount doesn’t seem to be part of the December Games With Gold campaign at all so its discount is a bit of a mystery. The game is part of EA Access, however, non-EA Access users can still get this game for free if they have Gold.

Fight Night Champions is available to play on the Xbox One as part of the console’s growing backwards compatibility library and it was generally well-received when it first launched way back in 2011.

Here’s its official description, trailer, and download link.

More than just a change to the franchise name, Fight Night Champion takes the boxing experience one giant step forward by delivering an experience never before seen in an EA SPORTS video game. History will be made with this revolutionary iteration that builds upon the best-in-class gameplay and physics engine of Fight Night Round 4, while immersing you in a world of brutality, uncertainty, betrayal, and redemption. Survive the brutal road to redemption with Fight Night Champion.

Have you played Fight Night Champion yet? Let us know what you think about it in the comments below. Would you recommend it?

Note: To download the game for free to your Xbox One console, make sure your Xbox Live Gold subscription is active, go to this web page (not the old Xbox Marketplace site), make sure that you’re logged into your Microsoft/Xbox account, and click on the blue Install of my devices button. The game can also be downloaded from the Store on an Xbox One console the same way.

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FIGHT NIGHT CHAMPION

Developer:
Electronic Arts Inc.

Price:
Free

Ahead of the rumored Search and digital/productivity assistant split in Windows 10, Microsoft is bolstering its Cortana service with a new feature that’s been long awaited by users.

As of today, December 11, 2018 there appears to be multi-user voice recognition coming to select Cortana users according to a Windows Central report.

A helpful tipster points out a new set up menu that appears for Xbox One owners and the few owners of the Harmon Kardon Invoke speaker that now offers an option to train Cortana to be used amongst multiple people.

Based on the new feature description, Cortana will soon learn from and recognize up to six individual voices as well as present information specific to each voice during interactions.

Despite Microsoft’s odd placement testing in the seemingly defunct HK speaker set up and select Xbox Insiders, the feature, ideally, should be coming to most places that offer Cortana support that include Xbox One, Android and iOS, Windows 10 and eventually Office 365.

Microsoft released today Windows Admin Center version 1809.5 for members of the Windows Server Insider program. This is a cumulative update for Windows Admin Center version 1809, which was released in September in support of Windows Server 2019.

For those unfamiliar, Windows Admin Center is a new graphical management tool for Windows Server, and it was previously known as “Project Honolulu.” The first version of Windows Admin Center (1804) became generally available in April, and the version 1809 added several new features including support for Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI).

The version 1809.5 brings several improvements for Hyper-V, Clustering, and Extension Manager. Hyper-converged infrastructure also gained new features in this build including the ability to Multi-select bulk actions for drives, volumes, and servers, monitoring storage per-server, and more.

If you’re a member of the Windows Server Insider program, you can download this new build from the Windows Server Insider Preview download page. You can sign up for the program on this page, for wait for the 1809.5 release to become generally available in the coming weeks.

For anyone mildly interested in the National Football Leauge or the Seattle Seahawks, it should come as no surprise that the league and the team are fans of Microsoft’s wares.

Last year, Microsoft entered into an extended partnership with the NFL to continue to showcase its titular 2-in-1 tablet PC the Microsoft Surface during games and network analysis shows and hometown favorite the Seattle Seahawks recently boosted the devices cache during an in-game celebration.

Russell drops the Microsoft Surface on @Vikings #vikings #dropthesurface sierrra wilson #MINvsSEA @nfl @espn @NFL_MNF @MNF pic.twitter.com/4DgxXYu0pu

— Kedu Bob (@kedubob) December 11, 2018

During the Seahawks win over the Minnesota Vikings during primetime Monday Night Football coverage, quarterback Russell Wilson was caught mic dropping the Surface in celebration.

While average circumstances would have most people cringing with angst as a potentially $800 plus device was so haphazardly dealt with, Wilson’s drop only bolsters Microsoft’s marketing message about its durability.

Through bungled marketing efforts, Microsoft has continued to pound the drum of its Surface devices reliability and durability over its five year deal with the NFL and Russel’s confident drop further solidifies that message.
For the past five years, Microsoft has developed in partnership with the NFL a newly ruggedized version of the 2-in-1 that was designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and impacts, as is found during an average season in the league.

Last nights Surface drop comes at the end of a relatively decent year for the Surface hardware where the division’s revenue rose 14 percent over last and brought in $1.18 billion for Microsoft.

People are buying the Surface, and anyone who works in a warehouse, construction site or outdoors may want to find the versions Wilson was using last night.