According to a report from the Italian Blog Plaffo, Microsoft Rewards has expanded to Italy. This marks the second recent expansion of Microsoft Rewards, coming several months after it arrived in France, the UK, Germany, and Canada.

The expansion means those living in Italy can now earn 1 rewards points for each Euro spent on shopping at the Microsoft Store on Windows 10. Users can also earn points for completing daily quests or challenges on the revamped rewards dashboard, and for searching on Bing.

Points can eventually be redeemed for cool gift cards, including Xbox GamePass, Skype Credits, or Xbox gift cards. There’s also sweepstakes entries and options to donate points to charity.

If you’ve just signed up please feel free to check out our guide to Microsoft Rewards. We wish you well in your new Rewards adventures and invite you to let us know your thoughts on the experience by dropping us a comment below.

Microsoft’s Cortana may be a bit behind Amazon’s Alexa and the other digital assistants, but it recently picked up a new feature which may boost your productivity. Indeed, noted by Windows Central, Cortana on Windows 10 and the Harman Kardon Invoke can now check for your Outlook emails.

To get the digital assistant to check your email, all you need to do is ask “Hey Cortana, do I have any new email?” The assistant will then check your Outlook account, and read from the list of unread messages, including the subject line and the name of the person who sent it. See it in action below.

You can also use Cortana to reply, though it is limited to a short reply known as a “short note.” And for further precision, the assistant can even check for older unread messages, from yesterday or before that.

We might still be waiting on the Cortana and Alexa integration but it is great to see the assistant picking up new skills. There’s still no word on if this feature will come to iOS or Android, but we’re hoping it will be added soon.

A couple of weeks ago, we learned that Microsoft was planning to replace Windows 10 S, the streamlined and education-focused version of Windows 10 with a new “S Mode” for all versions of Windows 10. Joe Belfiore, CVP of Windows 10 at Microsoft confirmed the news on Twitter yesterday, explaining that this “S Mode” will be available next year for all existing versions of Windows 10 (via The Verge).

We use Win10S as an option for schools or businesses that want the 'low-hassle'/ guaranteed performance version. Next year 10S will be a "mode" of existing versions, not a distinct version. SO … I think it's totally fine/good that it's not mentioned.

— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) March 7, 2018

Just like Windows 10 S, Windows 10 PCs running in S Mode will only be able to run apps coming from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft is currently marketing Windows 10 S as a more secure and battery efficient version of Windows 10, and we expect the company to do the same with this new “S Mode” next year.

While this new “S Mode” should be available for Windows 10 Home, Pro and Enterprise next year, Belfiore didn’t address the previous reports saying that disabling S Mode would be free for Windows 10 Home users, and a $49 fee for Windows 10 Pro users. It may be too early for Microsoft to discuss these details right now, but we may hear more at upcoming Microsoft events such as Build or Microsoft Inspire.

We still have many questions about this new “S Mode” for Windows 10, including how it will affect PC OEMs and ultimately consumers. After the Windows 10 S experiment, which was mostly education-focused, it does seem that Microsoft sees this streamlined version of Windows 10 as a valuable proposition for all Windows 10 users. For now, though, Windows 10 S will continue to ship on select PCs this year, including the first Always Connected PCs from HP, Asus, and Lenovo.

Yesterday Microsoft announced the availability of Kali Linux on the Microsoft Store in Windows 10. This afternoon, the tech giant followed up by noting the popular and free Debian Linux distribution has also become available in the store (via Thurrott.com).

Debian now joins the Kali Linux, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, and SLEX Linux distributions in the Microsoft Store. These distributions can all be downloaded manually and can run in developmental environments simultaneously. They are all part of the Windows Subsystem for Linux, which allows native Linux ELF64 binaries to run on Windows 10.

Microsoft has a guide on how to set up these Linux distributions, so be sure to check it out if you so happen to be curious. There is also this Debian getting started manual, which explain how to use Debian with the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

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With Windows 10 S, Minecraft Education Edition, Office 365 Education, and more, Microsoft hoped to take a big chunk of the education market away from Google and Apple. Today, the company shared an interesting report from Futuresource, showing these initiatives are working in their favor.

According to the Futuresource report, more K-12 schools in the US are choosing affordable Windows devices. Windows share grew an additional 6.5 points year-over-year in US K-12 education for devices under $300. Microsoft says this is the highest share in four years in this price category.

The report also shows that Apple’s iPad shares are down in the education market in the fourth quarter. In the words of Ben Davis, Senior Market Analyst at Futuresource Consulting.:

“Apple’s iPad volumes declined year-on-year after shipments reached a quarterly high of over 1 million units during Q2 2017… The sub $300 price category saw the largest rise in share, growing 6% year-on-year, in part thanks to Microsoft and its OEM partners launching a raft of lower cost education focused Windows devices in recent past.” These devices have been positioned as Chrome compete solutions, providing an alternative to the value orientated Chromebooks.”

Microsoft is claiming that “more than one million new Windows 10 devices” are used by students in K-12 and higher education. The company also holds OneNote has grown more than 75 percent in the last year, with more than 18 million new student notebooks. Learn more about Microsoft Education by checking here.

Two new Xbox 360 games are joining the Xbox One Backward Compatibility list today, Hitman: Blood Money and LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. The first one was released back in 2006 as the fourth installment in the Hitman stealth video game series. As for the second one, it’s the third Lego Star Was video game released on Xbox consoles since 2005, and as its name suggests it is based on The Clone Wars animated series.

Hitman: Blood Money and LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars are coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today https://t.co/qPMRNrLoTQ pic.twitter.com/Ud3RaAYtpq

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) March 6, 2018

Both games are currently priced at $19.99 on the Xbox Store, and you can find Xbox Store links, official descriptions and video trailers for both games below:

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars ($19.99)

Laugh your way through an all-new story that takes you through 16 different systems and experience brand new features like massive ground battles, boss fights, and multi-layered space combat. Expanded Force abilities, brand new weapons, characters, environments, and over 20 story-based missions make this the most action-packed LEGO game to date!

Hitman: Blood Money ($19.99)

Hitman’s back, drawing you closer than ever into his deadly world where staying anonymous, being smart and totally ruthless are the key to a perfect execution. Lucrative contracts on the rich and powerful in high profile locations make killing for money good business. But when a rival agency enters the scene it’s war and only the best man will be left standing.

After checking the list today, there are now three Hitman games and six different LEGO games on the Xbox Backward Compatibility list. There are now more than 400 titles on the catalog as of today, and the Xbox team keeps adding new ones every week or so. What are the other Xbox 360 games you would you like to play on the Xbox One today? Let us know below.

The next Windows Insider webcast is coming up later today (3/6), and you might not want to miss it. Microsoft’s Cortana team is set to make an appearance, making it the perfect chance to have your questions answered and also hear more about the development process of the digital assistant.

Reminder: Join us tomorrow at https://t.co/HGhXFDNhQu for our next webcast with special guests from the #Cortana Team! We're taking questions ahead of time – send them to us here: https://t.co/THp3QIak2a. pic.twitter.com/YRoAATRONI

— Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) March 5, 2018

As always, the webcast will be streamed live on Mixer. You can check to see the time zone conversion here, but keep in mind the webcast will be available on demand shortly after it airs.

We’re also hoping we might also get a new build during the webcast, as the team is always full of surprises. Do you think you’re going to tune in to this webcast? Do you normally keep up with the Insider Webcasts? Let us know your thoughts below.

Last year, Ubuntu became available in the Microsoft Store as part of the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Now also available for download on the store in Windows 10 is another popular Linux Distribution— Kali Linux.

Kali Linux now available in the Microsoft App store – https://t.co/taJFpNCfU9 and https://t.co/PGuIxDn7pd | Much thanks and appreciation to @tara_msft and @benhillis for making this happen!

— Kali Linux (@kalilinux) March 5, 2018

Kali Linux for Windows 10 was actually announced over two weeks ago for testing, but only yesterday did Microsoft make things more official with a blog post. At any rate, you can find Kali Linux on the Windows Store via the link below. Keep in mind that this app is based on the Windows Subsystem for Linux, and is primarily meant to be used in development situations on top of Windows 10 in digital forensics and penetration testing.

Installation is straightforward, and you can learn more about the install process by reading Microsoft’s documentation here. Microsoft has been playing nice with Linux, so it will definitely be interesting to see developer feedback and if other Linux distributions will also come to the Windows Store soon.

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Microsoft has announced the completion of its first renewable energy deal in India. The agreement will see Microsoft purchase 3 megawatts of solar-powered electricity to help power its new office building in Bangalore in the southern state of Karnataka. This will meet 80 percent of the projected electricity needs at the new facility.

This is Microsoft’s first solar energy agreement in India, and one of the first in Asia — the company completed a new solar agreement in Singapore last week. The deal is part of a state government program to encourage investments in local solar energy operations, in line with the larger Indian government goal to ramp up solar power generation to 100 gigawatts by 2022.

This project will bring Microsoft’s total global direct procurement in renewable energy projects to nearly 900 megawatts. The deals in Asia follow wind projects in Europe and a substantial portfolio in the United States. Microsoft’s goal is to rely on wind, solar and hydropower electricity for at least 50 percent of its energy usage worldwide by the end of 2018.

Investing in local solar energy to help power our new Bangalore office building is good for Microsoft, good for India and good for the environment. We are proud to be deepening our long history of partnership and investment in India with this agreement. This deal will help us grow sustainably and supports the growth of the Indian solar energy industry, so that the entire country can more easily and reliably access clean electricity.

– Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India

According to Rob Bernard, the Chief Environmental Strategist at Microsoft, the company is not only meeting its local electricity goals by purchasing local solar power but also supporting the growth of local clean energy industries thereby helping India meet its targets for the Paris Agreement.

The official Spotify app for Windows 10 PCs and tablets has updated to improve functionality in Tablet Mode and better work with touch controls when a user is using a finger or Surface Pen to navigate the UI.

While the look of the app is mainly the same as before, the program bar which usually runs across the top of most Windows 10 apps and features the close and minimize options, has been removed. Spotify now incorporates these options into the app itself and has shifted several UI aspects, like the username, further up to take better advantage of space.

The Windows 10 Spotify app now also fills up the entire screen when the device is switched over to Tablet Mode and the resizing of different parts of the app is now much easier and fluid with touch controls.

Have you noticed any other changes to Spotify with this update? Let us know in the comments below.

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While much of the recent tech punditry revolves around the latest smartphone or the newest Intel and Qualcomm chipset, there is a growing wave of cloud adoption by businesses that seems to be going relatively unaddressed.

As with most trends, governments have been slow to adopt cloud IT modernization, but Microsoft is seeing a giant opportunity for to help seed its Azure solutions to perhaps not only its strongest market but it’s largest customer base as demand for its solutions continues to surge.

According to the Microsoft Enterprise blog which posted a portion of the Report to the president of Federal IT Modernization, here are just a couple of recent examples of some government IT modernizations that are taking advantage of new $500 million central modernization fund to boost adoption

• The Commonwealth of Virginia is taking on the nation’s opioid epidemic through an extremely sophisticated cloud architecture that marries sensitive public, health, and prescription data to better understand and triage solutions for this important public health crisis.
• The Small Business Administration (SBA) is planning to adopt all of Microsoft 365 to drive cost savings across mobility, security, and collaboration tool sets while delivering a consistent and modern experience across SBA’s geographically dispersed employee base. The use of technology empowers SBA to achieve its core mission: to help Americans start, build, and grow businesses.
• US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) whose Access to Care web-based application enables patients to more easily schedule VA hospital appointments and track likely wait times, creating a better patient experience.
• The US Air Force, along with the Defense Logistics Agency, leverage Microsoft secure cloud technology to provide the productivity and collaboration services that Service members need to fulfill their mission.
• The State Department’sAirNow project places IoT sensors on embassies and consulates around the world to capture air quality monitoring data. That data is then analyzed using Power BI insights to foster diplomatic conversations about how the US can help other countries improve air quality and national health.
• The City of Chicago moved to the cloud for secure productivity services to reduce costs and on-premises infrastructure and found that process automation and information discovery were added benefits. Plus, employees love the mobility that allows them to work anywhere and on any device.

In parallel with its user’s demands, Microsoft is also evolving the cloud stack offering by introducing Microsoft 365 for US Government, Azure Stack on Azure Government, New Regions Dedicated to Secret US Classified Data and New Certifications for Dynamics 365.

Most of these new services come with the backing of Microsoft’s continued partnerships with government customers to attain well over 72 compliance regime support and the most number of certifications to-date of any cloud solutions provider.

During Microsoft’s Government Tech Summit this month, the company went over more details of its Microsoft 365 for US government general availability features which include:

A complete solution for the modern workplace comprised of Office 365, Enterprise Mobility + Security, and Windows 10, Microsoft 365 for US Government provides agencies with tools for mobile productivity and secure collaboration. With this release, Enterprise Mobility + Security is now also generally available for the US Government with deep integration into both Microsoft 365 and Azure Government. It’s core capabilities are designed to meet the requirements of government by mirroring the functions outlined in the NIST cybersecurity framework– identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover.

To learn more about Microsoft 365 for Government, Azure Government Secret, or Dynamics 365, visit the Microsoft Enterprise blog here.

Following the success of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will premiere a new webcast starting this weekend, dubbed “Inside Xbox.” Inside Xbox will focus on everything Xbox, from what Microsoft is developing for the next generation of Xbox consoles, accessories, games, and more. As noted in a post on Xbox Wire, Inside Xbox will premiere on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at 12:00 PST.

Inside Xbox is the place where Microsoft can provide greater transparency to Xbox fans on everything new that the Xbox Team is creating and developing. Give the Xbox Team a shoutout or question using the #insidexbox hastag on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. You may see your question or comment highlighted in a future Inside Xbox episode.

Inside Xbox will be hosted by Larry Hryb (aka Major Nelson), Graeme Boyd, Jeff Rubenstein, Alex Hebert, Lydia Ellery, and more. In the Inside Xbox Premiere, the hosts will discuss Sea of Thieves as well as much more:

“For our inaugural episode, these fine folks will be crewing a ship bursting at the seams with content. We’ll be sitting down with Rare to discuss the incredible energy from fans surrounding Sea of Thieves, including an illuminating conversation on the core design principle that drives the game, how they’ve acted on feedback from the Closed Beta, and what fans can expect from the game at launch (as well as a tantalizing hint of new adventures to come post-launch).”

You can view the premiere episode and all future episodes of Inside Xbox on Mixer, YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook. Be sure to tune in on Saturday for more surpises on Inside Xbox!

Welcome back to our Windows 10 news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Dev reportedly gets Windows 10 on ARM running on Lumia device

As Microsoft has confirmed that there will be no further feature updates for Windows 10 Mobile, one developer is trying to get Windows 10 on ARM to run on a Lumia device, and reportedly has had some success.

Still not convinced? pic.twitter.com/dG62O8Omzk

— Hikari Calyx (@Hikari_Calyx) February 25, 2018

You can now edit 3D objects from any angle in the Paint 3D Windows 10 app

Paint 3D has received an update which now lets you edit 3D objects from any angle with the new 3D View feature, as shown below.

New Windows 10 Insider build 17112 for Fast Ring PCs brings EFI and Recovery fixes

This week’s Windows 10 Insider build, 17112, for the Fast Ring, has brought fixes for EFI and Recovery. The build is the second in a row of late Friday build releases.

Hey #WindowsInsiders we have released Build 17112 to the Fast ring! https://t.co/stmH2vNAMX

— Dona Sarkar (@donasarkar) March 2, 2018

Intel’s latest security updates for Skylake processors now available through Microsoft’s Update Catalog

The latest security updates for Intel’s Skylake processors are now available on the Update Catalog, Microsoft’s update repository. These updates help mitigate the Meltdown and Spectre flaws in Intel processors.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows 10 news!

As with most Insider releases, there are pros and cons and today’s con for the newly released preview build 17112 for Fast Ring PCs, may be a deal breaker for most testers.

As we inch closer and closer to a Redstone 4 release of Windows 10’s latest update, Insiders have been hit with a major spoiler alert about the latest preview build that includes the possible removal of the Windows Store entirely.

Here’s are the known issues for build 17112 for Fast Ring PCs,

• IMPORTANT: The Microsoft Store may be completely broken or disappeared altogether after upgrading to this build. Please see this forum post for details including a workaround on how to get the Microsoft Store back.
• If you try to open a file that is available online-only from OneDrive that hasn’t been previously downloaded to your PC (marked with a green checkmark in File Explorer), your PC could bugcheck (GSOD). You can work around this problem by right-clicking on these files and selecting “Always keep on this device.” Any file-on-demand from OneDrive that is already downloaded to the PC should open fine.
• Post-install at the first user-prompted reboot or shutdown, a small number of devices have experienced a scenario wherein the OS fails to load properly and may enter a reboot loop state. For affected PCs, turning off fast boot may bypass the issue. If not, it is necessary to create a bootable ISO on a USB drive, boot into recovery mode, and this will allow bypass.
• When Movies & TV user denies access to its videos library (through the “Let Movies & TV access your videos library?” popup window or through Windows privacy settings), Movies & TV crashes when the user navigates to the “Personal” tab.

Those are some pretty steep prices to pay to play with build 17112 over the weekend. Fortunately, there appear to be work-a-rounds to get your system up to relative parity, but if you plan to use your PC heavily this weekend, it’s probably best to sit out this round unless you like forum-diving.

Microsoft’s Paint 3D Windows 10 app made its debut with the Creators Update last year, giving Windows users the opportunity to create objects in every dimension. To make the creative process a bit easier for users, the company is bringing a new 3D View mode in the app that makes it possible to change your view and edit while in 3D perspective.

“3D View enables you to edit from any angle, which means even more accurate and intuitive 3D creation,” explained Thomas Religieux, Product Manager for Paint 3D. “You can now orbit around your 3D designs and continue doodling, painting or stickering without having to switch back to the 2D camera,” he added. You can see how 3D View works in the video below, which leaked a couple of weeks ago:

To try 3D View in Paint 3D, make sure that you have the latest version of the app on the Fall Creators Update. The feature can be accessed by clicking the dedicated button at the top of your tool bar, and Microsoft made it easy to use it with touch, pen, mouse or keyboard.

To line up with the rollout of the Spring Xbox Update to Alpha Insiders, Microsoft yesterday also announced several new security features for Xbox. The features are now live, and gamers now can get help with remembering their Microsoft account, updating recovery options, and recovering an account right from their Xbox One system.

With the new changes, if a gamer happens to forget their Microsoft Account information, they can press on “forgot your account” to log back in using an alternate email address or phone number associated with their account. This eliminates the need to call Xbox support, the Xbox team noted.

Microsoft also added more security options on Xbox, including two-factor authentication and reminders to keep security information up to date. This ensures that you can verify your identity if anyone so happens to access your account, or if you forgot a password or sign-in information.

Final of the features are new account recovery options. This is perfect for when Microsoft identifies suspicious sign in and locks your account. The company now allows users to recover accounts directly from Xbox, without the need to call Xbox Support or use another phone or computer to unlock the account.

Protecting your Microsoft account is important, especially if you don’t want to lose access to your Achievements and collection of digital games. These three new features should definitely be helpful, and you can also check this page for more tips on how to protect your account.

After a couple of couple of weeks without new Xbox Insider builds, the first Xbox One 1804 build has started rolling out to Alpha Preview members yesterday. As Microsoft detailed in a blog post, the “Xbox Spring Update” will bring some cool new features such as 1440p support for game and media on Xbox One S and Xbox One X.

“1440p resolution, sometimes referred to as “2560×1440” and “QHD,” is a popular choice for PC users,” the blog post reads. “With over a million and a half more pixels than 1080p, this resolution fills the gap between Full HD and 4K displays.” If you have a compatible screen, you can enable 1440p video output in Settings.

The Xbox Spring update will also bring a fresh new look for Microsoft Edge, which can now be used to download all types of media content on your console. Microsoft has also introduced new system sounds in the Xbox One OS with spatial audio support, as well as a new option for adjusting background music from Groove Music or Spotify when you’re playing games.

On the Xbox Live front, Xbox Live Tournaments will now be available directly in Game Hubs and no longer require gamers to be members of a club. Moreover, the Xbox team is giving new filtering tools to Club owners, with the ability to require certain hours of playtime or Gamerscore levels for candidates.

One of the main highlights of this update is probably the new Mixer feature that allows streamers to share their Xbox controller with a single Mixer viewer. This remote play feature will only work on Mixer.com, and viewers will be able to take control of the gameplay through an on-screen gamepad or an Xbox controller. “Viewer and streamer can work together in the game, or the viewer can cause trouble – resulting in hilarious chaos. It’s your choice,” the Xbox emphasized. This is a pretty fascinating feature which will push Mixer interactivity to the next level.

Last but not least, the Xbox team will test a brand new collection experience for Xbox Live Gold in this update, with a dedicated tab in “My Games and Apps” for quickly checking all redeemed Games with Gold titles. The team tested a similar feature for Xbox Games Pass content last month, and you can expect more of these “experiments” going forward.

This first 1804 Preview build for the Xbox One also has some known affecting Dolby Atmos, the Microsoft Store or certain apps such as Netflix. You can check the full changelog on this separate blog post. Overall, the Spring Update for the Xbox One looks pretty exciting, and it should start rolling out to other Insider rings in the coming weeks.

Microsoft is giving away one limited edition 24-karat gold-plated Xbox One X video game console to one lucky gamer who unlocks at least one Xbox Achievement this month while playing a game via Xbox Game Pass.

In addition to being 24-karat gold-plated, the Xbox One X console will also be a Project Scorpio Edition which makes it even more of a collector’s edition. No photos of the console have been released yet and there are no further details on the competition. It’s assumed that the winner will simply be contacted via DM on their Xbox One console or through the email associated with their accounts.

Want a 24-karat gold-plated Project Scorpio Edition Xbox One X?
Earn at least 1 achievement in Xbox Game Pass titles this month for a chance to win: https://t.co/PBfloavwTN pic.twitter.com/wf6o5MuNWj

— Xbox (@Xbox) March 1, 2018

Xbox Game Pass is a paid subscription service that gives users full access to over 100 Xbox 360 and Xbox One video games. New games are added each month while others are removed, it works in a very similar fashion to Netflix but with video games.

Does this competition entice you to give Xbox Game Pass a try? Let us know in the comments below.

During the Consumer Electronics Showcase this year, a battle of artificially intelligent infused tech gadgets took center stage with the brains behind a multitude of hardware being primarily provided by Amazon and Google.

Curiously missing from the showcase was Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistance. For Apple’s part, their presence at CES has remained one of silent imposition, but Microsoft’s seeming misstep in promoting Cortana was noticeable and perhaps the reason for the absence lay in the AI’s shifting of its employee structure.

Reported earlier today, Microsoft’s Cortana has a new corporate VP which will now oversee the development and direction of Cortana for the foreseeable future.

The new Cortana VP, Javier Soltero comes from a background in productivity and enterprise with previous top role among Microsoft’s Office team. Over the past couple of months, we’ve seen Microsoft focus its Cortana efforts in less of a consumer capacity and more of a centralization on business integration and that could be because Soltero has actually been at the helm for a little over three weeks.

Despite being a VP Soltero will report to Microsoft’s head of AI and research, Harry Shum and Cortana’s engineering VP, Andrew Shuman.

While Soltero’s background is in business applications, in an interview with AXIOS, he mentions that voice has always been a passion of his.

“If I was to leave Microsoft and start another company I would be doing something related to voice,” Soltero said.

Going forward, Soltero appears to want to leverage his expertise in privacy protection of Office documents and use that knowledge to help differentiate Cortana from the field of other viable AI assistants.

“The real contest is about which company users will choose and entrust with essentially all of their information or the majority of their information.”

Now, for those of you a bit worried that Cortana will fade into corporate oblivion held behind a wall of security red tape, Soltero also acknowledges that privacy alone isn’t the way to sell what could be the next computing platform battle for Microsoft. He admits that, “A very private but mediocre experince will not win.”

So, it looks like there may be hope and perhaps we’ll hear from Soltero about Cortana and its direction at Microsoft’s developer conference in a few months

On March 27, 2018, Microsoft will be releasing the new Combat Tech Special Edition wireless controller for Xbox One. As noted by a post on Major Nelson’s blog, the Combat Tech Special Edition Xbox Wireless Controller is the third controller in the Xbox Wireless Controller Tech Series, following the Recon Tech and Patrol Tech.

This latest Combat Tech Xbox Wireless Controller features the “Military Green” color, available in the Xbox Design Lab, and a laser-etched, textured grip, perfect for first-person shooters (FPS), including Battlefield 1 on Xbox One. When you purchase the Combat Tech controller in select regions, you are eligible to receive a free 14-day trial for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass.

All Xbox Wireless Controllers in the Tech Series are compatible with all the consoles in the Xbox One family, Windows 10 PCs, and Samsung Gear VR headsets. You can use the Xbox Accessories app on Windows 10 and Xbox One to customize your Xbox controller to give you an edge over other gamers.

Pre-order the Xbox Wireless Controller: Combat Tech Special Edition for $69.99.

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Microsoft today announced the launch of the Bing Ads fan community program. The initiative is aimed at the most dedicated Bing advertisers and is Microsoft’s way of expressing appreciation for those who help drive the Bing Ads platform.

“We want to ensure we get key info to you, our fans, so you have greater insight into Bing Ads with opportunities to improve product features and solve problems,” the company explained in a blog post. ” We need to hear your feedback and we want to share your success stories—because we only succeed when you do too.”

In addition to insider news and special opportunities to share feedback with the team, Bing Ads fans will also be eligible for some “exciting treats and gifts,” the company said. Bing Advertisers wanting to sign up will have to provide contact information, their social media channels, and their Bing Ads account numbers.

Microsoft is teasing that more details will be coming soon for those who sign-up, so it is best to keep an eye on the Bing Ads Twitter for more information.

Virtual reality as an overall encompassing industry seems to be in flux as companies look for growth potential in lucrative niche activities, however, since no one seems to have nailed down a market, Microsoft Research is throwing its hat in for differentiation.

Redmond Twitter sleuther, Walking Cat recently found a Microsoft Research Paper that covers a project that adds bimanual haptics to a virtual reality experience.

According to the paper title Haptic Links: Bimanual Haptics for Virtual Reality Using Variable Stiffness Actuation, researchers have found a way manipulate haptic feedback to simulate forces between two individualized sensors.

We present Haptic Links, electro-mechanically actuated physical connections capable of rendering variable stiffness between two commodity handheld virtual reality (VR) controllers. When attached, Haptic Links can dynamically alter the forces perceived between the user’s hands to support the haptic rendering of a variety of two-handed objects and interactions. They can rigidly lock controllers in an arbitrary configuration, constrain specific degrees of freedom or directions of motion, and dynamically set stiffness along a continuous range. We demonstrate and compare three prototype Haptic Links: Chain, Layer-Hinge, and RatchetHinge. We then describe interaction techniques and scenarios leveraging the capabilities of each. Our user evaluation results confirm that users can perceive many two-handed objects or interactions as more realistic with Haptic Links than with typical unlinked VR controllers.

If the language sounds too abstract, the research teams walk through the application of Haptic Links in a quick YouTube video.

https://twitter.com/h0x0d/status/967205072198254593

While this is strictly a research project at the moment, we should expect to see this (or other similar) expansions on the notion of Virtual Reality featured or unveiled by companies  as they continue to develop an answer in search of a question.

Following the release of Windows 10 insider build 17110 yesterday, many Windows Insiders have reported that the Microsoft Store app had disappeared after installing the new bits. Microsoft has acknowledged the issue yesterday and said that it was “actively investigating” all these reports.

#WindowsInsiders on build 17110: If you are experiencing issues finding or launching the Microsoft Store app on this build, please see this forum thread for details. https://t.co/JffbTTxemu

We are actively investigating these reports. Thank you!

— Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) February 27, 2018

The Windows Insider Team also explained in a forum thread that Windows Insiders should not attempt to reset the Microsoft Store app. “This will inadvertently remove all visible traces of the application from your PC,” explained Microsoft’s Jason Howard.

In the meantime, some Windows Insiders have found some ways to bring back the Microsoft Store app using PowerShell. This workaround shared by Microsoft MVP Andre Da Costa apparently did the trick for many Insiders:

Press Windows key + X
Click Windows PowerShell (Admin)
At the command prompt, type the following then hit Enter:

Get-AppXPackage *WindowsStore* -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register “$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml”}

Restart, then try launching the Store again.

We’re still waiting for Microsoft to share more details about the issue, and it’s still hard to know if many Insiders have seen the Microsoft Store app disappear after installing the new build. If you’ve been affected by it, let us know if that Powershell worked on your PC.

Owura Kwadwo Hottish, a teacher in Ghana has garnered a lot of attention on social media recently after posting several photos on Facebook of himself teaching Microsoft Word to his students using only chalk and a blackboard. The photos show him replicating the entire UI of the program to teach his students about it even though they have no access to a computer in the classroom.

“Teaching of ICT in Ghana’s school is very funny,” he wrote in the post accompanying the photos. “ICT on the board paa. I love ma students so have to do wat will make them understand Wat am teaching.”

His original Facebook post has been shared over 1,200 times and many individuals and media outlets have begun sharing the photos on other social networks such as Twitter as well.

A teacher tries hard to make IT easy for pupils. He draws virtually everything on the board because there are no computers.???????????? pic.twitter.com/dY0bZFMzn8

— I LOVE GHANA ???????? (@irepghana) February 19, 2018

While definitely unusual, his teaching method is definitely proof that education is still possible without the latest technology and his creativity is to be commended.

Last Fall, Microsoft announced that select backward compatible Xbox 360 games would get free Xbox One X enhancements such as higher resolution. Seven Xbox 360 games including Halo 3 and Gears of 3 already received such updates, and the Xbox team has just announced four great additions to the list.

“Starting today, four new Xbox 360 titles will be enhanced for Xbox One X, which includes The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Forza Horizon, Fable Anniversary and Crackdown, the newest addition available now in the Xbox One Backward Compatibility library,” the blog post on Xbox Wire reads. “We’re also excited to release a new graphics setting for enhanced Xbox 360 titles on Xbox One X to give you more control over your gaming experience.”

As Microsoft previously explained, Enhanced Xbox 360 games on Xbox One X play with 9 times the pixel count, antialiasing and more visual updates. Some upgrades may differ game-to-game, with some titles such as Mirror’s Edge getting HDR support on the Xbox One X.

These graphic enhancements can really make Xbox 360 gems look like current generation titles, but Microsoft has apparently acknowledged that some players may prefer to enjoy these old gems in their original form. That’s why the team has updated the Xbox 360 emulator with a new option for disabling graphics enhancements. “If you turn off the Graphics setting, the graphics will be comparable to the experience on Xbox One or Xbox One S,” the team explained.

When you play Enhanced Xbox 360 games on your Xbox, the new Graphics settings menu will appear in the Xbox 360 Guide, which you can access by simultaneously pressing the “view and “Menu” buttons. Please note that you’ll have to restart the game after changing graphics settings.

As enhanced graphics are turned on by default for all Enhanced Xbox 360 games, it’s a good thing to give a bit more choice to gamers. Microsoft also notes that disabling graphics improvements can actually make gameplay feel smoother on the Xbox One X, but if you bought an Xbox One X and a 4K TV to enjoy the best graphics available on console, this probably won’t matter to you.

With the new Xbox One X, Microsoft has found a cool way to breathe some new life into old Xbox 360 games. The community has already played more than 840 million hours of Xbox 360 games on Xbox One, showing that Xbox One backward compatibility is a truly beloved feature. “Preserving the art form of video games is part of our DNA, which is why Xbox One is the only console designed to play the best games of the past, present and future,” the Xbox team said, and this commitment is really a key point of differentiation in the console market today.

Microsoft will soon make it easier for Microsoft Teams users to discover and join private teams. Today, the company explained that starting March 23, 2018, all private teams will become searchable within the team communication app, and all users will be able to request access to them.

Once the change is implemented, all private teams will appear in search results as well as the Suggested teams gallery, which appears when you click the “Add team button.” If a user discovers a private team he wants to join, the team admin will get a notification and have the choice to approve or deny the request.

To prepare for this change, Microsoft is recommending team owners to make sure that team names or descriptions don’t include sensitive information that team members could discover after March 23. If necessary, it will still be possible to hide select teams or groups from search results: To do so, Office 365 admins will have to use the the HiddenFromAddressListsEnabled parameter with the Set-UnifiedGroup PowerShell cmdlet.

Do you think it’s a good idea to make private teams more discoverable within Microsoft Teams? Sound off in the comments below.

Over the past few years, Microsoft has been involved in a battle with the US government over emails from a user who was alleged to be part of the Silk Road. The messages were held at a data center in Ireland, and Microsoft argues federal and local U.S law enforcement agencies cannot use search warrants to seize emails of citizens of foreign countries located in data centers outside the United States. The government, meanwhile, holds the 1986 Communications Privacy Act as its defense, which Microsoft finds dated and conflicting with global laws.

Microsoft recently won an appeal, and in the latest entry to this saga, the US Supreme Court will hear the case today (via Reuters.) The nine Supreme Court judges will consider Microsoft’s argument, and many other tech giants are keeping a watchful eye on the case, as it has the potential to be a champion for privacy rights.

The company today also published a blog post about the issue, saying the situation is a “problem Congress should solve.” Microsoft’s Brad Smith writes that he believes the US government should instead work with the Irish government to obtain the data they want. He is also pushing for “modern laws to govern today’s technology,” writing, “we can’t rely on laws written three decades ago, before the internet as we know it was invented.”

The Microsoft President also mentions the CLOUD Act, which has bipartisan support in Congress and sets the stage for laws that can define how law enforcement agencies can access data across international in the investigation of crimes. He also points to these Microsoft arguments in the case, which “Stand up for national sovereignty.”

•  When the U.S. Government requires a tech company to execute a warrant for emails stored overseas, the provider must search a foreign datacenter and make a copy abroad, and then import that copy to the United States. This creates a complex issue with international consequences.
• Other countries want to be in control of when and how law enforcement agencies access data belonging to their citizens. When one country seeks private emails stored in another country, international treaties and norms require bilateral cooperation, not unilateral actions. The risk of foreign relations clashes is all the more acute because state and local U.S. law enforcement—not just federal officials—can invoke the Stored Communications Act, the law the DOJ is using in this case.
• People deserve to have their privacy protected by their own country’s laws. If the U.S. Government obtains the power to unilaterally search and seize the private communications of foreign citizens that are stored exclusively in foreign countries, then other governments will be emboldened to do the same to us.
• U.S. companies are leaders in cloud computing. This leadership is based on trust. If customers around the world believe that the U.S. Government has the power to unilaterally reach in to datacenters operated by American companies, without reference or notification to their own government, they won’t trust this technology.

The Redmond company was the first tech giant to challenge a US search warrant for data outside the US. A decision is expected sometime in June, and many other tech giants have backed Microsoft, with the EU recently filing an amicus brief in the case.

With Windows 10 Mobile being dead, you’ve likely already purchased (or plan to purchase) an Android device soon. Although Microsoft will likely never manufacture their own Android device, the Redmond giant still has many apps on Google’s mobile platform. So without further ado, here are my tips on how you can turn your new Android device into a Microsoft Phone.

Download Microsoft Apps from Google Play Store:

One of the first steps into transforming your Android device into a Microsoft Phone is to download Microsoft Apps from the Google Play Store. This is essentially a Microsoft App Hub, allowing you to see some of the basic Microsoft apps available for download on the Google Play Store.

It makes your life easier, sparing you the pain of having to navigate manually through the store and click on multiple listings to find Microsoft’s apps. You can even filter through the hub for various categories, be it Communication, Education, Finance, and more. Personally, I found this as a great way to download the office apps, including Outlook and Word, and OneNote.

Download
QR-Code

Link to Windows

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

Download Microsoft Launcher:

Another great way to turn your Android device into a Microsoft Phone is to download Microsoft Launcher. Microsoft Launcher superpowers your Android device by letting you continue the things from your phone on your Windows 10 PC, and vice versa. It also replaces your stock launcher, be it Samsung TouchWiz or Google Home, and it is much more customizable.

My favorite features are the integrated Cortana Support and the universal search bar which lets me search through the files, docs, and messages on my device. I also love the fact you can see a personalized feed for quick access to your most used documents, and your most used apps. The launcher is very heavily integrated with Microsoft services, so it is great for those who own a Windows 10 PC or are just coming from Windows Phone.

Download
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Microsoft Launcher

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

Download Microsoft Edge:

Asides from the phone and messages app, the web browser is another key area where you’ll be spending lots of time on your Android device. That said, downloading Edge is another great way to transform your Android phone into a Microsoft Phone.

As we pointed out before with the iOS version, Edge is a solid browser, and it lets you continue web pages from your Phone to your PC. It also syncs your bookmarks and passwords right with Edge on your Windows 10 PC, helping make your browsing life much easier. The browser has been downloaded over a million times, so it is definitely not something to miss.

Please be aware that unlike with Windows 10 Mobile Edge on Android runs on the same Chromium browser engine as Chrome. So it is basically like using a custom Microsoft version of the Chrome browser— which is already popular as is. Download for yourself below.

Download
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Microsoft Edge: AI browser

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

Use OneDrive on Android:

Everyone is always on the go or working on multiple PCs. That said, you can keep all your photos right at your side on your Android device and also sync to your Windows 10 PC by using the OneDrive app. This is a great way to get that Microsoft Phone experience and skip out on Google Photos.

Whenever Wi-Fi is available OneDrive can automatically back up your camera roll, meaning you can see the photos you took from your phone right on your Windows 10 PC (and vice versa!) This is pretty useful, especially with the OneDrive Files on Demand feature, and the 1TB of OneDrive that comes with an Office 365 Subscription.

Those who aren’t too keen on this can also try out the Photos Companion app, which allows you to wirelessly from your phone to your PC without the need for OneDrive. I wrote about that here.

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Microsoft OneDrive

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

The app was not found in the store. ?

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Change your app defaults, hide Google apps and other unwanted apps:

Being that Android phones contain Google Software, it is technically impossible to fully turn the device into a full-on Microsoft Phone. You’ll need to keep Google Play services running, and a few other background apps just to keep the phone going for daily tasks. However, you can still disable or hide certain apps and Google services which you don’t find useful.

For one, you can change your app defaults if you feel fit. In my case, I changed the default browser from Chrome to Edge. You also can open the app draw on Microsoft Launcher, press the “…” on the top, and then press on “Hide apps” to and hide certain Google apps and the other non-Microsoft which you may not be using. I hid a few of the Google apps, including Gmail, and YouTube, giving the phone a cleaner home screen look.

At the end of the day, the only real way to turn your Android phone into a Microsoft phone is to download Microsoft apps. You can try out other launcher apps which will bring back features the feel and look of Windows Phone, but these are not free and the experience may be laggy. So, I recommend sticking to Microsoft Launcher, and Microsoft apps on the Google Play Store— at least until Surface Phone finally surfaces.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite has just updated to become an Xbox Play Anywhere title. This means that gamers can buy it on Xbox One and play it for free on Windows 10 and vice versa. Game progress will also automatically transfer between versions as will Xbox Achievements. Here’s the official game description.

The epic clash between two storied universes returns with Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, the next era of the highly revered action-fighting game series. Marvel and Capcom universes collide like never before as iconic characters team up for action-packed player-versus-player combat. Ultron Sigma has begun the systematic eradication of all biological life. Against all odds, heroes arise from the rubble, form new alliances and stand together against the ultimate threat, their only hope laying with the all-powerful Infinity Stones.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite was the first Marvel vs. Capcom video game to be designed for current gen video game consoles however it hasn’t been as popular as its predecessors due to some odd character design choices and a roster of playable fighters that’s completely lacking in X-Men characters.

Have you had a chance to play Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite on Windows 10 or Xbox One yet? Let us know if you like it (or don’t) in the comments below.

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MARVEL VS. CAPCOM: INFINITE

Developer:
株式会社 カプコン

Price:
$39.99