Star Wars Battlefront II updated on Xbox One consoles to Version 1.1 yesterday. This update made some significant changes to hero characters and classes to improve balancing and also introduced a new hero ship, Iden Versio’s TIE/In Fighter, and a Crait level to play in the Blast mode. Here are the details on both.

Blast on Crait: We’re expanding the ways you can play on Crait by bringing this map to the Blast Game Mode! Battle in the mines among the machinery and crystals leftover from the previous occupants.

Iden Versio’s TIE/In fighter: Now available as a new Hero Starfighter in multiplayer matches! Iden Versio leads by example from her personal TIE/ln fighter. Custom-built for Inferno Squad, this modified TIE has seen heroic service in the name of the Emperor.

Iden Versio’s TIE/In fighter Abilities:

• Afterburner – Gives the starfighter a temporary speed boost and breaks enemy missile lock. The AFTERBURNER can be cancelled after a short time
• Laser Barrage – Charges up a rapid fire barrage which deals high damage
• Dual Proton Torpedoes – Fires two proton torpedoes which track the locked target and deal high damage
• Inferno Leader – For the duration of INFERNO LEADER, all enemies within a radius are revealed to allied players. These enemies receive increased damage from all sources

TIE/In fighter Star Cards:

• Engine Heat Dissipator – Decreases the AFTERBURNER cooldown
• Advanced Torpedoes – Increases DUAL PROTON TORPEDO damage
• Vengeful Barrage – Increases the damage of LASER BARRAGE
• Flight Commander – Increases the duration of INFERNO LEADER
• Reinforced Hull – Increases the total health of the starfighter
• Tuned Lasers – Increases primary weapon damage
• Advanced Capacitors – Improves the primary weapons resistance to overheating
• Repair Systems – Reduces the delay before health regeneration begins
• Elite Pilot – Increases the turn rate of the starfighter
• Engine Upgrade – Increases the top speed and how quickly the starfighter can accelerate and decelerate

Iden Versio’s TIE/In fighter Milestones:

• Rapid Assault – Used Iden Versio’s TIE/LN fighter AFTERBURNER ability 25 times
• Precision Strike – Achieve 25 DUAL PROTON TORPEDO kills with Iden Versio’s TIE/LN Fighter
• Hope Cannot Save Them – Achieve 25 LASER BARRAGE kills with Iden Versio’s TIE/LN Fighter
• Avenge Our Emperor – Use Iden Versio’s TIE/LN Fighter INFERNO LEADER ability 25 times

This latest patch also added a night time version of Tatooine to several modes, increased the frequency of alternate lighting for other locations, added milestone completion notifications to the in-game UI, and lowered the requirement of the purple colored rank for troops (now 25 down from 50). You can see the detailed, full release notes here.

Star Wars Battlefront II is a major video game for Microsoft’s family of Xbox One consoles. It’s optimized for the Xbox One X and will play in 4K HDR when played on it and it has been confirmed that all future content updates will be free for all owners of the game

Are you playing Star Wars Battlefront II on your Xbox One? Let us know if you’re enjoying the latest update in the comments below.

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STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

While Settings has been around since the early days of Windows 10, users have had to switch back and forth between the old Control Panel and the new Settings, but Microsoft has been working on porting over the old paradigm to fit with the new cleaner look.

The latest group of settings to make this transition looks to be Fonts, and although Fonts Settings aren’t currently enabled in the latest Windows 10 Insider build (17074), the bits apparently are lurking within the system, and Microsoft watcher Rafael Rivera has managed to get them working.

Along with the regular Font controls you would expect from the Control Panel (uninstall, metadata, etc.), Settings gives you a better look at the Fonts themselves, and even allows you to try out your own text in that latest and greatest font you just found.

If you remember, Microsoft has started making Fonts available through the Microsoft Store, and with the new Settings UI, should make font management quite a bit cleaner with Windows 10 moving forward.

Rafael suspects we may see this new Settings addition as early as the next Insider Build, and we’ll be keeping our eyes out for it as we slowly but surely loosen our grip on the tried and true Control Panel.

After a taking a well-deserved holiday break, the Xbox Backward Compatibility team is back at work this month and three new Xbox 360 games are now playable on the Xbox One today: These are Sniper Elite V2, Far Cry 2 and the racing game Driver San Francisco. Please note that the latter is only available on disc or digitally if previously purchased.

Sniper Elite V2, Far Cry 2 and Driver San Francisco (available on disc or digitally if previously purchased) are coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today https://t.co/qPMRNrLoTQ pic.twitter.com/TEuMUtcyNk

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) January 16, 2018

You can find more details about all three games below. Far Cry 2 is 70% off during this week’s Spotlight Sale, so be aware that the price listed below will only be available through Monday, January 22.

Driver San Francisco (available on disc or digitally if previously purchased)

DRIVER SAN FRANCISCO returns to deliver new innovation in open-world and authentic urban driving. Racing through the iconic streets of San Francisco in over 130 muscle and super cars, players take on intense driving missions and challenges that revolve around one thrilling manhunt.

Far Cry 2 ($5.99, 70% off through January 22)

The first sequel to the award-winning franchise takes you to one of the most beautiful and hostile environments in the world – AFRICA. You are a gun for hire, trapped in a war-torn African state, stricken with malaria and forced to make deals with corrupt warlords. Your mission is to hunt down and kill The Jackal. This evil arms dealer has been perpetuating this conflict for years, wreaking havoc on the land an all of its innocent people. Run, swim, drive, fly, shoot, fight and smash your way through over 50km² of open world. Beware though, sometimes the hunter can become the hunted.

Sniper Elite V2 ($29.99)

BERLIN 1945… V2 Rockets with deadly nerve gas are primed to launch. An army of German and Russian soldiers stand in your way. Make every single bullet count or the world dies with you. X-RAY KILL CAM see organs tear and burst, bones and teeth shatter, as your bullet passes through your enemy ADVANCED SNIPER SIMULATION allow for gravity, wind, distance, breathing and more. SNIPER’S CHOICE leave yourself exposed with the easy shot, or decide a more difficult but stealthier approach. CO-OP MULTIPLAYER battle through 4 war-torn online modes

We’re looking forward to seeing which other games will join the Backward Compatibility list this year. Let us know in the comments if you have any favorites.

Apparently, someone on Reddit figured out a way to get Xbox One Games with Gold free when offered in other regions. Redditor SombreBag offered a method to get PowerStar Golf on Xbox One for free. Several other Redditors indicate other games that they have downloaded to their Xbox One for free over the years.

It appears that the reason for is that Xbox One games are region-free and you don’t need a specific Xbox One region to download these games. You can’t use this same method on Xbox 360 games because they are region-locked.

I haven’t tried this method yet, so I am not sure if it works on on Xbox One games in other regions. However, if you already have Games with Gold, you can try out this method and see if you have any luck. I am content with all the Xbox One Games with Gold that I currently own. However, if you are looking to add more Xbox One games to your library, give this method a try and see if it works.

After launching in preview on the Xbox One in December, media center app Kodi disappeared from the Xbox Store last week. At the time, the developer said that it was working on the problem with Microsoft, and we’re happy to report that the app is now back to the store, with some bug fixes along the way.

Due to some Windows Store issues out of our control the @Xbox version was briefly gone. However it's now back including a first batch of fixes and is now available as automatic update. https://t.co/8LpsaWCWOw pic.twitter.com/1PkMXxTU2v

— Kodi (@KodiTV) January 14, 2018

Despite the limitations of Microsoft’s UWP platform, Kodi has the potential to become one of the best media apps available on the Xbox One. “We cannot promise to what extend we can get every feature working as it all depends on what is available to us developers,” a previous blog post noted. You can download Kodi on your Xbox One with the download link below, be aware that you’ll need to provide your own content from a local or remote storage location to make good use of it.

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Kodi

Developer:
XBMC Foundation

Price:
Free

The latest update for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) should now be live for all Xbox One gamers. This update adds a variety of performance and gameplay updates that should improve the experience for those testing out this Game Preview title enormously.

Of particular note in this update is the new controller options for equipping pistols and changes made to the PUBG’s rubber banding, a system which artificially tries to bring all players onto the same difficulty level. Here’s the full release notes.

Gameplay

• Pistols have been removed from Y button’s weapon rotation and grouped with the melee weapon.
• Players can now equip pistols by pressing ‘up’ on the D pad.
• Optimization
• Continued improvements related to player “rubber banding”.
• Enhanced server performance while parachuting.

Option

• Added a new controller preset to options menu.
• Type B (new preset) now supports:
• Holding LT to aim down sight.
• Holding LB to use 3rd person perspective aim sight.
• Controller guide has been updated to include  the new controller preset.

Bug fixes

• Fixed an issue where players repositioned out of the battleground after certain actions and remained invulnerable until the end of the match.
• Additional memory and non-memory related crash fixes.
• Fixed the inability to join duo/squad through invites outside of game.
• Known issues to be addressed next patch:
• Dropping objects causes the player to switch weapons.
• User is unable to switch grenade types when tapping right on the D-Pad.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was one of the most popular video games on PC in 2017 and has already crossed the 3 million player milestone on Xbox One since launching in Game Preview last month. Are you playing PUBG? Let us know what you think of it so far in the comments below.

Star Wars Battlefront II will be getting an update during the next 24 hours on all platforms. Referred to as Patch 1.1, it’s unclear exactly what this update will include however it has been confirmed that servers will go offline on Xbox One around 2 AM PT and at 12 AM PT on PC.

This update window coincides with the end of the first in-game season which was based on the latest Star Wars film, The Last Jedi. New characters and locations have been confirmed for future updates but it’s unknown if such new content will be added today. Something that is likely to be added or changed with this update is a variety of balancing adjustments for Troop classes and several bug fixes to improve the gameplay experience for everyone. Full release notes will be published once this update goes live and we’ll make sure to report on them here.

Are you playing Star Wars Battlefront II on your Xbox One or PC and are you enjoying it? Let us know what you’d fix in future updates in the comments bellow.

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STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

As noted by Xbox Wire, Foriza Horizon 3 is the latest Xbox game title to get the Xbox One X Enhanced treatment. As OnMSFT we reported earlier this month, Forza Horizon 3 was in line to get the Xbox One X Enhancement update today and here it is.

Now Xbox One gamers can experience all the enhanced game content in Forza Horizon 3 not only on Xbox One X, but all the other Xbox One consoles too. While only certain game enhancements are available on the Xbox One X, including Native 4K, HDR, and 4K Ultra HD, all Xbox One consoles will see some game display enhancements.

Foriza Horizon 3 lets you roam the Australian Outback in more than 350 of the world’s fastest cars, including the  2017 Lamborghini Centenario. Forza Horizon 3 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title, so you can play on Xbox One or Windows 10.

Get Forza Horizon 3 today.

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Forza Horizon 3 Ultimate Edition

Developer:
Microsoft Studios

Price:
Free

Microsoft is expected to make some big changes for Cortana on Windows 10 this year. We recently learned that Microsoft was testing a new look for Cortana with a windowed UI looking looking very similar to the Spotlight feature on macOS. However, a new report from Windows Central today revealed that Microsoft could go in another direction, and move Cortana to the Windows 10 Action Center.

Last year, two separate reports suggested that Microsoft could move Cortana to the Windows 10 system tray, adding a new conversational UI along the way. A couple of weeks before that, Microsoft also mistakenly posted a picture of a new “Control Center” which included Quick Actions from the current Windows 10 Action Center, plus other handy features such as a brightness slider.

Zac Bowden from Windows Central kind of connected these two changes today. According to his latest report, Microsoft may decouple Cortana from Windows Search and move it to a redesigned Action Center, which could lose Quick Actions:

According to my sources, the Cortana and Action Center combination will allow users to filter between or see Cortana’s cards and notifications together. Cortana’s new chat-based UI will also live in the Action Center as Microsoft going to be moving Quick Actions out of the Action Center and into a new, dedicated Control Center.

The report also included some details about how the redesigned Action Center with Cortana could look like. The good news is that despite the addition of a conversational UI for the digital assistant, voice commands should remain available:

We’re also told Microsoft is working on an updated design for the Action Center that will better fit Cortana’s features and new chat-based UI. Of course, users will still be able to use voice commands to interact with Cortana, with features like “Hey Cortana” remaining intact. It is likely that the addition of Cortana in the Action Center will see the entire Action Center get rebranded, as the “Quick Actions” are moving out of the Action Center anyway.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, including how these changes will impact users around the world who don’t have access to Cortana. As the digital assistant is currently front and center on Windows 10, you could also argue that burying it within the Action Center will make it even less visible to users.

It’s also not clear what will happen to the windowed UI for Cortana that surfaced in recent Windows 10 Insider builds. Could it survive as an evolution of Windows Search, and become an equivalent to Spotlight in macOS? That could make sense, unless Microsoft prefers to stick with the current Windows Search UI (without Cortana).

“We believe Microsoft is hoping to get these changes out in time for Redstone 5 in the fall of this year, but as always, those plans could change,” wrote Windows Central. Do you think it’s time to finally separate Cortana from Windows Search? If so do you think it makes sense to integrate it within the Action Center? Sound off in the comments below.

The Xbox team released a new preview build for Preview Alpha Insiders yesterday. The new bits bring a new setting for automatically switching between light and dark themes based on time of day. As a reminder, the Light Theme option was introduced in the Xbox One Fall Update, and it does look pretty good with all the Fluent Design touches that also came with this release.

Xbox One Insiders – Preview ALPHA Ring users – 1/14 @ 2.00pm PST Relnotes https://t.co/eqqxiF36sh and Reddit https://t.co/eAj871BGyd

— Brad Rossetti (@WorkWombatman) January 14, 2018

This latest preview build also introduces a new Game Pass Discovery tile in the Xbox Guide, which will surface random titles from the Xbox Game Pass catalog. You can read the full changelog below:

DETAILS:

OS version released: rs3_release_xbox_dev_1802.180109-1916
Available: 2:00PM PST 1/14/18 (10:00PM GMT 14/1)

NEW FEATURES:

• Scheduled Themes

You asked—we listened! We’re excited to announce that we’ve added the ability to put your themes on a schedule. In addition to choosing either the light or dark theme, you can now schedule a time to automatically switch between them. Simply follow these steps:
1. Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Theme & motion.
2. Select Scheduled from the “System theme” dropdown.
3. Select the times at which you want the light theme to start and end.

• Guide Enhancements

A new icon will appear in the Guide. The Guide Game Pass Discovery Tile (the “Surprise me with a random Game Pass Game tile”), now shows in Guide.

FIXES:

• Screenshots: Fixed an issue which sometimes caused screenshots to fail to display in Report a problem or on the console.

• Party Chat: Party chat is now fixed to not crash when in the Guide.

KNOWN ISSUES:

• My Games and Apps: When downloading and installing games the progress bar and the percentage complete are not in sync and show inaccurate data. The games and apps do install correctly.
• Background Screenshots: Background screenshots are showing up as 4:3 format rather than 16:9
• Guide/Home crashing: We are aware of the Guide and Home crashing and determined the root cause. A fix is being worked on. Workaround: In the interim please HARD Reboot (Hold the power button for ten seconds)the console to fix this issue.
• System Update: You may encounter an E105 error when the console starts up after downloading the system update. Workaround: Select the Repair option, and the issue should resolve after rebooting the console.
• Games Installation: Games that are installed fail to launch. Workaround: If the games are installed to an external drive please copy the game to the internal drive or attempt to delete the title and redownload to fix the launch error.
• Display: We are investigating the inaccurate RGB colors that have been reported when displaying in 4K HDR mode when playing a UHD disc.
• Tournaments: The left and right navigation for selecting date and time during Tournament creation is currently reversed when the console language is set to Arabic or Hebrew.
• Left and right navigation in Tournament twists is reversed when the console language is set to Arabic or Hebrew.
• Left and right navigation in the bracket view of Tournaments is reversed when the console language is set to Arabic or Hebrew
• Avatars on Home: Users wishing to represent themselves as an avatar can do so by changing their settings under My profile > Customize profile > Show my avatar.

We’re still waiting for the first “1802” builds to roll out to other Insider rings, and we’ll let you know as soon as we get more information about it. Let us know in the comments if you like these latest changes to the Xbox One OS.

As OnMSFT reported earlier this year, there were plans to bring back “The Duke,” Xbox’ original controller. Now, it looks like we will actually see The Duke soon. In a tweet, the so-called “father of Xbox,” and head of Hyperkin, Seamus Blackley revealed that The Duke will be available at the end of March 2018 for $69.99.

THE NEW DUKE CONTROLLER is available at the END OF MARCH for $69.99 And what a wonderful moment! Thanks @XboxP3 Thanks @Hyperkin!!! pic.twitter.com/KB9C6BYxCe

— Seamus Blackley (@SeamusBlackley) January 12, 2018

As noted in a report by Eurogamer.net, The Duke is being released in a special partnership with Xbox and Hyperkin. Blackley is not releasing an identical version of The Duke.

The Duke will be updated to work on your Xbox One console. While the button placement and form factor will be nearly identical, The Duke lost its memory card slots and added small shoulder bumpers to make the controller able to play Xbox One games. The Duke is also a wireless controller that can work on your Xbox One console or Windows 10 machine.

Blackley decided to revive The Duke due to fans’ overwhelming requests for the clunky and old Xbox accessory. In this iteration, Blackley was able to design The Duke in the way he originally imagined: complete with a new OLED screen on the center of the controller; When you press the Xbox button, the classic Xbox startup animation will play.

Look for The Duke to be available for $69.99 in March 2018 for sale in the Microsoft Store.

Microsoft’s annual developer conference, Build, up until this past year has been held at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, but that venue was in the middle of a big remodeling project last year, so Microsoft switched things up and held the 2017 event in Seattle. While the Washington State Convention Center, located in the heart of downtown Seattle, had a few issues last year, the location also allowed for much more interaction between attendees and Microsoft employees.

The company hasn’t made any announcements about this year’s Build, but Rafael Rivera came across some interesting notes in the latest Convention Center Board of Directors minutes:

https://twitter.com/WithinRafael/status/951965834108260352

The last line in the entry says “Dates are being held for BUILD in 2018 and 2019.” We should be hearing soon from Microsoft as to the dates and place for Build 2018, the conference is usually held in April or early May.

Will you be attending Build (we will, of course, and will bring you all the latest news)? Do you want to visit Seattle? Let us know in the comments below.

Since Microsoft stopped its “Messaging Everywhere” experiment two years ago, the Windows 10 Messaging app has become pretty useless on PCs. The app can still sync text messages from a Windows 10 Mobile handset as of today, but it can’t be used to send text messages from your PC. To do that, you have to use Cortana or the unreliable “SMS Relay” feature in the Skype UWP app.

Still, the Windows 10 Messaging app received a Fluent Design update in the Windows 10 Insider build 17074 (via Windows Central). The universal app rarely gets updated these days, and for now, this latest version with Fluent Design isn’t available on Windows 10 Mobile.

Why did Microsoft take the time to update this app on the desktop, you may ask? Well, the Windows 10 Messaging app is still useful for PCs with cellular modems, as it can show you texts messages from your mobile operator about your data plan. More importantly, this app as is still a key app on Windows 10 Mobile phones, and we also expect to see it on “Andromeda,” the foldable mobile device with phone capabilities that Microsoft is reportedly working on.

Anyway, Microsoft’s stock Messaging app is apparently here to stay, and we hope it will get more useful in the near future. It should be once Always Connected PCs start to hit the PC market later this year.

Welcome to our weekly Xbox news recap series, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Xbox. Let’s get started.

Xbox One outsells PS4 in December

The PS4 has been outpacing the Xbox One since the beginning of the generation. Sony has had a massive advantage for a very long time now, but Microsoft has slowly been catching up. It was reported recently that the Xbox One actually outsold the PS4 in December, marking a pretty great month for Microsoft’s console. It is important to note, however, that the Nintendo Switch – being a much newer console – outsold both of them.

Xbox One to change theme based on time of day

The light and dark themes on Xbox One are a huge asset for people, for several reasons. Some people have trouble focusing on a dark theme, some people prefer a brighter UI, and others just want the extra option to differentiate themselves from the rest of Xbox users. With a new change added to the Xbox Insider program, users can now set their themes to change based on the time of day. Prefer the dark theme during the night time, but want to bask in the light in the morning? You can do that.

The Kodi Xbox One app becomes unavailable

The Kodi media app for Xbox One briefly became unavailable this week, causing making it so nobody who didn’t already have the app could get their hands on it. At the time of writing, the Kodi app has become available again – but Kodi didn’t offer any explanation as to how this happened in the first place. Thankfully, this didn’t end up becoming a long-standing problem.

Due to some Windows Store issues out of our control the @Xbox version was briefly gone. However it's now back including a first batch of fixes and is now available as automatic update. https://t.co/8LpsaWCWOw pic.twitter.com/1PkMXxTU2v

— Kodi (@KodiTV) January 14, 2018

Plex on Xbox gets several fixes and improvements in new update

Plex has gotten a new suite of changes and improvements in its latest update, giving Xbox users a few more toys in their media center. The app now has new players for photos, audio, and video content, and it also supports several new video containers. Additionally, you’ll find the set of bug fixes that usually come with every update. You can find the full set of patch notes right here.

Thanks for joining us. To keep up to date with all the latest Xbox news, keep a close eye on our Xbox One tag.

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.

Amazon to bring Alexa to select Windows PC’s

Alexa is now quite possibly the most famous digital assistant, eclipsing even Apple’s Siri as the go-to mascot for electronic helpers. At CES 2018, Amazon announced that they would be tying Alexa in with Windows 10 PC’s, starting with some select Acer, Asus, HP, and Lenovo machines later this year. Amazon’s move is some direct competition for Windows 10’s Cortana, which is already doing some integration with Alexa to give it a presence on Windows 10 PC’s.

https://twitter.com/amazonecho/status/950472430933422080

Microsoft launches, then pauses, patches for Spectre and Meltdown

Microsoft put out some patches earlier in the week to try and deal with the malicious Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, but there’s one issue: Machines that were running AMD processors were not taking the update very well. Several reports came in after the patch was pushed out saying that computers were becoming un-bootable if they downloaded the patch on an AMD processor. Needless to say this was a huge issue, and Microsoft had to pause the update for anyone that could be affected.

Developers can now add paid subscriptions to apps

Subscriptions have long been a successful way to monetize applications, and Microsoft is helping developers take advantage of that payment method in their Windows 10 apps. Developers will receive 85% of the subscription price, minus applicable taxes for apps. For games, developers get 70% of the subscription price, minus any taxes. This should go a long way towards helping developers appropriately price their products, and make a living off of their work.

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update now fully available

After nearly 3 months since its initial roll-out, the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is now fully available. Microsoft has finished giving every Windows 10 PC the new features and tweaks that the Update brought along – and it should probably be installed for you as we speak. If you still have the Anniversary Update on your computer, you should soon be getting a notification telling you that “Important Updates are pending,” which will prompt you to get the new build.

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

According to a series of tweets from Microsoft’s Head of Xbox Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg, the Xbox outsold the PS4 in the month of December (via gamesindustry.biz.) The Nintendo Switch still outsold both Xbox and PS4, and Greenberg is citing unreleased NPD group marketing data in his tweets as a reason for his claims.

Thank you to everyone who helped support @Xbox One this holiday, @npdgroup just reported our highest Xbox One December console share ever, looking forward to a big 2018! ????

— Aaron Greenberg ????????‍♂️????U (@aarongreenberg) January 11, 2018

This is still reasonably significant for Microsoft since December falls in the holiday season, the time when most people are shopping for new consoles as gifts. The Xbox One X also likely contributed to this success and probably resonated with consumers since Microsoft marketed it as the most powerful console ever.

Greenberg, though, mentioned “Xbox One” in his tweet, so the Xbox One S and other Xbox One offerings likely also are considered as part of this data. As you may recall, the Xbox One S sold at the cheapest price ever this year, and Microsoft pushed it as a low-cost holiday alternative.

Now that the version 4.4 of Microsoft Launcher is now generally available for Android users, the team is releasing a fresh new update for beta testers. The version 4.5 of the app brings several new features including Microsoft Intune integration, support for Android Oreo app shortcuts and more. Interestingly, an experimental feature also lets you import settings from other launchers.

New update for those using the #MicrosoftLauncher beta! Version 4.5, headed your way ????

Want access to the preview? Click here: https://t.co/py7v5VL4rY#android pic.twitter.com/8O5FZXTxq3

— Jen Gentleman ???? (@JenMsft) January 12, 2018

Microsoft Software engineer Jen Gentleman published a changelog for the update on Twitter yesterday, but a more complete version can be found on the dedicated Google+ community. Here is it in its entirety below:

What’s new for v4.5:

• Running Late? Now you can let meeting attendees know you’re running late straight from the calendar card.
• Microsoft Intune integration: Employees whose enterprises leverage Microsoft Intune’s data protection policies can now use the Microsoft Launcher for viewing corporate data. Enterprise data protection policies now apply on all Microsoft Launcher surfaces.
• Icon size: Adjust your icon size in the app drawer, dock and home screen
• Set different wallpapers for your home screen and lock screen (Android 7.0+)
• Add blank Home screen pages in vertical mode;
• Enable recurring reminders;
• Support Android Oreo app/widget shortcuts creation;
• Import from other launchers from Settings -> Backup / Restore (experimental)
• Reset your launcher from Settings -> Utilities / Reset Launcher; (experimental)

To install this latest beta build, you’ll have to visit the Google Play Beta Store and then select “Become a tester.” As usual, you’re invited to share your feedback on the new features in the Google+ community.

After a one month period of testing with beta users, Microsoft has finally rolled out version 4.4 of Microsoft Launcher to the general public. The Microsoft-centric Android launcher picks up the ability to create folders in the app drawer, batch mode on home screen, and more with this update (via Neowin.)

Have a look at the full changelog below. Keep in mind that in addition to these new features, there is also the usual bug fixes, and performance enhancements.

• Enable creating folders in app drawer;
• Batch mode on home screen and app drawer – long press menu;
• Enable/disable dock;
• App launching animation;
• Pill count improvements on Line, BBM, Instagram, Yammer, Textra, WhatsApp and more;
• Weather / Time widget refinement to mitigate weather not refresh issue.

These features are definitely useful, and the 10 million or more Android users who downloaded the launcher will likely appreciate it. You can join the crowd and download Microsoft Launcher via the link below.

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Microsoft Launcher

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

The media-streaming app Plex has been updated on the Xbox One this week, and the latest version 2.1.2 brings several useful features for all your media needs. The app now has new players for photos, audio, and video content, and it also supports several new video containers. Moreover, you’ll find plenty of bug fixes in this latest release. The full releases notes can be seen below:

NEW:

• Brand new audio, video, and photo players.
• Support for direct streaming HEVC video on the Xbox One S and Xbox One X.
• Support for mspeg4v2 and mspeg4v3 in mkv and avi containers and 4K vp9 support in webm containers.
• Poster and list items titles will automatically scroll when they are too long to display in their entirety.
• New ‘Play Version’, ‘Mark as Watched’, and ‘Delete’ modals.
• Show insecure connection fallback options when primary server is unreachable but insecure connections are a possibility.

FIXED:

• Improve app usability when system high contrast mode is enabled.
• Fix tracks count on Album Pre-Play pages.
• Fix loss of focus when exiting/entering player.
• Fix loss of focus when returning from screensaver without user lock.
• App no longer occasionally gets stuck in loading state after switching users.
• Fixed preplay/library item details getting stuck in a loading state after switching users.
• Shuffled play queues from playlists only containing the first 50 items.
• Fixed the background of the items in the user switcher screen so they’re no longer tiled.
• Media Remote play/pause buttons not working in video player when OSD is hidden

Do you use Plex on your Xbox One to play your own media collection? If so, what are the other features you would like to see being added to the app? Let us know below.

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QR-Code

Plex

Developer:
Plex

Price:
Free

A couple of weeks ago, popular media center app Kodi became available on Xbox One as a preview. Unfortunately, though, it looks as though the app is currently unavailable for download from the Microsoft Store on Xbox One (via Windows Central.)

Though this app is no longer available for download, it is still listed and discoverable in the Microsoft store. Those who already downloaded the app can still use it, but if the app is removed from an Xbox One, it no longer can be reinstalled via the ready to install list.

A member of the Kodi team indicated this may be a technical problem, and added that they’re working with Microsoft on the problem:

We are aware of the problem which has resulted in the disappearance of the XBox version of Kodi from the Microsoft Store. Members of the Team are currently working on resolving the issue. We appreciate your patience and we should have it visible in the Store soon. No need for any further reports from members that it is no longer in the Store.

There’s still no word on when the app will once again be available for download, so it’s best to keep the app installed if you’ve already had a chance to download. Let us know in the comments below if you’ve also experienced this issue.

PUBG has quickly been translating its PC success to the Xbox platform, easily crossing 3 million players not long after the game came out. It’s a huge milestone for PUBG, and something that Aaron Greenberg was quick to brag about on Xbox Wire. This is just another notch in the belt of what’s become one of the largest names in gaming, both for the everyday gamer and for the larger streaming community. It’s even been able to garner some serious attention in competitive circles, opening up to an unexpected audience.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Passes 3 Million Players on Xbox One https://t.co/Sj7UsEQANL via @xboxwire

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 11, 2018

For players who just recently got their copy of PUBG – either on its own or alongside their Xbox One X – Microsoft is holding a “Tips and tricks” stream on Mixer, on January 16th. If you’re anything like me and have never come close to winning a game, this should help elevate your skills so you can start competing.

Yesterday, Microsoft released the open-source PowerShell 6.0, which works on Windows, as well as Linux and Mac machines. However, there may be some changes coming, as noted by a ZDNet report. While this is exciting news, it should be noted that there are two branches of PowerShell:

“PowerShell Core runs on Windows 7, 8.1 and 10; Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012 R2, 2016 and ‘Semi-Annual Channel’ (the twice-annual feature update to Server); macOS 10.12 and above; and a variety of Unix flavors, including Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, OpenSUSE and Fedora.

As is the case with .NET, there are now two distinct branches of PowerShell: Windows PowerShell, built on .NET Framework, and PowerShell Core, built on .NET Core. Microsoft is not planning to release any new versions of Windows PowerShell. The 5.1 release is the last of that line, but will be supported for the foreseeable future. PowerShell Core can work side-by-side with Windows PowerShell.”

This should come as no surprise, as Microsoft announced their plans to make PowerShell open-source and available on Linux and Mac, back in 2016. Even though Microsoft detailed that they would provide updates to PowerShell just like they will in Windows 10 and Office 365. If you have questions about how the release of Microsoft PowerShell might affect you, be sure to check the FAQ page here.

Microsoft has released a new set of firmware updates for its Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, and Surface Book devices that contain fixes for the recently recognized security vulnerabilities known as Meltdown and Spectre.

In addition to fixes noted in Microsoft security advisories 170012 and 180002, the original Surface Book firmware update includes some bug fixing and performance improvements:

• Intel (R) Audio Display (v10.22.1.102) improves audio stability.
• Intel (R) HD Graphics 520 (v22.20.16.4811) improves DirectX 12 and power performance.
• Intel (R) Management Engine Interface (v11.7.0.1040) improves system stability.

You can check Windows Update on these machines to download and install these important updates.

(via MSPU)

After introducing the possibility to control a Windows 10 PC with your eyes last year, it seems that Microsoft is working on something truly mind-blowing. A new Microsoft patent titled “Changing an application state using neurological data” describes a solution for controlling apps with your mind, no eyes or gestures needed (via CBInsights).

Microsoft filed the patent in May 2016, and it describes a solution for using neurological data (including electroencephalography, or EEG) for facilitating application state changes. The patent also mentions a computer system connected to an EEG sensor, which would be configured for changing the state of an application in response to received neurological user intention data. “In some circumstances, neurological user intention data corresponding to a physical gesture is generated when a user thinks about and/or focuses on a movement in the same way an amputee might think about moving an amputated limb,” the patent reads.

Microsoft explained that this mind control technology could work with several types of applications including games, VR apps, a web browser, a word processor and more. The patent mentioned different types of mind-controlled operations as well:

Operations may include object move operations, build operations, edit operations, animation or actuation operations, data input or output operations, display operations, audio operations, character/object movement or control operations, menu operations, navigation operations, processing operations, or other operations performable within the application to modulate input or output, settings, responses (e.g., visual, audio, and/or mechanical responses), and the like.

This is a pretty fascinating patent overall, and Microsoft certainly isn’t the only company working on new ways to interact with computing devices. Microsoft recently received a lot of criticism for killing off Kinect, but who needs gestures when you can mind-control your apps? It will probably be years before this technology becomes a reality, but the future definitely looks exciting.

Microsoft yesterday announced that Windows developers now have the option to add paid subscriptions and automated recurring billing in all UWP apps. This means developers can sell digital products inside their apps, earning more revenue while also providing Windows 10 users a seamless purchase experience.

Developers can feel free to visit the Microsoft Store App Developer Agreement for more details on the fees related to subscriptions. To enable the feature, a UWP app must also target the Windows 10 Anniversary Update or a later release in Visual Studio.

Developers will receive 85% of the subscription price, minus applicable taxes for apps. For games, developers get 70% of the subscription price, minus applicable taxes. Windows 10 users can manage any purchased subscriptions from the services and subscriptions page for their Microsoft account.

This is definitely an interesting step in making the Microsoft Store in Windows 10 more enticing for developers. Do you think this will help Windows developers make more money? Drop us your thoughts in the comments below.

Rainway has announced that they’ll be launching their open beta on January 20th. Rainway is an experimental service that aims to provide gamers with a free way to stream PC and mobile video games to their Xbox One and Nintendo Switch consoles. A new trailer shows Rainway in action.

“We’re happy to share with you today our vision for the future of PC and mobile gaming. With Rainway we hope to usher in true device agnostic gaming using our low latency streaming technology,” the YouTube video’s description reads. “Pair Rainway with your favorite console or smart phone for an unprecedented experience.”

The open beta will be for Rainway’s web platform which means that it won’t work on the Xbox One just yet but gamers should be able to try out streaming a PC game from one computer to another or even a tablet or smartphone and play it in the web browser.

Interested gamers can sign up for the open beta on the official Rainway website.

Microsoft launched a similar service within the Windows 10 Xbox app which allows Xbox One console owners to stream their gameplay to a Windows 10 PC that’s on the same Wi-Fi connection. There is no option for streaming a game running on a Windows 10 PC to an Xbox One though so Rainway, if it works as well as it looks in the trailer, could be a popular tool for many people.

Would you like to stream a PC game on your Xbox One console? Let us know in the comments below.