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.

Download
QR-Code

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.

Download
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.

As you likely know by now, some users with AMD Windows PCs were reporting boot up issues after installing Microsoft’s Meltdown security patch. This caused the company to eventually pause the update for AMD based PCs. Well, it looks as though Windows is not the only operating system impacted, as the Meltdown patch is also bricking some Linux Ubuntu systems.

Linux and Ubuntu users have apparently been venting about the “bricking” issue on the Ubuntu forums, and also contributing technical info about it on the Ubuntu Launchpad bug tracker. Supposedly only Ubuntu users running the Xenial 16.04 release are experiencing bricked systems after updating to kernel image 4.4.0-108.

Canonical originally released Kernel image 4.4.0.108 on January 9, and a security bulletin notes that this was to correct Meltdown. There have been subsequent Linux Kernel updates, including 4.4.109, and 4.4.0.109.114 which attempt to alleviate the bricking issue, though it has not worked for everyone. Others have also said that rolling back to the previous kernel image also resolves all problems, except for being protected from Meltdown and Spectre, of course.

A new video game based on the popular Sword Art Online anime series, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet is now available to pre-order on the Xbox One family of consoles. The new game is due for release on February 23rd this year and is a third-person action roleplaying game. Here’s the official game description.

Your fate has just begun… Experience an original story where you are the protagonist in the world of Gun Gale Online. Create your own avatar and explore devasted lands while experiencing exciting third person shooting in this action RPG. Encounter enemies and run into new and familiar faces from the Sword Art Online series.

Journey through a world of guns where after a chance encounter you’ll gain the help of a very rare AI, ArFA-Sys. Along the way, you will have to make choices. But every choice comes with a price… Will you bring hope or despair? This is your adventure… This is your story…

Pre-orders of Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet will also receive two exclusive costumes and a unique weapon for use in-game. Are you a Sword Art Online fan and are you hyped for this game? Let us know in the comments below.

Download
QR-Code

SWORD ART ONLINE: FATAL BULLET Pre-Order Bundle

Developer:
BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment

Price:
Free

Microsoft has done a last minute update to the release notes for their Xbox Insiders build that was rolled out yesterday. While nothing has been removed from yesterday’s notes, something rather interesting was added; Scheduled Themes. Here’s the new information that was added.

Put your themes on a schedule! You’ll soon be able to switch between light and dark themes based on time of day.

The notes are pretty self-explanatory. There will soon be a setting that Xbox One owners can enable that will automatically change the visual appearance of the console’s user interface at different times of day. This setting will be first offered to Xbox Insiders for testing and feedback and then rolled out to the average Xbox One owner soon afterwards.

Would you enable this feature on your Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft, Intel and PC manufacturers are still dealing with the Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities these days, and contrary to Intel’s reassuring statements from last week, the fixes will have a performance impact, especially on older PCs. Microsoft chose to be transparent today, with Executive Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group Terry Myerson addressing the issue head-on in a detailed blog post.

The good news is that for Windows 10 PCs with modern Intel processors, the Windows security patches plus the additional firmware updates necessary for addressing a specific variant of the Spectre vulnerability won’t have a big impact on performance. However, for Windows 10 PCs with Intel Haswell CPUs or older as well Windows 8 and 7 systems using these same old processors, the performance impact will be much more significant. Moreover, Myerson added that the software and firmware updates may also cause a “more significant performance impact” on servers.

Here is a summary of what Microsoft’s latest research revealed:

• With Windows 10 on newer silicon (2016-era PCs with Skylake, Kabylake or newer CPU), benchmarks show single-digit slowdowns, but we don’t expect most users to notice a change because these percentages are reflected in milliseconds.
• With Windows 10 on older silicon (2015-era PCs with Haswell or older CPU), some benchmarks show more significant slowdowns, and we expect that some users will notice a decrease in system performance.
• With Windows 8 and Windows 7 on older silicon (2015-era PCs with Haswell or older CPU), we expect most users to notice a decrease in system performance.
• Windows Server on any silicon, especially in any IO-intensive application, shows a more significant performance impact when you enable the mitigations to isolate untrusted code within a Windows Server instance. This is why you want to be careful to evaluate the risk of untrusted code for each Windows Server instance, and balance the security versus performance tradeoff for your environment.

Overall, owners of modern Windows 10 PCs shouldn’t see a big difference after installing the software patches plus the Intel firmware updates. “For context, on newer CPUs such as on Skylake and beyond, Intel has refined the instructions used to disable branch speculation to be more specific to indirect branches, reducing the overall performance penalty of the Spectre mitigation,” Myerson explained. “Older versions of Windows have a larger performance impact because Windows 7 and Windows 8 have more user-kernel transitions because of legacy design decisions, such as all font rendering taking place in the kernel.”

A couple of days ago, Intel announced its plans to release firmware updates for 90% of processors from the past five years by the end of this week. Today, the company added in a press release that it will issue updates to the remaning 10% by the end of January, and also release patches for other products thereafter. “Based on our most recent PC benchmarking, we continue to expect that the performance impact should not be significant for average computer users,” the company explained. “This means the typical home and business PC user should not see significant slowdowns in common tasks such as reading email, writing a document or accessing digital photos.”

Terry Myerson wasn’t as optimistic today, and the exec promised that Microsoft will publish all of its data on benchmark performance in the coming weeks. “We’re also committed to being as transparent and factual as possible to help our customers make the best possible decisions for their devices and the systems that run organizations around the world,” Myerson added.

Apparently, Microsoft is looking to update Xbox Achievements with a new “Careers” system and other special Avatar bonuses. As noted by Windows Central, Microsoft is looking to enhance Xbox Achievements to complement the new Avatars that were originally slated to arrive in Fall 2017. Since the new Xbox Avatars won’t arrive until early 2018, it looks like Microsoft may be bringing new surprises with Xbox Achievements too.

Microsoft looks to be planning a new website too; “Career.XboxLive.com.” Although the website is not publicly accessible at the moment, the website may further describe how the upcoming Career system would work with Xbox Achievements. Based on the documentation that Windows Central received, here’s how the new Career system might work. 

“It appears that players using this new Career system will be able to obtain levels, and even prestige ranks, obtaining rewards such as loot crates which come with cosmetic items for the new Avatars system. The Career system also comes with Quests to complete specific objectives, such as playing certain games, which will also come with crate and experience points as rewards.”

It is too early to know for sure how the new Xbox Career system will work, if it is ever implemented at all. It may come when the new Avatars are available, or Microsoft might hold off on releasing the Xbox Career system until later in 2018. Unless we get more concrete details or an official comment from Microsoft, nothing is known for certain how the Xbox Career system will work. However, it sure is exciting! Stay tuned!

Microsoft is looking for beta testers to test out Messaging.io (M.io) chat to Microsoft Teams.

M.io will help you stay connected and chat with your contacts regardless of what chat platform they use; Slack, SPark, HipChat, and more:

“M.io lets you chat with your contacts on any platform – all from within Microsoft Teams as your central messaging hub. For example, you can chat with your colleagues or external peers that are using Slack all from within Microsoft Teams. It’s some heavy duty magic we’ve been working on and we’re excited to start sharing with the community.”

If you are interested in becoming a beta tester for M.io, you can sign up using your email. It will be interesting to see how M.io works within Microsoft Teams, but it looks like it’ll be an even better way to stay connected and collaborate. Stay tuned for more information on this feature in an upcoming Microsoft Teams update!

Yesterday we reported that Microsoft would no longer accept Bitcoin as a form of payment online. Though the company said it was “temporary” measure Microsoft has since pushed back and restored the ability for users to reload their Microsoft account balances using Bitcoin (via Thurrott.com.)

Since the original reports surfaced, Microsoft apparently worked with their provider to correct any issues, and is now once again accepting Bitcoin. A statement from a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed this.

“We’ve restored Bitcoin as a payment option in our store after working with our provider to ensure lower Bitcoin amounts would be redeemable by customers.”

Bitcoin is a bit of a wild currency, especially because values tend to fluctuate higher and then lower every day, and because there is a transfer fee involved. Microsoft previously stopped accepting Bitcoin back in 2016, only to pull back and once again accept it two days later.

Yesterday reports surfaced on some AMD PCs not booting properly after installing the latest Windows 10 security patch. As a result, many Windows users with AMD powered PCs took to Microsoft’s support forums to complain about the issue. In the face of this criticism, Microsoft has halted the AMD Meltdown and Spectre patches, instead saying it is now working with AMD to resolve the problems and issue another update soon (via The Verge.)

The halt means that AMD PCs will no longer receive the KB4056892 patch which is causing some machines to become unbootable. In fact, the reason many were experiencing issues is that the AMD chipsets would not “conform to the documentation previously provided to Microsoft.”

Microsoft further elaborated on the situation via a statement on their support website:

“Microsoft has reports of customers with some AMD devices getting into an unbootable state after installing recent Windows operating system security updates. After investigating, Microsoft has determined that some AMD chipsets do not conform to the documentation previously provided to Microsoft to develop the Windows operating system mitigations to protect against the chipset vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown.”

The following security updates are also no longer being pushed to PCs with AMD processors:

• January 3, 2018—KB4056897 (Security-only update)
• January 9, 2018—KB4056894 (Monthly Rollup)
• January 3, 2018—KB4056888 (OS Build 10586.1356)
• January 3, 2018—KB4056891 (OS Build 15063.850)
• January 3, 2018—KB4056890 (OS Build 14393.2007)
• January 3, 2018—KB4056898 (Security-only update)
• January 3, 2018—KB4056893 (OS Build 10240.17735)
• January 9, 2018—KB4056895 (Monthly Rollup)

Those who already installed any of these updates are being urged to visit Microsoft’s support website. The website explains how a user can troubleshoot Windows 10, Windows 8.1, and Windows 7 in the event that the operating system is unbootable.

A new Preview Alpha build (1802.180105-1503) is now available for Xbox Insiders. This latest build adds several improvements to the Xbox One’s Guide (i.e. the pop-out menu) relating to Achievements and Game Hubs and also introduces the Do Not Disturb option which was used on the Xbox 360 but hadn’t been integrated into the Xbox One generation of consoles yet. This new option essentially disables notifications while turned on.

Other changes include improvements to the Community feed, inactivity shutdown, and a new avatar option in addition to a variety of bug fixes. Here’s the official release notes.

NEW FEATURES:

We’re excited to return in 2018 with new features that impact the way you access your games and Achievements, how you let your friends know whether you’re able to play, and much more. Over the next several weeks, Xbox Insiders will begin to see a variety of cool new features they can interact with and provide feedback on. Here’s a look forward at some of the excitement still to come:

Starting today at 6 p.m. PST, Xbox Insiders enrolled in the Alpha ring will receive the latest Xbox One system update (1802.180105-1503). With this update, you’ll be able to use the “Next Achievements” feature in the Guide, which enables you to view and sort a cross-games list of upcoming Achievements. Easily see which Achievements you are closest to, and quickly launch the game to obtain them. Sort filters allow you to prioritize next Achievements by closest, most common, rarest, most common rare, and highest Gamerscore.

Mini Game Hubs will soon be available right in the Guide. With this feature, you’ll be able to access great content for the games you’ve played recently from a Game Hub without ever having to leave the action. Mini Game Hubs provide an easy way to see friends who are currently playing, upcoming Achievements, Looking for Group posts, and more.

Sometimes all you want to do is avoid all distractions and focus entirely on your game. We’ll be including a “Do not disturb” online status, which will suppress notifications and let your friends know that you’re not available for another game or activity right now.

We’re tweaking the community feed to make it easier to view comments. You’ll soon be able to see a peek of the most recent comment on community posts, with comments rearranged to place those that are most recent at the top. You’ll also be able to see who has liked your comments.

To address user feedback, we’re adding additional inactivity shutdown options to the Power mode & startup menu. In addition to shutting down the console after one or six hours of inactivity, you will be able to select options for two, three, four and five hours.

Alongside the updates listed above, which will work their way naturally through the Xbox One Preview Update rings, a subset of users may also see additional experimental features. These features are only enabled for a portion of the Xbox Insider audience to gauge interest and collect feedback. Your participation in the Xbox Insider Program helps us make the work-in-progress content and features coming to Xbox even better

FIXES:

Narrator

Narrator can read large amounts of text.

KNOWN ISSUES: 

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.

Games Installation

Some users are encountering where some games that are installed are failing 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.

Are you an Xbox Insider? Let us know if you’re enjoying these new features in the comments below.