Throughout the summer, Microsoft has been releasing updates to the Bing Maps Web Control, which is essentially the Bing Maps seen on the web and in apps. In a post on the Bing Blog, the company gave an overview of the new features that have been added.

Known as Bing Maps V8, the eight version of the web control, it’s a competitor to Google Maps, and in comparison to the search market share, Bing also comes second in the maps world. Here’s a rundown of the updates that have been made available:

Custom Map Styles

Customize the look and feel of the road maps inside of your application. Change the colors of the roads and land, hide certain types of labels. Create a style that aligns with your applications UI, company branding or change it just for fun. Not only are these available in the Bing Maps V8 Web Control, but you can also use custom maps styles with the Bing Maps REST Imagery service (static map images) and with the Windows UWP map control.

GeoXml Module

Easily import and export common spatial file formats such as KML, KMZ, GeoRSS, GML (via GeoRSS) and GPX. Load it as a layer on the map or directly access the data with just a few lines of code.

Ground Overlays

Overlay georeferenced images on top of the map so that they move and scale as you pan and zoom the map. This is great for building floor plans, overlaying old maps, or imagery from a drone.

In addition to these updates, Microsoft released an open source project that contained more than 160 code samples for using Bing Maps Web Control. Now, that project hosts over 200 samples; these samples include an SVG Pushpin Maker, a Solar Terminator Module and more.

To see the updates in detail and try out some examples, take a look at the post on the Bing Blog.

For those in the Windows 10 Insider program on the Fast Ring, an update to the View 3D app is making its way down the lines and into the Windows Store, delivering a new feature that Microsoft promised previously – the ability to superimpose 3D models into the real world.

With this update, several 3D models are made available, such as the Curiosity Rover, Harajuku girl, elephants and more, as well as objects that have been downloaded via Remix 3D.

After selecting a 3D model of your choosing, there’s now a button that will open the camera/webcam of your device, and allow you to begin placing the 3D model into the picture.

This update is only available on Windows 10 PCs and tablets. No word on Windows 10 Mobile at this time.

Go wild – show us your creations in the comments below!

Download
QR-Code

3D Viewer

Developer:
Microsoft Corporation

Price:
Free

Yooka-Laylee received its first major update on Xbox One. I know that Yooka-Laylee is not exactly a well-known Xbox One game. However, it remains one of the most funded UK games on Kickstarter ever produced, raising more than £2,090,104 of its £175,000 goal.

Yooka-Laylee is a 3D platformer that is the “spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie.” Banjo-Kazooie was a Nintendo 64 (N64) game featured in Xbox One’s Rare Replay game. In a post on Reddit and on Playtronic Games’ official website, there is an extensive list of all the updates and bug fixes for Xbox One. Most notably, the new update fixes camera design issues that players experience throughout gameplay.

One downside to Yooka-Laylee is that it lacks Xbox Play Anywhere support, otherwise Yooka-Laylee is a solid 3D platformer on Xbox One and Windows 10.

Buy Yooka-Laylee on Xbox One.

Buy Yooka-Laylee on Steam.

The Windows Insider monthly webcast has become the new monthly rendezvous that Windows 10 enthusiasts don’t want to miss, and this month you’ll once again be able to ask your burning questions to the team. This time, you’re invited to submit your questions about Microsoft’s Engineering Systems operations, including how Windows 10 is built, everything automated testing and more.

#WindowsInsiders: Pre-submit your questions for the upcoming Engineering Systems webcast this month! Details here: https://t.co/dkzmAFk3RR

— Windows Insider (@windowsinsider) August 10, 2017

You can submit more than one question if you want to, though be aware that feature suggestions or questions about product bugs won’t be addressed during the podcast. As usual, you’ll be able to follow the webcast on Mixer and we’ll let you know when the date has been set.

Last week, the popular simulation video game Slime Rancher became available for free for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. After its highlight in Games with Gold, developer Nick Popovich announced that now it has over 2.6 million downloads via Xbox One.

Over 2.6 million people have downloaded Slime Rancher on Xbox One. #GamesWithGoldSlimes

— Nick Popovich (@NickPopovich) August 11, 2017

The game has been building steam since its early access began in January of last year culminating in its official release on August 1 for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Xbox One. Slime Rancher has also been announced to be heading straight for the Windows Store, eventually hoping to become an Xbox Play Anywhere title.

Slime Rancher is available for free right now on Xbox Live Gold or you can pony up the $19.99 to join in the fun. Learn more about it in the store link below.

Download
QR-Code

Slime Rancher

Developer:
Monomi Park

Price:
$4.99

Earlier this week, the much-anticipated Spotify for Xbox One app finally launched on the Xbox Store, which was a pretty great milestone for the gaming console. While Spotify did not release the native UWP app that many would have like to see, Microsoft has been promoting the new Xbox One app pretty heavily these days. You may have seen the new app being prominently featured in the Xbox store, and even Xbox’s Major Nelson shared his first public playlist this week:

Here is my custom @Spotify playlist inspired by games I've played and more. ???????????????? https://t.co/EOJ0bQ5DY4 https://t.co/IoTgCHX8Wl

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) August 8, 2017

For those unfamiliar with Spotify, the service has many social features including public playlists, collaborative playlists and more. That’s why many brands and public figures are now creating public playlists (even Barack Obama did at some point), so the launch of the Xbox One was a good opportunity for one of Xbox’s well-known ambassadors to step in.

Major Nelson’s first public playlist kicks off with Game of Throne’s popular opening theme music, and it includes some cool video game music from Gears of War 4, Mass Effect 3 as well as some modern and old-school pop music. The exec shared on Twitter that he will refresh the playlist at some point, and your suggestions are welcome. Additionally, he’s also working to bring his podcast to the service, so you’ll be able to listen to it on any device including your console.

I am working on getting my podcast on @Spotify so you can listen to it on your Xbox One as well.

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) August 9, 2017

This is all good news for Spotify users, but we can’t avoid the elephant in the room here: yes, Spotify is currently much better than Microsoft’s own Groove Music app, and the company seems well aware of it. Spotify has pretty much all the music you want (including video game music), a great collection of podcasts, and it’s completely free to use (with ads). It’s great to see that Microsoft is promoting it, but we can’t help but wish that Groove Music received the same kind of support over the years.

Update: Major Nelson’s podcast is now on Spotify, and you can subscribe here.

Super Lucky’s Tale is now available to digitally pre-order in the Windows Store. The game is part of the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative which means that buying it on Windows 10 or the Xbox One will automatically unlock it on the other device. Data will also transfer between each version allowing for players to begin a game on their Surface Pro, for example, and continue it on the Xbox One. Here’s the official game description & teaser video:

Welcome to Adventure! “Super Lucky’s Tale” is a delightful, playground platformer for all ages that follows Lucky, the ever-optimistic, energetic, and lovable hero, on his quest to find his inner strength and help his sister rescue the Book of Ages from Jinx. Jinx is the scheming and mysterious villain trying to reshape the world, but for what reason? Along the way, encounter a hilarious supporting cast of friends and adversaries. Lucky must confront the nefarious Kitty Litter, Jinx’s mischievous kids – self-taught villains who might not be getting Jinx’s plans quite right. Lucky meets friends and allies along the way too. He meets misplaced Yetis, Kookie Spookies, a village of farming worms, and other colorful friends inhabiting the Book of Ages.

Test your skills with carnival attractions mini-games and nerve-wracking obstacle courses. Plus, surprise “Jinx Levels” popping up when you least expect them, drawing Lucky into a fiendish game of life and death. Explore hidden secrets of new worlds with Lucky’s signature burrow move. Dive into unpredictable foxholes, or try devilish side scrolling challenge levels to unlock additional rewards. Head back to the era of classic platformers with challenges players of all skill levels and all ages can enjoy.

Super Lucky’s Tale was announced for the Xbox One at this year’s E3 and it will be one of the first video games to offer 4K resolution imagery when played on Microsoft’s new Xbox One X console. The game is due for release on November 7th just two weeks before the launch of the Xbox One X.

Are you going to pre-order Super Lucky’s Tale? Let us know in the comments below.

Download
QR-Code

Super Lucky’s Tale

Developer:
Xbox Game Studios

Price:
Free

If you’re a Microsoft Rewards Member, check the email linked to your account now for a little points bonus from the folks at Microsoft. The company is giving away 500 Microsoft Rewards points for free to certain members as an apology for the rewards system recently being slow.

Notice of the 500 point bonus is being sent out in an email from Microsoft with the subject line “Sorry about that!” We received the email around 6PM ET today, and we’ve also included Microsoft’s apology note for you below.

You may have noticed recently that our system was slow to grant your points while searching, shopping, and browsing with Microsoft. We’ve fixed the issue and would like to offer you this 500-point bonus to make up for the inconvenience. Our sincerest apologies for the trouble.

To receieve the 500 points, make sure you’re logged into your Microsoft Rewards Account. After you do so, you can then click on the link in the email. Your browser of choice will open, sending you on to the Rewards Dashboard, where you can click on the green “our apologies” offer to cash the points in to your account.

The last time the Microsoft Rewards service acted up was eight months ago, and Microsoft had given members a 1,000 points bonus as an apology. If you’re not already a Microsoft Rewards Member, you can still sign up now. It’s fast and easy, and sometimes fun! Once you’re up and running, you can check out our guide on how you can earn those points quickly.

This is a reminder that the Xbox 360 program Xbox Live Indie Games created to encourage developers on the platform is wrapping up next month (via Neowin). The program is scheduled to be decommissioned and all the games from it unlisted in the Xbox 360 store in September following up on a plan released two years ago.

Many popular titles that have come out through the Xbox 360 era such as Super Meat Boy, Limbo, and more have already converted over to the Xbox Backward Compatibility program. While the titles won’t be available in the store anymore, gamers can still play their purchases still downloaded on their devices.

The program will have ran for eleven years. Indie developers are being encouraged to join the ID@Xbox platform now instead, ushering in an improved way to create video games for Xbox One and Windows 10. You can read more details about the ID@Xbox program here at OnMSFT.

Earlier this year at GDC, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox Live Creators Program, a new initiative to make it easier for indie developers to publish their games on the Windows and Xbox stores. Compared to the pre-existing ID@XBOX program, developers joining the new initiative will be able to integrate Xbox Live into their game (with some exceptions such as Achievements or Internet multiplayer) and publish to Xbox One and Windows 10 without the need for concept approval.

Today, the Xbox team announced that the first wave of Creators Program games are now live in the Windows Store, starting with nine games. All of them are UWP apps, but some are actually available on Xbox One, Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile and even HoloLens:

• Animal Rivals ($4.99)
• Block Dropper ($0.99)
• Crystal Brawl (Free)
• Derelict Fleet ($9.99)
• ERMO (Free)
• GalactiMAX (Free)
• kubic. (Free)
• Space Cat! (Free)
• Stereo Aereo ($3.99)

If you’ve never heard of these games before, that’s normal, and the Xbox team says that you should expect “games that can be quirky and have varying degrees of polish, but are always interesting.”

As these games don’t have to respect the same quality standards as ID@XBOX games, they won’t be proeminently feature on the Windows Store. On a Windows 10 PC, Creators Program games will appear in the Games category, but on the Xbox One they will be regrouped into the Creators Collection section of the Xbox Store. “This gives us all the best of both worlds: A curated store and a fully open marketplace in the Creators Collection,” explained the Xbox team.

It will be interesting to see if many game developers embrace this new initiative, but Microosft promises to “regularly add new games as developers finish their work.” If you’re a game developer, you can learn more about the program on the dedicated website.

If you were bummed to find out that Battlefield 3 was only available through EA Access or disc when it was added to the backward compatibility list, you’ll be happy to know that’s no longer the case.

As bullets whiz by, walls crumble, and explosions throw you to the ground, the battlefield feels much more alive and interactive than ever before. In Battlefield 3, players step into the role of the elite U.S. Marines where they will experience heart-pounding single player missions and competitive multiplayer actions ranging across diverse locations from around the globe including Paris, Tehran, and New York.

As of today, a digital copy of Battlefield 3 can be accessed via the Xbox Store. The twelfth installment of the franchise was released in 2011 with both single-player and cooperative campaigns and all the destruction you could ask for from its generation.

Download
QR-Code

Battlefield 3™

Developer:
Electronic Arts

Price:
Free

Battlefield 1, one of the biggest blockbuster games released on the Xbox One this year, is now available to play for EA Access subscribers (via Neowin). The WW1 shooter follows Titanfall 2, which was added to the EA Access vault last week. Battlefield 1 is still priced at $59.99 on the Microsoft Store today, so it’s now much cheaper to try the game by subscribing to EA Access.

Here is the game’s official description:

Fight your way through epic battles ranging from tight urban combat in a besieged French city to the heavily defended mountain forts in the Italian Alps or frantic combats in the deserts of Arabia. Discover a world at war through an adventure-filled campaign, or join in epic multiplayer battles with up to 64 players, and adapt your tactics to the earth-shattering destruction and dynamic weather. Fight as infantry, lead horse charges or take control of amazing vehicles on land, air and sea, from tanks and biplanes to the gigantic Behemoths – some of the largest vehicles in Battlefield history.

In addition to Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2, the EA Access Vault recently welcomed FIFA 17, Dragon Age: Origins as well as all four Star Wars Battlefront expansions. As a reminder, the gaming subscription service is still $4.99/month or $29.99/year.

Since Microsoft introduced Xbox Live Achievements with the Xbox 360 more than 10 years ago, the gamification system has pretty much become a game within the game for many players. For some, it has even become a real life competition: Ray “Stallion83” Cox, long time owner of the world’s highest Xbox Gamerscore recently reclaimed his crown after losing it to Stephen “smernov” Rowe during his honeymoon (you can check the global Gamerscore Leaderboards on this site).

But does your Gamerscore really represent your true achievements as a gamer, including your dedication to playing your favorite titles? You could argue that the current Gamerscore system doesn’t necessarily reward the most passionate and skilled gamers out there, and it seems that Microsoft now agrees with that.

Mike Ybarra, Corporate Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft recently explained that the Xbox team is thinking about revamping Xbox Achievements to better reflect your gaming accomplishments, independently from your own Gamerscore level. This is what he said during the Xbox Two Podcast yesterday:

Those are all small things that we can do to the system, and the team looks at them. They’re in our backlog of things that we want to get done, but there’s actually bigger, more bolder changes that we have in mind. Nothing that I can talk about now, but something that fundamentally changes the concept … we are working towards a bigger, more meaningful change about somebody’s gaming accomplishments in history, as a gamer on Xbox.

We can do a lot more to reflect and let people show their gaming history and their status. Whether it’s somebody who only plays multiplayer in Halo 5 at a professional level, maybe they only have 2,000 Gamerscore, you want to be able to celebrate that person. You want people to be in the know. This person doesn’t play a lot of games, but they’re world top ten at Halo 5. All the way to people [with over a million gamerscore]. It’s that range that we really need to look at and celebrate … we’re going to go big in the area of letting people show off and represent their gaming history and the type of gamer that they are, far more than we do with Gamerscore.

It’s not exactly clear what the Xbox team has in mind, but we guess it could mean making better use of your personal gaming data to surface interesting facts that are not already rewarded with Xbox Achievements. This is something that the company already tried to do in the past, and you may remind the recent Gamercrest website that gave you a lot of insights on your overall activity on Xbox Live. Hopefully, the Xbox team is working on something much more ambitious and interactive for the future.

Build 1706.170807-1737 will be rolling out to Xbox Insiders in Preview BETA today. It’s a fairly minor update that doesn’t add any exciting new features and make grand sweeping changes but it does fix a glitch that was occurring on systems during the initial set-up phase. Here’s the official notes:

HOW TO GET IT

If your console is in Instant-On mode and you have been selected to receive the update, it will download and install the update and reboot to standby.

NOTE: Once the update is available to you, you can manually begin the update by launching the Guide and navigating to All Settings > System > Updates.

If your console hasn’t downloaded and installed the update by 1:00 AM PDT 8/11/2017 (8:00AM GMT 11/8), you will be prompted to do so at that time.

DETAILS

OS version released: rs2_release_xbox_1706.170807-1737

Available: 6:00PM PDT 8/9 (1:00AM GMT 10/8)

FIXES:

Console Set-up

Fixed an issue which could cause graphical glitches to appear during the initial console set-up experience.

Have you got this update yet and noticed anything surprising? Share your findings in the comments.

In an interview on the Xbox Two Podcast, Microsoft’s Mike Ybarra spoke about the upcoming redesign of the Xbox One dashboard and how it could evolve even further in the future. Something that particularly stood out was his description of the new Content Blocks which would allow Xbox One users to pin specific content to special areas on the dashboard.

“You can imagine a world where you have a Twitter Content Block, and you can see your latest Tweets there or DMs that you want to see,” Ybarra explained. “That’s just one example I made up here. But certainly as we go forward, we think the Content Block idea of giving gamers the ability to customize their home is something that not only apps and game developers will embrace, but consumers will embrace as well. So you’re seeing just the cusp of what we really want to do here.”

His mention of Twitter integration on the dashboard bears a striking resemblance the Live Tiles that were first introduced on Windows 8 devices and Windows Phones and allowed for the display of live, updated content, directly from the Start Screen. Windows 10 devices and current Windows phones still make use of the feature and it’s been something many Xbox One users have been wanting to see for years now, just check out this User Voice suggestion from 2014. Honestly it’s surprising it hasn’t happened before now.

Do you think Microsoft will finally bring Live Tiles to the Xbox One or will this be something completely different? Maybe an evolution of the Live Tile concept? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft unveiled their upcoming visual redesign of the Xbox One dashboard earlier this week and the response from users has been fairly mixed. While most console owners are excited about the new customizable areas, many have begun to voice their dislike of the overall look and are hoping that Microsoft will make some adjustments before the change is rolled out to the general public.

One group of Xbox One users on Reddit in particular have begun commenting heavily on a fan-made image of a potential new Xbox One dashboard that mixes elements of the current look with more conveniently placed recent and custom pins (see the image above).

Microsoft’s own Larry Hyrb has already seen this suggestion and commented on it publically in the thread. “I’ll pass this along, but do know members of the Xbox team browse here frequently – so it’s probably already been seen internally,” he wrote.

The Xbox team at Microsoft constantly takes feedback from users online and in particular those who are Xbox Insiders (select members of the community who have opted-in to test features and changes). What changes would you like to see made to the Xbox One dashboard? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Microsoft is proud to announce that Xbox Academy is back in session at the Microsoft Store! This year, the flagship Microsoft Stores in New York and Sydney, Australia will be offering Xbox Academy game development classes for free.

This year, Microsoft will be offering the free game development classes in a partnership with the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE). AIE is a renown organization in the game development, 3D animation, and visual effects industries and is partnering with Microsoft to provide education to the next generation of game developers for Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs.

Xbox Academy will offer three courses; Game Development, Game Programming, and Game Design, providing insight and education into a different stage of game development to help aspiring game developers to turn their ideas into playable games. Xbox Academy students will be able to save their games for further development on their own time.

Even if you can’t take part in the Xbox Academy in New York or Sydney, you can still take part by using your Xbox One as your own game development kit.  You can learn how to develop games on your own through the Xbox Live Creators Program. The Xbox Live Creators Program allows you to publish games to Xbox One and Windows 10 through a simple process; open a Dev Center account.

Students aged 14 years and over are invited to participate in Xbox Academy and can register via the links below:

Flagship Microsoft Store in New York: Sunday, Aug. 20 to Sunday, Sept. 3; visit here to register.

Flagship Microsoft Store in Sydney: Monday, Sept. 25 to Sunday, Oct. 1; visit here to register.

There are limited spots available, so act fast!

Last year, Microsoft relaunched its Xbox Insider Program by moving away from the previous invite-only system to something similar to the Windows Insider Program. As of today though, the four different Xbox Insider rings are not as flexible as the Windows 10 Insider rings, because the Xbox team chose to base the system on meritocracy: as a result, only the most dedicated users can get access to the upper rings today, which could be frustrating for adventurous users who may not have the time to report all types of bugs with the Xbox OS.

After taking the time to listen to user feedback, the Xbox team announced today that it’s changing how the Xbox One Preview rings work with more flexilibity in mind. “This means Xbox gamers will now be able to easily opt into the Xbox Insider program and gain earlier access to the latest system updates and flighted games, explained Xbox’s Principal PM Manager Todd Headrick.

First of all, Microsoft is now allowing Xbox Insiders with a certain XP level to enroll in other rings that were previously invite-only. Additionally, the company is also renaming the Preview Ring 3 and Ring 4 to Preview Delta and Omega. “With these updates, many new Xbox Insiders – previously limited to Ring 3 or Ring 4 – will be able to join the Xbox One Update Preview Beta and Delta groups, thereby expanding the types of updates and features they’ll be able to test right away,” explained Headrick.

As you can see below, anyone can join the Omega ring (previously Ring 4), which will get 1 to 8 updates per month. After gaining some XP by completing quests, Omega ring members will be able to move to the Delta and Beta rings and get new preview builds more often (the Beta ring can receive up to 15 preview builds per month). However, the Alpha ring will remain invite-only for now.

A few things to note:

• Some Preview Delta Insiders will get preview builds earlier than others. “This process gives developers a better understanding of how different sets of users experience new features, when introduced,” explained Headrick.
• After gaining access to the Preview Beta and Delta Rings, Insiders will be able to switch back to lower rings at any time.
• More importantly, Xbox insiders with multiple consoles can choose to enroll different consoles into different rings (assuming they already gained access to upper rings).

In addition to making the Xbox Insider Program more flexible, Microsoft is also working to make early access to games and apps a bigger part of the initiative. “As we said earlier, the Xbox Insider Team is working closely with multiple 1st party and 3rd party game studios to bring you playtests of unreleased games,” shared Headrick. “Along with games, Xbox Insiders can also get early access to unreleased Xbox console apps and updates, so keep checking the Xbox Insider Hub to see if new content opportunities are available to you.”

To be clear, you don’t need to download preview builds on your console to get early access to exclusive content: you can join the Xbox Insider Program by downloading the Xbox Insider Hub (you can now do it on your Windows 10 PC, too), gain XP points by rating content, answering surveys and even completing some basic quests without having to enroll your console into one of the different Preview Rings. This is perfect for gamers who, as an example, want to test the upcoming Better Together udate for Minecraft without having to mess with Xbox Preview builds.

Overall, these are all positive changes though some of you may regret that the Preview Alpha Ring is still invite-only. The Xbox Insider Program is still not as simple as the Windows Insider Program (though this program has its own issues, too), but it’s now much easier to climb your way up to upper rings. Let us know in the comments what do you think of all these changes to the program.

Yesterday Microsoft unveiled a new look and some new features for Outlook.com, offering a sneak peek in the form of an opt-in beta rolling out over the next few weeks. As it turns out, gaining access to the beta is as easy as changing the url from outlook.com/owa to outlook.com/mail. So if you haven’t tried out the beta, give it a look and let us know what you think in the poll below:

Are there any features of the new Outlook.com, even in this early stage, that appeal to you? Do you like the new placement of the Search bar, and the new search capabilities? Are you happy or sad to see Skype integration gone, at least in this version of the beta? What else strikes your fancy? Let us know in the comments below.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the launch of a new Outlook.com beta program. The company said it was slowly rolling out the beta, and noted standard non-premium Outlook.com users will be seeing a “try the beta” button when it is available on their accounts. The Verge, though, has learned that everyone can try out the new Outlook.com beta with one nifty little trick.

According to the report, if you’re waiting to see the “try the beta” button on your Outlook.com account, you can get access to the beta by changing the URL. To do so, first, you need to open the standard outlook.com and sign in as regular. Then, once everything is loaded, you can head to the address bar and remove /owa/ from the URL replacing it with /mail/ instead.

You can also try clicking this link to access the new beta, as it includes the /mail/ in the standard outlook.com URL. Importantly, by going this route, you should be aware that you should not unclick the “try the beta” toggle, as it will permanently disable the beta for you. Instead, to return back to the old Outlook.com, all you need to do is do the reverse, and remove /mail/ from the URL, replacing it with /owa/  You can also try clicking here as well.

Interestingly, we managed to get the beta working on our Office 365 Web Mail by following the above directions. Microsoft did not publicly state that the beta would work with Office 365 accounts. However, since Office 365 and Personal accounts use different URLs, you should be able to use the beta with both accounts at the same time in the same browser. We also noticed that the Skype and Skype for Business buttons are gone in the Outlook.com beta, which is not shocking since some found it annoying.

Features of the Outlook.com beta include a fresher look, modern conversation style, improved search and photo experiences, support for sending GIFS, and more. It’s a very clean look, and more closely aligns Outlook.com with the Windows 10 UWP Mail app. If you have the beta, submit your feedback to Microsoft, and let us know your thoughts by dropping us a comment below.

Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is now playable on Microsoft’s Xbox One console. This new collection of games contains faithful recreations of the classic Mega Man 7, 8, 9, and 10 video games and features online leaderboards, time trials, galleries and more additional content for modern gamers to enjoy. Here’s the details:

The Blue Bomber is back in this second collection of classic Capcom titles! Featuring faithful reproductions of Mega Man 7, 8, 9, & 10, this collection spans the iconic series’ evolution and retro revolution. Take on the nefarious Dr. Wily and his diverse Robot Masters in these timeless 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit adventures! Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 is bursting with additional content, from time trials and remix challenges with online leaderboards, to a music player and an extensive gallery of rare illustrations. Also included are the additional modes originally released as DLC for Mega Man 9 and 10, featuring extra stages and playable characters. For anyone who wants a little extra help with these challenging classic platformers, you now have the option to reduce the amount of damage received.

Buy Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 on Xbox One

Are you a Mega Man fan? Let us know which video game is your favorite in the comments below.

In a recent interview, Stephen Viljoen, the game director of the upcoming Xbox One title, Project Cars 2, spoke about Microsoft’s new Xbox One X console and how it would compare to Sony’s rival powered-up console, the PlayStation 4 Pro.

“I can’t tell you exactly what all the various sliders will be at when you’re on Xbox One X versus on PS4 Pro, but obviously they’ll be higher, so there will be a significant, a noticeable improvement, because you have better hardware,” he said while discussing how their games adjust their visuals based on the hardware of a PC or video game console. “Our engine inherently is scalable, so on the PC we expose that to the player, so going into performance options on the PC, you can see there’s things that you can take from low to ultra, for example track and car detail. So there’s a ton of settings, so what we do is we use that when we target a new platform and we set that optimally for each platform.”

It’s been known for a while now that the Xbox One X would be more powerful than the PlayStation 4 Pro but it’s been up to the game developers to take advantage of the improved hardware and choose to change the visuals for each platform. One game could be released on both of Microsoft and Sony’s consoles for example and look near-identical.

Project Cars 2 is due for release on the Xbox One on September 22nd while the Xbox One X console is set for a November 22nd launch in 13 countries. Are graphics important to you when choosing a game? Let us know in the comments below.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 is now available to purchase digitally within the Windows Store and viewed on Windows 10 PCs, mobile phones, and Xbox One consoles. The film is a sequel to the first Guardians of the Galaxy film and was met with great acclaim when it debuted in cinemas earlier in 2017. The digital version comes with a plethora of special features though is lacking some of the extras which will be made available with the Blu-ray release on the 22nd. Here’s the official film description and trailer:

Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Marvel Studios’ GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and characters from the classic comics come to their aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.

Buy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 in the Windows Store

Have you seen this movie yet and did you like it? Let us know in the comments below.