Microsoft’s pitch of a world overrun by Universal Windows Platform developed apps has to come to full fruition. The company has done an admirable job in building the foundation of a single-core operating system that would indeed foster a truly universal app experience, but it would seem that most developers remain hesitant at best or indifferent at worst regarding Microsoft’s UWP proposition.

Fortunately, Microsoft is attempting to dissuade doubtful developers through a multi-pronged strategy that includes tempting app developers from platforms beyond Windows. Not only is Microsoft hoping that iOS and Android developers eventually seek the multifaceted development environment of Windows, but that they will come to depend on its simplified workflow.

To further encourage developers from iOS environments, Microsoft is announcing iOS Web Debugging for VS Code available on Windows and Mac.

Our new iOS Web Debugger works quite similar to our Chrome debugger which we introduced back in February. Under the hood it’s the same debugger running inside VS Code, which is powered by our open source vscode-chrome-debug-core library. To make the connection from our debugging library to the iOS device, we are leveraging two open source projects, ios-WebKit-debug-proxy and ios-webkit-debug-proxy-win32; that enables communication with the iOS devices over USB through the WebKit Remote Debugging Protocol. The protocol is compatible with the Chrome Debugging Protocol for the script debugging APIs, and this means our debugger works without additional mapping logic.”

Alongside the new debugging Protocol, developers can also look forward to additional feature support coming with iOS Web Debugging that includes, setting breakpoints, stepping, stack traces, debugging eval scripts, virtual port forwarding via HTTP and more. Developers will also find that iOS Web Debugging will help them increase their user base by supporting development for expanded hardware that includes development for watches and consoles.

For those interested, visit the GitHub repository here, or follow its development on Twitter. Let us know in the comments what you think of Microsoft’s cross-platform development tools.

If you’re looking for a Xbox One S 2TB launch edition then you might want to act now. Amazon.com currently has the 2TB launch edition Xbox One S in stock, and it’s even eligible for free same day and one-day delivery in some markets!

Obviously, the 2TB launch edition comes with a  2TB Internal Hard Drive Xbox One S Console, 1 Xbox Wireless Controller (with 3.5mm headset jack), 1 Console Stand (for vertical orientation), HDMI cable, AC Power cable, and a 14-day Xbox Live Gold Trial. It also packs the power of High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology and support for a 4K output.

You might want to act fact, though, as supplies of the console may be limited, and can dwindle pretty quickly, In fact, the current listing only show that only 5 more left in stock! So, act fast, and act now, and be sure to come back to WinBeta to let us know if you’ve gotten yourself a brand new Xbox One S 2TB launch edition console!

Media.net, the tech company which powers Bing and Yahoo’s contextual ad program, is being acquired for $900 million. Bloomberg reported this morning that Media.net is being acquired by a group of Chinese investors. The group is led by the Chairman of Beijing Miteno Communication Technology Company, a provider of cellular towers.

Bloomberg also reports that Miteno “has been ‘moving aggressively’ into mobile advertising and hoped to accelerate the transition through an acquisition.” However, Miteno does not have enough cash to make such a large purchase, so they have worked with a group of investors to finance the acquisition. The sizeable deal is being reported as “the third larget ad-tech acquisition in history.”

Media.net helps automatically select which ads appear on a website based upon the site’s actual content. For example, if you are reading a webpage about hamburger recipes, then Media.net’s technology picks up on the context of that content and places ads for hamburger restaurants on the webpage. Media.net powers contextual ads for Yahoo and Bing.

Media.net was founded by Divyank Turakhia in 2010. He was able to create his firm while remaining the sole shareowner. So by the end of the two-step transaction, the entrepreneur will become $900 million richer. But because the acquisition is taking place in stages through an intermediary group of financiers, we’ll have to wait and see What this could mean for Bing and Yahoo’s contextual ad program.

Tomorrow, August 23, 2016, Microsoft’s Vice President of Enterprise Open Source, Wim Coekaerts, will keynote LinuxCon in Toronto, Canada. This will be the first keynote ever for Coekaerts, who left Oracle to join Microsoft earlier this year. With the recent release of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Coekaerts will go over the newest developments for the Linux platform at Microsoft.

Hello World! Check us out at Booth No. 3 during #LinuxCon this week. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/4YRqbpmzWm

— Open at Microsoft (@OpenAtMicrosoft) August 22, 2016

Coekaerts is already something of a legend among those in the Linux community, and a great addition to Microsoft for Linux development in Windows 10. Coekaerts will be tasked with showing just how committed Microsoft is to support Linux. Microsoft has already delivered .NET Core, PowerShell, and SQL Server to Linux. Microsoft also open-sourced Visual Studio Code and PowerShell, too.

According to Coekaerts, he will reveal how Microsoft is making Windows 10 available as the best operating system to run open source software:

“In my keynote tomorrow, I will talk about how we are applying our learnings into the Linux ecosystem, what our approach to open source is, what it means for Linux users, and how me and my team are working to take this to the next level.

One of the areas we are focused on is delivering open management solutions. In today’s multi-cloud, multi-OS world, customers need simple, unified tools to reduce complexity. We’re also investing in making Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS), which gives you visibility and control of your applications and workloads across Azure and other clouds, a first-class tool for managing Linux environments.”

Additionally, Coekaerts announced that OMS Docker Container monitoring preview is ready today. OMS Docker Container monitoring preview will allow users to evaluate their “container inventory, performance, and logs from one place, get a simplified view of containers’ usage, and can diagnose issues whether your containers are running in the cloud or on-premises.”

Microsoft will have more announcements in store at Coekaerts’ keynote tomorrow at LinuxCon.

Most of the time when the folks over at Mojang update Minecraft they usually smash bugs. This time, however, the Minecraft developer has announced that the Minecraft Redstone quasi-connectivity bug has become a feature in the Pocket and Windows 10 Editions of the game.

According to Mojang, quasi-connectivity is a known bug which occurred in the PC edition of Minecraft where pistons can receive Redstone power from a distance of two blocks when they are placed in a very specific diagonal position, rather than from a block right next to it. This ultimately meant that players could have powered a piston and then remove the power without the piston detecting it. In fact, some Minecraft exploiters even built Block Update Detectors which took advantage of this.

While this bug was never really intended, Mojang notes that the community found many uses for the feature, and so they have decided to build a new “Observer Block”  into the pocket and Windows 10 Editions which will behave in the same way as the bug. According to Mojang, in a more official matter, the block will check for changes in the environment and, if triggered, switch between emitting a strong signal and an unpowered state.

As always, be sure to stay tuned to us here at WinBeta for all your Minecraft news and information. Be sure to visit our Minecraft news hub, and also drop us a comment below!

Microsoft has announced that the company has signed an agreement to acquire Genee, which is an artificial intelligence power service. The agreement is all part of the Redmond Giant’s efforts to further the ambition of bringing intelligence into every digital experience.

Genee was officially started in 2014 and was co-founded by  Ben Cheung and Charles Lee. Overall, Genee is a technology which simplifies the time-consuming tasks of scheduling meetings. Under the hood, this was accomplished by use of natural language and processing and optimized decision-making algorithms.

As part of the deal, Ben Cheung and Charles Lee will join Microsoft. As a result, the Genee service will shut down on September 1, 2016 and Genee will no longer send useful reminder and agendas from your calendar.  All existing calendar entries created by Genee, however, will remain.

In a blog post about the acquisition, Cheung and Lee express gratitude for the community, and also look forward to what is ahead.

We thank all of you who participated in Genee’s private and public betas. The Genee team will take the valuable experiences and lessons that you taught us to Microsoft, where we’ll continue to build amazing next generation intelligent experiences…. We consider Microsoft to be the leader in personal and enterprise productivity, AI, and virtual assistant technologies, so we look forward to bringing our passion and expertise to a team that is committed to delivering cutting-edge language and intelligence services.

So, what are your thoughts on this acquisition by Microsoft? How do you think Genee will fit into Microsoft’s ambitions? Let us know what you think by dropping us a comment below!

One of the most popular Reddit clients for Windows 10 has received another update. The latest update to Readit brings, as usual, numerous improvements as well as bug fixes. The developer, Caleb Keith, shared the changelog on Readit’s sub-reddit.

In terms of general improvements, the dark theme is now darker than before:

• Darkened back up the dark theme a bit more, if you don’t like it, please use the legacy dark theme. Unfortunately I will never find a balance that will make everyone happy.
  • Darkened chrome color
  • Darkened unread post color a bit

This will be a good change for AMOLED devices. In addition to that, translations and language support have also received some improvements:

• Translations updated across app
  • Settings landing page
  • Inbox
  • Profile
  • Other missing translations fixed
  • Still not quite 100% strings translated such as certain setting names in individual settings pages
• App is now available in Russian, Turkish and Polish

Finally, there have also been numerous bug fixes to improve the app for issues noticed by users:

• Fixed graphical issue (when using small thumbnails) when pressing and holding on a post, you must now release your finger now for the context menu to appear though
• Fixed open post/comments on other device not working sometimes with mobile UI on phones/tablets/desktops
• Fixed return to top button being visible when viewing post content in some scenarios
• The username and subreddit are now ordered the same in the post list as in swipeview for small thumbnail UI
• Fixed overlapping bar on top of post viewer in profile
• The status bar color on mobile now matches the chrome color
• Fixed status bar in light theme

The update is available in the Windows Store now for Windows 10 devices and brings the app to version 5.7.0.0.

Welcome back to our weekly “Windows 10 news recap” series where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s latest operating system. Let’s get started.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update has several new family features

Microsoft has made improvements to Windows 10 in the Anniversary Update that adds an extensive amount of new family features. Changes include setting multiple time limits per day, only showing appropriate content in the Windows Store, instant access request notifications and more.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update causing webcam problems, Microsoft “dropped the ball” on communicating changes

The Anniversary Update for Windows 10 has been causing many people some issues with webcams. Microsoft made some changes to streamline the usability when multiple codecs are trying to be used, which has caused some unintended consequences.

Amazon launches a bare bones Windows 10 app for PC and Mobile

After Amazon abandoned its age-old Windows Phone app, it launched a new Universal App for Windows 10 PCs and Mobile, as well as the Microsoft Hub. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your preferences, the app is simply a web wrapper for its website and doesn’t provide any Windows 10-specific features. Effectively, it is loading their website in an app, rather than directly in a browser, such as Microsoft Edge.

Crowdsourced Windows 10 2-in-1 Pyramid Flipper gets the reddit AMA treatment, to be called the Computer One

A Windows 10 2-in-1 device, known as the Pyramid Flipper, will be called the Computer One and the team behind the device took to reddit to host an AMA, answering several questions surrounding the crowdsourced device.

Microsoft testing tool to fix Windows 10 Anniversary Update freezing problems

Many users of Windows 10’s Anniversary Update have reported issues with freezing. Fortunately, Microsoft is now testing a tool that it hopes will resolve the issues that users are experiencing.

Windows 10 app devs will soon be able to send notifications to select users

Microsoft is trying to provide app developers more APIs and features to work with when it comes to Windows 10, in order to push more app developers to release apps for the platform. One feature that the company is currently testing with some users is the ability to send push notifications to specific sub-set groups of users, through a method known as customer segmentation in the marketing world.

Electronic Frontier Foundation says Windows 10 upgrade tactics are “annoying to downright malicious”

Even following the aftermath of Microsoft’s apparent pushy upgrade methods of getting users on to Windows 10, it is still receiving flak. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has called Microsoft out for its tactics, calling them “annoying to downright malicious.”

When it comes to new builds and updates, here’s what we received this week:

• Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary Update now available for some
• Windows 10 build 14393 gets KB3176934 update, here’s what’s new
• Microsoft releases Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14905 to Fast Ring with new sound, Edge shortcuts, and fixes
• Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build 14393.82 for Insiders in Release Preview

That’s it for this week – let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Privacy is a hot topic nowadays, and that’s for a good reason. Nobody wants their data stolen, personal info accessed, or addresses exposed. A boy band, B-Brave, together with Microsoft, showcased how easy it is to get your personal information stolen just by posting a picture on the internet.

It all started when the boy-band-member, Dioni Jurado, “accidentally” leaked the phone number of his bandmate, Kaj van der Voort. Over 600 phone calls and 4’000 WhatsApp messages were made and sent to his number. But this was no accident. This was a stunt, made to trick the Dutch teenagers to show them how easy it is to get into trouble.

It was revealed that it was a hoax, and why it was done, today in a YouTube video (via Fortune):

The video explains that you should think twice before posting an E-mail address, phone number, or racy picture on the internet because it could lead to unwanted consequences. Results of a survey have also been revealed, showing that over 60% of all Dutch teens had the same password across all devices and services, a quarter have shared their login information with friends, and almost one in five have experienced someone logging into their account(s) without their permission.

These are serious numbers that the dutch teens, me, you, we need to make sure get lower and lower. Let us know in the comments whether or not you take better care of your own information.

Microsoft is rolling out today a new update to the Xbox One system software, and the new build brings several new features and improvement that previously rolled out to members of the Xbox One preview program. Xbox Live’s Major Nelson announced the update on Twitter earlier today, and the new build 10.0.14393.1040 (rs1_xbox_rel_1608.160816-1851) brings new settings for the startup chime, improvements to the Xbox Universal store and more.

Xbox One system update rolling out today features updates to Startup Chime, Xbox Universal Store & more. Details: https://t.co/dt2LTfnaOY

— Larry Hryb ????????☁ (@majornelson) August 19, 2016

Here is the full changelog:

New or updated features

Startup Chime

• You can now modify, turn on, or turn off the startup chime! You’ll find three new options in Settings > Power & startup > Power mode & startup.
  • On (startup chime plays anytime the console is powered on).
  • Only with power button or voice (startup chime plays when console is powered on via the power button or voice; does not play when powered on with the controller).
  • Off (startup chime never plays).

Performance and General Improvements

Xbox Universal Store

• This build contains multiple fixes to address crashes in the Store.
• Fixed an issue which required users to click twice on the buy button.
• Fixed an issue which could sometimes cause time based trials to display incorrect time remaining.
• Fixed an issue which could sometimes cause a “Try again later” error to appear when newly purchased content is downloading.
• Resolved an issue which could cause errors when attempting to purchase or play Movies and TV content.

Sign-In

• Resolved an issue that was preventing some users from being able to sign in.

Xbox Guide

• Speed and performance improvements.

Game DVR

• You should now receive a “storage is full” notification when attempting to upload a capture to Xbox Live if storage is full.

Controller

• Resolved an issue which could cause certain games to fail to recognize the controller upon launch.

My Games & Apps

• Resolved issues which could cause certain apps to fail to install.
• Resolved an issue which could sometimes cause a black screen to appear when attempting to use the Weather App.
• Resolved issues which could sometimes cause Groove Music to crash.

Localization

• Resolved an issue which could sometimes cause the titles of universal apps (Movies & TV) to not appear in the console’s selected language.

Miscellaneous

• General stability improvements for games.

That’s a pretty big changelog, and as usual you can download this latest build on your console by heading over to Settings > All Settings > System > Console info & updates. Feel free to share your experience with the new build in the comments below.

Microsoft supports the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) with the Coexistence Test Plan (CTP); which would allow new LTE technologies to share the same unlicensed spectrum as Wi-Fi. Microsoft joined two other WFA member companies, HP Enterprise and Broadcom, in a letter to WFA to support the CTP and the amount of progress made with CTP so far.

WFA member companies that are currently producing LTE-based products see the CTP progress as slower than expected. However, Microsoft, one of WFA’s founding members, notes that the CTP will be deployed almost twice as fast as any other program in WFA history. While Microsoft supports CTP, Microsoft does have some concerns about the plan specifics.

In a letter to the WFA, Microsoft noted a few problems with the CTP.

“First, LTE-U Forum members continue to oppose the inclusion of Wi-Fi links that operate at low-signal levels into the testing scenarios. Wi-Fi’s ability to operate at low-signal levels is one of the key reasons why an incredible number of simultaneous users can take advantage of the technology. We believe it is both fair and reasonable to insist on testing real-world scenarios that make use of this core aspect of Wi-Fi, and are concerned that continued pressure to exclude low-signal level testing is an indication that LTE-U Forum members are having difficulty fulfilling their promise of fairness in a number of real-world scenarios using the methods they have chosen.

However, the currently proposed compromise threshold is significantly higher than that received by Wi-Fi access points from many battery-powered Wi-Fi clients. Under the current test plan, millions of Wi-Fi devices operating today will be ignored by LTE-U equipment while it is calculating how to share fairly, with the result that some of these devices will be interfered with, and, in the worst-case scenario, will be denied access to the channel completely when some LTE-U devices transmit a signal that will cause Wi-Fi devices to turn off when they assert that it is their turn to transmit.

In addition, we continue to be concerned that there is still no clear understanding about how various unlicensed LTE devices will determine their duty cycle. Microsoft has been involved in cognitive radio research for over a decade, and we are skeptical of the notion that unlicensed LTE equipment can garner enough information to operate fairly based on the amount of energy it receives. To the best of our knowledge, the use of received energy to decide the impact of a radio’s transmissions on an unknown number of neighbors is still an open question in research.”

While WFA has been successful in delivering effective certification programs for wireless technology for over 17 years, Microsoft still has some reservations about the Coexistence Test Plan (CTP). At the moment, Microsoft supports the WFA. However, Microsoft hopes once the CTP is complete, there will be a fair balance between Wi-Fi and LTE, giving everyone the best wireless service possible.

The upcoming arcade platformer, Slain: Back from Hell, has just been given the release date of October 5th for its launch on Microsoft’s Xbox One console.

Inspired by the hack-and-slash platformers of the 80s and 90s, Slain: Back from Hell features of 15 hours of non-linear gameplay across a variety of levels featuring boss fights, mini-boss fights, sub-mini-boss fights, and even “macro-sub-mini-boss fights”. The game contains no levelling or grinding but it does give the player the option of three unique weapons to choose from. The heavy metal soundtrack was recorded by Curt Victor Bryant, formally of Celtic Frost.

Here’s the official game description: ‘Slain! – A gothic puzzle-combat platformer with gore galore. Putting a strategic twist on the classic hack and slash games of the ‘80s and ‘90s.’ Players control Bathoryn, a hero in a Gothic world, seeking to liberate seven great towers from 7 deadly overlords. Bathoryn must battle his way through a doomed land packed with gruesome pixel art foes before ascending (or sometimes descending) each tower, defeating puzzles, traps and monsters alike. At the heart of each tower, he must confront a mighty overlord. Defeat it and Bathoryn’s quest continues. Fail, and you’ll die gruesomely – mauled by werewolves, disintegrated by floating monstrosities, squashed by great weights or torn apart by hidden blades. And you will fail…

Nick Alfieri, Director at Digerati, the publisher behind Slain: Back from Hell, had the following to say about the upcoming console release, “Since launching on PC, Slain has undergone a complete overhaul that has made the game a strong mixture of gory combat, platforming and strategy. These changes have earned high praise from the community and soon enough console gamers will get to experience the ultimate metal game.”

Are you looking forward to Slain: Back from Hell and are you a fan of its retro arcade graphics? Let us know in the comments below.

Farming Simulator 17 is now available for digital pre-order and pre-download on the Xbox One. The game, as most could probably tell from its title, is a farming simulator which tasks gamers with running their own farm.

Here’s the official game description: Farming Simulator 17 invites you into the challenging world of a modern day farmer. Take on all the challenges of farming life, including animal husbandry, crops, sales, and woodcutting. You decide how you want to manage and grow your farm in a huge, open world! Farming Simulator 17 is coming fall 2016 with a load of new features (new map, new brands and vehicles, new animals to breed, and a load of new gameplay features that we will unveil in the coming months).

Pre-order Farming Simulator 17 on Xbox One

Those who pre-order the Farming Simulator 17 will get two bonus tractors, the Challenger MT700E Field Viper and the Valtra T-Series Cow Edition. A special Premium Edition of Farming Simulator 17 is also being sold. That version contains the same two bonus tractors and a season pass for future content.

Are you a fan of simulation video games? Share your favorites with the community in the comments below.

Did you know, Microsoft has a division within its company walls called the Forms team? If you answer is no, then you probably haven’t a clue what the Microsoft Forms team does or how it would benefit you in slightest.

The Microsoft Forms team is primarily composed of company engineers who seek to create a “go-to resource for summative and formative assessments, surveys and more,” that teachers can use to measure a student’s progress.

As an example, guest author Laura Stanner, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert and technology integration consultant joined the company’s Office Blogs to rave about a new feature which arrived on Microsoft Forms recently.

My favorite feature in Forms—Individual responses

• A brand new feature, based on teacher feedback, is Summary responses, which allows teachers to quickly see class-wide trends. Teachers can also “pop out” and project one of the questions in the summary response to watch the pie charts change in real-time with their students, as answers are submitted. That makes for a visually engaging, real-time experience for students, too.
• While Summary responses helps teachers see class-wide responses, in today’s classroom teachers also need the ability to capture individual feedback to quickly guide instructional decisions, and more.
• That’s why the Individual responses option, linked to Summary responses, is an incredibly welcome addition to Forms, and perhaps my favorite feature!
• As a teacher, I now have the ability to identify individual student mastery, struggles and possible needs with a quick click of a button while still accessing whole-group summative data.
• And the link between the summative and individual responses is what makes Forms an incredibly valuable tool for educators around the world.

In Stanner’s write up, she gives a few more hands on examples of how Microsoft’s Forms can help individualize teacher/student interactions. That include the benefits of an “individual response” for teachers as well as students and some ideas on how to use Forms for more summartive and formative data collecting.

As Forms continues to develop, it seems set to replace the now, seemingly antiquated Excel Survey with a more streamlined experience for educators looking to get more granular data through, well, forms. While attempting to unseat Excel Survey, Forms currently leverages user’s knowledge and familiarity with Excel to gain adoption by allowing educators to download Form responses directly into Excel.

The Forms team is also seeking advice on which new features to add to Forms and encourages teachers to makes use of the Feedback button during any session to offer ideas or suggestion on development. In the near future, the Forms team would like the service to become its own dedicated app that will include teacher-requested features such as image support, branching and other improvements to quizzes and more in addition to the aforementioned individual response support.

For more information on Form or the team behind it, either contact them via the Feedback section during a session or head to the Microsoft Office blog to read more.

School may be out, but that doesn’t mean that teachers get to rest. Microsoft joined a group of math teachers over the summer at PCMI (Park City Mathematics Institute), a three-week experience that’s meant to help teachers better do their jobs, helping them stay sharp and privy to new ideas in education. Microsoft and the Office team came down to help teachers better use their peers as resources, getting them to come together and work on education resources together.

Getting a bunch of teachers coming from all different backgrounds to work together on one thing can be tough. The team here was about as varied as they could be, coming from elementary school, middle school, and high school – not to mention the fact that they hail from all over the world. In the blog post detailing this project, it was made clear that there was a whole lot of work that went into getting everyone organized using OneNote.

Despite all of the differences the team of teachers had, they were able to work together without much issue when they got the hang of OneNote and OneDrive, which let them easily share their ideas and files with one another through the cloud. Once everybody got over the hurdle of “Why can’t we use Google Docs?” everything went smoothly. Even though some people didn’t have the Office suite installed on their computer, the online tools worked just fine and were able to get people to work without making them go out and install anything.

Tons of effective learning resources arose as a result of this project and all of them are available online now. These projects stand as effective proof that, with the right tools, it’s possible for anyone with a common goal to come together and create something helpful.