Skype announces all-in-one Universal Windows App as Insider Preview

Posted on by Kip Kniskern

Last November, Skype released a consumer preview of Skype integration for Windows 10, offering separate apps for video, voice, and messaging. These task oriented apps tested well for mobile and smaller screens, but feedback from those apps has revealed that on larger screens, users are more interested in a single interface that takes up less screen real estate and consolidates functions into a single app.

Skype app narrow view
Skype app narrow view

With that in mind, Skype is introducing a new, fourth Universal App for Skype, that it’s calling the “Skype Universal Windows Platform App Preview for Windows 10.” This new app won’t replace the current preview task focused apps, but will combine their functions, eliminating duplication and unnecessary menus, with a single global Settings menu in the initial release and context menus to come.

The app includes the following features:

• Sign in with your MSA account and link a SkypeID
• Show and change your availability
• See a list of your existing Skype contacts
• Initiate a chat with anyone in your contact list
• See that the other person is typing
• Logout
• Make one-to-one calls and send messages
• Personalize your experience with emoticons and Mojis
• Send photos
• See notifications for incoming calls and messages outside of the app
• Participate in existing group chats

Work has also been done on the home screen, according to a conversation we had with Barbie Stafford, Director of Product Marketing for Skype, in order to further simplify the user interface. The new home screen will feature your most recent conversations and your most recent people, making it easier to initiate conversations.

The new app will work alongside the current task focused apps, and Stafford told us that Microsoft will continue to invest in those apps, as users prefer them for smaller screens. You can also still use the Skype for Windows desktop app, but Microsoft will be working in stages to streamline all Skype for Windows features into the new Universal App, as they gather feedback and monitor performance.

Windows 10 Mobile will be getting this new app as well, although the preview will first be released for Windows 10. At that point, you’ll once again be able to use either the task-focused apps or the new all-in-one app on mobile, too.

There’s a FAQ for the new app, so check it out and let us know what you think about this latest Skype app.

Microsoft researcher looks back on 10 years of computational thinking

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft Research Corporate Vice President and industry thought leader Jeannette M. Wing has again taken to the Microsoft Research blog to express her thoughts on computer science, this time recounting the decade of change in status for the subject since her paper titled “Computational Thinking” was published in 2006.

With her piece, Jeannette championed the idea of computational thinking – “how computer scientists think”, in her words – at a time of low interest for computer science since the dot-com bust of the early 2000s. Reality seems to have followed her vision, as computer science is becoming more and more popular as part of education – the foundation for the future. Ms. Wing herself has witnessed a lot of these changes at the forefront of the field: in undergraduate programs, K-12 level, online education, all over the world, and especially in the US, where the government is heavily funding computer science education. Microsoft’s contributions were also mentioned with collaborative educational projects like code.org.

Challenges still remain for computer science’s widespread adoption, however, and one of the biggest, according to Ms. Wing, how to build an effective teaching program that caters to different growth stages. Computer science is a comparatively new field of study when we consider subjects like mathematics or history, and what to teach, when, and how, will continue to be a tough issue. Appropriate use of technology in the classroom is another problem needing a solution. Nevertheless, Ms. Wing is confident in society’s effort towards realizing her vision of computational thinking becoming a fundamental skill by the middle of the 21st century, and with companies like Microsoft at the forefront, we have to agree.

Microsoft’s snarky Twitter bot Tay.AI currently offline after just one day

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

One day after Microsoft launched Tay, a chatbot designed to engage and entertain people, the service has gone offline.

While Tay was originally aimed to research human interaction and speech models, the service suddenly started sending out racist, homophobic, and nonsensical tweets.  This was caused by “trolls” on Twitter who would misuse Tay’s “repeat after me” service by tweeting Microsoft’s newest bot with racist and derogative remarks.

So, with Tay being an artificial intelligence robot, it apparently inadvertently started repeating those remarks back to other users, leaving a trail of unintended nasty utterances. Microsoft, however, has since corrected the issue by going on to pull offensive tweets and then finally take Tay offline.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, Tay appeared to send the world what could be considered a farewell message.

https://twitter.com/TayandYou/status/712856578567839745

When an attempt is made to contact Tay on Kik, a similar message is left and the bot responds that it is away for “updates at the engineers.”

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Tay is away for updates at the engineers.

At launch, Microsoft had claimed that Tay uses relevant public data which has been “modeled, cleaned and filtered.” So, while it would appear filtering was not in place here, this no doubt displays what happens when the general public interacts with artificial intelligence.

Adblock Plus extension for Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 confirmed

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Internet ads can be a nuisance, especially ones that increase a webpage’s loading time or that automatically play videos in the background. Worse yet, ads can sometimes prevent us from getting important information. With this kind of reputation, it’s no wonder many people are using Adblock Plus and similar tools for a better web experience. For Windows users, reports of Microsoft Edge getting the Adblock Plus extension in the upcoming update have them asking when. Fortunately for Edge users, those reports have recently been confirmed by Adblock Plus developers.

Adblock Plus for Microsoft Edge is in the works

Adblock Plus was first released 10 years ago, since then becoming one of the most installed browser extensions in the world — and rightfully so. While this popular extension is available for many modern browsers, certain ones lack extension support, making it impossible to use Adblock Plus. However, it seems things are looking good regarding Adblock Plus support for Microsoft Edge.

It’s no secret that Microsoft is planning to bring extensions to Edge browser. In fact, Insider members have already gotten support for browser extensions alongside other major Microsoft Edge improvements. With extensions support just around the corner for non-Insider members, users are eager to know when Adblock Plus for Microsoft Edge will be released.

According to a recent tweet by Adblock Plus developers, it seems Adblock Plus for Edge is in the works, and should be available as soon as Microsoft authorizes its release. Since both Microsoft and Google use similar architecture for browser extensions, porting extensions from one browser to another is a pretty streamlined process for developers — especially after Microsoft’s development of a tool to make the process even easier — so we expect to see Adblock Plus for Microsoft Edge soon.

Adblock Plus is one of the most anticipated extensions for Microsoft Edge and although many people are eager to try this extension, we’ll just have to sit patiently and wait for Microsoft to release browser extension support to the public.

Chrome extensions to arrive on Microsoft Edge with Microsoft’s new tool

Posted on by Ivan Jenic

Microsoft brought extensions to Microsoft Edge last week as one of the first features of Redstone builds for Windows 10 Preview. However, only three extensions are currently available to use in Microsoft Edge: Translator, Mouse Gesture, and Reddit Enhancement Suite.

As a part of the plan to bring more extensions to Microsoft Edge, Microsoft will introduce a new tool that will allow developers to port their Google Chrome extensions over to Windows 10’s browser. Microsoft’s Jacob Rossi announced the tool on Twitter a couple of days ago, stating that the while the port is being worked on, it’s not ready yet. Apparently, the tool will be presented to developers as soon as all the APIs are supported.

Lots of questions on this: yes we’re working on a porting tool to run Chrome extensions in Edge. Not yet finished and not all APIs supported

— Jacob Rossi (@jacobrossi) March 18, 2016

Porting extensions from Google Chrome to Microsoft Edge is already quite simple as it requires just a few adjustments in code. With Microsoft’s tool, though, bringing them over should be even simpler.

Windows 10 to support everything

Microsoft is trying to do a few revolutionary things with its latest, and probably final, operating system. One of Microsoft’s biggest plans for Windows 10 is to make it compatible with services, products, and apps from other platforms. For that reason, Microsoft has already announced a few tools similar to this Chrome extension porting tool that will allow developers from other operating systems to deliver their apps and features to Windows 10 easily.

To bring iOS apps to Windows 10, Microsoft has Project Islandwood. To transform Win32 apps into Universal ones, there’s Project Cennential. Now, Microsoft is preparing another tool to bring Chrome extensions to Microsoft Edge. Microsoft also has plans to make it possible for Android app developers to port their apps to its platform with Project Astoria, but that initiative was discontinued.

As for Microsoft Edge itself, the browser is still relatively young and lacks a lot of features present in rival browsers. Fortunately, Microsoft is constantly working on improving its browser and delivering new features like full compatibility with Cortana, so we can say that the introduction and expansion of extensions is only a start.

Even more, find out all about IGFollow Chrome extension. Let us tell you from the start that it passes the security checks but there’s one issue you should know about.

File Explorer to get overhauled on Windows 10

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Previously known as Windows Explorer, File Explorer on Windows 10 is slated to receive a major update soon according to reports. File Explorer allows users to work with files and folders on their PC, network, and OneDrive.

The File Explorer is without a doubt one of the most used applications out there. Its last major update came with Windows 8, which consisted of developers adding ribbon UI for common tasks such as creating, copying, or moving folders in addition to zipping and emailing items.

While we agree that File Explorer is an awesome application, it currently doesn’t have a UI optimized for modern touch based devices. For example, when you try to use the File Explorer on a Surface Pro 4 device, it is quite difficult to touch the options that you want to access.

Previously on Windows 8, there was a modern OneDrive application which allowed you to use File Explorer to browse through files on touch screens. However, Microsoft hasn’t added the OneDrive app to Windows 10, which means that there is no official method that allows you to browse files from another device.

File Explorer to Receive Soon an Overhaul on Windows 10 2

Microsoft is aware of this issue and, according to reports, it is currently working on it. Peter Skillman, GM of Core UX for Windows Desktop, has confirmed that File Explorer will receive a major update soon which will allow users to operate it with ease on touch-based devices. Unfortunately, Skillman didn’t say exactly when we’d see this update added to Windows Insider builds, but we are hoping that this will happen soon.

However, Microsoft will need to make sure that during the process of modernizing the File Explorer app that it will not make the application less powerful or more annoying for both touch and keyboard and mouse users.

Blizzard teases upcoming Overwatch team-based shooter with CGI short

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Overwatch is Blizzard’s upcoming team-based shooter set to release on May 24 for Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4 users. To keep the buzz going around its upcoming product, the developer released the first in a series of CGI animated shorts taking a closer look at several of the game’s heroes.

The company’s first clip, titled Recall, clocks in at around eight minutes long and Blizzard focuses on the super-intelligent genetically engineered gorilla Winston.

What Blizzard is making here is more than just promoting a game: the company is actually producing cinematic content and in the process, showing that it’s slowly moving towards a more expansive business model — something that was made clear when Blizzard Entertainment announced their partnership with Legendary Pictures for the making of the Warcraft movie.

An open beta for Overwatch will begin on May 3 for those who pre-ordered the game. What’s nice is that you can invite a friend, as well. You should know, however, that the early access offer ends on April 29, so get moving if you’re interested!

You can now download Fallout 4’s first Automatron DLC pack for PC

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

As we reported last week, Fallout 4’s first DLC, titled Automatron, was slated to be released on March 22nd. Bethesda made the DLC available, which will add new missions trees and craftable robots to the game.

If you’re playing Fallout 4, you should know that you can now download the first of a series of DLC packs for $9.99 as a standalone purchase or as part of the $49.99 Fallout 4 Season Pass. The DLC is available today for download worldwide on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. Here’s what Bethesda had to say about this DLC pack:

In Automatron, the mysterious Mechanist has unleashed a horde of evil robots into the Commonwealth, including the devious Robobrain. Hunt them down and harvest their parts to build and mod your own custom robot companions. Choose from hundreds of mods; mixing limbs, armor, abilities, and weapons such as the all-new lightning chain gun. Even customize their paint schemes and choose their voices! (For characters level 15 or higher.)

Bethesda also reminds players that future DLC releases will include the Wasteland Workshop in April and in May, you will be able to travel beyond the Commonwealth to Maine for Far Harbor — allegedly the largest landmass Bethesda Game Studios has ever created for post-release content.

There will be even more add-ons to be released in 2016, such as free updates like Survival Mode and the Creation Kit, which will allow you to create mods on the PC. So for those who’re really into this game, it makes sense to get that Season Pass considering there’s going to be so much additional content.

If you encounter various problems when playing Fallout 4 on your Windows 10 device, make sure to take a look at our guide on how to fix them.

Microsoft announces Azure Storage Python Client Library 0.30 preview

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Today, Microsoft released version .30 of the Azure Storage Python Client Library. The updated version of the app contains everything that the last version had, but with a few additions for good measure. The developers noted that the changes made were based on customer feedback, in order to keep the program “on par with our other libraries.” You can see the blog post announcing the new version of the app right here, but if you just want to see what’s new in this version, just take a look below:

  • Append Blob support
  • File service support
  • Lazy Enumeration for listing APIs
  • Account SAS support
  • Table Batch refactors
  • JSON Table formatting support

In the blog post that came out with this update, we were reminded that all of the work being done on Azure Storage Python Client Library is available for everybody to see on Github. The developers assured us that fully functional samples of the program are going to be “available soon” for people who want to be able to use the program in its intended form.

Tom Clancy’s The Division gets a huge patch, brings a ton of improvements

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Tom Clancy’s The Division is officially the fastest-selling game ever alongside being the most played game on Xbox Live, beating out Activision’s Call of Duty — something that is sure making Ubisoft smile widely.

But like any release of such a popular game, the developer tries to patch new bugs as soon as possible. Such was the case with Tom Clancy’s The Division as Ubisoft released yesterday the 1.0.2 patch for all platforms. This patch brings important changes for PC, PS4 and Xbox One, a collection of bug and exploit fixes, and improvements to PVP gameplay in the Dark Zone. Here’s how the full patch notes look like —it’s indeed a mammoth one:

Gameplay

Named enemies will now drop better loot in Challenge mode than in Hard mode.
Added a cooldown period for the Static Turret stun attack in order to avoid a stunlock in PvP and PvE game modes.
Named NPCs will no longer respawn after being killed in the Open World. This will prevent situations where players were able to kill a same named NPC over and over again.
Modifications to the weapon talent: Trained. It can now only be rolled on Shotgun, Marksman rifles and Pistols
Its bonus has been reduced from 1%-5% to a constant 0.1%
For the Midas SMGs, Trained Talent has been replaced with Responsive Talent which increases damage when getting closer to the target. This applies to existing weapons as well as newly acquired ones
For all SMGs, LMGs, and Assault Rifles, it will be replaced with another randomly picked weapon talent. This applies to existing weapons as well as newly acquired ones
Fixed a speed run exploit for the Rooftop Comm Relay mission
Fixed an issue where weapons dealt no damage if the reload animation was interrupted by an agent’s skill
Fixed an issue where players became stuck in an emote animation if activated via chat while auto running
Fixed a bug where skill power would be increased permanently while using the Death by Proxy talent
Fixed a bug where experience was not being awarded for completing all side-missions in the Midtown East safe house
Fixed instances where the Seeker Mine with Airburst / Multi-mine mod would detonate too soon, miss targets or cause no damage
Fixed a bug where grenades would sometimes not display the blast radius warning before detonating
Fixed an issue where some NPCs in low cover would not react to being shot by the player
Fixed issues where emotes would cause the player model to behave oddly (missing guns, player stuck in emote animation, etc)
Fixed a bug where weapon mods and weapon skins would not show up on other players in the game world
Fixed an issue where DPS would not be calculated properly when purchasing a new weapon mod

Dark Zone

Players can now heal other neutral players in the Dark zone, by using First Aid and Support Station skills
Players are now able to fast travel to Dark Zone checkpoints, but only when coming from outside the Dark Zone
The Dark Zone disconnect timer has been increased to 30 seconds, meaning players will remain in the game world longer when logging out while in the Dark Zone (this applies while not in combat)
Items extracted from the Dark Zone are now properly marked as “new” items when moved to the players inventory
Players killed in the Dark Zone now drop ammo, medkits and grenades. This loot is generated and not taken from the dying players’ inventory
Players killed in the Dark Zone will lose less Dark Zone Funds and Experience (Rogue and non-Rogue)
Dark Zone Funds and Experience rewards for surviving Rogue status have been improved
Dark Zone Funds and Experience rewards for killing Rogue agents have been improved
Phoenix Credits drop have been increased on lvl 31 and 32 enemies in the Dark Zone:Please note that due to this fix causing client stability issues, we have to remove it from this update until it can be addressed in a next one
Lvl 30: 1-3 Phoenix Credits
Lvl 31: 2-4 Phoenix Credits
Lvl 32: 3-5 Phoenix Credits
Increased drop rate of High-End items from lvl 31 and 32 named NPCs in the Dark Zone.
Increased drop rate of High-End Division Tech Material from lvl 32 named NPCs in the Dark Zone.
Improved Dark Zone Chests items quality: Rank 30 chests will now drop Superior (Purple) items instead of Specialized (Blue)
Keys chests now have a chance to drop High-End (Gold) items
Dark Zone Funds drop rates and quantity on NPCs has been reduced.
Fixed a bug where the Wildfire and Fear Tactics talents were affecting neutral players in the Dark Zone.
Fixed instances where players would receive a DELTA error message when entering the Dark Zone
Fixed a bug where sometimes players could not loot anything after returning to the game following a network disconnection
Fixed Stage 1 Rogue timers not displaying correctly when Rogue players receive damage from another player

Graphics

Fixed a few lights that did not cast global illumination

UI

Added more information for Daily missions on the Map
Tutorials have received some UI polish
The Matchmaking menu now displays the mission difficulty rating more prominently
The mini-map mission tracker has been optimized to be less confusing to players
Fixed a bug where some of the attributes for high-end equipment were cut-off in the recalibration menu
Fixed a bug where the Matchmaking menu for a mission would not display correctly or kept disappearing
Fixed missing item icons in the Reward Claim Vendor’s inventory
Fixed incorrect side-missions being displayed in the Map legend

Audio

Fixed a bug where the helicopter crash SFX would be missing from the Brooklyn end cinematic
Fixed a bug where the Zapper Turret mod had no sound
Fixed a bug where the audio for entering a contaminated area would be cut-off
Fixed a bug where audio would not play when scrolling through vanity items

Localization

Fixed Ubisoft CLUB reward descriptions in Korean and Traditional Chinese
In-game localization bug fixes

PC

Tobii Eye Tracking bug fixes and improvements
On launch, the PC client now monitors PC graphic settings and applies the best settings for the user’s configuration. This is unless the user has custom settings.
Fixed an issue where the Map was sometimes difficult to navigate with a mouse
Fixed issues with Hungarian, Korean, and Russian localizations
Fixed an issue that prevented matchmaking while on the Map
Removed the Store button from the Character Selection screen on PC versions of the game. Players can find the store page in the Ubisoft CLUB app directly
Fixed increment number on Day 1 Patch Notes (was 1.1, now correctly states 1.01)

Xbox One

Fixed a bug where players could not reconnect to the servers after suspending the game on Xbox One
Fixed a bug on Xbox One where unblocking a player would not be reflected in-game until title reboot

PlayStation 4

Added an option to disable the PlayStation 4 controller speaker
Improved textures and models streaming speed
Fixed an issue where ISAC volume could get too loud when playing with headsets

As we can see, the most important change for Windows PC users is that on launch, the client will now monitor PC graphic settings and will apply the best settings for the user’s configuration.

Future updates to The Division will bring two free content patches, adding Ubisoft’s take on end-game MMO-like raids as well as paid expansions as part of its season pass.

Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC Cold Darkness Awakened comes to Windows 10

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Square Enix’s Rise of the Tomb Raider was released on both the Windows 10 Store and Xbox Store at the end of January despite previous talk the game would be made an exclusive to Xbox users.

Recently, the game enjoyed an updated with support for DirectX 12 and now, Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have revealed a March 29th release date for their upcoming Rise of the Tomb Raider DLC titled Cold Darkness Awakened.

Here’s what the DLC is all about:

“Decommissioned during the Cold War, a dormant weapons research base has been breached, unleashing a mysterious affliction into the Siberian wilderness that transforms men into blood-thirsty, mindless killers. Lara must overcome increasingly dangerous waves of these infected adversaries while scavenging their equipment and crafting additional gear on the fly, in kill or be killed survival-combat.

Fight for your life against new enemies and complete new challenges while discovering a way to stop or perhaps even reverse this impending catastrophe. Includes the Ushanka outfit, which reduces Lara’s damage from melee attacks, the devastating Voidhammer shotgun, and the Cold Darkness Awakened Card Pack which includes over 15 new Expedition Cards.”

A new video showing the complete Rise of the Tomb Raider experience was released as well, giving us a first look at Cold Darkness Awakened. This new DLC has Lara exploring the most treacherous and remote regions of Siberia to find the secret of immortality before a ruthless organization known as Trinity does first. Over the course of the new campaign, you’ll experience high-octane action, conquer beautifully deadly environments, engage in brutal guerilla combat, and explore awe-inspiring tombs.

⇒ Get Tomb Raider 1+2+3 from GOG.com

Cold Darkness Awakened is also part of the game’s season pass, so if you have one, you’ll get it for free. The Rise of the Tomb Raider Season Pass also contains Endurance Mode and the recently released Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch DLC. If you don’t have the game yet, you should know that it’s currently being featured in the Xbox Store’s Spring Sale from March 22 – 28.

Microsoft giving developers tools to bring voice to all Windows 10 interconnected devices

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft has been expanding the Internet of Things for a while now, and according to a presentation they gave in China, they aren’t going to be slowing down any time soon. The presentation, named “Natural User Interface Technologies for IoT,” is aimed at providing developers new ways to approach the implementation of innovative user interfaces. Possibly the most significant thing to come to light in this presentation, however, is what’s in store for the IoT regarding voice recognition.

slide1

On top of some more technical information regarding the utilization of voice recognition with IoT devices, these charts were included to give people an idea of what may be coming in the future. The charts give a brief overview of the priorities to keep in mind as voice recognition is developed for more devices, and runs down a few details.  If you’d like to get a idea of where Microsoft may be headed with the development of voice recognition in IoT, you should consider running down these charts to see what’s on their mind.

slide2

If the charts aren’t enough, you should check out the entirety of the presentation–or even look at some of the other presentations. Everything that Microsoft showed off at this conference is located right here, available for anyone to peruse at their leisure. It’s quite a lot to look through, but for anyone who finds themselves especially interested in some of the inner workings of Microsoft and other software developers, it’s always fun to dig into their presentations and see how they’re directing developers. This was just a training conference for developers–no big news about what’s under Microsoft’s sleeve–but third party developers are always going to be the backbone of how we operate our devices.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4 vs. Apple’s new iPad Pro: the battle for the ultimate PC replacement

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The tablet war is heating up again. Microsoft has already released its Surface Pro 4 while Apple is expected to launch the iPad Pro 9.7 (which it claims is the ultimate PC replacement) for sale on March 31, 2016. We’re going to compare both of these hybrid tablets and let you decide which one is right for you.

Design

The Surface Pro 4 measures 292.1 x 201.4 x 8.4mm and weighs 786 grams. Its chassis is made of magnesium alloy affording it a very sturdy construction, but it’s thinner and lighter than the previous Surface model. On the other hand, the iPad Pro 9.7 is slimmer and lighter than the Surface Pro 4, coming in at  240 x 169.5 x 6.1mm and weighing either 437 grams (Wi-Fi variant) or 444 grams (LTE variant). It sports a design similar to the rest of Apple’s tablets, with an aluminum body and three colors to choose from: Space Gray, Silver, and Gold.

Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Display

The Surface Pro 4 has a 12.3-inch PixelSense display that supports a resolution of 2736 x 1824 pixels. The iPad Pro 9.7 comes with a smaller 9.7-inch IPS LCD display that supports a lower resolution of 2480 x 1536 pixels.

Processors, Graphics Cards & RAM

The Surface Pro 4 features three variants in processors, graphics cards, and RAM:

– CPU: M3, i5, and i7;
– GPU: Intel HD graphics 515, Intel HD graphics 520, and Intel HD graphics 540;
– RAM: 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB.

You only get one choice with the iPad Pro 9.7: an Apple A9X chipset, a dual-core Twister processor clocked at 2.26GHz, a PowerVR Series 7 graphics card, and 2GB of RAM.

Storage

The Surface Pro 4 was released in four storage variants: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The iPad Pro 9.7 comes with internal storage variants, too, albeit a much smaller range 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB. None of the tablets provide a card slot for storage expansion, so think twice about your storage needs before purchasing either of these two devices.

Apple's new iPad Pro

Cameras

The Surface Pro 4 sports an 8MP rear-facing camera and a 5MP on its front side. The iPad Pro 9.7 has a more advanced 12MP rear camera with dual-LEDs, touch focus, face detection, and HDR joined by a 5MP front facing camera.

Latest titles to join Xbox One backward compatibility include Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Dark Souls

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

If you’re one of the Xbox One gamers who play Xbox 360 games on your system, you’re going to enjoy this set of news that we have to offer.

Microsoft has just added two new titles to the list of backwards compatible titles, and is now further allowing you Xbox One gamers to enjoy Xbox 360 titles on your system.

Dark Souls and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 are the two titles which have been added to the list.  If you have the disc based versions of these games, you can now insert the discs into your system, and the console will download the title to your hard drive. You will, however, still need to keep the disc in the drive to play.  In the event that you own digital versions of these titles, they will show up in the “Ready to Install” section on your Xbox one, and once installed they will show up in your list of games.

Xbox One system updates rolling out today, adds Party Chat, more

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

As usual, Major Nelson is up on his blog bringing us Xbox goodness, and this time, it’s all about the newest system update to Xbox One and the Xbox app on Windows coming out today, bringing new features from the Preview, while adding more improvements to both the game-playing and social experience.

The first improvement makes the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller an even more awesome gamepad than it currently is (if that’s even possible), with the new firmware update improving precision for the thumbsticks. The position of the thumbstick is now measured relative to the center focus point of the thumbstick base instead of the normal method, allowing for increased accuracy. Another controller-related improvement is in the Xbox Accessories app for Windows 10, which will now display current firmware version, battery status, and other controller information, similar to its Xbox One counterpart.

Courtesy of Major Nelson.
New firmware, new Elite precision. Courtesy of Major Nelson.

On the social side, the much-awaited feature of Party Chat broadcasting while Twitch streaming has finally been added. Enabling it is as simple as choosing the option to “Broadcast party chat” in the Twitch app settings. Friends can decline to be broadcasted but still be able to chat, and party leaders can choose to mute a member’s audio. The feature works across Xbox and Windows 10 PCs: members from the latter can also join in the broadcast.

A number of other features were introduced in the preview and now available for all, as a refresher, here’s Major Nelson introducing all of the features, including the ability to purchase Xbox 360 backwards compatible titles from Xbox One:

Are you in the preview, or do you wait for the “real thing?” Either way, there are some nice new features now available on your Xbox One.

Microsoft explains Content Security Policy for Hosted Web Apps

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

One of the new forms of apps for Windows 10 being promoted by Microsoft are Hosted Web Apps. While web apps have existed before on the Windows Store, in Microsoft’s newest OS, they finally go from simple wrappers to a powerful alternative to native apps, with the ability to access APIs reserved for Universal Windows Apps (UWA). Unfortunately, this also implies potential security risks, something Microsoft seems to be trying to prevent with a new educational blog post for developers on how to make Hosted Web Apps secure.

What sets Windows 10 Hosted Web Apps apart from their predecessors is the modern, up-to-date Microsoft Edge web platform and rendering engine. This means common techniques for web content security will work for Hosted Web Apps; the focus, however, is on a new feature: Content Security Policy.

1_csp
Courtesy of Windows blog.

Content Security Policy (CSP) is a new security layer invented by the W3C Web Application Security Working Group. It helps reduce risks of cross-site scripting and data injection – two common forms of webpage attacks – by allowing developers to specify where the resource for a particular webpage should come from. The post details how CSP works and some “best practices” for using CSP, including setting up Content URI rules and scope, and applying CSP to all pages that will have access to UWA APIs.

Content Security Policy in action. Courtesy of Windows Blog.
Content Security Policy in action. Courtesy of Windows Blog.

As the dearth of apps on Windows 10 Store continues, Hosted Web Apps is just one of the ways Microsoft is courting developers by minimizing their workload developing for Windows. That does not mean quantity should trump quality or security however, and it’s reassuring to see Microsoft address this issue before it becomes problematic; the rest, now, is up to developers.

 

Pre-order Resident Evil 6 on Xbox One now

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Pre-orders for the current gen release of Resident Evil 6 are now live and the game can be both pre-ordered and pre-downloaded on Microsoft’s Xbox One console starting today.

Resident Evil 6 came out in October 2012 on the Xbox 360 and in March 2013 for Windows. This latest version of the game comes with all of the extra downloadable content that was released in the months following its initial release.

Here’s the official description:

Blending action and survival horror, Resident Evil 6 is a dramatic horror experience that cannot be forgotten. Now in high definition, the game offers multiple characters, including fan favourites and new faces, along with solo and co-op modes and new challenges for players, different from any other in the Resident Evil franchise. This edition includes all DLC, along with two costumes per main character, originally exclusively unlockable through Residentevil.net, that are now unlockable through the game itself.

Resident Evil 0, a remake of the original Resident Evil video game, came out on Xbox One in January 2016 and Resident Evil 4 and 5 have both been confirmed for release on the Xbox One later this year. Are you excited for all of these Resident Evil titles or is it a bit too much? Let us know in the comments below.

Pre-order Resident Evil 6 on Xbox One

New Batman game series from Telltale Games coming this summer

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Telltale Games is a game developer famous for its adventure games that include The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and The Wolf Among Us. What sets Telltale’s games apart from other adventure games on the market are its captivating characters and unique, profound stories shaped by your decisions. Telltale has already given us several amazing games based on comic books and TV shows, and now the developer is planning to release a new game that follows adventures of Batman.

Telltale is working on an M-rated Batman game

According to Telltale, its upcoming Batman game will use its trademark, interactive comic book visual style while its storyline won’t be related to any Batman comics, video games, or movies. Instead, it will follow the lives of both Bruce Wayne and Batman, with each decision Bruce Wayne makes influencing Batman and vice versa. Certain situations will allow players to approach them as either Bruce Wayne or Batman, thereby adapting the story according to your choice.

As previously mentioned, this game will focus entirely on Bruce Wayne and Batman, and as of now it looks like it’s staying that way: only Alfred Pennyworth, Vicki Vale, James Gordon, and Renee Montoya have been confirmed as supporting characters. Unfortunately, Telltale Games didn’t reveal anything regarding the game’s villains.

Just like in previous Telltale games, many supporting characters are tied to the main character and most of your decisions affect them, so you’ll have to think twice before making a difficult decision. Besides shaping the future of supporting characters with your choices, you will also shape the future of Gotham City as both Bruce Wayne and Batman, too.

Telltale has proven capable of delivering exciting stories with compelling characters, and we expect nothing less from this upcoming Batman game. This game will have a Mature 17+ rating and will be available this summer on most major platforms.

In the spirit of this upcoming release, make sure to check out the brand new collection on the Windows Store to celebrate the upcoming release of Batman v. Superman.

Lumia Icon could still get the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

While the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade is available for download, there has been some controversy surrounding its release. According to Microsoft, Windows 10 Mobile won’t work on devices with 512MB RAM, and this statement has unsettled many people that used to run Windows 10 Mobile during the Insider Program.

Although Microsoft is still standing by its decision to limit the availability of Windows 10 upgrades to devices that have 1GB of RAM, it seems strange that certain devices, such as the Lumia Icon, didn’t get Windows 10 update.

Lumia Icon is being considered for Windows 10 Mobile upgrade

Microsoft has made an already bad situation worse by stating there are no plans for a second wave of Windows 10 Mobile updates. This means only previously selected devices will be eligible for Windows 10 Mobile update. To top it off, it appears that the Lumia 1020, 925, 920 aren’t going to get Windows 10 Mobile at all.

Currently, the following Lumia devices are suited for the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade: 1520, 930, 640, 640XL, 730, 735, 830, 532, 535, 540, 635 1GB, 636 1GB, 638 1GB, 430 and 435. As for eligible non-Lumia devices, the list includes the BLU Win HD w510u, BLU Win HD LTE x150q, and MCJ Madosma Q501. Judging by previous Microsoft’s statements, the list of supported devices will remain unchanged for now.

Many users are wondering why the Lumia Icon isn’t on the list of eligible devices, and rightfully so. The Lumia Icon has almost identical hardware specs as Lumia 930, leaving many owners perplexed about the decision to exclude it from a Windows 10 Mobile update.

Even though the Lumia Icon isn’t currently eligible for a Windows 10 Mobile upgrade, that might change in near future. According to the recent tweet by Gabriel Aul, the Lumia Icon is being considered for Windows 10 upgrade:

So far, it’s unknown whether Microsoft will actually release Windows 10 Mobile for Lumia Icon, but we’re keeping our hopes up. We have to admit, it’s a bit odd for Microsoft to exclude the Lumia Icon from the list of supported devices, but we hope Microsoft will remedy this confusion in near future.

Pre-order Killer Instinct Season 3 to get some extra goodies

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Killer Instinct: Season 3 is among the first games coming to Windows 10 users with Xbox One cross-play functionality. While many are looking to purchase the game precisely for this reason, there are plenty who have played previous seasons and are looking forward to the sequel.

We already know Killer Instinct season 3 will bring general RAAM to Windows 10 players, but we’re sure there are going to be more surprises in store for players. Recently, the head of Xbox Games marketing at Microsoft, Aaron Greenberg, said the game will soon be available for pre-order. Now, it is.

Preorder Killer Instinct: Season 3 Ultra Edition

killer instinct season 3 xbox windows 10 buy

Killer Instinct Season 3 will launch simultaneously on both the Xbox One and Windows 10 PC on March 29. The game is now available for pre-order, with those who buy it ahead of its official release receiving access to all season 3 characters and accessories as well as a lifetime double experience booster and 18,000 KI Gold (which would normally cost $40).

Thus, you’ll get all eight new fighters, including Rash from Battletoads, Arbiter from Halo, Kim Wu, and Tusk, the VIP Double XP Booster, eight retro costumes, accessory sets, bonus retro character colors, and 18,000 KI Gold (limited time only).

If you’re interested in all these perks, go ahead and pre-order Killer Instinct: Season 3 Ultra Edition from the Xbox Store.  Also, be aware that there’s still content left to be released over the season, so we’ll keep an eye out for that as well.

Windows 10 Mobile not coming to Lumia 1020, 925, 920 and other older Windows phones

Posted on by Ivan Jenic

Windows 10 Mobile is finally available as a free upgrade to older Windows Phone 8.1 devices. After more than a year of testing the new OS through the Insider program, Microsoft finally began to roll it out to devices that didn’t originally came with Windows 10.

But as delighted as people are that the full version of Windows 10 Mobile is finally here, a lot of users are disappointed by Microsoft’s approach to delivering the update — especially after waiting for more than a year after more than a few false alarms. Now that the OS is finally here, users of certain Windows Phone 8.1 devices are shocked to find out that Windows 10 Mobile is not available on their phones.

As we reported last week, Windows Phone 8.1 devices with less than 1GB of RAM won’t be eligible for the upgrade. But it’s looking like some otherwise eligible phones didn’t get the upgrade either, models like the Lumia 1020, 925 and the 920. Understandably, people began to wonder if Microsoft had plans to change its policy and still deliver the update to these devices eventually as part of a presumed second wave of upgrades. One user asked Microsoft about just that on Twitter but unfortunately, received a negative answer.

As Microsoft pointed out, the list of eligible phones is final and there won’t be any second wave of upgrades. This angered a lot of users who are now forced to either stick to Windows Phone 8.1 or switch their current device for a new one. 

Here’s why you won’t receive the Windows 10 Mobile upgrade

Although Microsoft didn’t provide any details behind its decision to not deliver the upgrade to select phones, there may be an explanation after all. The main purpose of the Insider program on both PC and mobile versions of Windows 10 is to obtain feedback about system performance. Microsoft is guided by that feedback when it comes to developing every aspect of its operating system — including its decision on which devices will eventually receive an upgrade.

So at first glance, it may look like the Lumia 1020 can run Windows 10 Mobile without any problems. But, a lot of users have reported various problems with the device while running Windows 10 Mobile Preview, forcing Microsoft to decide to not deliver the free upgrade to the Lumia 1020. We assume that’s the case with other phones, as well.

Although we don’t have an official word from Microsoft on this, when asked why the Lumia 1020 won’t get the upgrade, Gabe Aul confirmed the theory on Twitter:

So it’s obvious now: Microsoft would rather have Windows 10 Mobile only on devices able to run it smoothly rather than to force the upgrade to all devices and cause even more problems for users.

What do you think? Would you rather use Windows 10 Mobile on a device that isn’t able to run the OS smoothly and face various issues or switch to a new, Windows 10 Mobile-compatible phone? Let us know in the comment section below!

Reddify Windows 10 app makes it easy to keep up with Reddit

Posted on by Kareem Anderson

Once again, Reddit receives particular attention on Windows PCs and phones. Joining the stable of Reddit clients is Reddify for Windows 1, a new 3rd party Reddit that client brings a clean and simplistic design to organizing and viewing Reddit forums and post.

Similar to many of the Reddit apps on Windows 10, Reddify also works under the Universal Windows Platform, bringing that same sleek UI across PCs and mobile devices, for now. In addition to being a UWP app, Reddify also boast a hefty list of features for the Reddit power user.

  • Four different view options (List, Card, Pictures, News) per subreddit
  • Customize view per subreddit (Example set pictures view for r/pics and list view for r/askreddit)
  • Quickly toggle view for each subreddit
  • Multiple Accounts
  • Secure oAuth login, subreddit sync
  • Collapse comment and threads
  • User and story flair
  • Subreddit sidebar support
  • Trending subreddit
  • View imgur images, albums, gifs, gifv, gfycat, livememe, Flickr inline
  • Toggle images in comments (Requires setting every time app restarts)
  • IAMA mode for /r/iama
  • Quickly subscribe/unsubscribe form stories and comments page
  • Browse Multireddit support
  • Vote, comment, save, hide and share reddit content
  • Gilded comments/post highlight
  • Spoiler support
  • Browse and search user profile
  • Browse posts by domain
  • Basic search for subreddit stories
  • Full table support fro self text, and comments
  • Basic search for subreddit stories
  • modern looking and fast performing universal app
  • Basic search for subreddits stories
  • Full table support fro self text, and comments
  • Browse posts by domain
  • Search User
  • Spoiler support Themes
  • A beautiful design user interfaces with loads of customizable options
  • Change color, font and text size
  • Night theme (Dark Theme) Customization
  • Disable animation on slow/older devices
  • Move top navigation bar to bottom
  • Split-screen mode optimized for tablet and desktop

For those interested, head over to the Windows Store to grab the new app and let us know your thoughts and comparisons between other available solutions.

Reddify for Reddit
Reddify for Reddit
Download
QR-Code

Reddify for Reddit
Developer:
thekingshorses
Price:
Free

Microsoft Mechanics highlights what’s new in Office 365 Video

Posted on by davew

In a new video, Microsoft Mechanics highlights the new capabilities and features available in Office 365 Video. The new Office 365 Video gives you a simple tool for uploading, sharing and playing videos anywhere on your company’s intranet. It doesn’t matter if you use SharePoint Online or SharePoint Server 2016 on-premises.

Mark Kashman, the senior product manager for the Office 365 team, provides a quick video tour, where he addresses some of the most important features of Office 365 Video, including:

  • Improved upload experience

  • Accessibility with closed-caption support

  • Analytics per video to provide aggregate trending patterns

  • Choose your own thumbnail

  • Offline access

  • New admin controls and management capabilities

If you would like to learn more, take a look at the Office 365 Roadmap for a list of updates that are upcoming for current Office 365 subscribers and updates that are currently in development. Office 365 Video is always looking to improve its video communications on any company’s intranet.

Have an idea that you think might help make the Office 365 Video feature better? Let the Office 365 team know through their UserVoice page, check out the Office 365 Video support page, or join in the Office 365 discussion with Microsoft and other companies on Yammer.

SandDance, new from Microsoft Garage, visualizes your data

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft Research Visualization and Interaction Team (VIBE) wants to help people visually explore, understand and present data. Today, the team is introducing SandDance, a Microsoft Garage project that features a new genre of visualization where every data element is consistently represented on the screen.

SandDance relies on a web and easy-to-use touch-based interface to “help people who aren’t experts in data science or programming the ability to analyze information – and present it – in a way that is accessible to a wider audience.” Users can upload their own data into the tool, and Microsoft also encourages collaboration by allowing multiple people to work with the same dataset. Steven Drucker, a principal researcher, focused on information visualization and data collections explained:

“We had this notion that a lot of visualization summarized data, and that summary is great, but sometimes you need the individual elements of your data set too. We don’t want to lose sight of the trees because of the forest, but we also want to see the forest and the overall shape of the data. With this, you’ll see information about individuals and how they’re relative to each other. Most tools show one thing or the other. With SandDance, you can look at data from many different angles.”

SandDance is currently available as a standalone Web-based tool, but it’s also being extended to Power BI users as a custom visual that shows all the data organized into aggregations. Depending on the uptake by the community, the team will be prototyping new ideas and incorporate them into the PowerBI custom visual.

You can try SandDance right now, and it currently works in most browsers that run WebGL including Internet Explorer 10, Edge, Chrome, Safari and Firefox (iOS devices are not supported). Also, be aware that SandDance will run better on computers that have a modern graphics card.

 

Microsoft talks Power BI and its upcoming roadmap

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Early last year, Microsoft introduced a preview of Power BI, a new cloud-based business analytics suite to help companies gain insights into their business amidst all the growing amounts of data they accumulate. Power BI (which stands for Business Intelligence) aims at being an easy to use suite of analytics tools to help visualize, explain, and glean insight from the massive amounts of data that companies collect.

Microsoft announced today at their inaugural Data Insights Summit that since its release, Power BI has gained over five million subscribers. With momentum growing behind one of Microsoft’s newest cloud-based services for companies, Microsoft also announced new features that are available today for Power BI, along with the upcoming roadmap.

PowerBI1

The new features encompass delivering greater enterprise readiness, deeper integration with Excel, and enhanced intelligent data exploration. On the Power BI blog, Microsoft Corproate VP James Phillips explains more about these features, listing them as:

Enterprise readiness

  • Role level security for cloud models and direct query is being introduced to provide granular control around who can access specific rows of data. Users can author and manage a single dashboard with customized views of the data unique to individuals. A preview will be available at the end of March.
  • To help organizations understand their overall Power BI usage, tenant-level usage reports are being enabled for assets like reports, dashboard, datasets and content packs. This reporting feature will be generally available by the end of March.

Deepened integration with Excel

  • Today we’re making generally available the ability to analyze Power BI data in Excel, enabling access to data that was loaded and modeled in Power BI.
  • Also generally available today is the ability to pin from Excel. Insights can be taken directly from the Excel desktop to Power BI dashboards, which will keep tiles on the dashboard up to date to help track your important data.

Intelligent data exploration

  • Improvements to Power BI’s natural language Q&A interface will be generally available in April to make it even simpler to use, with helpful visual cues, improved performance and an overall cleaner look.
  • Additionally, the unique query capabilities that help users find data and create visuals on the fly can now be used with direct query data sources. This combines the advantages of using Power BI’s direct query capabilities to access data stored on-premises and in the cloud by asking intuitive, natural questions via the Q&A interface – including Cortana, which will be able to answer questions from direct query sources used in Power BI. These features will be previewed in April.

PowerBi_1

The Power BI blog goes on to explain that moving forward. Power BI will become more powerful at delivering insights “that inform intelligent action… referring to the ability to engage and interact with data in new, intuitive, and nautral (sic) ways.” The post cites the new Microsoft Research project SandDance as a prime example of how Power BI will continue to deliver innovative and impactful data visualization tools.

As more companies look for innovative ways to use their data for a competitive edge, Microsoft will be in tough competition among a variety of tech companies trying to be the “go to” suite of tools for data driven decision making. Hopefully today’s announcements, and the upcoming roadmap, are strong indications of the increasing capabilities of this relatively new suite of analytics tools.

Xbox Store offering up to 75% off of some hot Xbox One games

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

In addition to all of the deals included in Microsoft’s Spring Sale, the Xbox Store is offering up additional savings on a number of excellent titles. The following is a quick list of games that are up to 75% off right now.

Head on over to the Xbox Store and get your credit card out. These deals won’t last forever.

Rise of the Tomb Raider for Windows 10 and Xbox to get new DLC next week

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Rise of the Tomb Raider has been out for a few months now, and it has already seen its first wave of DLC with the Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch expansion pack.  That in mind, today the Xbox team has announced the next and final piece of downloadable content for the game, The Cold Darkness Awakened pack. 

The pack brings you to a decommissioned Cold War research base which has been breached. There, an illness sweeps into the wilderness around the base and Trinity soldiers transform into bloodthirsty killers who thrive on carnage. Playing as Lara, and to prevent the affliction from spreading, you must rely on her wits, physical agility and crafting abilities to overcome the new enemy and shut down the decommissioned base.

The pack will launch on March 29th, and will be available for both Xbox One and Windows 10. A season pass for Rise of the Tomb Raider also includes both the Cold Darkness Awakened and the Baba Yaga: The Temple of the Witch DLC.

Xbox Spring Sale offers massive discounts on Battlefield 4, Call of Duty 4, Grand Theft Auto V and many more

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft’s Xbox Spring Sale has kicked off, offering customers with discounts as high as 60 percent on dozens of popular titles for Xbox One and Xbox 360. It’s not just the games: the other day, the company announced that customers interested in the console can grab it for a promotional price of $299.99 for a limited time period. It gets even better for those who have an active Xbox Live membership — they can get an additional 10 percent discount on a number of heavyweight titles.

For those of you who don’t have an Xbox Live subscription, they can upgrade for just $1 for the first month to avail the massive discounts available for this week.

The promotion has kicked off today, and will be available until March 22nd so make sure to get all your favorite games this week before the discounts expire. You can check out the complete list of games available at promotional prices over at Major Nelson’s blog.

Sebastien Loeb Rally EVO, Stranger of Sword City, and Trackmania Turbo now out on Xbox One

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Three new games are out today on Microsoft’s Xbox One video game console, Sebastien Loeb Rally EVO, Stranger of Sword City, and Trackmania Turbo.

Sebastien Loeb Rally is a new racing game that may have trouble competing with the super-popular Forza franchise but is a good option for gamers who are something different to play. Here’s the official description:

Play SLR EVO and experience real rally! More than 186 miles of faithfully-reproduced track and 58 cars which have made rally history! From legends of the past, such as the Stratos and Celica, to jewels of the modern era, like the Citroën DS3 and C4. 64 specials, five Rallycross circuits and the Pikes Peak track – where you can reach some incredible speeds! Revisit all of the 9-time World Champion’s successes – 8 stages to relive his career, from ’98 to the incredible 2013 Pikes Peak record.

Buy Sebastien Loeb Rally on Xbox One

Stranger of Sword City is a blend of the dungeon crawling and roleplaying game genres and has been out in Japan for a while. The game features a unique art style feature that should come as a pleasant surprise to fans of Japanese artists. Here’s the game description:

Stranger of Sword City contains the three core elements of attraction for dungeon RPGs: character creation, conquering various dungeons, and dungeon crawling gameplay. Furthermore, our experience and know-how with a large number of titles within the Dungeon RPG genre has allowed us to create enhanced support features that allow our users to enjoy the title to their hearts content. Players will be able to switch between the beautiful and fantastical art style of Yoko Tsukamoto, or the art style of Oxijiyen, an artist renowned for their cute character graphics, for the NPC illustrations in game. Break through the impregnable labyrinths alongside your fellow adventurers, and find a way back home from this alternate world.

Buy Stranger of Sword City on Xbox One

Trackmania Turbo is a remake of the original Xbox 360 Trackmania game. This new version boasts improved graphics, more game modes, and several new feature exclusive to the Xbox One. Here’s the official description:

Available for the first time on Xbox One, Trackmania offers you the ultimate arcade racing universe. Test your skills in outlandish tracks and challenge your friends at home (offline splitscreen) or online. Unlock up to 200 unique tracks in over 5 difficulty levels. Drive your way to the tops of worldwide rankings! For the first time in a racing game, team up with a friend and control one car with two controllers! Design your own tracks or simply generate random ones. Save and share your best tracks to make the competition last forever.

Buy Trackmania Turbo on Xbox One

Microsoft has actively been increasing the number of titles on the Xbox One both through adding games from the Xbox 360 via backwards compatibility and encouraging developers to make games for the console. The Xbox 360 versions of Assassin’s Creed, Dark Void, and Grid 2 were recently added while over 12 new games have launched on the Xbox One this in month alone.

Are you playing any of these games on your Xbox One right now or are you playing something different? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to WinBeta for more Xbox One video game news.

Game Troopers releases Imperia Online The Great People on Windows 10

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The massively multiplayer online game, Imperia Online: The Great People has just updated to the Universal Windows Platform app format and is now playable on Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 PCs in addition to Windows phones running Windows 10 Mobile, Windows Phone 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.

Imperia Online: The Great People has been around since 2005 but it wasn’t until 2014 when it launched on iOS and Android and 2015 when it arrived on Windows Phone. The game features crossplay between devices and the new Windows 10 version boasts exclusive features not available on other versions such as 3D battles, improved UI, animated menus and tutorials, and new game icons. The game is also connected to Microsoft’s Xbox Live network and features a variety of Xbox Achievements that can be unlocked by players.

Here’s the official description:

Join millions of players ALSO ON YOUR PC. Play on your phone, and keep on growing your empire in HD on your PC. Take control of your state and expand it into a mighty empire! Recruit soldiers and command huge armies into epic battles and crush all those who oppose you! Create your own royal dynasty and use it to govern your provinces and to lead your troops into battle! Make friends, join alliances and become the Lord of the entire medieval realm now! Imperia Online is а massively multiplayer online game (ММО), set in the times before gunpowder was invented. These are the times, when the peace is ensured on the edge of the cold steel blade, the heavy cavalry and the archers with long bows.

Imperia Online: The Great People is completely free to play however there are a variety of in-game purchases that can be made with real-world money to speed up game progression. Are you a fan of Imperia Online: The Great People? Let us know in the comments below.

Imperia Online: The Great People
Imperia Online: The Great People
Download
QR-Code

Imperia Online: The Great People
Developer:
Game Troopers
Price:
Free

Apple promotes its new iPad Pro as the ‘ultimate PC replacement’

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

We’re used to seeing Microsoft promote its products in various anti-Apple ad campaigns, usually never failing to mention that Apple’s devices lack the kind of software in order to make them truly productive.

But with the iPad Pro’s release, many accused Apple of mimicking Microsoft’s idea of a 2-in-1 Windows device. However, this didn’t stop Apple from beating Microsoft at its own game as consumers eventually bought more iPad Pros than Surfaces. Now, Apple is back on the offensive with its newest iPad Pro.

Apple’s iPad Pro promoted as a smaller laptop alternative

Today, Apple held its special March event at which it unveiled the iPhone SE, announced a new version of the Apple TV, discounted the Apple Watch, made some remarks about its ongoing privacy battles with the US government and last but not least, also unveiled the new iPad Pro.

Before its unveiling, the original iPad Pro was heavily rumored to sport the Pro badge because of its big 12.9-inch size, presumably needed in order to differentiate the product from the rest of the iPad models. But now we’re surprised to know that Apple actually shrunk the iPad Pro’s size to just 9.7 inches, puttings it in the same category as the iPad Air.

ultimate pc replacement

At the moment, we’re not sure what exactly is Apple going to do – kill the iPad Air, keep the iPad Pro, or just leave both SKUs alone? What set the Pro apart from the rest of the iPads was the fact that it was allegedly aimed at professionals such as artists, engineers, and doctors. However, Apple is now actually promoting the new iPad Pro as “the ultimate PC replacement.”

When it comes to wordplay, Apple is a master — there’s no doubt about that. But I truly don’t see how exactly a 9.7-inch device going to be a PC replacement. Sure, it’s got a lot of power on the inside thanks to the A9X processor and a bunch of the other usual incremental improvements when it comes to weight, display, camera, etc. But as far as its comparison with a true PC goes, the new iPad Pro gets a smaller version of the Smart Keyboard, a new Lightning-powered SD card reader, and a USB camera adapter along with a four-speaker system.

ipad pro windows pc take

Storage also can be doubled to 256GB, but you’ll have to pay a premium of $1100 to enjoy it — not to mention all the accessories needed for a true PC experience. These are all the features Apple hopes make the new iPad Pro a genuine laptop replacement — a leap of logic in my book.

Apple stated that many Windows users come to the iPad Pro and compare the gaming experience on the iPad Pro with the Xbox 360, representing obvious digs on Microsoft and Windows devices. But I think we as Windows users can all agree: Apple, keep trying — keep trying hard.

MSI Vortex Mini is a mini-tower gaming PC with amazing performance at a price

Posted on by Ivan Jenic

In the era of consoles, PC gaming is struggling but still staying afloat. While playing games on a PC provides a much better overall experience, it’s widely known that building a capable rig costs a lot more than buying a console.

But if you prefer PC gaming and price is not a deal-breaker for you, you’re in luck. Leading PC hardware manufacturer MSI has just revealed something every PC gamer dreams of: its MSI Vortex Mini gaming PC, a stunning machine with amazing performance.

The MSI Vortex Mini is a mini-tower gaming PC which the company calls the “world’s smallest gaming cylinder.” But purchasing the world’s smallest gaming cylinder will be a costly experience — the base model comes in at a hefty $2,199 for the base model. The PC is powered by the following:

  • 4GHz Intel Core-i7 6700k processor
  • dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 SLI graphics
  • 16GB of system memory

Another costlier option starts at $3,999 and features dual GTX 980 SLI 16G GDDR5 graphics cards and 32GB of RAM. Both models feature four RAID hard drives: a 256GB PCIe SSD, two 128GB SSDs, and a 1TB 7200 RPM conventional drive.

A great thing about this device is its versatility. As it is a mini-tower, it measures just 7.61 by 7.01 by 10.55 inches, making it extremely portable so that you can set it up almost anywhere. The MSI Vortex is, of course, powered by Windows 10.

msi vortex pc

“The revolutionary Vortex gaming tower shatters the misconception that bigger systems deliver more power and performance,” Andy Tung, president of MSI Pan America, said in a statement. “The groundbreaking system maximizes space and heat dissipation to unlock the power of its components for truly astronomical performance in a subwoofer size.”

As for connectivity, this device is solidly equipped for mini-tower standards, with four USB 3.0 ports and two Thunderbolt 3 connectors. Additionally, its dual GPUs support up to 6 to six video outputs simultaneously.

Would you buy the MSI Vortex Mini gaming PC, or you think the price of upwards of $4,000 is too high for this device? Tell us in the comment section below!

Total War Battles: Kingdom comes to Windows PC this week

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

As a kid, I remember being fascinated by the Total War games. The fact that you could be in the middle of the action was a mind-blowing proposition for a kid  just getting into PC games.

Now, the new Total War Battles: Kingdom is out for Windows PC, developed by the same team who built Total War Battles: SHOGUN.

Total War Battles: Kingdom comes to Windows PCs

Total War Battles: Kingdom is a cross-platform game, so you’ll be able to download it from Steam and the usual mobile platforms. The gameplay is set in Medieval England, and combines realm building and management with real-time battles.

The game has been in open beta for almost a year now and it’s releasing this week in its final form. While the game is free-to-play, it does contain many in-app purchases and time-restricted gameplay elements, things that have resulted in many users being disappointed by the game.

The game will be released on March 24 for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android devices, PC and Mac, so make sure to check it out.

Windows 10 Edge extension, Page Analyzer, shows up in the Windows Store

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Update: (Author’s note: I attempted to install the Page Analyzer extension from the Windows Store, and it did not install for me. Hence, I wrote the story as follows, which more questioned the Windows Store implementation than the extension itself. However, at least one reader has indicated that the extension installed successfully from the Store. So clearly, this is still a work in progress and your mileage may vary.)

Some of the biggest Windows 10 news last week was the release of Windows Insider build 14291, which introduced the long-awaited Edge extensions. While there are “officially” three extensions available, along with at least one new third-party option, they need to be manually sideloaded through a relatively cumbersome process that really speaks to their preview nature.

Today, however, we received word that Microsoft has published at least one new Extension in the Windows Store, Page Analyzer. Ultimately, the Windows Store will be the mechanism by which Edge extensions are distributed and managed, and so this is interesting news.

https://twitter.com/marecola/status/711973464551198720

Clicking on the Windows Store link opens the app as expected, and the installation button does work.

Page Analyzer Edge Extension Windows Store Listing
Page Analyzer Edge Extension Windows Store listing.

Installing the extension on a Windows Insider machine doesn’t do much, but it doesn’t cause any errors, either. As you can see in the screenshot below, the extension doesn’t actually load in Edge.

Edge extensions
Edge extensions settings.

However, this is, at least, a sign that Microsoft may be closer than we expected to implementing the long-term Edge extensions process. We’ll keep an eye on these developments, and will let you know just as soon as you’ll be able to hit the store to install more easily those nifty upcoming Edge extensions.

Update: Here’s the tweet from Twitter user Corecast demonstrating a successful installation of the extension.

Page Analyzer
Page Analyzer
Download
QR-Code

Page Analyzer
Developer:
Microsoft Corporation
Price:
Free

Thanks to WinBeta reader Andrea81 for the tip!

Windows 10 Photo app gets additional OneDrive information and print options in latest update

Posted on by Kareem Anderson

With the final release of the Windows 10 Mobile to selected older devices, the Windows team have their work cut out for them as they attempt to bring the operating system up to par with current smartphone competition. Windows 10 Mobile has an arguably impressive outline going for it, but the Windows team needs to start fleshing out nuances and smaller details, and soon.

With the new update to the Windows 10 Mobile Photos apps, users just got a bit of that nuanced attention to detail. Today’s update to the Photo app brings the ability for users to see their OneDrive storage info within the app as well as printing options and Living Image views.

When Microsoft pitched it’s reinvented mobile operating system with Windows Phone 7, automatic backups through OneDrive (SkyDrive at the time) was a cornerstone of its marketing efforts. Today’s update reiterates the role OneDrive plays with photos on a Windows 10 Mobile device.

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Show as Living Image option
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New Print options included

The inclusion of the OneDrive storage information isn’t the only addition that comes with today’s update. Users may also notice that there are additional selections that appear when viewing images. Now, users can select print directly from the picture itself as well as viewing Living Images in motion or still versions. The new print options make it even easier for users to connect to a wireless printer and produce a hard copy of their favorite captured images.

The update is currently rolling out now, head over to the Windows Store on your mobile device to snag it. As of right now, there doesn’t appear to be an equivalent PC version of the update.

Microsoft Photos
Microsoft Photos
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Microsoft Photos
Developer:
Microsoft Corporation
Price:
Free

System Shock Remastered gameplay trailer released for Windows PC

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

You probably aren’t familiar with System Shock, and we don’t blame you — it was released way back in 1994. For its time, though, System was a revolutionary game, exposing gamers to a truly innovative experience by combining elements of a first-person roleplaying games with horror and sci-fi all into one.

This unusual combination was received exceptionally well by gamers, with System Shock going on to achieve monumental success. In fact, the game was so successful it received a sequel in 1999. Sadly, though, this is where the story of the System Shock series comes to an end. In May 2000, Looking Glass Studios, one of the most innovative game developers, went out of business and thereby bringing the end of System Shock series.

Night Dive Studios released System Shock Remastered gameplay trailer

Although the future of System Shock series looked rather grim, a development team by the name of Night Dive Studios resurrected the popular series when it released System Shock: Enhanced Edition in 2015. Enhanced Edition didn’t offer anything new, but it allowed players with modern operating systems to enjoy the original game at higher resolutions.

System Shock: Enhanced Edition got hearty reception from fans of original game, and that reception compelled Night Dive Studios to embark on a new project: System Shock Remastered. The upcoming System Shock game will revamp the 22-year-old classic by updating it to a more modern engine — in this case, Unity. In addition to the new engine, System Shock Remastered will also improve the user interface.

Night Dive Studios released its first System Shock Remastered trailer that includes in-game scenes from the pre-alpha version. Although the trailer depicts the early stages of the game, we have to admit that System Shock looks incredible with new textures and new Unity engine.

All aspects of the original game are here: the dark and narrow corridors of Citadel Station along with game’s memorable villain SHODAN. This is a truly amazing remake that incorporates everything that made the original game special and combinung that with a modern game engine.

According to reports, System Shock Remastered will be available for PC and Xbox One in 2017 although the exact release date remains unknown. Check out the pre-alpha trailer below: