Friend and enthusiast of the Microsoft enterprise news, Mary Jo Foley, is back at it again. Mary Jo who writes for ZDnet, is reporting that Microsoft is working harder than ever to turn Windows Server 2016 into a ‘cloud optimized server’ for the future.

What does any of that mean besides arguably an excuse for Microsoft to push back its Windows Server 2016 roll out date? Well, Mary Jo goes into great detail in her piece about Microsoft’s efforts at “deeply refracting”, and making the server “largely compatible”, and a few other buzz-worthy phrases. Suffice to say, Microsoft is doing a bit more planning for the future of cloud-based computing than they have historically shown for products in their release/reiterate and market-watch strategies of old.

General Manager of Windows Server Mike Neil mentioned back in October at Tech Ed, that the next version of Windows Server will be “taking learnings from Azure and making them available to a broader set of customers.”

Neil goes on to talk about, “How do you bring the learnings from super high scale with Azure and bring it down? This stuff today is custom. Our customers want something turnkey from service providers, systems integrators, so they can layer their services on top of this,” Neil said. “We are looking forward to blurring the lines more between on-premises and cloud.”

The well-written piece goes on at length in some detail about the two flavors of computer containers, one for application compatibility and others optimized for cloud servers. More details about those will be given at Build 2015 later this year. In and of itself this an excellent move for those interested in the server side news of Microsoft. Microsoft is also expected seed the next public preview of Windows Server 2106 sometime in the spring of 2015, possibly around Build.

This news is yet another sign of Microsoft’s commitment into creating a collaborative ecosystem within its own infrastructure. Microsoft is also working on evolving its Azure platform as-a-service (Paas) architecture, moving to more of a microservices model. This level of cohesiveness is sure to pay off in the long for what’s quickly becoming their vital pivoting point away from Windows.

Recently, Microsoft was named one of the recipients of the 2015 Access Award by the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). AFB’s Access Award is given to individuals, companies, and other organizations that work to eliminate or reduce accessibility barriers for the blind or visually impaired. Microsoft created Window-Eyes for Microsoft Office screen reader that significantly improved computer accessibility for the blind and visually impaired.

According to Carl R. Augusto, president and CEO of AFB in AFB’s Access Award press release:

“Microsoft has made huge efforts to advance accessibility in computing by increasing access to the popular Window-Eyes screen reader and by supporting the needs of customers with disabilities through a dedicated technical support service. We are thrilled to recognize the important work these organizations and individuals are doing to expand possibilities for the more than 20 million Americans with vision loss. They are breaking down accessibility hurdles and developing solutions that truly work. I commend them for their commitment to equality and accessibility.”

To learn more about Microsoft’s 2015 Access Award from the AFB and or to download Window-Eyes screen reader for Microsoft Office, follow the links below. 

Microsoft Research, in collaboration with University of Cambridge, helped create a complete computer model to mimic the creation of blood cells. According to researchers at the University of Cambridge and Microsoft Research, the computer model could help in the early detection and treatment for leukemia and lymphoma. 

For the past two years, biomedical scientists from the Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research worked together with computational biologists from Microsoft Research and Cambridge University’s Department of Biochemistry to create the computer model of the development of blood cells to get a better understanding of what keeps blood production at normal levels.

Jasmin Fisher from Microsoft Research and the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge spoke about the results of the Microsoft Research and University of Cambridge collaboration:  

“This is yet another endorsement of how computer programs empower us to gain better understanding of remarkably complicated processes. What is ground-breaking about the current work is that we show how we can automate the process of building such programs based on raw experimental data. It provides us with a blueprint to develop computer models relevant to other human diseases including common cancers such as breast and colon cancer. When we apply executable algorithms to model the behavior of biological systems, we get novel insights into those cellular programs, understanding better how they operate, and we can also learn what goes wrong in a particular program to lead the cells to behave abnormally. The huge advantage of this executable biology approach is that it also allows us to simulate and analyze these behaviors very quickly – in a matter of seconds we get an answer as to whether a certain combination of drugs would lead to a desired effect or not.”

The human body creates over 2.5 million new blood cells every second, but the way that the body keeps this production in check is not completely understood. Close to 30,000 people every year are diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma every year in the UK alone. These are the most common types of cancers of the blood and these cancers occur when blood production gets unbalanced; like when the body creates excess red blood cells and not enough white blood cells.

Therefore, Microsoft Research helps accelerate medical research in ways that were not previously possible. As technology advances, Microsoft Research will be able to continue to help medical researchers to create faster ways to analyze data and create strategies to help battle cancer to find a treatment on the way to a possible cancer cure.

For more information on the specific research involving cancers of the blood, check out the links below and lets us know how yow think Microsoft Research can help other researchers find treatment options and cures for other diseases. 

Though countries such as Brazil are successfully moving to improve their economies and cast aside the shackles of poverty, but there are still a great many challenges to be faced.

The favelas of Rio de Janeirio are some of the most notoriously dangerous slums in the world. Crime, a great deal of which is drug related, is rife. It is the people who live in such places that bear the greatest burden however, struggling to survive on inconsistent income, even to find enough food. Many turn to selling drugs as a means by which to earn enough money to live, with opportunities thin on the ground, this is often a necessary choice.

Wanderson Skrock was one such child, until he attended the Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI), a partner of Microsoft. Learning the potential afforded by technology, he was inspired to study and has since become a teacher for the program, inspiring others to learn.

Skrock was recently named an ambassador for Microsoft’s YouthSpark program, helping the company shape its programs and create new ones to aid youths around the world. Touched by the opportunity to do more, Skrock offered these words of thanks to Microsoft: “All the support you provide gives us a second chance. So please work with determination, with fire in your eyes, knowing the work you are doing is important and it is saving people’s lives.”

Microsoft has a history of providing aid throughout the South American continent, helping millions to improve their situation and bring something back to their communities in the process. Much of this has been accomplished through the firms work with the Americas’ Partnership for Opportunities in Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA) program, for which it recently received an award.

Have you been involved with Microsoft YouthSpark? Let us know in the comments below. 

A new rumor is suggesting that Windows 10, Microsoft newest operating system that blurs the line between desktop, tablet, and phones, is expected to reach RTM in June of 2015. Now keep in mind that things can easily change. Here is what the rumor claims:

“Why is the company targeting June instead of its traditional August release? Well, the month of August did not make a lot of sense if you were trying to sell licenses and devices for the back to school market. Previously, when an OS hit RTM in August, hardware from OEMs would not be ready until October which is good for the holidays but misses the back to school shoppers. So, Microsoft is doing the logical thing here and will push for Windows 10 to RTM in June so that it can have devices ready for the school shoppers, like the next generation Surface.” – Brad Sams, Neowin.

It does make sense to release Windows 10 in June of this year, as opposed to August. By releasing the operating system to manufacturers in June, we can expect to have it running on new computers in time for the back-to-school sales season.

At the end of April of this year, we can expect to hear more about Windows 10 and likely an official targeted release date too during the company’s annual BUILD developer conference. More on this as it develops. You can follow all our breaking Windows 10 news by keeping an eye on this dedicated page.

Last month, Microsoft announced at a press event that Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 8 and Windows 7, at least for the first year. The exact details about its price were a little scarce, and we’ve heard rumors in the past that Microsoft may switch to a subscription model for the operating system, just like Office 365, charging a yearly fee.

Microsoft is yet to announce complete pricing details about the upcoming operating system, and a subscription-based pricing is a little unlikely, the software giant recently filed a trademark for Windows 365 sparking speculation that it may be a possibility in the not-so distant future. Although it doesn’t really confirm that Microsoft will charge an yearly fee, there’s a possibility that the company may have plans to do it, or they may have trademarked it as a defensive measure — in case they decide to change their mind.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 is expected to launch sometime this year, and we’re hoping that Microsoft will reveal complete pricing details of the operating system in the coming months. As for Windows 365, only time will tell what the company plans to do with this branding, anything can happen, don’t you think?

​We’re back with another Windows 10 news roundup! Jumping straight in, this week Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would be compatible and free for the Raspberry Pi 2. Microsoft also announced that it will be sharing more details about Windows 10 for IoT over the coming months. In the meantime, the Raspberry Pi 2 is available for purchase now for $35 from several official distributors.

Up next, this week was full of new leaks coming from newer builds of Windows. Windows 10 build 10009 saw a number of screenshots leak, revealing a few new icons and Project Spartan. Furthermore, a whole batch of Windows 10 Mobile screenshots hit the web too, which gave us a closer look at what we can expect to see when the official technical preview launches.

Moving along, it looks like Microsoft has created a new development branch for Windows Insiders, perhaps replacing fbl_awesome1501. “fbl_impressive” was spotted just recently, and many are assuming it will be next pushed to Windows Insiders. Of course, since this info isn’t official, we suggest you take it with a grain of salt.

And last but not least, this week saw Microsoft officially release the touch-first version of Office 2016 in preview mode. The apps are free during the preview, however, they will require an Office 365 subscription once the preview is over to use some of the functionality. Microsoft has already released Office Touch for iOS and Android, so it’s good to finally see the suite of apps arrive on the Redmond’s own operating system.

So there you have it guys, another week full of Windows 10 news. What was your favorite story this week? Leave your comments below!

Another day shows another use for Kinect for Windows. Yesterday, we showed you how Kinect for Windows helps serve beer to thirsty football fans. Today, the Kinect for Windows gesture-enabled system helps screen people in West Africa to see if they have been infected with the Ebola virus without ever touching them.

The British Army is working with CDS, a UK-based communications-solution company, to build a touch-free system for people who may be infected with the Ebola virus. The mission, dubbed Operation Gritrock, will use video to display important information to those possibly infected with Ebola on what steps they must take to avoid spreading the virus to someone else. 

Operation Gritlock will deploy 800 British Army personnel to West Africa to combat the spread of the deadly disease. CDS specially developed a Windows 8.1 application for the Kinect for Windows-enabled Ebola touch-free system, which will help possible Ebola victims.

The Microsoft UK Developer Experience team collaborated with CDS, ensuring that the Kinect-enabled touch-free system will help possible Ebola victims learn about care options without infecting the Kinect equipment with their bodily fluids; further spreading Ebola to other people.

The Microsoft UK Developer Experience team fully supported CDS with and all software or Kinect-related customization in Operation Gritlock. 

“It is always gratifying to work on solutions that make a difference, and this project has certainly been a project to be proud of for all associated with it.” – Mike Collier, CDS technical director.

Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows has a number of different areas where it can be effective; entertainment, educational, marketing, and now medical. As time goes on, it will not be long before someone or another company finds a new use for Kinect for Windows.  So until then, we will just have to wait and see what’s next for Kinect for Windows.

Microsoft and Anheuser-Busch used the Kinect for Windows to serve beer to patrons outside the stadium for Super Bowl XLIX in the “House of Whatever.” When someone approaches the bar, the Kinect sensor brings up a selection of Anheuser-Busch beers for them to choose from (most of the beers would already be prepared on the bar). When a person would pick a drink from the bar, the Kinect would offer the chance to say “cheers,” and if the person raised the beer and said “cheers,” the Kinect would take a picture that the person could download later.

The Kinect would also correctly identify the beer that the person selected, and display a pie chart with the most popular beers of the day. Microsoft built the Kinect-enabled system, supplemented by facial-recognition technology by NEC, to test out the potential for using it in interactive retail situations. The Kinect-enabled system can also recognize individual customers through facial recognition for retail loyalty programs, as well as displaying targeted advertisements. 

While the Kinect-enabled system is interesting and has a great value in the retail industry, it may be hard for people to want to give up their right to privacy by being identified through facial recognition in public places. While I like using the Kinect when I play Xbox One to turn on and off my console as well as with Skype calls, I wouldn’t want to be recognized in a store just to get 10% off a Xbox One game. The whole experience might make me never go that store ever again. It is one thing if a person remembers you, but it gets a bit creepier when a computer recognizes you. So, for now, this Kinect-based system may need to be just a concept.

Microsoft has announced the Cloud Platform roadmap, which consists of a new website showing the latest news and developments in the Cloud Platform business. The Cloud Platform roadmap will also showcase technology that is currently in development, up-and-coming, and readily available across many different products, services, and software. Microsoft’s goal is to provide customers with the latest information by showing what Microsoft is developing to best meet their customers’ needs. Microsoft hopes that being transparent with its customers, they can help them make informed strategic technology decisions.

The Cloud Platform roadmap covers Microsoft cloud services like Azure, Intune, Power BI, and Visual Studio Online as well as Microsoft server offerings like Windows Server, System Center, SQL Server, and Visual Studio. The Cloud Platform roadmap also includes information on connected system offerings such as Microsoft’s Analytics Platform System, StorSimple, and, of course, the Microsoft Cloud Platform System.

Microsoft hopes that by giving customers a complete view and full access to their Cloud Platform roadmap, customers can follow what Microsoft is developing, will develop, or plan to develop for what is coming next through Microsoft’s product pipeline and take advantage of Microsoft’s ever-changing and growing product line.

For more information, check the links below and let us know what you think about Microsoft’s attempt at transparency in the comments section.

Wu Feng, an award-winning Virginia Tech computer science professor, imagines a future where your genetic profile resides in cloud-computing. Your genetic profile could provide a hint for an early detection of a possible life-threatening disease, like lung cancer, and provide you with an individually targeted treatment that could save your life. This level of personalized medical treatment is purely hypothetical, but Feng believes the technology could become a reality in less than a decade. 

Cloud computing plays a vital role in giving everyone access to their genetic profiles. By relying on tools and resources to analyze genomes in the cloud, researchers could work from a variety of different devices; which will allow researchers to collaborate with each other more conveniently, as well as save time and money. Human genome sequencing used to cost upwards of $95 million, today it is a mere $1,000. In a few years, it could next to nothing to sequence the human genome.

Feng and Virginia Tech team have created a variety of tools to help other researchers in their clinical trials to try to find cures for diseases like cancer and other diseases. Feng describes how the Microsoft Cloud could help facilitate better medical research:

We’re helping them do the things they need to do to make the discoveries, Many researchers, colleges and universities don’t have access to on-premises supercomputing resources to analyze large amounts of sequencing data. We can create the software they need, which they can then run on the Microsoft Cloud.

Feng and his team at Virginia Tech worked on a pre-existing human genome sequencing toolkit (Genome Analysis Toolkit; GATK) and updated it with the newer cloud-computing power and infrastructure of Microsoft’s Hadoop-based Azure HDInsight Service. Feng and his team’s efforts created SeqInCloud (Sequencing in the Cloud), which help biologists and oncologists better and more quickly identify where cell mutations might happen and what could lead to cancer.

Feng and his team are one of only 13 in the US that were picked for a program called Computing in the Cloud.  Computing in the Cloud is run by the National Science Foundation in partnership with Microsoft. Computing in the Cloud is designed to fuel cloud computing in its use for research discovery, data analysis, and multifaceted collaboration to lead to new and successful medical treatments.

For more information, check out the video above or follow the link below for more information on Wu Feng’s research.

The Raspberry Pi 2 is here, and it’s faster, more powerful, and for the first time supports a Microsoft operating system; Windows 10.

Essentially, the Raspberry Pi is a miniature PC (about the size of a credit-card) that was initially designed to inspire and teach kids basic computer science skills. It has also inspired seasoned developers to create new solutions within its open-sourced Linux environment. Now that the Raspberry Pi 2 is here, it’s more powerful and allows for more performance headroom for developers in the Maker community to take advantage of.

The Raspberry Pi 2 features a Broadcom quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 CPU running at 900MHz, a VideoCore IV GPU, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 4 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, HDMI, MicroSD, camera and display interfaces, and a 3.5mm audio and composite video jack. Because of the ARMv7 processor, the Raspberry Pi 2 can run a full range of ARM-capable operating systems including ARM Linux distributions like Snappy Ubuntu Core, and Microsoft’s Windows 10 for IoT. While we don’t know much about Windows 10 for IoT, Microsoft announced today that it will be provided for free via the Windows Developer Program for IoT.

“We see the Maker community as an amazing source of innovation for smart, connected devices that represent the very foundation of the next wave of computing, and we’re excited to be a part of this community… Raspberry Pi 2 is a surprisingly powerful device that opens up the world of computing and programing to a huge range of people and skill levels.” – Microsoft

Microsoft also announced that it will be sharing more details about Windows 10 for IoT over the coming months. In the meantime, the Raspberry Pi 2 is available for purchase now for $35 from several official distributes. If you’re interested, head over to the source links below for more details.

The recent Windows 10 Technical Preview saw a vast amount of Windows 7 users upgrade, just to see what’s new and different. What they didn’t realise however is there was no easy way of going back, and if said user didn’t backup their previous install, they may have just lost out on their Windows 7-ness. Luckily, Microsoft has just launched a new website which allows you to go right back to Windows 7 with ease.

The new Software Recovery website allows users to create a Windows 7 install DVD or USB. All the user needs is their legitimate Windows 7 product key on hand, select their product language and that’s it. Microsoft will cook you up a new ISO in seconds, being ready for download almost immediately. This ISO can be used much like any other ISO, for clean installing or upgrading from an older operating system like Windows Vista.

This new tool is great for those who may have lost their Windows 7 media in the past. You can now get a brand new ISO directly from Microsoft, which is pretty swift. Let us know in the comments below if this worked for you!

Thanks for the tip, Kingshuk De

The Surface Pro 3, released last year, has been a significant success for Microsoft. With strong sales going on to boost revenue, and receiving a raving critical response, the device has gone a long way to proving that Redmond’s vision of the future of computing is no damp squib.

Naturally, the device is tipped to be able to run Windows 10, it would hardly be becoming for a flagship model to be left stuck in the mud while the world races on without it. As such, those running the device have the capability to take part in the Windows Insider program, taking part in shaping the path of Windows 10 before its eventual release later in the year.

These users now have something else to smile about, Microsoft is pushing a graphics driver update for all Surface Pro 3 models currently running the Windows 10 preview, as tweeted by Gabriel Aul,

#WindowsInsiders using Surface Pros with 9926: there is a new graphics driver on WU that should improve stability for you.

— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) January 30, 2015

This update brings with it a slew of bug fixes and stability tweaks that should make the whole experience of using the Surface Pro 3 just a little more refined.

Are you running Windows 10 on your Surface Pro 3? Let us know in the comments below.

Brick and mortar stores are not as popular as they once were, but specialty stores can still be found across North America. Microsoft announced on Twitter the opening of four new Microsoft stores that will be located in Sarasota Florida, Wayne New Jersey, Frisco Texas, and Vancouver BC.

Microsoft continues to expand their presence as physical retailer. The expansion of Microsoft stores helps sales but also is great for brand recognition. Many, including the New York Times, have noticed that Microsoft stores often appear eerily close to Apple stores. As the two tech giants continue to clash, their stores serve as a reminder that they compete across a variety of mediums.

Microsoft stores can be found in many malls and often have an Xbox One being shown off, a selection of their products in highest demand, and classes to teach customers how to use Office and other Windows products. During the recent shortage of Microsoft Bands the only way to get one or try one on for sizing was at a Microsoft Store.

Microsoft’s numbers were up last quarter and their continued growth of their brick and mortar store presence looks to be a part of future plans.

Microsoft is continuing to move forward with Windows 10 which aims to draw customers from the business world that are still running Windows 7. The current code-named Spartan browser that will be released on Windows 10 will not be available through Microsoft on Windows 7. While Microsoft is placing a list of familiar features from Windows 7 into Windows 10, their official support for Windows 7 ended earlier this year and the announcement of Spartan not being available on the old operating system is a natural step forward.

The Windows 10 January Technical Preview does not include a version of the new browser code named ‘Spartan’, but the news about the latest web browser is slowly trickling out. Without being able to test all of the features on Spartan, it’s difficult to say how this affects everyday browsing but a list of coding changes looks to make Spartan easier to use for web developers. While Spartan may not be available in Windows 7, it will have features that focus on backward compatibility.

The Spartan browser has a lot of code changes that will simplify how it renders web pages. As of now there is a mixture of how coding is handled within Microsoft operated browsers. Simply put, due to multiple incarnations of Internet Explorer running in different ways some web pages were designed to run on various versions of Internet Explorer. In Spartan, Microsoft is chopping out some of the old ways, introducing a new web design tool named Edge, and will still render web pages designed for Internet Explorer to be displayed the way they were intended. Rather than abandon Internet Explorer’s coding  altogether, this gentler switch will allow web designers to be grandfathered into Edge without making old websites not run correctly.

Spartan is a source of hope for some and fear for others. While Internet Explorer 11 is recognized as being faster and more stable than previous versions, there are many that turned out the Internet Explorer brand so much that they never even tried the new version of the browser. Microsoft is using the upcoming upgrade to Windows 10 as a springboard for a new browser that looks to gain popularity. It’s reported that Spartan will run a version of extensions similar to Chrome, has a layout that will be more familiar to users accustomed to other browsers, will give users the ability to annotate web pages directly from within the browser, and will have a reading mode that renders web pages more like an e-reader than the current reading mode on Internet Explorer 11. Spartan will also be a universal app that better connects web browsing between multiple devices.

Though it is a dream of many to live in the bleached sands and tropical breeze of the Caribbean, there are a few practical considerations to being based there. As much as isolation and beauty are perhaps desirable, they offer little in the way of practicality, especially for those who need to communicate quickly.

Sending messages in real-time across large geographical distances and difficult-to-cross terrain is no mean feat, as such for the Bureau of Information Technology (BIT) in the United States Virgin Islands (with employees scattered in every direction), solving this problem was something of a priority.

Enter Lync Online, a service from Microsoft that allows secure instant messaging and video calls between employees. 3,350 seats of Microsoft Office 365 were deployed across 30 agencies throughout 3 islands, allowing employees to work together more easily. Before this access to the cloud, employees often had to travel between islands in order to work.

Lync Online allows easier conferencing between offices, no matter the physical location, and also makes it easier to communicate with the local Microsoft Office. In addition to this, it makes technical support a great deal more efficient through the use of virtual desktops. The scheme was a success, with Reuben Molloy, Director of BIT and chief information officer for the Government of the US Virgin Islands stating:

“We’re very proud to be an early government adopter of Office 365, and we’re proud of the fact that our employees now have the tools they need to be more engaged, more productive, and more satisfied with their jobs. And by making them happier and more efficient we are helping the government run more smoothly, and ensuring that our citizens and visitors receive the highest possible level of service”

Working across various devices, including mobile, Lync Online has delivered significant benefits to BIT, once again showing the utility of the cloud. As Microsoft shifts more and more of its strategic focus in this direction, expect to hear a great many more stories in this vein in coming months.

Does your office use Lync Online? Let us know in the comments below.

When blood supply to the brain is disturbed, it results in a stroke, and depending on which area of the brain is affected, certain functions of the body can be lost such as the ability to control limbs or formulate speech. Strokes can be life-threatening and survivors usually end up suffering from long-term disabilities. But technology can play a big role in helping with and speeding up the recovery process according to Roberto D’Angelo and his wife Francesca Fedeli.

Roberto and Francesca became parents in 2011 with the birth of their son Mario, but ten days after birth, the infant suffered a stroke which impaired his ability to move his left arm and leg. Following the stroke, there wasn’t much doctors could do other than suggest a slow rehabilitation program that has been used for decades. So Roberto and Francesca co-founded FlightTheStroke.org, a non-profit organization that combines advanced technology, healthcare, and social enterprise development to push for new advances in research and therapy for pediatric stroke survivors.

Microsoft’s Kinect v2 sensor played a vital role in realizing their goal as the device allowed for a new form of physical therapy. With Kinect, two children facing similar disabilities could watch and learn from each other, seeing first-hand the way others like them can overcome particular challenges and motivating them to do the same. Kinect enables children to activate their mirror neurons which fire only as they observe others perform a certain action, like reaching for and grabbing objects.

As a result of the advanced treatment with Kinect, 4-year-old Mario has made massive progress as you can see in the embedded TED video above, and so Roberto and Francesca want to ensure that as many children that have suffered from strokes have access to the same treatment. This of course can be difficult to accomplish particularly to those living far away from expert medical treatment and rehabilitation facilities. Their FightTheStroke.org organization has thus participated in a pilot program with Columbia University in New York that aims to conduct advanced rehabilitation remotely with patients at home.

Mario’s parents have also stressed the need to re-balance the relationship between medical professionals and patient and care-giving communities to promote and open exchange of health-care knowledge, rather than having doctors being the sole holders of that information. They also noted the important role that parents and caregivers should take to keep their children engaged and motivated to improve, something that technology like Microsoft’s Kinect can greatly aid with.

Kinect opens up opportunities in several different industries, and this isn’t the first time that Kinect has been used in healthcare. The video below details similar Kinect stroke rehabilitation techniques developed by Microsoft Research Asia, although it doesn’t include the social aspects implemented by Roberto and Francesca and instead motivates patients with gaming and fun exercises.

You can read more about how Microsoft and customers are making the most out of Kinect and its SDK at the VIA link below. Also, check out FightTheStroke.org to learn more about their innovative approach to pediatric stroke rehabilitation.

In Windows 10, Microsoft’s Spartan browser will reportedly support the use of extensions. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer development team confirmed the use of extensions on Twitter, in an effort to distance Spartan from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser. Microsoft’s Spartan browser will be included in Windows 10 and will be used universally across Windows PCs, tablets, and phones.

Miicrosoft’s Internet Explorer 11 supports add-ons, but they are different from the extensions used in Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. The use of extensions on the Spartan browser will likely be different from Google Chrome extensions, but will likely be somewhat similar. Microsoft is clearly moving away from Internet Explorer to reinvent the Windows 10 browser experience.

There is still a lot more to learn about Microsoft’s upcoming Spartan browser, but it is sure to be a much different than Internet Explorer 11. Microsoft Spartan will have Cortana digital assistant integration, reading mode features, as well as an inking mode to make notes on webpages. The Spartan browser will be released on Windows 10 RTM, but the official name has yet to be revealed. There is also no indication if the Spartan browser will be available for Windows 8.1 or Windows 7. As usual, we will just have to wait and see what Microsoft plans when Windows 10 ships out later this year.   

The world of computing has become one of inherently impossible to process figures. Whereas the original machines, developed in the 1940’s were several orders of magnitude quicker at competing certain selective tasks than humans, it is the case nowadays that we don’t even compare. What is measured now is the difference in computing power between various machines and versions of software, unbelievably advanced in comparison to what came mere decades before. We are programmed to accept leaps in power, as such we are very slightly desensitized to any new developments, even if they should prove to be suitably revolutionary.

Trill, a new development from Microsoft Research, is one such project. A ‘simple’ .NET library, Trill can process data at levels that are two to four orders of magnitude beyond those of its nearest competitors. As a streaming engine, it is highly formidable. Though Trill will remain within Microsoft for the time being however, these improvements are slowly finding their way to its other products, Bing being one such example of this.

Bing Ads is already making use of Trill, allowing customers to access stats and data within a faster timeframe than ever before. Clicks and impressions will now register within an hour of them occurring, down from around four hours before. This only applies to certain data types, including: Keyword, Ad, Account, Campaign, AdGroup, Product Offer, Product Target, Website Placement, Destination URL, Ad Dynamic Text, Rich Ad Component, Ad Extension by Keyword, Ad Extensions by Ad and Ad Extension Details. This allows a greater level of interaction than ever before, offering more detailed stats to allow for more effective assessment of immediate ad impact.

The benefits of Trill don’t stop there. According to Microsoft, as a single-node library, any .NET service, application or platform can potentially include it and start processing queries, in addition to this, users can access data faster than ever before. Trill achieves this by processing events in batches, with the data in those batches organized more efficiently than ever before, allowing faster performance.

As Bandrish Chandramouli, a Microsoft Research employee who helped develop Trill states,

“Prior systems have only achieved subsets of these benefits, but Trill provides all of these advantages in one package, so to speak. While it can be integrated into today’s distribution fabrics such as SCOPE (in Bing ads) and Orleans (in Halo) to achieve scale-out, we are currently looking at developing new techniques to achieve even better performance in distributed computing and Internet-of-Things scenarios.”

Trill, has been developed for a number of years and is now a significant point of pride for Microsoft Research, as Jeanette Wing, Corporate Vice-President of Microsoft Research says,

“From CEDR to Trill to multiple Microsoft products: This body of work is a great example of how within Microsoft Research we evolve from science to technology to business impact.”

Use of Trill within Microsoft doesn’t stop with Bing Ads. Currently it is being used as a query processor within Azure stream analytics, operating under a public preview. This is yet another example of Microsoft Research delivering exciting products with tangible benefits both for the end consumer and the business operator, expect to hear a lot more regarding this in the future.

Could Trill benefit your firm? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore revealed via Twitter today that Windows 10 devices with a screen size less than 8-inches will not have a desktop. This means phones, phablets, and small tablets will not have a desktop. On the flip side, the desktop will only be made available to devices greater than 8-inches. You can see the tweet embedded below.

The HP Stream 7, for example, features a 7-inch display as well as an Intel Atom processor, but will have a desktop when it comes time for Windows 10. It appears that this change affects new devices running Windows 10, rather than existing devices which can upgrade to Windows 10. It will be curious to see how Microsoft implements this new desktop-requirement for small screen tablets, phablets, and phones.

@marypcbuk @jackschofield @ExNokian @sbisson @dinabass 8″ & up = “desktop” w/ win32 apps. < 8" = phones, phablets, sm tablets. No dsktp.

— joebelfiore (@joebelfiore) January 26, 2015

Folks asking about updating 7″ *existing* devices to Win10 — you keep your desktop, you get continuum. Go try it yourself now! ?

— joebelfiore (@joebelfiore) January 27, 2015

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect what Belfiore has added. Existing small screen devices can upgrade to Windows 10, keeping the desktop. We’re not sure how this will play out. Stay tuned.

Earlier this month, a German publication reported that over 1,800 Mojang accounts were compromised, and the login credentials were posted in a plain text format. It’s not a big percentage when you consider the total user base of the game, but it’s still worrying for many. However, Mojang has responded to the issue, and explained it was not a hacking attempt.

In a blog post, the company confirmed there mainframe was not hacked, and all those credentials which were compromised were through phishing attacks, making people give out their passwords to some “bad people”. The company further said that the passwords are saved in a highly encrypted format so the users have nothing to worry about.

“No! We haven’t been hacked. A bunch of bad people have tricked some of our users into disclosing their account information. We’ve emailed everyone affected, and reset all compromised passwords. If you haven’t received an email from us, you don’t need to worry,” Mojang’s Own Hill said. “No-one has gained access to the Mojang mainframe. Even if they did, we store your passwords in a super encrypted format. Honestly, you don’t need to panic.”

Owen mentioned that emails have been sent out to all affected users, and reset their passwords — even if you didn’t receive any email, it’s still a good idea to change your password. Furthermore, he advised users never to give out their login information on any website not owned by the company — it’s even better not to respond or open emails which asks for your login information, phishing attacks are quite common and many people are affected by it. 

As a quick reminder, never use a similar password on multiple websites, and make sure you use a mixture of upper/lowercase alphabets, numbers and special characters in your passwords to make sure it’s hard to guess.

Now that all you enthusiasts are settled in with the new Windows 10 January Preview, we want to see how you’ve gone about customizing it to your liking. Show us your Windows 10 Technical Preview desktops and Start Menu’s!

All we need you to do is open the Start Menu (as shown above), take a screenshot (WIN+PrintScreen) of the desktop and Start Menu and then upload it in the comments section of this post. You can vote on which desktop you think is the best looking by liking the post.

Now the last time we did this, we promised you we’d showcase the most popular (upvoted) desktop. So here it is! The most popular desktop from the Windows 10 Technical Preview is!:

Congratulations to Adirocks for having the most upvoted desktop and start menu. Will your desktop be showcased here next? Go on, get posting below!

Before I began my venture into blogging and journalism, I was a technology sales associate at the all mighty office supply store, Staples. My geeky knowledge was used to sell a number of different products, including Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system – oh, and overpriced warranties, of course! Launch day was an exciting event, but consumers came in a bit confused; there were two version of Windows to choose. Eventually, a few stress balls later, I was able to inform the average consumer on the difference between Windows 8 and Windows RT.

The Original Name Game

The name confusion didn’t stop there for many consumers, just the idea that there existed a product called Windows Phone, lead many of them to think that their full desktop operating system could now be used on a smartphone – this is the backstory to why I believe that Microsoft’s decision to name both their smartphone and PC operating system, Windows 10, is a poor one.

Microsoft used to have a problem with creating too many different variations of their software. Not too long ago, the Redmond-based company offered their Windows Vista operating system in six different flavors. Did you want the starter edition? How about the Home Basic edition? Maybe Home Premium? Or if you want the full package, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate might work. It was a confusion nightmare.

The same situation was evident with Microsoft’s original mobile operating system, Windows Mobile (formally Pocket PC). Did you want Microsoft Mobile Professional for your touchscreen smartphone? How about Microsoft Mobile Standard for your non-touchscreen smartphone? Maybe you want Microsoft Mobile Classic for your Personal Digital Assistant – the options continued to overwhelm consumers.

Better – Not Perfect.

Luckily, Microsoft got it right! They released Windows 8 in three editions – regular, professional, and enterprise (although boxing one edition in six different cases didn’t help). Then, of course, there was Windows RT for ARM-based units. They may not have achieved the actual simpler model we were dreaming for, but at least they cut the number of editions in half. Even better, Windows Phone Series 7 was renamed to Windows Phone.

When Microsoft announced Windows 10, we figured we would see the same trend of three different editions, and as of current rumors – that appears to be true.

However, Microsoft did not stop there; they made a decision that they felt would unify the entire ecosystem – they decided to call everything Windows 10. What do you have on your PC? Windows 10. What do you have on your tablet? Windows 10. What do you have on your phone? Windows 10.

While I agree that Windows 10 for both PC and tablet editions makes complete sense, as a former retail salesperson, I see Windows 10 on your smartphone as a true nightmare. When a consumer walks into AT&T, a representative won’t just tell them that the phone runs ‘Windows’, but that it runs ‘Windows 10’. For the average consumer, the confusion has just increased.

While working in the retail space and dealing with family and friends on a daily basis, the confusion of whether or not Windows Phone allowed users to run a full-blown desktop operating system continually came into questions. However, at least in this circumstance, the two platforms were named slightly different. With Windows 10, both the phone and the desktop have the same name, which will provide some headaches for retail tech representatives when dealing with customers.

It is an Opinion.

Now, WinBeta audience, I know whom I am talking to – you people are smart. You know the difference between Windows 10, Windows 10, and… Windows 10. You understand what the smartphone variation and what the PC variety offer. Now think about your relatives, maybe grandma, and ask, “will she be able to tell the difference?”

I understand Microsoft’s grand vision; what they are trying to accomplish with their new naming convention. Simplification is great to see, and we have been asking for it, but maybe Microsoft has gone a bit too far or not far enough with the name. I may be completely wrong, but my experience working in retail says otherwise.

As part of the Windows 10 January Technical Preview, Microsoft introduced some reworked system apps with new designs and features in tow. Below, we detail what’s new in the Alarms, Calculator, and Maps apps which seem to have gotten significant improvements.

Alarms

Starting with the new Alarms app, which should really be called ‘Clock’ considering all of the new features. The app includes four tabs; Alarm, World Clock, Timer, and Stopwatch. Gone are the pretty circular dials from the old app, now replaced with Microsoft’s new rounded toggle buttons, which you may have mixed feelings about.

Under the World Clock tab is a map of the earth with a sun impression so you know which parts of the world have daylight, and which have night. There’s also a handy compare feature which lets you set a specific time and date in one local and find out what time and date it is in others, because time zones can be nightmares sometimes. You can also pin specific locations to the Start Menu/Screen for quick, glance-able information.

The Timer and Stopwatch work as expected, allowing you to set a quick countdown so you don’t burn the cake, or figure out how long it takes for you to complete a 500m sprint, all of which are welcome additions to the apps. Both the Timer and Stopwatch can be pinned to Start for quick access.

Calculator

The current win32 calculator, which first made its debut in Windows 7, is now nowhere to be found. In its place is an all-new Modern UI calculator, and it’s very different from the one included in Windows 8. Now that Modern apps can run in windows, the new calculator launches in a relatively small window, but slightly larger than the win32 calculator, making buttons easier to click. You can still choose from the standard calculator, the scientific or programmer ones.

Additionally, a converter is also built-in, letting you convert figures in terms of length, temperature, speed, pressure, and seven other measures. And it still gives you interesting estimates. Did you know that you could fit about 21 jumbo jets, nose to tail, in a distance of 1 mile? Neither did we.

Maps

Microsoft has already gone through several iterations of the Maps app in the past, but the one that is included in the latest Technical Preview seems to be the best one yet. It’s cleaner in design, and everything that you need is at your fingertips. You’ve got the map itself on the right with a few overlay buttons to tilt, change map views and orientation, a ‘my location’ button, and zoom controls. On the left is a sidebar that gives you access to search, your favorites, and settings.

Favorites will sync across devices, but unfortunately it’s only favorites from the Maps app on Windows Phone, not HERE Drive or Maps, and there doesn’t seem to be an option to have them imported, yet. You can also easily get directions between two points or search for points of interests like hotels, restaurants, shopping venues and others.

A particularly new feature, one that was carried over from Windows Phone, is the ability to download maps for offline use. This feature can come in handy when traveling and uncertain of network availability at the destination. In case you were wondering, offline maps do not sync across devices so you will need to download them on each device.

Those are just three apps detailed, but there are other apps not mentioned here like the Sound Recorder and Scan apps that also received improvements, although they were relatively minor ones.

Today, Microsoft acquired Revolution Analytics for an undisclosed amount. Revolution Analytics provides businesses with services and software for “R;” a programming language used throughout the world for predictive and statistical analytic information. Microsoft explained the reason for the acquisition further in a blog post:

This acquisition will help customers use advanced analytics within Microsoft data platforms on-premises, in hybrid cloud environments and on Microsoft Azure. By leveraging Revolution Analytics technology and services, we will empower enterprises, R developers and data scientists to more easily and cost effectively build applications and analytics solutions at scale.

At a press event in October 2014, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella showed his appreciation for using Linux as an operating system for its Microsoft Azure cloud service. Microsoft also used “R” to develop game match-making capabilities for Xbox Live and looks to use “R” on other Microsoft projects in the future. Revolution Analytics will continue to expand upon and maintain its Revolution R project lineup, even for non-Windows platforms like Linux and Mac. This acquisition should also boost Microsoft’s Azure cloud service as well as boost future Xbox Live capabilities. What do you think of Microsoft’s buyout of Revolution Analytics? What will it mean for the future of Microsoft projects? Let us know your thought in the comments section.   

Now that the first Windows 10 Technical Preview of 2015 is out, we know many Insiders are scrambling to get it installed. Although, keep in mind that it is still early and unfinished software, so expect some bugs. Microsoft has also released a list of some of the known issues in Build 9926 of the preview.

Here is Microsoft’s list of known issues:

• After installing this build, you may see a boot selection menu each time you reboot your PC. This is because a bug where a second boot option is persisted to uninstall the Windows 10 Technical Preview and roll back to the previous OS installed. When you get to this screen, if you do nothing it will automatically boot to the Windows 10 Technical Preview within 30 seconds by default or you can choose it on your own. Don’t worry, this behavior is only temporary.
• Xbox Live enabled games that require sign-in will not launch correctly. If you see the below dialog box the game requires Xbox Live sign-in. A fix for this will be distributed via WU shortly after the release of Build 9926.
• Battery icon shows on lock screen of PCs without batteries.
• Tiles on the Start menu show truncated app names (such as the Windows Feedback app).
• Remote Desktop has some painting issues that result in tiled pixelation.
• Connected Standby enabled devices like Surface Pro 3 may experience shorter than expected battery life.
• In Cortana, reminders can’t be edited and more complex reminders might not get created. The first reminder you create in Cortana in this build might not pop up, but subsequent ones will. Completed reminders also don’t move to the History page in Cortana’s Notebook.
• The Music app will disappear if minimized within 16 seconds of launch. Just leave it in the foreground for 20 seconds or so and it should work just fine.
• Occasionally, the Start Menu is improperly registered and will fail to launch.

You may run into new issues yourself, and some may be unique to your specific hardware, but regardless, we suggest you report any additional issues to Microsoft.

Hololens created quite a bit of excitement surrounding the new technology and its possible applications. One of the applications which Microsoft discussed was their partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. JPL scientists plan to use the Hololens experience Mars in a first-hand way, as if they are walking around on the surface next to the Mars rover.

This type of application will help scientists to understand the environment which the rover experiences in a more natural way. Now scientists don’t have to rely solely upon 2D screens to understand the Martian landscapes, but a 3D augmented reality will exist where it is possible to walk around and get close to details which may result in new learnings. NASA’s use of the Hololens is just one of many possible uses to experience situations in a more natural way than looking at a screen. Augmented reality also has the benefit of merging physical objects, and digital objects together to create a new way to interact digitally and physically.