Microsoft may have a $10 billion dollar investment and partnership with OpenAI for its ChatGPT Large Language Model but it looks like the company could be hedging its bets with its own smaller transformer technology.

Microsoft researchers recently revealed its Phi-1 1.3B transformer-based language model beat much larger models including HumanEval, MBPP, and even partnered ChatGPT when tasked with coding.

Combing “textbook quality” from The Stack and The StackOverflow datasets to train the artificial intelligence of Phi-1 1.3B and the use of eight NVIDIA A1000 GPUs over four days produced 6 billion high-quality training tokens based on GPT-4 classifiers and 7 billion generated using GPT 3.5 standards.

Not only did Phi-1 1.3B outperform some of its larger language model counterparts, it did so using fewer parameters.

While the researchers may be popping bottles of champagne in excitement, Phi-1 1.3Bs achievements are tempered by its comparative limited versatility. Unlike larger models, Phi-1 1.3B gains ground through its specialized training in Python programming and as such, misses out on specific API programming resulting in less knowledge about domain specifics than larger models tend to have.

At the end of the day, Phi-1 1.3B success highlights the need for higher quality data to flow through these language models to optimize their output.

Microsoft’s other SML Orca has also proven to outperform ChatGPT in similar testing, further lending credence to the necessity for high quality data to shrink the resource question of LLMs.

Microsoft is planning to open-source Phi-1 1.3B through HuggingFace, but as of now, there is no official date for the release.

GitHub, the leading platform for software development collaboration, has unveiled the latest tool called actions-permissions. This tool is specifically designed to address the need for better security and control over the repository token used in GitHub Actions workflows.

GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions, which allow users to automate various tasks and workflows within their repositories, utilize a temporary repository access token known as GITHUB_TOKEN. In the past, these tokens possessed wide-ranging permissions, granting full read and write access to the repository, with only pull requests from forks being an exception. However, GitHub implemented a more fine-grained permission model for workflow tokens in 2021. As part of this change, the default permissions for new repositories and organizations were set to read-only, providing a more secure starting point.

Despite these advancements, a significant number of workflows still rely on a write-all token due to default workflow permission settings. In many cases, writing permissions are not actually necessary. To help users identify if their workflows are using overly broad default permissions, GitHub provides a simple way to check the “Workflow permissions” section in the repository or organization settings.

While switching to a read-only permission setting is considered a security best practice, doing so may inadvertently disrupt existing workflows that rely on write-all permissions. Another challenge arises when applying the principle of least privilege, as complex workflows often involve multiple actions, making it easy to overlook specific permission required for proper workflow execution. Additionally, the diverse steps and error-handling mechanisms present in workflows can make it difficult to determine the precise set of privileges needed for more intricate workflow definitions.

To assist users in transitioning to a more secure workflow permission model, GitHub has introduced a set of powerful tools called actions-permissions. These tools provide monitoring and recommendation features that simplify the process of identifying and assigning the minimum required permissions for a given workflow.

Monitor action

The Monitor action, one of the key components of actions-permissions, installs a local proxy within the workflow runner. It actively collects information about any interactions with the GitHub API initiated by the workflow, allowing users to review and understand the minimum permissions needed. The recommendations are conveniently presented as part of the workflow run summary, providing clear insights into the required permissions.

In addition to the Monitor action, GitHub offers the Advisor action, which functions as both a local tool and a way to summarize the recommendations from multiple workflows runs. This feature provides users with a comprehensive overview of the permissions required across various iterations of their workflows.

Once users have implemented the recommended permissions in their workflows, they can discontinue the use of these tools. If any additional permissions become necessary for future iterations, users can easily add them as required.

GitHub welcomes users to try out these tools and provide valuable feedback, contributing to the ongoing improvement of GitHub’s offerings. With actions-permissions, GitHub continues to demonstrate its commitment to providing a safe and efficient environment for developers and organizations worldwide.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled an ambitious goal to double the organization’s revenue by the year 2030. The company aims to achieve a staggering $500 billion in revenue, more than double its current size.

During a recent Federal Court hearing related to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc, the CEO’s comments shed light on the company’s strategic objectives and unwavering commitment to innovation and growth. In a memo, Nadella outlined Microsoft’s plan to achieve at least 10% annual revenue growth by implementing a growth-oriented strategy aligned with the company’s enduring mission and culture.

The fiscal year 2022 results demonstrated Microsoft’s strong growth trajectory, despite not reaching the exact targets outlined in the “20/20” strategy. The company achieved an impressive 18% increase in top-line revenue, surpassing the industry average and generating $198.27 billion.

Furthermore, the company exhibited its capacity to increase profitability with a solid 19% rise in operating income. This exceptional performance underscores the company’s adaptability, resilience, and ongoing success in delivering innovative products and services that resonate with customers across various industries.

Nadella’s memo also highlighted the driving factors behind the company’s growth. It differentiated between Microsoft Plus, which encompasses consumer-focused products, and Microsoft Cloud, a suite of products primarily targeting commercial clients. With offerings such as Azure, Microsoft 365, and LinkedIn, Microsoft Cloud emerged as the primary driver of growth for the company. Recently, the Redmond company also gained an annual growth of 32% in cybersecurity revenue.

Azure, the company’s flagship cloud computing platform, has experienced significant success, positioning itself as a major player in the industry. Competing directly with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Azure provides organizations with a comprehensive range of cloud services, including infrastructure, platform, and software solutions.

TLDR: Microsoft CEO memo

In summary, Nadella’s memo emphasized the company’s commitment to maintaining growth rates above the market average, enabling the company to extend its lead over competitors like GCP and close the gap with AWS. Microsoft’s strong performance, along with its focus on innovation and strategic expansion, positions the company on a promising path toward achieving its ambitious revenue target of $500 billion by 2030.

Via: Coinspeaker

During another contentious day in court last Friday over the $68.2 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox chief Phil Spencer became the highlight of events for the day.

Despite a witness lineup that included a video deposition from PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan, questioning (behind closed doors) of Microsoft finance director Jaime Lawver and former Stadia head Dov Zimring, it was Spencer’s responses to a battery of questions about Xbox’s financial viability as a company within Microsoft that punctuated the day.

Day two of the FTC v. Microsoft trial over an injunction to the Activision deal was less bombastic than the first but still contained a treasure trove of information for laymen observers and FTC lawyers alike.

Following a 45-minute closed-door session between FTC lawyers and Microsoft’s finance director Lawver due to sensitive financial disclosures, Spencer took the stand for roughly 2 hours of questioning that began with how the Xbox’s “echo-system” operates.

We talk about Xbox ecosystem as the platform where creators build games for players to play.

Is Nintendo a competitor?

The FTC spent some of its early time questioning Spencer as an attempt to disqualify the Nintendo Switch as a competitor in the console gaming market based on its component packaging and specs.

By limiting the market of “viable” console manufacturers, the FTC could argue that any big moves such as acquiring Activision Blizzard harms the market because there are just less options for consumers. The FTC read back several statements from redacted files Spencer provided prior that stated the Switch was akin to “a Gen 8 device” based on CPU and GPU performance.

However, Spencer clarified in court on Friday, that Nintendo simply opted for a different platform play than traditional consoles which needed to be plugged in to operate.

The Switch was designed for people to take on the go. It has a battery; it’s a mobile platform people can take with them. Whereas the Gen 8 [Xbox One] consoles require that they’re plugged into the wall and don’t have a screen. Nintendo built a different platform.”

Spencer then goes on to reaffirm the Xbox has failed to keep up with Sony’s PlayStation or even Nintendo’s various offerings over the last 20 years.

We try to compete, but as I said, over the last 20 years we’ve failed to do that effectively.

It should be noted that the tactic of downplaying the Xbox as a third-rate failure is intentional and has been a through line for Microsoft executives in concurrent court days.

Furthermore, Spender also painted the PlayStation as an “aggressive competitor,” which takes up to 30 percent of revenue gained from games shipped by Microsoft to the platform, and uses that investment to reduce Xbox’s chances of survival in the market.

Perhaps, feeling as if it was losing headway in the direction of generally defined market competition, FTC lawyers pivoted to AAA content and exclusivity.

AAA content and Exclusivity

Spencer calmly countered assertions from the FTC’s line of questioning that Microsoft acquires content to avoid paying licensing fees and marketing contracts for exclusive titles.

While it’s well-established practice in the gaming market to buy exclusives, Microsoft began shifting away from that model of acquiring content during the roll out of the Xbox One and maintains its avoidance currently, allowing Spencer to rebuttal the FTCs claims with, “we don’t pay for exclusivity on our own platform.”

Spencer did note that Sony not only sign deals to gain access to exclusive content but also enters into contracts to keep games off the Xbox platform.

In what felt like a set for a “gotcha” moment, the FTC tracked out previous statements from Spencer indicating that Microsoft might possibly keep some of AActivision’s titles from its competitor platform, thus validating the FTC’s fears over the acquisition.

Spencer quickly added context to what should have been damning news by identifying that those were strategic cost analysis run by both Microsoft and Activision to see if there was an evaluation worth considering, there was not.

The FTC latched onto the topic and also surfaced communications from Microsoft early on that discussed making Minecraft an exclusive to only Xbox consoles and PCs. Ultimately, common sense prevailed and Minecraft was released to every system that it could be played on.

Following up the Minecraft exclusivity discussion was some talk about PlayStation dev kits and platform degradation. The FTC aided by some Sony talking points sought to get clarification from Spencer on the nature of Minecraft features, updates, and maintenance on PlayStation versus Xbox and PCs.

While Sony points the finger at Microsoft for unoptimized version of Minecraft for the PlayStation 5, Microsoft insist that Sony’s reluctancy to provided PlayStation dev kits to Microsoft for fear of competition, had slowed its own progress on receiving an optimized Minecraft experience for the PS5.

As a side note, Microsoft hasn’t provided an optimized Xbox Series experience either, perhaps nullifying claims of favoritism of unfair distribution from the company.

Spencer also took some time to clarify the details of the Bethesda acquisition and the exclusive titles of Redfall and Starfield as necessary.

Spencer discussed the notion that Sony was in talks to pay Bethesda to keep Starfield a PlayStation exclusive for an undetermined amount of time, thus prompting Microsoft to purchase the studio to make sure Xbox customers had access to the game.

Moving on, FTC lawyers were unable to pin down the exclusivity status of upcoming Elder Scrolls VI but did manage to get Spencer under oath promising to provide CoD to the PlayStation platform, something Microsoft has already drafted up in contract.

Mobile Gaming Future

The FTC briefly touched on the topic of mobile gaming, where Spencer reiterated Microsoft’s failures to be a viable competitor in that space, noting that Minecraft has been its only relative success.

On the topic of mobile gaming, Spencer revealed that Microsoft attempted to buy Zynga at the height of its popularity but lost out to Take-Two in the end.

Spencer also noted how Microsoft and Sony are essentially locked out of mobile with Apple and Google holding the keys to that sector, also educating FTC lawyers about streaming games and mobile app store policies.

Leaving behind exclusivity talk for some time, Spencer talked about the financial viability of the Xbox platform and how it cannot run at a loss unlike the narrative the FTC was crafting.

The Xbox platform as a business

The Xbox couldn’t eat the loss of over 2/3 of the customers that represent the PlayStation community to then hope an exclusivity play works out in the long term.

The Xbox team has internal goals and achievements it must reach, just like any other business and must be profitable at the end of the day.

Spencer also explained why the near $70 billion acquisition bid for Activision is less of a sunk cost but more of a managed asset that will need to justify itself.

No, when you acquire something it’s not a payment. It’s like when you buy a house. You’re buying an asset that has value so it’s really a transfer of cash into an asset called Activision, that you believe retains the value that you acquired. So to try and characterize the $70 billion as somehow spent is incorrect. Financially, it’s really moving $70 billion in cash into an asset, which is a game publisher, that to us is actually worth more than $70 billion, so it is not spent.

How Google Stadia played into this

Dov Zimring took the stand late in the day unclear who he was there to benefit, as much of what he testified to buttressed Microsoft’s general claim that cloud gaming is expensive and competition is stiff.

Zimring seemingly admitted that it couldn’t acquire the necessary AAA titles to keep its platform viable despite paying developers for them.

It was going to be far more expensive in the environment that we found ourselves in.

Day two wrapped up with Judge Corley cutting off FTC lawyers from belaboring points and attempts to tie Microsoft to contractual obligations on the stand, which some observers have noted, isn’t a good sign for the FTC.

Day three is scheduled for Tuesday June 27, 2023, at 8:30am PT, 11:30am ET, and 4:30pm UK. Be sure to stay tuned to OnMSFT.com for all the latest!

Microsoft Teams has recently unveiled two new features that enhance the captions experience in Teams meetings. Users can now toggle profanity filtering for Live Captions and Live Transcription and enjoy greater customization options.

Profanity filtering toggle

To provide users with more control, Microsoft Teams has introduced a toggle to turn off profanity filtering for live captions. By disabling the filtering feature, users can view captions and transcriptions without any modification, displaying every word exactly as spoken.

By default, profanity filtering is enabled, and to turn it off, users can adjust their preferences in the captions and transcription tab within their user settings. It’s important to note that this preference is at the user level and is not governed by the meeting organizer or tenant admin.

Improvements to the caption experience

Microsoft Teams has made improvements to the overall caption experience, focusing on customization options for positioning and presentation in meetings.

The captions window at the bottom of the meeting interface has undergone layout enhancements. The speaker attribution and captions are now neatly displayed, with the full speaker name shown above the associated captions.

The default number of lines displayed in the caption window has been increased from 2 to 3, and users can expand the window to view additional lines.

A settings button can be found in the top right corner of the caption window. Clicking on it opens the new captions settings pane on the right side of the window. This pane provides various configuration options divided into two sections.

The languages section enables users to specify the currently spoken language during the meeting. Teams Premium license holders gain the ability to choose the language for live translations.

The styles section offers four different caption styles for customization. Users can modify the font color, set the caption panel height, choose the position of the panel, and adjust the font size.

By selecting the appropriate height and font sizes, users can display up to 3-4 additional lines of captions.

Another valuable addition is the ability to scroll up through the previous minute of captions displayed in the panel. This feature proves useful for catching up on missed content or quickly reviewing recently shown captions.

Users can also configure the position of the caption panel to be either at the bottom or top of the meeting view, allowing them to tailor their caption experience to their preferences.

When will these features be available?

Both features are now accessible on the desktop and web clients for commercial and GCC customers.

With these new additions, Microsoft Teams continues to enhance the captions experience, offering users greater flexibility and customization options for an inclusive and seamless meeting environment.

As per an updated product roadmap shared by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is reportedly developing at least a dozen new devices slated for release between late 2023 and early 2024. He further reports that Apple is currently focusing on wrapping up software development, extending testing, and finalizing the rollout plan of its recently announced Vision Pro headset before proceeding to other crucial business activities, such as preparing to launch the upcoming versions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Macs, and other products.

Gurman emphasized that Apple plans to launch a new iPad Air to succeed the current M1-powered version, alongside two new iPad Pro models featuring OLED screens by 2024. Additionally, the company has commenced the initial phases of developing third-generation AirPods Pro, an upgraded Apple TV equipped with superior specifications, and other “home equipment,” including Smart Displays.

The report also suggests that Apple is in the early stages of design work for a brand-new iMac model, which will have an expansive display exceeding 30 inches.

Gurman, an industry insider with sources at Apple, asserts that the tech giant has plans to release two new variants of the Apple Watch Series 9 and a next-generation Apple Watch Ultra in conjunction with the launch of the iPhone 15 lineup this fall. Regarding updates to their Mac product line, significant changes are anticipated towards the end of this year or in early 2024.

These updates will include new MacBook Pro models sized at 14 inches and 16 inches and powered by the M3 Pro and M3 Max chips, a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro featuring the M3 chip, as well as two new MacBook Air models and new 24-inch iMac models.

The report also highlights how Apple extended access to its Vision Pro headset by granting more employees the opportunity to try out the device. Before this, only a select group knew the device’s features. With the testing pool increased, some users reported discomfort after prolonged usage due to the perceived weight of the headset.

While an exact weight is not officially published, the device boasts high-end materials such as aluminum and glass. To alleviate the issue, Apple has developed a head strap to distribute the weight more evenly. Despite the solution, sources note that this accessory will not be included in the retail version of the product as it is currently considered non-essential.

Via Bloomberg

Microsoft recently released a public preview of Azure Remote Rendering support for Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro, enabling developers to render complex 3D content in the cloud and stream it to these virtual realities (VR) headsets in real-time.

Azure Remote Rendering, which already supports desktop and Microsoft’s AR headset, HoloLens 2, utilizes a hybrid rendering approach that combines remotely rendered content with locally rendered content. Now, with support for Quest 2 and Quest Pro, developers can leverage Microsoft’s Azure cloud rendering capabilities to view large and intricate models on these VR devices.

The addition of Azure Remote Rendering’s support for Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro perfectly aligns with the growing popularity of these headsets for model visualization. BIM Holoview, a leading company in the construction industry, has integrated the latest Azure Remote Rendering support for Meta Quest. 

Peter Neil, CEO of BIM Holoview, expressed his excitement about this integration, stating, “The availability of Azure Remote Rendering support on Meta Quest signifies a significant milestone in redefining the visualization and understanding of construction models.” This integration allows users to experience the portability of Meta Quest while seamlessly viewing large and complex models, revolutionizing the way construction models are visualized and understood.

Microsoft acknowledges that supporting Quest 2 and Quest Pro has been one of the top feature requests from partners and developers. It eagerly looks forward to seeing the innovative applications and experiences developers will create using Azure cloud rendering capabilities on these devices.

The release of Azure Remote Rendering support for Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro marks a significant advancement in the field of VR content rendering. With this powerful combination of cloud and local rendering, developers can unlock new possibilities for immersive experiences and visualization of complex 3D models.