Microsoft Defender for Business, a new endpoint security solution for enterprise customers will soon roll out to organizations with a Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan. The new security offering was first announced at Microsoft’s Ignite conference in November, and it became available in preview for select customers a month later.

As small and medium-sized businesses are facing an increasing number of cyberattacks, Microsoft has designed Microsoft Defender for Business as a straightforward and cost-effective enterprise-grade endpoint security solution for organizations with up to 300 employees. For bigger organizations, Microsoft offers two separate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint plans with different security features.

The core pillars in Microsoft Defender for Business include antimalware and antivirus protection, Automated investigation and remediation, as well as integrations with the Microsoft 365 Lighthouse admin portal and third-party security tools. If Microsoft Defender For Business will be included as part of Microsoft 365 Business Premium ($20/user per month), it’s also available as a standalone offering ($3/user per month). The solution also supports customers having their email and productivity apps on-premises.

Microsoft expects to start rolling out Microsoft Defender for Business to companies with a Microsoft 365 Business Premium plan in late February, and all customers should have it by early Match. If you want to participate in the public preview, you can learn more about how to get your organization on board on this page.

To celebrate the start of Lunar New Year celebrations on February 1st, Microsoft is giving gamers the chance to win a one-of-a-kind Xbox Series S console inspired by the Year of the Tiger.

To enter, all Xbox fans need to do is like and retweet this tweet from the official Xbox Twitter account and wait until the competition ends on February 3rd to hear who the winner is.

The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 in a region that supports Xbox Live. Winners will be notified via a DM to their Twitter account.

Full details on the competition can be read here.

Want more Xbox news? Follow us on Twitter here.

Microsoft is testing an interesting new feature in the Canary version of its Edge browser. Spotted by a Twitter user, a new “Quick Actions” sidebar looks to give Edge users fast access to Microsoft Rewards, games, and other content (via Windows Central.)

Today's canary preview build of Microsoft Edge includes a new sidebar for quick actions and links.

I like it, but it can be disabled in settings if you don't use it. pic.twitter.com/jQZ0VPQoj6

— Benjamin Mathis (@BenjMathis1) January 19, 2022

We’re not currently seeing the feature on our end, but it adds a narrow space to the right side of Edge, directly next to the scroll bar. In that space are five icons for the various quick actions. From top to bottom, one lets you “discover” topics, the second lets you get into Microsoft Rewards, the third lets you test your Internet. The final, two, meanwhile, let you play games, or access Microsoft 365. Note that the games section appears very similar to the Games Panel, which was previously tested in Edge Canary. It just links out to MSN games. Check it out in the images below.

In addition to that, there are also some controls for customization. Though limited, users can turn off the sidebar, or enable and disable colorful icons. Users suggest it’d be better if Microsoft could let people pin websites to the space, however.

With Edge being as busy as is, this is another interesting space for Microsoft to add to its web browser. Of course, though, since this feature is in Canary, it might not make it to the final version of Microsoft Edge at all, as Microsoft looks for feedback first. Do you like this new quick actions sidebar? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Microsoft is still working on its new “One Outlook” client for Windows and macOS, which is also called “Project Monarch” internally. We’ve already seen an early version of the app last year, and today’s ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley is reporting that Microsoft could be ready to officially reveal the app in Spring 2022.

According to previous reports, Microsoft was expected to release its One Outlook app last year, but it ultimately didn’t happen. However, the company is still testing the app internally and the new client looks a lot like the current version of Outlook on the web. The app is expected to use this same UI across Windows and macOS. As a reminder, here’s what the app looked like in a previous leak from last year.

“Microsoft could be ready to get a test version of the new Outlook to Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels by late March or early April 2022, my contacts say,” Foley wrote. “By late July or August this year, Microsoft is hoping to be able to get it to Insiders in the Slow Channel, though this target date could slip until the fall, my contacts said.”

According to Foley, Microsoft will make this new “One Outlook” available as an option in the next major updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11 coming in Fall 2022, and the app should be pinned alongside the existing Mail and Calendar UWP apps. Microsoft also won’t be forcing users to move away from the existing versions of Outlook for Windows and Mac, which supports power user features that many enterprise users still need. However, the Mail and Calendar UWP apps which haven’t received significant updates in years are likely on the way out.

Back in 2020, Microsoft announced a partnership with FedEx to boost the efficacy of a joint platform titled FedEx Surround. FedEx Surround is an enterprise tool that organizations can use to get visualizations in real-time of their supply chains.

Fast forward to January 2022, and the two companies are following up their previously announced partnership an additional solution born out of their joint efforts and a multiyear collaboration in “logistics as a service” for businesses.

The companies announced plans to introduce a unique data integration coupling data insights from FedEx with Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management to help brands access new information and capabilities to better fulfill, ship and service customer orders while easily integrating with their existing e-commerce platforms. This cross-platform approach helps brands deliver modern, high-value experiences directly to their customers including faster, more cost-effective delivery; near real-time delivery status communications; and convenient, frictionless returns with approximately 60,000 drop-off locations and printerless QR codes. For brands facing increased pressure to build affinity while managing higher order volumes, ensuring cost-effective fulfilment and reducing costly customer service calls, this new technology brings unprecedented opportunity to leverage existing systems of record, optimize fulfillment and deliver on their order promises with increased precision, while benefiting from a more complete view of their customer.

The newish platform is referred to as Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management and will use data and AI to help give businesses an omnichannel order management application. The omnichannel app produced by Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management can be integrated with existing businesses resources through the multitude of CRM, ERO and EDI supports Microsoft currently host.

More than just a single feed to monitor, business can also use Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management for order intake, cross-channel order fulfillment and delivery, create rules-based order actions with low or no-code environments, all while leveraging Microsoft’s Azure cloud machine learning and AI services.

Microsoft and FexEd are expected to roll out availability to Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management to US-based customers in the second half of 2022, with no further word on an international rollout at this time.

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been using a Surface Laptop SE from the “consumer” point of view. I purchased one out of curiosity to try out the Windows 11 SE operating system and came to some interesting findings from the Windows and Surface fan’s point of view.

But it’s important to note that this device is the first Surface specially made for K-8 students with some unique features just for education. That’s why Microsoft recently reached out to me and provided me with a sample tenant so I could review the Laptop SE from the student’s point of view.

With the sample tenant, I gained access to some features that I didn’t have access to before when using the Surface Laptop SE with a personal Microsoft account. So, here’s a look at what students and teachers can get with Windows 11 SE on the Surface Laptop SE.

Educators & teachers

I’ll start first with teachers and educators. This goes back to how my editor Kip dubbed the device as “no-frills.” The Surface Laptop SE is a device that’s meant to be distraction-free. It’s simple, only works with apps approved by IT admins (and Microsoft,) and is also safe, since it blocks student access to core system functions like Command Prompt.

The biggest point of the simplicity is the pre-installed learning applications built into each Surface Laptop SE system image. These include Minecraft, Flipgrid, full-blown Microsoft Office, as well as the Microsoft Edge browser. Microsoft even removed the Widgets experience in Windows 11 SE, to help remove distractions from students.

Note that full-blown Office is a huge deal in this case on the Surface Laptop SE. It’s not a user-based license, but rather a device-based license. So, if a device gets handed back to a school from a student, an IT admin can hand it back to someone else in fewer steps with the school’s Microsoft 365 licenses.

In providing me with a sample education tenant, I did get access to some additional apps on my Surface Laptop SE that I didn’t have when using it with a personal Microsoft account. Only IT admins can download and install apps directly to Windows 11 SE devices, but the sample tenant automatically installed these for me.

Clearly, Microsoft wants to give schools and educators a choice with Surface Laptop SE and Windows 11 SE. I experienced this when both Zoom and Chrome loaded up and worked fine once my Laptop SE was configured with a sample education tenant.

Yet Windows 11 SE also delivers broad support for web-based and third-party apps, including the most common test-taking, accessibility, content filtering, and classroom orchestration apps. Windows 11 SE also offers up compatibility with Chrome extensions and other online tools.

Students

For students, there are three core things that make Surface Laptop SE great for education. This includes online and offline capabilities, keeping focus, and battery life.

I’ll start with online and offline capabilities. Students can begin a homework assignment in OneNote, PowerPoint, or Word at home, without internet access, and then have it sync to the cloud once the internet is available. Even when online, everything is saved to the cloud on Windows 11 SE. I tried this out by toggling my internet connection off, and typing in Word, only to have it sync up to my OneDrive later on.

Now, for focus. These are some of the things I’ve already got to when talking about Windows 11 SE from a consumer’s point of view. In the Start Menu, students can see recommended files to quickly access documents and assignments. It’s different from regular Windows 11 in that it is limited to four options.

Another thing in this area is apps launching in full screen, for a distraction-free experience. That then fits in with the limit on Snap Layouts. There are only two apps that can be snapped at a time. This fits well with common apps like Edge and PowerPoint.

Finally, for battery life, Microsoft promises up to 16 hours based on typical Surface device usage. This is one of the greatest strengths of the Surface Laptop SE as 16 hours is more than enough for a student to make it through a school day, and then go home with a device. As I’ve said in my time with the Laptop SE, this is very much more than true.

Other education features

Windows 11 SE and Surface Laptop SE are just two ways that Microsoft has gone all-in on education. There are many other features that the company has which put students and educators first. This includes reading progress in Teams, which enables students to practice their skills in a secure, student-centric environment. There’s also Immersive Reader, which helps make content easier to read and understand for students. There’s even Microsoft Translator which is embedded in Teams, and Education insights, which provides educators real-time analytics on student engagement.

Welcome back to our Windows news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Google Play Games beta launches on Windows PC in 3 regions

Google’s Google Play Games has launched on Windows PC’s in beta, across 3 regions. The service allows users to play video games designed for Android on their PCs, with the addition of full keyboard and mouse support.

Audible points Windows 10 users to web app ahead of app removal

As Amazon prepares for the end of its dedicated Audible app on Windows 10, it has sent out emails to users to point them to the web app if they wish to continue accessing their Audible library.

Windows 11 third-party widgets may be coming via the Microsoft Store

New reports suggest that Microsoft may soon address a complaint with the widget pane in Windows 11, with a possible announcement of supporting third-party widgets via the Microsoft Store, which would allow users to make use of this widget area based on their own needs, rather than for News and Weather.

Information about third party widgets, publishing widgets and more. Looks like Microsoft is soon going to announce third party widgets officially.#Windows11 pic.twitter.com/ASRD98IMI6

— FireCube (@FireCubeStudios) January 16, 2022

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows news.

Microsoft announced yesterday that it has started pushing Windows 10 version 21H2, also known as the November 2021 Update, to devices still on Windows 10 version 20H2 that are approaching end of servicing. The company is once again using machine learning models to determine which devices will have a “smooth update experience.”

“Windows 10, version 21H2 is available for users with select devices running Windows 10, versions 2004 and higher who manually seek to “Check for updates” via Windows Update. (…) We also started the first phase in our rollout for machine learning (ML) training, targeting devices on Windows 10, version 20H2 that are approaching end of servicing to update automatically to Windows 10, version 21H2,” the company explained on the Windows Health Dashboard.

We started the first phase in the Windows 10, version 21H2 rollout for machine learning (ML) training. We are targeting devices on Windows 10, version 20H2 that are approaching end of servicing to update automatically to version 21H2. https://t.co/l7RbiFyq3O

— Windows Update (@WindowsUpdate) January 20, 2022

As a reminder, Windows 10 version 21H2 is a minor update that only brings improvements for Wi-Fi security, Windows Hello for Business, and the Windows Subsystem for Linux. For users still on Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, the installation process should be pretty fast as Windows Update will just be downloading an enablement package to turn on the new features on Windows 10 PCs.

If Windows 11 is now getting most of the Windows team’s attention these days, there are probably many Windows 10 devices that won’t be eligible for a free Windows 11 upgrade. That’s why Microsoft is committed to supporting Windows 10 until the OS, though the OS will only receive new “major” updates once a year going forward.

The Telegram communications app got a Windows-specific update today that brought the app up to Version 3.4.8 and added support for animated reactions and Windows 11’s snap feature.

Here’s the full release notes:

New in version 3.4.8:

• Beautifully animated reactions.
• Support for snap layouts on Windows 11.
• Bug fixes and two bowls of miso soup.

Today’s Telegram update comes on the tail of its previous one which rolled out just a week or so ago. You can read all about that app update here.

Need more news about Windows app updates in your life? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Sony has just reacted to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which pretty much took the video games industry by surprise on Monday. In a statement shared with The Wall Street Journal, a Sony spokesperson said that the Japanese company expects Microsoft to not change Activision’s current strategy to release its blockbuster games on multiple platforms including PlayStation consoles.

“We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform,” the Sony spokesperson said. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming also shared a reassuring statement on Monday, saying that “Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward.”

Activision Blizzard will continue to operate independently until Microsoft completes the acquisition of the company in its fiscal year 2023, so the relationships between Sony and Activision should remain business as usual until June 2023. However, Microsoft likely didn’t spend $68.7 billion to keep releasing future Activision games on PlayStation consoles forever.

Sony has enjoyed good relationships with Activision for years, with the company benefiting from a marketing deal for Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles. In recent years, PlayStation pretty much became the best platform to play Call of Duty games thanks to exclusive content and in-game bonuses. These advantages for PlayStation gamers may eventually go away, but it’s still hard to know if future Call of Duty games could skip PlayStation entirely.

Activision also owns several IPs deeply associated with the PlayStation brand such as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, and the future of these franchises on PlayStation consoles is also unclear. Following its acquisition of Bethesda last year, Microsoft said that future games will be released on PlayStation “on a case-by-case basis,” but we already know that Bethesda’s much-anticipated Starfield game will be exclusive to Microsoft platforms.

Microsoft just released Preview 12 of the .NET Multi-platform App UI otherwise known as .NET MAUI. For those living under a rock, this is a cross-platform framework for creating native mobile and desktop applications levering .NET and C#. This allows developers to build applications that work across pretty much any operating system under the sun with a single framework, programming language and shared codebase. In short, an evolution of .NET Xamarin.Forms.

With preview 12 come some exciting enhancements, let’s talk about a few of them.

Shell Navigation

Xamarin.Forms Shell simplifies mobile app development by offering the essential functionalities that most apps need. Developers can access Shell.Current to issue navigation commands from pretty much anywhere, listen to navigation events, and more. One of the biggest features brought forward is the ability to query parameters.

For example :

private Task NavigateToDetailCommandExecute()
{
    return Shell.Current.GoToAsync($"{nameof(ShowDetailPage)}?Id={Show.Id}");
}

Shell Dependency Injection

Another amazing enhancement is the ability to leverage dependency injection. Starting with Preview 12 developers can now define their dependencies in their main class and use it in their pages

public static class MauiProgram
    {
        public static MauiApp CreateMauiApp()
        {
            var builder = MauiApp.CreateBuilder();
            builder
                .UseMauiApp<App>();

            builder.Services
                .AddSingleton<MainViewModel>();

            return builder.Build();
        }
    }

public partial class MainPage
{
    readonly MainViewModel _viewModel;

    public MainPage(MainViewModel viewModel)
    {
        InitializeComponent();

        BindingContext = _viewModel = viewModel;
    }
}

Other improvements

Aside from improvements to Shell, there are quite a few important bug fixes being included with this release. To read more about these head over the the blog post from Microsoft’s David Ortinau.

Before getting started it might be a good idea to do the following…

Before installing Visual Studio 2022 Preview, we highly recommend starting from a clean slate by uninstalling all .NET 6 previews and Visual Studio 2022 previews.

Now, install Visual Studio 2022 Preview (17.1 Preview 3) and confirm .NET MAUI (preview) is checked under the “Mobile Development with .NET workload”.

– David Ortinau, .NET Multi-platform App UI

Overall .NET MAUI is shaping up to be a very exiting platform and an amazing follow up to Xamarin.Forms which was already a very formidable offering on its own. Have you been building your own .NET MAUI powered apps? What has been your experience?

Google today announced the launch of a beta testing period for Google Play Games on Windows PC.

The Google Play Games essentially allows PC owners to play video games designed for Android smartphones and tablets on their Windows laptop and PC. The system lets users use the same Google account to transfer progress between devices and earn Google Play Points for making purchases within the Windows Google Play Games app.

While Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating systems is continuing to add support for Android apps throughout 2022, that functionality basically creates a small box on a PC’s screen that functions like an Android smartphone or tablet. Android video games featured in the Google Play Games service take this idea further by adding full keyboard and mouse control support for Windows devices. It’s kind of the inverse of Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming which adds touch controls for console and PC games when they’re played on mobile devices.

Curiously, the Google Play Games website lists the minimum required operating system as being Windows 10 which means that users won’t need the Android app compatibility feature that’s being added to Windows 11 systems.

Starting today, interested parties in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan can sign up to participate in the beta testing with more regions expected to be added in the following months.

Are you interested in playing Android games on your Windows device? Let us know in the comments below and then follow us on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook for more gaming news.