It’s now been two weeks since Microsoft released its new Xbox Series X and Series S consoles worldwide, and Xbox head Phil Spencer has just given a long interview to The Verge to discuss this recent console launch as well as what’s coming next for Xbox. Between the competition with other platforms and the rise of cloud gaming and subscription services, Spencer has a lot of interesting insights about the evolution of the video games industry, especially at a time where a worldwide pandemic as been affecting the development and the consumption of video games in many ways.

Having worked at Microsoft for more than 30 years, Spencer saw the launch of all previous Xbox consoles, but the Xbox Series X|S is the first console generation fully created under Spencer’s leadership. Having two very different consoles at launch is also a first for the company, and Spencer admitted in the interview that going forward with the discless, less powerful Series S was “a good tough decision.” Sony also launched two different PlayStation 5 consoles this fall, though the presence of a disc drive is the only difference between the two PS5 SKUs.

“The way I would frame it, the best argument against doing it was Sony. We didn’t think that they were going to do it,” Spencer admitted. While Microsoft isn’t sharing sales numbers for the Series X|S, the exec said that he’s “very happy” with console sales so far. “A lot of new people to Xbox are coming in through Series S, which is what we would have expected. It’s lower-price. There’s Game Pass there. They will get a bunch of games,” Spencer said.

As of today, both Sony and Microsoft are struggling to keep up with the very high demand for the new consoles. According to Spencer, Microsoft is currently prioritizing Xbox Series X production over the Series S, but the exec expects to “moderate that a bit” starting next year. “Over the long run, in most cases, price wins out. If you just go back and look at previous generations and when console generations hit the real sweet spot of sales, which is one of the reasons we like having that, that’s the Series S at its price point,” Spencer said.

The head of Xbox couldn’t avoid being asked about the Xbox Series X|S launch lineup, which is missing the much-anticipated Halo Infinite. If delaying the game to next year was “a miss on our part,” Spencer admitted, the exec believes that “we’re going to get a better Halo game at a good time when people can actually get a console.” The exec is also confident about Microsoft’s growing Xbox Game Studios division, which will soon welcome many more high-profile studios with the upcoming acquisition of ZeniMax Media. “I feel good, really good, the best I’ve ever felt about our roadmap,” the exec said.

If Spencer reiterated in the interview that the Xbox Series X|S probably wouldn’t be the last consoles from Microsoft, the exec reiterated its intention to bring the Xbox ecosystem anywhere thanks to Cloud gaming, including Smart TVs. “I think you’re going to see that in the next 12 months. I don’t think anything is going to stop us from doing that,” Spencer said.

In addition to Smart TVs, Microsoft ultimately wants to make Xbox Cloud Gaming available on all devices that ship with a web browser. “If the device is capable of running a capable web browser, we’re going to be able to bring games to it, which is pretty cool,” Spencer confirmed, adding that “Apple does remain open in the conversations that we have on this topic.”

Phil Spencer’s full interview with The Verge is well worth a read, but you can also listen to it on this page.

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If you didn’t already know, my colleague Kareem Anderson and I recently relaunched the OnMSFT Podcast, now branded as OnPodcast. Over the past 12 weeks, we’ve been talking about all things Microsoft. We’re on YouTube and  on the major streaming platforms, too, every Sunday at 9 AM ET/12 PM ET. But, have you ever wondered what goes behind the scenes? Well, our Podcast is powered by Microsoft Teams, Windows 10, and the other Microsoft 365 apps. Here’s a look at how it works.

The equipment

What’s a podcast without the right equipment? Before diving into the Microsoft 365 section, I’ll talk about the equipment being used behind the scenes. I myself, have a couple of things on my end. Obviously, my laptop is the HP Envy 15, which I previously reviewed. As for my webcam, It’s an AUKEY FHD Webcam. My microphone, meanwhile, is a generic studio microphone from Amazon.

Of course, I also sport the original Surface Headphones, too, to hear Kareem as he speaks to me, and avoid echo on the camera. My colleague Kareem, meanwhile, is sporting a Surface Laptop 3 15-inch. He’s not using a dedicated microphone or headset (yet), but his webcam is the Logitech C920x.

The outline in OneNote

Before we even podcast, we put together an outline of topics every Friday, looking at some big stories we saw across the week from Microsoft. To share this outline across the editorial team at OnMSFT, we use OneNote. The OneNote notebook is shared, and Kareem, Managing Editor Kip, and the editorial crew are free to add topics, suggestions, and more to the list before we record on Saturday night. We also keep the notebook open during our recording, to gather notes, and other reference points, too.

The recording with Teams

Next on the list is the recording process. While a lot of other podcasts depend on specialized software, we here at OnMSFT are a Microsoft-centric operation. Every weekend. Kareem and I pre-record our Podcast at 8 PM ET or 5 PM PT (usually). We do this through Teams. Kareem gives me a call via Teams Meetings, and then we begin the recording, just as you would for your meeting. The discussion then starts, and we save the recording when we’re done.

The download with Stream, editing with Windows 10 and Filmora

As we’ve covered before, once the recording of the podcast is finished, it is saved to Microsoft Stream. This is the most unique area of our podcast workflow, as Teams handles all the recording, and Stream all the saving. I don’t need to worry about screen recording, audio, or any other issues. The process is all automatic. Teams will record the podcast and then save it to Microsoft Stream, within a few minutes. When it’s ready, I just head to Microsoft Stream online, click the download link next to the call I recorded with Kareem, and then save it to my PC. The file is saved an MP4, which works perfectly for my video editing.

Once downloaded, I create a new project in Filmora, as I described before. I upload the recording, add captions, images, animations, and transitions. If there were any mistakes, I also edit the video, fixing mistakes and editing for time. In cases where we have special guests like our own Laurent in Episode 12, I edit the segment in at the appropriate point.

So far, this experience has been all but flawless for me. By recording with Teams, and downloading the recording through Stream, I save a lot of time in my editing. The file I need is right there, on-demand, and I can always download it when I need it. One note: we use Microsoft 365 Business Basic here at OnMSFT.com, which includes everything needed for this workflow for $5/user/mo.

The publishing, YouTube, Soundcloud, and more

Once I finish editing, I publish the podcast to our platforms. Filmora lets me save the audio as an MP3, which I upload to SoundCloud, which then distributes our audio podcast to all our other platforms. The video, meanwhile, gets sent to YouTube, where I set it as a YouTube Premiere. Though our podcast is pre-recorded, this makes it seem as if Kareem and I are live, and it gives us the chance to chat with you, the readers on YouTube.

We want your feedback!

So, that’s how we Podcast here at OnMSFT. Of course, we wouldn’t be here without you, the readers, so we’d love to hear your feedback. Do you have suggestions for how we can improve our show? Do you want to appear on our show? We’re always looking for guests, and feedback, so be sure to drop us a comment below to let us know. And, remember, you always can send us an email at [email protected].

Back in August, Microsoft announced that some Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel would start seeing something new in the header of the Windows 10 Settings app. In addition to the existing shortcuts to OneDrive, Windows Update, and Microsoft Rewards, Microsoft has started experimenting with a new Web browsing section in the Settings header, though we believe that it has yet to reach all Insiders in the Dev channel.

While new features can come and go in the latest Insider builds, it appears that some non-Insiders are also starting to see this new Web Browsing section in the Settings app header. Alex, a tipster from France saw it on his Surface Pro tablet on the production ring and sent us some screenshots.

You can see the new Web Browsing shortcut in the top right corner of the header, and clicking on it will open a pop up inviting you to use Microsoft’s recommended settings: Those are to use Microsoft Edge as your default browser, as well as Bing as your default search engine. If that’s already the case on your PC, you’ll get a different pop up explaining that your PC is currently using Microsoft’s recommended web browsing settings.

This experiment will likely be seen as another “ad” for Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge browser on Windows 10, which the company has been pushing to all users to replace the legacy Edge that shipped with Windows 10. It’s not clear if many non-Insiders are currently seeing this new Web Browsing section in the Settings app header, and we currently don’t have it on our PCs. The presence of a shortcut to Microsoft Rewards in that same header also seems to be quite random.

Keep in mind that this new Web browsing shortcut in the Settings app remains an experiment, and it may not roll out to all Windows 10 users. Microsoft may have very good reasons to promote its new Edge browser on Windows 10, which is a pretty great browser overall, but there’s a fine line between helping users browse the web more securely, and making these same users feel like their PCs are becoming advertising spaces for Microsoft’s services.

Microsoft has a storied history with the country of Ireland, the company’s most notable entanglement with the area came as a 2014 legal battle over user privacy. Microsoft was held in contempt of court by the US court system as it attempted to leverage user data stored on Microsoft servers based in Ireland. Ultimately, three years later the Supreme Court, Congress passed the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act (CLOUD Act), which amended the SCA to resolve concerns from the government and Microsoft related to the initial warrant. The Supreme Court, following agreement from both the government and Microsoft, determined the passage of the CLOUD Act and a new warrant for the data filed under it made the case moot and vacated the Second Circuit’s decision.

Since then, Microsoft has continued to break ground on new facilities and expanded its presence in Ireland, and news of the company’s new Engineering Hub in the country looks to continue that trend.

Announced yesterday, Microsoft plans to invest in a $32 million dollar Engineering Hub at One Microsoft Court in Leopardstown, Dublin. The new expansion will come in at 107,639 sq ft and sit just outside of Microsoft flagship One Microsoft Court Place. With its new facility, Microsoft is also looking to recreate a Seattle campus favorite experience in its engineering “Garage.”

In The Garage, employees have the freedom to innovate, fail, learn and experiment on projects they are passionate about. It’s a fantastic space and we’re looking forward to welcoming colleagues, customers and community members to have fun and to create when restrictions are lifted – particularly our new engineer recruits.

Aside from expanding its physical footprint, the new Engineering Hub will also provide 200 new engineering roles to its portfolio of over 600 engineers in the area. Microsoft explains that it’s already underway attempting to recruit for the new 200 engineering slots and that filling the roles will help in various facets of the company’s portfolio that include software engineering and product design, user experience, and data science, all with a focus on cloud services.

Microsoft Planner is about to get a “File recommendations” feature that will let users choose recommended files to add as attachments to their tasks. The update will start rolling out in early January 2021, as noted in the most recent update to the company’s roadmap.

If you have been using Microsoft Planner, then you probably know that Planner allows you to attach various links, images, and other kinds of files to your tasks. Currently, users need to attach their files manually, but hopefully, this will change very soon.

With this new feature, Microsoft Planner will suggest an intelligently curated list of relevant files, allowing users to add attachments to their tasks quickly. The company detailed that the feature will take into account the task itself as well as the specific user to provide these recommendations.

With online collaboration tools such as Microsoft Planner becoming more important than ever in the ongoing pandemic, and the addition of intelligent file recommendations will likely help users be more productive at work. Do you think that this feature will make it easier to stay organized and focused? Sound off in the comments section below.

Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that it’s working on a new Smart copy feature for its Edge browser. Sumit, a Windows Insider MVP, spotted the new option today on one of his PCs running the latest Canary build 88.0.705.0, and apparently, the feature is gradually rolling out to everyone.

Ctrl+Shift+X invokes it – available only in Edge Canary.

— Sumit Dhiman (@_sumitdhiman) November 23, 2020

If you have ever tried to copy a table from a website and paste it into Microsoft Word documents and emails, the result is always messy. One enabled, this feature will help ensure that the pasted table retains its original formatting. This applies to text, tables as well as images available on the website.

The Smart copy experience could be a handy feature for people who find it harder to copy and paste web content such as tables and images. As of this writing, the Smart copy option is still grayed out in the context menu, but the shortcut CTRL + Shift + X works without any problem. But it is important to note that the feature doesn’t support PWAs.

Did you also notice the new Smart copy option on your Windows 10 PCs? Let us know in the comments below.

Welcome back to our Windows 10 news recap, where we go over the top stories of the past week in the world of Microsoft’s flagship operating system.

Apple: Windows on M1 Macs “up to Microsoft”

Boot Camp is a favourite amongst those wanting to run Windows on a Mac device. But unfortunately, Apple’s new M1-based Macs don’t have Boot Camp. Now Apple has come out and said that the technology exists on M1 Macs to support running Windows natively, but that it is “up to Microsoft” and needs them to licence it.

Microsoft is about to really turn off the lights in Word for Windows with improved Dark Mode

Whilst some Office apps have had dark themes for a while, it’s been inconsistent. But now Microsoft Word on Windows is getting ready to have an improved Dark Mode, which will make the application much easier on the eyes in some situations.

Microsoft is working with partners on a new “Pluton” chip for better PC security

Teaming up with AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm, Microsoft is working on a new chip called “Pluton” that aims to improve PC security. It is aimed at providing enhanced security above what the existing Trusted Platform Module (TPM) provides, whilst also providing a dedicated chip for features such as Windows Hello and Bitlocker.

Project xCloud’s Windows 10 prospects look promising with new leak, possible ARM64 support in tow

A new leak shows that Microsoft’s game streaming service, Project xCloud, has promising prospects on Windows 10. There’s possibly support for ARM64, but more importantly, the stream is said to perform well, with being controls being responsive and near-native.

That’s it for this week. We’ll be back next week with more Windows 10 news.

Microsoft news recap is a weekly feature highlighting the top Microsoft news stories of the past week. Sit back, grab some coffee, and enjoy the read!

GitHub patches “high” severity security flaw after 104 days

After 104 days, a patch has been released for a “high” severity security flaw, after Google’s Project Zero team identified the flaw, and subsequently disclosed it publicly at the beginning of November.

Microsoft Edge will soon run natively on Apple Silicon Macs

With Apple’s new line of Macs making use of its own chip, M1, many will be waiting for applications to be updated to properly support the new Macs. Microsoft Edge has announced it will soon run natively on Apple’s own Silicon Macs.

Minecraft Dungeons gets cross-platform play today, cross-saves are coming soon

Players across gaming platforms can now join up and play online together in Minecraft Dungeons, thanks to a new cross-platform play update that was released this week. Cross-saves are also on the way, allowing you to move your game save across platforms, ensuring you don’t lose that precious progress.

Microsoft Teams starts rolling out AI-based noise suppression for Meetings

With the rise of video conferencing, it’s likely you’ve experienced unwanted background noise, be it from family members talking in the background, the dog barking, or something else. Microsoft Teams is now rolling out AI-based noise suppression for Meetings which aims to solve this by removing unwanted background noise.

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