Microsoft has kicked off its Ignite digital conference this morning with lots of news about Azure, Microsoft 365, as well as Windows, macOS, and even Linux. That’s right, the company’s new Chromium-based Edge browser is finally coming to Linux in public preview starting next month. Linux users will be able to download the Microsoft Edge Dev channel for Linux from the Microsoft Edge Insider website or from the native package manager.

The new Microsoft Edge is currently available on Windows 10, Windows 7 and 8, macOS, as well as iOS and Android. A Linux version has been a top request from developers and IT Pros looking to test their websites on the new browser, and it’s good to see that Microsoft has been listening. If the legacy Microsoft Edge was only available on Windows 10, choosing the leverage the Chromium open-source project allowed Microsoft to quickly bring its new Edge browser to more platforms.

In addition to this new Linux version, Microsoft also announced some upcoming PDF updates for Microsoft Edge. Users will soon be able to view and validate certificate-based digital signatures on PDF files, and add notes to PDF for future recall. Additionally, the Microsoft Edge PDF viewer will get support for interactive tables of content, allowing users to quickly navigate PDF files. All these PDF improvements features will start rolling out to Edge users in October.

Microsoft has announced a new 85-inch variant of its Surface Hub 2S digital whiteboard today, which will join the existing 50” version that the company unveiled two years ago. This new 85-inch model will be priced at $21,999.99, and it will support the same features already present in the 50-inch version, including a Microsoft Teams meeting integration, multi-user sign in, Microsoft Whiteboard, as well as a growing ecosystem of third-party apps available on the Microsoft Store.

Commercial customers in the US can pre-order this new 85-inch Surface Hub 2S starting today, with shipments to begin in January 2021. In the meantime, Microsoft plans to release the Windows 10 Team 2020 Update for all Surface Hub devices next month. This free update will improve improves IT integration, device deployment and management capabilities, the Teams meeting experience, and also bring the new Microsoft Edge browser to all Surface Hub devices.

As we reported earlier this month, Microsoft is also allowing Surface Hub 2S owners to run Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise on the digital whiteboard instead of the Windows 10 Team OS. Doing so will allow enterprise customers to install any app they want on a Surface Hub 2S and use any Windows 10 compatible accessory. As the 50-inch Surface Hub 2S can be configured with a Roam Stand and a mobile battery, enterprise users can now transform the device into a massive Windows 10 PCs that can be used completely unplugged.

Azure is without a doubt Microsoft’s future, but it doesn’t operate in a vacuum and at Ignite 2020 the company paid recognition to its former flagship platform Windows by announcing a plethora of developer-friendly features at its enterprise cloud conference.

For starters, the latest version of React Native for Windows is now generally available for use as version 0.63 and now includes automatic linking of native modules and better debugging.

Next up are new features for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) include fast file performance speeds and full system call capability through distribution support for version 2 to Windows 10 version 1903 of higher for x64-based systems.

Microsoft claims that Windows Terminal Preview now has hyperlink support for default browsers as well as the addition of jump list into the Start Menu and Taks Bar search. Windows Terminal also gained a new command palette but only in Preview for now.

A new CsWinRT Tool update will be rolling out allowing to more C# .NET5 developers to build Runtime components soon. As of now, it’s been in public preview starting at the beginning of the month and enabled developers to run components that can be used by developer languages that include C++, Rust, JavaScript and Python.

New capabilities for MSIX will also be made available for developers to share and update apps and integrate workflows for app development.

The MSIX team is also releasing an Azure DevOps extension that will automate and simplify building, packaging, signing and deployment of MSIX packages. Integrating build and deployment workflows for apps that need to be packaged as MSIX into Azure Pipelines can be time-consuming; the new extension, available later this year, streamlines that process and is simple and intuitive to use.

Lastly, the Windows SDK team will be releasing later this year NuGet packages for C++, and SDK build tools to enable building of Windows apps in (CI/CD) pipelines.

Microsoft announced this morning some important updates for Microsoft Search, the company’s new cohesive search experience that delivers personalized search results across Office 365, Windows, and Bing. First of all, the Windows Search experience will soon integrate Microsoft Search to provide the same search experience currently available on Bing, Microsoft Edge Office.com or SharePoint.

Microsoft Teams, the company’s team collaboration hub that has been growing very fast since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic will also get a new search experience later this year. Thanks to Microsoft Search, the app will be able to help users find answers, people, files, and messages in the context of a specific chat or Teams channel.

The software giant also announced the general availability of Microsoft Graph Connectors today, including a new connector from Microsoft for Salesforce. The purpose of Graph Connectors is to allow users search external services beyond Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Search already supports over 100 unique connectors from partners.

Lastly, Microsoft Search now benefits from a new AI-enriched image search, as well as an integration with Azure Cognitive Search. You can learn more about all these Microsoft Search updates on this post.

If you watch today’s keynotes and sessions, one word you’re almost for sure going to get tired of hearing is Azure. Azure Azure Azure. Azure This, Azure That, Servers and Services and IoT and Zones and Even More Azure. Not that it’s a bad thing. Microsoft has built its cloud into a behemoth, good enough to convince (well maybe) the US Department of Defense to use it over Amazon, and certainly good enough to focus most of Ignite on all things Azure.

If you’re an IT pro, we strongly urge you to pay attention to today’s announcements, there’s a lot of good stuff here, from cognitive search to Cosmos DB, Microsoft is making improvements and making announcements all across the board. While it’s a little hard for the non-professional to digest, we’ve picked out a few key items being featured in this week’s virtual Ignite.

First up is Azure Communication Services, announced today. Microsoft is calling it “the first fully managed communication platform offering from a major cloud provider.” What’s interesting about Azure Communication Services is that Microsoft is basically taking its Teams low latency global communications network, all built on Azure, and releasing it to the world. That is, with Azure Communications Services, you can build your own version of Teams, adding high quality audio and video, and real time chat to your apps and platforms “with just a few lines of code.” Microsoft provides the services backend and “developer friendly” APIs and SDKs to “make it easy to create personalized communication experiences in a matter of minutes. Microsoft has a hit on its hands with Teams, partly because it’s built on a solid foundation built on Azure.

Way back in 1988, Microsoft developed a new enterprise level database for IBM’s new operating system, OS/2, called SQL Server. The database came to Windows NT in 1993, and Microsoft has been expanding on its enterprise level database play ever since. Now, over 30 years later, Microsoft continues to develop new ways to work with SQL, and is announcing the general availability of Azure SQL Edge. Microsoft describes SQL Edge, optimized for the Internet of Things running on the Edge (no, not the browser, rather small smart devices like sensors and modules connected via the internet) as “a small footprint container – less than 500mb – running on ARM- and x64-based devices in connected, disconnected, or semi connected environments.” These Edge devices can now run their own tiny versions of SQL server, performing database functions even as they’re disconnected from the internet.

If this all seems above your head, then maybe Azure Orbital Services is for you. The new managed service provides access to satellite communication capabilities and is now available to select customers in private preview.

As companies become more and more used to hosting their businesses in the cloud, those businesses are finding greater needs to evolve their cloud presence, moving up or across in the Azure world. Azure Resource Mover, now in public preview, allows them to do just that, helping to move multiple Azure resources between regions, something that in the past would be difficult or near impossible.

Azure App Services, Microsoft’s solution for building and scaling web services, is getting a number of new updates, including the general availability of Windows Containers, and GitHub Actions integration.

Visual Studio 2019 is also getting GitHub Codespaces support, now in beta. This new integration allows developers to be more productive working remotely, managing the GitHub Codespaces from within VS 2019, bringing these capabilities up the chain from Visual Studio Code.

Azure Backup Center, now in public preview, brings a single unified experience to backing up Azure based resources across subscriptions, locations, and tenants. Azure Backup is also getting Cross Region Restore and an Azure Resource Mover solution to move managed disks and more across regions.

The Azure Sphere cellular guardian device is an AT&T powered product that can allow customers to connect to the cell service without relying on WiFi. Enterprise customers in 200 countries across 500 AT&T managed carrier services can connect devices, with the secure cellular network extending the secure architecture of Azure Sphere.

While it’s a lot to absorb, these are only a few of the announcements across the breadth of Azure’s influence in the cloud. To learn more, we encourage you to take advantage of Ignite 2020’s free online sessions.

As with most things announced at Ignite 2020, Microsoft is making some sweeping changes to its protection portfolio as well.

Coming soon are some new features to help prevent, detect, and respond to threats across identities, endpoints, and applications in both Microsoft 365 and Azure platforms.

One of the first updates to Microsoft Threat Protection is its name. Microsoft Threat Protection will now be referred to as Microsoft 365 Defender and the branding expands to both Endpoint and Office 365 as well as Azure Security Center morphing into Azure Defender.

Aside from the new branding experiment, Microsoft 365 Defender will be “protecting every major OS.”

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and is extending protection for the rapidly evolving world of mobile threats. For Android, it provides protection against phishing, offers proactive scanning of malicious applications and files, blocks access to corporate resources to mitigate the impact of breaches, and gives security teams visibility into mobile threats and alerts via the security center. For iOS, customers will also get phishing and web protection and the same unified SecOps experience. Support for macOS has been expanded with the public preview of threat and vulnerability management. (Learn more about cross-platform endpoint protection.)

In addition, protections will be extended to email accounts as well as offering hybrid identity threat protection.

As for cloud securities, Azure Defender will now protect SQL servers on-premises and multicloud environments. The new Azure defender will also bring enhanced protection for containers, specifically Kubernetes-level policy management and workloads that include continuous scanning of container images to minimize the exploitation of running containers.

Microsoft will also be adding some protections for IoT by leveraging some recent company acquisitions that involve the inclusion of Cyber X. Now Azure Defender will offer agentless security for IoT devices in operations across safety, health, food, water, energy, transportation, and national defense.

Lastly, Microsoft is integrating Application Guard with office and connecting the whole plot to Safe Documents. Customers can now edit, print, and save changes to Office documents from outside their organizations while still being protected with hardware-backed security.

Despite the announcement at Ignite 2020, the integration of Application Guard into Office has been under way for a little bit of time. Microsoft 365 E5 customers can now test out new features in a public preview currently.

Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which recently crossed 15 million subscribers three years after its launch is welcoming some new big games today. On Console and Android devices, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can now play Destiny 2’s Shadowkeep and Forsaken expansions.

Ahead of the launch of Destiny 2: Beyond Light on November 10, @XboxGamePass members can experience the critically acclaimed expansions Forsaken and Shadowkeep today on Xbox One. Details here: https://t.co/PpgoBiwX94

— Xbox Wire (@XboxWire) September 22, 2020

Beyond Light, Destiny’s fifth expansion, will also join Xbox Game Pass on November 10, right for the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S consoles. The base Destiny 2 remains free-to-play on Xbox One and other platforms, but Xbox Game Pass members can get the best experience with free access to the game’s latest expansions.

Halo 3: ODST is also available on Xbox Game Pass for PC starting today, in addition to the Windows 10 Microsoft Store and Steam. This Halo 3 spinoff released back in 2008 on the Xbox 360 didn’t get the same level of critical acclaim as previous Halo games, but its campaign which features a team of human soldiers known as “Orbital Drop Shock Troopers” (ODST) instead of the usual Master Chief hero remains quite memorable.

Halo 3: ODST has joined The Master Chief Collection on PC with @XboxGamePassPC, @MicrosoftStore, & @Steam!

Time to drop: https://t.co/5MemSpTBls pic.twitter.com/6dEk2JMQgn

— Halo (@Halo) September 22, 2020

Microsoft has also released a new update for Halo: MCC on PC and Console today, and we invite you to check out the full patch notes on this page. Now that Halo 3: ODST is out on PC, Halo 4 is next in line and we hope to see it released on PC before the end of the year. 343 Industries is still working on additional improvements for Halo: MCC on Console and PC, including support for cross-play multiplayer and mouse and keyboard input on Xbox One.

As a reminder, gamers who have yet to try Xbox Game Pass can get their first month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for just $1. The Ultimate tier now includes Xbox Game Pass for Console, Xbox Game Pass for PC, Xbox Live Gold, plus access to over 150 Xbox One games on Android thanks to Microsoft’s new Cloud Gaming (Project xCloud) technology.

There appears to be a convergence of mobile technology that’s been gradually happening right before our eyes. Large technology things becoming smaller, and smaller technology things becoming larger, all in an attempt to hit a moving target that is mobile personal computing.

Some of the highlights of this more modern convergence include the introduction, ridicule, and eventual market acceptance of Samsung’s Galaxy Note series, where the South Korean multinational conglomerate made headwinds in advancing the screen size and productivity output of the smartphone industry. Another is Apple’s iPad which, for all intents and purposes, blew up the highly regarded iPhone experience to 9 and 10-inches, so people could explore their previously pocketable smartphone experiences in a more casual environment.

Next was Microsoft’s Surface Pro experiment that shrunk a potential dual 27-inch monitor workstation or 13-14-inch laptop experience down to a more backpack-friendly 10 and 12-inch affair. Google had its moment with its Nexus 7 tablet that allowed Android users to have a taste of the iPad life and free their android app experience from its previous 6-inch constraints. In the last decade, almost every hardware manufacturer with a software leg has thrown a different sized screen at consumers hoping that it can capture that elusive mobile computing sweet spot.

Enter the Microsoft Surface Go 2.

Microsoft’s second attempt at further shrinking the traditional Windows experience down to a more pocketable and mobile device has produced the Surface Go 2.

Copy of Surface Go 2 Tech Specs

The Surface Go 2 is the refinement of a concept Microsoft seemingly shied away from when dumping its supposed 7″ Surface Mini project. Shrinking the bezels and adding a more capable processor goes a long way in addressing some of the issues from the release of the first Microsoft Go, just a year prior.

It should be noted, the model I’m using isn’t the budget-friendly deal Microsoft will publicly market, but it is a good marker for the experience customers could receive if they spring for the arguably more capable device.

Overview

With everything included, the actual price tag for the experience Microsoft is marketing will run $750 including additional Type Cover. Admittedly, the $750 price tag is steeper than your low-budget laptops, but the actual software and mobility experience from the Surface Go 2 will be hard to match.

With that said, the Intel Core M3 powered Surface Go 2 with 128GB SSD and 8GB’s of RAM allowed me to leave my laptop in different rooms for hours without worrying about switching devices when I needed to be on a conference call, draft up long-winded emails, plug-in to power a dual monitor experience or mark up some marketing ads for work.

Microsoft claims the new m3 processor is up to 64% faster than the previous Pentium Gold processor Intel grabbed from its budget bin for the original Surface Go and in real-world use, there is a noticeable performance boost.

Hardware-wise, the Surface Go 2 retains an almost identical exterior make up as the original Surface Go with its FHD 5MP camera, dual far-field studio microphone array, signature 165-degree kickstand, Surface Type Cover pogo pins, USB-C port, and proprietary charging port.

In a crude weight test looking beyond the back of the box claims, the Surface Go 2 feels identical to last year’s model, no lighter or heavier than before, however, with the increased screen real estate, there is a bit of cognitive dissonance that happens when handling in tablet mode. The device figuratively “feels” lighter because you are handling more screen, but its actuality, just about the same.

Speaking of the screen, customers now get a 10.5-inch PixelSense experience that pushes out a 1920 x 1280 (220 PPI) resolution at the sweet 3:2 aspect ratio with the same 10 point multi-touch support and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 as last year’s model.

The Convergent Device

I spoke earlier of device makers looking for the mobile sweet spot for portability vs. productivity and I feel the Surface Go 2 might be just that and I say this in the shadow of the Surface Duo release.

The 10.5-inch screen is small enough to toss anywhere while also being big enough to address the dreaded lapability concerns review journalists seem keen or rehashing over and over. Furthermore, since it’s a Windows 10 powered device, you get a full desktop experience (albeit Windows 10S out of the box).

In May, I took the Surface Go 2 and my Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon on a road trip from Florida to New Hampshire to escape the growing Floridian COVID-19 increase in cases. I used my device in an almost 70/30 split with the Surface Go 2 being the go-to device I would tote up and down stairs, plugin for conference meetings, and power my makeshift dual monitor setup at my in-laws. Using the Surface Go 2 in Windows 10S mode was a pleasure. Obviously, anyone operating in Windows 10S mode should be made aware of the Microsoft Store and the ability to pin Edge web apps to the Start Menu and Taskbar. Perhaps, a tutorial at the start of the Surface Go 2 experience detailing the web app and Microsoft Store experience my go a long way to expanding its viability as ChromeOS alternative.

Venturing out of Windows 10 S into regular Windows 10 was a little bit choppier of an experience but only as choppy as a normal Windows 10 OS experience can be. I also dabbled in Insider builds which affects my review of the Surface Go 2 as a “regular” device, but all-in-all, the Surface Go 2 handled 90 percent of what I threw at it. As for the other 10 percent, well, that was an admitted slow and laggy affair with some apps taking up to 45 seconds to open. That’s right, 45 seconds.

However, Microsoft’s account sync paired with the new chromium-based Edge browse’s sync makes shifting your desktop to the device fairly hands-off. As files are transferring, customers may want to keep an eye on storage, because it is limited, but tossing in a microSD helps alleviate any of that related anxiety.

The extra screen real estate offered by the Surface Go 2 over a typical sized smartphone aided in me using it for more than work. Instead of doom scrolling Twitter on my phone, I would open an instance of Twitter and HBO Max to distract myself with the new Harley Quinn show when COVID-19 news became too overwhelming. I would also pair up my favorite CBZ reader (Cover) with Netflix as I referenced the source material for Netflix’s The Old Guard.

On breaks, I would use the built-in LTE to take the Surface Go 2 on hikes with me where I could get a little bit of work or leisure accomplished without being tied to my in-law’s lake house, because after two straight weeks indoors, for this lazy reporter, going on a hike felt like its own mini-vacation. In addition, using the LTE option buttresses the idea that while folding phones help the transition from a 6-inch slap to a tablet, a tablet with telephony ability may be the invertible destination. Pairing my Pixel 4XL with the Your Phone app to make and receive calls from the Surface Go 2 while out on a hike or even a boat ride was transformative.

In Conclusion

While Microsoft continues to iterate on its Surface Laptop with varying screen sizes, the Surface Book, Surface Pro, Surface Pro X and now Surface Duo, looking to nail the coveted convergent mobile productivity device, I think they may have stumbled across it already with the Surface Go 2. Perhaps, tossing in an upgrade M3 or AMD’s latest in next year’s model might make it the powerhouse replacement that could be the best of both portability and mobility for the average consumer.

The Surface Go 2 is a very capable laptop and workstation replacement, tablet alternative (if you know which Store and web apps to use), and phone substitute in a pinch.

The convergence of a single, do-it-all mobility workstation is still around the corner, but the Surface Go 2 puts it that much closer into reach.

Microsoft has released a new video showcasing the new Xbox Wireless Controller model that will replace the existing version when it releases alongside the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles in November.

The main focus of the video is the new Share button which allows gamers to take a screenshot with a quick tap or record video with a longer press.

The function is identical to the existing method which can be activated by voice commands or via the tapping of the X and Y buttons after opening up the system menu, it simply gives people a quicker physical option.

Here’s the video:

The new Xbox Wireless Controller will release in a black, blue, and white option and will support Windows 10 computers, smartphones, and both Xbox One and Xbox Series X console generations. The Share button will also work on both gens as long as the latest operating system update is installed.

Are you excited for the new Xbox Wireless Controller and do you like the new Share button? Make sure to let us know in the comments below. Interested in pre-ordering this new controller? It’s now available here.

The Twitter social network made headlines this past week after numerous users began discovering that its algorithm for determining what part of an image would be shown in a thumbnail preferred White faces over Black ones.

This isn’t the first time users have noticed such algorithmic quirks as it’s been well-known for a while now that a Twitter thumbnail will zoom in on any text or faces in an image compared to other parts no matter what the actual subject is. This is the first time, at least for the majority of the userbase, that the topic of preferred ethnicity has been discussed at large however.

Twitter has since confirmed that they’re taking this very seriously and are looking to remove this unintentional bias from the platform.

While the topic of racial bias in tech is very much a serious one, the discussion has given way to some admittedly amusing viral experiments on the platform involving users comparing various subjects in a post to see what the algorithm decides is more important.

One of the more entertaining posts has been this one below (screencapped due to the upcoming algorithm change that may alter its appearance) which shows Twitter preferring Microsoft’s discontinued Windows phone over Apple’s iPhone.

While Windows 10 Mobile may be no more, at least fans of the platform have this tweet.

Curious, I decided to make a comparison tweet myself using images of Sony’s PlayStation 5 console and Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. The results should please all OnMSFT readers.

Have you experimented with the Twitter image algorithm? Have you experienced any bias when uploading images yourself? Let us know what you’ve encountered in the comments below and then follow us on Twitter for more Microsoft content.

Today is a very busy day for the Xbox team, which has already announced the acquisition of Bethesda, 15 million subscribers for Xbox Game Pass, Xbox remote play launching with the new Xbox beta app for Android, and the rollout of the new Microsoft Store to all Xbox One owners. That’s not all, as the company has now followed up with more details about the next-gen Xbox Accessories that will be available for pre-order starting tomorrow, September 22.

First of all, the next-gen Xbox Controller with the new Share button and USB-C charging will be available in three colours, Carbon Black, Robot White, and a never seen before Shock Blue variant. The redesigned controllers come with textured grip on the bumpers, triggers, and back case, an Elite controller-inspired hybrid D-pad, and a new convenient Share button. Moreover, the next-gen Xbox controllers will support Microsoft’s new Dynamic Latency Input technology and allow users to easily pair and switch between Xbox consoles, Windows 10 PCs, and Android devices.

All three controllers will be to pre-order tomorrow at 8AM in your local time, with the same $59.99 starting price as existing Xbox controllers. If Microsoft will continue to ship its next-gen Xbox controllers with AA batteries, a refreshed rechargeable battery and its USB-C cable will also be available for pre-order tomorrow at $24.99. For PC gamers, Microsoft will also offer two Controller bundles with either a USB-C Cable or Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless USB adapter. All shipments will start on November 10 along with the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles.

For now, there’s no information about replacements for the official Xbox Stereo headset, Chatpad, and Media Remote that launched with the Xbox One seven years ago. However, the Xbox team announced an important update for the Xbox Design Lab, which currently allows Xbox fans to buy a customized Xbox One controller. The Xbox Design Lab which go offline starting October 14 to prepare for its 2021 comeback, and the Xbox team is inviting Xbox fans to make sure to purchase their personalized current-gen controllers before October 13.

As a reminder, the upcoming Xbox Series X and S console will support all existing Xbox One accessories, so those of you who have been collecting controllers over the years will be able to use them on the new console. According to a previous tweet from The Verge’s Tom Warren, Microsoft also plans to bring its Dynamic Latency Input technology to current-gen controllers next year via a firmware update.

Outlook for Windows will finally get cloud syncing support for email signatures next month (via Dr. Windows). The company has posted an update on the Microsoft 365 admin center stating that this feature’s deployment has been delayed, and it’s now timed for a rollout beginning in late October.

Microsoft first revealed the upcoming change in May of this year. The software giant was earlier expected to begin rolling out the cloud syncing option in June and make it available to all Windows desktop clients in late June. The much-anticipated functionality has been delayed several times, and now the company changed the rollout timelines to October. Notably, Microsoft has also updated its Microsoft 365 Roadmap to reflect this change.

With Signature cloud settings, users will be able to configure an email signature and have it saved in the cloud, allowing users to have a consistent experience across devices. The feature will roll out first for Outlook for Windows clients, and it will be available only for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 subscribers. The company plans to bring this functionality to other platforms, including Outlook for Android and Outlook for iOS, at later dates.