Category: Microsoft
Microsoft and Sony agree games streaming deal
Microsoft and Sony have agreed a deal to work together on video games streaming services, despite the two companies being bitter rivals in the industry. The two gaming giants have announced the signing of “memorandum of understanding” which could to see Sony use Microsoft’s Azure cloud service to host current and future PlayStation streaming services.…
Microsoft issues urgent Windows XP patch to prevent WannaCry-style attack
Microsoft has issued a critical Windows update to older machines to prevent a vulnerability which could allow attacks to spread in a similar way to WannaCry. The computing giant has taken the drastic and unusual step of providing a fix to systems it no longer supports, including Windows XP – its popular operating system released…
Office and cloud boost Microsoft income and profits in first quarter
Microsoft has reported strong growth in its latest quarterly financial results thanks to continued cloud uptake in the commercial sector and an increase in people subscribing to its Office 365 products. In the three months to the end of March, the computing giant saw a boost in revenue, operating income and net profit compared with…
Microsoft Paint to remain part of Windows 10 ‘for now’
Drawing app Microsoft Paint will remain a part of the Windows 10 operating system “for now”, one of the firm’s developers has said. The popular, basic drawing program was set to be removed from the PC software in 2017, leading to an outpouring of support for the app. Microsoft then confirmed the app would not…
Microsoft announces ‘disc-free’ Xbox One S All-Digital Edition
Microsoft has unveiled its first “disc-free” Xbox which will allow gamers to download, play and store games entirely digitally. The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition will enable gamers to store digital versions of games in the cloud, as well as pre-order and pre-install upcoming games so they are ready to play as soon as they…
Microsoft users’ emails exposed in data breach
Microsoft has confirmed that some of its email services have been breached by hackers, with the contents of some user emails exposed by the attack. The technology giant said a “limited” number of accounts had been affected by the breach, but confirmed around 6% of those involved may have seen the content of their emails…
Microsoft’s Defender antivirus software coming to Mac
Microsoft is making its Windows Defender antivirus available on Mac for the first time, as the company continues to focus on broadening its software beyond PC. A new name has been put in place, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) for Mac, as it will be released on a different operating system from Windows. The…
Microsoft to end support for fitness Band devices at the end of May
Microsoft is planning to end support for all existing Band devices, the fitness wearable which it discontinued in 2016. Both the Microsoft Health Dashboard site and the Microsoft Band app for smartphones will be pulled at the end of May, along with the deletion of any user data uploaded to the service, marking the death…
Microsoft boss defends contract to supply US military with HoloLens headsets
Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella is standing by a company contract with the US military, despite concerns raised by employees that the technology could be used to develop weapons. In November, the tech giant was awarded a 479 million dollar (£363.1 million) contact with the US Department of the Army to supply it with HoloLens…
MWC 2019: Microsoft announces HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset
Microsoft has unveiled a second generation of its mixed reality HoloLens headset, which overlays holograms on to real-world objects. The HoloLens 2 will be made available to businesses for 3,500 dollars (£2,680), with Microsoft looking to “provide a far more immersive, instinctual and comfortable experience for first-line workers whose hands are occupied by physical tasks”. Revealed…