This week has been quite interesting in the world of Microsoft. We’ve covered a lot over the past week and chances are you most likely missed an important piece of news. Let’s take a look back at the past seven days in a feature we call “Weekend Recap.”
Microsoft has encouraged users to give feedback for their Windows 10 technical preview, and one way they facilitate that idea is with a UserVoice forum. We have put together a list of the top fifteen requested features, which includes “bring back Aero.”
We learned that the Windows Insider Program has had over one million registrants in just under two weeks. On top of that, over 200,000 pieces of feedback were given to Microsoft from participants of the program. A new Windows 10 preview build is expected very soon, likely this upcoming week.
Microsoft has rolled out another Surface Pro 3 advertisement, touting the device as the most productive tablet on the planet. This video advertisement made its debut on the same day as Apple’s new iPad unveiling. You can watch the video below. The advertisement appears to be an updated version of the Surface Pro 3 unveiling video from this past May.
Microsoft has been regularly updating Cortana to make her a more intelligent virtual personal assistant. Cortana was updated this past week with evening daily glances, concert recommendations, app suggestions, and more.
Microsoft recently added a new app launcher to Office 365, allowing for more organization and personalization. It now seems that they are testing it for Outlook.com services as well. Instead of the dropdown bar accessed by an arrow on the upper left hand corner, the app launcher is a square that pops open a small window.
Bing also received an improvement this past week. Searching for devices like the Surface Pro 3 on Bing will result in a nicely put together overview of the product specifications, links to hands-on videos of the device, reviews from some of the larger tech publications, in addition to detailed specifications and quick links to purchase the product, everything you would need to make an informed decision.
Speaking of the Surface Pro 3, the device is set to receive additional WiFi improvements and other fixes ‘in the coming weeks.’ Microsoft is also coaching NFL announcers to identify the Surface, by teaching them that it is not an iPad.
Back in 2012, a company named SurfCast filed a lawsuit against Microsoft claiming that the software technology giant had infringed on 52 of its patents with their Windows Phone and Windows 8 Live Tiles. Unfortunately for SurfCast, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, this past week, didn’t find its claims valid and ruled the case in favor of Microsoft. Speaking of lawsuits, Getty Images filed a lawsuit last month against Microsoft because of their Bing Image Widget, only to have the injunction denied earlier this week.
Microsoft has named its new enterprise tech conference ‘Ignite.’ This conference will absorb the Management Summit, the Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project, and TechEd conferences into a single event in Chicago. The event will be held on May 4th after //Build and before the World Partner Conference. Speaking of //Build, Microsoft also unveiled Build 2015, happening in San Francisco, and will take place from April 29th to May 1st. Currently, not much else is known about the event, and booking has yet to open, but Windows 10 is expected to be the center of attention at the event.
The Nokia Lumia 830 is now available in Canada via Rogers and Telus. Our hands-on review of this mid-range flagship Windows Phone device will be live on Monday, October 20th, so stay tuned!
Microsoft has turned feedback into a competition with ‘My Stats’ for the Xbox One Preview Program, allowing participants of the program to track their contributions. Speaking of Xbox One, the highly anticipated Halo The Master Chief Collection is now available for pre-order and pre-download.
Speaking of Halo, Microsoft and 343 Industries, in collaboration with Vanguard Games, announced the next Halo game for mobile devices, Halo Spartan Strike. The game is set to launch on December 12th on Windows, Windows Phone, and Steam, carrying a $5.99 price tag.
Microsoft also rolled out the Xbox One October update this past week, and this update comes packed with multitasking features as well as TV and video improvements. This new update also lets you connect with your friends in better ways than before, all thanks to feedback from Xbox One owners.
Microsoft wants your feedback! The Redmond giant is now accepting Internet Explorer feedback from the web development community. The company is also accepting Windows 10 feedback via UserVoice.
For those of you who love to game but did not want to purchase an Kinect with your Xbox One, you can now purchase a standalone Kinect sensor for Xbox One for $149.99.
Windows App Studio is a web application to help you start developing Windows and Windows Phone apps. You can make your own simple app without needing to code at all. This past week, the service has gotten even more useful with the addition of sideloading apps for Windows Phone 8.1, nine additional languages added, new page layouts, and other tweaks.
Earlier this week, numerous people were receiving copyright infringement notices from Microsoft regarding videos uploaded to YouTube. This created a bit of fuss on the internet as people began wondering why Microsoft would issue these notices for videos that involved Windows 8, or various other Microsoft products. Turns out, Microsoft targeted some of these videos for having stolen product keys embedded in the comments section. Microsoft had no intention of targeting legitimate videos.
That’s all for this edition of Weekend Recap. Stay tuned for another week of exciting news. Don’t forget that you can stay up to date with the latest Windows 10 news, features, and tutorials, by checking out our dedicated Windows 10 page.
