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!
Microsoft to Washington State Legislature – tax us (and Amazon) more, please
As part of a new bill in Seattle, Microsoft is essentially asking to be taxed more, voluntarily. It looks to be a competitive move by Microsoft which would see Amazon also pay more in tax.
Microsoft asks employees to not participate to the usual April Fools’ Day stunts this year
With April Fools’ Day being only some hours away, Microsoft has asked its own employees to not partake in any stunts this year. The company sights its own data that April Fools’ Day stunts have a “limited positive impact” and can deliver “unwanted news cycles”, aka bad publicity for the company if a stunt is to go wrong.
Microsoft takes control of 99 websites used by Iranian hacker group
In its fight against cybercrime, Microsoft has been able to take control of 99 websites that were being used by an Iranian hacker group, Prosphoras. The group targeted government agencies, journalists and activists. Affected websites will now direct data to its Digital Crime Unit sinkhole, allowing it to analyse the data to help prevent future attacks.
Mixer gets Google Cast support and a better video player on iOS and Android
Microsoft is continuing to add new features to its live streaming platform, Mixer. The latest new feature is support for Google Cast, making it easier to watch Mixer streams on other devices by casting the stream to a different display, such as a Google Chromecast. In addition, iOS and Android users have received an improved video player, with the ability to change the video quality on the fly through a new button.
That’s it for this week. We will be back next week with more Microsoft news.
