Microsoft to buy US gaming giant Activision-Blizzard for $69 billion

Microsoft announced Tuesday a landmark $69 billion deal to purchase US gaming giant Activision Blizzard, grabbing the sex harassment scandal-hit firm as the tech colossus seeks to boost its power in video games.

Merging with troubled Activision will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, it said, a major shift in the booming world of games.

"This acquisition will accelerate the growth in Microsoft's gaming business across mobile, PC, console and cloud and will provide building blocks for the metaverse," Microsoft said in a statement.

Activision, the California-based maker of "Candy Crush" has been hit by employee protests, departures, and a state lawsuit alleging it enabled toxic workplace conditions and sexual harassment against women. 

Over the past seven months the company has received about 700 reports of employee concerns over sexual assault or harassment or other misconduct, in some cases separate reports about the same incident, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

Nearly 20 percent of Activision Blizzard's 9,500 employees have signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign.

"Acquiring Activision will help jump start Microsoft's broader gaming endeavors and ultimately its move into the metaverse with gaming the first monetization piece of the metaverse in our opinion," Wedbush analysts said after the news broke.

- Troubled Activision -

"With Activision's stock under heavy pressure (CEO related issues/overhang) over the last few months, Microsoft viewed this as the window of opportunity to acquire a unique asset that can propel its consumer strategy forward," Wedbush added.

Microsoft has just marked 20 years of the "Halo" video game franchise that turned its Xbox console into a hit.

Microsoft launched a host of initiatives to mark two decades of both Halo and the Xbox, including a virtual museum exploring key moments in the console's history.

Xbox remains a key player in a video game industry now thought to be larger than the movie sector, with market research firm Mordor Intelligence valuing it at $173.7 billion in 2020.

Troubles, meanwhile, have stacked up for Activision over its sex harassment and discrimination scandal.

In July, California state regulators accused the company of condoning a culture of harassment, a toxic work environment, and inequality.

In September the Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe into the company over "disclosures regarding employment matters and related issues."

And two months later the Journal reported that Kotick, accused of mishandling the harassment complaints, had signaled he would consider stepping down if he failed to quickly fix the company culture. He has led the company for more than three decades.

Late last year chief operating officer Daniel Alegre pledged a 50 percent increase in female and non-binary staff over the next five years so that they will account for more than a third of Activision's workers.

Agence France-Presse

Microsoft ends game streaming, teams up with Facebook

Microsoft said Monday it was throwing in the towel on its livestream gaming platform and teaming up with Facebook to better compete with rivals like Amazon-owned Twitch.

Microsoft Mixer will be shuttered on July 22, the tech giant said in a statement.


“It became clear that the time needed to grow our own livestreaming community to scale was out of measure with the vision and experiences that Microsoft and Xbox want to deliver for gamers now, so we’ve decided to close the operations side of Mixer and help the community transition to a new platform,” the Mixer team said.

The gamers will be encouraged to transition to Facebook Gaming, which has some 700 million people who play or watch games every month.

“We will work to transition the Mixer community over the next few weeks. Starting on July 22, all Mixer sites and apps will redirect users to Facebook Gaming,” said by Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, the gaming division of Microsoft,

Microsoft announced it was buying the livestream service Beam in August 2016 to bolster its effort to boost its ranks of people who play and watch games online.


But the service, renamed Mixer in 2017, struggled to gain traction against Twitch, Google-owned YouTube and Facebook Gaming.


Spencer said the move to shutter Mixer would allow Microsoft to focus on its other gaming efforts including “the world-class content being made by our 15 Xbox Game Studios, the evolution of Xbox Game Pass, the launch of Xbox Series X, and the global opportunity to play anywhere with Project xCloud,” referring to the cloud-based game service.

“Bringing that vision to life, for as many people as possible, will see us working with different partners, platforms, and communities for years to come,” Spencer added.

“It will also see us adjusting our strategy to best serve players wherever they gather daily, which includes the category of livestreaming.”

Agence France-Presse

Microsoft releases keyboards dedicated to emoji and Office

Microsoft has created two new keyboards with keys dedicated to Office and emoji, merging work and play. Innovating in the PC peripheral sphere — let alone with keyboards — isn’t the most obvious exercise to carry out, but it’s possible.

Microsoft demonstrates this with two new models: one Bluetooth-connected and the other wired traditionally, featuring two new function keys.

Just like the Start Menu-launching Windows key, the Office and emoji keys are shortcuts sure to save office workers precious time. Deftly pressing Office+W will launch Word (and so on for Excel, PowerPoint).

While its neighboring emoji key, located one space further right of the keyboard, pops up a menu with an array of icons, as with social networks.

Of course, other keyboard manufacturers are not bound to take up the concept, unless they so desire, opening the door to the idea of a new standard.

Available exclusively in the U.S. for the time being, the Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard and the Ergonomic Keyboard retail for $49.99 (over P2,500) and $59.99 (almost P3,100) respectively. CL/NVG

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft offers software tools to secure elections

Microsoft has announced an ambitious effort to make voting secure, verifiable and subject to reliable audits by registering ballots in encrypted form so they can be accurately and independently tracked long after they are cast.

Two of the three top US elections vendors have expressed interest in potentially incorporating the open-source software into their voting systems.


The software is being developed with Galois, an Oregon-based company separately creating a secure voting system prototype under contract with the Pentagon’s advanced research agency, DARPA. Dubbed “ElectionGuard,” it will be available this summer, Microsoft says, with early prototypes ready to pilot for next year’s U.S. general elections.

CEO Satya Nadella announced the initiative Monday at a developer’s conference in Seattle, saying the software development kit would help “modernize all of the election infrastructure everywhere in the world.”

We are partnering with Microsoft to develop #ElectionGuard, a software development kit for secure, end-to-end verifiable elections. Overview by @n1nj4 here https://t.co/cfIlQIzERR @free_and_fair

— Galois (@galois) May 6, 2019

Three little-known U.S. companies control about 90 percent of the market for election equipment, but have long faced criticism for poor security, antiquated technology and insufficient transparency around their proprietary, black-box voting systems.

Open-source software is inherently more secure because the underlying code is easily scrutinized by outside experts but has been shunned by the dominant vendors whose customers — the nation’s 10,000 election jurisdictions — are mostly strapped for cash.

None offered bids when Travis County, Texas, home to Austin, sought to build a system with the “end-to-end” verification attributes that ElectionGuard promises to deliver.

Two of the leading vendors, Election Systems & Software of Omaha, Nebraska, and Hart InterCivic of Austin, Texas, both expressed interest in partnering with Microsoft for ElectionGuard. A spokeswoman for a third vendor, Dominion Voting Systems of Denver, said the company looks forward to “learning more” about the initiative.

Anyone with an existing voting system or developing a new one will be able to incorporate ElectionGuard — at the state or local level in the U.S. or national level for jurisdictions abroad.

“Once the barrier to entry is low enough, hopefully one of the vendors will go for it, and that will bring the rest of them in quickly enough,” said Dan Wallach, a Rice University computer scientist who assisted Travis County.

“It can be used with a ballot-marking device. It can be used with an optical scanner, on hand-marked paper ballots,” said Josh Benaloh, a senior cryptographer at Microsoft Research and key contributor to the ElectionGuard project.

Benaloh helped produce a National Academies of Science report last year that called for an urgent overhaul of the rickety U.S. election system, which Russian hackers infiltrated in 2016 in several states.

That report called for all U.S. elections to be held on human-readable paper ballots by 2020. It also advocated a specific form of routine postelection audits to ensure accurate vote counts — a requirement that “end-to-end’ voting verification satisfies.

Election integrity activist Susan Greenhalgh of the National Election Defense Coalition said she hoped it would encourage innovative thinking at the level elections are actually managed.

“We can’t have faith-based voting anymore,” she said. “This is a great step forward in verifying election results.”

ElectionGuard will let voters confirm that their votes are accurately recorded. Beyond that, the unique coded tracker it produces registers an encrypted version of the vote that keeps the ballot choice itself secret while ensuring votes are accurately counted.

That enables reliable postelection audits and recounts.

It also lets outsiders such as election watchdog groups, political parties, journalists — and voters themselves — verify online that votes are properly counted without being altered.

Microsoft executives say they also plan to build a prototype voting system for reference.

One election official who has been in informal conversations with the ElectionGuard project leaders is Dean Logan, who runs elections for Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, and is building an open-source voting system for it.

A spinoff of Galois called Free & Fair developed the sophisticated postelection audits , known as “risk-limiting,” for Colorado, which was the first U.S. state to require the audits recommended in the National Academies of Sciences report.

ElectionGuard is not designed to work with internet voting schemes — which experts consider too easily hackable — and does not currently work with vote-by-mail systems.

ES&S told The Associated Press via email that it was excited to partner with Microsoft and “still exploring the potentials” for incorporated the software kit its voting systems.

Hart InterCivic, the No. 3 vendor, said it planned a pilot project with Microsoft to “incorporate ElectionGuard functionality as an additional feature” layered over its core platform.

A spokeswoman for Dominion, the No. 2 vendor, said “We are very interested in learning more about the initiative and being able to review the various prototypes that are being planned, along with hearing more about other federally-supported efforts in the elections space.”

Edgardo Cortés, a former Virginia elections commissioner now with New York University’s Brennan Center, welcomed additional private sector support for election systems.


“I think it’ll take a while to catch on and see how beneficial (ElectionGuard) ends up being,” he said. “But I think it certainly does have a great deal of potential.”

Columbia University will be partnering with Microsoft to audit the pilots.


source: technology.inquirer.net

WATCH: Microsoft introduces HoloLens 2 with enhanced immersion

To open the Mobile World Congress this year, Microsoft unveiled the HoloLens 2 with better hand tracking and improved direct hologram manipulation without complementary hand controllers.

Three years after the release of the first HoloLens, Microsoft debuted the HoloLens 2 complete with an enhanced immersive experience and finished with a more comfortable headset design.


Most significantly, user interaction with the holograms, which are now more vibrant and more realistic, has been considerably improved without the addition of dedicated controllers, thanks to built-in AI tech and a new time-of-flight sensor.

The original HoloLens could only recognize basic tap and click gestures, but the second generation has been upgraded to recognize 21 points of articulation per hand. In the same way, you would manipulate objects in the real world, you can manipulate objects in the holographic world; the control has become more natural and instinctive.

Control has been further enhanced with integrated eye-tracking sensors which offer “enterprise-grade” authentication via iris recognition: it is easy for multiple people to log in and out quickly and efficiently. This is especially useful considering that a single headset is typically used by many.

Plus, if several people are using a device, it is now easier to adjust the fit. The headset has been redesigned to comfortably mold to anybody’s head, glasses or no glasses.

Like the first, the HoloLens 2 is targeted at businesses and academic settings including construction sites, factories, operating rooms and classrooms, so do not expect this headset to be popping up even in your tech-savvy friends’ homes. The price tag of $3,500 (about P182,000) certainly limits consumer accessibility, though Microsoft did say at the MWC that the upcoming HoloLens 3 may be more tailored and priced for the average person.

Enthusiasts can preorder the HoloLens 2, but the official launch date has not been announced. JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft improves facial recognition tech to better recognize darker skin tones

Microsoft has made “significant improvements” to its facial recognition technology that had difficulties recognizing darker skin tones, especially when it came to women.

According to Microsoft’s announcement on Tuesday, it has been able to reduce the error rates for darker-skinned men and women by up to 20 times by expanding the training datasets used for its Face API.

Facial recognition technology’s role in society is continuously growing; the most obvious use is in unlocking our devices, but that is only a small part of it. Identifying faces is a useful tool for organizations including authorities searching for criminals, social media sites wanting to tag your friends and even MasterCard which wants you to pay with your face rather than PIN-code. Therefore, high accuracy rates are crucial.


However, a report published by MIT’s Media Lab in February showed that the facial recognition systems from Microsoft, IBM and China’s Megvii misidentified the gender of up to 35 percent of darker-skinned women with the “Microsoft gender classifier perform[ing] the best, with zero errors on classifying all males and lighter females.”

“Artificial intelligence technologies are only as good as the data used to train them,” Microsoft outlined in its new post, noting that “higher error rates on females with darker skin highlights an industrywide challenge.” In other words, it seems as though the data used to train the AI technology didn’t sufficiently represent diverse skin tones, nor did it effectively factor in varying hairstyles, jewelry and eyewear.

Hanna Wallach, a senior researcher in Microsoft’s New York research lab and an expert on fairness, accountability and transparency in AI systems, explains, “If we are training machine learning systems to mimic decisions made in a biased society, using data generated by that society, then those systems will necessarily reproduce its biases.”

The Face API team via Azure Cognitive Services has made changes in order to increase precision results these include expanding and revising the benchmark data sets and even launching a ‘new data collection effort’ that focuses on skin tone, gender and age.

“This is an opportunity to really think about what values we are reflecting in our systems,” said Wallach, “and whether they are the values we want to be reflecting in our systems.” JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft reportedly planning low-cost tablets

Microsoft is planning to launch a new line of low-cost Surface tablets in the second half of 2018, according to Bloomberg. The aim would be to compete with lower-cost options form Apple, which dominates the market with its iPad range.

After a previous failed attempt at tapping into the market for low-cost tablets, Microsoft turned its attention to the very high end, with its Surface Pro series. Now, it seems that the Redmond tech giant could be ready to give it another shot, aligning its offer with that of its rival, Apple, with a tablet offer covering a broader range of price points.

To compete with Apple, Microsoft is working on a 10-inch tablet powered by an Intel processor and priced around the $400 (about P21,000) mark. No further details are known for the time being. In comparison, the lowest-cost iPad is priced at $329 (P17,200) for a 9.7-inch (WiFi), 32-gigabyte model. The current Surface Pro line starts from $799 (nearly P42,000), rising to $2,699 (about P141,000) for the top-spec model.


Microsoft could also accompany these new low-cost Surface tablets with a set of budget accessories (keyboards, styluses). JB

source: technology.inquirer.net

Bill Gates could reach ‘trillionaire’ status by 2042

As the world’s richest man, Bill Gates exponentially grows his net worth each passing day, and according to a recent study, he’ll most likely become the first ever trillionaire in the next 25 years.

As pointed out in an Oxfam International report entitled “An Economy for the 99%”, the Microsoft founder’s wealth has grown at a staggering 11 percent clip per year since 2009, and has shown no signs of slowing down.

With his net worth at $78.7 billion, as modestly estimated by Forbes as of August 2016, the 61-year-old tech wizard is projected to reach the unimaginable trillionaire status by the time he is 86 years old.

By the time he left Microsoft in 2006, Gates’ net worth was at $50 billion and has grown at an astonishing rate over the last decade.

His meteoric rise money-wise comes  “despite his commendable attempts to give it away through his Foundation,” the report said.

In addition to the charitable work he does through his personal foundation, the tech innovator has also devoted his time and resources to eradicating infectious diseases and improving education around the world.

A recent estimate says he has donated over $28 billion through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In addition, Gates is a founding member of The Giving Pledge, a group composed of some of the richest individuals in the world who pledge to give away more than half of their worth.

What’s even more absurd is the fact that since no one has reached such status yet, the word ‘trillionaire’ is not even recognized in the dictionary as an official word.

“In such an environment, if you are already rich, you have to try hard not to keep getting a lot richer,” Oxfam noted in a Business Insider report.

“The super-rich can achieve returns that are not available to the ordinary saver, helping the gap to grow between the wealthy and everyone else,” the report stated. “The bigger the initial investment, the higher returns one can make as the initial costs of sophisticated advice and high-risk investments can be justified with the potential for super-lucrative returns.”

In a separate report last week, Oxfam revealed names of eight billionaires—including Gates—who have more money than the poorest half of the world’s population.

The list includes business magnate Warren Buffett, Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, Mexican investor Carlos Slim, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison. Khristian Ibarrola

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

8 men own half the world’s wealth — Oxfam

LONDON, United Kingdom — Eight men own the same wealth as half the world’s population, a level of inequality which “threatens to pull our societies apart”, Oxfam said on Monday ahead of the World Economic Forum opening in Davos.

The wealth of the world’s poorest 3.6 billion people is the equivalent to the combined net worth of six American businessmen, one from Spain and another from Mexico.

Picked from Forbes’ billionaires list, they include Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg who co-founded Facebook, and Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.


Oxfam pointed to a link between the vast gap between rich and poor and growing discontent with mainstream politics around the world.

“From Brexit to the success of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, a worrying rise in racism and the widespread disillusionment with mainstream politics, there are increasing signs that more and more people in rich countries are no longer willing to tolerate the status quo,” Oxfam said in its new report, “An economy for the 99 percent”.

The charity said new data on wealth distribution from countries such as India and China had prompted it to revise its own calculation, having said a year ago the wealth of half the world’s population was in the hands of 62 people.

Inequality will be among the issues topping the agenda as the world’s political and business elite meet in Davos from Tuesday until Friday, when 3,000 people will gather for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.

“Responsive and responsible leadership” has been chosen as the theme of the summit, which organisers said was a response to a “backlash against globalization leading to two surprising vote results and a rise in populism in the West”.

In its report Oxfam called for an increase in tax rates targeting “rich individuals and cooperations”, as well as a global agreement to end competition between countries to lower corporate tax rates.

The charity also decried lobbying by corporations and the closeness of business and politics, calling for mandatory public lobby registries and stronger rules on conflicts of interest. CBB

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Microsoft all-in-one Surface PC on the drawing board

Microsoft could be nearing the release of an all-in-one PC, similar to the Apple iMac, except that it will be equipped with the same Surface technology as the Surface Book and other 2-in-1 devices.

According to a report on Tech Radar, several sources have directly asked Microsoft about a rumored Surface AIO and the closest estimated release date would be the end of the year.

The information from Microsoft suggests that the Surface AIO would bridge the gap between the first- and second-generation Surface books.

Other indicators regarding the release of a Surface AIO are said to be tied to Intel’s release of its new Kaby Lake CPUs.

As far as how the Surface AIO would fit in the customer’s lifestyle, it is said that it will be positioned as a living room computer that will handle serving multimedia content. It will also be able to browse the internet and allow for document and spreadsheet editing. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft Edge beats Chrome in power efficiency

A recent comparative test showed that Microsoft’s Edge web browser beat Chrome and others in terms of power efficiency. Edge appeared to be the most power-efficient browser to date.

According to a report on Tech Radar, the Edge, Chrome, Firefox and Opera were tested simultaneously to see which notebook the browsers ran on would run out of juice first. The notebooks were put through a range of tasks including opening sites, adding tabs, rolling through pages and playing videos.

The Edge-equipped notebook lasted for around 7 hours and 22 minutes, followed by Opera at 6 hours, 18 minutes; Firefox at 5 hours and 9 minutes; and Chrome with only 4 hours and 20 minutes to show for.

It would seem that Microsoft is more than ecstatic about its victory and is saying that there will be more efficiency tweaks when its Windows 10 update comes out next month. This includes using less memory and CPU cycles. Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

LinkedIn mega-deal puts new focus on social media

WASHINGTON — After the mega-deal for LinkedIn, Twitter’s future has come into focus as the industry ponders the outlook for social networks.

Microsoft’s $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn announced Monday, the biggest-ever deal for a social media company, sent Twitter shares surging nearly 10 percent over the past two days.

Even though Twitter has a vastly different model from the professional social network, the shakeup in the sector has drawn attention to Twitter’s large user base and data capabilities.

With LinkedIn off the table, Twitter becomes the largest independent, non-Chinese social network which could be an acquisition target.

“At the margin, this makes all the remaining players more valuable due to the scarcity of those that have achieved scale,” said Lou Kerner, founder of the Social Internet Fund, which invests in the sector.

But Kerner said that while LinkedIn is an “ascendant” company, Twitter is still struggling to grow beyond its current base of just over 300 million active users worldwide.

Kerner said potential Twitter acquirers “are looking for products that can help drive their growth and don’t need to be fixed.”

He added that “Twitter has scale, but what it doesn’t have is growth, so its a far less attractive asset than LinkedIn.

Still, talk has been swirling for months about a takeover of Twitter. Last week, venture capitalist and blogger Paul Kedrosky said in a tweet, “I’m not optimistic that Twitter makes it out of 2016 as a standalone company, which is sad.”

Despite the bump in Twitter shares, it has lost some 75 percent of its value from highs in 2013 after its public share offering.

Bubble bursting?

Other analysts said Twitter’s value as an acquisition target had not changed.

Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy said the rise in Twitter was based on “investor sympathy” following the LinkedIn deal, but added: “I’m not buying into the notion of some sort of impending acquisition or if this even makes more strategic sense for an Apple or Google to make a social acquisition.”

Michael Pachter at Wedbush Securities said he sees no real connection.

“LinkedIn is really a job searching tool, nothing like Twitter at all,” he told AFP. “I don’t think it signals a rush to buy social media at all.”

Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research, said the Microsoft deal could signal the top of a bubble in social media companies.

“What the acquisition of LinkedIn means is that we are at the tail end of social media hype,” Chowdhry said. “The growth rates are going to dramatically slow.”

Chowdhry said Microsoft is seeking a distraction from its declining software business and LinkedIn’s growth has been faltering as well.

Although it has an estimated 433 million users, LinkedIn reported a loss of $46 million in the past quarter and a $166 million loss for 2015. Microsoft agreed to pay a 50 percent premium for the company.

“When you have a marriage between two struggling companies, it’s a wakeup call for the industry,” he said.

“If anybody is believing that the best is yet to come for social media stocks they will be disillusioned.”

Chowdhry said he believes other social networks which are not publicly traded but have high valuations such as Snapchat and Pinterest “are going to get a dose of reality.”

“The bubble in social media is going to burst,” he said.

Most social media firms have been able to grow their user base but have failed to come up with a solid business model, said Chowdhry.

“Twitter is a very strong platform for celebrities and politicians, and there’s a value to Twitter,” he said. “But Twitter does not have mass appeal.”

Chowdhry said he does not rule out a bid for Twitter because “there are still many foolish companies who want to divert investor attention away from their own fundamental problems.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft sues US over secret demands for customer data

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft is suing the government over a federal law that lets authorities examine its users’ email or online files without their knowledge.

It’s the latest conflict between the tech industry and U.S. officials over individual privacy rights. Law enforcement officials want freedom to view a treasure trove of information — including emails, photos and financial records — that customers are storing on electronic gadgets and in so-called “cloud” computing centers.

Microsoft says the U.S. Justice Department is abusing the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which allows authorities to obtain court orders requiring it to turn over customer files stored on its servers, while in some cases prohibiting the company from notifying the customer. Microsoft says those “non-disclosure” orders violate its constitutional right to free speech, as well as its customers’ protection against unreasonable searches.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said the government is reviewing the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Seattle federal court.

One former federal official was critical of Microsoft’s position, saying it could lead to warning “child molesters, domestic abusers, violent criminals and terrorists that they’re being investigated.”

The non-disclosure orders must be granted by a judge who has concluded that “notifying these individuals will have an adverse result, which could include messing up an investigation or even endangering the life or safety of individuals,” said Daniel “D.J.” Rosenthal, a former National Security Council and Justice Department attorney.

But Microsoft argues the law sets a vague standard for granting secrecy around digital searches. Authorities are required to disclose most search warrants for information stored in filing cabinets, safes or other physical locations, the company noted in its court filing.

“At the end of the day, when you are being investigated by the government, you should know about the investigation so you can prepare a defense,” said Mark Jaycox of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group.

Microsoft said government demands under the ECPA law are increasing in number for a variety of investigations, including white-collar cases.

“We appreciate that there are times when secrecy around a government warrant is needed,” Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith said in a statement. “But based on the many secrecy orders we have received, we question whether these orders are grounded in specific facts that truly demand secrecy. To the contrary, it appears that the issuance of secrecy orders has become too routine.”

The Redmond, Washington-based company says authorities used the law to demand customer information more than 5,600 times in the last 18 months. In nearly half those cases, a court ordered the company to keep the demand secret.

Although some orders expired after a period of time, Microsoft said the gag orders were indefinite in about 1,750 cases, “meaning that Microsoft could forever be barred from telling the affected customer about the government’s intrusion.”

As more people store data online, Microsoft argued in its lawsuit that the government is exploiting that trend “as a means of expanding its power to conduct secret investigations.”

In an interview, Smith said the company decided to sue the Justice Department after a case where authorities threatened to hold Microsoft in contempt when it sought to contest a particular secrecy order.

“That caused us to step back and take a look at what was going on more broadly,” he said. “We were very disconcerted when we added up the large number of secrecy orders we’ve been receiving.”

While the lawsuit specifically challenges ECPA’s secrecy provision, Congress has been debating a number of reforms in response to criticism that it’s outdated in various ways.

The House Judiciary Committee this week approved a bill to amend the law so authorities would need a warrant to see email and other digital files that have been stored online for more than 180 days. Currently the law allows access with a subpoena, which can be obtained more easily by satisfying a weaker legal standard.

But a recent amendment to the bill would still allow non-disclosure orders lasting up to six months, which could potentially be extended. Microsoft’s Smith said he’s not optimistic that Congress will pass any reforms this year.

Microsoft rival Apple has been waging a high-profile legal battle over the FBI’s attempt to compel that company’s help in obtaining data stored on iPhones.

“It’s part of the same trend,” said Alex Abdo, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union. He said tech companies “have gotten the message loud and clear from the American public, that privacy matters.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Microsoft Surface Book vs. Apple Macbook: The tale of the tape

On Tuesday (early Wednesday Philippine time), Microsoft unveiled a slew of new devices in a bid for dominance for Windows 10. The crowning jewel in this effort is the Microsoft Surface Book—but how does it compare with the competition?

"With Windows 10 and these new Microsoft devices, you are at the center of magical new experiences," promised Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft. "We're moving people from needing to choosing to loving Windows, and these devices promise to fuel even more enthusiasm and opportunity for the entire Windows ecosystem."

Microsoft's first in-house laptop offering, the Surface Book is touted as "a powerful, high-performance laptop with stunning craftsmanship and incredibly accurate and responsive pen and touch support."

On paper, at least, it certainly has the looks and muscle to go head-to-head with its Apple rival.

Mashable posted the following chart pitting the specs of Microsoft's prime upstart versus Apple's own big boss:

"While the two laptops have a lot in common, the Surface Book 'appears' to deliver a bit more value in relation to price (at least technically)," Mashable said.

However, as The Verge was quick to point out, specs comparisons don't tell the whole story.

Microsoft's and Apple's products cater to different kinds of users, considering the former's integration of a touchscreen and full keyboard in one device versus the latter's separate tablet and laptop offerings.

"It's getting really weird to compare these products on specs alone, simply because the way that you use them is really, really different," The Verge said.

"More and more, these devices are advertised on an evolving continuum. There's no clear place that tablets end and laptops start," it added.

In short, putting Microsoft beside Apple may not necessarily be an "apples to apples" comparison.

"Specs are only half the story, but some of the differences really stand out," The Verge concluded. — GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Here's how to sync Microsoft Office with Google Drive

Thanks to this Google plugin, the Microsoft Office productivity suite can now sync directly with Drive, Google's cloud-based storage service.

"Building on this open approach, we recently made it possible to launch your favorite desktop applications directly from Google Drive. And today we’re taking it a step further by bringing Google Drive to Microsoft Office. Using the new Google Drive plug-in, people using Office for Windows can now open their Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents stored in Drive, then save any changes back to Drive once they’re done," technical program manager Darrell Kuhn said in a blog post.

"With this plug-in, you can use the apps you’re already comfortable with, while benefitting from the security and convenience of Google Drive," he added.

Click here to install Google Drive for Office.

Kuhn said this means one working on a document, spreadsheet or presentation on his or her computer can also save that file to Google Drive, directly from the Office apps.

"This is especially useful for sharing files with teams, or for accessing your files across devices," he said.

A separate report on The Verge said Microsoft already made Office run on the desktop, web, and mobile platforms.

It also teamed up with Dropbox to give users storage options other than Microsoft's OneDrive.

"If for some reason you're a Drive loyalist who also loves using Office, this tool just might make your life easier; it should be available to install today," it said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Microsoft unveils Xbox with 1TB storage, souped-up wireless controller

A souped-up Xbox controller, an Xbox One console with 1TB capacity, and a lower-priced Xbox One 500GB model are among Microsoft's offerings to gamers ahead of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles this week.

Microsoft unveiled an Xbox One console with 1TB capacity and a new matte finish, which it said stemmed from frequent fan request.

"Since Xbox One launched, one of the most frequent requests from fans is to add more storage to their consoles. Today, we’re unveiling the Xbox One 1TB console, with a new matte finish and more storage for your games and media, making it the best place to play the biggest blockbusters this holiday like Halo 5: Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Forza Motorsport 6," Major Nelson said in a blog post.

The new console also lets users extend game storage further by adding an external USB 3.0 drive.

Bundled with the new console are Microsoft's new wireless Xbox controller and for a limited time in selected regions the game "Halo: The Master Chief Collection."

The Xbox One 1TB consoles will start shipping to retailers June 16 in the United States and select markets later this month, with prices starting at $399.

Microsoft also brought down the price of the 500GB Xbox One consoles to $349 in the US and select regions.

Wireless controllers

Microsoft also unveiled its new Xbox One Wireless Controller that now has a built-in 3.5mm stereo headset jack to accommodate gamers' gaming headsets.

"With the updated controller, in addition to the volume and mute controls on gaming headsets, you’ll also have the option to adjust headset volume, mic monitoring, and voice and game audio balance through the Settings menu on your console," Major Nelson said.

Microsoft also said it has improved the quality of audio coming through the controller and increased the maximum audio volume on headsets used with this controller.

The bumpers have been fine-tuned for more consistent performance and the controller can now get firmware updates wirelessly.

Gamers can also buy the new controller as a standalone item in black or as a new camouflage design in silver and black.

Windows 10 support 

Also, Microsoft is releasing the Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows so gamers can use the wireless controller on Windows 10 PCs, laptops, and tablets.

"[S]imply plug the Adapter into the USB 2.0 or 3.0 port of your Windows 10 PC and bind the Adapter to your Wireless Controller to enable the same gaming experience you’re used to on Xbox One, including in-game chat and high-quality stereo audio," Major Nelson said.

He said the wireless adapter for Windows will be available for $24.99 or bundled with an Xbox One Wireless Controller for $79.95. — Joel Locsin/BM, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Microsoft retiring Skype 'modern/metro' app

Here's not-so-good news for users of Windows 8 who are just getting used to the Modern or Metro version of Microsoft's Skype video conferencing app: Microsoft's killing it by July.

In a blog post, Microsoft's Aga Guzik said they want to simplify the PC experience "down to one app" that can be controlled by touch or by keyboard-and-mouse.

"Starting on July 7, we’re updating PC users of the Windows modern application to the Windows desktop application, and retiring the modern application," Guzik said.

Guzik noted that with the upcoming Windows 10, it would be better to use the Skype app optimized for mouse and keyboards use, and capable of doing touch "rather than two separate applications performing the same function."

Besides, Guzik said feedback from users indicate the "traditional" Skype desktop app helps users efficiently navigate, with all information in one window "so you don’t have to scroll back and forth."

The traditional app also helps get more done like group video calling, sharing a screen for showing directions or working together on a document - and soon - translation.

After July 7

Guzik said that after July 7, users trying to access the modern app on PCs will be automatically directed to download the desktop app.

"All of your contacts and conversations from last 30 days will be available. If you already have Skype for Windows desktop you don’t need to do anything. Also, if you’re on a Windows RT tablet device, there is no change for you," Guzik added.

Disparities

A report on PC World said many users have complained about differences between the modern and desktop apps.

"While the modern version is somewhat easier to interact with on touchscreens, it’s far too dependent on swiping to see all information. It also doesn’t include some features from the desktop program, such as screen sharing and group video calls," it said.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2934507/skype-kills-its-modern-windows-8-app-in-the-name-of-efficiency.html

It also noted Skype appears heading in a different direction than Microsoft's Office productivity suite, which will soon feature touch-friendly apps.  — Joel Locsin/ELR, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Microsoft's Cortana coming to iPhone and Android

Microsoft's personal digital assistant Cortana is coming to the iPhone as well as to devices running Google's Android platform.

In a blog post, Microsoft's Joe Belfiore said a Cortana app for iPhones and Android, to serve as a companion on a Windows 10 PC.

"Part of the power of a personal assistant comes from being available on the go, on the device you carry with you everywhere. And for people who don’t have the benefit of a Windows phone, we want to extend the advantage of Cortana in Windows 10.  How will this work?  Today, we’re announcing a Cortana application for Android phones and for iPhones which works as a companion to Cortana on your Windows 10 PC," he said.

He said the phone companion app on the PC will help a user install the Cortana app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Belfiore said Cortana, which can help to things from searching on the web or a device to setting reminders, dictating email, or toggling device settings, is integrated into Edge, the new web browser for Windows 10.

"The Cortana companion app will help you complete tasks you begin on your PC wherever you are, on your phone," he said.

Limitations

But here's the catch: there may be some things Cortana can do on Windows Phones that may not work on Android devices or iPhones.

This is because some Cortana features "require access to the system that aren’t currently possible with iOS or Android," he said.

Among the things Cortana may not be able to do on iOS or Android for now include toggling settings and opening apps.

Even hands-free access to Cortana by saying “Hey Cortana” will be limited to Windows Phones for now, as the feature needs special integration with the device’s microphone.

Designed for all devices

Belfiore, in making the announcement, noted Microsoft realizes that "many people use iPhones or Android phones, and we want them to enjoy some of their Windows experience and content while away from their Windows 10 PC."

"Regardless of the operating systems you choose across your devices – everything important to you should roam across the products you already own – including your phone," he said.

Phone companion

A Phone Companion app on the PC allows a user to pick which type of phone he or she owns, whether it's a Windows phone, Android phone, or iPhone.

Nothing extra is needed with a Windows Phone, though a few steps may have to be followed for Android or iPhone owners.

OneDrive app allows photos taken on a phone to show up automatically in the Photos app of a Windows 10 PC.

Music app lets a user store and access music from OneDrive not only on the PC but now also play it anywhere, for free, on an iOS or Android phone.

"And you can work on your Office documents from any of your devices, without worrying about moving files around," Belfiore said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Outlook.com gets a new look, with new tricks and tools

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An inbox clutter management tool, 13 new themes and support for third-party add-ins are among the major new features in Microsoft's overhaul of its Outlook.com service.

In a blog post, the Outlook team also boasted of an upgraded calendar and new ways to collaborate, as Microsoft moves Outook to its Office365 infrastructure.

The upgraded look and features are rolling out to a select group for now, however.

One of the major changes is the refined inbox, which features a clutter management tool dubbed Clutter.

"Clutter works on your behalf, sorting messages you’re likely to ignore into a separate folder, so you can focus on what matters. The more you use Outlook.com, the better Clutter gets. You can help train Clutter by dragging messages in or out of the Clutter folder and you can turn it on or off depending on your preferences," it said.

The inbox will also get 13 new themes with graphic designs to help users express their personalities.

It will likewise get a link preview where Outlook.com automatically generates a rich preview if a user pastes a link into a message.

Add-ins appear while a user is reading or composing a message. These include the built-in Bing Maps, My Templates and Suggested Meetings.

But third-party add-ins may include those from Uber, Boomerang and PayPal.

Shifting between email, Skype

The new Outlook.com also allows users to shift conversations between email and Skype.

"Chat with a group, or one-on-one, using all your favorite Skype emoticons. Start a voice or video call by pressing the call button," the Outlook team said.

OneDrive
 
Outlook.com also features simplified sharing from OneDrive, with a user just attaching a file to a draft message and turning it into a shared OneDrive link.

Changes made to a file are automatically saved and attached to a response - "no need to download, edit, save and re-attach the revised file."

Calendar

The upgraded calendar lets a user "manage shared calendars, quickly find events by searching for the name, invitees, location or description and stay on top of the dates that matter to you with over 100 country and religious calendars," the Outlook team said.

Mobile web experience

Outlook.com is now more mobile-friendly for those who access it from a phone browser.

It has a "cleaner experience with new features like swipe gestures and support for add-ins," and mobile-friendly views for calendar and contacts.

Feedback

Microsoft also added Outlook UserVoice, a feedback mechanism to give "our community a chance to see and hear what others are saying and at the same time, creating a direct line of communication with the team that builds Outlook.com."

It described UserVoice as an open forum for people to share feedback, recommend features, and vote for ideas they like best.

Changing settings

Microsoft said Outlook.com users need not change their email addresses or adjust settings on their phones or apps.

It also said Outlook.com users do not have to pay for an Office 365 subscription, saying Outlook.com "will remain a free, ad-supported service." — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Make tech accessible to all, Bill Gates tells employees on eve of Microsoft’s 40th anniversary

Make the power of technology accessible to everyone. This was Microsoft co-founder William "Bill" Gates III's message to the software giant's employees ahead of the company's 40th anniversary on Saturday, April 4.

"We have accomplished a lot together during our first 40 years and empowered countless businesses and people to realize their full potential. But what matters most now is what we do next. Thank you for helping make Microsoft a fantastic company now and for decades to come," he said in his email.





Microsoft, which started in April 1975, is best known for its Windows operating system, which powers most of the world's personal computers.

The company also produces the popular Office productivity suite.

While Microsoft is not quite as dominant in mobile operating system arena, it is working on unifying mobile and desktop devices with its upcoming OS Windows 10.

"In the coming years, Microsoft has the opportunity to reach even more people and organizations around the world. Technology is still out of reach for many people, because it is complex or expensive, or they simply do not have access. So I hope you will think about what you can do to make the power of technology accessible to everyone, to connect people to each other, and make personal computing available everywhere even as the very notion of what a PC delivers makes its way into all devices," he added.

Gates, who stepped down as Microsoft chairman in 2014, is now technology adviser for new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

In his email, he said he and co-founder Paul Allen had set a goal of "a computer on every desk and in every home" – a bold idea not shared by many at the time.

Yet, he said computing has come so far, "and we can all be proud of the role Microsoft played in that revolution."

But now, he said Microsoft can still play a big role in a future where "computing will evolve faster in the next 10 years than it ever has before."

"We already live in a multi-platform world, and computing will become even more pervasive. We are nearing the point where computers and robots will be able to see, move, and interact naturally, unlocking many new applications and empowering people even more," he said.

Gates said that under Nadella, Microsoft is better positioned than ever to lead these advances.

"We have the resources to drive and solve tough problems. We are engaged in every facet of modern computing and have the deepest commitment to research in the industry," he said.

Gates said he is impressed by the vision and talent he sees, particularly in products like personal assistant Cortana, Skype Translator, and HoloLens. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com