Tag: Microsoft
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…
Microsoft close to opening first UK retail store in London
Microsoft looks set to launch its first UK flagship store in London later this year, a minute’s walk away from Apple’s main retail base in the UK on Regent Street. A number of job vacancies for retail advisers, a visual merchandising manager, in-store IT technical support, stock control specialists, an education expert and a cloud…
OpenAI shows how AI could be used to write fake news stories
Researchers have demonstrated how artificial intelligence could be used to write fake news stories with little input from humans. OpenAI, with backers including Elon Musk and Microsoft, have decided not to release the entire AI system code, known as GPT-2, over concerns about how it could be abused to produce convincing fake news on a…
Microsoft security chief suggests Internet Explorer not suitable as main browser
Microsoft’s own security chief has suggested Internet Explorer should not be used as a main web browser, saying it now only exists as a “compatibility solution”. Chris Jackson, worldwide lead for cyber-security at the computing giant, admitted developers are no longer testing on the legacy web browser and have turned to “modern browsers” instead. “We’re…
Skype adds background blurring so you don’t have to tidy your room!
Skype users are now able to blur out their backgrounds with a new feature rolling out on the Microsoft-owned app this week. The feature uses artificial intelligence to keep the focus on people in video calls, detecting harder to identify elements such as hair, hands and arms to provider a slicker looking appearance on video.…
Microsoft names UK as ‘safest place in the world’ for internet users
Microsoft has named the UK as the safest country in the world for internet users. But the tech giant warned many still suffer from abuse, scams and unwanted contact. Releasing the figures to mark Safer Internet Day, the firm said the most common complaints for UK users included being contacted by strangers, receiving unwanted sexual…
Microsoft tool improves rating for Mail Online after labelling it ‘untrustworthy’
A fake news tool for the Microsoft Edge web browser has changed its rating for the Mail Online, having previously warned users the site failed to maintain “basic standards of accuracy and accountability”. NewsGuard, a tool which says it uses a team of experienced journalists to analyse and rate news websites, had shown users the…
Strong cloud growth helps Microsoft deliver healthy profits
Microsoft has reported strong quarterly financial results, largely driven by its commercial cloud services. The PC giant’s revenue stood at 28.9 billion dollars (£22 billion) in the three months to the end of December, up 12% on the same period in 2017. Net income for the company was also healthy, reaching 8.4 billion dollars (£6.4…
