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Microsoft’s real-time language translator coming to Skype as baked-in feature on Windows PCs

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 13:00:42 +0000

Microsoft is about to start building its real-time language translation tool directly into Skype for Windows PCs, meaning the 100 million users already on the service will soon be able to have video chats with people of different languages without downloading a specialized app. The company first debuted a preview of Skype Translator in December 2014, but it was only available in English and Spanish and as a standalone application. The service has slowly been making its way onto more devices in more languages since then, but now it’s getting its biggest boost yet as it becomes a standard feature inside the Skype app. It supports six spoken languages (English,… Read More

Microsoft and Google reach sweeping settlement in longstanding patent suits

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 20:35:15 +0000

After years of wrangling over Google’s Chrome and Android technologies, Microsoft and the search giant announced a wide-ranging legal settlement this afternoon. Here’s a joint statement that the two companies released today: “Microsoft and Google are pleased to announce an agreement on patent issues. As part of the agreement, the companies will dismiss all pending patent infringement litigation between them, including cases related to Motorola Mobility. Separately, Google and Microsoft have agreed to collaborate on certain patent matters and anticipate working together in other areas in the future to benefit our customers.” The settlement is believed to affect as many as 20… Read More

Microsoft to open its largest store ever in NYC, first international flagship site in Sydney

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 15:41:43 +0000

If you’re looking for some space to try out your next Windows 10 device, you might want to head to New York City. The largest Microsoft Store ever is opening on Fifth Ave. next month, with more than 22,000 square feet across five floors. Microsoft announced the opening date for that store, along with the opening date of its first international flagship in Sydney, in a blog post today. Both stores will include an Answer Desk—Microsoft’s response to Apple’s Genius Bar—and a Community Theater for showing off how MIcrosoft’s latest products can fit into customers’ lives. Microsoft is boasting about the diversity… Read More

Calling all analytics startups: Microsoft unveils next accelerator program focused on data science

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 14:46:39 +0000

Microsoft announced the third installment of its Microsoft Ventures Seattle Accelerator on Wednesday, this time focusing on data science and machine learning. In a world where we’re creating more data then ever before and 90 percent of it is unstructured, the company says we’re about to enter a heyday for data-focused startups. And Microsoft wants to be there to help them get off the ground. The company is kicking off a cross-country tour to get out and meet potential companies, visiting tech hubs like Seattle, Palo Alto, Austin, Boston and Provo, Utah. The deadline to apply is Nov. 20, and 10 to 15 startups will be… Read More

Microsoft acquires web portal developer Adxstudio, which powers portals for Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 22:06:17 +0000

Microsoft announced today that it acquired Adxstudio, which sells web portals for the Redmond tech giant’s customer relationship management software, Dynamics CRM. “This acquisition will empower our own customers as well as our strong partner ecosystem as it will accelerate our efforts to enable customers and independent software vendors to build their own CRM Web engagement solutions on Microsoft technologies,” said Microsoft vice president of Dynamics CRM Bob Stutz in a blog post. “These Adxstudio capabilities enable any business process to become Web-facing.” Customer relationship management software helps companies improve marketing and sales tactics and streamline customer service and technical support. Microsoft announced deeper partnership with… Read More

Microsoft to lump its results into just 3 divisions for financial reporting

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 21:57:35 +0000

Microsoft will combine its financial results into three operating segments for purposes of financial reporting starting in its current fiscal year, down from its current total of six operating segments, the company announced this afternoon. By lumping together revenue and operating income into fewer segments, the move could make it more difficult to for shareholders and analysts determine the specific financial results for different aspects of Microsoft’s business. These are the three segments that the company says it will now use. The Productivity and Business Processes segment includes results from Office and Office 365 for commercial and consumer customers, as well as Dynamics and Dynamics CRM Online.… Read More

Microsoft, Google, Facebook and others cater to India’s Prime Minister during Silicon Valley visit

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 15:16:21 +0000

View image | gettyimages.com Silicon Valley tech leaders rolled out the red carpet for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend, the latest sign of how U.S. tech titans are increasingly keen on strengthening ties and establishing footholds in key international markets. Google used the visit as a chance to announce plans to launch free Wi-Fi in 400 Indian train stations, Qualcomm said it would invest up to $150 million in Indian startups and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on stage with Modi to talk about it’s internet.org initiative, which is looking to spread broadband access across underserved areas like India.… Read More

Longtime Microsoft PR firm Waggener Edstrom rebrands to ‘WE’

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 13:00:30 +0000

Waggener Edstrom is now simply WE. The 31-year-old public relations firm today rebranded, changing its name to WE while announcing two new hires. Melissa Waggener Zorkin, who co-founded the company in 1983 with Pam Edstrom, wrote in a blog post today that the change “is a reflection of what WE has always been.” “WE is about us,” she wrote. “It’s the power and insight that comes from the collective — our amazing clients, our people, our partners, and the influencers we work with every day. Together, we are WE.“ WE is widely known as Microsoft’s long time PR firm, but has been steadily expanding… Read More

Life as an Amazon bike courier, an epic gathering of tech moguls, and a GeekWire Summit preview

Sat, 26 Sep 2015 16:07:16 +0000

It was a big week in Seattle, with President Xi Jinping’s visit bringing some of biggest names in tech to Microsoft’s Redmond campus. Mark Zuckerberg took the opportunity to speak to Xi in Mandarin, while Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Apple’s Tim Cook shared a laugh, and Satya Nadella led the Chinese president on a tour of Microsoft products. GeekWire reporter Taylor Soper was there to cover and photograph this one-of-a-kind gathering, and he joins us on the GeekWire radio show and podcast this week with all the behind-the-scenes details. Then, the second segment of the show, we learn what it’s like to be an Amazon bicycle… Read More

‘Recalc or Die’: 30 years later, Microsoft Excel 1.0 vets recount a project that defied the odds

Fri, 25 Sep 2015 16:17:34 +0000

Microsoft has recently been making lots of apps for iOS and Android, despite the fact that those platforms are rivals to its own Windows operating system. But this is actually not a new phenomenon at the company. Just ask Doug Klunder, the lead developer for Microsoft Excel 1.0, who quit his job after Bill Gates and other Microsoft leaders decided to shift the original Excel project from MS-DOS to the Apple Macintosh more than three decades ago. Klunder ended up coming back to Microsoft and finishing the project, after an ill-fated stint as a farm worker in the lettuce fields of California. But even… Read More

Mark Zuckerberg wears a suit, Jeff Bezos is best-dressed at meeting with China president

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 16:48:54 +0000

Many of the world’s top technology CEOs were looking fancy and fresh at Microsoft’s headquarters on Wednesday — even Mark Zuckerberg cleaned up — but it was Amazon’s boss that took home best dressed honors. As we detailed yesterday, tech execs like Bezos, Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Alibaba’s Jack Ma, and 24 other executives gathered in Redmond, Wash., to meet with China President Xi Jinping at the conclusion of the eighth annual U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum. It was a rare gathering of some of the most powerful people in the tech industry — Bill Gates was also in the… Read More

Photos: Tim Cook, Satya Nadella, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg meet China’s president at Microsoft

Thu, 24 Sep 2015 00:19:47 +0000

If the tech world had an All-Star Game, today’s Internet Forum at Microsoft could certainly qualify. Top CEOs like Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Alibaba’s Jack Ma, and 23 other executives gathered today in Redmond, Wash., to meet with China President Xi Jinping at the conclusion of the eighth annual U.S.-China Internet Industry Forum. It was a rare gathering of some of the most powerful people in the tech industry who traveled from across the globe to Microsoft’s campus this week. Before posing for a group picture and making a few remarks, the president and first lady… Read More

Microsoft strikes deal with Chinese search giant Baidu to make upgrading to Windows 10 easier

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 21:27:25 +0000

Microsoft is partnering with Chinese search giant Baidu in its latest attempt to make upgrading to genuine versions of Windows 10 as simple as possible in a country where software piracy has historically run rampant. Baidu will now be the default search engine for Windows 10 machines in that country, and in return it will give Microsoft access to the 600 million Chinese users already on its site. According to a Wednesday blog post, Baidu will offer a new distribution channel called “Windows 10 Express,” where users can easily download and install the operating system. This kind of visibility on China’s most popular search engine… Read More

Microsoft’s Office 2016 for Windows debuts with built-in Skype, real-time co-authoring on desktop

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 15:06:36 +0000

Microsoft officially released Office 2016 for Windows this morning — attempting to retool its productivity suite for the modern era of online collaboration, and aiming to shift more users from traditional software licenses to annual subscriptions. New features include Skype integration, better support for groups, new data visualization tools, built-in web search capabilities, and real-time co-authoring in Microsoft’s desktop Word software, so that members of a team can see live edits made by their colleagues working on the same document. Microsoft has offered this co-authoring feature in its web apps since 2013, but the company is “committed to expanding real-time co-authoring to each of our… Read More

CloudFlare raises $110M as Microsoft, Google, Qualcomm embrace cyber security startup

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 14:30:17 +0000

CloudFlare brought on some impressive strategic investors today, announcing a $110 million funding round that included participation from tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Qualcomm and Baidu, the Chinese search engine giant. The company, which makes tools to improve website performance and security for businesses without large IT budgets, has been getting a lot of love from industry heavy hitters recently. CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince told Fortune the company didn’t really need the money, but the round was more about brining on strategic partners as it prepares for an IPO around 2017. Microsoft will help shape the CloudFlare’s enterprise strategy, Baidu will help steer the… Read More

Skype-pocalypse winding down as Microsoft begins restoring service after worldwide video chat outage

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 16:27:17 +0000

It looks like Skype-pocalype may be almost over, about six hours after Microsoft’s video calling service went down for users across the globe. Microsoft says it has figured out the problem and it’s working on fixing things now. I was finally able to log into two different accounts around 9 a.m. this morning, but most of my contacts are still showing up as offline. I was able to send text messages to a friend, but we ran into bugs and couldn’t connect for a video call. This still isn’t exactly what users are looking for, but it’s progress. About an hour ago… Read More

FAQ: Why China’s President is visiting Seattle, and what’s at stake for the U.S. tech industry

Mon, 21 Sep 2015 16:23:43 +0000

View image | gettyimages.com Xi Jinping, the president of China, will be in Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, meeting with U.S. tech companies and other business and government leaders before heading to Washington, D.C., for a high-profile state visit with President Obama on Thursday In the short term, the biggest impact most of us will see is on traffic. The city’s transportation department issued a warning over the weekend about intermittent closures of freeways and other streets. But much more is at stake for the global economy, international relations, cybersecurity and the future of U.S. tech companies in the world’s most populous… Read More

Here’s what Microsoft gave the teenager who was arrested for bringing a homemade clock to school

Sat, 19 Sep 2015 18:51:58 +0000

View image | gettyimages.com It’s been quite the week for Ahmed Mohamed. The 14-year-old was arrested this past Monday at his Irving, Texas high school after bringing a homemade clock into class to show his teacher at MacArthur High School. He was then questioned by police and taken into custody for building what the police call a “hoax bomb.” Mohamed was eventually released after police did not file charges. However, that was certainly not the end of it, as the story went viral across the Internet. Many supported Mohamed’s inventive curiosity and President Obama even invited the teen to visit the White House. Cool… Read More

Microsoft sues recycling company that allegedly let 70,000 copies of Office slip onto the black market

Fri, 18 Sep 2015 17:20:14 +0000

Microsoft is suing a recycling company it hires to to destroy old products, alleging one of the contractor’s employees stole millions of dollars worth of Office software licenses and subsequently sold them on the black market. Since Microsoft had entrusted Global Electronic Recycling with the safekeeping of the products until they could be destroyed, Microsoft argues GER is on the hook for the copyright damages it will suffer, according to the lawsuit filed earlier this week. Microsoft has worked with GER since 2009 as part of an effort to dispose of unused and obsolete hardware and software, and do it in an environmentally friendly way. These were… Read More

New era: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at Salesforce conference, gives iPhone demo

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 23:50:33 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella delivered a keynote address at Saleforce’s annual Dreamforce conference here this evening, the latest sign of the new era for Microsoft’s relationship with Bay Area tech scene and the rest of the tech industry. Fielding questions on stage, he began by talking about just how far the company’s culture has come over the past year. He said work is too important for a company to not put effort into shaping the way it fits into its employees lives. “The culture of a place is what I think defines the pursuit of excellence,” he said. “You… Read More

Microsoft’s employee review system is biased against women, lawsuit alleges

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 23:18:25 +0000

A former Microsoft security program manager alleges in a newly filed lawsuit that the company’s employee review system discriminates against women in performance evaluations, compensation and promotions. “Microsoft’s company-wide policies and practices systematically violate female technical employees’ rights and result in the unchecked gender bias that pervades its corporate culture,” the complaint reads. “The disadvantage to female technical employees in pay and promotion is not isolated or exceptional, but rather the regular and predictable result of Microsoft’s policies and practices and lack of proper accountability measures to ensure fairness.” Microsoft said in a statement this afternoon, “We’re committed to a diverse workforce, and to a… Read More

Interview: Microsoft’s Brad Anderson on enterprise mobility, ‘insane mode,’ and 4:30 a.m. workouts

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 22:00:43 +0000

Microsoft executive Brad Anderson, vice president for the company’s enterprise client and mobility business, has been running a special video series on his “In the Cloud” blog in which he drives around in a Tesla with a guest, talking about the future of technology and enterprise mobility. I joined Anderson recently for one of those drives, which turned out to be more eventful than expected, as you can see in the video below. And we decided to continue to the conversation in this episode of the GeekWire podcast — discussing the evolution of work, Microsoft’s new era, Anderson’s own work habits, and more. Listen to the… Read More

Old rivals Microsoft and Salesforce ‘double down’ on partnership with deeper integration

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 20:09:09 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft deepened its relationship with longtime cloud rival Salesforce on Wednesday, building on a previous partnership by adding new ways for customers to use the two companies’ key products together. The companies already began integrating Microsoft’s productivity applications — like Office — with Salesforce’s customer relationship management, or CRM, applications last year. This announcement takes thing further, as Salesforce’s platform will soon also play nice with Microsoft’s Skype for Business, Delve, OneNote and Windows 10. COVERAGE NOTE: GeekWire’s Jacob Demmitt will be reporting from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s Dreamforce keynote in San Francisco later today. The idea is that the two companies share… Read More

Microsoft working on Cortana for the car, testing virtual assistant on the road

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 19:51:50 +0000

Cortana may be your next co-pilot. Microsoft has been testing a prototype car with Cortana’s voice-control system built in. The company has has developed a connected car prototype with a display that projects onto the windshield and uses Cortana for voice control, said Samuel Shen, COO of the Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group, speaking at Taipei Times’ Tech Days event. Microsoft demoed a Windows in-car experience last year at the Build conference. But that demo was just to put Windows Phone content on a car’s in-dash screen. Shen spoke about a car with Cortana built in, which could forgo any need for a Windows-powered phone.… Read More

Swan song for Microsoft’s iPod rival: Zune services shutting down on Nov. 15

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 16:32:47 +0000

Did you know that Microsoft Zune is still alive? Well it is, but not for much longer. Microsoft has updated the retirement FAQ for its erstwhile iPod challenger to note that Zune services will be shut down on Nov. 15, ending the Zune adventure that started in 2006. “You will no longer be able to stream or download content to your device from the Zune music service,” the updated post says. “However, Zune devices will still function as music players and any MP3 content that you own on the Zune device will remain there. You’ll also be able to transfer music… Read More

Microsoft HoloLens to launch again on December mission to International Space Station

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 17:32:34 +0000

In June, Microsoft and NASA announced a partnership to send the HoloLens to space. However, the unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying the initial units to the International Space Station disintegrated on launch. Now, Microsoft and NASA are ready to try again. On Dec. 3, Orbital Sciences will launch another resupply rocket to the ISS, and two more augmented reality headsets from Microsoft will be on board. According to an interview with Jeff Norris at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in MIT Technology Review, the devices have already been cleared to fly. The two HoloLens devices will let astronauts receive help from ground-based experts and… Read More

It’s official: Microsoft to hold hardware extravaganza in New York on Oct. 6

Mon, 14 Sep 2015 16:07:08 +0000

Microsoft sent out cryptic invitations on Monday for an October 6 press event in New York that will be all about Windows 10 hardware. The event was already stirring up a lot of hype before it was officially on the calendar. According to The Verge, this will be when the company unveils all sorts of new gadgets, including a Surface Pro 4, Microsoft Band 2 and two flagship smartphones called the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. Of course, none of that has been confirmed by Microsoft. The invitation just reads, “We have some exciting news to share about Windows 10 devices.”… Read More

Microsoft’s Cortana may come to next Cyanogen OS release, CEO reveals

Fri, 11 Sep 2015 20:30:05 +0000

Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant, may be coming to yet another mobile operating system, according to Cyanogen CEO Kirt McMaster. In an interview with the International Business Times, he announced that his company is working to integrate Cortana into the next version of its mobile operating system. “Natural language coupled with intelligence is very important but as an application it doesn’t [really] work because you need to be embedded into the framework of the OS,” McMaster said in the interview. Cyanogen is working with Microsoft to incorporate the intelligent virtual assistant into the the Android-based operating system. While Cyanogen OS is built… Read More

Brad Smith named Microsoft president as he takes on more public-facing role

Fri, 11 Sep 2015 17:56:24 +0000

Microsoft’s top lawyer is about to start assuming more responsibilities within the company, and on Friday he was given a brand new title to go along with new duties. Brad Smith, formerly Microsoft’s executive vice president and general counsel, is now the company’s president and chief legal officer. Smith was never your average corporate general counsel. He talks to the media regularly and has become the face of many Microsoft issues, from the company’s work to promote tech education in Washington state to fighting international search warrants. “Brad has long had a broad role at the company and now I’m asking him to lead more new initiatives… Read More

Battle of the ‘Pro’ tablets: How Apple’s new iPad Pro stacks up against Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3

Fri, 11 Sep 2015 17:50:24 +0000

This week, Apple introduced its response to the Surface Pro 3. The iPad Pro features a lot of the functionality of the Microsoft’s professional-grade tablet, including the ability to work with a pen and power a keyboard, but falls short in some key areas. In the chart below, we compare the specs for both machines below to help determine which Pro is better for a range of situations. The biggest difference between the two Pro tablets isn’t on the outside. While the iPad Pro runs the same version of iOS that runs on Apple’s smaller tablets, smartphones and even the iPod touch,… Read More

Oops: Al Michaels refers to Microsoft Surface as an iPad on NFL’s opening night

Fri, 11 Sep 2015 01:22:52 +0000

It looks like NFL commentators still don’t know which tablet players and coaches are using on the sidelines. During the first half of the first game of the 2015-16 NFL season on Thursday night, NBC’s Al Michaels was talking about Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who happened to be using a Surface Pro 3 tablet on the sideline. However, Michaels referred to the device as an iPad. #nbc announcers calling a @Microsoft surface an "iPad" after a $400M contract with @nfl has to hurt @kevinburkhardt https://t.co/LtC1xy92ZJ — Sam Z Comedy (@SamZComedy) September 11, 2015 Hah … “Bill Belichick on his iPad” Hey Al… Read More

Sony trumps Microsoft again as PS4 outsells Xbox One for U.S. console sales in August

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 23:33:59 +0000

Sony topped Microsoft again for U.S. current-generation hardware sales in August as its PlayStation 4 trumped the Xbox One for the fourth consecutive month. The company has outsold Microsoft for U.S. console sales each month of 2015, with the exception of April. Sony also finished No. 1 for software sales in the U.S. last month. “We continue to demonstrate our commitment to delivering the best content line-up with the launch of first-party exclusives like Until Dawn and third-party titles like Madden NFL 16, which sold more on PS4 than any other platform,” Sony Computer Entertainment America said in a statement.… Read More

Microsoft Office 2016 comes to the general public on Sept. 22 with collaborative editing for the desktop

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 15:05:42 +0000

Microsoft’s Office 2016 is almost here. According to a post on the Office 365 blog, the productivity suite will be “broadly available” on Sept. 22. Just like Windows 10 and other recent Microsoft software updates, Office 2016 has been in a public beta for months before its launch. New features include improved collaborative editing and syncing as Microsoft pushes to improve its cloud offerings. Many of the co-editing features have been available for Office Online for a while, but this is their first appearance in the native desktop apps. Word, PowerPoint and Excel are also getting better help features. Users will be able… Read More

How Microsoft is updating Office for the iPad Pro and Apple Watch

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 22:49:46 +0000

Microsoft was the first guest Apple brought on stage to demo features for its new iPad Pro today. Microsoft Office executive Kirk Koenigsbauer showcased new features in the Office apps that work with the iPad’s stylus and split-screen features. In a post today on the Office blog, Microsoft went into further detail on the changes in its new Office apps. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and Translator are all getting updated for iOS 9, WatchOS 2 and the iPad Pro. The changes are focused on Apple’s most advertised features, like third-party complications, split-screen multitasking and the Apple Pencil. Almost every Office app is being… Read More

Twitter for Windows 10 brings ‘Happening Now’ section, group DMs to latest Microsoft OS

Tue, 08 Sep 2015 22:03:28 +0000

A new update to the Twitter app for Windows 10 brings users all of the social network’s recently introduced functions in a native Windows 10 app, along with a “Happening Now” section that summarizes popular tweets. The update, announced today on the Microsoft Windows blog, includes group direct messages for private conversations among groups of friends and the ability to quote tweets. The new Happening Now section is reminiscent of the Discover section recently stripped from other apps, but seems to be more personalized than the current Top Tweets section in the iOS and Android apps. The Windows 10 app now has many… Read More