microsoft news

Microsoft has updated their Health app for iOS to bring support to version 1.3.20513.1

The update for the Microsoft Band companion app brings support for Microsoft’s new Explore Tile features which allow users to track their walk, mark interesting locations, and record distance and travel.

The HERE Maps app is going away soon on Windows Phone and Windows 10, to be replaced by Microsoft Maps.

Unfortunately if you have multiple Favourite Places saved in HERE Maps there is no way to export this data and import it to Microsoft Maps.

Fortunately  an intrepid french developer Jérôme Mevel has created an online tool that will do just that, taking your Favourite Locations from HERE Maps’s online service and import it into Microsoft Maps.

Visit his site at jmevel.com here to see how and consider throwing him a Paypal donation for all his trouble.

Microsoft released a new update for Forza Motorsport 6: Apex for Windows 10 last night.

The Content Update (version 1.1.9.0)  improved hardware detection and error code use and brings the following new features:

• For users who run into driver issues with Apex, we have included information on the latest hardware driver available.
• Fixed an issue with hardware detection whereby users with multiple GPUs were incorrectly being told they could not play Apex. This change will mostly affect laptop users with an embedded GPU.

If you want to get the latest update for Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, head over to the Windows Store from the link below.

Developer: Microsoft Studios

Price: Free^*

At the InnovFest Unbound 2016 in Singapore, a digital technology conference, Microsoft demoed a ‘Magic Mirror’ that can read up to 8 human emotions (via hidden webcam), display weather, time, and location, all while looking like a normal mirror. Microsoft is hoping to soon integrate app-fed news as well as Facebook and Twitter feeds in the future.

“Imagine when you wake up in the moing, you’re able to use the mirror to style your hair, do your make up, and while doing that, you can also view the weather,” Izzat Khair, a member of Microsoft Singapore’s developer experience team explained.

Khair also pointed out the business advantages from an advertising standpoint, displaying ads and using the camera to guage the viewers reactions.

The product is a ways off from the market, but how would our readers feel about a Magic Mirror? Would you like to wake up to something like this in the moing? Let us know in the Idea below.

Facebook has updated their new Facebook app for Windows 10 to version 4.461.11637.0.

Though we cant see it in our version, WBI reports that the update brings support for Facebook Live, as has recently been leaked by some early users of the app.

Facebook Live is a function that lets you start streams right from your PC. Users can access Facebook Live by going to their status updates and then selecting a new “go live” button. From there, users will be able to see a preview of their webcam before going on air. From there, users can set a status to go with the stream. It’s also possible to edit privacy settings there.

See if the feature is available to you by updating the app from the store here.

Developer: Facebook Inc

Price: Free

IComm has helped to roll out Skype for Business across 5 Toyota sites recently, connecting more than 2000 employees; but apparently the car manufacturer isn’t satisfied with using different communication platforms amongst it’s organization and has decided that the entire organization should use the same technology and chose the Microsoft Suite and Skype for Business.

Kellie Logan, Toyota Australia corporate property and asset protection manager, said: “Some of the challenges with the older technology was availability and reliability. This was particularly the case with some of our video conference networks as they were not very reliable and it was difficult to book these facilities at short notice”.

Condensing everything down to one communications platform should allow for the company to be more efficient and consistent.

“I think the technology together with IComm’s strong project team and Toyota’s change and communication’s team was a recipe for success. I would definitely recommend IComm,” said Toyota’s Collins.

This weeks Red Stripe deals include ‘Toca Life: City,’ ‘The Great Unknown: Houdini’s Castle’ and more.

In “The Great Unknown: Houdini’s Castle” ($1.49, usually $2.99),, your honeymoon is cut short when your plane crashes on an uncharted island. You awake to discover a madman has kidnapped your husband. To get him back, you’ll have to use all your wits to pass his sinister tests and solve the mysteries of Houdini’s Castle. Along the way, you’ll uncover Houdini’s secret past and lea about the brilliant apprentice who changed his life.

In “Twin Moons HD” ($3.49, usually $6.99), reveal shocking secrets from the past and save the future in this thrilling hidden object adventure! Jack, a researcher at the isolated Twin Moons Institute, has no memory following a car accident. But a few fuzzy flashbacks suggest he participated in some kind of dangerous experiment. Help Jack find answers to his numerous questions and decide whether his friends, colleagues and even his fiancée are worthy of his trust. Explore eerie locations and piece together the truth about a mysterious portal that could change the world as we know it!

Other titles include:

If you are looking for the most convenient app to communicate you should try Client for Hangouts. Especially as its new improved version is already available in the Windows Store!

New version of Client for Hangouts includes the following features:

1. Send pictures and photos from the camera. Now you can fully convey your emotions and impression not only with smiles, but also using funny photos or just beautiful images you would like to share.

2. Cancel sending the message. This feature will be useful if you change your mind to send something. You will see a cross next to the message while it is sending – use this cross to cancel the sending.

3. Saving the send queue. This feature will help you not to miss anything from your one-on-one conversation or group chat, even in case of problems with sending some message. It will be very useful when you have poor inteet connection.

Try new version of Client for Hangouts right now!

Client for Hangouts in the Windows Store

Communicate easy with Hangouts!

Developer: Attractor Mobile Software

Price: $5.99^*

Buildbox, the popular drag-and-drop game maker, has recently updated it’s software to version 2.1.0, bringing support for Microsoft’s universal app platform for Windows and swipe controls. The UAP supports also allows developers to export their games to Windows 10 and Xbox.

To celebrate the update, Microsoft has teamed up with Vungle to give $500 to Buildbox developers who bring their games to Windows 10. To qualify for the cash, developers need to be a paying Buildbox customer. There are other rules, like the developer’s game should be exported to the Windows 10 Store, and display only ads provided by Vungle, and a single game must also generate $25 in Vungle Ad revenue before July 1, 2016. The the first 30 developers that cross over the $25 threshold before the deadline will receive the cash.

“After you’ve crossed the revenue threshold for any single game, email [email protected] with your account email address,” said Buildbox founder Trey Smith. “Make sure to notate in the subject you are part of the Buildbox community and have completed this promotion.  After Vungle has verified you are one of the first 30 people to cross the threshold, Microsoft will add $500 to your developer payment account and you will be paid during the next billing cycle.”

For more info on the riles yo score some free cash, click here.

DLC 2 Eclipse for Black Ops 3 is available now featuring all new MP environments and Zombies content.

In the latest episode of the Zombies experience, the Origins characters head to ‘Zetsubou No Shima’, a tropical island where experiments with Element 115 have created horrors beyond belief. Battle your way through four stunning Black Ops III Multiplayer environments: Spire, Knockout, Verge and Rift.

• Spire: Take MP combat to a futuristic sub-orbital airport terminal set high in the clouds.
• Knockout: The Shaolin Temple with a retro twist contrasts exterior mid-range engagements and interior close quarters.
• Verge: This reimagined classic Call of Duty: World at War map, Banzai, drops MP combat into the center of a distant post-apocalyptic future.
• Rift: Head to the core of a harsh futuristic military complex, set above an active volcano.

See the trailer for the DLC below.

Find the update in the Xbox Store here.

Microsoft’s undersung Bing search engine has continued to make market share gains in the US, taking 21.6% market share in April 2016, up 0.2% on March’s numbers. At the same time Google’s share dipped 0.2% to 63.8%.

For Microsoft the story has been steady if not spectacular gains, with the Bing growing from 21.3% in February 2016, to 21.4% in March and now 21.6% in April. Last year Bing held 20.2% share in April 2015.

Besides Bing having 21.6% direct market share search, Bing also powers a number of search engines include a portion of Yahoo’s US searches, and is likely to soon cross the 1/3 US search market share. Microsoft has recently announced that the search engine is now profitable, and its likely every little gain secures its future and worries Google, who gets the vast majority of its income from search ads, a bit more.

According to AdDuplex around 90% of phones running a Microsoft mobile operating system are using Windows Phone 8.1 and lower.

It seems Skype does not want much more to do with those people, as they are deprecating support for millions of Windows Phone users.

In their documentation announcing a new feature – the ability to save video messages, they also note:

It is interesting that a Microsoft-owned company treats Windows Phone users worse than a 3rd party such as WhatsApp. Skype is of course working on a Universal Windows App which will also come to Windows 10 Mobile, but  withdrawing support from legacy Windows Phone users would just be another reason for those users to upgrade to other operating systems.

Do our readers feel abandoned? Let us know below.

Twitter released a new update for its Windows 10 app today, taking it to version 5.0.4.0.

The update comes without a new changelog, suggesting the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

The company’s new Twitter app offers the latest features of the service in a beautiful user interface which you can access on your PC running Windows 10, or even your phone running Windows 10 Mobile.

If you are a Twitter user, make sure to grab the latest update from the link below.

Developer: Twitter Inc.

Price: Free

WindowsBlogItalia has discovered a new feature in the as yet unreleased Windows 10 Camera app.

In version 2016.515.11.0 of the app users will now, besides photos and videos, also be offered the option of shooting a panorama.

The feature is currently sadly missing in Windows 10, and its retu would certainly welcome.

Samples posted by WBI suggest the results should be pretty good.

The feature is activated by holding the phone in the vertical position and simply requires moving the phone from left to right.

See screen shots of the app below.

What do our readers think of the  long-overdue new app? Let us know below.

The second Biome Settlers skin pack is now available on “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” and “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta.”

The pack lets you dress like a Nether rack caught on fire – or a Mooshroom glutton.  Inspired by the resources, mobs and ways to play in the Nether and Mooshroom biomes, from Nether wart farming to shroom foraging, there are skins for all your favorite activities.

Check out all 24 new skins on “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” and “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta” in the Windows Store and see a brief preview below.

Developer: Microsoft Studios

Price: $6.99^*

Developer: Microsoft Studios

Price: $9.99^*

Line for Windows 10 just picked up an update for PCs and phones running Windows 10, improving its notification capabilities.

While there has been no official in-app changelog, the app now lets you quickly reply to messages received without going into the app, a capability sorely missing from most of the large messaging apps on Windows 10.

The new update also adds the avatar of the last messenger to the live tile, allowing you to see who messaged you at a glance.

While its not exactly Facebook Messenger level in ubiquity, Line has a fairly large user base, and its good to see them embracing Windows 10 and its capabilities.

Download Line for Windows 10 from the store below.

Developer: LINE Corporation

Price: Free

While Microsoft Edge is the default browser for Windows 10 on all devices, Microsoft’s Inteet Explorer still remains lurking in the background for users on Windows 10 for PC devices.

In a new blogpost on the Windows blog, Microsoft’s Edge team detailed two new ways they would improve Edge and IE interoperability for the Entreprise.

1. Improved handoff experience: For browsing much of the mode web, Edge isn’t a problem – being able to handle and render even the heaviest sites – however some sites remain which are  built using legacy technology that Edge doesn’t support. For business users, Microsoft would simply offer up a prompt which let’s the users open the app in IE, now the firm is skipping the prompt and enabling it entirely. This is ostensibly to make the process of switching between IE and Edge more seamless than it is now, if you’d prefer to leave the prompts enabled, Microsoft has a setting for that.
2. Restricting use of IE 11 to LOB sites where it is absolutely necessary: Even as Microsoft is making the usage of Edge as seamless as possible, the firm is working to eliminate corporate reliance on IE. In response to feedback from consumers, Microsoft is introducing a new policy for Windows 10 Entreprise users in the Anniversary updates which restricts IE11 to opening only websites on an approved list. This is to push the safer, more mode and now extension filled new Microsoft Edge browser.

That was a really brief summary of what we think the key points of Microsoft’s new policies for Edge and IE11 are going forward in the Windows 10 anniversary update. Microsoft is really pushing Edge as a viable replacement to IE repositioning IE as an inconvenience (in line with common consumer concepts of IE). the idea here is that as more firms upgrade IE will no longer need to be supported,

Planning to deploy Windows 10 Anniversary Update soon? What do you think of the above changes?

It seems Microsoft is working on getting more value from their Lumia owners with its latest Lumia Offers offering.

Lumia Offers is now offering 2 free Audible Audiobooks if you sign up for a 1 month free trail for the Audible subscription service.

The offer is 1 more than trailists usually get, offering increased value for Lumia owners, but we do wonder of Microsoft is not getting a kickback from Audible for new subscribers, and if this means that Microsoft is now looking to make money from their Windows Phone users rather than serving their needs.

The Lumia Offers app can be found in the Store here.

Developer: Microsoft Mobile

Price: Free

Microsoft is always working on new apps and features for Windows 10 inteally. Recently, we reported that the company is working on a pretty huge update for the Wallet app on Windows 10 Mobile. Now, it seems like the company is working on a new revamp for the Block and Filter app on Windows 10 Mobile. With the upcoming update, Microsoft will introduce a new user interface and rename the app to “ID & Filter” on Windows 10 Mobile.

Here are some screenshots of the app:

The app is quite simple: it will allow you to block calls and messages from a specific number. The app doesn’t include any exciting features yet – but hopefully, Microsoft will add some interesting features before releasing it to the public.

The new revamp will come as a new update for the existing Block & Filter app in the near future. We will let you know when it is available to the public, until then, let us know what you think of ID & Filter in the comment section below.

At its developer conference on Wednesday, Google announced its Assistant bot, which aims to make your life easier with a messaging app. Tus out, Microsoft is working on a similar bot as well.

It’s called Bing Concierge Bot, and it is able to talk with several chat apps and services such as Skype, Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram. The mention of Bing Concierge Bot, which was first spotted by ZDNet, was found on a recent Microsoft job posting.

According to the description, Bing Concierge Bot is a “highly intelligent productivity agent that communicates with the user over a conversation platform. The agent does what a human assistant would do: it runs errands on behalf of the user, by automatically completing tasks for the user.”

“The users talk to the agent in natural language, and the agent responds in natural language to collect all the information; once ready, it automatically performs the task for the user by connecting to service providers. For example, the user might ask ‘make me a reservation at an Italian place tonight’, and the agent will respond with ‘for how many people?’; after several such back-and-forth tus it will confirm and book the restaurant that the user picked.”

There’s no word on how soon we can expect Bing Concierge Bot to be available to us. For what it’s worth, Google Assistant is also not available currently as it is supposed to come later this year.