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In collaboration with the WWF, the Minecraft Education Edition Team has created a new interactive science curriculum within the game. Called Extinction! A Biodiversity Crisis, the module will be available to teachers during the summer. Extinction! A Biodiversity Crisis includes three lesson packs within a customized Minecraft world. This world was built by UK-based developer Naturebytes. Within the game world, students can see and interact with animal species that are currently endangered and at risk of going extinct....

Chinese-based Cheetah Mobile has numerous applications. Arguably they are more well-known under the abbreviated CM applications. The first to score Cortana support will be the CM Launcher 3D. In a joint announcement, Microsoft and Cheetah say the assistant will be added in an update in January 2018. At first, Cortana will be on CM apps in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. While the companies only announced CM Launcher 3D support, we guess more Cheetah Mobile apps will also be supports....

The Microsoft Patent shows how a dual-screen device would interact with the platform. Microsoft describes a tablet-sized device with a book form factor featuring a hinge in the middle. Windows Latest reports the patent (titled “Hinge Device” was filed in 2015 but was only published on USPTO last week. While other companies are exploring folding screens, Microsoft seems intent on a hinge assembly. Whether this will allow a singular screen experience when in tablet mode remains to be seen....

The new tool will allow Outlook users on Mac to react to emails with emojis. Of course, this feature is already available on iOS and Android, but is now coming to Apple’s desktop platform. According to Microsoft’s roadmap, the ability will arrive over the next few months. “Reactions to Emails” allow basic emojis to be used as replies to emails and messages. Microsoft says this will make inboxes less cluttered....

The company has pledged $40 million over a period of five years for the effort, which will go towards organizations and startups trying to make a real difference in the world. It will also aid through access to its technology, support, and partnerships. “We believe that technology, like artificial intelligence (AI) combined with cloud technology, can be a game changer, helping save more lives, alleviate suffering and restore human dignity by changing the way frontline relief organizations anticipate, predict and better target response efforts,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith in a blog post....

In the future, Microsoft wants Project xCloud to extend to all types of connected devices, including Windows 10 PC and TV. On the latter front, we recently discussed the company plans to develop a TV stick for Xbox Cloud Gaming. Speaking to The Verge, Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer has reconfirmed plans for a TV compatible version of xCloud. According to Spencer, smart TV support could come within the next 12 months....

It’s an important location – one where tech campuses have begun to spring up, but Microsoft’s focus will be cloud and internet. “We continuously explore opportunities to meet the needs of a future based on cloud computing and internet services, so we’re thrilled to find a great one in the heart of Silicon Valley,” said Christian Belady, general manager of Microsoft Cloud Infrastructure and Operations to Mercury News. The land was allegedly sold by a group of families associated with Cilker Orchards, a real estate trust who produces olives and walnuts in the valley....

Report theming is a new preview feature in the Power BI Desktop which lets users pick colors to use in their charts and to show in the color palette. With report theming, users can quickly color their entire report to match a theme or a corporate branding. When a user imports a theme, all their charts will automatically update to use the theme colors, and they will have access to the theme colors from the color palette....

Word for Android now supports 16 file formats Microsoft Word for Android users will be able to read PDF files, but they still won’t be able to edit them. Thanks to this update, Word for Android now supports a total of 16 file formats, most of which are read-only. Binary documents (.doc) Macro-enabled documents (.docm) IRM-protected files OpenDocument text (.odt) Password Protected files PDF files Rich text files (.rtf) Plain text files (....

VinVL (Visual features in Vision-Language) is an object-attribute detection model that specializes in image encoding. If you’re unfamiliar with VL systems, they are driven by machine learning and provide a way to search images for a text query or search a text for matching image. These systems give natural language descriptions of the content within an image. VL systems typically combine image encoding and vision language fusion. Microsoft Research says VinVL is an image encoding model that works alongside existing VL fusion modules to produce accurate image/text matching results....

CEO Satya Nadella said early in the pandemic Microsoft is a unique position to remain strong despite a major economic downturn. His prediction has held true as Microsoft growth has been ongoing through the year. As rivals struggle during the crisis, Microsoft continues to thrive. For its fiscal first quarter, the company took $37.2 billion in total revenue, a 12% uptick from last year. As usual, Microsoft has broken its earnings into batches across businesses:...

Chris Liddell, a former chief financial officer for Microsoft, is expected to be named the top economic adviser to Donald Trump. Liddell has often been a go-between between the administration and technology companies. In his speculated new role, he will lead the National Economic Council, the regulatory body that advises the president on economic matters and create policy. The NEC is currently led by Gary Chon, who was announced to be leaving last week....

Specifically, Microsoft will place a tax on Office 365 shorter subscriptions. This move seems designed to try to push customers into longer term commitments. Those wanting to stick on a rolling monthly plan will be facing a 20% extra cost on top of the price hike. It seems organizations and customers are not too thrilled about this decision from Microsoft. According to CNBC, companies who pay for Office 365 are not happy at all because some require flexibility on how they scale their services....

Plans for the release were unveiled back in May, and developers have been waiting eagerly since. Though the hardware aspect is still in its early stages, Microsoft is rolling out its Q# compiler and Quantum simulators early to ensure users are as informed as possible. “We hope to empower you to explore Quantum Computing and contribute to solving some of our world’s most important challenges, such as clean energy solutions and resource-efficient food production,” said Krysta Svore, principal researcher, Microsoft Quantum computing....

“Starting with .NET 5, Visual Basic will support Class Library, Console, Windows Forms, WPF, Worker Service, [and] ASP.NET Core Web API … to provide a good path forward for the existing VB customer who want [sic] to migrate their applications to .NET Core,” the .NET team wrote in a post to the Microsoft DevBlogs. “Going forward, we do not plan to evolve Visual Basic as a language … The future of Visual Basic … will focus on stability, the application types listed above, and compatibility between the ....

The unique problem is for the first time Microsoft is leaving behind an aging platform but also leaving behind tens of millions of users. Under normal end-of-life software scenarios, users have already moved on. Of course, most organizations and individuals have already updated to Windows 10. However, such was the popularity and ubiquity of Win7 that many millions are now left with an unsupported platform. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) says this is a dangerous situation....

Users would control the robot remotely like an avatar. Other people in the other location would be able to see the avatar through Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets. Essentially, VROOM would allow meetings to be held without all attendees being physically present. Not just that, people using the avatars would be able to explore the physical environment. It is worth noting that telepresence robots can already do this, but Microsoft wants to take it further....

As Xbox Wire’s Will Tuttle revealed, Solitaire has provided over 500 million bored players with entertainment in its lifetime, despite its humble roots. The game was initially formed as a way to teach Windows users to use the mouse, but quickly evolved into a hobby for many. However, Solitaires crowning achievement may be its proof that the PC is a strong vehicle for traditional games. The popularity of a centuries-old card game likely inspired developers to bring others to the platform....

The move will bolster the company’s Always Connected Windows on ARM offering, which is yet to take off in a significant way. Part of user’s hesitation comes from the questionable performance of Windows apps on mobile processors like the Snapdragon 835, and this should help somewhat. Windows 10 on ARM uses emulation for x86 apps, which isn’t ideal. It comes with notable performance decreases and isn’t great for productivity. Native 64-bit support should mean much better performance and the ability to compete more directly with Intel processors....

The company has announced it is killing off the Microsoft Teams app on Windows 10 S. Starting from next month, the app will no longer be available on the pared down Windows 10 version. Of course, this says much more about Windows 10 S than it does about Teams. Launched just over a year ago as a stripped-down Windows 10, the S version struggled from the start. It was supposed to be an education-focused version that offered a lighter Windows 10 experience....