According to the company, Azure Blockchain is focused on “democratizing complex technologies and empowering anyone with an idea to build software.” Looking at Azure Blockchain Tokens, it is a service that allows developers to tokenize and share tokens. If you are unfamiliar with a token in blockchain terms, they are important and can serve as almost anything. As Microsoft puts it, “Tokenization is the mechanism that allows enterprises to take advantage of blockchain....

Due to integration with Microsoft Graph, Cortana’s reading will also be more human. It won’t robotically read out every line of text, instead skipping things like headers and footers and utilizing knowledge about user’s documents, contacts, and calendars. “With an intelligent read out of your emails, natural language interaction with Cortana and a user interface designed for people on the move, you can stay organized, on top of what matters and get back to living life outside your inbox,” said Microsoft’s Eugenie Burrage in a blog post....

1 Gender and Engagement2 Motivation to Play While it doesn’t give a big insight into sales or the health of the Xbox platform, it does provide some light on the types of people who own an Xbox. A survey of 2,000 US owners reveals the following: 42% of Xbox owners are female, and 58% male. 10% are 13-17 years old, 18% are 18-24, 28% are 25-34, 23% are 35-44, 15% are 45-55, and 6% are 55-65....

Another similar feature is also in development, but it will be for all users, not just freelancers. It was once again found by reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong, who posted a screenshot of the tool in action. Similar to Services, job seekers will be able to show interest in a job listing to recruiters. Wong only showed this running in LinkedIn on the Android platform, but we presume it will be available on other platforms too....

On Windows 11, the Start Menu is located in the center of the taskbar instead of on the left side where it has always been on previous Windows generations. While not Windows 8 Metro levels of WTF, the new placement of the Start Menu hasn’t gone down too well with long-time Windows users. Of course, most people have gotten over it and simply got used to the new position of the Start button....

While the Surface Earbuds are Microsoft’s answer to rivals like Apple’s AirPods, they are also one of the most distinct designs. Apple’s ear droplet aesthetic is a tried and tested bud design. Then there are rivals like the Samsung Galaxy Earbuds that have a base and in-year component, a familiar design. It seemed that there are only a few ways to make a earbud that is ergonomic and functional when the wearer is in action....

Accenture has been a long-term advocate of blockchain technology. In January, the company published a report showing how blockchain can cut costs significantly for investment banks. The partnership with Microsoft was announced Monday at the UN headquarters in New York City. The two companies are participating in the second summit of ID2020. This merger between public and private representatives is a consortium promoting the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goal. Under the terms of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal, the UN seeks to provide legal identity for all people....

1 Partnership Details2 Project Embrace Described as an extensive collaboration, the two companies are aiming to accelerate cloud migration for customers of both services. Together, Microsoft and SAP will offer a joint reference road map, market information, and architectures. With the combined tools of Azure and SAP, organizations can transition to the cloud more efficiently. “SAP’s decision to select Microsoft Azure as its preferred partner deepens the relationship between our two companies in a differentiated way and signals a shared commitment to fostering the growth of the cloud ecosystem,” says Judson Althoff, executive vice president, Worldwide Commercial Business, Microsoft....

Speaking to the publication, Shana Pilewski spoke about her perspective as a boss at machine learning and digital marketing company Dynamic Yield. According to Pilewski, statistics from Loup Ventures estimate cashier-less checkout will be a $50 billion market in the US, making it a strong move from both companies. The Future is Still Uncertain Unfortunately, as Pilewski admits, we have no solid evidence of how Microsoft’s solution would work. It’s likely it would utilize the mobile phone in some way, taking advantage of location and other sensors....

“The Insider Dev Tour is for developers and code curious folks interested in building intelligent experiences today using the latest Microsoft technologies. It’s also for those who want a peek into the future of what kinds of tech will be super-important in every industry. This event is open to anyone who can read code or WANTS to read code– beginner, expert, student, or hobbyist developer,” says Windows Insider head Donar Sarkar....

“We heard our customers loud and clear—they want support for the Microsoft Authenticator app on Apple Watch,” said Alex Simons, director of program management, Microsoft identity division. “So, that’s why I’m thrilled to announce we are starting to roll out the public preview of the Microsoft Authenticator companion app for Apple Watch.” Simmons expects the functionality to reach general availability within the next few weeks, letting users avoid PINs and fingerprints....

However, Azure is the preferred choice for public cloud solutions and dominates that sector. The survey from Goldman Sachs shows Microsoft’s position will likely be enhanced over the next three years. In a survey of over 100 IT execs from Global 2000 companies, the company found 97 are already using Azure in their organization. 58 said they were using AWS. However, Azure growth seems guaranteed over the coming years as 66 said their companies will embrace the platform during that time....

According to sources, Microsoft prevents any of its 100,000+ employees from using Slack. Furthermore, the company takes a similar stance against other rivals. Microsoft uses an internal prohibited apps and services list to keep employees in check. While Slack’s rivalry with Microsoft Teams seems the obvious reason behind the ban, internal data from Microsoft suggests the company has security concerns. Specifically, Redmond says it has concerns surrounding Slack Free and Slack Plus: “Slack Free, Slack Standard and Slack Plus versions do not provide required controls to properly protect Microsoft Intellectual Property (IP)....

As the name suggests, Call Recording lets users, well, record calls. Microsoft says the ability is now available on Skype for iOS and Android, while the desktop app has also received the upgrade. Microsoft’s Windows 10 Skype experience will be late to the party, with the recording feature landing in the next few weeks. The company explains the feature is handled completely in the cloud. One of the main benefits of cloud support is recordings are available across platforms....

By allowing open source containers, Windows Server customers can run any image, regardless of platform. Microsoft says the Docker Hub is now a perfect platform for developers. It has over 900,000 containerized apps, but has been limited by the separation of Linux and Windows hosts to run images. Until the DockerCon announcements, Linux images have been limited to run on a Linux host, while Windows images run on a Windows host....

During an extensive interview with BusinessWeek, Satya Nadella explained how company founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer helped him transition into his role. He also said he wants his legacy to be making Microsoft an open place where people can be passionate. “The best advice I got from both Steve and Bill was to not try and somehow get into this mold of trying to fill their shoes....

Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability helps organizations measures, understands, and manage their carbon emissions. They can also give themselves sustainability goals and gain insights on the best ways to achieve them. The new Software as a System (SaaS) solution creates a central data store for enterprises to see where they can make sustainability gains. “Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability is a comprehensive, end-to-end digital solution that helps organizations record their environmental footprint, progress report internally and externally, and reduce their emissions, but it’s not just about making changes based on what’s being reported,” says Kees Hertogh, general manager of global industry product marketing at Microsoft....

This change makes sense because Office.com is already the central hub for Office 365 users. If you’re unfamiliar with the online portal, it allows users to access the apps they use more easily. In the recommended section, Microsoft leverages AI to surface the files that are likely to be most relevant to the user. In the Discover section, users can see shared files that are being used by colleague, including some that are not familiar....

Well, that does seem to be the case as the company says it will withdraw facial recognition software that aims to judge the emotions of a person. Back last year, Kate Crawford, senior principal researcher for Microsoft, said the company’s facial recognition tech was not good enough to read emotions. While that may be the case today, technology is moving towards this capability. Microsoft says any current or future software that can detect emotions in a person’s face will no longer be available....

The company says printers may fail when installation on some networks. This seems to be happening when a printer is connecting to a network for the first time. To workaround this issue, IT admins should install printer drivers through other methods. That is because the problem only affects automatic and installation processes. Next, Microsoft confirms some printing properties are not properly transferring to print servers. This is specific to print servers and does not stop printing operations....