It might not get the same kind of attention as Google and Apple, but Microsoft is still one of the biggest and most powerful tech companies operating today. It runs Azure, one of the biggest cloud computing services, and maintains Windows 11 and the whole Office suite of software. It also makes plenty of Surface hardware and has a whole slew of gaming products, including the Xbox Series X. But the company is ever expanding — building new hardware, acquiring new game studios, and making sure that even if Microsoft doesn’t run your phone, it can touch plenty of the apps on it.
The Remote Desktop Connection app that’s built into Windows is sticking around, though.
Notepad will include analyses and scoops from a veteran Microsoft reporter.
You can long press a message to open up a DM with Copilot, according to a blog post. Microsoft says the GroupMe Copilot can help with things like drafting a response and building a playlist.
[groupme.com]
Microsoft is rolling out a new way to summon Copilot in Windows for voice interactions. The new Copilot for Windows app now has a keyboard shortcut that lets you hold the Alt + Spacebar keys for two seconds to start chatting to Copilot. It’s rolling out to Windows Insiders first before all Windows 11 users in the coming weeks.
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Xbox testers that have installed the latest Alpha or Alpha Skip-Ahead builds are waking up to consoles that have been reset to default factory settings. Luckily, any games installed locally haven’t been wiped. While serious bugs like this do occasionally happen with pre-release software, the early Alpha builds of Xbox dashboard are often very stable and reliable so issues like this are incredibly rare.
The Competition and Markets Authority has ruled that the relationship between the two companies “does not qualify for investigation” under merger rules. The CMA said in 2023 that it was assessing whether Microsoft’s $13 billion investment into the AI startup gave it de facto control over OpenAI policy.
While now satisfied that it doesn’t, the CMA says that Microsoft “instead exerts a high level of material influence over that policy.”
The new button opens up a panel where you can quickly access emoji and GIFs, similar to what you can already do with the Win + . keyboard shortcut.
Microsoft is also testing the ability to trim screen recordings with the Snipping Tool. The changes are rolling out now to the Beta Channel in Preview Build 22635.5015.
Redditors have discovered that Copilot will recommend a script to permanently activate copies of Windows and Office. It’s a method that’s been available for a couple of years now, but it’s certainly amusing to see Copilot offer up the exact detailed steps.
0Phi-4-multimodal and Phi-4-mini are Microsoft’s latest small language models, both launching on Azure AI Foundry and Hugging Face today. Phi-4-multimodal improves speech recognition, translation, summarization, audio understanding, and image analysis. Phi-4-mini is designed for speed and efficiency situations, and both can be used by developers on smartphones, PCs, and cars.
Microsoft will bump how many points it takes starting April 20th, 2025, writes Pure Xbox. Afterward, those who use the Rewards auto-redeem feature to cover their subscription after accruing enough points will need to set it up again.
Now, it costs level two Rewards members 17,000 (previously 12,000) points for a month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, while PC Game Pass takes 10,500 (previously 7,500) points, the outlet notes.
I don’t understand the Majorana particle, topological qubits, or much else about Microsoft’s quantum computing breakthrough, but I am not alone in that. The Wall Street Journal covers the physics community’s questions, quoting one physicist saying, “This is where you cross over from the realm of science to advertising.”
On the other hand, Microsoft technical fellow Dr. Chetan Nayak says to wait for his talk at the APS March Meeting, which will include a discussion of the progress made since submitting their paper a year ago.
Bethesda has updated Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with DLSS 4, Multi Frame Generation, and even FSR 3.1 Frame Gen support. That’s great news if you somehow managed to purchase an RTX 50-series card recently, or if you want to try out AMD’s frame generation tech. Path tracing is also now supported on AMD and Intel GPUs.
[bethesda.net]
Microsoft’s move to win the console war by not playing has had mixed results.
9to5Mac spotted a Hackintosh Reddit community post in which user OceanDepth95028 showed off what they say is a near-total replacement of the 2013 Windows phone with the guts of a 3rd-gen iPhone SE.
They even preserved the iPhone’s Touch ID button (now on the back) and Lightning port (subbed for the Lumai’s Micro USB).
The ad encourages you to “recruit your squad” with a free trial of PC Game Pass that you can share with friends. Microsoft says the ad will only appear if you’re signed into your Microsoft account and “meet the required eligibility criteria,” similar to the other Game Pass ad it tested last year. It’s rolling out now to the Dev and Beta Channels in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.3281.
With Google and Apple already having made the change, Microsoft’s Bing has also now swapped Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” in accordance with President Donald Trump’s ridiculous executive order. For now, the new name is apparently only visible in the United States — and Gulf of Mexico is still showing in search and other parts of Bing Maps.
Two zero-day holes being fixed on this Patch Tuesday could potentially allow attackers to delete your files and gain unmitigated system-level privileges, Bleeping Computer reports, so update ASAP.
In lighter news, the KB5051987 update continues rolling out a feature that improves taskbar previews. Plus, a new system tray icon will appear when using apps that support Windows Studio Effects on computers with a neural processing unit, like new Copilot Plus PCs.
Microsoft discontinued the HoloLens 2, and is handing off the Army’s version to Anduril, but is it done done with HoloLens hardware? No other products? I asked the company just in case.
Microsoft mixed reality CVP Robin Seiler:
We are transitioning away from hardware development but will continue to provide support for HoloLens2 hardware and software through 2027, as announced in October. We remain committed to the IVAS program and will shift our focus to cloud and AI technologies, which will serve as the foundation for IVAS as a situational awareness platform.
Stick a fork in it.
In a joint press release:
Through this partnership agreement, and pending Department of Defense approval, Anduril will assume oversight of production, future development of hardware and software, and delivery timelines. This agreement also establishes Microsoft Azure as Anduril’s preferred hyperscale cloud for all workloads related to IVAS and Anduril AI technologies.
It’s only been five months since Anduril first teamed up with Microsoft; Microsoft’s been adapting HoloLens for the US Army since 2017, eventually securing a $21.9 billion contract while combatting various comfort issues. This may be the end of Microsoft’s involvement in HoloLens, as it discontinued its other business in October.
