Why we tore handy Store block out of Windows 10 Pro PCs

If you want to use Group Policy or AppLocker to remove or disable the store in the latest Windows 10, you must be using the Enterprise or Education editions.

Microsoft Q3 2016 quarterly earnings revealed that the company's Lumia sales dropped by 73 percent as compared to the previous year.

Microsoft has been pitching a feature called "Continuum" as a killer app for the Windows 10 Mobile phone operating system.

Developers should see this happening soon in the Windows Insider Preview build, Microsoft said.

The Windows 10 Mobile OS update came out for the users of many older Nokia Lumia phones such as Lumia 1520, 930, 640, 640XL, 730, 735, 830, 532, 535, 540, 635 1GB, 636 1GB, 638 1GB, 430, 435, BLU Win HD w510u, BLU Win HD LTE x150q, and the MCJ Madosma Q501 devices.

Vine announced today that it has released a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app, bringing its popular looping video sharing service to Windows 10 for PCs and tablets.

It appears that Microsoft is making a new version of its infamous Paint program that will be released as an app for Windows 10. It is learned that the Surface Phone will be a device focused on productivity. And in addition it also help to load many website faster.

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is a large device that can do many things that you would be able to do on a standard PC. Since all legacy Windows app runs by businesses are based on the Win32 architecture, the Surface phone can not claim to be a phone for businesses without Win32 support.

Windows 10 struck again this week when Twitch streamer and former professional Counter Strike fiend Erik Flom had his gaming session interrupted by Windows 10 Automatic Updates (he was already running Windows 10).

The Creators Of Siri Are Releasing A New AI Next WeekAccording to Gizmodo , all previous AI virtual assistants present on the market today are limited by interactions. Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer, the minds behind Siri, claim that Viv is what they wanted Siri to ultimately be.

Source: Why we tore handy Store block out of Windows 10 Pro PCs

Microsoft’s Pre-Touch Sensing will Let you Control Windows Phone by Just Hovering on the Screen

In 2014 Almost two years before Apple introduced the 3D touch, Microsoft had been readying the same for its then flagship. However, once the plans to release the device was squashed Microsoft Live gestures still lived on. A new Microsoft research video shows how cool pre touch sensing for mobile can be and apparently it does come with some great use cases.

The pre-touch sensing works much like the Google autocomplete which predicts your search queries. The Pre touch will swing into action when you bring the fingers with close proximity to the screen. Microsoft has showcased the technology by using video controls as an example. When the video is being played the control toggles simply disappear only to reappear later when your fingers hover on the surface of the screen. If you want to turn up the volume just move your fingers upwards and this is not all, Microsoft has also included a jogging dial that can be used to control parameters like volume and brightness.

It also detects the way you are holding the phone and rearranges the control accordingly. In case of 3D Touch enabled phones the orientation switch could be blocked automatically. This concept can also be used to display more information from the live tiles without actually touching it. The 3D Touch would also recognize multi touch gestures in a more intelligent way and optimize the controls accordingly.

Well it wouldn't be wrong to call the Microsoft 3D Touch as an exact opposite of Apple 3D Touch. Since the latter works based on the pressure applied by the user on the display. Looking at the demo it also seems that Microsoft's 3D Touch is well equipped when it comes to judging the interactions and renders the features accordingly.

Now for the sad part, we are not sure if Microsoft is ever going to make a phone with 3D touch so this feature might just meet its grave. On the contrary Microsoft might also include the feature in the upcoming Surface Phone which might help Microsoft will have an edge over others.

Source: Microsoft's Pre-Touch Sensing will Let you Control Windows Phone by Just Hovering on the Screen

Windows 10 Mobile OS Now Releasing For Nokia Lumia Phones

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is a large device that can do many things that you would be able to do on a standard PC.

Most recently, an update released for the beta version brings an improved UI on Windows Phone devices, with a redesigned app bar that's supposed to bring the app in line with the design language used by Microsoft for Windows 10 and its own apps.

The launch of the Surface Phone will apparently correspond to the Redstone 2, the second major software upgrade after the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, expected to be released in July 2016.

"Download Vine from the Windows Store and watch entertaining moments, stories and personalities on your Windows 10 PCs and Tablets", Microsoft's Mollie Ruiz-Hopper writes ina separate post to the Windows Experience Blog.

There has been quite a controversy over this selective release as the users of other popular devices such as the Lumia 520, Lumia 1020 and Lumia 1320 are upset that their devices have not received this update. Windows Central speculated that Surface phone may not be an all-metal phone, so it is possible that we may be looking at a plastic or a composite material body here.

Vine finally debuted an official Windows 10 app today, which you can find for free on the Windows Store. The Redmond based tech giant is investing heavily in the Surface Phone project and wants it to be a marquee handset in all the respects.

"This list includes a limited set of Windows Phone 8.1 devices and does not include some devices that are now running Windows 10 Mobile in the Windows 10 Mobile Insider program".

Watch Game 2 NBA Playoffs 2016 onlineOKC will need more from those two and they should be motivated to have a big game after being blown out on Saturday. By the time the second quarter ended, the Spurs had the sixth-largest halftime lead ever during the playoffs.

Source: Windows 10 Mobile OS Now Releasing For Nokia Lumia Phones

Major Speculation: Microsoft May No Longer Create Windows Phone, Windows 10 Mobile Devices

For a company which has been in the markets for over the past 40 years, Microsoft has learnt a lot. Over the years, the company has made many decisions, good and bad, which have affected them in several ways. The learning curve over the past several years has given Microsoft a major 'edge' in the way things work. With their recent foray into the hardware markets, Microsoft has been working hard on pushing their Windows Phone devices and the Windows 10 Mobile OS forward.

However, despite all their attempts, the company has still not been able to attain the success that they aspired for, when they initially took over the Nokia Mobiles business.  The company has been making major losses, and has lost out billons of dollars over the past few years. Nothing seems to be going their way for Microsoft in the mobile phone business as of now.

While the company has been trying hard to promote the Windows 10 Mobile devices and the Windows Phone division, the markets are just not responding well.

What separates a good business from a 'great' business is the fact that good businesses know when to start a new venture, while great businesses know when to stop. Having been an exceptional business unit over the years, it looks like Microsoft might soon be hitting the stop button when it comes to their mobile phone division.

There have been a large number of speculations which suggest that the top level management is not quite happy with the way things have been going on in the Windows Phone division. Their declining market share and falling revenues are bothering the company to no limits, and we might soon see the day that Microsoft decides to pull the plug from this division.

The biggest aspect of markets where Microsoft has lost out on is the perception games, as the public sentiment around the Windows 10 Mobile OS and the Windows Phone devices has been rather negative and is not improving despite the company's best efforts.

It has been speculated that the top level management and the investors are displeased with the losses that are piling up. With no returns in sight and billions of dollars worth of losses, Microsoft might now be on the verge of hitting the killswitch on the Windows 10 Mobile and Windows Phone divisions.

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Source: Major Speculation: Microsoft May No Longer Create Windows Phone, Windows 10 Mobile Devices

Microsoft's OneNote Lassos Content on iPad

Users of Microsoft's notetaking app on the iPad have more options for corralling their content.

Microsoft has released a smattering of new features for its OneNote app aimed at helping users better organize their notes.In the iOS version of OneNote, iPad users can now group and move objects on the app's canvas by drawing a virtual lasso around them. The new lasso tool supports text, shapes, images, audio recordings and other object types supported by the OneNote user interface (UI). For users who prefer to arrange their items independently, the iPad app also supports a new touch-and-drag action. On both the iPhone and iPad, the app supports bulk image insertions. And for those times that images look a little off-kilter, OneNote allows users to rotate images. Working with Web videos in OneNote for Windows 10, Mac or iOS has been revamped. Now, when a user pastes a link pointing to a video from YouTube, Sway, Vimeo, Vine and other popular streaming site, OneNote will display a playable thumb alongside the link. Microsoft plans to enable copy-and-paste video embedding soon, said Scott Shapiro, product marketing manager for Microsoft OneNote, in a blog post detailing the new functionality.Windows users can now complete the initial sign-in process using their work or school Office 365 ID. The Windows Phone version of the app gains a new audio-recording function.Smart Lookup, the Bing-powered search and reference tool found in Word and other Office apps, is making its way to OneNote Online, the browser-based version of the app. Microsoft has also tweaked the Web app's UI, making it easier for users to juggle their notebooks."We've re-shelved the notebook list and now you can distinguish between your personal notebooks, notebooks that others have shared with you and OneNote Class Notebooks you belong to," informed Shapiro. "Now, when you open OneNote Online, you'll be able to clearly see these categories listed out."Finally, to help users get up to speed on OneNote's continually evolving feature set, Microsoft published a new ebook, OneNote 2016 Tips & Tricks. The 1.44MB PDF document can be downloaded from the Office support site.Microsoft's update train made a quick stop at another content-capture tool from the software maker, Office Lens. The portable scanning app enables users to capture documents, whiteboards, business cards and photos using the cameras on their iOS or Android smartphones.Users can now scan and insert multiple images in one sitting. On both the iOS and Android versions of the app, photos can be rotated in post-production, eliminating the need to retake pictures.Microsoft keeps piling on the OneNote features, and for good reason.Notetaking apps and mobile devices are practically made for each another. Formerly a part of the paid Office software suite, Microsoft made OneNote a free stand-alone app as mobile-friendly competitors like Evernote and Google Keep helped users capture and organize content on the go, thereby becoming fixtures on the home screens of their smartphones and tablets. Earlier this year, Microsoft released a new data-import tool for Windows that migrates Evernote data to OneNote.
Source: Microsoft's OneNote Lassos Content on iPad

Lumia 650 pre-orders go live in Australia for May 23 launch

Microsoft has started taking pre-orders for its 5-inch Lumia 650 smartphone with Windows 10 Mobile in Australia. It will officially launch on May 23 from a number of local retailers, including JB Hi-Fi, Big W, and The Good Guys.

Microsoft is charging $299 for the Lumia 650 in Australia, and is also throwing in a free Incipio Octane Pure Case with its purchase. The unlocked version of the phone has already launched in the U.S. and other countries, and will be sold via Cricket Wireless starting Friday, May 6.

See at Microsoft Store Australia

Source: Lumia 650 pre-orders go live in Australia for May 23 launch

Windows Phone Is Not Dead — Microsoft Slams Rumors

Part of the reason why Windows 10 got off to a fast start is because Microsoft offered it as a free upgrade to anyone running Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1.

Would you consider switching over to Windows 10 now that Microsoft is offering you two smartphones at the price of one? The new operating system, however, failed to capitalize, as its growth rate has significantly slowed down.

Much of the difference in the companies' fortunes boils down to Microsoft's fundamental business as a software company versus Intel's as a hardware company, said Nick Sturiale, a venture capitalist at Ignition Partners. They add that although this seems like a very sizeable improvement, Amazon Web Services had about a 14% operating margin when the segment was worth about $4.6 billion. Assuming that server transactional revenue is down 10%, annuity roughly flat and Azure growing at 60% or more, the brokerage firm estimates that that revenue would still be up roughly 5%. The company previously pro jected that it expects this number to hit $20 billion by 2018.

This segment, which includes results for Windows licensing and devices (Surface, phones, and Xbox), decreased 1 percent to $9.5 billion.

Met Gala Explores Intersection Of Manmade, Machine-Made FashionTaking the exhibit's theme to the next level, Karolina Kurkova wore a "cognitive dress" in partnership between Marchesa and IBM. Instagram will also have video from the Met Ball on its Explore page through Tuesday afternoon, WWD reports .

At the time, Windows 7 was still the operating system of choice for 55 percent of all computers. Microsoft said this decline was OK because it counts as "outperforming the PC market".

Steve Ballmer's legacy to the company, its phone business revenue declined 46 percent. It notes a big gap between the quality of the Surface tablet and Lunia 950 phones, both launched a year ago, with glowing reviews for the tablet and thumbs-down for Lumia.

Advertising revenue from this group, excluding traffic acquisition costs, grew 18 percent. Windows 10 may be able to provide that and once and for all fulfill the dream that has existed as early as Java's slogan, "Write once, run anywhere". Even if on a monthly basis Windows 10 would continually gain a full percentage point and Windows 7 kept dropping by 3 percent, Windows 7 would still hold a slim lead in December before finally conceding the top spot in January of next year.

Source: Windows Phone Is Not Dead — Microsoft Slams Rumors