Microsoft releases Windows Server Insider Preview Build 16267, but forgets to add new features
The Windows Insiders program is both cool and annoying. It is cool because it lets enthusiast users experience new Windows features and contribute feedback to make the operating system better. It is a bit annoying, as these testers aren't paid for their volunteer efforts. Even worse, the Insider builds will seemingly never end, meaning some users will forever be using an unstable operating system. Yes, that is their choice, but sometimes people can't help themselves. Hell, it can be argued that their feedback is tainted, as they are maybe never really experiencing the stable releases.
Microsoft has chosen to expand the Insiders program to Windows Server too. Today, the company pushes out Server Preview Build 16267, but there is something weird -- the company forgot to include any new features! In fact, the announcement literally says "There are no new features in build 16267." OK, yes, I am being facetious (and a bit snarky) when I say Microsoft "forgot" to include features, as technically updates and fixes alone are worthy of a new build. Still, for all the effort put in by the testers, a feature or two would be appreciated -- throw em' a friggin' bone!
Windows Server containers get native support on Red Hat OpenShift
Microsoft and Red Hat have a longstanding enterprise cloud partnership, and today the two tech giants reveal an expansion which sees Windows Server containers receiving native support on the OpenShift platform.
Support for Windows Server containers on OpenShift will first be available as a Technology Preview next spring, before reaching general availability later down the road.
Xbox One X Project Scorpion Edition now available to pre-order
The Xbox One X will not hit store shelves until November 7, but, as you may know, it is slated to be available for pre-order well ahead of its big release.
And, like expected, pre-orders for the Xbox One X just kicked off. On offer is a special edition of Microsoft's latest and greatest gaming console, which is dubbed Project Scorpio Edition. The price?
Watch Microsoft's Xbox One X Gamescom presentation here!
Later on today you will be able to learn everything you could possible want to know about the Xbox One X. Microsoft is holding a press conference at Gamescom in Germany and you can watch it here, live.
The presentation kicks off at 12:00PM PT / 3:00PM EST / 8:00PM BT / 9:00PM CET, and Microsoft has already made it clear that pre-order details will be revealed.
Microsoft leaks upcoming Xbox One S Minecraft Limited Edition
At GamesCon later today, we're going to hear about Microsoft's Xbox One X but it's looking as though there's also going to be some news about the Xbox One S.
Microsoft accidentally -- probably -- posted about an Xbox One S Minecraft Limited Edition on the Minecraft Facebook page. The video included a link to the pre-order page for the console.
Microsoft releases Skype for Desktop 8 Preview
We still use Skype. It’s still a decent tool to be able to converse with a wide range of colleagues spread across the world and, frankly, most people we need to communicate with are on Skype (or have access to a Skype account, at least).
Recent changes to the mobile version caused more than a few eyebrows to be raised. Luckily we don’t use the mobile edition, so when Microsoft announced changes to the desktop edition, this had us worried. Windows 10 users will receive the update automatically, as it’s built into your operating system, but Windows 8/7 and Mac OS X users can download a v8 preview right now.
Microsoft reveals Azure Event Grid
Microsoft has revealed a new Azure feature aimed at helping developers that build event-based applications. Azure Event Grid is built to help devs that create event-based and serverless applications with a higher level of abstraction.
That way, worrying about infrastructure, provisioning or scaling, becomes a thing of the past, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft buys Cycle Computing to strengthen cloud business
Microsoft has announced its plans to buy HPC company Cycle Computing in order to allow its customers to do more in the public cloud.
According to the company, the deal will enable its users to use high-performance computing as well as other "Big Computing" capabilities that will improve how they run their workloads in the cloud.
Microsoft Surface Pro gets official support for Windows 10 S
Microsoft officially supports Windows 10 S on Surface Laptop, the device on which the lighter version of Windows 10 launched on earlier this year, but it is now adding another device to the fold.
The Surface Pro, the newest device in the Surface range, has received a firmware update, its third since being released in mid-June, which officially introduces support for Windows 10 S.
Microsoft releases .NET Core 2.0 -- here's what's new
The .NET Framework transformed with the release of .NET Core last year. From a Windows-only affair, the framework has gone cross-platform. What's more, Microsoft also made it open-source, adding support for macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
And now it's taking things a step further by rolling out .NET Core 2.0, which comes with some major improvements to make it "easier to use and much more capable as a platform." Let's take a look at what is new.
Microsoft is told there's nothing illegal about scraping public data from LinkedIn profiles
A federal judge has told Microsoft to stop preventing "talent management algorithm" hiQ Labs scraping data from public LinkedIn profiles. hiQ Labs has been using information gathered from LinkedIn to predict when people are going to leave their jobs -- information which is incredibly valuable to employers.
Microsoft was not happy at the data that hiQ Labs had been scraping from public profiles, and tried to stop it from happening. The company introduced "various blocking techniques" to prevent the startup from accessing the data and secure user privacy, but the ruling ultimately went in favor of hiQ Labs.
Read Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's leaked staff email regarding Charlottesville
The unrest and violence in Charlottesville, VA was absolutely heartbreaking. Never did I think that in 2017 we would have large amounts of White Nationalists and Nazi sympathizers marching in America. It was very scary. To see that on display was bad enough, but when I saw the video of a man driving his car into innocent people -- killing one person and injuring many others -- I was in shock and deeply affected. I have been haunted by the images and videos of that domestic terrorist attack.
I know what you are thinking -- why does this belong on a technology site? Fair point. Today, an email that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent to employees leaked online. Since Nadella is the leader of the company, his words don't just impact the employees internally, they also signal the status of Microsoft's culture and overall leadership. Below are Satya Nadella's words, dated August 14, 2017, as obtained by Mike Murphy of Quartz Media.
Leaked memo shows high return rate for Surface devices, and Microsoft's image-improvement plans
When Consumer Reports announced that it was dropping its "recommended" status from Surface devices, Microsoft was quick to defend itself. While the software giant disagreed with the move, saying it doesn't believe the "findings accurately reflect Surface owners' true experiences or capture the performance and reliability improvements made with every Surface generation," a leaked internal memo shows high return rates for Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book.
While it's certainly true that return rates have dropped over time, the information contained in the memo goes some way to explaining the decision taken by Consumer Reports. The memo also shows that Microsoft is ready to communicate with the ratings group and encourage it to "reverse [its] findings." The company is prepared to go on the offensive to defend its reputation.
Microsoft announces a high-end edition of Windows 10 Pro
Two months ago, Microsoft accidentally pushed out a buggy Windows 10 build to Insiders that caused chaos but also revealed something interesting -- the company's plans for a new version of Windows 10 aimed specifically at power users.
The leak is now official as Microsoft announces Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, a high-end version of its new operating system.
Microsoft and Panos Panay 'stand behind Surface'
Earlier today, Consumer Reports caused a huge controversy by pulling its "recommended" status from all Microsoft Surface laptops and tablets. While I personally swear by the consumer-focused organization for its coverage of vehicles and appliances, I take its computer coverage with a grain of salt. After all, it infamously panned the 2016 MacBook Pro for poor battery life, even going so far as to say Chrome provided longer usage than Safari -- totally wrong, by the way. It turns out Consumer Reports's testing of the MacBook Pro was flawed and it later reversed course, recommending the Apple laptop after all.
With all of that said, I was obviously a bit dubious of its criticism of some Surface machines. In my experience, the Surface hardware is extremely well made and owners are generally satisfied with the computers. That's not to say they are perfect -- quite the contrary. Actually, they have been prone to bugs that were later fixed (mostly) with firmware and driver updates. Despite those issues, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any Surface product. Obviously Microsoft and Panos Panay -- father of Surface -- would share my disagreement with Consumer Reports. To solidify that, Panay has now penned a response titled "We stand behind Surface."
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