Microsoft

Ignite, Microsoft’s annual IT event, is currently underway in Orlando, Florida, and the software giant today revealed a range of new Windows 10 S devices from the likes of HP, Lenovo and Acer.

Windows 10 S is a cut down version of Windows 10 that only runs software from the Microsoft Store. It’s also faster and more secure, and when it launched it was aimed primarily at the education market -- a clear rival for devices running Google’s Chrome OS. Microsoft is now looking to expand Windows 10 S into other markets.

Earlier today, Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar tweeted that things are going to get very busy over the next few days as Microsoft pulls out all the stops to get the Fall Creators Update ready for release in the coming weeks.

True to her word, she announced Build 16291 for Insiders in the Slow ring, followed by two new builds shortly afterwards -- Build 15252 for Mobile, and Build 16296 for PC users on the Fast ring. Skip Ahead users will have to wait until next week for their next build.

Microsoft's relationship with Ubuntu-maker Canonical has been getting increasingly cosy over the past couple of years, and the two companies are now working even more closely with each other. The latest fruit of this partnership is a custom Azure-tailored Ubuntu kernel.

The updated kernel introduces new features including NAPI and Receive Segment Coalescing, Hyper-V socket capability, and support for Accelerated Networking in Azure. Any Ubuntu 16.04 LTS image brought up from the Azure portal after September 2 will be running on this Azure tailored Ubuntu kernel.

Microsoft has become the latest member of the Coalition for Better Ads (CBA). The group works with technology companies and trade organizations to help develop an ad ecosystem that works for advertisers without compromising the experience of internet users.

In taking up membership of the CBA, Microsoft is joining Google who has already worked with the organization to develop a selective ad blocker for Chrome due for release next year. Microsoft is also looking to introduce ad blocking into Edge, but the blocker would only discriminate against ads deemed unacceptable by the CBA.

With the Windows 10 Fall Creators update coming next month, Microsoft is obviously working very hard to get the operating system in a good state. There have been plenty of Insiders builds, which at this point, are mostly focusing on bug fixes and stability.

Today, Microsoft pushes out Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Build 16294 to the Fast ring. While the change log lists fixes, it strangely does not list any known issues. Surface Pro 3 owners should be happy, as this build finally fixes the dreaded non-boot issue.

The horrible natural disasters keep coming, folks. Regardless of what is causing them, one thing is certain -- the victims need help. Thankfully, people and organizations seemingly have deep pockets this year when it comes to helping their fellow man. Heck, some companies have also offered complimentary products and services too.

One of the most recent tragedies is the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Mexico. If you haven't seen any footage, please know that it is bad. Like, really bad. Buildings have collapsed on people, including children, and the death toll is expected to climb very high. If you have any loved ones in the affected areas of Mexico, and you need to reach them to be sure they are safe, Microsoft has your back. It has enabled free calls using its Skype service.

When Windows 10 was still (officially) free, and Microsoft was forcing it onto systems against user wishes, the operating system’s market share growth was impressive. In no time at all it shot past Windows XP and Windows 8.x.

But since then, the new OS has plateaued. NetMarketShare’s usage share figures show that Windows 10 grew by a mere 5 percent from July 2016 to July 2017, and in August it posted an increase of just 0.36 percentage points. Microsoft, for its part, claimed back in December that Windows 10 was more popular than Windows 7, but of course it isn’t. Not even close.

According to Microsoft, Windows 10 Creators Update is the best version of Windows 10 ever. But it should be, shouldn’t it? Windows 10 is evolving with each new feature update, so it makes sense that the latest update should also be the greatest. Microsoft isn’t reinventing the wheel with each new iteration, it’s simply polishing it.

In a new blog post, John Cable, Director of Program Management, Windows Servicing and Delivery, reveals the ways that the Creators Update improves fundamentals such as battery life, performance, reliability, and security. It’s a piece of positive spin, although the timing of its release is interesting, given that its successor, the Fall Creators Update, is only weeks away from being launched.

Hopefully you have been saving up, because today the standard version of the not-particularly-cheap Xbox One X is available to pre-order. Last month saw the Project Scorpio Edition open up for pre-orders, and now it's time for those who are interested in the standard black model.

The console will be available worldwide on November 7, but if you want to avoid disappointment on the day, it's probably best to get your order for "the world's most powerful console" in right now -- links are below. As well as opening up pre-orders today, Microsoft has announced that the list of Xbox One X enhanced games has grown to over 130.

Companies of all sizes have started to recognize the value of big data collections and the need to take advantage of them. Development of software systems play a big role in big data analytics.

As companies proceed on their big data journey, they usually start by batch processing their big data assets. This can mean gathering and aggregating web log data, telemetry from IoT devices, user clicks from an app and more.

The release date for the next big Windows 10 feature update is drawing ever closer, and Microsoft is working hard to get it as complete and polished as possible.

Today sees the release of the latest Fall Creators Update build to the Fast ring (not Skip Ahead), and as you might expect, bug fixes and stability and performance tweaks are the order of the day. But that said, Microsoft has managed to sneak in another new feature too.

If you are having trouble accessing Outlook.com at the moment, you're not alone. Many people -- particularly in Europe -- are experiencing problems with Microsoft's email service.

Microsoft has confirmed that there is an issue with "load-balancing infrastructure," and investigations are underway to discover the source of the problem. Users affected by the problem say that the messages they try to send remain in the Draft folder rather than reaching the intended recipient.

The "fake news" moniker may be a relatively recent one, but the phenomenon is not exactly new. Search engines and social media sites have long fought a battle against rogue news sources, and Microsoft's latest attack sees the company adding fact-checking to Bing.

The addition of Fact Check labels means that anyone looking at search results should be able to tell at a glance if a particular news story has been debunked. The label can be applied to sites as a whole as well as individual articles, making it easier for Microsoft to alert people about poor news sources -- although the company does not do any actual fact-checking itself.

Like Internet Explorer before it -- although perhaps not to quite the same extent -- Microsoft Edge is shunned and ridiculed by most web users. Despite this, Microsoft has this week claimed that its web browser has a huge number of users. "Microsoft Edge users are active on 330 million monthly devices!" proclaims the Microsoft Edge Dev team on Twitter. (File under: You Must Be Bloody Well Joking).

The claim, made on Twitter and repeated during an Edge Summit webinar attracted some attention -- not least that of Paul Thurrott. He's not alone in wondering how on earth Microsoft came up with this number; the suggested usage figure seems out of sync with reported browser usage stats.

"Your Windows Has Been Banned" is a nasty piece of malware that first surfaced in 2016. It locks your computer screen and displays a message stating "This PC has been banned for terms of use violations."

It doesn’t go into specifics for the ban -- because, obviously, it’s not a real ban -- but simply says that your PC has been locked in order to "protect the Windows service and its members," adding "Microsoft does not provide details about specific PC bans."