Microsoft has announced that it has acquired Metanautix, a startup company that was developing its Quest data compute engine which aims to help large enterprises filter through their vast amounts of in-house data.

Metanautix, which was co-founded in 2012 by Theo Vassilakis and Toli Lerios, was launched in September 2014 after raising $7 million of funding after Quest had been two years in development.

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Both Skype and Skype for Business (formerly known as Lync) are good communication tools. The standard Skype is particularly great for being cross-platform. You can depend on the software being available on all major platforms such as OS X, Windows, Android, Ubuntu, iOS and Windows Phone. Skype for Business is a solid business tool, focusing on not only communication, but sharing and collaboration too.

It is imperative that Microsoft continue to improve its Skype solutions -- "evolve or dissolve", as some say. In other words, the company cannot simply rest on its laurels. Well, today, Microsoft bought a company, Talko, to bolster its famed communication solutions. Yes, Talko, a mobile communication company, is being integrated into the Skype family.

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If you’re running Windows 10 Home and want to know whether it’s worth moving on to Windows 10 Pro, there’s a straightforward way of switching between the two versions of Microsoft’s latest operating system.

All you need to do is swap your current Windows 10 Home product key for the default Windows 10 Pro one which Microsoft has made available to all users.

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Goldman Sachs thinks Microsoft is making a comeback. The investment banking firm has produced a 22-page document -- titled Righting a Wrong -- looking at Microsoft’s current business, the recent changes it has made and it’s future opportunities.

The research analyzes Microsoft’s core businesses of Azure, Windows and Office and believes that the future looks bright for the company, going as far as to change its stock rating from Sell to Neutral.

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Outlook has been a popular desktop app for what seems like ages and now it's online aiming to compete with services like Gmail and Yahoo. In order to differentiate itself from rivals Microsoft needs extras that attract customers to its offering.

Now the company is announcing a couple of updates including improvements to the address book and flight notifications for busy travelers.

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Microsoft has signed an important deal with the Chinese government, one which will see the American company deploy its latest operating system directly to the government agencies.

The Verge has reported how the Redmond-based software company will deploy a customized version of Windows 10 to the Chinese government through a newly-formed company called C&M Technologies.

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High school can stink; it is no secret. Besides the arguably boring classes, isolating cliques, and mentally deranged bullies, getting up early in the morning as a teen is such a drag. Of course, getting an education is wonderful; it's just too bad that it can't be more exciting, and without the aforementioned baggage. Don't worry, things should get better at college.

Luckily, Christmas vacation is approaching, meaning students can get a break from school for a bit. This means sleeping in late, playing video games and hanging out with friends. But what if you could win $1,000 too? Well, thanks to Microsoft, you have the chance to do just that!

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Microsoft announced in early October that the Windows 10 Mobile rollout for existing Windows Phone 8.1 devices would kick off in December. But, with less than two weeks to go before the end of the year, the software giant now says that the much-awaited software upgrades will not be available until later than expected.

Microsoft expects Windows 10 Mobile software upgrades to be made available starting "early next year" for "select existing Windows 8 and 8.1 phones". That is, assuming everything goes according to plan.

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Microsoft pushed out a new Windows 10 Insider Preview PC build to the Fast ring yesterday, and today it follows that up with a new update for Windows 10 Mobile.

Build 10586.36 is, as you can guess from the name, a cumulative update and will be released to Windows Insiders in both the Fast and Slow rings.

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Virtual reality is hardly new -- it has been around for many years. The sudden popularity, however, is due to lower prices and improved technology. Makeshift headsets like Google's Cardboard impressively leverage existing smartphones, but are limited by being nothing more than slabs strapped to the user's face.

Microsoft's HoloLens is far more advanced as it blends reality with fantasy, for augmented reality, or AR. Yes, it is certainly more expensive, but as wise people say, "you get what you pay for" -- AR arguably has more potential than VR. More importantly, not only is the Windows-maker's solution designed for consumers, but for business and scientific purposes too. For example, NASA is embracing HoloLens. With that said, hardware is only as good as its software, so today, Microsoft announces the opening of a developer-focused HoloLens experience at its NYC flagship store. Will this encourage development?

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Microsoft added support for offline storage in OneDrive for Android in September, announcing that it plans to also bring the feature to iOS and Windows smartphones later down the road. But, knowing that a few months have passed already, when exactly will this happen?

Microsoft has provided an update, revealing that offline support in OneDrive will make its way to iOS before the end of December. As far as its own platform is concerned, offline support in OneDrive will only be offered on Windows 10 Mobile, but not anytime soon.

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Netflix remains near the top of the video streaming ecosystem and its original programming has begun to win some big awards. However, the goal with any company is to get its product to as many customers as possible and, more importantly, to hold onto them. To do so a service needs to be available in as many places as it can be.

With this aim in mind, Netflix is updating its Windows 10 app for customers, bringing many changes to it. This includes an all-new Browse experience that provides better scrolling, both vertically for categories and horizontally for items within each category.

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There will no doubt be many new games and consoles under trees this holiday season. That means a lot of people joining the online gaming community and trying to get started with their new toys. The networks need to be ready for the vast influx of users. Now a hacker group is vowing to prevent all of this.

This isn't a new thing, as last Christmas Lizard Squad knocked both Xbox Live and PlayStation Network offline. This time around it's Phantom Group planning to do exactly the same thing. The group announced its intent on Twitter with such threats as "We are going to shut down Xbox live and PSN this year on Christmas. And we are going to keep them down for one-week straight #DramaAlert".

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Microsoft managed to piss off a lot of people with Windows 10. Some people love it, but certainly nowhere near 100 percent of the install base (whatever size Microsoft claims this may be). It's possible for any operating system to be disappointing, but what Microsoft has managed to get wrong with Windows 10 -- time and time and time again -- is the way upgrades have been delivered.

We've had stories of installation files being downloaded without permission. There are the privacy concerns. There is the confusing installation process that has misled some into upgrading to Windows 10. But even after weeks and months of complaints, the forced Windows 10 upgrades are still happening. If anything, the problem is getting worse. Microsoft is making it harder and harder for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users to avoid Windows 10. A coerced user is not a happy user, yet Microsoft continues to force Windows 10 down people's throats in a number of ways. WT actual F?

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Having rolled out Threshold 2 under the guise of the November Update last month (and then removed and reinstated it shortly afterwards), Microsoft is now on the Redstone branch of Windows 10 development -- the next big update which will be pushed out to all users of its new operating system next year.

Build 11082 is now available for Windows Insiders on the Fast ring and Microsoft’s Gabe Aul introduced the new build saying:

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