multi-colored_twitter_diversity

Twitter's diversity goals are completely meaningless nonsense

Workforce diversity is something that every company wants to be seen to be getting right. At the moment -- particularly in the world of technology -- they're failing spectacularly. As in so many walks of life, it's a world dominated by white, middleclass men, and it's a problem that gets worse the further up the hierarchy you look. Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft. They all have one thing in common: a desire to be seen as the most welcoming, ethnically and sexually diverse, forward-thinking companies out there.

It's great PR, and now Twitter is trying to step up its game. News of a commitment to making the Twitter workforce more diverse sounds great, but sounding great isn’t the same as being great. I've mentioned that talk of diversity is good public relations, and that's exactly what we see here -- spiel, empty gestures, misguided proposals, and embarrassingly ham-fisted approaches. Now Twitter is taking things a step further.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Surface 3

Microsoft Surface 3: Interesting but flawed [Review]

"You can't get there from here". That's how many customers must feel as they ponder the broken Windows 10 upgrade path for first-generation Windows 8 hybrid PCs. With Intel refusing to update the Atom z2760 video driver, and with existing Windows 8.1 drivers providing spotty compatibility, these early adopters are at a crossroads.

Do they stick with Windows 8.1 and watch while the bulk Microsoft's development effort goes into Windows 10 (leaving them clinging to an all but abandoned OS platform)? Or do they bite the bullet and begin vetting potential replacements for their still functional HP Envy x2s, Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2s, Dell Latitude 10s, etc?

By Randall C. Kennedy -
Microsoft Cityman Windows 10 Mobile flagship

These are Microsoft's Windows 10 Mobile flagships

Known tech leaker Evan Blass has posted a couple of pictures on his Twitter profile which seem to be press renders of the upcoming Lumia phones.

According to the tweets, the two phones are Microsoft Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL, codenamed Talkman and Cityman, respectively.

By Sead Fadilpašić -
Happy Man Excited Laptop

Windows 10 Insiders have a new desktop preview to play with -- Build 10532 available now

If you’re part of the Windows 10 Insider Preview program you’ll already be rocking one build ahead of the version being used by 75 million plus upgraders. Today the software giant pushes out a second new build, which is starting to roll out now.

Build 10532 is available to those Insiders on the Fast ring and offers some big new features, including improved context menus and better feedback sharing. Naturally, there some potential issues to be aware of too -- but such is life on the bleeding edge.

By Wayne Williams -
windows update

New mystery updates arrive on Windows 10 [Updated]

New updates are coming thick and fast(ish) to Windows 10, Microsoft's new operating system, fixing problems and making it a bit more usable.

Today the software giant pushes out three new updates. These will be installed automatically, and you can check for them now by going to Settings > Update & Security.

By Wayne Williams -
Beg

Canonical: give Windows 10 the shove and embrace Ubuntu

I use two desktop operating systems regularly -- Windows 10 and Ubuntu. The former is on my main PC, while the latter came pre-installed on a laptop. I’ve always liked Ubuntu, but never enough to make it my primary OS. Because I spend my days writing about Windows it’s kind of a no brainer that I should immerse myself in Microsoft’s operating system.

However, Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, would like people to question their choice of OS, now that Windows 10 is here.

By Wayne Williams -
HP20150722669

HP announces mt42 -- an AMD-powered Windows 10 IoT Enterprise mobile thin client

Well, 2015 is yet another year where Windows dominates the workstations of most businesses. While some companies will utilize Chromebooks or iPads for light work and consumption, Microsoft's venerable operating system just keeps on keepin' on.

Windows 10 IoT Enterprise in particular, when paired with thin clients, can be a remarkable tool for many industries, such as healthcare, servicing, financial and more. Today, HP unveils the 14 inch mt42 -- an AMD-powered mobile thin client that the company claims is the "world's thinnest, lightest and most powerful quad-core", and it looks like a winner.

By Brian Fagioli -
Chrome logos

Windows 10 users won't see Chrome notifications in the Action Center any time soon

If you were hoping to see Chrome notifications integrated into Windows 10, prepare to be disappointed: it's not going to happen. While the Action Center might seem the natural home for Google's web browser to display messages, developers have a different opinion.

In short, Chrome's notifications are staying as they are. Despite a campaign for Action Center support, the request has been labeled Won'tFix and there's no sign that this will change for some years to come. Chrome and Windows 10 have already clashed heads once, but this time Google seems unlikely to back down.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
Runner

Windows 10 vs Windows 8.1: Which is fastest?

The comparisons were inevitable right from the start. When Microsoft releases a new operating system then people are going to look at it against the previous version, especially when the old one was a bit hated and unsuccessful. It really wasn't bad, but perception is everything, and the folks who heard it was bad steered clear of it.

But how do the two platforms stack up against one another in a performance test? The researchers at security firm AVG Labs decided to take a look.

By Alan Buckingham -
Microsoft MobileFusion

Turn your smartphone's camera into a 3D scanner with Microsoft's Mobile Fusion app

Microsoft has been really busy lately, and now it has shown one of the things it has been working on -- a 3D scanner inside a regular smartphone.

The app, called MobileFusion, turns your average smartphone camera into a high-tech 3D scanner, allowing you to scan objects and turn them into 3D models for viewing, sharing and 3D printing, right in front of your very eyes.

By Sead Fadilpašić -
windows_10_logo_in_hands

Windows 10 now on 75 million devices according to Microsoft

It's been a wild month for Microsoft, given the roll out of the operating system many had been waiting for. For those who were perturbed with Windows 8 and those who skipped it all together, Windows 10 is a definite step up. It's a bit of a hybrid and it came out quickly -- much faster than past versions.

Now after much rather useless speculation, we have numbers that are actually attributed to Microsoft. The information comes via Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Windows and Devices, who shared the facts on his Twitter account.

By Alan Buckingham -
Coffee Beans Sad Face

Windows 10 Mobile will not support 4GB smartphones -- are you affected?

Microsoft has updated a landing page for Windows 10 Mobile to reveal that Windows Phone 8.x devices with less than 8 GB of internal storage will not be upgraded to the upcoming operating system. This will come as bad news to some folks who have invested in the platform.

Windows 10 Mobile can very well run on devices that were designed with Windows Phone 8 or Windows Phone 8.1 in mind, as long as there is enough storage space to accommodate the new OS. It, for instance, runs well on both my Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 520. Manufacturers which have cut corners are, obviously, to blame for this.

By Mihăiță Bamburic -
office_logo

Microsoft will launch Office 2016 on 22 September

Just as with Windows 10, Microsoft has been running a preview program for Office 2016. After launching the Mac version of the office suite, we’ve been waiting for news about the PC edition will be released. Now, thanks to a leaked document, we now know it is due to launch on 22 September.

Internal documents obtained by WinFuture.de show that Office 2016 is set to launch in less than a month for home and professional users. Microsoft is preparing staff for the event, asking them to install the preview version for now and keep an eye on the Office 2016 Launch Hub for training documentation and other materials.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
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Microsoft releases Cortana to Android as public beta

Microsoft’s Cortana is now officially available on Android. The company announced earlier this year that it would release its digital voice assistant to Android and iOS later this year. Prior to the official release, a private Android beta of Cortana leaked this July. Today the company releases a public beta client of Cortana for devices powered by Google's mobile operating system.

In case you’ve used Cortana on a Windows Phone handset before, it wouldn’t take much time to get settled with it on Android. It maintains the same interface and functionalities. In case you haven't used it before, Cortana is Microsoft's answer to Google's Google Now assistant. You can use Cortana to ask for directions, and get your queries answered, among other things.

By Max Nottingham -
bitcoin_and_benjamin

As stock markets tumble, Kim Dotcom recommends Bitcoin -- again

Kim Dotcom -- he of Megaupload/Mega infamy -- has been out of the headlines for a while, but he's creeping back into the public eye once again with the launch of a new music streaming service, Baboom.
However, Dotcom is not just interested in promoting his latest venture, he also has a lot to say about many aspects of the tech world.

Back when he launched file sharing site Mega, rebuilt from the rubble of Megaupload, Dotcom was a proponent of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Now he's at it again, advising people to invest in Bitcoin in the wake of the Chinese -- and then global -- stock market tumble.

By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson -
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