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Topic: Microsoft

Microsoft Windows 11 will roll out a new feature enabling Android users to access their files from File Explorer. (Reuters) News 

Here’s how Android users can soon access their files through Microsoft Windows’ File Explorer

Adriana Marais, ,

Microsoft is currently experimenting with a new feature that allows users to access their Android phones directly from the File Explorer in Windows 11. The tech company recently announced in a blog post that it is slowly rolling out the feature to Windows testers with Android devices through various Windows insider channels. This new capability will enable users to wirelessly browse through files and folders on their Android phones. Functionality of the new Windows 11 feature When your Android device is integrated with File Explorer, it looks similar to the…

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CrowdStrike is sending out gift cards and apology emails to apologise for the massive Microsoft Windows outage. News 

CrowdStrike offers gift cards worth over Rs. 830 as apology following major Microsoft Windows outage

Adriana Marais,

Millions worldwide were impacted by a recent outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update on Microsoft Windows. This led to major disruptions in services such as airlines, railways, and banks, as PCs repeatedly rebooted showing the ‘blue screen of death.’ While quick fixes were provided by Microsoft and CrowdStrike, many users still faced issues for days. As a gesture of apology, CrowdStrike is offering partners a $10 Uber Eats gift card and an email notification. Who gets apology gift cards from CrowdStrike At first, several users who received Gift Vouchers…

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CrowdStrike is sending out gift cards and apology emails to apologise for the massive Microsoft Windows outage. News 

CrowdStrike offers gift cards worth over Rs. 830 as apology following major Microsoft Windows outage

Adriana Marais,

Millions worldwide were impacted by a recent outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike update on Microsoft Windows. This led to major disruptions in services such as airlines, railways, and banks, as PCs repeatedly rebooted showing the ‘blue screen of death.’ While quick fixes were provided by Microsoft and CrowdStrike, many users still faced issues for days. As a gesture of apology, CrowdStrike is offering partners a $10 Uber Eats gift card and an email notification. Who gets apology gift cards from CrowdStrike At first, several users who received Gift Vouchers…

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Screenshot from YouTube Gaming 

A Call of Duty game is set to join Xbox Game Pass, but it’s not the one fans were hoping for

Adriana Marais, ,

Microsoft has faced criticism for increasing the price of its Xbox Game Pass and the limited selection of games available. In an attempt to appease customers, they have added a Call of Duty game to the lineup for the first time. However, the game chosen is Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, which is considered one of the least popular games in the series. Calling reviews of Modern Warfare III “mixed” would be generous. IGN’s Simon Cardy said its single-player campaign was “shallow”, “boring” and “the worst Call of Duty single-player…

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ASSOCIATED PRESS News 

Delta cancels over 1,000 flights due to CrowdStrike outage repercussions

Febin Mathew,

According to Reuters, the ongoing CrowdStrike outage, which began on Thursday, continues to wreak havoc as Delta had to cancel an additional 1,250 flights yesterday, in addition to the 3,500 already scrapped. This has resulted in tens of thousands of Delta passengers being left stranded, waiting for new flights that may take days to secure. Many travelers have been forced to cancel or reschedule their trips as the airline has not announced when it will return to normal operations. Delta has scratched a third of scheduled flights for a total…

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Microsoft has released an official tool to fix the damage caused by the CrowdStrike update. News 

Microsoft releases solution for CrowdStrike Windows issue, simple tool to restore PC functionality – Step-by-step guide to begin

Adriana Marais

Microsoft has promptly issued a solution to resolve the CrowdStrike outage impacting numerous Windows devices. The remedy is accessible as a tool that can be installed on a USB drive for restoring the affected computers. For those unfamiliar, the CrowdStrike outage on Friday affected office workers, airlines, healthcare, IT and more. This affected millions of Windows users who had CrowdStrike Falcon installed on their computers. The reason was a faulty update that led to the breakdown of global IT equipment and services. CrowdStrike released an update that promised to fix…

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Most CrowdStrike-powered Windows PCs are still suffering for the infamous Blue Screen of Death issue. (Microsoft Designer AI) News 

How UPS, FedEx, Southwest Airlines, and others benefited from not updating Windows since 1992

Sanjay Patil

A global outage caused by a faulty CrowdStrike system update error has affected Microsoft Windows users worldwide, leading to widespread issues including the infamous ‘blue screen of death’. While many users are still experiencing difficulties booting their PCs, Crowdstrike has resolved the issue, though it may take a few days for everything to return to normal. The outage resulted in grounded airplanes, closed banks, delayed trains, canceled deliveries, and other disruptions. Surprisingly, some major companies such as UPS, FedEx, and Southwest Airlines were unaffected by the bug that impacted the…

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REUTERS / Reuters News 

8.5 million devices impacted by CrowdStrike’s faulty update causing outage

Nitin Misra,

According to a blog post from Microsoft, a worldwide disruption caused by a flawed update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike on Friday impacted approximately 8.5 million Windows devices. The update led to a blue screen error, halting operations for hospitals, airlines, banks, and other essential services. The issue only affected devices running on the Windows operating system. While the issue was mostly resolved by Friday afternoon, Microsoft and CrowdStrike are still dealing with the fallout. In a blog post on Saturday, Microsoft’s director of Enterprise and OS Security, David Weston, wrote…

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Raven Software / Activision Gaming 

The FTC shares your frustration over the Xbox Game Pass price hike

Febin Mathew, , , ,

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expressed concerns in a letter to the US Appeals Court about Microsoft’s recent changes to its Xbox Game Pass service following its acquisition of Activision. The FTC highlighted a price increase for the Game Pass Ultimate, now costing $20 a month, which is $3 more than before and a 17 percent year-over-year increase. The agency described these changes as “exactly the sort of consumer harm” they were worried about. In addition, the agency drew attention to Microsoft’s decision to end the $11 console Game Pass…

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CrowdStrike-powered Windows PCs are suffering for the infamous Blue Screen of Death issue. (Microsoft Designer AI) News 

Issue with CrowdStrike causing Windows to reboot

Jim Hendler

UPDATE: The CEO of CrowdStrike has issued an apology for the Microsoft Windows outage and has assured that systems will begin to recover shortly. CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz apologized for the widespread global IT outage affecting the Windows operating system. In an interview with NBC News, he “vowed” to work with CrowdStrike’s partners to get the services back online. “Many of the customers reboot the system and it’s coming and it’s up and running. It can take a while for some systems that don’t automatically recover,” Kurtz said. “We deeply regret…

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ASSOCIATED PRESS News 

Major companies worldwide affected by faulty cybersecurity update, including banks and airlines

Jim Hendler,

An extensive outage of Microsoft Windows BSOD (blue screen of death) has affected numerous companies globally, including airlines, broadcasters, and others. The issue stemmed from a flawed update from security company CrowdStrike, which resulted in PCs and servers getting stuck in an unrecoverable boot loop. Although the update has been reversed, many machines continue to be impacted by the glitch. “We have widespread reports of BSODs on Windows hosts occurring on multiple sensor versions,” CrowdStrike wrote in a pinned Reddit post. “[We’ve] identified the deployment of content associated with this…

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Windows laptop restarting unexpectedly? You’re not alone—millions of people around the world are experiencing the same issue. (REUTERS) News 

Blue screen appearing on millions of Windows PCs worldwide, causing restarts

Nitin Misra

Microsoft Windows Outage: If you are reading this, chances are you have experienced the Windows outage or heard someone else talk about the issue that is impacting millions of Windows computers globally. So, what exactly is causing this outage and why is it affecting so many computers worldwide? In essence, users are encountering random restarts and the dreaded ‘Blue Screen of Death’ (BSOD) error on their Windows PCs. This disruption has had a significant impact on various industries, including aviation, with airlines like Indigo, SpiceJet, and Akasa confirming that their…

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Paramount+ News 

Paramount+ has canceled the live-action Halo series.

Adarsh V.K, , , ,

In 2013, renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg collaborated with Microsoft to develop a live-action Halo TV series. After a decade of anticipation, the show has been axed by Paramount+ after just seventeen episodes. The first season premiered in 2022, with the second following earlier this year. Despite our initial ambivalence towards the series, its cancellation marks a disappointing end to the high-profile production. According to an unnamed Variety source, the show’s creators plan to shop the project and look for a new home with the Master Chief and Cortana chronicles. “We…

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Microsoft is investing in a new AI language model MAI-1 to compete with Google and OpenAI. (unsplash) AI 

Microsoft prepares new AI model to rival Google and OpenAI, according to The Information.

Adriana Marais, ,

According to a report from The Information on Monday, Microsoft is developing a new AI language model internally that is on par with those created by Google and OpenAI. The new model, internally called MAI-1, is overseen by recently hired Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Google DeepMind and former CEO of artificial intelligence firm Inflection, the report cited two Microsoft employees with knowledge of the effort. The exact purpose of the model has yet to be determined and will depend on how well it performs. According to the report, Microsoft could…

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EU regulators conclude Microsoft's $13 billion investment in OpenAI is not an acquisition, avoiding formal probe. (unsplash) AI 

EU investigation does not include Microsoft-OpenAI deal, but other regions to scrutinize transaction

Adriana Marais,

According to sources familiar with the matter, EU antitrust regulators have determined that Microsoft’s $13 billion investment in OpenAI does not constitute an acquisition. This decision means that the deal will not be subject to a formal European investigation, potentially sparing the U.S. tech giant from facing significant remedies. EU regulators had said in January that the deal could involve the region’s merger rules. Microsoft, which has no voting rights on the OpenAI board, said late last year that it owned no part of the ChatGPT maker. But Microsoft isn’t…

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Microsoft introduces OneNote app tailored for Apple Vision Pro users, enhancing note-taking capabilities on the platform. (Microsoft ) News 

How Microsoft’s OneNote app for Apple Vision Pro functions and its main features

Adriana Marais

Microsoft has added a new native OneNote app specifically for Apple Vision Pro users to its lineup of products for VisionOS. This move demonstrates Microsoft’s dedication to enhancing the user experience for Apple Vision Pro users, following the positive reception of Microsoft Office apps for the mixed reality headset. Key features of OneNote for visionOS The new OneNote application for visionOS takes advantage of the platform’s spatial computing capabilities and offers an infinite canvas for taking notes. This version of OneNote integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft applications available on Apple…

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Infused with GPT-4, GitHub’s Copilot can do a lot more, including answering engineers’ questions and converting code from one programming language to another. (AP) News 

GitHub utilizes AI, utilizes Microsoft Copilot to automate tasks and transform coding sector

Adriana Marais,

Software developer Nikolai Avteniev was quick to recognize the potential of Microsoft Corp.’s Copilot coding assistant when he obtained a preview version in 2021. Developed by Microsoft’s GitHub coding platform and based on OpenAI’s version of generative artificial intelligence, the assistant was not perfect and sometimes went wrong. But Avteniev, who works at ticket seller StubHub, was surprised by how cleverly it completed lines of code with just a few prompts. All he had to do was press the tab key and Copilot did the rest. “Instead of using 15…

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Microsoft and G42 described their assurances to the U.S. and UAE governments as a first of its kind agreement to ensure the secure, trusted and responsible development and deployment of AI. (AP) AI 

Microsoft plans to invest $1.5 billion in AI firm G42 for the development of responsible AI

Adriana Marais,

Microsoft has revealed plans to invest $1.5 billion in the UAE’s artificial intelligence company G42, securing a minority stake and a seat on the board. This move aims to strengthen the partnership between the two companies in the competitive landscape of AI technology. The global race for tech dominance has intensified in recent years, with AI emerging as a key focus for companies worldwide. As part of a deal the two companies brokered for the US and UAE governments over security, G42 would use Microsoft cloud services to run its…

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Stay informed and protected. CERT-In's warning highlights the urgent need for heightened cybersecurity measures amidst vulnerabilities found in Microsoft services. (unsplash) News 

Government warns of high-risk for Microsoft services, including Windows- Here’s how to protect yourself

Adriana Marais,

CERT-In has issued a high-risk warning regarding multiple vulnerabilities discovered in various Microsoft services. The vulnerabilities impact a wide range of Microsoft products such as Windows, Office, Developer Tools, Azure services, Bing, System Center, Dynamics, and Exchange Server. CERT-In warns Microsoft users According to CERT-In, the vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to gain additional privileges, disclose information, bypass security restrictions, perform remote code execution attacks, conduct spoofing attacks, or cause denial of service conditions. Essentially, these vulnerabilities can give hackers significant control over affected systems or compromise sensitive data. Specifically,…

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Microsoft hired DeepMind cofounder Suleyman to run its in-house Microsoft AI division. (AP) AI 

Microsoft plans to open AI hub in London, marking a significant victory for UK in competition for AI expertise.

Adriana Marais, ,

Microsoft has revealed its intentions to establish a new artificial intelligence (AI) hub in London, with a primary focus on product development and research. The unit is headed by Mustafa Suleyman, the London-born founder of Google DeepMind who was hired by Microsoft last month. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT As the primary supporter of ChatGPT manufacturer OpenAI, Microsoft is the world’s leading manufacturer of rapidly developing technology. But the race for AI talent has intensified across Europe over the past 18 months. Microsoft may seek to recruit experts from other AI-focused companies…

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