News


Oracle, Not Microsoft, Wins TikTok Buyout Bid

Oracle's proposal to acquire TikTok's U.S. social media operations emerged victorious over the weekend, putting an end to Microsoft's competing buyout bid.

Microsoft Making Progress on Windows Virtual Desktop

A recent "Desktops in the Cloud" podcast chat gives some insight into Microsoft's progress on its Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) service.

Microsoft Offers Limited-Time Deals for Teams Features

Microsoft this week announced promotional deals for two of its Teams add-ons -- Audio Conferencing and Advanced Communications.

Microsoft Teams 'Lists' Feature Goes Live

Microsoft Lists, a new product based on SharePoint Lists, is now generally available through the Microsoft Teams service for both business and government users.

Surface Hub 2S Gets Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise Install Options

It's now possible for Surface Hub 2S conference-room device users to replace the operating system with Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, Microsoft announced on Tuesday.

Some Windows 10 Users Getting 6-Month Support Extension

Schools and enterprises running Windows 10 version 1803 will continue to receive patches for the operating system until mid-2021, Microsoft announced this week.

Microsoft 365 Gets Transcription Feature, Better Dictation

Microsoft 365 subscribers recently got access to some AI-powered capabilities -- a transcription capability and an expanded Dictate feature.

Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Office Hits Public Preview

Aimed at top-tier Microsoft 365 subscribers, the Microsoft Defender Application Guard for Office solution became available for public preview this week.

Microsoft Letting Orgs Test Drive Windows 10 20H2 Before Fall Release

While not scheduled for release until this fall, the next major update to Windows 10 is available for testing now, Microsoft announced this week.

Microsoft Forms Pro Now Called Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice

Microsoft has quietly changed the name of its Microsoft Forms Pro survey solution to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Voice.

Microsoft Turns to 'AIOps' for Better Azure Outage Announcements

Microsoft is promising to communicate better with organizations dealing with Azure service issues, including being more transparent about Azure service outages.

IE 11, EdgeHTML Browsers Approaching End-of-Support Milestones

Microsoft this week announced key dates related to its support for the Internet Explorer 11 browser and the "legacy" (EdgeHTML) version of the Microsoft Edge browser.

Microsoft Readies Half-Phone, Half-Tablet Surface Duo for Release Next Month

The Surface Duo, designed as both a phone and a pocket-sized computer for Microsoft 365 and Android applications, will be released on Sept. 10.

Microsoft, Google and IBM Among First Members of Open Source Security Group

Microsoft has joined a high-powered group of tech giants in a new industry foundation aimed at improving the security of open source software.

Microsoft In Talks To Acquire TikTok

A deal between Microsoft and Beijing-based ByteDance is in the works that would have Microsoft acquiring some of ByteDance's holdings in the TikTok social media service.

Some Cortana Features Ending as Part of Microsoft 365 Shift

Microsoft may be promoting Cortana more as a Microsoft 365 business perk, but the digital assistant will soon see several of its capabilities falling out of support.

Tasks in Teams Starts Rolling Out to Some Microsoft 365 Users

Tasks in Teams, which pulls together information from Microsoft task-creation apps like Planner and To Do, has started rolling out to "a small group" of Microsoft 365 users.

Microsoft Adds Azure Portal, Teams Client Support to Windows Virtual Desktop

Microsoft this week announced the general availability of two new capabilities in its Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) service.

Microsoft Introduces Subscription Plans for Teams Rooms Devices

Organizations will soon be able to keep their Microsoft Teams Rooms products patched and trouble-free via new Standard and Premium subscription options.

Microsoft Touts Low-Code 'Dataflex' Platform To Boost Teams

Microsoft is talking up a "low-code data platform" called Microsoft Dataflex that promises to deliver native integration between Teams and Microsoft Power Platform tools.