Best Microsoft apps for Android

Microsoft apps have come a long way on Android.

Microsoft essentially shunned Android and iOS for several years, but with Satya Nadella taking the helm in 2014 and adopting a mobile-first stance, the company has turned its attention to bringing its apps and services to rival platforms. From heavy-hitters like Office to side projects developed by employees in their free time under the Microsoft Garage label, Microsoft has a lot to offer on Android.

Microsoft Office

Microsoft made the Android and iOS versions of Office free in 2014, opening up the floodgates for its adoption on these platforms.

Standalone apps for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint debuted in 2015, allowing users to quickly edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on the go. Basic editing functionality is available for all users, but if you want advanced features — inserting section breaks, viewing file history, customizing headers and footers in Word — you’re going to have to subscribe to Office 365. If you’re just looking to create, edit, or save documents, then the free option should be more than adequate.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint sync over OneDrive, allowing you to quickly view files stored on the cloud. The apps work even if you don’t have the cloud storage service set up, but you’ll be limited to working with files locally stored on your device. If you’re not a OneDrive user, you can also sync your files through Dropbox or Box.

• Download Word from the Play Store
• Download Excel from the Play Store
• Download PowerPoint from the Play Store

Microsoft Launcher

Microsoft Launcher offers an interesting take on an Android launcher. It emerged from the previous Arrow Launcher but was reborn for the better. As well as regular launcher features, like adding apps to home screens and customizing your wallpaper and widgets, Microsoft Launcher has some neat tricks others do not have.

You can set up your own personalized feed of things, such as news, calendar appointments, office documents, and contacts, while also having the ability to set the feed as your default home screen. Glanceable information is something Microsoft has done for years in Windows on phones.

One of the most interesting features is integration with “Continue on PC.” When linked to your Microsoft account, you can perform certain actions on your PC that you started on your phone. And that’s beyond nifty.

Download Microsoft Launcher from the Play Store

OneNote

OneNote has picked up several new features lately, turning it into one of the best note-taking apps currently available. One of the biggest additions in recent times is cross-platform availability, making it a viable contender to the likes of Evernote, even more so now that the latter service has gravitated to a paid structure.

By contrast, OneNote is completely free, and lets you easily type, draw, or hand-draw notes. The service lets you scan handwritten notes, and has a powerful search feature that lets you find what you’re looking for. You can organize your notes with labels, save web clippings, take voice notes, add photos and videos, and so much more.

OneNote also offers the ability to password protect your notes, version history for your files, Android Wear support, and a widget that lets you quickly jot down a note. The best feature is that you can access your notes even when you’re offline, which isn’t possible unless you’re on a paid plan on Evernote.

Download OneNote from the Play Store

OneDrive

OneDrive is a feature-rich cloud storage service that rivals Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and others. OneDrive integrates with OneNote and Office apps to provide a seamless experience on Android. The app has automatic photo and video backup, and you can link it to your camera roll to automatically sync photos to your OneDrive account.

OneDrive lets you download files for offline use, share photo albums and collaborate on documents, and receive updates when someone makes changes to shared documents. The free tier comes with 5GB of storage, but if you’re subscribed to Office 365, you’ll get 1TB of cloud storage. If you’re not on Office 365, you can buy 100GB of storage for $1.99 a month or 200GB for $3.99.

Download OneDrive from the Play Store

Skype

Skype revamped its UI in 2015, offering a cleaner layout that gives you easy access to calls, chats, and contacts. Calls between Skype users are free, and the service also offers group video calls for up to 25 people. Skype retooled chats by rolling out emoticons and Mojis, which are essentially short clips from popular movies and TV shows. You’ll also be able to send photos, videos, and share your location from the IM interface.

Skype also offers the ability to call international numbers and landlines, with the service boasting some of the most affordable rates in this space. To incentivize adoption in emerging markets, Skype is letting customers from India call mobile numbers in the U.S. and Canada for absolutely free.

Download Skype on the Play Store

Outlook

The Outlook app is one of the best email clients available on Android. Microsoft paid over $200 million for Acompli, a mobile email service with built-in calendar and file sharing, back in 2014, and has rebranded the service to Outlook. Since then, it has added several features, including the core functionality of Sunrise Calendar, another of Microsoft’s acquisitions.

Outlook lets you manage email from Gmail, Outlook.com, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo, and others, providing a unified mailbox. You can archive or delete mails with a swipe left gesture, or peruse your mails at a later time using the schedule function.

The app hooks into the built-in calendar to add details from your emails automatically, and it offers a Focused Inbox that lets you prioritize important emails. You can also attach files easily from OneDrive, Dropbox, and Google Drive. As with all Microsoft services on Android, Outlook is free. If you’re in need of a better email client, then you should definitely give Outlook a try.

Download Outlook from the Play Store

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge launched on Android earlier this year, and there’s a lot to like here. Edge offers a seamless browsing experience, allowing users to pick up from where they left off on their PC and continue browsing on their phones. Data is synced between devices automatically, and Edge also offers an InPrivate mode that doesn’t save browsing history on your phone.

There’s a reading mode as well that optimizes content on the screen, and you also get a native QR code reader.

Download Microsoft Edge from the Play Store

Microsoft Authenticator

If you regularly sign into a Microsoft account, the company’s own two-factor authenticator comes in handy. Instead of the usual six-digit code to log you in, Microsoft Authenticator lets you authorize the sign in attempt with a simple tap, making the process much more convenient.

In addition to adding your Microsoft account, you can also add details for other services that are secured by two-factor authentication, including Google and Facebook. Haven’t secured your accounts yet? Here’s why you should set up two-factor authentication right away.

Download Microsoft Authenticator from the Play Store

Office Lens

Office Lens is essentially a portable scanner that lets you easily scan whiteboards, documents, and receipts. I used Scanbot for several years, but Office Lens’ integration with Office apps gives it a distinct advnatage over other utilities in this space.

You can scan and upload your documents to OneNote, Word, or OneDrive, and Office Lens offers the ability to convert your images to Word documents, PDFs, and even PowerPoint files. The app uses optical character recognition to convert images into text, making them searchable.

Download Office Lens from the Play Store

Xbox

If you have an Xbox One, the Xbox app offers a ton of utility. The app acts as a virtual controller for the Xbox One, allowing you to control your console with your phone. You can also scroll through your activity feed, view achievements, messages, buy games from the store, and much more.

Download Xbox app from the Play Store

Bonus for India: SMS Organizer

SMS Organizer is one of the best messaging apps available on Android today, and it’s a shame that the app is limited to India. SMS Organizer is designed as a way for customers in India to sort through promotional emails and automatically filter out spam texts.

The SMS client also lets you back up and restore texts from OneDrive (or Google Drive), and it even has a dark theme.

Download SMS Organizer from the Play Store

Your turn

What Microsoft apps do you use on your Android phone or tablet? Let us know in the comments below.

Updated April 2018: Added Microsoft Edge and the India-only SMS Organizer to the list.

Best Android Phone Under $100 in 2018

• Best inexpensive
• Best on Verizon
• Best on Cricket Wireless
• Best on MetroPCS
• Best on Boost
• Best for Android Go

Best overall

Nokia 2

See at Amazon

Right on the dot at $99, the Nokia 2 is simply the best low-cost phone you can buy. It features a sleek and sturdy design with a metal frame, along with a 1.3GHz quad-core processor and a near-stock build of Android. It’s a bit lacking internally, with just 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage, but the clean software keeps it running smoothly, and you can expand its storage with a microSD card.

The 5-inch 720p display is fairly impressive as well, but where you’ll really be wowed is with the 4100mAh battery, which easily manages two days of moderate usage. It also has a surprisingly decent 8MP primary camera, as well as a 5MP selfie shooter.

Bottom line: The Nokia 2 offers clean software and speedy performance for just a Benjamin.

One more thing: Nokia has promised an upgrade to Android 8.1 Oreo soon, bringing the Nokia 2 far more up to date than anything else on this list.

Why the Nokia 2 is best

The ideal package in any price range is a well-built phone with clean and quick software, and the Nokia 2 delivers. With HMD Global already promising an update to Android 8.1 Oreo, it’s easily the most up-to-date device below $100, making it even more attractive on the software front than the popular Moto E4.

It’s not the flashiest or showiest smartphone, with a relatively generic design, but you don’t expect pizzaz when you’re paying a Benjamin for a full-featured smartphone. The only thing it’s missing — and this is a big one — is a fingerprint sensor, meaning you’ll have to revert back to using a PIN for security.

Best on Verizon

Samsung Galaxy J3 Mission

See at Verizon

The Galaxy J3 Mission is an affordable phone from Samsung with a quad-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, and 16GB of microSD-expandable storage. The 2600mAh battery provides plenty of endurance throughout the day, and the phone ships with Android 7.0 Nougat.

Bottom line: For just under $100, the J3 Mission is one of Verizon’s better prepaid offerings.

One more thing: This phone isn’t likely to receive many software updates.

Best on Cricket Wireless (AT&T)

LG X Charge

See at Cricket Wireless

If you want to get a prepaid phone from one of the big four carriers, your choices are limited, but AT&T’s Cricket sub-brand has a great selection, including the LG X Charge for $100. It’s got a big 5.5-inch HD display, a quad-core processor, Android 7.0 Nougat, and a massive 4500mAh battery.

Bottom line: The LG X Charge’s huge battery will outlast any other phone in Cricket’s lineup.

One more thing: Don’t expect many updates with this phone. That’s the price of prepaid.

Best on MetroPCS (T-Mobile)

Moto E4

See at MetroPCS

The Moto E4 is one of the best deals around, coming in at just $59. With it, you get a 1.4 GHz Snapdragon 425, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. The 5-inch 720p display barely draws any battery from the 2800mAh cell inside, and the 8MP camera isn’t half bad either.

Bottom line: The Moto E4 offers stock Android and speedy performance at a shockingly low price.

One more thing: The Moto E4 is actually $119 upfront with a $60 mail-in rebate. Unfortunately, this is how almost every phone at MetroPCS is sold.

Best on Boost Mobile (Sprint)

Moto E4 Plus

See at Boost

You probably aren’t surprised to see another Moto phone on this list, because they’re just the pinnacle of value. For $79.99, you get a fast fingerprint sensor, some light water resistance (but not IP68, so don’t go dunking the Moto E4 Plus in a pool), and a ridiculous 5000mAh battery with fast charging.

Bottom line: You won’t find a bigger battery and cleaner software experience for the money.

One more thing: If Boost’s pricing were available on the unlocked Moto E4 Plus, it would easily be our top overall pick.

Best for Android Go

Nokia 1

The Nokia 1 is HMD Global’s newest cheap phone, and it offers tremendous quality for under $100. The value proposition is the combination of clean, fast Android Oreo Go Edition software with capable hardware from the new keepers of the Nokia brand, so expect fast updates and smooth performance despite the limited spec sheet.

See at Clove Technology

Bottom line: If you want a smooth, clean Android experience with quick updates, this is the phone you want.

One more thing: You can customize yours to fit your style thanks to removable back covers.

Conclusion

The Nokia 2 is the best overall device, largely thanks to its clean software and high-end build quality, but customer discounts could land you a better deal depending on your carrier.

Updated April 2018: Added the Nokia 1 as your best option for Android Go.

Google’s Grasshopper app teaches you how to code

Google’s incubator for employees’ “20 percent time” side projects, Area 120, typically produces fun things like an app to make YouTube more social and expanding Smart Replies. Now the workshop has released an app to help beginners learn to code in Javascript, which could be helpful for novices who want to build websites.

The app has a few legs up on other coding software. Not only is it free on the Google Play store, but it works in puzzles to make learning fun — and it has users learn JavaScript, a leading language used in many of the websites folks visit everyday. It’s already hit over 100,000 installs in the three days it’s been online, and most of the 1600 reviews are positive, so it seems like a great introduction.

Unfortunately, it’s only in the Play Store for now, so iOS users wouldn’t know — and might not for awhile without renaming the app, since Grasshopper in the Apple Store refers to a completely different item.

Via: 9to5 Google

Source: Grasshopper (Google Play Store)

Apple Open Sources FoundationDB

Apple owned-company FoundationDB today announced that the FoundationDB core has been open sourced with the goal of building an open community with all major development done in the open.

FoundationDB, a database company, was purchased by Apple back in 2015. As described in today’s announcement, FoundationDB is a distributed datastore that’s been designed from the ground up to be deployed on clusters of commodity hardware.

By open sourcing the project to drive development, FoundationDB is aiming to become “the foundation of the next generation of distributed databases.

The vision of FoundationDB is to start with a simple, powerful core and extend it through the addition of “layers”. The key-value store, which is open sourced today, is the core, focused on incorporating only features that aren’t possible to write in layers. Layers extend that core by adding features to model specific types of data and handle their access patterns.

The fundamental architecture of FoundationDB, including its use of layers, promotes the best practices of scalable and manageable systems. By running multiple layers on a single cluster (for example a document store layer and a graph layer), you can match your specific applications to the best data model. Running less infrastructure reduces your organization’s operational and technical overhead.

Following the open sourcing of FoundationDB, the company believes the quantity and variety of FoundationDB layers will develop rapidly. FoundationDB has adopted a new set of project governance rules and a code of conduct for community development.

The source for FoundationDB is available on Github as of today, and those who wish to join the project are encouraged to visit the FoundationDB community forums, submit bugs, and make contributions to the core software and documentation.

Tag: FoundationDB
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Best Buy Discounts Entry-Level 15-Inch MacBook Pro to $1,499 in One-Day Sale

Best Buy currently has a limited-time sale hitting the 15-inch MacBook Pro from mid 2015, with a 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, and 256GB flash storage. Under the sale, those interested can get this model for $1,499.99, priced originally at $1,999.99. Students and parents of students can knock the price down an additional $50 to $1,449.99.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

Although it’s three years old at this point, Apple still sells this configuration of the 15-inch MacBook Pro as an entry-level option for those customers not interested in the more recent additions to MacBook Pro models, like the Touch Bar and Touch ID. Best Buy’s discount is also $200 cheaper than it’s ever been before in our tracking, and the deal will last today only.

Best Buy’s sale on the 2017 MacBook Pro models is still going on as well, with savings of up to $200 or more. Prices start at $1,149.99 for the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2.3 GHz, 8GB RAM, 128GB HD), or as low as $1,099.99 with Student Deals.

In a separate one-day-only sale, Amazon’s Gold Box Deal of the Day for today is also focused on MacBooks from 2015. Sold by Woot, these are certified refurbished models of the original 12-inch MacBook that Apple introduced in early 2015, with prices starting at $779.99 (1.2 GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB HD) and rising to $969.99 (1.2 GHz, 8GB RAM, 512GB HD).

Below is a quick rundown of other sales currently happening on Amazon:

• Twelve South – Get $30 off the HiRise Duet with the MacRumors exclusive promo code 30DUET (expires April 28)

• iPhone X Leather Case – As low as $34 in select colors

• Anker PowerCore II 20,100mAh Portable Charger – $35.99 with code ANKERPC2, down from $49.99 (exp. 4/20)

• Anker iPhone 8 Silicone Case – $5.99 with code ANIP8599, down from $15.99 (exp. 4/22)

• Anker iPhone 8 Plus Rise Case With Kickstand – $4.99 with code ANIP8499, down from $12.99 (exp. 4/22)

• Anker PowerLine+ II Lightning to USB 3.0 Cable (all colors) – $12.99 with code ANKER453, down from $17.99 (exp. 4/30)

• Anker PowerLine+ Lightning Cable (10ft, all colors) – $12.59 with code ANKER823, down from $17.99 (exp. 4/30)

For more details on the latest sales — today including Apple Watch Series 1 for as low as $150 at Walmart — head over to our full Deals Roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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MoviePass’s finances show that it might be too good to be true

MoviePass seems like a deal that’s too good to be true: $9.95 per month allows you to see one 2D movie per week (or up to four per month) in movie theaters. (It’s worth nothing that this is a change from the company’s previous plan, which was one movie per day for the same fee.) Considering that’s less than the price of a single movie ticket, it’s a pretty great price. But many have wondered how MoviePass will make money; after all, the company is paying theaters full price for movie tickets. Now, Business Insider reports that an external auditor has “substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern” based on MoviePass’s 10-K filing.

The auditor in question is Rosenberg Rich Baker Berman & Co., and the firm specifically had concerns about negative cash flows that MoviePass reported. Because of the levels of these losses, the auditors question the viability of the company over the next year.

MoviePass has attracted over 2 million subscribers since the company dropped its subscription price last year. The problem with their business model is that each customer costs them money every time they see a movie. That’s the reason they reported a $150.8 million loss.

That being said, it’s not uncommon for a startup to burn through cash as it’s getting up and running. These kinds of dire warnings happen relatively regularly when a new company is posting losses. MoviePass does need to eventually solve the profitability problem, but for now, the company can continue relying on outside investment for funding, as so many other startups do at this stage.

Source: Business Insider

Lyft promises to make all rides carbon neutral

Lyft announced today that it will purchase enough carbon offsets to make every Lyft ride carbon neutral. Just within the first year of this program, the company says it will put millions of dollars towards the effort and expects to offset over a million metric tons of carbon. To make every ride carbon neutral, Lyft will fund “emission mitigation efforts, including the reduction of emissions in the automotive manufacturing process, forestry projects and the capture of emissions from landfills.” The company 3Degrees will work with Lyft on the effort.

“The stark reality is that transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions. As a growing part of the transportation ecosystem, we are holding ourselves accountable to being part of the solution,” said Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green in a Medium post. “We’re in the unique and fortunate position to be a driving force in bringing forward a more sustainable future, and we don’t take that lightly.” The company hired environmentalist Paul Hawken to be its environmental advisor last year and it signed onto Michael Bloomberg’s We Are Still In coalition, committing to upholding the ideals of the Paris climate agreement after Donald Trump removed the US from the accord.

Both Apple and Google recently published updates on their efforts to offset their energy use with renewable energy. The new carbon offset projects funded by Lyft will be near its largest markets and all will be based in the US. “This action is not the full solution, but a real step forward,” said the company.

Source: Lyft

‘Football Manager 2018’ ads promote mental health awareness

Football Manager 2018, like previous games in the long-running franchise, is known for being the digital equivalent of crack. But in addition to providing endless hours of entertainment, its loyal UK playerbase may well get something more important out of the José Mourinho simulator. As part of a new NHS initiative, pitch-side advertising boards within the game have begun featuring messages for MindMate, a youth mental health awareness and support service run by the NHS Leeds Clinical Commission Group. The idea is to engage young people on home turf, pointing them towards the MindMate website if they click on the ads — assuming they notice them while they’re watching their team get thumped 4-0 in the relegation playoffs.

In-game ads have long been considered a beeline to a younger demographic. Barack Obama famously used ads in Burnout Paradise and other titles to garner support before and throughout his presidency. This type of campaign is a first for the NHS, but equally interesting is the way in which it’s being delivered. Football Manager 2018 actually has a unique, native advertising platform run by a company called Bidstack. It’s able to target ads based on location, date and time of day, which is why the month-long NHS campaign will only be seen by players in Leeds that can access MindMate’s support services.

Last November, Bidstack also partnered with the Movember Foundation to run in-game ads in Football Manager 2018 to raise awareness of men’s health issues, particularly testicular and prostate cancer.

Via: Eurogamer

Source: NHS Leeds Clinical Commission Group

Amazon will make Gillian Flynn’s ‘Utopia’ adaptation, not HBO

Thanks to collective feet-dragging and pre-production hell, Amazon has scored a win over HBO. The US adaptation of Utopia will live on under Jeff Bezos’ roof, retaining novelist (and former Entertainment Weekly writer) Gillian Flynn as executive producer, creator and showrunner. The nine-episode limited series focuses on a group of youths who met online, found a graphic novel and as a result are being hunted by a “shadowy deep state organization.” The graphic novel deals explicitly in conspiracy theories, and it turns out that the stories on its pages could actually be real. Across the pond, the original series ran for two seasons.

While the show was still at HBO, auteur director David Fincher was attached. The tone and overall arc was perfect for the worlds he’s used to playing in. Reportedly, the creative team and business side couldn’t come to an agreement regarding budget. At the same time, Fincher was working on Mindhunter for Netflix. Currently the director is developing a sequel to World War Z with the UK Utopia‘s creator, Dennis Kelly.

The original version was incredibly dark. In the pilot, members of the teenage group are murdered before the opening credits even roll. In the second episode, one commits suicide in the same timeframe, while later on in the show someone gets their eye carved out in real time. There’s also a school shooting in one episode. It isn’t clear if the domestic edition will maintain the brutal tone and imagery of the UK version.

Flynn still has ties to HBO with an adaptation of her novel Sharp Objects set to debut this spring. She’s best known for Gone Girl, a pulpy thriller that she adapted for film with Fincher. In the announcement, Amazon was keen to mention Flynn’s work with HBO on Sharp Objects more than once, seemingly as a way to put a little salt in the wound. No release date is set.

Source: Amazon

Oculus updates privacy controls to comply with GDPR rules

By and large, Facebook has chosen to weasel out of its earlier claims to extend GDPR privacy protections worldwide, even though it really could. Meanwhile, other parts of the company are grappling with the EU’s rules, which go into effect on May 25th. One of those is Oculus, which announced changes to its privacy controls, terms of service and a new code of conduct to safeguard users in VR environments — which will apply to users globally.

In regards to the current privacy fears circling around Facebook, Oculus made a blog post to accompany the changes addressing obvious questions. The company assured that it doesn’t feed Facebook user data that would be used by third parties to target advertisements based on an individual’s behavior on the Oculus platform. The information shared with the social media giant is “limited” — for example, if someone is flagged on one service, that will transfer over to the other. But users could be sharing even more info if they link accounts on both platforms.

The ‘My Privacy Center’ feature will go live on May 20th and give users a look at the data Oculus has collected on them. They won’t be able to see any information that’s been anonymized, including the movements made while in VR, which previously got the company in hot water with then-Senator Al Franken. The privacy center also won’t show data stored locally on an Oculus device, like height, or sensitive stuff like credit card info.

The new code of conduct prohibits users from using or hawking sexually explicit content; Like Facebook’s code, it also bans content that is “hateful or racially offensive” or that “attacks people based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, gender identity, diseases or disability.” Users also cannot harass others or encourage illegal activity or real-world violence.

If a user deletes their account, they should expect it to be gone within 90 days. That won’t wipe every trace from the company’s servers, as Oculus will still hold on to pieces like certain purchase information, which is retained for tax and financial purposes.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Oculus blog, Oculus Code of Conduct