Microsoft makes it way easier to report revenge porn
Revenge porn is disgusting, destructive and getting to be tragically common, so much so that titans of the web have been cooking up ways to deal with it. Microsoft is the latest to join the fray, as it just joined Google in giving victims a way to shut down illicit stuff they don’t want seen. Starting today, people can fill out a form on Microsoft’s support site to flag the content in question, confirm that they didn’t want whatever it was to be distributed in the first place and provide legal documentation if they’ve got it.
If the request is valid, Microsoft will then strike the offending matter from the web-crawling record that is Bing, as well as “remove access to the content itself when shared on OneDrive or Xbox Live.” As valuable as the tool might seem (we’ll see how quickly Microsoft resolves these cases) it’s still just part one part of the process a revenge porn victim has to deal with. If that not-so-private content got indexed by Google, for instance, that’s yet another search party to contact and deal with. And these steps are what need to happen just to ensure such results don’t infect a person’s search engine presence; none of it even begins to deal with the other creepy randos serving up the offending photos and videos themselves. Revenge porn will live on as long as shitty people do — and that won’t change any time soon — but at least it’s getting a just a little easier to mitigate.
Source: Microsoft on the Issues
Microsoft Garage debuts ‘Send’ messaging and email client
Microsoft Garage, the developmental team behind a number of Android apps, is back with another one. Well, not just yet for Android, at least.
Called “Send”, the app is some sort of strange messenger and email hybrid supported by Microsoft Outlook. Because sometimes it’s easier to send off a quick message to check if someone’s back from lunch, Send is designed to work in lieu of traditional emails.
“With Send, there are no signatures, subject lines or salutations required. Our design principle for the app was to make conversations fast and fluid while keeping the people who are important to you at its core. Send connects to Office 365 business and school email accounts to surface your frequent and recent contacts. “
Send was created with the in-and-out user in mind, meaning it’s not going to replace your more detailed emails. It will, however, sync up with Office 365 and Outlook. Should you need to pick up a work-related conversation outside of the office, Send can work on mobile.
Send is currently available to corporate and education iPhone owners but the Android and Windows Phone versions are coming soon.
The post Microsoft Garage debuts ‘Send’ messaging and email client appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Your mouse will soon work with your Xbox One
Beneath that shiny exterior, the Xbox One is, basically, a glorified gaming PC in a slightly smaller frame. As such, wouldn’t it be great if you could play RTS games on the machine with your keyboard and mouse? The hardware can already support the former, and if Microsoft’s Phil Spencer is to be believed, the latter is coming in the near future. The executive was asked on Twitter if it’d be possible to stream games from a Windows machine to the Xbox — in the opposite direction to how the company has set up its game streaming system. In response, he said that it’d require keyboard and mouse support for it to work, crucially adding “those aren’t far away.”
@Tak225Th Still finishing Xbox to Win10 streaming right now. I like the idea of Win10->Xbox One streaming but don’t have a plan yet.
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
@lgriao @PNF4LYFE @Tak225Th Yep, keyboard and mouse support for Xbox would need to be there for this to work, those aren’t far away.
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
@lgriao @PNF4LYFE @Tak225Th Mouse is what we’d need to add.
– Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 21, 2015
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has often spoke about bringing the disparate elements of the Windows businesses into a more cohesive single entity. When Windows 10 was announced, it was with the subtitle “one product family, one platform, one store,” and the move should help the gaming division tie in with its siblings. After all, with keyboard and mouse support, the console could support the majority of Windows 10 apps that are being crafted, and could even drive hardware sales. Hell, we’re perversely hoping that there’s a way that we can access a text editor so that we can write the news and play Halo at the same time. Yes, we know — we do need to get more.
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals, Microsoft
Via: UberGizmo
Skype updated to version 5.6, bringing with it a refreshed design
Skype has received a new update–version 5.6 up from version 5.5–from Microsoft, making the communications application more user-friendly through a refreshed design and a minor improvement to the recent conversations tab.
The Recent tab was updated to let you see more conversations at a glance while making sure that you can still quickly jump into a session and begin chatting. Version 5.6 added some additional improvements so you can see whether a friend is online, away, or offline on any screen with unified avatars.
Skype 5.6 also brings with it some standard bug fixes and performance tweaks to make overall app more stable.
While the updated interface adds some much needed ease-of-use and eye candy to Skype, it unfortunately has yet to employ any sort of Material Design guidelines, which would improve the user experience by tenfold.
However, it’s highly possible Microsoft won’t employ Google’s Material Design guidelines in its Android application if its looking to give Skype a unified design across its own products over adhering to design guidelines to specific operating systems.
If you haven’t gotten Skype 5.6 yet, be sure to get the latest update from the QR code or download link below.
source: Microsoft
Come comment on this article: Skype updated to version 5.6, bringing with it a refreshed design
Microsoft Send brings chat-style messaging to Outlook emails
To help ease the burden of email, Google created Inbox, and now Microsoft is looking to lend a hand, too. With Send, you can keep it brief for those times when “in-and-out email” is all that’s needed. It’s less about organization and more like an IM-like option for your inbox. The app provides the short convos that text or IMs usually afford, but allows access to your email contacts and stores all of the threads in Outlook for later reference. In other words, you can quickly send a “meet me downstairs” to a colleague without having to make a phone call or send an email with a subject line, etc. There’s also a Quick Reply tool with some pre-entered responses to save you even more time — things like “on my way” or “I’ll get back to you.”
Send only displays the short emails that were created/received in the app, so all of those longer messages remain in Outlook or your app of choice. On the back end, though, Send messages are treated like regular work correspondence, and built-in tools for IT departments are there, too. For now, Send is only available on iOS in the US and Canada, but it’ll arrive on Windows Phone and Android in the near future. You’ll also need an Office 365 business or education account to give it a go, which means a lot of us will have to wait for wider availability “in the coming months.”
Google Drive plug-in distracts you from using Microsoft’s OneDrive with Office
Google wants you to make documents with Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Microsoft wants you to make documents with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Then, when storing those documents or any other files, the two companies are split between Drive and OneDrive. Among the benefits of sticking with one company’s services is how everything works seamlessly. Google, however, wants Microsoft Office users to enjoy the benefits of Drive despite using a competing service.
Starting today, documents made with Office can be opened and edited before being saved silently back to Drive. Google has released a new plug-in for people with Office on Windows devices that allows files to go to and from Drive with ease. Along with background syncing, the plug-in allows users to upload documents that are saved on the computer directly to Drive rather than having to use a separate program or site.
Source: Google
Come comment on this article: Google Drive plug-in distracts you from using Microsoft’s OneDrive with Office
Official plug-in brings Google Drive support to Microsoft Office
Google Drive is a convenient tool many of us take full advantage of. Not only can we store all our files there, but we can also work on text files, spreadsheets and presentations, all from the browser or mobile apps. We know many of you are well invested in Microsoft’s Office software, though. If you prefer to use Office but would rather stick with Google Drive for your cloud services, the Search Giant has a solution that will make your workflow much more seamless.
Aside from being able to open your files with your application of choice (including Office apps) straight from Google Drive, users can now also save files to Google Drive directly from Office. You can now save any changes or even store new documents straight from Microsoft’s software.
The user will see an option to save to “My Drive” when storing any document from the official Microsoft apps. Simply click on the option and you should be ready to go! It’s a simple concept and the plug-in is rather minimal, but it will mean the world if you are a fan of both Google Drive and Microsoft Office apps. These two services operating together can completely change your workflow, and you no longer have to rely on OneDrive.
Interested? The only requirement is that you have Windows. Hopefully an option for Mac users also comes soon. If you qualify, simply head over to Google’s Drive for Office download page and install the plug-in. It takes but a few seconds.
But tell us, guys. Is this something you were hoping for? Will you dump OneDrive now that Google is offering this plug-in?
Microsoft reports a $2.1 billion loss in Q4
Microsoft’s earnings for the fourth quarter are in, and they show an operating loss of $2.1 billion, despite $22.2 billion in revenue (compared to $23.3 billion last year). A lot of that is due to the previously announced write-down for Nokia (and 7,800 job cuts) that caused an $7.5 billion hit. Of course, we knew that was coming, but the other news is that revenue and operating income were slightly down from last year too. Microsoft sold 8.4 million Lumia phones in Q4 (compared to 5.8 million last year), but revenue dropped 38 percent to $748 million, As the company looks forward to Windows 10, revenue for that division dropped 22 percent, a figure that it attributed to XP’s end-of-support cycle.
The net loss in Q4 amounted to $3.2 billion, which Bloomberg reports is its biggest loss ever. This occurs as Microsoft under new CEO Satya Nadella changes its approach to segments like hardware, and the cloud. It made more money from hardware, as revenue for Surface grew to $888 million and Xbox claimed a 27 percent gain. Even Bing is making more money, and says its market share in search has grown to 20.3 percent.
Developing…
Filed under: Microsoft
Source: Microsoft
Surface 3 tablet with LTE reaches AT&T on July 24th
Microsoft promised that there would be a version of its entry-level Surface 3 tablet with LTE data, and it’s finally here… well, almost. AT&T has announced that the cellular-equipped Windows slate will launch on July 24th for $30 per month on a 20-month Next plan ($600 total), or $400 if you buy one alongside a Lumia smartphone. This is the basic version of the Surface 3 with 64GB of storage, but that always-available internet connection will help a lot if you’re just looking to check email or stream music before you get to the coffee shop. Just be prepared to perform a lengthy software upgrade after you get it — although the Surface 3 LTE arrives mere days before the Windows 10 launch, it’s still shipping with Windows 8.1.
Filed under: Tablets, Wireless, Mobile, Microsoft, AT&T
Source: AT&T
Windows gets an emergency security fix across most versions
If you use Windows — just about any recent version of it, in fact — you’re going to want to check for updates as soon as you can. Microsoft has released an emergency, off-schedule patch for a security hole that lets ne’er-do-wells hijack your system if you open documents or websites that use embedded OpenType fonts. The flaw exists in virtually every edition of Windows that Microsoft still supports, ranging from Vista all the way to your preview copy of Windows 10. There’s no evidence that an attack exists in the wild, but you’ll definitely want to get the fix before malware writers get their act together.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Microsoft
Source: Microsoft TechNet, CERT
AIVAnet 