Tag Archives: microsoft

Over the last few years, some enthusiastic modders have been restoring Microsoft's cancelled Halo Online project, giving fans of the series a way to play Halo 3 multiplayer on the PC for the first time. For a while, it flew under Microsoft's radar, but last week a major update dropped …

Bloodrayne and Nocturne developer, Terminal Reality, has joined up with Infernal Technologies to launch a lawsuit against Microsoft. The two companies claim that the tech giant infringed on two of its patents, which relate to shadow and lighting techniques within video games. Terminal Reality and Infernal Technologies claim that Microsoft …

Microsoft has been on a roll recently, ensuring that the Xbox One supports as many different displays as possible. In March we received native 1440p and FreeSync support, and now in May the Xbox team will be adding support for 120Hz refresh rates. That might sound a bit redundant, particularly …

Microsoft has been tackling computer viruses with Windows Defender for quite some time, acting as a countermeasure once malicious software makes its way onto the system. Now, the company is taking a more proactive approach, implementing Windows Defender into browsers to stop it getting to that stage, starting with Google …

Over the past few years, Microsoft has been winning console gamers over with the addition of backwards compatibility. It started out with Xbox 360 games, and more recently, original Xbox games have been landing on Xbox One. This month, 19 more original Xbox titles will be playable on latest generation …

We've already heard that Microsoft is planning a big showcase for E3 this year, the company even went as far as to set up its own theater separate from the main convention center in order to have enough room. Now this week, we have an idea of what could be …

A few years ago when Satya Nadella first took over Microsoft, the company went through a major internal shakeup and formed the Windows and Devices Group, just ahead of the launch for Windows 10. Now this week, another major shift has occurred, reorganising Microsoft, diminishing the role of the Windows …

Back in January, Microsoft attempted to smooth over Intel’s buggy Meltdown fixes by issuing a patch of its own. Unfortunately, it seems that the Windows-maker has also dropped the ball on its patch, causing an even greater security hole in the process. It was obvious from the reveal of Spectre …

Microsoft was very proud of its recorded player numbers for the Sea of Thieves beta test in February, but it looks like the final release raised the bar even more. Sea of Thieves released last Tuesday and over the course of week one, two million people played the game. We …

Microsoft is overhauling its Code of Conduct across all of its platforms come the 1st of May, making it clearer that it reserves the right to rummage through your data and information if issues are to arise. One of the strangest and perhaps most ambiguous entries is that the company's …

The Game Developer Conference (GDC) kicked off this week and we've already had a couple of major announcements. It looks like this year, DirectX 12 is back in the spotlight, with the likes of Nvidia, AMD and Microsoft all working to support Ray Tracing technology. This is a technique commonly …

Two weeks ago, Microsoft stepped in to help distribute Intel’s Spectre and Meltdown fixes as individual vendors would have been too slow. It looks like the Redmond-based company isn’t done just yet, either, as now it’s offering a bug bounty program for anyone that identifies an attack based on the …

For years, ‘cloud gaming' has been touted as the future, removing the need for consumers to buy expensive hardware and run games locally. Instead, gamers can just plug in a lighter, smaller box and have servers across the world do the heavy lifting for them. The idea got off to …

Microsoft has had big showings for hardware at its last two E3 conferences, with the Xbox One S landing in 2016 and the Xbox One X being a big focus of the show last year. This year however, there are no new consoles to launch, with the focus being placed …

Back in June 2015, Microsoft launched one of its most ambitious Surface devices yet in the form of the Surface Hub. This particular Surface system was a huge 55-inch or 84-inch all-in-one PC, with prices of just over £5,700 and £16,200 respectively. The Surface Hub eventually arrived, but it was …

While not officially announced, it seems that Microsoft is planning to reuse its “Creators Update” moniker for a third Windows 10 build. The firm is currently working on an update codenamed Redstone 4, which is the most likely candidate for the leaked, and debatably catchier “Windows 10 Spring Creators Update” …

Back in May 2017, Microsoft announced that it would be launching another edition of Windows 10, known as ‘Windows 10 S'. This particular version was intended for cheaper laptops and ultrabooks, with a focus on getting a ‘safe' version of Windows 10 into schools and into the hands of students. …

Over the past couple of months, Intel has been churning out stable microcode fixes to help mitigate Spectre vulnerabilities across its line of processors. Microsoft has announced that it will begin lending a helping hand with distributing the firmware updates, provided that users are running Windows 10. As of yesterday, …

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has been a key component in Microsoft’s reboot over the past couple of years, helping to redefine the console brand and bridge the gap towards the PC platform. Spencer has stated during the 2018 DICE Summit that an important part of this is addressing workforce …

Despite the slow death of the Windows Phone being officially confirmed last year, it seems that some users are finding it difficult to let go. Unfortunately, Microsoft is still urging them to move on, as some services are being shut down for good. Microsoft broke the news in a forum …

Microsoft has been working on bringing Windows 10 to ARM chipsets for a couple of years now, with the first supported PCs set to go on sale this year. While Microsoft has demonstrated Windows running on ARM before, it has kept quiet about its various limitations. That changed this week …

While consoles don't tend to have official keyboard and mouse support, there are ways around that with adapters. This is something of a concern in multiplayer shooters, where a mouse provides a distinct advantage over a controller. Over the weekend, Xbox VP, Mike Ybarra, was asked if there were plans …

The next Windows 10 update is just around the corner, and with it comes a brand new power management mode exclusive to Windows 10 Pro users. Ultimate Performance, as it’s dubbed, is built for the high demand of workstations that often process heavy tasks such as 3D modelling and will …

Microsoft has confirmed that Skype is currently experiencing a security flaw that can endow attackers with system-level privileges, something which is often reserved for the operating system exclusively. Unfortunately for users of the communication platform, it looks like the company isn’t planning on fixing it at all, instead opting for …

Microsoft’s Cortana has been competing with Apple’s Siri on iPhone for quite some time, but the latest update finally brings the digital assistant to iPad. While all platforms will benefit from the update’s various nips and tucks, the iPad especially will benefit from an “exclusive layout and interface.” The main …

It seems Skype has been stumbling a little lately, with reports that the messaging app has been giving users repeated connection issues. Microsoft is on the ball, though, having reassured users that a fix is in the works and will be arriving soon. Some users seem to have experienced these …

Back in May 2017, Microsoft announced that it would be launching another edition of Windows 10, known as ‘Windows 10 S'. This particular version was intended for cheaper laptops and ultrabooks, with a focus on getting Windows 10 into schools and into the hands of students. Now, less than a …

Consumer Reports concluded last year that 25 percent of Microsoft’s Surface owners suffer issues within the first two years, particularly after the warranty has expired beyond the first year. It seems these problems are still continuing as Surface Pro 4 owners are reporting issues with a “flickering screen.” The glitch …

Given that it’s the default anti-virus protection baked into every Windows 10 system and is the bare minimum needed for securing PCs, Microsoft is keen to continue amping up Windows Defender. Aside from just targeting viruses and malware, Microsoft’s anti-virus protector will now target “scareware” too, in order to protect …

In January last year, Windows 10 officially surpassed Windows 7 here in the UK. Now one year later, Microsoft's latest operating system has managed to just about out-do Windows 7 worldwide, making it the most popular operating system in the world. According to the analytics specialists at StatCounter, Windows 10 …