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Activision Blizzard

Microsoft To Buy Activision Blizzard In All-Cash Transaction Valued At $68.7 billion.

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Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it would buy videogame publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion in an all-cash deal, or $95 per share, including Activision Blizzard’s net cash. When the deal closes, the Redmond-based software giant will be the world’s third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony. To put the staggering sum into perspective, the deal is worth approximately Rs 5,12,000 crore, or Rs five lakh twelve thousand crores in Indian currency.

According to Microsoft, the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, regulatory approval, and Activision Blizzard shareholder approval. The transaction is set to close in the fiscal year 2023. Activision Blizzard and Microsoft Gaming will continue to operate independently until the transaction is completed.

Activision Blizzard is the parent company of Activision, a video game developer based in the United States known for titles such as “Warcraft,” “Diablo,” “Overwatch,” “Call of Duty,” and “Candy Crush.” Activision is well-known in the gaming community for its titles and regular eSports events.
The company now has studios all over the world and employs about 10,000 people. Bobby Kotick will remain the CEO of Activision Blizzard following the acquisition. The business will carry on as usual, with a focus on accelerating revenue growth. The Activision Blizzard business will be reported to Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming’s CEO.

Activision Blizzard
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Microsoft’s offer of $95 per share represents a 45 percent premium over Activision’s Friday closing price. Before being halted for news, Activision’s stock was up nearly 38% at $65.39. Microsoft’s Game Pass, which now has over 25 million subscribers, will benefit from the acquisition. Activision Blizzard games will be included in the game pass, according to the company.
During the pandemic, demand for video games has increased as consumers who are stranded at home play more games to keep themselves entertained. Activision’s library of games, including Call of Duty and Overwatch, gives Microsoft’s Xbox a leg up on Sony’s PlayStation, which has had a more consistent stream of exclusive games for years.

Take-Two Interactive Software, a rival videogame publisher, announced last week that it would buy FarmVille creator Zynga for $11 billion in cash and stock, marking one of the largest industry-wide acquisitions of all time.
Bobby Kotick will remain CEO of Activision Blizzard, according to Microsoft, and he and his team “will maintain their focus on driving efforts to further strengthen the company’s culture and accelerate business growth.” The Activision Blizzard business will report to Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming’s CEO, once the deal is completed.

“Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today,” Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. “Gaming will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms.” We’re putting a lot of money into world-class content, community, and cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that prioritizes players and creators and makes gaming safe, inclusive, and accessible to everyone.”
“Players all over the world love Activision Blizzard games, and we believe the creative teams are working on their best work yet,” said Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming’s CEO. “Together, we will create a future in which people can play their favorite games virtually anywhere.”

Source: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/

“Our incredibly talented teams have created some of the most successful games for more than 30 years,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “The combination of Activision Blizzard’s world-class talent and incredible franchises, as well as Microsoft’s technology, distribution, talent access, ambitious vision, and shared commitment to gaming and inclusion, will help ensure our continued success in an increasingly competitive industry.”

European Commission

The European Commission Approves Microsoft’s $19.7 Billion Acquisition Of Nuance.

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Microsoft’s purchase of Nuance, an artificial intelligence company, received unconditional approval from the European Commission on Tuesday. In April, Microsoft paid $19.7 billion for the AI speech technology company Nuance. After LinkedIn, Nuance was the company’s second-largest acquisition under Nadella’s leadership. Microsoft hopes to expand its presence in the healthcare market with this new acquisition. This month, Reuters reported that the company was on its way to receiving approval in the European Union, in addition to approval in the United States and Australia.

According to the European Commission, the deal between Microsoft and Nuance will not cause any competition concerns in the European Economic Area (EEA). “According to the commission, Microsoft and Nuance provide very different products. While Nuance focuses on pre-built solutions for end-users, Microsoft’s Azure Cognitive Services includes application programming interfaces (API). This has no direct benefit for end-users, but it allows programmers to incorporate speech recognition into their respective programs,” according to the EU press release.

European Commission
Image source: www.onmsft.com

Nuance is best known for its Dragon software, which uses deep learning to help with speech transcription. It has also been praised for its accuracy over time, owing to its ability to adapt to the user’s voice. This technology has been licensed by the company for a variety of services and applications, including Apple’s Siri. Microsoft may integrate Nuance’s technology into its existing software, such as Teams, or offer it as part of its Azure cloud service.

Microsoft said in a blog post that “by augmenting the Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare with Nuance’s solutions, as well as the benefit of Nuance’s expertise and relationships with EHR system providers, Microsoft will be better able to empower healthcare providers through the power of ambient clinical intelligence and other Microsoft cloud services.”

The Commission concluded after conducting an investigation that the deal will not adversely affect competition in the markets for transcription software, cloud services, enterprise communications services, PC operating systems, and other products.
“On any of the markets examined in the European Economic Area, the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns,” the Commission stated. Nuance, based in the United States, serves 77 percent of US hospitals and was instrumental in the launch of Apple’s Siri virtual assistant.
Apart from healthcare, Nuance provides AI expertise and customer engagement solutions to companies all over the world, including Interactive Voice Response (IVR), virtual assistants, and digital and biometric solutions. Nuance’s special features will be integrated into Microsoft’s existing applications, such as Azure, Teams, and Dynamics 365.
The Commission stated that it had looked into issues such as the overlap between Microsoft and Nuance’s transcription software activities and discovered that they offered “very different products” that, when combined, would face strong competition from other players.
As more companies integrate AI into their products and services, tech companies have increased their acquisitions of AI-focused firms. The 19.7 billion deal between Microsoft and Nuance was unanimously approved by both Nuance and Microsoft’s boards of directors, according to the blog post.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Introduces a New Hinge Design and the Release of the Surface Pro 8.

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On Wednesday, Microsoft held a hardware event to unveil a new line of Surface devices, including the Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Pro 8, and Surface Go 3 – all of which run Windows 11 out of the box. During the event, Microsoft also unveiled the upcoming Surface Duo 2 phone with two screens, which will be the successor to the previous Surface Duo. Updates have also been made to the existing Surface Pro 7+ and Surface Pro X in order to attract new customers.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio: Specifications And Features

One of the most significant announcements made during Microsoft’s Wednesday event was the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio. The device is aimed at programmers, creative professionals, designers, and gamers looking for a portable creative studio. A 14.4-inch PixelSense touchscreen display is attached to a dynamic woven hinge that allows the display to be moved from various angles on the Surface Laptop Studio. The hinge allows you to convert the device from a laptop to a tablet or canvas. The display, however, is not removable, unlike the Surface Book 3, which allows you to slide the screen out of the keyboard and use it as a tablet.
Microsoft has released the Surface Laptop Studio in three modes. The first is the laptop mode, which gives you a full keyboard and touchpad like on a typical laptop. You can, however, switch the display to scene mode. This occurs when the display is moved forward to the point where the keyboard is closed but the touchpad is open, allowing for immersive gaming, streaming, docking, and presentation. The third mode is Studio mode, which lets you slide the screen over the keyboard to use it as a canvas or to take notes.
The Surface Laptop Studio also has a space under the keyboard for the Surface Slim Pen 2, which magnetically attaches and charges when not in use.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is powered by 11th generation Intel Core H35 processors and Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics processors. For improved videoconferencing, the device also includes studio microphones and a 1080p webcam. Furthermore, the touchpad on the Surface Laptop Studio supports feedback.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Image source: anandtech.com

Microsoft Surface Pro 8: Specifications And Features

Because Surface Laptop Studio prevents users from detaching the display from the keyboard, Microsoft’s Surface Pro 8 is essentially the company’s flagship 2-in-1 product for this year. The Surface Pro 8 comes with a 13-inch PixelSense display that supports touch and has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. It also supports Adaptive Color Technology, which allows the display colors to adapt to the environment. Dolby Vision display technology and Dolby Atmos audio are also supported by the Surface Pro 8.
The front of the Microsoft Surface Pro 8 has a 5-megapixel camera for video calling. A 10MP 4K rear camera is also included with the tablet.
The Intel Evo platform, which is designed specifically for ultra-thin premium devices, is also used in the 2-in-1 device. The Surface Pro 8 also has two Thunderbolt 4 ports and, as an optional accessory, the new Surface Pro Signature Keyboard. The new keyboard, like the Surface Pro X, supports the storage and charging of the Surface Slim Pen 2. Furthermore, the Surface Pro 8 is expected to have a battery life of up to 16 hours on a single charge.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2: Specifications And Features

The Surface Duo 2 was Microsoft’s most recent major hardware announcement this year. The new Redmond dual-screen phone includes a number of enhancements over the original Surface Duo, which more closely resembled the market concept. At the design level, however, there are few changes.
Surface Duo 2 with Android 11 ships with two 5.8-inch PixelSense displays that, when deployed, provide a wider 8.3-inch image. There is also an overview pane that allows you to check all notifications after folding the phone. You can also use the eye strap to check the battery level while charging without folding the phone. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC octa-core processor is found under the hood, which is a significant upgrade over the Snapdragon 855 found in the first generation Surface Duo.
The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 also features a triple rear camera with a 16MP sensor with an f / 2.2 ultra-wide-angle lens, a 12MP sensor with an f / 1.7 wide-angle lens, and optical image stabilization (OIS), and a 12MP sensor with an f / telephoto lens. 2.4 and OIS compatibility. This is an improvement over the original model’s single rearview camera. A Time-Out (ToF) sensor and an LED flash are also included with the rear camera setup. In addition, the Surface Duo 2 has a front-facing 12-megapixel selfie camera.
Surface Duo 2 connectivity options include 5G, 4G LTE, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS / AGPS, NFC, and a USB TypeC port. The phone also comes with a special cover to which you can attach the Surface Slim Pen to make it more useful. In addition, the Surface Duo 2 has a fingerprint sensor on the side.
Surface Duo 2 is a dual-screen case that can run two applications at the same time. Microsoft also stated that it has collaborated with developers and game studios to provide 150 dual-screen optimized games. Asphalt Legends 9, Modern Combat 5, and Dungeon Hunter 5 are among these titles.
Microsoft will release the Surface Duo 2 in Glacier and Obsidian color schemes.

Price And Availability Details

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio is priced at $1,599 USD (roughly Rs 1.18,000). It is the same as the starting price of Microsoft’s Surface Book 3, which debuted last year as a 2-in-1 device. The Surface Pro 8 starts at $ 1,099, on the other hand (around Rs 81,100). It is the successor to the Surface Pro 7, which debuted in 2019 for $749 (approximately Rs 55,200). Furthermore, the Surface Duo 2 costs $1,499 USD (approximately Rs 1,1,600). That’s $100 (approximately Rs 7,400) more than the original Surface Duo price, which began at $1,399 USD (about Rs 1.03,200).
In terms of availability, Microsoft announced at the event that its new devices will be available for purchase on October 5th, coinciding with the release of Windows 11. We can certainly expect some delay in the availability of new devices in India, as the official date of sale is intended for the US and some other developed markets where pre-orders have already begun.
At the time of writing, the Microsoft India product listing indicated that the Surface Laptop Studio and Surface Pro 8 would be available in early 2022. Surface Duo 2 will not be released in India until further notice.

windows 365

Microsoft Introduces Windows 365, a Web-Streamed Virtual Desktop Service for Hybrid Work.

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Windows 365 has recently promised to offer a new way to access a full-fledged Windows operating system from anywhere you want. You can access the OS from a desktop, laptop, or even a mobile phone. Microsoft introduced Windows 365 to the market at a recent partner-focused online conference Inspire 2021 on Wednesday. This new debut brings the theory of a cloud PC to life. Windows 365 is Microsoft’s latest product to enable a suitable remote working environment which has become the new norm lately because of the coronavirus pandemic last year. This operating system is manufactured to provide a surreal computing experience through a native app or Web browser on any device which has an active Internet connection.


The Availability of Windows 365


Microsoft has stated that Windows 365 will be made available to any organization- small or big from August 2. Anyone can access this operating system from any device possible which includes a Mac, iPad, Linux, or even an Android phone. Windows will have 2 cloud PC configurations- Windows 365 Business and Windows 365 Enterprise. Any announcement related to the pricing has not been announced yet.

Windows 365
Image source: www.microsoft.com


Features of Windows 365


With the introduction of Windows 365 to the public, Microsoft aims to provide an experience of any older operating system they released but with the extra benefit of accessing it from any device. It will offer the same looks, feels, and security as a traditional Windows PC. It will allow users full access to Windows 10 or 11(when available) directly from an application or Web browser. Users will also have the benefit of accessing their apps, tools, information, and settings from the PC cloud.


Accessibility

With a special thanks to the Microsoft Cloud integration, users will now be able to access Windows 365 while they switch between multiple devices. It does not matter what device you are using; you will get the same experience. This service will run on the cloud and hence, will not display any distinction even when you shift from a top-class device to a more basic device, for instance, an Android phone.
Even though Microsoft already came out with Azure Virtual Desktop to introduce Windows through the cloud to business clients, Windows will offer a whole new way to implement digitalization without tedious IT support. If a corporation has its own IT admins, Microsoft stated that the admins could manage and deploy cloud PCs based on Microsoft Windows by using tools similar to the ones they use to manage physical PCs.

“Windows 365 is really going to make a huge difference for organizations that wanted to try virtualization for various reasons but could not — maybe it was too costly, too complex or they didn’t have the expertise in house to do it,” said Wangui McKelvey, General Manager of Microsoft 365.

Source: gadgets.ndtv.com

Microsoft also mentioned that this operating system will support any business applications including Microsoft 365, Dynamic 365, and Power Platform, among others. IT teams can also use Microsoft Endpoint Manager to work with Windows in order to manage cloud PCs provided by the corporations. They can apply management and security policies remotely from any device.
Windows 365 also come with the Endpoint Analytics dashboard to provide analytics access to look at the health of the Internet connection across the business network. IT teams can also run diagnostics using Watchdog Service.


Security


Windows 365 is designed to address most of the security challenges using a Zero Trust architecture. It comes with a Multi-Factor Authentication(MFA) for the verification of login or access attempts to the cloud PC using integration with the Microsoft Azure Active Directory. Specific permissions like licensing, Device Management, and Cloud PC Management with certain rules can also be delegated. In addition, for increased security, you can use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
Microsoft further argued that all managed Microsoft Windows cloud-based discs were encrypted, all data stored remained encrypted, and all network traffic to and from PCs also encrypted. Windows 365 has been developed prior to the pandemic, with references to initial work begun in 2014. But the outbreak of coronavirus contributed to a wider Cloud testing for Microsoft than previously. The company had also decided to pitch its new service with a Microsoft Office 365 replacement last year by Microsoft.

Windows 11

Windows 11 is out with New Features and Better Interface.

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Exactly after six years of the launch of Windows 10 (July 2015), Microsoft has come up with another version of its Windows operating system, i.e. Windows 11. The company has made a few changes in terms of the look and feel of the OS and has also eliminated many old features that were no longer relevant. There have been a lot of talks about the new OS for the past year, and people have been successful in getting some information about it before the official release, but still, there is a lot that came with the actual launch of the product.

What’s New in Windows 11

Microsoft is the leading OS developer, and most people use Windows PCs because of its simplicity. This time too, the company has tried to simplify the interface even more for the users, such that to maintain its popularity amid the tough competition from rivals like macOS and Chrome OS. Though Microsoft has held its position quite strong, improvement is still important to stay relevant. The new Windows 11 has got a new UI, better windows management features as well as it will now offer support for Android apps as well.

Windows 11
Image Source: c.s-microsoft.com

The Updated Features

Talking about the redesign of the Windows 11 OS, the company has been making changes to the taskbar of the OS for past years, but the look has always been similar. This time, the company has shifted the windows icon and other app icons to the middle of the taskbar from the left but has kept the items in the right as it is. Microsoft has still kept the option to place the start button and other icons on the left open.

When we click on the windows icon, the start menu opens up in the center of the screen, having a search bar on the top of it. Below the search bar, the menu says Pinned Apps, under which a 6*6 grid of apps has been placed. Following the grid underneath, there is space for app recommendations. There is an option for putting up the user’s picture below the recommendation section in the menu on the left and the power off button on the right.

The next big change has been made to the startup tone of Windows along with the other notification tones as well as it has got new themes and wallpapers, too. Microsoft has also introduced a new feature Snap Layouts with Windows 11, which enhances the multitasking experience for the users as now the users can open multiple different screens on the desktop by hovering the mouse over the maximize button. The OS is capable of remembering the users’ choices as well, such that it will keep the previously selected windows and apps ready in the form of Snap Group for easy access in the future.

Microsoft has also added support for multiple monitors in Windows 11, so it becomes easier for the users to use the work on virtual desktops. This support for virtual desktops also includes the option to put different wallpapers for different screens. The company has also tried to improve the touch experience for the Windows tablets, which it had intended to do with its Windows 10X project, which never saw the daylight.

Side-by-side, Microsoft has also made some improvements to the touch keyboard and has included support for GIFs in partnership with Tenor. The keyboard allows the voice commands for making typing easier.

The new normal work and study from home culture have also inspired Microsoft to add some features for people. The company has incorporated the Teams app into Windows 11 and has also made it easier for the users to share their screens with each other during the meeting.

Microsoft has also kept the gamers in mind and has incorporated support for Auto HDR and DirectX 12 Ultimate as well as for xCloud in Windows 11. The users also get an Xbox Game Pass along with the OS, which lets them play popular games on their machines.

Microsoft has also revamped the design of its Microsoft Store for Windows 11 and has adopted the new zero-revenue share for the developers. According to the new policy, Microsoft has exempted the commission on uploading apps on Microsoft Store for the developers, so that it can attract more and more developers. Other than Microsoft Store, the company has also incorporated the Amazon AppStore into the new OS, so that to make Android App available for the users.

Also, the company claims that the new OS is faster in terms of installing updates as now the updates will be 40% smaller, and these will run in the background to provide a seamless experience for the users.

Availability, Free Upgrade, and Hardware Requirements

For now, Windows 11 has been made available to the insider members, and the Windows 10 users will receive the upgrade by the end of this year. Windows 11 is available in Windows 11 Home or Windows 11 Pro versions.

According to the company, the new PCs will be empowered by Windows 11 only, whereas Windows 10 PC users will have the access to the PC Health Check app, which will define if their PCs are suitable for Windows 11 upgrade or not. For the Windows 7 and 8 PCs, the Windows 11 be available only after the users purchase a Windows 10 license.

Talking about the hardware requirements, the OS will run on a 64-bit x86 or ARM processor and need 4GB of RAM as well as 64GB of storage.

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office Gets Patched for 4 Vulnerabilities That Could Impact User Security: Check Point Research

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Microsoft Corporation is a Redmond, Washington-based multinational technology company. It creates, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, and personal computers, as well as related services. The Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Internet Explorer and Edge web browsers are among its most well-known software products. The Xbox video game consoles and the Microsoft Surface lineup of touchscreen personal computers are its flagship hardware products. Microsoft was ranked No. 21 in the 2020 Fortune 500 list of the largest corporations in the United States based on total revenue.

Microsoft Office, also known as simply Office, is a collection of client software, server software, and services created by Microsoft. Bill Gates first announced it on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. The first version of Office was a marketing term for an office suite (a bundled set of productivity applications), and it included Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Office applications have grown significantly closer over time, with shared features such as a common spell checker, OLE data integration, and the Visual Basic for Applications scripting language.

The Vulnerabilities Found

Microsoft has fixed up to four vulnerabilities in its Office suite, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Office Web, according to Check Point Research on Tuesday. These flaws could allow an attacker to infect users via malicious Office documents. The security flaws were discovered by the cybersecurity firm in February using an automated software approach known as “fuzzing,” and they were reported to Microsoft. While three of the vulnerabilities were patched earlier this month, the organization was able to patch the final one earlier on Tuesday. It is advised that users upgrade the Microsoft Office suite on their desktops and laptops.

Microsoft
Image Source: news24-7live.com

Check Point Research revealed there were flaws with the MSGraph portion, encompassing Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel, which is part of Microsoft Office products. The code that the researchers investigated and discovered to be vulnerable existed from at least the Office 2003 release in August 2003.

“To our knowledge, this component has not received too much attention from the security community until now, making it a fertile ground for bugs,” Check Point Research mentioned in a blog post.

Source: research.checkpoint.com

The researchers used the “fuzzing” method to use automated software to exploit the vulnerability. Using the method, the majority of Microsoft Office products were found to be vulnerable to malicious code attacks. This can be sent to the user by means of an Excel spreadsheet or a .xls-format specially crafted Word document in a.docx format, Outlook E-mail.

“We learned that the vulnerabilities are due to parsing mistakes made in legacy code,” Check Point Software’s Head of Cyber Research, Yaniv Balmas, said in a prepared statement. One of the primary learnings from our research is that legacy code continues to be a weak link in the security chain, especially in complex software like Microsoft Office.”

Image Source: research.checkpoint.com

The researchers pointed out that there could be multiple attack vectors, with the most basic being when a victim downloads a malicious.xls file. Check Point Research stated that the four vulnerabilities were disclosed to Microsoft on February 28. Three of these, CVE-2021-31174, CVE-2021-31178, and CVE-2021-31179, were patched by the software giant on May 11, while the fourth, CVE-2021-31939, was fixed on Tuesday.

Check Point Research researchers believe that, while Microsoft has fixed the four vulnerabilities, there may be others that affect users. It is therefore advised to install the most recent Microsoft Office suite. Users of Windows 10 can install the update by going to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update.