Sometimes you just hit a dead end in troubleshooting what’s going on with your phone. You’ve tried everything you can think of, but no dice. For tech-savvy users this may be messing with carrier settings or navigating file menus, for the less-digitally inclined it might be connecting a pair of bluetooth headphones. Samsung is updating its Samsung+ app to a new 3.0 version, with… Read More
It isn't often that Microsoft is the company that beats Apple and Google to the punch, especially when it comes to something as cool and sophisticated as virtual assistants but, with Cortana, Redmond has done just that.
The presentation that Microsoft gave at Build 2016, the company's annual conference in which it explains where it's at and what it's doing, focused on 'bots', artificial intelligence, and improving services like Cortana.
Siri, the virtual assistant that Apple launched alongside the iPhone 4S, and Google Now, the assistant embedded in most new Android phones, are rapidly being outpaced by Microsoft's assistant, which is available on smartphones, tablets, and PCs. This may not seem like a radical difference, but it does mean that Cortana is well-placed to dominate in an area that Microsoft thrives in – the enterprise.
Embedding Cortana into the mindset of businesses is important and, thanks to the rapid uptake of Windows 10, possible. Every Windows 10 PC has the little box in the bottom left that, when pressed, brings up Cortana, ready to answer any queries, help with any tasks, or respond to inane prodding. Apple and Google do not have this advantage as the assistants are not available on OS X or Chrome OS, the company's respective PC operating systems.
This isn't the first time in recent memory that Microsoft has outmanoeuvred its competitors. Windows 10, the newest version of the operating system that went on sale last summer, runs across smartphones, tablets, PCs, Xbox, and Internet of Things devices seamlessly, ushering in a new era of universal apps and the Universal Windows Platform.
This platform is what enables Cortana and will, in the future, allow Microsoft to make sweeping advances with its software that can then be rolled out across any number of devices across all hardware ranges. Cortana is simultaneously available on a Microsoft smartphone, a Lenovo tablet, and a Dell PC, and, thanks to Windows 10, she works just the same on all of them.
Build also saw Microsoft adopting a different kind of technology: bots. Essentially, bots are little pieces of software that 'attach' onto other software and offer services automatically. For example, a bot enabled in Skype can translate a chat in real-time while a bot in Edge, the browser in Windows 10, can automatically order a pizza from Domino's.
Microsoft is describing this as 'Conversation as a Platform' and spent a lot of time on stage explaining why it is so important for the future of the company, especially since it failed to get in on mobile quick enough to have a meaningful market share now.
Cortana, it would seem, is about to get a lot more useful thanks to bots, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Microsoft is formalising this by launching the Cortana Intelligence Suite, which is made up of two parts: Microsoft Cognitive Services, a set of APIs that let computers understand humans in more natural terms, and the Microsoft Bot Framework, which lets developers and companies create and manage bots more easily.
All of these software services are built on the back of Azure, Microsoft's cloud platform, and work alongside Office, Windows, and every other piece of software that Microsoft currently makes.
This is important as it means that businesses who have already bought into Microsoft services can quickly and easily harness Cortana and bots, increasing their productivity in the process. For Microsoft, this is a big win on every single level.
But the applications for this software don't end there. One of the demos that Microsoft showed focused on a blind software engineer who works for the company in London. Thanks to Cortana, artificial intelligence, and a specially made pair of glasses, he can 'see' things as the computer identifies them and describes them. The accompanying video was moving and, for Microsoft, a good way to show how its technology can really change people's lives.
Google has touted its artificial intelligence smarts in relation to Google Now and, in some ways, it is an impressive technology that can track and predict what the user will be doing. Siri, in iOS 9, also picked up some deeper learning capabilities. But neither rivals Cortana and the aggressiveness with which Microsoft is constantly updating the assistant to deal with new tasks.
This obviously has big applications in the consumer world, but the enterprise world is where Microsoft can really hammer this home. No other company – not Amazon, not Google, not Oracle, not Box – has the level of data, the virtual assistant, or the operating system to do what Microsoft is doing and this is why Cortana is such a key part of Microsoft's long-term appeal with businesses.
Windows 10 is now on 270 million PCs and businesses are taking to the operating system at an unprecedented rate, according to Microsoft, which means the data set from which all of the intelligent services can draw will only grow bigger and bigger over time making them more and more useful.
One of the goals that Microsoft outlined at Build was to enable users to interact with their computers using natural language. This is achieved by collecting vast amounts of natural language data which is then processed, broken down, and learnt from. Microsoft now has this data and is using it to improve Cortana and its other services.
For the first time in a very long time, Microsoft is leading in a way that Apple, Google, and almost every other big technology firm simply cannot do, and it is this which will firmly cement Redmond's place as the war over who gets the most users, the cleverest software, and ultimately the biggest share of the profits continues.
Microsoft is planning to build ad blocking directly into its Edge browser on Windows 10, and that integration will be coming soon.
This fact was revealed at the company's Build conference in a session concerning what's coming next for Edge, where a slide was shown detailing incoming improvements ranked in terms of their importance – with number one on the list being extensions, unsurprisingly.
Extensions will be going live in the next version of Edge, which will arrive in the next major Windows 10 Anniversary Update (although they're live in preview already, in a limited form anyway) that lands later in the summer.
Integrated ad blocking is number four on the list – so a pretty high priority – and is also targeted for that same version of Microsoft's browser coming in the summer. That could render extensions like Adblock Plus unnecessary before they've even had a chance to emerge on Edge – depending on the quality of Redmond's effort, of course.
Microsoft already has some anti-advert measures in Internet Explorer in the form of Tracking Protection Lists which block some ads, with Firefox offering similar measures, and of course recently we've seen other major browsers plump for integrated ad blocking.
That includes Apple's Safari on mobile, and Opera has recently baked in ad blocking on its desktop browser with the facility also planned for its mobile browser – and what's more, Opera has gone for a proactive blocker which will intervene and ask the user if they'd like to 'block ads and surf the web faster'.
All of which leaves Google's web browser looking rather out in the cold with a definite dilemma. Advertising is Google's lifeblood in terms of revenue, of course, so integrated ad blocking isn't something the company wants to go near with a barge pole – yet if these developments are ignored, Chrome runs the risk of looking outdated compared to the competition, offering slower surfing, and it could effectively become seen as the 'new IE' of the current browsing era.
Those are risks Google will somehow need to balance, but it will be a tricky juggling act to pull off to say the least.
Via: ZDNet
On stage at its annual Build conference keynote, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella painted a picture of our lives being made easier with bots, intelligent agents that live within apps and services. But, would that life be much better, or less connected than it already is – or both?
Nadella and team's vision for conversational computing comes just a week after their first public experiment in the field, Tay, came crashing down in a spectacular display of human depravity. Not exactly the best argument for a world run by bots.
The newly-appointed executive addressed the Twitter chat bot experiment head on during the March 30 Build 2016 keynote with a three-fold plan for bots that he believes are the new apps.
To Nadella, so long as bots and the digital assistants that use them are built with the intention to augment human ability and experience, with trustworthiness (privacy, transparency, security) and with inclusion and respectfulness in mind, we'll be OK.
Or, at the very least, we'll avoid another Tay scenario.
And, on paper, that generally checks out. Of course, the bots that Microsoft envisions aren't necessarily accessible by the masses all at once, but individuals through specific communication programs or through assistants, like Cortana.
Still, Tay was demonstrative of the sheer power that such intelligent, semi-autonomous software can possess. But I'm worried about another facet of these bots' power.
That's my simple question to everyone: are the lay people of the world ready for such power, just as we're learning empathy on the internet? But, I'll follow that up with another one.
What will that power do to a society that's more connected than ever yet whose people struggle to meaningfully connect with one another more than ever?
Take Microsoft's demonstration of Cortana using bots to facilitate uniting with an old friend in Dublin, Ireland on an upcoming trip. Looking at it one way: Cortana and its squad of bots just helped someone connect with her old friend.
But, try and look at it this way: wouldn't that person have remembered that old friend without Cortana's help? Americans don't visit Ireland every day, after all. Or, would she not have, for the effects of "connected" tech have already created a crutch for her to lean on to facilitate human interaction?
I like to call this "The Facebook Effect." How many of your friends and family members' birthdays do you actually remember now that Facebook reminds you? (I won't even bother counting myself.)
What happens when we apply similar use cases to far more powerful pieces of technology? My guess is that it won't be long before we rely on bots to remind us to connect with one another much less order a pizza.
At that point, I don't know how much bots are helping so much as hindering our ability to meaningfully or earnestly connect with one another. In the above Dublin scenario, the woman didn't even reach out to her friend on her own – Cortana did it for her.
Now, don't mistake: I couldn't be more excited for for bots to intelligently update my calendar and remind me that I'm on deadline for that laptop review. But, I'd rather handle communicating with other humans on my own, thanks.
Technology by its very definition makes life easier, we'd be nothing without it, but just how much do we want to lean on technology to foster human relationships?
As we enter this new phase of automation, we could do with asking ourselves that question more often.
As part of the big Anniversary (formally known as Redstone) Update for Windows 10, Microsoft has branded a new Windows 10 feature called Ink, putting further emphasis into pen and stylus usage.
The new feature levels up the interaction of any hand writing users put to the screen. For example, users can make a reminder to call their mom tomorrow, and Windows 10 will intelligently recognize you've written a date and transform it into object you can tap and setup a reminder through Cortana.
Alternatively, users will be able to drop a dot on a map to mark it as a point of interest. In another new use case, users will be able to strike out a sentence by simply drawing a line through it. You'll even be able hold a stencil against the screen and drawing along its edges.
Microsoft wants ink to be as intuitive and natural as using real paper. As such Ink is also being given its own work space built into the lock screen, so you don't have to unlock the device to start sketching and taking notes.
Beyond Ink, Microsoft promised more Universal Windows apps including Starbucks, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger will come to the Windows 10 store soon.
Coratana also becomes more conversational though the Anniversary Update to the point of imitating the 1960s Batman theme. Beyond fun and games, Cortana is also more helpful with managing your work schedule by automatically adding your flight itinerary or automatically sending over a Powerpoint document to your coworker before a big meeting.
When setting up a lunch appointment, the Windows 10 digital assistant will also intelligently offering choices for booking a tablet, take out options and other things to do.
Of course the Anniversary Update isn't just limited to the Windows 10 operating system. Xbox One will be getting Windows 10 apps and a developer mode as part of Redstone.
Microsoft also announced the enhancements will also come the Hololens, but the software company didn't highlight what these would include.
While on stage, Executive VP of the Windows and Devices Group Terry Myerson boasted are now more than 270 million Windows 10 devices worldwide. According to Microsoft, and the platform is being adopted 145 faster than Windows 7 and 4 times faster Windows 8.
The Anniversary Update should come to all Windows 10 users in late summer.
Today, Microsoft will show off what it's been cooking up for Windows, Xbox and perhaps even HoloLens at its annual developer conference, Build 2016.
While it's largely aimed at the folks that make the apps you use every day, Microsoft will broadcast the conference's two major keynotes straight from the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif, so that fans (and devs who couldn't make it) can see what's next for Microsoft as it happens.
Watching the keynotes is almost painfully easy. Just head to Microsoft's newfangled Build 2016 page, scroll down a bit and press that play button.
However, likely nothing will happen until around 8:30am PT (or 11:30am ET, 4:30pm GMT, 1:30am AEST), when Microsoft promises the keynote will begin. Tomorrow's keynote is expected to start at the same time.
Surprisingly, there's been pretty much zilch in the way of legitimate reports (i.e. rumors) surrounding what Microsoft will showcase today.
But, we can use deduction based on what's happened since Build 2015 to make some educated (i.e. relatively safe) guesses.
All rumors and reports point to a June 2016 release for Redstone, the internal codename for the next big Windows 10 update. So, it's more than likely that we'll get a sneak peek of what that major release will entail, which apparently will "change everything."
And we've actually already seen a bit of what the first half of Redstone will entail, thanks to the Fast Ring of the Windows Insider program. (I use the term "first half" because reports say that Redstone will come in two phases, with the second slated for Spring 2017 to coincide with a hardware launch.)
From what we can tell, phase one of Redstone – reportedly known internally as "RS1" – will be about making good on Microsoft's mission to tightly integrate all devices that run on the firm's Universal Windows Platform (UWP). That means PCs, smartphones (the few that have it), Xbox One and even Internet of Things devices.
This will likely include updates to Microsoft's iOS-bridging Project Islandwood – aimed to bring iOS code to Windows 10 – as well as its Centennial apps program, which updates old Win32 apps for Windows 10 and its Windows Store, like Office 2016.
Finally, we've learned that Continuum will likely be upgraded in RS1, allowing text messages and calls sent to a Windows 10 Mobile device to appear on your Windows 10 desktop screen. Think of Apple's iMessage platform done the Microsoft way.
Naturally, my money is on Cortana getting some major upgrades if not in RS1, then in RS2. (But, RS1, please?)
Some updates on what in the world is happening with Windows 10 Mobile beyond Lumia devices would be welcome, too.
(Also, according to a Bloomberg profile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will also address the recent Tay debacle and unveil a series of bots like her designed to help in specific scenarios.)
Since it's unveiling at a Windows 10 event in January 2015, Microsoft's wearable computing product, HoloLens, has both captured and tempered our imaginations with its potential and limitations. And, with the developer version said to be shipping March 30, it's almost a forgone conclusion that we're going to hear more.
Since it teased "holoportation" just last week, Microsoft would be remiss not to show off how exactly the system works in a live demonstration – if not behind closed doors. The technology connects two HoloLens users in a holographic video chat in which each user "appears" within the other's physical space, rendered via the headset.
Generally speaking, though, we need to see how this device is supposed to apply to our daily lives if it's to sell once it hits the shelves. Cool augmented reality games and educational applications are one thing, but I hope Microsoft can capture how this device will fit into what's already a glut of devices for the average, tech-savvy consumer.
Microsoft has already said quite a lot about how its UWP will apply to Xbox, name-dropping several games that will (and already) support saves across Xbox One and Windows 10 as well as cross-buy and game streaming. But, what about Windows will actually change Xbox?
At GDC 2016, Microsoft said that the Windows and Xbox One Stores will unify, offering games and apps for both platforms. Perhaps we'll see exactly what that looks like today.
However, there has to be more to it than that. Will we soon see our phone calls and text messages – to a Windows 10 Mobile phone, natch – appear as notifications while we're playing Halo? That would be an interesting start.
Ha! You're too cute. Unless it's a HoloLens or Surface-slash-Lumia device used for a demonstration, fat chance.
Stay tuned to this space throughout Build 2016, as this page will change to collect all of the highlights as we cover them.
When Microsoft first announced its new Operations Management Suite (OMS) cloud monitoring service last May, it wasn't the case that handling Linux systems was an afterthought, but the tools certainly didn't have parity with what you could do for Windows Server.
At the time, Jeremy Winter, who runs the OMS team, talked about Linux as being "on our roadmap to come" with the first option being deploying Microsoft's own management agent into a Linux VM – which could be on AWS or VMware, not just Windows Server or Azure.
In the old Microsoft days, things might have stayed at that level, like a cloud version of the System Center approach. But the way Microsoft approaches cross-platform is rather different now and even veterans of System Center like Robert Reynolds understand that Microsoft needs to fit in with the existing Linux ecosystem, and that's why the Linux agent for OMS is now a plugin to the popular Fluentd, even though Microsoft had originally experimented with an agent for the Linux systemd service manager.
"When we started the preview, we had our own management agents," Reynolds explains, "but the Linux community said to us 'we already have agents deployed, there's already an open agent infrastructure'. So we worked with the community to find out which agent they preferred, which one they thought would be the long-term choice and the majority of people we're working with have adopted Fluentd, so we went with that."
And in a move that would have once been unusual but is quickly becoming 'business as usual' at Microsoft, the OMS plugin for Fluentd is being open sourced. "We're Microsoft, so there's scepticism," admits Reynolds. "We're going to earn it. Part of earning that support and trust in the Linux community is being part of it, so that's how we're making decisions for Linux support and how we're delivering them."
There's already support for connecting to existing open source monitoring services like Nagios and Zabbix from OMS. "We have the ability to plug in to those existing data streams. So instead of having to go replace an entire infrastructure or technology that's already there, things like Nagios and Zabbix we can immediately connect to and start to pump the data in from."
The OMS team has also started working on allowing customers to create custom logs and environments – that work will continue through the next year, he says. But the willingness to work with the Linux community has already led to what he calls "steady growth – 10% and more a month – in on-boarding Linux machines" since the Fluentd plugin came out last October.
There's the same commitment to supporting VMware and rival clouds like AWS and OpenStack. "With our backup service in OMS, we support VMware backups, so machines running on VMware can be backed up from one VMware environment to another VMware environment that's running on-premises, and we managed to simplify a lot of the technology that's needed there.
"That also allows us to do VMware to Azure to give you failover sites. And we did RedHat support so that you can have VMware and RedHat instances that are being protected to Azure."
The same approach applies to managing virtual machines, wherever they are. "There are two ways to think about a bunch of VMs," he points out. "We can go and put agents in them, but the other option is that the platform itself will provide some monitoring and manageability and we can plug into that instead. In AWS, for example, that's CloudWatch, and over time we'll connect to those APIs and be able to collect data and analyse that."
For alerts, you can already use a webhook to send an OMS alert to a range of services. "You can just cut and paste the webhook URL from PagerDuty, Zendesk, Slack; anything that supports webhook. And that's a big, big list."
"The notion of making sure that it's truly on any operating system is key," says Reynolds. "If you want to get the 100% view, at the right level of fidelity, into your environment, this is where we're bringing all this data together."
Traditional Microsoft customers on Windows Server and Azure get the benefit of this new attitude as well. For example, OMS can show you on the dashboard which of your systems are patched and up-to-date and which are missing some updates you could apply. That doesn't work yet with the new Windows Update for Business service for Windows 10 – just updates published through Windows Update. But Reynolds says: "If customers want Windows Update for Business, OMS will do that."
"This is a very different mode of development to how we've operated in the past," he explains. "Before, we would have gone and looked at our competitors in the space. We would have said 'here's a list of the union of all their features and we have to get as many of those as we can before we have a shippable product'. This approach is more continuous improvement – we start with something that has value, that's been validated with the private customer cohorts we work with."
(Cohorts is one of the terms you hear at Microsoft a lot now – it means the group of users who have signed up for a specific level of preview, like the Windows 10 Insider Fast Ring, but for business customers Microsoft does private previews under NDA.)
"Then we improve that rapidly as we go to the public cohorts and we gain more experience with customers using that. So it's the customers using the service who are going to drive it."
"It's a very different model of software delivery for us," Reynolds observes. "We pivot, we deliver rapidly and, sometimes, reliably on our schedules. Really, it's driven by quality and customer feedback." Rapidly means about 300 updates a month – Reynolds notes that "we're constantly making small improvements, driving the service forward and polishing it."
One common request is to be able to take action right from the dashboards. "Customers want to be able to automate the patching of the things that are showing up here as critical," says Reynolds. "We're getting a lot of feedback saying 'let me set a rule with a set of policies and based on this assessment that you're showing me, go fix all the missing critical updates'."
Those sorts of options will come in the next stage of OMS. "There's insight and there's action. With OMS, we've got the platform for insight and we're starting to build a solution that enables customers and community partners to scale that. Then the next step is going to corrective action. We'll get to the first step of that later on," he says.
There's no date for that kind of automation, but OMS gets updated every month, and Reynolds says the priority is what customers are asking for.
Which is the most popular business app used online? Unsurprisingly, it's Office 365, the subscription version of Microsoft's productivity suite, according to some new research which details the most-used web apps.
These figures were revealed by Okta, a firm which produces software to manage employee logins to online services. The company found that among its customers, Office 365 was king of the enterprise cloud apps, followed by Salesforce.com, Box, Google Apps for Work, and in fifth place was Amazon Web Services.
Okta also made an interesting observation regarding Office 365 and Google Apps both being used within the same organisation. Indeed, data showed that over 40% of companies use both of these services due to preferences for one or the other in different departments.
As for the fastest growing business app, that was Slack, which witnessed a growth rate of 77% in the second half of 2015. We can expect Slack to put in a very good showing this year, by all accounts, as it's continuing to pick up the pace with "no sign of slowing down just yet" Okta says.
Adobe's Creative Cloud also had a good year in 2015, growing its user numbers by 44% according to the report.
One final nugget on business security for you: Okta found that 30% of organisations are now using multi-factor authentication, a number that still needs to increase in an ideal world.
Via: Seattle Times
As you're no doubt aware, Microsoft is pretty keen to push Windows 10 front and centre, and not just in the western world – in fact the company has produced a special edition of its newest operating system for China.
As Ubergizmo reports, Windows 10 Zhuangongban translates as a 'Windows 10 Specially-Provided Edition', and Microsoft is delivering this in order to tap into the vast Chinese market.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft's chief executive in China, Ralph Haupter, explained to a Chinese magazine that many of the changes for this version revolve around beefing up security and providing more management features as requested by the Chinese government.
This version of the OS also cuts out many Microsoft apps and services, which again is no great surprise. The exact differences and extent of the changes weren't made clear, although by the sound of things we're guessing they're pretty significant.
Microsoft will almost certainly want to clear any hurdles the Chinese regime puts in its way, following the fracas you may recall two years ago when China banned Windows 8 across government offices with security and safety concerns being cited as a reason in some quarters.
Redmond certainly wouldn't want Windows 10 to suffer the same fate, and miss out on a considerable revenue stream.
According to the latest figures drawn from US government websites, in terms of its adoption rate over in the States, Windows 10 has now crested 20%, which might sound like an impressive figure, but growth has slowed considerably since the start of the year.
Windows 10 is now on over 20% of PCs, at least over in the US, according to the latest figures measuring the adoption of Microsoft's newest operating system.
The figures are drawn from Analytics.usa.gov, which tracks visitors to various US government websites, and while one in five computers might seem an impressive milestone for Redmond to have achieved, Windows 10 growth has slowed considerably of late.
March saw Windows 10 hit 20.2% but that's only a 1% increase compared to February's figure and just over 2% up on January.
Adoption is just creeping up, then, which is likely to be something of a concern for Microsoft given that the deadline for the free Windows 10 upgrade (from Windows 7/8.1) is now looming.
Folks only have until the end of July – just four months' time – to make the move to the new OS for free, and when Windows 10 is no longer a free lunch, we can obviously expect a downturn in terms of adoption.
Windows 7 still holds the lion's share of the market when it comes to Microsoft's desktop OS, with 63% of users running this variant according to the government website figures. Windows 10 is in second place on 20.2% as mentioned, well ahead of Windows 8/8.1 which accounts for 12% of users. Windows XP holdouts now total 3%.
Doubtless there will be a rush to upgrade in July, as those still sitting on the fence are forced to make a decision whether to move to Windows 10 or not, for good. And Microsoft still has some aces up its sleeve to play, by all accounts.
Those include supposedly ground-breaking new features which will apparently be revealed this week at Redmond's Build conference. While we don't have any clue what these will be, they will 'change everything' according to one Microsoft exec – all we do know is they are nothing to do with Cortana.
And when it comes to gamers, another alleged 'game changer' will be the ability to mix AMD and Nvidia graphics cards in your PC thanks to a piece of DirectX 12-leveraging software from Stardock. Of course, DX12 is Windows 10 only, so that's a rather nifty feature only those on Microsoft's newest OS will benefit from.
These won't be the only boons coming to Windows 10 in the future either, although all this has to be balanced against the likes of privacy concerns and Microsoft's hard-selling tactics when it comes to pushing the new OS that many have found off-putting.
Via: Computerworld
After years of trials, tribulations and terrible failures, VR is finally becoming a reality. Whether you are eying up an Oculus Rift or getting the vibes for HTC's Vive, it's not just the inevitable avalanche of VR games and video content that are suitable for virtual reality viewing - now you can browse the 2D web in 3D, too.
For those after that total immersive experience, we've rounded up the best VR web browsing options currently available.
While Samsung may be marketing its Gear VR headset more towards Galaxy-packing gamers and movie-goers, the Oculus 'powered' headset also gives wearers the access to a virtual reality web browser called – wait for it – 'Samsung Internet for Gear VR'.
As the blindingly obvious name would suggest, this app allows you to browse the web and enjoy almost any web content in virtual reality. It gives users the capability of streaming 3D and 360-degree videos (including those you'll find on YouTube and Facebook), or can simply provide a more immersive experience for normal 2D videos.
Not only can you import your bookmarks and manage multiple tabs, but there is also voice recognition and "Gaze Mode" support, which allows you to select a menu simply by staring at it.
Available for free from the Oculus Store.
If you're already rocking an Oculus Rift and want to start browsing web content in the virtual reality future you've been dreaming of, the MozVR project for Firefox or Chromium desktop browser has the potential to be a viable solution. Unfortunately at present, it's really more of a concept demo than a fully-fledged browser.
Once you have installed the browser add-on and configured your Rift, you can enter Mozilla's content portal to view a specially selected array of content displayed in a 3D gallery. While the content is currently rather limited, it serves as a good showcase for the kind of web-based VR experiences that web developers are keen to push.
Many of the virtual reality experiences in Mozilla's portal are also viewable using an Android or iPhone and a Cardboard VR headset.
Visit MozVR.com.
If you're looking for a totally immersive way of consuming web content, JanusVR pulls out all the stops to turn boring pages on the internet into something all the more involved.
In the JanusVR world, links are portals and pages are rooms, all of which can be explored in a multiplayer experience alongside other avatars. Pictures embedded into the webpages you're viewing hang on the dynamically generated environments (that can be edited directly within JanusVR), while special 3D content can be called up if the site includes special HTML tags.
It is currently nowhere near the promise of a stunning environment that's a visual pleasure to explore, but if nothing else it's a more exciting way of consuming internet content than most other alternatives have so far managed.
Download from JanusVR.
If you like the idea of Samsung's Gear VR but don't have a compatible Samsung smartphone nor the budget to stretch to one of the pricey Gear VR headsets, then your next best bet is the FullDive VR 3D Browser.
This standard version of this free app allows you to simply browse the web in a VR environment, inputting text via an onscreen keyboard or voice command. Download the full version, and you'll be given access to a wealth of other VR possibilities; it has to be said though, that none of these extras offer the most polished of experiences.
Download from Google Play.
If all you desire is simple VR browsing in a usable environment, the free Oculus Web Browser app for Windows is worth a go. You won't find any particularly ground-breaking features, as this particular VR web browser was created by an E-learning company that's exploring the possibilities of using similar interfaces in a VR classroom.
Still, the webkit browser supports HTML5 and renders web pages sharply, though you will need to download and install a third-party codec to watch any embedded HTML videos such as YouTube.
Grab it from the Oculus Store.
Whether you're about to get your paws on one of the hotly anticipated HTC Vive VR headsets, or have already plumped for the Oculus Rift, SteamVR offers a comprehensive 3D web browsing experience alongside the catalogue of VR-compatible games.
If you have opted into the client beta participation, the VR mode can now be accessed directly from the 'View' menu in Steam alongside your library of compatible games. Once in Steam's Big Picture mode, you'll find there's a rather capable browser included that can play videos and display almost any web content around – including Adobe Flash.
Like all VR experiences, there's still work to be done, but Steam's solution is certainly the easiest for switching between gaming and web browsing without swapping in and out of other applications.
Visit the SteamVR community to find out more.
Only a week after the previous preview build of Windows 10 (version 14291) was released to Insiders by Microsoft, a new build (14295) has been deployed, ahead of Redmond's Build conference which kicks off tomorrow.
Build 14291 made a big addition with the introduction of Edge extensions which included Reddit Enhancement Suite, Mouse Gestures and Microsoft Translator – albeit with basic support as these have to be side-loaded – and the new version, which was unleashed at the end of last week, adds some further polish.
As the Register reports, along with the also updated Maps app – which now allows for multiple tabs to be open at the same time, so you can easily switch around between recent searches – Redmond has a new Feedback app in place.
The new Feedback Hub tidies up the feedback system in general, merging two previous apps (the old Feedback app and Insider Hub app) while adding fresh functionality in terms of reaction from Microsoft.
In other words, users who leave feedback on these preview builds will now receive comments back from Microsoft engineers, so they'll be able to see how well their suggestions or reports are received. That's definitely a nice touch for those testers who do provide regular feedback.
Note that there are a few issues, as ever, with this preview version of Windows 10 – as Redmond has previously stated, with the faster pace of preview builds being released now, we can expect a few more glitches.
Gamers might want to steer clear of this new one if they use an Xbox controller with their PC, as one of the bugs is the system freezing when the console controller is attached. Furthermore, those who use Kaspersky antivirus will find that piece of security software doesn't work with this version of Windows 10 either.
As we mentioned, Build is just about to happen and consumers and business users alike are waiting with bated breath for the promised 'ground-breaking new features' which are apparently coming to Windows 10.
We will hear all about them at the conference, but we don't know much as yet regarding exactly what these huge changes will be – although one thing we do know is they don't involve digital assistant Cortana.
Communication apps have been big business with consumers for a while. Facebook, with its Messenger app, now has over 800 million users and spent some $21 billion (around £15 billion, or AU$28 billion) on WhatsApp, which has over one billion users, while Snapchat is valued at around $15 billion (around £10.5 billion, or AU$20 billion) and has captured the younger millennial market – people under 24 – resoundingly.
Big businesses, however, have remained stuck with email. As anyone with an interest in enterprise technology is aware, emailing someone to chat – or have a conversation at a fast pace – is virtually impossible and the technology has stuck around because there was little else to replace it. Until now.
Microsoft provides the majority of big companies with technology, such as servers, and software, like Office, but has not been a prominent force in promoting other forms of communication beyond Outlook (email) and Yammer (instant messaging), the latter being the company it bought in 2012 and has done almost nothing with.
This gap in the market – which is just starting to become apparent as more and more people sign onto social networks and wonder why, exactly, talking to colleagues needs to be so hard – is being filled by younger, nimbler companies.
Slack, for example, is under five years old, but has a valuation of over $4 billion (around £2.8 billion, or AU$5.3 billion) and hundreds of thousands of users who check back multiple times a day. HipChat, developed by Altassan, an enterprise company that just went public with much success, also seeks to banish email and has seen a big uptake by developers and engineers.
Facebook has also thrown its hat into the ring, launching Facebook at Work. The software, available for a per-user fee, looks just like Facebook but has increased chat and privacy controls as well as offering the ability to "follow," not "friend," people. The company isn't ready to talk about how successful the offering has been yet, but more and more companies are adopting the network.
The Financial Times, a well-respected business newspaper, recently launched a pilot programme for Facebook's software. "We hope Facebook at Work will help further foster a culture of collaboration and a sense of community across our global workforce," said Darcy Keller, the company's senior vice president of communications and marketing, implying that email does not do that.
"I think Facebook lets us communicate, discuss and solve problems that other solutions, such as email, simply can't," said Kevin Hanley, the head of design at RBS, in an interview. "We love the fact that Facebook at Work gives you the ability to opt-in to forums and groups you want to be part of rather than being on the receiving end of email distribution lists that you want to opt out of."
Slack is following a similar path and has become a big hit with teams that need to communicate quickly and efficiently. It has become so popular, in fact, that families have started using it. "I sat with my parents, downloaded the mobile app for them, set up their account, and taught them how to use it so now they actually use it regularly," wrote Nicole Zhu, a software engineer describing her experience of using Slack with her family.
Email is still the main driver of corporate communication in the world, but its lead may be eroding. Microsoft is selling more and more subscriptions to Office 365, which includes Outlook, but has recently been looking at beefing up Skype, according to reports. The company mulled an offer for Slack but Bill Gates, the company's founder who now works in an advisory capacity, was against the decision and pushed for the development of Microsoft's current products.
The decision is understandable given the (abysmal) success of Microsoft's recent acquisitions – Nokia, for example – but it does expose the company getting blindsided by a smaller, quicker firm that focuses on one specific area. A recent brouhaha with Okta, another enterprise company that focuses on employee logins, shows how worried Microsoft is.
Okta has, for the past few years, sponsored Microsoft's Ignite conference but was recently "dis-invited" from it, according to the CEO, Todd McKinnon. The company is tiny compared to Microsoft – a recent fundraising round valued it at $1.2 billion (around £850 million, AU$1.6 billion) – but appeared to represent a big enough threat to warrant removal from the event. (It has since been re-invited, by the way.)
Microsoft is a company that is terrified of other, smaller companies unbundling its software – focusing on smaller parts, like logins, and doing it better – which could erode its position in the market as the go-to enterprise software company. This is driven by the adoption of the cloud over Windows, weakening Microsoft's position in enterprise as everything works with everything else.
Email is still the dominant form of communication in 2016, but as that changes over the coming years, Microsoft's position becomes more precarious and Slack, HipChat, and others could move in. Office 365 becomes a far less attractive proposition without email, and that is likely a big worry for Microsoft's management.
Other big enterprise companies like Amazon, which operates Amazon Web Services, have not entered the messaging space which could, in the future, prove to be a weakness. However, companies like Slack rely on AWS to operate so Amazon makes its money that way.
Ben Thompson, an analyst who writes for Stratechery, has described Amazon's method as an "internet tax" that shields it from larger trends – even if the 'next big thing' isn't something Amazon already does, it will likely be based on AWS.
With regard to Slack and its potential to "disrupt" Microsoft, Thompson also had some thoughts. "It's hard to see anyone – including Microsoft – having a bigger opportunity than Slack" when it comes to enterprise, he wrote. "Whatever [users] want to do almost certainly involves communicating, which means Slack and its competitors are the best-placed to be the foundational platform of the cloud epoch."
Of course, an "opportunity" is just that: it could happen, or it could not. But Slack, which has now grown to 2.3 million daily active users, is well placed to make things happen and could become the next big enterprise company.
Facebook and HipChat represent a challenge to Slack, but each has its own benefits. Facebook, for example, is much more of a 'hub' with pictures, status updates, and chats, while HipChat is geared towards technical work. It's possible that a range of options will survive and thrive, but it's likely that Microsoft's will not be one of them.
Today’s retail economy is focused on acquisition and retention costs. Getting into people’s homes and turning them into long-term brand buyers is the goal, and appliance makers control an untapped resource — the Internet of Things — that can effectively extend a brand or retailer’s supply chain visibility into the home. Read More
Pre-orders for Apple's new 9.7-inch iPad Pro have begun, and for those who order the tablet, Cupertino is making a very interesting accessory available – namely a subscription to Microsoft's Office 365.
Office 365 is the only non-Apple accessory offered to iPad buyers, who can opt for two different tiers of subscription to the productivity suite: Personal and Home (for £59.95 and £79.95 per year respectively).
Apple is quite clearly targeting Windows users with its new 9.7-inch tablet plus keyboard, aiming to persuade folks that the iPad Pro is the "ultimate PC replacement", in marketing chief Phil Schiller's words.
Forget Windows laptops and hybrids, Cupertino is saying – you can do it all with the new iPad. But of course when it comes to productivity software, the cut-down Office apps for iOS aren't going to cut it – in many peoples' eyes – which is why it makes sense for Apple to be offering a full subscription to Office 365.
Apple clearly has an angle here, and has been building its iPad up in terms of being the "ultimate" computer, and talking Windows and PCs in general down, since last autumn when CEO Tim Cook declared that the PC had become irrelevant. Cook asserted: "I think if you're looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?"
Back then, he labelled the 12.9-inch iPad Pro as a "replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people", and the 9.7-inch version is clearly trying to cement that philosophy.
Whether Windows users are moved by such arguments is another matter.
Microsoft has announced that it will soon release the preview version of the Skype Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app to Windows Insiders.
Testers running Windows 10 PCs and tablets will be able to check out the new messaging app in the "coming weeks", Redmond says, so there's not long to wait now. The app won't immediately be usable on Windows 10 Mobile, but will follow for devices running that OS shortly.
So what can you expect from the new Skype app? Microsoft says it has learned a lot of lessons from the feedback given following the release of the consumer preview of Skype Integration in Windows 10 last autumn – which has seen a number of complaints.
One of the primary moans being the usability with larger screens on bigger tablets and hybrids, and desktop monitors, and of course that's a big part of what the Skype UWP app will tackle.
Redmond promises a more streamlined interface all round, and a simplified look and feel for the app, with unnecessary menus and duplicated functions being stripped out.
There has been a good deal of spring cleaning, basically, and the global menus are now in a new single settings menu, with contextual menus promised down the line.
In the initial incarnation of this preview app, you'll be able to sign in with your Microsoft account, link a Skype ID, and then see your list of Skype contacts with the ability to initiate a chat, make one-to-one calls, send photos, and take part in existing group chats.
Emoticons and emoji will be available, and users will also be able to see what the other person is typing in chats.
So functionality will be fairly basic for this first release, although naturally enough, more features will arrive in subsequent versions.
Microsoft says that the next couple of releases will introduce the ability to create groups and use group messaging, voice and video calling. You'll also be able to share your screen, as well as files and video messages.
Another priority is making sure the app performs well and is responsive.
As for the broader future of Skype, if you want to stick with the existing Skype app on Windows 10 you most certainly can for the foreseeable, but eventually everything will be integrated into the UWP app.
But not before, Microsoft promises, the Skype UWP app becomes a high-quality and lightweight application with all features on-board.
Microsoft has introduced a new feature to Office 2016 which aims to prevent macro-based malware threats from wreaking havoc on the user's PC.
Redmond made the move after looking at its own research, which shows that macro-based attacks are on the rise. Indeed, data pulled from the Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection service shows that no less than 98% of the threats aimed at Office users employ macros.
(In its blog post on the matter, Microsoft does note that this is recorded attempts rather than infections, but it's still a very worrying statistic.)
While Office does already warn the user when they're opening a file with macros – and keeps the document in Protected View when first opened – Microsoft has observed that social engineering tactics to gain the trust of users are on the increase, and therefore more stringent anti-macro measures are good idea.
The new feature allows admins to block easy access to enabling macros in situations which are considered 'high risk', so even if the employee does attempt to leave Protected View, they will be prevented from doing so and informed about the level of risk involved.
High risk documents would include the likes of those downloaded from the internet or consumer cloud storage lockers, or those sent via email from outside the organisation.
Microsoft ends the post with the following advice: "For end-users, we always recommend that you don't enable macros on documents you receive from a source you do not trust or know, and be careful even with macros in attachments from people you do trust – in case they've been hacked."
Via: WinBeta
Google doesn't think iPhone owners use its search offering enough, and so has been developing a custom keyboard that puts Google search front and center for iOS users.
According to The Verge, the keyboard has been in development for months, and will feature a number of functions that can be found on Google's Android keyboard, like gesture typing and direct access to Google search results.
There will also be GIF and picture search options, although unlike the Android keyboard it appears that no voice search option is available.
The goal of the keyboard is to try and boost mobile search results, which are less prevalent compared to desktop searches. And everyone knows that more Google searches means more Google ads, so the strategy here is pretty straightforward.
That said, Google hasn't confirmed if the keyboard is actually destined for a proper release yet.
Via: The Verge
We're all aware of how important backups are, and of course Microsoft offers a basic level of backup functionality with OneDrive – and apparently the scope of Redmond's cloud backups could be about to expand with Windows 10.
As Windows Central reports, a screenshot of a leaked build of Windows 10 shows extra options for OneDrive in terms of backing up not just files, but also various settings.
In this spilled build the settings for OneDrive also include a switch which allows the user to enable the backup of 'settings like my Start screen layout, accounts, and passwords'.
This feature should, in theory, be arriving in a preview build down the line, for Insiders to check out. Although there's no guarantee that the idea hasn't been scrapped, as is always the case with leaked features.
It will certainly be a nifty addition if it does come through, and for one thing, Windows 10 users won't have to go to a third-party service for a password manager any longer.
Of course, what many folks are really waiting for with OneDrive on Windows 10 is the return of placeholders which were stripped out from Microsoft's newest OS (they're in Windows 8.1). There is still no firm news on that front, although it's certainly something that is expected to be fixed with the Redstone update which is currently in the pipeline.
Update: iOS 10 should be next for Apple, as it launched iOS 9.3 this week. Look for hints of an iOS 10 beta in the next three months.
Apple's iOS 10 update is the milestone software version for the iPhone and iPad, and its release date is currently three months away, according to the company's routine schedule.
Downloading the iOS 10 beta this summer and the final release a few weeks later won't end up being a big surprise, but where Apple takes the mobile operating system is still a mystery.
We're just now reporting on the first iOS 10 update rumors, including new interface and app features that haven't been pushed out to your iPhone 6S and iPad Pro 12.9 as part of iOS 9.3.
Apple is preparing the redesigned iPhone 7, according to the latest leaks, and that means the interface may take on a few surprises. Here's what we've heard and want.
Apple is reportedly testing iOS 10 right now, meaning it's on track for another June release date at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference event, WWDC 2016.
The official iOS 10 announcement is expected to happen at the WWDC 2016 keynote, with an introduction by Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering.
The iOS 10 beta should be available to developers immediately, while a public beta is probably launching in July, just as it did with iOS 9. After all, last year's public beta was a big success for Apple judging from the smoother sailing of iOS 9, and it continues to be with surprise iOS 9.3 features.
If you decide to wait for the final version of iOS 10, it'll take a while longer due to additional bug testing by developers and faithful Apple fan trying out the beta. A stable version of iOS 10 should launch alongside the new iPhone 7 in September.
The iOS 10 beta should be back given the initial rousing success of the iOS 9 beta to squash software glitches. That means you can anticipate three ways to download the operating system update once iOS 10 becomes available.
Apple Developer Program members will be the first to install iOS 10, likely in June. That requires enrolling in the official developer program and paying a fee.
Since everyone wants everything for free these days, you can wait a few weeks, typically in July, to test out iOS 10 early via the public beta. It requires jumping through some hoops on Apple's website, but registration takes no more than a few minutes of your time.
The iOS 9 beta program was more unfinished than it was buggy. I counted just a few missing features, not glitches, so it wasn't a hassle to download a year ago. And it was free and an over-the-air update, so it's a friendly middle ground if you want to try iOS 10 before most everyone else.
Amazingly, iOS 9 didn't cut anyone out of the mix when the update rolled out to devices in September. The iPhone 4S and iPad 2 still work with the latest operating system update.
That may not happen again given the simple fact that iOS 10 may require more than 512MB of RAM.
We really thought both devices would be axed when the iOS 9 update became available. Because these Apple devices are going to be five years old by the time iOS 10 comes out, we think it's time to put the clinging-to-life 30-pin dock-equipped phone and tablet to rest.
Expect the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6, iPhone 5S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, and the bigger iPhone 6S Plus and iPhone 6 Plus to handle iOS 10 without a hitch. Add the new iPhone SE to the roster, too.
Same goes for the iPad Pro 9.7 and 12.9, iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 3, iPad mini 2 and maybe even the original iPad mini. Also, not to be forgotten, the iPod Touch 6th gen should be fine.
When it comes to iOS 10 features, we fully expect Apple to improve Siri simply because this happens every year. This time, Siri may become your true personal assistant by handling your voicemails.
The first big iOS 10 rumor is that Siri can tell a caller why you can't pick up the phone and even transcribe voicemail messages so you can read them on the go or in loud venues.
The Siri voicemail service is part of something called iCloud Voicemail, according to a recent report from Business Insider, and is an enhancement of the standard digital audio recorder.
Apple isn't launching a mobile network of its own, at least not yet. However, this feature, if it's a part of iOS 10, makes it one step closer to doing just that.
3D Touch made its debut with the new iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, and at first it was a little underwhelming. More apps now use it, but it could still stand to have a better reason to exist.
Control Center is exactly where this Force Touch-like technology should head next. Pressing the Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on-screen button should pop up the respective settings menus in a overlay window.
Apple has done such a good job over the years by sliding opaque menus into view without requiring you to exit apps. These Control Center buttons should follow the very same principle.
There are also rumors that Apple may get rid of the home button with an on-screen button (sort of like on some Androids) that uses 3D Touch. It's not a popular theory among all, but it may happen.
While 3D Touch would go nicely with Control Center, it'd also be clever to have the entire menu overlay become customizable. Right now, everything's set in stone by Apple.
Instead of forcing everyone to have the Clock icon be a shortcut to the time, why can't I make that go to the stopwatch? Why can't the calculator icon be swapped out for a gallery shortcut?
These are some of the requests we've been hearing from Apple users since Control Center made its debut in iOS 7 back in 2013. It's about time Apple put them into action.
There's nothing necessarily wrong with Apple News. The Flipboard-like app works well and has some of my favorite publications, but the app is too far removed. I hardly ever tap into it.
A better move would be to expand its presence in the leftmost menu. Yes, this is something that Samsung has done with its phone and tablets, but I've come to appreciate it.
Otherwise, tucking the entire Apple News interface into its own app silos it from the rest of the operating system without the pizzaz it really deserves.
There's nothing more annoying than turning down the volume, tapping on a YouTube video during the middle of the night and hearing it still blare out my iPhone's mono speaker.
Media controls are different from notification controls, it turns out, and there's no easy way to turn down the volume on a video without starting it up first. That's annoying.
Many Android phone manufacturers have cleverly split up the volume control into two or three groups, and it doesn't look messy with a dropdown for more options beyond the main volume.
With iOS 10, Apple needs to catch up with the times on volume controls, as the iPhone and iPad rocker doesn't exactly rock with limited and often confusing options.
There are bugs and limitations to the iPhone and iPad that could be resolved with the iOS 10 update. Namely, caching and orientation flaws trip me up on a weekly basis.
I'd like to be able to minimize an app without having it reset when I open it back up later on after having opened a couple of other apps in the interm. Memory seems to be the issue.
I'd also like iOS 10 to address the iPhone 6S Plus flaw in which orientation flips too easily into landscape mode when unlocking the phone. Its size is already unwieldy enough, and oddly, this doesn't happen on the smaller iPhone 6 and iPhone 6S.
Apple did a really nice job upgrading iOS 9 for its iPad line. Split Screen multitasking and better Bluetooth keyboard support made a big difference.
However, Apple still hasn't given its fanbase multi-user support. This is something that Android tablets have had for a while and it's sorely missing on Apple devices. iOS 10 could be the time to do it.
Given that iPad Pro just launched, and it's way more than a personal device, a lot of businesses and artist-filled studios might buy into the supersized idea if this could happen.
Apple launched multi-student login as part of its iOS 9.3 suite for apps and tools, so it's certainly laid the groundwork for this to happen in iOS 10 three months from now.
Touch ID works really well. It's faster than ever on the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, and it's really accurate. But is it too quick for its own good?
That's what I've been hearing from users of Apple's new smartphones. They habitually light up their phones with the home button, only to have their notifications vanish.
iOS 9 made notifications easier to view in the pulldown menu by sorting them in chronological order (not by group), but an easier way to wake the phone may be in order.
LG and HTC use a double tap the screen to wake method that makes the entire display a big button. That would solve this problem for Apple, and we're looking for hints of that in iOS 10 in advance of the iPhone 7 launch.
This isn't the last word on the iOS 10 update. Apple's still has three months to go before it's expected to unveil the software and three months after that to finalize everything.
That gives us ample time to hunt down official news and slightly less official leaks about the iPhone and iPad mobile operating system.
The iOS 10 release date seems like the easy part: likely in June for the developer beta, July for the public beta and September with the iPhone 7 for the final launch.
iOS 10 features, on the other hand, remain a mystery with the exception of the solid-sounding Siri voicemail lead. There's definitely more to come ahead of WWDC 2016 in June.
Samsung Pay is now available in China, about six weeks after competitor Apple Pay launched there. 
