Pedro Hernandez

Cortana will soon be entering the smart thermostat arena. GLAS, from HVAC equipment vendor Johnson Controls, will use Microsoft’s virtual assistant to allow people to set home environmental controls  via voice commands. Powered by Windows 10 IoT Core, a lightweight version of the Windows operating system for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, GLAS can do […]

Samsung appears ready to unveil a high-end Chromebook code-named “Nautilus” at CES 2018 in Las Vegas during the week of Jan. 8, but the Korean electronics giant isn’t neglecting Microsoft Windows users. Before the massive tradeshow officially opens its doors, Samsung announced a trio of new Windows 10 laptops that will be on display, including […]

Microsoft and Seattle-based immuno-sequencing company Adaptive Biotechnologies announced on Jan. 4 the formation of partnership that will bring artificial intelligence to bear on early detection of cancer and other diseases. The new initiative combines Adaptive Biotechnologies’ innovations in human immune system sequencing with Microsoft’s cloud computing and machine learning technologies, with additional expertise provided by […]

Soon after returning from the holidays, IT professionals were confronted with a severe memory-isolation flaw in Intel processors called Meltdown. Present in just about every processor shipped by the chipmaker since 1995, the flaw can be used to unravel some of the most critical security mechanisms used in operating system software. “Meltdown breaks the most […]

Microsoft is extending a lifeline to developers and data scientists who may be drowning in big data stored on the company’s Azure cloud computing platform. The company has added integrations that allow Visual Studio Code (VSCode) users to explore and manage files and data objects residing in Azure Data Lake Store accounts and browse Data […]

Coming off a year of cloud- and artificial intelligence-inspired acquisitions, Microsoft is kicking off 2018 by snapping up Pittsburgh-based Avere Systems, strengthening the Redmond, Wash., technology giant’s portfolio of high-performance computing (HPC) and storage services. Financial details were not disclosed. Avere Systems specializes in NFS (Network File System) and SMB (Server Message Block) file storage […]

Consumers can now purchase a Surface Pro with cellular connectivity, a configuration that was previously reserved for Microsoft’s business customers. In December 2017, Microsoft began offering commercial customers its new Surface Pro tablet with an LTE Advanced option, allowing users to stay connected on the road as long as they receive a cell signal from […]

Microsoft has published its list of the top ten technology issues that the company is monitoring and using its expertise to address in 2018. Among them is data privacy, a cause that is taking the companies legal team all the way to the nation’s top court. The company’s lawyers are set to appear before the […]

LinkedIn, Microsoft’s business-focused social network, has new features that can help members land a new job or help them build up the skills required for a life-changing career change. And just in time. Many people, particularly IT workers, are considering switching jobs in 2018, according to Spiceworks’ recent 2018 IT Career Outlook survey. Nearly a […]

Compared to the blockbuster $26 billion LinkedIn buy of 2016, Microsoft’s acquisition haul for 2017 seems rather tame by comparison. Although none of year’s deals approach those stratospheric heights, at least in terms of dollar amounts, a closer examination yields some telling clues about the Redmond, Wash. tech titan’s strategic priorities and where the company’s […]

Add Kubernetes to the growing list of technologies that Microsoft is using to push the boundaries of cloud-based artificial intelligence. Kubernetes, the popular open-source container orchestration platform, had a breakout year in 2017. Now, in addition to helping enterprises manage their application container deployments in the cloud or on-premises, Kubernetes is being recruited to give […]

Microsoft wants to make passwords a thing of the past and it’s a mission that begins at headquarters. The majority of the company’s workforce has already turned their backs on using passwords, at least when it comes to logging in to their Windows PCs, according to Bret Arsenault, corporate vice president and chief information security […]