Pedro Hernandez

Microsoft has released a new “mixed-reality” app for HoloLens called Actiongram that allows users to create videos that blend real-world footage with live-action 3D holograms. Currently in beta, Actiongram offers users a library of 3D characters, props and visual effects that can be dropped into the real world using the company’s augmented-reality headset. Budding filmmakers […]

Time is ticking away on the Lumia brand of smartphones, a lingering reminder of Microsoft’s ill-fated acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Services business. The Redmond, Wash., software giant is getting ready to retire the Lumia brand in December, effectively spelling the end of smartphones that sport the brand, according to a report in WinBeta, citing […]

Despite scouring practically every corner of the web, search engines can still prove maddeningly reluctant to provide a desired piece of information. Part of the problem is that users often don’t know how to craft search queries that help them home in on the facts, figures and other data they seek. Microsoft recently upgraded Bing […]

Games are fun with friends, but sometimes life gets in the way, making it tough to gather one’s buddies for an evening’s worth of epic adventures. For those times, Microsoft this week rolled out two new features, Looking for Group (LFG) and Clubs, for participants in the Xbox One preview program. Available now on Xbox […]

This summer, Microsoft’s cloud was called upon to help deliver billions of minutes of Olympic coverage. Soon, Azure Media Services customers will be able to pump out video streams in 4K, ultra-high definition (UHD) resolutions with dazzling colors, courtesy of high dynamic range (HDR) support. “Today I am pleased to announce that we are conducting […]

After focusing this summer on the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft is turning its attention to Windows 10 IoT Core. Recently, the company announced a handful of new capabilities aimed at expanding the platform’s reach, including a new Window IoT Core Extension for Visual Studio Code, Microsoft’s new lightweight code editor for Mac OS X, […]

Microsoft Office 365 Groups, the workplace collaboration feature inspired by Yammer Groups, is now more welcoming of colleagues who don’t draw a paycheck from the same employer. The company announced Sept. 8 that it is beginning to roll out a new guest access feature that will enable users to invite outside consultants, partners and other […]

Should Slack watch its back? Earlier this year, there were rumblings that Microsoft had considered snapping up the team messaging and collaboration platform for as much as $8 billion. However, that proposed deal met a swift end after it failed to get the OK from CEO Satya Nadella and board member Bill Gates. Now it […]

“Data residency” and “sovereignty” are more than buzzwords bandied about by cloud providers; it’s a legitimate concern for the growing number of companies around the world. Whether sparked by the National Security Agency cyber-spying scandal or the U.S. government’s attempts to obtain data from servers located in Ireland, businesses harbor concerns that their customer records, […]

Since the 2014 launch of Office 365 Groups, Microsoft has been adding new functionality to the Yammer-inspired collaboration and content-sharing feature. The latest example is an update to SharePoint online that enables users to create team sites when they gather a new Office 365 Group, and vice versa. “The integration of groups and SharePoint team […]

Amazon, Apple and Alphabet’s Google subsidiary have filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting Microsoft’s stance on a lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Justice earlier this year. On April 14, Microsoft filed its suit against the U.S. government agency, arguing that a statute of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act violates both the First and Fourth Amendments […]

Windows Insider, a program that provides early access to upcoming builds of the operating system, has a “Fast Ring” that delivers updates as soon as Microsoft can pump them out. Fast Ring users may encounter some rougher edges and bugs than those in the Slow Ring, but they get to test new features first and […]