Microsoft to Deliver Surface Hub Digital Whiteboard in September

Today’s topics include a release date for Microsoft’s Surface Hub, the availability of a new iOS Account Wipe feature, state attorneys general looking into Apple’s dealings with recording companies and a campaign from Intel to support startups run by women and minorities.

One of the biggest surprises at the Microsoft Windows 10 event on Jan. 21 was Surface Hub, a massive 84-inch, Windows-powered 4K touch-screen with video conferencing and whiteboard technology. On June 10, the company revealed when businesses can begin wall-mounting the device in their meeting rooms.

Microsoft will start taking orders for Surface Hub on July 1, Mike Angiulo, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Devices Group, said in a June 10 announcement. Shipments are set to begin in September in 24 markets, including the United States and the United Kingdom, along with Canada, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, among others.

Google on Tuesday announced the availability of a new iOS Account Wipe feature that is designed to let administrators perform selective wipes of Google Apps data from IOS devices, while leaving personal data untouched. Before, Google’s Remote Wipe capability for iOS only allowed administrators to do a complete wipe of an employee’s device. That capability will remain unchanged in addition to the availability of the new selective wipe feature, the company said in a blog update Wednesday.

State attorneys general in New York and Connecticut are beginning to look into how Apple has been working with recording companies to make deals for its new Apple Music streaming service, just a month after federal officials began asking similar questions. The two states are looking into whether recording companies “conspired or were pressured into favoring Apple’s paid music subscription service,” according to a June 9 report by Bloomberg.

Intel officials, who earlier this year committed to spending more than $300 to diversify their own company’s workforce, are spending another $125 million to help startups run by women and minorities. The company this week announced the Intel Capital Diversity Fund will kick off with initial investments in four companies that touch on such segments as in the Internet of things (IoT), cloud computing and cyber-security. The fund is part of a larger trend within the tech industry to increase workforce diversity at major companies.