How Microsoft plans to coach users before their big presentation – Times of India

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If you find yourself struggling with preparing for presentations, then the latest feature that Microsoft has rolled out to its PowerPoint platform is for you.
The feature — called PowerPoint Presenter Coach — has now become available on desktop and mobile versions of the app.
This feature was till now limited to PowerPoint for the web, but it will now be available on all platforms — on the web, Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Microsoft says that the Presenter Coach uses Artificial Intelligence to help anyone who uses the feature to analyse what they are saying and provide “feedback on their pace, use of monotone pitch, use of filler words, poor grammar, lack of originality, use of sensitive phrases, and more.”
Further, it even gives a Summary Report at the end of each rehearsal to highlight the key pieces of feedback.
The company has also added three new parameters on which it will help people get ready for presentations. Here’s a look at them in detail:
Body language
This will require PowerPoint to access video cameras to give users feedback on their body language when they are presenting virtually.

This feature will launch with feedback in the summary report. It will include information like how clear the preview of the presenter is, how close they are to the camera and how good the eye contact was.
Repetitive language
Microsoft says that while speaking one may not realise if they are using words and phrases repetitively and which is when the Presenter Coach tool will help users to avoid overusing them.
“In addition to listing out those words and phrases, we will also give you a list of synonyms so you can switch it up for your next presentation,” said the company.

Pronunciation
In case the Presenter Coach tool detects that a presenter has mispronounced a word, it will display the word(s) and provide even the correct pronunciation.
The tool takes into account accents and has apparently been optimised for the “General American English” language for now.

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microsoft surface duo: Microsoft expected to launch Surface Duo 2 phone later this year: Report – Times of India

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Microsoft launched its Surface Duo dual-screen phone in September last year. If an online report is to be believed, the company is working on its successor, Microsoft Surface Duo 2.
According to the report, the phone has been under development since the second half of 2020. It is expected that Microsoft may bring the Surface Duo 2 smartphone by the fall of this year. Besides the hardware changes, Microsoft seems to be focusing more on the software of the device.
What to expect
Microsoft Surface Duo phone was praised for design, display, and hinge but it faced multiple challenges on the software front. With the new Duo phone, Microsoft seems to put “special emphasis” on fixing and improving the software, which includes the camera app.
As per the report, Microsoft is slowly adding more engineers to the team behind Surface Duo 2. It says that Microsoft in its online job listing says that it is looking to hire candidates to ‘deliver a mobile user experience’ and bring the best of Microsoft to the Android ecosystem.
Microsoft is also contributing to the development of the Android operating system. For example, the company is testing a new “Obscured Regions” API that will add information about regions of the display that has been obscured by other tasks or system UI.
“The API will allow the developer to re-flow the experience into the visible regions. For example, a Launcher might animate its bottom drawer to the un-obscured are to allow the user to launch another application,” Microsoft says.

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‘India can become global AI, data hub, enabling jobs’

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There’s a huge opportunity to position India as a global hub for data and artificial intelligence (AI), enabling investment, jobs and innovation, says Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India. Excerpts:

How prepared are enterprises today in a pandemic-stricken marketplace?

Across every industry and sector, we’ve seen years’ worth of digital transformation happen over the last few months. Organisations, both in private and public sector, are quickly adapting to new ways of working and serving customers. Innovation is being applied as organisations work on transforming products, services and business models to stay relevant. Technology is helping organisations to innovate and stay open in the most constrained and the most difficult of circumstances.

The pandemic has accelerated two mega trends that will likely continue well into the future. The first is cloud-led data and AI innovation.

Data and AI are helping transform core areas like healthcare, citizen services, MSME, agriculture and manufacturing, with speed and scale. The second is the absolute need to create a trusted and secure ecosystem to drive this innovation. Trust is critical in a digital world, and organisations will need trusted digital and data ecosystems to continue to grow securely.

A strong partnership between the government and industry will be vital to build a responsible tech ecosystem grounded in trust and strong ethical principles.

Why are enterprises increasingly talking about investing in trust, security?

Trust in technology has perhaps never been more important. With most of the world connecting remotely, cybersecurity today is a strategic priority for every organisation to protect their data, while ensuring the privacy, security and digital safety of their workforce.

Since the start of the pandemic, there’s been an exponential rise in cyberattacks, targeting individuals, organisations and often, critical first responders like hospitals and public health authorities.

With cybercriminals and nation-State attackers becoming more sophisticated, a strong industry collaboration is required for sharing threat intelligence and protecting against cyberattacks. It will need multiple parts but perhaps most important, it must start with the recognition that governments and the tech sector will need to act together.

Security and privacy need to be at the heart of how developers in organisations and governments build and deliver products and services. It calls for a collective responsibility.

Is Microsoft’s new approach seeing enough traction?

Much of our growth in the last year has been driven by our New, New, New approach: new customers, new solutions with existing customers and new business models. We continue to explore new business models and partnerships which enable us to get the benefits of technology to every part of the country. Through our ITeS360 programme, we provide a 360-degree partnership with our key partners for using our tech capabilities to strengthen the digital infrastructure of both our partners and their customers. We continue to work with strategic partners across the country to create innovative solutions for India. Start-ups and SMBs are crucial to India’s economic recovery and supporting them in this period of change has been a core area of focus for us.

Can you take us through Microsoft’s skilling initiatives for India?

Jobs of tomorrow will increasingly be technology enabled, therefore making digital skilling critical for India’s growth. Data and AI are playing a central role in the country’s digital transformation and economic recovery.

We have a huge opportunity to make India a data and AI hub of the world. What will be central to leveraging this opportunity is creating a talent pool that is ready for a data and AI world. We are working closely with the government, industry and civil society in India to address this gap.

Microsoft recently announced a partnership with Nasscom FutureSkills to skill 1 million students in AI by end of 2021. We’re collaborating with the National Skills Development Council of India (NSDC) to provide digital skills to 1 lakh youth and with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to provide over 1,500 course modules in next-gen technology free of cost for students and educators. Addressing the skills gap that exist in cybersecurity has been another area of focus. Microsoft and the Data Security Council of

India (DSCI) launched a programme, CyberShikshaa for training underprivileged young women in cybersecurity. As a founding parter of the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative, we have been partnering closely with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to skill security leaders in government entities across the nation in cybersecurity, helping them build cyber-resilience.

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Microsoft Catches Up to Google, Announces New 4-Week Update Cycle For Microsoft Edge

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Google recently announced plans to release major updates for Chrome every four weeks, going away from the web browser’s current 6 weeks timeline. Now Google’s competitor Microsoft has announced that it will also push updates for its Microsoft Edge browser every four weeks.

Microsoft has said that the change in the updates cycle will come into effect starting with Edge 94, scheduled to be released in September this year. Google, on the other hand, said that it will start the new cycle starting with Chrome 94, which is scheduled to release in Q3 2021. In a blog post, Microsoft said that it will offer an extended timeline to manage updates for its enterprise customers who need an extended timeline to manage updates. Microsoft Edge will offer an Extended Stable option with a longer, 8-week major release cycle; this option will only be available for customers with managed environments, Microsoft said.

Enterprise customers who don’t opt for the 8-week extended cycle will be automatically switched to the new 4-week cycle. Those who opt for the 8-week will get the same new features and security from the 4-week cycle, just at a slower pace.

According to Microsoft’s current roadmap for the Edge browser, the next big update is scheduled for March 15, followed by another update on April 27, which is six weeks later.

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Microsoft Teams to get low data mode to help you make calls on slow internet speeds – Times of India

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Software and cloud computing giant Microsoft is soon going to roll out a new feature to video chatting platform Teams that will help in attending calls in case you have poor internet connectivity.
The company Is working on adding a low bandwidth mode to facilitate calls even if users have access to slow internet, the company confirmed this through its Microsoft 365 Roadmap plan.
Explaining the need for such a feature, Microsoft in its description said, “Whether you want to preserve data or are in a location with a poor or limited network connection, sometimes it’s helpful to limit the amount of data you’re using during a video call.”
This is when a dedicated low data mode could allow users to cap the amount of data that will be used during Teams video calls “as well as establish different settings based on network availability.”
Even though there is no expected date of launch, the tentative release date is set to be March 2021. The feature is listed to be under development since earlier this month.
In its roadmap, Microsoft announced that the new feature will be available for only the desktop client.
Earlier this month, it was also revealed that Teams is getting a Reporter mode, along with Standout and Side-by-side modes.
The Reporter mode will allow users to place the content above their shoulders as their picture appears in the front, like how content appears during a TV news presentation.
The Standout mode will make the presenter come to the foreground while the content floats at the back on a slide deck, while Side-by-side displays content on one side of the screen, with the other side taken by the presenter.
The Standout mode will be rolled out this month only while the other two will roll out soon after that though the exact timeline hasn’t been given out yet.

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xbox: Xbox announces language tags to help users find games in their preferred language – Times of India

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Xbox has announced the addition of supported language tags on gaming titles on its platform, which are now available across the Microsoft Store on Xbox and the Xbox Game Pass app.
Now, when a user logs into the Microsoft Store on Xbox or the Xbox Game Pass app, they can see whether a game supports their preferred language. Also, the language selected as the console’s default language will now surface at the top of the list of supported languages available for each game.
Users can now easily determine whether a game contains any in-game language support based on a ‘Languages’ label before they even open the product details page. In-game language information is being collected for three elements of the gaming experience – a title’s interface, audio and subtitles – across 27 languages. The company says it has added language tags to hundreds of games and will add more over time.
With this update, when you log into the Microsoft Store on Xbox or the Xbox Game Pass app, you can easily see which languages a game supports and this view will also show what aspects of the game have been localised for a given language, including the game’s interface (game controls and on-screen menus, for example), the spoken audio you’ll hear from the characters, and subtitles corresponding to that audio.
Microsoft says this update will help gamers across the globe to find games that are right for them and to feel at home when they play on Xbox.

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Xbox Series X Is Coming Back in Stock on Amazon India on March 19 and You Can Pre-Order One Now

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Amazon India will restock Microsoft’s flagship Xbox Series X gaming console on March 19, though customers can purchase it now for Rs 49,990. The e-commerce platform notes that customers will start receiving the Series X console by March 22. Amazon India is also offering an EMI payment option with several domestic and international banks at starting Rs 2,353 per month. American Express credit card and Yes Bank credit card users will receive 5 percent and 7.5 percent off, respectively, during the EMI transaction. The flagship Xbox Series X console comes in a black colour option and the packaging includes a single controller, HDMI cable, and power cable.

Both Xbox Series X and toned-down Series S consoles have been scarcely available around the world since launching in November 2020. Recently, both Flipkart and Amazon had restocked the Xbox Series S console few weeks ago, but it was sold out within days. The company had previously said that the shortage in supplies would last till at least June this year. The production has taken a serious hit due to the unavailability of semiconductors. Similarly, Microsoft Xbox’ biggest competitor PlayStation 5 by Sony is also unavailable around the world due to a shortage in parts.

ALSO READ: Microsoft Admits Xbox Series X Supply Shortages Will Continue Till At Least June 2021

The Microsoft Xbox Series X supports 120fps gameplay in 4K (Ultra-HD) resolution. Further, the Microsoft console supports up to 8K HDR resolution and comes with other video features like Auto Low Latency Mode, HDMI Variable Refresh Rate, and AMD FreeSync. In terms of specifications, the console is powered by the Zen 2-based octa-core CPU clocked at a maximum of 3.8GHz and is paired with 16GB of GRRD6 RAM. The Zen 2-based CPU on the Xbox Series X is supported by a custom RDNA 2.0 GPU that is capable of 12 teraFLOPS of performance and is clocked at 1.8GHz. Xbox Series X offers 1TB of total NVMe SSD storage, which is expandable via a Seagate Expansion card or a USB 3.1 external HDD.

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Microsoft Email Flaw Compromised More Than 20,000 Organisations

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More than 20,000 US organisations have been compromised through a back door installed via recently patched flaws in Microsoft Corp’s email software, a person familiar with the US government’s response said on Friday. The hacking has already reached more places than all of the tainted code downloaded from SolarWinds Corp, the company at the heart of another massive hacking spree uncovered in December.

The latest hack has left channels for remote access spread among credit unions, town governments and small businesses, according to records from the US investigation. Tens of thousands of organisations in Asia and Europe are also affected, the records show. The hacks are continuing despite emergency patches issued by Microsoft on Tuesday.

Microsoft, which had initially said the hacks consisted of “limited and targeted attacks,” declined to comment on the scale of the problem on Friday but said it was working with government agencies and security companies to provide help to customers. It added, “impacted customers should contact our support teams for additional help and resources.”

One scan of connected devices showed only 10 percent of those vulnerable had installed the patches by Friday, though the number was rising. Because installing the patch does not get rid of the back doors, US officials are racing to figure out how to notify all the victims and guide them in their hunt.

All of those affected appear to run Web versions of email client Outlook and host them on their own machines, instead of relying on cloud providers. That may have spared many of the biggest companies and federal government agencies, the records suggest. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the vulnerabilities found in Microsoft’s widely used Exchange servers were “significant,” and “could have far-reaching impacts.” “We’re concerned that there are a large number of victims,” Psaki said.

Microsoft and the person working with the US response blamed the initial wave of attacks on a Chinese government-backed actor. A Chinese government spokesman said the country was not behind the intrusions. What started as a controlled attack late last year against a few classic espionage targets grew last month to a widespread campaign. Security officials said that implied that unless China had changed tactics, a second group may have become involved.

More attacks are expected from other hackers as the code used to take control of the mail servers spreads. The hackers have only used the back doors to re-enter and move around the infected networks in a small percentage of cases, probably less than 1 in 10, the person working with the government said. “A couple hundred guys are exploiting them as fast as they can,” stealing data and installing other ways to return later, he said.

The initial avenue of attack was discovered by prominent Taiwanese cyber researcher Cheng-Da Tsai, who said he reported the flaw to Microsoft in January. He said in a blog post that he was investigating whether the information leaked. He did not respond to requests for further comment.

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White House says closely tracking Microsoft’s emergency patch

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The White House is closely tracking an emergency patch Microsoft Corp has released, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday, after an unknown hacking group recently broke into organisations using a flaw in the company’s mail server software.

“We are closely tracking Microsoft’s emergency patch for previously unknown vulnerabilities in Exchange Server software and reports of potential compromises of US think tanks and defense industrial base entities,” Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said on Twitter.”We encourage network owners to patch ASAP,” he said. His tweet included a link to a notice by Microsoft of the security update.

Microsoft’s near-ubiquitous suite of products has been under scrutiny since the hack of SolarWinds Corp, a Texas-based software firm that served as a springboard for several intrusions across government and the private sector.

In other cases, hackers took advantage of the way customers had set up their Microsoft services to compromise their targets or dive further into affected networks.

Hackers who went after SolarWinds also breached Microsoft itself, accessing and downloading source code – including elements of Exchange, the company’s email and calendaring product.

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Amazon Alexa App for Xbox Appears on Microsoft Store, Will Let Users Launch Games With Voice Command

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The Amazon Alexa app for Xbox consoles has surfaced on Microsoft Store. As per the official listing, the app will enable users to launch a game, control music, or even switch on/off the console. The application, however, is not yet available to download, and the listing says “coming soon.” To control the Xbox console via commands, users would require an additional Alexa-enabled device or an Amazon Echo speaker. Notably, Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles already feature the built-in Alexa virtual assistant that supports basic voice commands. The new app essentially brings the complete Alexa experience to Xbox users.

As per images available on the Microsoft Store, the app will further allow Xbox users to view Smart Camera footage on the screen, in addition to managing a variety of Alexa tasks such as editing shopping lists and more. To launch a game, users can use the command “Alexa, launch [Game Name].” Other commands such as, “Alexa, turn on [Xbox Name],” or “Alexa, play a song by [artist name] on [Xbox Name]” can be used as well. To view security cam footage, simply say “Alexa, show me the front door camera on [Xbox Name].”

ALSO READ: Xbox Series S Console Sold Out on Flipkart But You Can Still Try Your Luck on Amazon India

Meanwhile, the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles that were launched last year remain unavailable across many parts of the world due to a shortage in supply of parts owning to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, Microsoft had said that its flagship Xbox Series X console’s supply would continue to remain short until June 2021, months after warning about its short supply until April. Notably, the toned-down Series S console appears to be available on Amazon India, and its shipment will start from March 10. To recall, there is no disk drive on the Xbox Series S so the games will have to be downloaded via the Microsoft Xbox Store. The console runs on a custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU and custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU. It can play games at 1440p resolution at 60fps.



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