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Engadget Podcast Ep 39: Rip Off
On this episode hosts Dana Wollman and Terrence O'Brien talk about the massive WannaCry ransomware attack spreading across the globe and Caddyshack. Edgar Alvarez stops by to fill everyone in on all the drama around Fyre Festival, Instagram influencers and the FTC. Then Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar check in from Build to give us the low down on Microsoft's plans for the future.
How Microsoft’s Story Remix does what Clippy couldn't
Microsoft is making some bold promises with Story Remix, its recently announced app for the Windows 10 Fall Creators update. Together with the company's deep learning technology, it can automatically craft your photos and videos into short films. Story Remix resembles Apple Clips and Google's Photo Assistant, but it goes a bit further with the ability to analyze everything on a pixel level-basis to detect people, objects and the overall setting.
Microsoft revealed its plans for world domination at Build
Microsoft just wrapped up its Build developer conference, and the unifying theme was clear: Windows and Cortana everywhere. Whether it's linking Windows to all your other devices or letting developers code for various platforms from their PCs, Microsoft is making a bigger effort to get its hooks in all aspects of our tech lives.
I finally believe in Microsoft's mixed reality vision
For years, Microsoft has been talking about its dream of mixed reality -- the idea that AR and VR headsets can work together in harmony across virtual and physical environments. But until now, it really has just been talk. At its Build developer conference this week, I finally saw a mixed reality demo that made Microsoft's ambitious vision seem achievable. It was more than just shared VR -- something we've seen plenty of already -- it was a group experience that brought together HoloLens and Acer's virtual-reality headsets in intriguing ways.
Windows 10 will seamlessly run legacy apps on ARM
As we learned last month, ARM-powered Windows 10 devices should start hitting the market by the end of 2017. Unlike previous mobile-friendly versions of Windows though, Microsoft is working hard to make sure the ARM release will be able to properly support full-fledge desktop apps, rather than the mish-mash of apps that showed up in Windows RT and devices like the Surface 2. At the Build 2017 conference this week, Microsoft showed off the new seamless experience by downloading, installing and running x86 Win32 applications on an ARM machine.
Microsoft's dream of owning the living room hinges on Cortana
When Microsoft unveiled Cortana three years ago, it was positioned as the company's response to Siri and Google Now. But as Windows Phone faltered, Microsoft wisely shifted Cortana over to other mobile platforms and Windows PCs, where it could hook into your calendar and email to offer even more personalized assistance. Now, it appears that Microsoft wants Cortana to take over yet another space -- the living room.
Microsoft's design rules push Windows 'beyond mere rectangles'
Microsoft's Fall Creators Update for Windows 10 might have an ironically uncreative name, but the upgrade itself is flush with artistic potential and useful features. It will give users a timeline to manage complex work sessions, APIs that tie all of Microsoft's services together and, notably, a new design paradigm intended to radically overhaul the flat-rectangle user interface it's known for. Microsoft's Fluent Design System focuses on five tenets to help developers build more creative and engaging user interfaces: depth, material, light, scale and motion.
Watch Microsoft’s Build Day 2 keynote in under 7 minutes
While yesterday's Build keynote was almost purely developer focused, today's presentation fest dove deeper into Microsoft's consumer offerings. We learned about the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the next big upgrade for the OS that'll bring in a slew of features connected to the Microsoft Graph. The key takeaway? They should make it even easier for you to work across Windows, iOS and Android hardware. We also got a brief glimpse at Microsoft's new style paradigm, Fluent Design System, which makes it simpler for developers to build apps that work across new types of devices (while packing in some new visual flourishes).
By the numbers: Microsoft Build 2017
It was a big day for Microsoft's personal-computing aspirations. During its Build keynote today in Seattle, the company announced a new pair of mixed reality controllers and support for three separate Linux builds as well as unveiled its Fluent Design System. Here are the numbers, because how else are you going to calculate market share? Click here to catch up on the latest news from Microsoft Build 2017.
Microsoft will offer 3 flavors of Linux in the Windows Store
Microsoft made headlines at last year's Build developer conference when it announced that it would build support for the Bash shell and Ubuntu Linux binaries directly into Windows 10. Doing so enables devs to run command-line tools while building apps as well as allows power users to run limited instances of Linux directly on top of Windows without installing a virtual machine. Today, at this year's conference, the company one-upped itself and announced that it's expanding Linux support to include OpenSUSE and Fedora distributions.
Acer's and HP's Windows Mixed Reality headsets go on pre-order today
Microsoft's plan to bring augmented and virtual reality experiences to everyone is about to get a major boost. At its Build developer conference, the company announced that Acer's and HP's Windows Mixed Reality headsets will go on pre-order today in the US and Canada. The devices, which are geared toward developers, are expected to ship this summer from the Microsoft Store starting at $299 for the Acer headset. HP's, meanwhile, costs $329.
Apple is bringing iTunes to the Windows Store
Now, here's something you probably weren't expecting: Apple is bringing iTunes to the Windows Store. You'll no longer have to download a conventional desktop app just to play Apple Music or sync your iPhone. It's not certain how the Store version will differ from the regular Windows app (if at all), but it's more the presence itself that matters: You won't have to forego Apple's ecosystem if you're using Windows 10 S. If nothing else, this puts iTunes in front of users who otherwise wouldn't see it. There's no mention of a release date, so it may be a while before you can check this out firsthand. Click here to catch up on the latest news from Microsoft Build 2017.
Microsoft unveils Windows Mixed Reality Controllers
What good is a modern VR headset without decent motion controllers? Well, not much. So it's no surprise that Microsoft has announced its first Windows Mixed Reality Controllers, which will support the MR/VR headsets from the likes of Acer and other PC makers. Like HoloLens and various Windows-powered headsets, the controllers will rely on inside-out tracking technology, so you won't need to set up any special sensors to use them.
Windows 10 Timeline remembers everything you did on your PC
One of the more intriguing features Microsoft will include in this fall's Windows 10 Creators Update is Timeline. As the name suggests, it's a way for you to move backwards in time and see things you were working on in the past and resume what you were doing. Microsoft described it as a visual timeline of everything you were doing on your computer, and you can jump back into files, applications and websites where you left off.
Microsoft blurs the line between OneDrive and local files
This fall, all of your Windows files will be viewable and accessible from File Explorer regardless of whether they're stored in OneDrive or locally. It's something Joe Belfiore talked about onstage from Microsoft's Build keynote today, saying that all the fancy tools we've seen so far this morning for collaboration will benefit from it.
Microsoft's Story Remix puts a Hollywood studio in your PC
For the Fall Creators Update, Microsoft has unveiled a new app that can transform your photos and videos into a cinematic spectacle, complete with CG effects, titles and a soundtrack. Called Story Remix, it's a Universal Windows App that uses deep learning and Microsoft's Graph, letting you pull media in from colleagues and friends. It's a powerful yet simple app that uses image analysis and AI to do clip discovery, effects integration and the entire edit, complete with music.
Windows 10 is getting another Creators Update this fall
Now that the Windows 10 Creators Update is rolling out to PCs across the world, Microsoft is ready to start talking about its next big OS upgrade. Don't expect any catchy new names though: It's called the Fall Creators Update. Microsoft says it stuck with that moniker because it sees this upgrade as a continuation of the themes it developed with the first Creators Update. That's to say, the company is still focused on helping consumers be creative.
Microsoft Graph bridges the gap between Windows and your phone
You've probably never heard of the Microsoft Graph before, but it's going to be essential to the company's push into being the connective glue between all of your devices. For the past few years, the Graph has a shared platform connecting office apps. But with the upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators' Update, it'll also "connect dots between people, conversations, projects and content." Announced during the second day of Build 2017, the aim is to make all things Microsoft work seamlessly, whether you're on an iPhone, an Android device or a Windows PC. (And without mentioning Continuum.) The new features goes beyond that, tapping into Microsoft's cloud storage services in a bid to make you more efficient while switching across different hardware and keeping track of (almost) everything you do on your PC. Let's take a look.
Microsoft's Fluent Design optimizes Windows 10 for even more devices
Microsoft is still keeping mum about the future of its mobile OS, but in the meantime the company is pressing forward with a plan to expand to various other devices. At its Build developer conference today, Microsoft unveiled its Fluent Design System, a framework the company says will "deliver intuitive, harmonious, responsive and inclusive cross-device experiences and interactions."
Live from Microsoft's Build 2017 product keynote
We're on the ground in Seattle and waiting for Microsoft's second Build 2017 keynote to kick off. It's a return to home turf for the company (or at least, very close to its Redmond headquarters), after hosting its developer keynote in San Francisco for the past few years. We got a solid overview of the company's broader vision at yesterday's keynote, which includes a deeper push into AI and intelligent cloud computing. But today, we're looking forward to presentations from Microsoft's Windows and devices head, Terry Myerson, as well as Alex Kipman, the brains behind HoloLens. We'll likely hear about upcoming Windows 10 features, more about its plans for Windows 10 S notebooks and more about its VR/AR pursuit. The keynote kicks off today at 8:30AM PT/ 11:30AM ET. Grab some coffee and strap in for our live blog right here. Click here to catch up on the latest news from Microsoft's Build 2017.
