Microsoft (MSFT) News

How Microsoft’s AI convinced me to switch to Edge, and where the browser still falls short

by Todd Bishop on August 19, 2022August 19, 2022 at 12:31 pm

I finally broke down and switched to Microsoft’s Edge browser this week on my Windows PC, after many years of using Google Chrome. No, it wasn’t the incessant and annoying… Read More

‘Metaverse’ is in, ‘mixed reality’ out: Reading the tech tea leaves in Microsoft’s new words

by Todd Bishop on August 15, 2022August 15, 2022 at 9:23 am

Microsoft’s future just got a major edit. The metaverse, hybrid work, flexibility, trust, and technology’s role in the global economy are some of the new additions in the latest version… Read More

Microsoft tells Brazilian regulator that Sony pays devs to not push content to Xbox Game Pass

by Thomas Wilde on August 11, 2022August 11, 2022 at 3:06 pm

In a filing to Brazil’s national competition regulator, Microsoft has claimed that Sony pays unnamed video game developers to prevent them from adding content to the Xbox Game Pass. The… Read More

Microsoft’s belt-tightening is the latest sign of the economic times

by Todd Bishop on August 10, 2022August 10, 2022 at 11:52 am

“As we manage through this period, we will continue to invest in future growth while maintaining intense focus on operational excellence and execution discipline.” — Amy Hood, Microsoft chief financial… Read More

Microsoft’s ‘deepened partnership’ with Unity Technologies aims to expand game design toolset

by Thomas Wilde on August 8, 2022August 8, 2022 at 12:33 pm

The company behind one of the most popular game development toolsets has entered into an agreement to use Microsoft Azure as its official cloud partner. Unity Technologies, headquartered in San… Read More

Podcast

The state of the tech economy: Takeaways from Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet

by Todd Bishop on August 6, 2022August 6, 2022 at 10:16 am

This week on the GeekWire Podcast, we play highlights and offer our thoughts on the recent earnings calls of Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet, seeking to better understand what’s… Read More

With Google’s Mandiant deal pending, Microsoft looks to get ahead in security threat intelligence

by Todd Bishop on August 2, 2022August 2, 2022 at 10:48 am

Microsoft announced two new security threat intelligence products Tuesday morning, the latest moves in a broader effort to help businesses proactively sniff out and prevent cyberattacks. Built in part on… Read More

New filing: Microsoft added record 40,000 employees in past year, up 22%, before job cuts

by Todd Bishop on July 29, 2022July 29, 2022 at 10:51 am

Hiring and acquisitions boosted employment to record levels at Microsoft as of the end of the company’s recent fiscal year, a new regulatory filing shows. Microsoft had 221,000 employees as… Read More

Full text: Microsoft’s multi-cloud vision would keep Amazon from running away with federal deals

by Todd Bishop on July 28, 2022July 28, 2022 at 11:00 am

A draft document circulated by Microsoft calls for the use of multiple cloud vendors as “the de facto standard for US Government Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as… Read More

Profits decline in Microsoft’s Windows division for first time since height of pandemic

by Todd Bishop on July 27, 2022July 27, 2022 at 11:33 am

Profits fell more than 5% in the Microsoft division that includes the company’s Windows business, the first decline in nearly three years, as the PC sales surge brought on by… Read More

Microsoft is the latest tech giant to report decelerating advertising revenue

by Nate Bek on July 26, 2022July 26, 2022 at 11:35 pm

Microsoft announced the slowest growth in its digital advertising business in more than a year, part of a bevy of tech giants to report decelerating ad revenue amid the broader… Read More

Microsoft Chief Environmental Officer Lucas Joppa departing to take role at private equity firm

by Taylor Soper on July 26, 2022July 26, 2022 at 4:43 pm

Lucas Joppa, who became Microsoft’s first chief environmental officer in 2018 and led the company’s sustainability efforts, is stepping down. Joppa is joining an unnamed private equity firm as senior… Read More

Microsoft earnings come up short, hit by global economic trends and cutbacks

by Todd Bishop on July 26, 2022July 26, 2022 at 5:03 pm

Microsoft just reported its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2022, the fourth quarter of its 2022 fiscal year. Both revenue and profits came in below Wall… Read More

Big earnings week ahead: Microsoft’s numbers to serve as barometer of the uncertain economy

by Todd Bishop on July 25, 2022July 25, 2022 at 10:10 am

Will Microsoft’s guidance for its Azure cloud business exceed 40% growth? That’s one way Wall Street will be using Microsoft’s quarterly report Tuesday afternoon to gauge not just the company’s… Read More

Will Microsoft buy Netflix? Why a deal makes sense — and why it doesn’t

by Thomas Wilde on July 23, 2022July 23, 2022 at 10:25 am

Recent headlines detailing subscriber loss at Netflix combined with the streaming giant’s advertising deal with Microsoft to launch an ad-supported subscription tier in 2023 have led to a new wave… Read More

News Brief

Microsoft eliminates open jobs amid economic downturn

by Taylor Soper on July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 at 5:25 pm

Microsoft is pulling open job roles as tech companies slow hiring in response to economic uncertainty. Bloomberg first reported the news, noting that the hiring cuts will impact the company’s… Read More

Microsoft-owned Mojang bans NFT integration in Minecraft

by Thomas Wilde on July 20, 2022July 20, 2022 at 3:01 pm

In news that came as a blow to several trading communities, the makers of Minecraft announced on Wednesday morning that it would rewrite the game’s user guidelines to effectively prohibit… Read More

Video

Microsoft’s latest solution for hybrid team-building is another social networking app

by Todd Bishop on July 19, 2022July 19, 2022 at 11:39 am

If the thought of updating another social network on a regular basis makes you shudder, a new app unveiled by Microsoft this morning probably won’t be welcome news. But if… Read More

Netflix partners with Microsoft as streamer plans to launch new ad-supported subscription plan

by Kurt Schlosser on July 13, 2022July 13, 2022 at 12:17 pm

As Netflix looks to launch an ad-supported subscription tier to its streaming television service, the company is partnering with Microsoft as its technology and sales partner. The companies announced the… Read More

Microsoft cuts jobs in ‘strategic realignment’ as new fiscal year begins

by Todd Bishop on July 12, 2022July 12, 2022 at 9:02 am

Microsoft confirmed a “small number” of job cuts Tuesday morning, describing the move as part of a “strategic realignment” in specific areas of the company, and saying it plans to… Read More

Amazon and Microsoft deny using Flickr pics for facial recognition, as suits test limits of privacy law

by Todd Bishop on July 6, 2022July 6, 2022 at 12:35 pm

Facing a pair of related lawsuits, Amazon and Microsoft both acknowledge that people working on their respective facial-recognition technologies downloaded IBM’s “Diversity in Faces” photo database — compiled from 1… Read More

Podcast

Interview: Microsoft’s president on turbulent times for the company, country, and world

by Todd Bishop on June 30, 2022July 1, 2022 at 7:11 am

Brad Smith, like many in tech and the broader world, thought 2022 might bring a bit of a break. Halfway through, the reality has been anything but. “This has been… Read More

Microsoft launches Climate Research Initiative to collaborate on climate change challenges

by Kurt Schlosser on June 29, 2022June 29, 2022 at 11:24 am

Microsoft is launching a new research initiative aimed at fighting climate change, the company announced Wednesday. The Microsoft Climate Research Initiative (MCRI) aims to harness the tech giant’s research and… Read More

PlayStation Plus vs. Xbox Game Pass: Competing subscription services showcase different strategies

by Thomas Wilde on June 17, 2022June 17, 2022 at 3:23 pm

Sony released its revamped PlayStation Plus subscription service on Monday, which places its service in indirect competition with Microsoft’s Game Pass. I went ahead and signed up for Plus on… Read More

Spreadsheets (2+2)ever = Tiller personal finance startup finds growth formula in Microsoft Excel

by Todd Bishop on June 17, 2022June 17, 2022 at 11:01 am

Eight years ago, Seattle-area entrepreneur Peter Polson decided to pursue what he perceived as a gap in the personal finance software market, inspired by his growing family’s increasingly complex needs… Read More

Will civil rights audits make a difference? Microsoft, Amazon, and the nation’s racial reckoning

by Monica Nickelsburg on June 17, 2022June 17, 2022 at 11:20 am

Microsoft and Amazon are joining a growing pool of companies conducting civil rights audits in the wake of the racial reckoning that began in 2020 with a series of police… Read More

Microsoft helps build data hub to track disabilities as part of effort to close ‘disability divide’

by Lisa Stiffler on June 15, 2022June 15, 2022 at 6:57 am

There are lots of sources for global data on economic indicators, population sizes, infectious diseases, sustainability — the list goes on. But missing in the lineup has been a comprehensive,… Read More

Microsoft signs ‘labor neutrality agreement’ with union representing Activision Blizzard employees

by Thomas Wilde on June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 at 11:22 am

The Communications Workers of America announced Monday that it entered into a labor neutrality agreement with Microsoft that will apply at Activision Blizzard two months after Microsoft’s planned acquisition of… Read More

Video

Microsoft Teams uses AI to improve audio and video quality on calls

by Taylor Soper on June 13, 2022June 13, 2022 at 7:56 am

Microsoft’s Teams communications and collaboration platform is getting some AI-powered improvements aimed at boosting audio and video quality on calls. Among the new features announced Monday include: Echo cancellation, which… Read More

Video

‘Starfield,’ Kojima, Riot Games: Everything you need to know from Microsoft’s Xbox showcase

by Thomas Wilde on June 12, 2022June 12, 2022 at 2:02 pm

Microsoft’s gaming division and its partner studios released a 90-minute pre-recorded presentation on Sunday, the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, that announced many of the games coming to the Xbox… Read More