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  • Microsoft Office for Android updated with option to capture voice recordings

    Microsoft Office for Android updated with option to capture voice recordings

    Microsoft rolled out important new features to Office Mobile in the last month. After getting full-fledged dark mode support back in May, the Android version of Office Mobile is now gaining yet another new feature: the ability to capture voice recordings.

    As the name suggests, the new feature lets Android users go beyond simple voice memos, with live speech-to-text transcription. The implementation includes additional benefits like synced text highlighting during playback and the ability to share content by exporting it to other Microsoft 365 apps and services.

    Only for Microsoft 365 subscribers, the new feature allows for partition and transcription of the input from different speakers based on their identity. Here is how the new feature works:

    • In the Microsoft Office app on your Android device, tap the “+” button at the bottom of the Home tab.
    • Under Quick capture, tap Voice to launch the voice capture experience.
    • Start speaking to record and tap the Done button when finished. Your recording will be saved as a voice card. You can view all your voice captures in a list view.
    • To review your recording, select the voice card for playback with synced text highlighting. Your voice recordings are also available on your Home tab for easy access.

    Microsoft announced that the ability to capture voice recordings is now rolling out to users of the Office Mobile for Android with English (US) selected as their language and country/region.

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  • Microsoft to establish first datacenter region in Malaysia to support economy

    Microsoft to establish first datacenter region in Malaysia to support economy

    Microsoft Corp. announced its “Bersama Malaysia” (Together with Malaysia) initiative, which marks a significant commitment to empowering Malaysia’s inclusive digital economy and advancing the nation’s digital transformation across the private and public sectors. As part of the plan, Microsoft will establish its first datacenter region in the country to deliver trusted cloud services locally, with world-class data security, privacy, and the ability to store data in-country. Microsoft also announced plans to skill an additional 1 million Malaysians by end of 2023 to help create economic opportunities for people and businesses in the digital era. Finally, Microsoft will help form the MyDigital Alliance Leadership Council to collaborate on cloud-first and digital-native policy recommendations.

    Today’s announcement represents a significant milestone in Microsoft’s 28-year history in the country and supports the Government of Malaysia’s MyDigital goals to transform the country into a regional leader in the digital economy. According to IDC’s research, Microsoft’s investment in Malaysia will help generate up to USD 4.6 billion in new revenues for the country’s ecosystem of local partners and cloud-consuming customers over the next four years. Additionally, the research estimates Microsoft, its partners, and cloud-using customers will together contribute more than 19,000 new direct and indirect jobs.

    “Today’s announcement represents a major milestone for Microsoft in the 28 years we have been operating in Malaysia. We share the Government’s commitment that digital transformation must be inclusive and responsible. As such, we pledge to empower 1 million Malaysians with digital skills, helping them to take advantage of the opportunities this new investment will bring. Building digital infrastructure is fundamental to advancing a nation’s digital economy. The upcoming datacenter region will be a game-changer for Malaysia, enabling the government and businesses to reimagine and transform their operations, to the benefit of all citizens,” said Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations.

    “We are proud to cement our partnership with the nation to accelerate its digital economy. Public-private partnerships are key enablers to propel Malaysia’s digital economy forward. Microsoft’s Bersama Malaysia initiative reflects our joint commitment in support of the nation’s MyDigital aspirations, as we empower every person and every organization in Malaysia to achieve more. With over 200 employees and 2,000 partners in the country, we will continue to support a digitally-enabled government, empower businesses to build resilience digitally, and bridge the digital opportunities for Malaysians. Together, we stand with Malaysia,” said K Raman, Managing Director of Microsoft Malaysia.

    Digital infrastructure and partnerships to advance Malaysia’s digital economy

    Microsoft will establish its first datacenter region in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area and deliver access to the full Microsoft Cloud, which includes:

    • Microsoft Azure, enabling anyone to invent with purpose using cloud services and capabilities that span computing, networking, databases, analytics, AI and Internet of Things (IoT);
    • Microsoft 365, to connect, collaborate, work remotely and learn online with innovative productivity tools;
    • Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, to rapidly build and manage critical enterprise business solutions at scale with intelligent business applications.

    The new datacenter region will also deliver Azure Availability Zones, providing additional resilience options for highly available applications, and support Microsoft’s sustainability goals. Microsoft has a global commitment to shift to 100 percent supply of renewable energy by 2025. This means Microsoft will have power purchase agreements for green energy contracted for 100 percent of carbon-emitting electricity consumed by all its datacenters, buildings, and campuses, including the planned Malaysia datacenter region.

    Microsoft will work with the government, startups and enterprises to support the country’s digital transformation goals. Specifically, Microsoft in partnership with the Social & Economic Research Initiative (SERI) has established the MyDigital Alliance Leadership Council to collaborate on cloud-first and digital-native policy recommendations. The Alliance’s first meeting discussed digitalization in the education sector to nurture a globally competitive Malaysian digital workforce. Additionally, Malaysia’s leading companies, Petroliam Nasional Nerhad (PETRONAS) and Celcom Axiata Berhad have committed to helping advance Malaysia’s nation building and digital ambitions, as well as using the Microsoft Cloud from the new datacenter region when available.

    “The partnership with Microsoft underlines PETRONAS’ commitment to nurturing a sustainable pipeline of a future-ready workforce equipped to support Malaysia’s digital economy. As a progressive energy and solutions partner enriching lives for a sustainable future, continuous human capital development will be integral to our ability to operate and compete. We look forward to accelerating efforts in upskilling local talents, with a view to creating an inclusive digital future for the benefit of both the people and the nation,” said Tengku Muhammad Taufik, President and Group Chief Executive Officer, PETRONAS.

    “Telecommunications and technology sectors are key lifelines to the nation’s digital economy. A world-class cloud service will become the epitome that shapes the future path in our pursuit towards becoming a digital economy powerhouse in the region. We highly applaud Microsoft’s plans to establish its first datacenter region in Malaysia, providing access to secure, scalable, highly available, resilient and sustainable cloud services for the government, and across multiple industry verticals. As the anchor telco tenant, we look forward to bringing the benefit of this datacenter to our customers and partners. In partnership with Microsoft, we will continue to serve our customers by offering secure and reliable cloud services, leading towards the development of a striving digital ecosystem and achieving the nation’s digital aspirations in a way that is sustainable,” said Idham Nawawi, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad.

    Microsoft, together with its local partner Enfrasys Solutions, has been appointed by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) to provide cloud services to the Malaysian public sector agencies through 2023. Microsoft will also partner with Censof Holdings, Silverlake Group, and Web Bytes to accelerate digital transformation in the nation’s key industries, including financial services, retail, food and beverage, as well as the public sector.

    Empowering Malaysians with inclusive opportunities

    As part of the Bersama Malaysia initiative, Microsoft is committed to equipping individuals with equal opportunities to thrive in a cloud and AI-enabled digital economy. To achieve this, Microsoft will skill an additional 1 million Malaysians by December 2023. This includes work with the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF), Social Security Organization (SOCSO), Junior Achievement Malaysia, TalentCorp Malaysia, MAMPU, Grab Malaysia, Biji-Biji Enterprise and local universities to reach people of all socio-economic backgrounds, including young adults and people living with disabilities. This commitment is a continuation of Microsoft’s global skills initiative since July 2020, which has reached more than 110,000 Malaysians to date.

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  • Microsoft could announce purchase of key Siri supplier as soon as tomorrow

    Microsoft could announce purchase of key Siri supplier as soon as tomorrow

    Microsoft is in “advanced” talks to purchase speech technology and AI company Nuance for a price reported as “about $16 billion.” The deal could be announced as soon as Monday although Bloomberg News says that the discussions are continuing and a deal could still fall apart. Nuance’s voice technology helped Apple launch its Siri voice assistant on the iPhone 4s in 2011 and later that year Nuance acquired QWERTY swiping app Swype.

    The price as currently rumored works out to about $56 for each Nuance share. The company’s stock closed Friday at $45.64 in after-hours trading and at $56 the deal would represent a premium of 22.7%. If done at $16 billion, a purchase of Nuance would be Microsoft’s second-largest deal of all time after the software giant’s $27 billion acquisition of networking app LinkedIn in 2016.

    Nuance software including the Dragon line of speech recognition software is used in a variety of industries from automotive to health care and is used to transcribe voice mails, Doctor’s visits, and customer service calls. For the fourth quarter, the company earned $7 million on revenue of $346 million. For the fiscal year ended last September, Nuance had a net income of $91 million on revenue of $1.48 billion after losing $2.17 billion over the previous fiscal year.

    Anurag Rana, a Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst, said, “This can really help Microsoft accelerate the digitization of the health-care industry, which has lagged other sectors such as retail and banking. The biggest near-term benefit that I can see is in the area of telehealth, where Nuance transcription product is currently being used with Microsoft Teams.”

    s far as Siri’s connection with Nuance is concerned, the latter provided Apple’s digital assistant with its speech recognition engine. Microsoft recently dropped the iOS and Android apps for Cortana, its digital assistant, and Siri rival. Not enough iOS and Android users were using the Cortana app for Microsoft to keep it active.

    Nuance helped provide Siri with the technology needed for the assistant to hear tasks requested by users and understand what was being asked. It is unclear what the current relationship is between Apple and Nuance.

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  • Microsoft appears ready to add Dark Theme to its Office suite apps for Android

    Microsoft appears ready to add Dark Theme to its Office suite apps for Android

    Microsoft is adding Dark Theme to its Microsoft Office suite apps for Android. Dark Theme replaces the standard black text on a white background with white text on a black background. This reduces the strain on the user’s eyes, especially at night or in a dark room. And Dark Theme also can help save some battery life on a phone using an AMOLED panel. That’s because unlike LCD displays, AMOLED does not use a backlight and each pixel can be controlled individually.

    The color black is created on an AMOLED screen by turning off a pixel and such pixels don’t draw power from the battery. So with a black background, enough pixels are shut down to make a difference in how much power is being used by the screen.

    Paluzzi disseminated a tweet that included screenshots of Microsoft Word in Dark Theme. The tipster said that the same look will be used for PowerPoint and Excel. There will be three options for users to select, Light theme, Dark theme or System Default. The Light theme is the traditional white background with black text, Dark theme is the inverse, and System Default uses whichever theme you have set for your phone. A blank sheet in Word is white, even in Dark Theme. But Paluzzi says that this might change to black when the feature is rolled out.

    Microsoft had already added Dark Theme to several of its Android apps including OneDrive, Edge, Outlook, OneNote, and Remote Desktop, so it is no surprise that this capability is being rolled out for its Office suite app.

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  • Ex-Nokia and Apple camera expert joins Microsoft’s Surface Team

    Ex-Nokia and Apple camera expert joins Microsoft’s Surface Team

    Ex-Apple employee Ari Partinen announced on Twitter that he has joined the Microsoft Surface Imaging team. A well-known name in the mobile camera industry, he’s worked for Nokia from 2017 to 2014 as an Image Quality engineer and later as the Lumia Photography Lead. After that he was hired by Apple for their camera team as a Senior Imaging Engineer from 2014 to 2015 and a Senior Manager of camera validation and testing from 2015 to 2018.

    Ari Partinen has worked on some incredible camera performers in the past. His work on the Nokia 808 PureView and its Windows Phone successor, the Lumia 1020, is his most notable accomplishment. Both devices were innovators in the camera department with their 41MP cameras breaking the limits of how good a phone camera could be.

    Since leaving Apple, he has been working as a Senior Manager at AAC Technologies, an electrical and electronic manufacturing company, until now.

    The Surface lineup has not been the greatest in the camera department. The Surface Duo had a disappointing 11MP camera on the front and none on the back. The device also had some other major flaws in the software, performance and battery departments. The Surface Duo’s starting price of $1,199 and the lack of 5G support didn’t help the company’s new mobile endeavor either.

    With the dual-screen device’s successor already in development, Ari Partinen could bring big improvements in camera performance in the Surface Duo 2. It is not yet clear if he is going to work only on the Duo or also on other Surface devices, like the successors to the well-known Surface Pro 7, Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Book 3 devices.

    The Nokia devices that Ari Partinen has worked on had innovative cameras, more megapixels and greater zoom performance. These achievements meant a jump in picture quality, especially in pixel quality, zooming and low-light performance. Many of the concepts these cameras experimented with are commonplace in high-end phones today.

    The Surface Duo 2 is expected to improve on its predecessor’s shortcomings, like the poor camera, software and battery performance. The lack of 5G is also expected to be addressed in the next generation of the device. It is not yet known when the device is going to be announced.

  • Bosch, Microsoft Join Forces To Develop Vehicle Software Platform

    Bosch, Microsoft Join Forces To Develop Vehicle Software Platform

    Bosch will work with Microsoft on a software platform for vehicles, it said on Thursday, as it strives to get a foot in the door to the fast-growing market for electromobility and automated driving technologies. By using cloud technology, the software platform will ensure that vehicles’ control units and computers can get software throughout their lifetime, the German auto supplier said.

    By using cloud technology, the software platform will ensure that vehicles’ control units and computers can get software throughout their lifetime

    The technology is based on Microsoft Azure and includes software modules from Bosch, it said, adding that they plan to use the software platform in-vehicle prototypes by the end of 2021. “We are thus creating the conditions for wireless updates to work just as smoothly and conveniently on vehicles as they do on smartphones,” said Bosch Managing Director Markus Heyn.

    The companies will also cooperate to adapt existing software tools to let automakers and suppliers to simplify and accelerate their own software updates. Last week, German carmaker Volkswagen AG announced similar cooperation with Microsoft to use its cloud computing services to help it streamline its software development efforts for self-driving cars.

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  • Adyen and Microsoft Launch Network Token Optimization

    Adyen and Microsoft Launch Network Token Optimization

    Adyen , the global payments platform of choice for many of the world’s leading companies, expands its collaboration with Microsoft to accelerate payments innovation for both companies with the launch of Adyen Network Token Optimization. Adyen is one of the first payment platforms to enable tokenized payments across multiple schemes and to offer automated optimization of the use of tokens to increase authorization rates. By adopting Network Token Optimization, merchants like Microsoft are able to realize significantly more revenue due to increased authorization rates.

    “Customer experience is at the center of everything we do, and when it comes to the payments process it’s about making it faster, simple and secure,” said Matt Rossmeissl, Vice President of Commerce Engineering Operations at Microsoft. “Product innovation is at the core of what we do at Microsoft and Adyen’s Network Token Optimization is a factor in driving better authorization rates and customer satisfaction.”

    Adyen and Microsoft have been working together since July 2015, starting with European acquiring. Today, Adyen processes payments for Microsoft globally, across all Microsoft products and services. Microsoft utilizes multiple Adyen products in addition to Network Token Optimization, including Real-time Account Updater to ensure a seamless consumer shopping experience by always charging the most up to date card. Adyen also supports various local payment methods in a number of countries for Microsoft, including U.S.-based debit networks, a more recent Adyen development.

    “We always build products with a focus on our merchants and their end customers, and Microsoft pushes us to help create better global solutions. We have benefited from Microsoft’s consistent desire to provide better experiences for their customers,” said Kamran Zaki, COO at Adyen. “At the forefront of innovation, the Microsoft team is always willing to act as an early adopter for many of our new products and features. We work together every day to create positive shopping experiences for Microsoft customers, and are excited to see what we will create next.”

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  • Bukalapak Establishes Strategic Partnership with Microsoft to Enhance Indonesian E-commerce

    Bukalapak Establishes Strategic Partnership with Microsoft to Enhance Indonesian E-commerce

    Microsoft and Bukalapak, one of Indonesia’s leading e-commerce platforms, have formed a strategic partnership to reshape how e-commerce is conducted in the country. Kicking off the collaboration between the two companies, Bukalapak will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform and Microsoft will make a strategic investment in Bukalapak.

    The partnership will leverage Microsoft’s expertise in building a resilient cloud infrastructure to support Bukalapak services for more than 12 million micro, small and medium enterprises, and 100 million customers.

    “This partnership signals a deep collaboration with Microsoft on an array of technology projects that will transform the technology-driven commerce solutions and operations solution and operations in Indonesia,” said Rachmat Kaimuddin, CEO of Bukalapak. “As a global technology leader, Microsoft’s confidence with Bukalapak highlights our position as the leading homegrown technology player in Indonesia and our continued objective to create a positive impact on our country and customers.”

    Through this partnership, Bukalapak and Microsoft will collaborate on key initiatives including:

    • Building resilient infrastructure – Bukalapak will adopt Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform to support its more than 6 million online merchants, 6 million offline merchants and 100 million customers.
    • Bridging the digital gap – The companies will explore opportunities to help make the digital world relevant for every individual daily.
    • Skilling – Providing digital skills training for Bukalapak employees and their merchants.

    “Bukalapak and their services have had real and enduring impact on Indonesian society, and their innovation mindset in a rapidly changing market will create new opportunities for merchants, businesses and consumers,” said Haris Izmee, President Director of Microsoft Indonesia. “We are excited to empower Bukalapak with a trusted cloud, that allows them to scale their customer experience on Microsoft Azure. Through this partnership, merchants and consumers will have a more efficient and reliable buying and selling experiences, which in turn, creates business resilience and helps in accelerate growth in the Indonesian digital economy.”

    As a leading e-commerce platform in Indonesia, Bukalapak was founded with the singular mission of empowering Indonesia through digital technology. The company also offers financial services and payment options for its users, including but not limited to, gold and mutual funds’ investments, bill payments and credit services. They aim to transform the economy beyond e-commerce, by digitalizing traditional warungs (mom and pop kiosks) so every business in Indonesia has access to the online economy.

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  • Microsoft’s OneDrive updated with several new features for iOS 13 and 14 users

    Microsoft’s OneDrive updated with several new features for iOS 13 and 14 users

    The last time OneDrive for iOS was updated, the app received a couple of new features specifically designed for iOS 14. This time Microsoft is rolling out a slew of new features aimed at both iOS 13 and 14 users.

    First off, we have a brand new OneDrive widget available only for iOS 14 users. Then, there’s a new Home tab that should make it easier for OneDrive users to pick up where they left off. The new Home tab features a user’s Recent view for easy access to files, as well as an Offline Files section that lets you access and manages files already downloaded for offline access. The new Home tab is available now for all iOS users.

    Microsoft also revealed that OneDrive personal users will get On This Day featured at the top of the new Home tab. Finally, the update makes it easier for users of OneDrive at work or school to get their Shared Libraries from the Home tab.

    Besides the new features related to the Home tab, Microsoft made two improvements to OneDrive for iOS. Firstly, it fixed an issue with an unexpected dialog showing up when users would tap the widget to sign into a personal account. Secondly, it improved the widget to make it look even better.

    The new OneDrive for iOS 12.0.2 is already available for download via the App Store, so you might want to update your app to benefit from all these nifty improvements.

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  • These changes being added to Microsoft’s Outlook greatly improve the app

    These changes being added to Microsoft’s Outlook greatly improve the app

    Microsoft’s attempt to take on Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa was not what you might call a rousing success for the software giant. In most head to head testing, Cortana finished behind all of its rivals including Siri, which is about as bad as things can get. Earlier this year, Cortana was removed from the Microsoft App Launcher. And Microsoft itself has said that at the beginning of next year it will pull Cortana out of the App Store and the Google Play Store.

    But this might not be the end of Microsoft’s digital assistant after all.  In an effort to revitalize its mobile apps, Microsoft announced some changes it is making to Outlook at the request of IT administrators who want to encourage their end-users to start using the iOS or Android version of the app. In a blog post, Microsoft explains that Outlook users will be notified from their desktop or browser that they can have the Outlook experience on their mobile device.

    The users then send a text to themselves containing a link that allows them to download Outlook mobile from the app stores. When they open the app, scanning a QR code will securely transfer their Microsoft credentials from the desktop version of Outlook to the app on their phone. This way they won’t need to enter their username and password when adding a work or school account.” As Microsoft says, “This experience provides a shortcut for both users and IT administrators. Users can easily get started and IT administrators can quickly and confidently know they can scale their deployments in a secure way using the services they already have.

    “Microsoft says that over the next several weeks, it will be adding shortcuts into Outlook for iOS and Android. For example, if suggested replies is enabled by the user and allowed by his or her organization when receiving a message for a get-together, Send Availability will allow the user to work out a time that works out the best for him or her. Tapping on Schedule Meeting will allow the user to create a new event on his Outlook Calendar.

    In the Android version of Outlook, users will be able to respond to email notifications in the app by choosing Archive, Reply, and Delete. Two out of the three can also be selected as responses along with Mark Read, Flag, Read & archive, or none. With Drag and drop, files, text and images can be added to Outlook emails. And those using the iOS 14 version of Outlook now have a widget shortcut to the Outlook Calendar.

    Those with the iOS or Android version of Outlook will be able to schedule a meeting, call contacts from Outlook with their phone, and quickly compose short emails using their voice. This is in addition to searching for people, emails, events, and files, or monitoring new posts in their inbox with help from Cortana.

    The weather is coming to the Outlook app as a way for users to see what the forecast is for later on the same day, the forecast over the next three days, or over the upcoming week. Lastly, AI-based text predictions are coming to the mobile version of Outlook. This makes it quicker to complete composing emails in the app. Swipe on the screen to accept the suggested text or keep typing to ignore it.

    Coming around the beginning of the New Year is Reactions. This feature will allow the Outlook user to add an Emoji quickly in reaction to a message that he or she has received. It helps the user express his view about an email without having to write another long-winded response.

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  • Microsoft says that Apple’s punishments against Epic will hurt game developers and players

    Microsoft says that Apple’s punishments against Epic will hurt game developers and players

    Microsoft is taking sides in the court battle between Epic Games and Apple. As you might recall, Epic added a screen to its hit game Fortnite that allows players, even those who installed the game from the App Store, to pay for in-app purchases from the developer’s own in-app payment system. Payments made through Epic’s own payment system bypass Apple’s system from which the tech giant takes a cut of 30%. The so-called 30% Apple Tax is being investigated by regulatory agencies in the U.S. and Europe who will determine whether it is anticompetitive.

    For now though, the battle between Apple and Epic is solely over whether Apple has the right to punish Epic by removing Fortnite from the App Store and closing Epic’s developer account. That will leave it unable to provide updates to iOS and Mac users although those who have already installed the game on their iPhone can continue to play. Apple says that it will allow the game to return and give the developer its account back, but only if Epic shuts its in-app payment portal. Epic has sued and seeks a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would block Apple from removing Fortnite and closing Epic’s developer accounts until the issue can be adjudicated.

    Microsoft filed a declaration with the court on Sunday in which a Microsoft senior engineer said that closing Epic’s developer account would prevent it from offering its Unreal Engine. The latter is a game engine for developers and is a framework for the creation of 3D graphics. It is licensed to game developers in return for 5% of sales although that fee is waived if a game is published in the Epic Game Store. Starting last May, Epic waived its portion of the fees for games developed in Unreal Engine until a developer earns his first million dollars. A declaration is a written statement sworn to be true under penalty of perjury by any person who has knowledge about the issues in a court case.

    Kevin Gammill, Microsoft’s general manager for Gaming Developer Experiences, said in the declaration that “If Unreal Engine cannot support games for iOS or macOS, Microsoft would be required to choose between abandoning its customers and potential customers on the iOS and macOS platforms or choosing a different game engine when preparing to develop new games. Gammill went on to say that, “Apple’s discontinuation of Epic’s ability to develop and support Unreal Engine for iOS or macOS will harm game creators and gamers.” And the Microsoft GM points out that there are very few alternative gaming engines with the same functionality and a large number of features.

    Epic says that the punishments imposed by Apple will produce an impact affecting more than the Unreal Engine. Epic’s vice president of engineering, Nicholas Penwarden, says that the developer has received “numerous inquiries and expressions of concern” from companies that have licensed the Unreal Engine.

    Besides filing the suit against Apple, Epic has filed a similar suit against Google. The latter’s Android app storefront, the Google Play Store, also takes a 30% cut of in-app payments for Google. The difference is that while iOS users are locked into using the App Store to find and install apps, Android users are allowed to sideload apps from third-party app stores.

    Apple’s strategy in court is to show that Epic has created this problem by itself and that it can be easily fixed by following the agreement that Apple has all developers sign. Apple has threatened to close Epic’s development account on August 28th. On the same date, the developer will lose access to iOS and Mac developer tools.

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  • Messaging app plans to challenge TikTok

    Messaging app plans to challenge TikTok

    When Snapchat first crossed our consciousness in May of 2012, its claim to fame was self-deleting photo messages that would disappear after 10 seconds. Eventually, Snapchat invented the “Stories” feature that Instagram and other social media apps copied. Today, Snapchat is known for its AR Lenses which can turn you into a sunglasses-wearing motorcycle cop, a dog sticking out his long tongue, and more.

    And now Snapchat is planning on going head-to-head against TikTok. The latter, with over 2 billion installs from the App Store and the Google Play Store, is one of the most popular apps in the U.S. as it allows users (mostly teens, pre-teens, and a smattering of adults) to create short-form videos of 15 and 60 seconds in length. Content includes lip-syncing, dancing, comedy bits and more. Snapchat announced today that it will be testing a new feature that will allow users to have their Snaps play with music in the background. Sound familiar?

    This is the perfect time for Snapchat to explore adding TikTok-esque features to the app. President Donald Trump has made it clear that the U.S. will not allow companies with possible ties to the communist Chinese government to operate in the states, and while he is allowing Microsoft to negotiate with TikTok parent ByteDance (a company based in China) to acquire the app in the U.S. and several other countries, such a transaction comes with a pretty high price tag which means that there is no guarantee that it will get done. If a deal isn’t agreed to, TikTok could get banned in the states and its 800 million global active users (100 million in the U.S.) will be searching for an alternative to the app, something that we’re sure that Snapchat understands.

    Snapchat parent SNAP has licensing deals with a number of music publishers including Warner Music. The music will be available for Snapchat users to add before recording a video, or afterward. When one of the new Snaps with music is shared, the person on the receiving end will swipe up to see album art, the title of the song being played, and the name of the artist. A “Play this song link” will send the user to Linkfire’s website or to the user’s preferred streaming music platform where the entire song can be played. That could be considered an improvement over what TikTok offers; tap the “sound” link on the latter app and you’ll see other clips that use the same song. Snapchat says that the new feature is designed for sharing music with your “real friends.”

    “We’re always looking for new ways to give Snapchatters creative tools to express themselves,” said a SNAP spokesman. “Music is a new dimension they can add to their Snaps that helps capture feelings and moments they want to share with their real friends.”

    While Snapchat seems to be overlooked in the messaging apps category, as of last quarter it counted 238 million daily active users worldwide. It also reaches more 13-to-24-year olds in the U.S. (90%) than Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. Even more impressive, Snapchat says that it reaches more users in the U.S. than Twitter and TikTok combined.

    A Snapchat spokesman said, “We’re constantly building on our relationships within the music industry, and making sure the entire music ecosystem — artists, labels, songwriters, publishers and streaming service — are seeing the value in our partnerships.” Snapchat plans on rolling out this feature in English-speaking markets starting this fall, although it is being tested starting today in New Zealand and Australia.

    Meanwhile, Instagram is about to roll out its own short-form video feature called “Reels” which is making TikTok parent ByteDancer very unhappy. In a statement late Sunday, ByteDancer accused Instagram owner Facebook of “plagiarism.” The whole statement read, “ByteDance has always been committed to becoming a global company. During this process, we have faced all kinds of complex and unimaginable difficulties, including the tense international political environment, collision and conflict of different cultures and plagiarism and smears from competitor Facebook.”

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  • Trump gives Microsoft the green light to bid for TikTok

    Trump gives Microsoft the green light to bid for TikTok

    No, we don’t think that the TikTok story is the only game in town. However, it isn’t every day when an app with over two billion installations becomes the subject of a takeover battle involving a huge U.S. company and the President of the United States. This afternoon, Microsoft’s official blog reported that following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald Trump, Microsoft has decided to continue talks with TikTok’s corporate parent ByteDance in an attempt to purchase the short-form video app. Microsoft says that it would like to complete discussions with ByteDance by September 15, 2020.

    There are several possible reasons why the Trump administration has been seeking to ban TikTok in the U.S. In the states, several Chinese companies are considered national security threats with fears that they will collect personal data and send it to Beijing. Earlier this month Secretary of State Mike Pompeo compared the attempt to ban TikTok with other bans placed against Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE. “Whether it was the problems of having Huawei technology in your infrastructure we’ve gone all over the world and we’re making real progress getting that out. We declared ZTE a danger to American national security. With respect to Chinese apps on peoples’ cellphones, the United States will get this one right too.”

    Microsoft said on Sunday that it “fully appreciates the importance of addressing the President’s concerns. It is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.” Some of those economic benefits include the addition of 10,000 new jobs that TikTok intends to bring into the U.S. over the next three years, according to a TikTok video posted on the app this morning by U.S. General Manager Vanessa Pappas.

    TikTok allows users to create 15-second or 60-second videos with comedic content, singing, dancing, and protesting. It is used by teens, pre-teens, and yes, even older folk. With many people stuck inside during the pandemic, TikTok became a popular app for those seeking a way to pass the time of day. If the deal is allowed, Microsoft will own and operate TikTok in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The software giant could also ask some other firms to be minority investors. Microsoft also said, “This new structure would build on the experience TikTok users currently love while adding world-class security, privacy, and digital safety protections. The operating model for the service would be built to ensure transparency to users as well as appropriate security oversight by governments in these countries.”

    Microsoft said that it would make sure that any American TikTok user’s personal data would remain in the U.S. Any data backed up or stored on servers outside of the states would be deleted by Microsoft. The software giant also made sure to let the president know how much it appreciated his efforts in allowing the company to make a bid for TikTok. The company wrote, “Microsoft appreciates the U.S. Government’s and President Trump’s personal involvement as it continues to develop strong security protections for the country.”

    There is no guarantee that a deal will be completed. Microsoft says that it does not plan to comment further on a possible deal with ByteDance for TikTok until a definitive agreement has been made. While it is in negotiations with TikTok parent ByteDance, Microsoft says that “during this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President.”

    TikTok is estimated to be valued at $50 billion-$100 billion. Microsoft’s market capitalization is approximately $1.55 trillion.<

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  • Microsoft announces new features coming to Outlook mobile

    Microsoft announces new features coming to Outlook mobile

    Microsoft revealed a bucketload of new features that will be coming to Outlook mobile. Many of these improvements have already been released, while others will be added very soon. It’s also important to mention that most of them focus on two aspects: online meetings and video calls.

    First off, we have a brand new feature called Meeting Insights, which offers Outlook for Android users a first glance at email messages and files that could be relevant for their meetings. All the information is shown in the event details on the calendar, which makes it easier and faster to find what you need.

    Another nifty improvement added is the option to join a meeting online by default, so you won’t forget to add the Teams link. You’ll find the new option in the Settings menu in Outlook mobile; just make sure to select all your meetings to be created online by default.

    Furthermore, Microsoft confirmed that Outlook mobile users will start getting suggestions to Send Availability or Schedule Meeting when someone wants to meet them. They don’t show up at the moment, but these suggested replies should pop up in Outlook mobile very soon.

    Next, we’ll be talking about the option to snooze an email message for later. In Outlook mobile, you can now swipe on a message to snooze it, which means that it will show up at the top of your inbox until you reply to it.

    The latest Outlook for iOS update adds the ability to create a task from an email message received on a phone. All new tasks are synced across Microsoft 365 and will use the same email subject. Also, they will include the original email and ling to the conversation in Outlook.

    Last but not least, Microsoft has added another Cortana-related feature called Play My Emails. As the name suggests, the new functionality lets Cortana read out new email messages.

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  • C.H. Robinson announces alliance with Microsoft to digitally transform the supply chain of the future

    C.H. Robinson announces alliance with Microsoft to digitally transform the supply chain of the future

    C.H. Robinson and Microsoft Corp. announced they are joining forces to digitally transform supply chains of the future by combining the power of C.H. Robinson’s Navisphere, Microsoft Azure and Azure IoT to meet the changing demands of evolving global supply chains. Through this alliance, the companies aim to enable real-time visibility for C.H. Robinson customers.

    “The partnership is welcoming news for C.H. Robinson’s customers as we set out to foster stronger global supply chains through infrastructure and technology,” said John Chen, vice president Asia at C.H. Robinson. “Given the complexity of supply chains connecting Asia and the world, shippers are increasingly looking for greater efficiency and real time visibility while digitally transforming their logistics networks. We want to accelerate the pace of transformation across the sector, tapping into the benefits of advanced cloud technologies and our Navisphere platform.”

    “The pace of change we’re seeing in the supply-chain industry today is unparalleled. Being able to quickly scale and adapt our technology is what helps give our customers a competitive advantage,” said Chris O’Brien, chief commercial officer, C.H. Robinson. “As we continue to invest and enhance our technology built by and for supply-chain experts, we look to partner with other best-in-class companies that bring the most value to our customers. Through Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, we gain more scalability, premier data security and increased application speed, which benefit our customers and carriers around the world.”

    Through this collaboration, Navisphere — C.H. Robinson’s global multimodal transportation management platform — will now leverage Azure IoT Central to integrate IoT device monitoring that measures factors such as temperature, shock, tilt, humidity, light and pressure in shipments to give customers an even more detailed level of intelligence about goods as they move through the supply chain. Together, C.H. Robinson and Microsoft work with many of the Fortune 250 companies, which means this alliance makes it even easier to scale and develop new solutions to provide the world’s largest shippers with greater supply-chain efficiency, real-time insights and visibility.

    “We are committed to providing customers with a trusted, easy-to-use platform so they can build seamless, smart and secure solutions regardless of where they are on their IoT journey,” said Sam George, corporate vice president, Azure IoT, Microsoft. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with C.H. Robinson as it transforms the supply-chain industry by leveraging our Microsoft Azure and Azure IoT solutions.”

    The new collaboration builds on C.H. Robinson and Microsoft’s already rich history of working together. Navisphere is currently used across Microsoft’s global supply chain, giving the company real-time visibility into inventory, at rest or in motion anywhere in the world. In addition, in collaboration with Microsoft, C.H. Robinson built Navisphere Vision, a global real-time visibility product that leverages Azure IoT solutions, machine learning and predictive analytics to assess potential disruptions across supply chains.

    Through C.H. Robinson’s TMC division and Navisphere Vision, Microsoft is driving innovations in its own supply chain to provide more predictability and proactive decision-making to its various business groups.

    “The supply chain of the future is smarter, less volatile and can be navigated with a new level of visibility thanks to the power of this relationship. Through this collaboration, our customers receive a greater competitive edge, as well as industry-leading insights and expertise,” said Jordan Kass, president of Managed Services at C.H. Robinson.

    In addition to C.H. Robinson’s innovation on Azure, the company is also leveraging  Dynamics 365 and Power BI to streamline its customer relationship management (CRM) platform, supporting C.H. Robinson’s commitment to customer-centricity from small business to the world’s largest shippers. As part of its relationship with Microsoft, C.H. Robinson will integrate its real-time pricing, execution and transportation management tools into Dynamics 365, making these digitally-driven logistics capabilities available to Microsoft customers.

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