Microsoft (MSFT) News

Podcast

GeekWire Podcast: Amazon protests JEDI deal; Cortana reads email; Cosmic Crisp first taste

by Todd Bishop on November 16, 2019November 16, 2019 at 9:34 amComment

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: Amazon is formally protesting a decision by the U.S. Department of Defense to award its $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract to Microsoft, suggesting… Read More

Video

Microsoft will bring Project xCloud game streaming service to Windows 10 PCs

by Thomas Wilde on November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 at 2:42 pmComment

Microsoft said it will bring its new cloud-based game streaming service to Windows 10 PCs, as part of a flurry of other announcements revealed at this year’s X019 show. Project… Read More

Together again? Microsoft and Salesforce deepen cloud partnership despite years of rivalry and rifts

by Nat Levy on November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 at 10:09 am1 Comment

Microsoft and Salesforce are strengthening their relationship, putting aside a complicated history for a new cloud partnership. Salesforce will move its Marketing Cloud off its own infrastructure to Microsoft’s Azure… Read More

Video

Microsoft AI chief Harry Shum to depart in February after 23 years at the tech giant

by Taylor Soper on November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 at 9:19 amComment

Microsoft AI chief Harry Shum is leaving after 23 years at the Redmond, Wash. tech giant in a big departure for Microsoft, which has been investing heavily in AI and… Read More

Minecraft Earth goes national: Microsoft’s augmented reality game now live across U.S.

by Nat Levy on November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 at 5:28 amComment

Minecraft Earth, Microsoft’s take on the smartphone-enabled augmented reality gaming craze, made its U.S. debut after months of testing. Microsoft said the early access version of Minecraft Earth is now… Read More

Supreme Court hears Microsoft case challenging Trump’s decision to terminate DACA

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 12, 2019November 12, 2019 at 4:26 pm 5 Comments

Nineteen Microsoft employees traveled to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday for a hearing in a critical immigration case that will decide their future. The court heard oral arguments in… Read More

Microsoft backs California data privacy law taking effect next year

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 11, 2019November 11, 2019 at 3:05 pmComment

Microsoft plans to make changes required by California’s new data privacy law available to all its U.S. customers, the company said Monday. Microsoft privacy chief Julie Brill pledged the company’s… Read More

Video

Review: Microsoft Cortana reading email aloud on an iPhone is surprisingly useful, to a point

by Todd Bishop on November 10, 2019November 10, 2019 at 3:32 pmComment

Grab your headphones, press play, and groove to the sound of your email inbox. It might sound a little weird, but based on my experience so far, Microsoft’s new “Play… Read More

Microsoft goes to bat for Dreamer employees as Supreme Court prepares to hear DACA case

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 8, 2019November 8, 2019 at 10:13 am 2 Comments

There’s the service and security engineer — brought to the U.S. from Mexico when she was four years old — who took an early interest in technology. One of her… Read More

Looming cuts to transit cast doubt on Microsoft’s vision for Seattle-Vancouver high-speed rail

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 at 1:11 pm 9 Comments

Microsoft’s aspiration to build one of America’s first high-speed rail lines in the Pacific Northwest hit a speed bump this week as Washington state voters pumped the brakes on other… Read More

Facebook reportedly ‘heavily recruited’ Microsoft cloud chief Scott Guthrie — to no avail

by Taylor Soper on November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 at 8:36 amComment

Facebook really wanted to hire Scott Guthrie. That’s one revelation from the internal Facebook documents leaked by NBC this week. Mashable reporter Karissa Bell spotted this exchange between Facebook execs that… Read More

Satya Nadella and other Sounders owners on how they’ve applied lessons from sports to business

by Taylor Soper on November 7, 2019November 7, 2019 at 7:52 amComment

The lessons from sports that can be applied to business and life are endless. Teamwork, grit, determination, leadership, planning, overcoming obstacles … the list goes on and on. That’s why… Read More

Video

Watch: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Elizabeth Warren, billionaires, antitrust and space exploration

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 6, 2019November 6, 2019 at 5:13 pmComment

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates sat down for a candid and wide-ranging fireside chat Wednesday as part of the New York Times DealBook conference. The conversation jumped from one hot-button issue… Read More

How Nokia’s former CEO landed at a Seattle startup, rejoining Microsoft vet who led Nokia integration

by Todd Bishop on November 6, 2019November 6, 2019 at 10:29 amComment

Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s smartphone business didn’t turn out like either company had hoped, but five years later, some of the connections forged through the $7 billion deal are coming… Read More

Planting the seeds of digital agriculture: Startup bets the farm on Microsoft’s new ag tech platform

by Alan Boyle on November 6, 2019November 7, 2019 at 11:24 pmComment

Microsoft’s cloud-based platform for data-driven farming, Azure FarmBeats, had its official coming-out party this week at the company’s annual Ignite conference for developers, but Steve Mantle has already been using… Read More

How Microsoft is approaching the Seattle region’s affordable housing crisis

by Monica Nickelsburg on November 5, 2019November 13, 2019 at 10:04 am1 Comment

When several Seattle business leaders decided to take on the region’s confounding housing crisis, they did their due diligence. Microsoft and Challenge Seattle — a coalition of the Seattle-area executives… Read More

Surface Pro X reviews: An intriguing, yet flawed, step in Microsoft’s battle with Apple’s iPad

by Nat Levy on November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 at 8:02 am 10 Comments

Microsoft’s hardware division aims to shake up the notion of the two-in-one device with the Surface Pro X. Instead of a pure laptop-tablet hybrid, the device features several smartphone elements… Read More

Microsoft and Nokia reunite for new alliance, 5 years after failed $7B smartphone megadeal

by Nat Levy on November 5, 2019November 5, 2019 at 6:04 amComment

It’s been more than five years since Microsoft’s $7 billion ill-fated acquisition of Nokia’s smartphone business, and now the companies are teaming up once again. The new partnership combines Microsoft’s… Read More

Microsoft experimented with a 4-day work week in Japan — and saw a big jump in productivity

by Kurt Schlosser on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 at 9:50 amComment

We all know those people who wear a 60-hour work week like it’s some sort of productivity badge of honor. But for those of us who appreciate the quality of… Read More

Future of storage? How Microsoft put the original ‘Superman’ movie on a piece of quartz glass

by Taylor Soper on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 at 10:42 amComment

Is the future of digital storage … glass? Microsoft showed off the latest proof of concept for “Project Silica” at the company’s Ignite conference in Orlando on Monday. Microsoft Research… Read More

Video

Microsoft unveils new Office mobile app that brings together Word, Excel and PowerPoint

by Nat Levy on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 at 7:46 amComment

Microsoft is bringing some of its most popular tools under one umbrella with a new Office mobile app. Microsoft is announcing the new app for iOS and Android that combines… Read More

Video

Remember Yammer? Microsoft overhauls business social network, integrates with Teams and Outlook

by Nat Levy on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 at 7:47 amComment

Though many observers may have forgotten about Yammer, the business-oriented social network Microsoft acquired in 2012 for $1.2 billion, the company hasn’t. Microsoft today unveiled what it called a “completely… Read More

Microsoft’s Cortana can now read emails out loud and run through your daily schedule

by Nat Levy on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 at 7:29 amComment

Microsoft is doubling down on Cortana as a virtual secretary, giving the digital assistant a host of new capabilities to help people manage their schedules and communications at the office… Read More

Microsoft’s updated Edge browser, running on Chromium, gets a release date and a refreshed logo

by Nat Levy on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 at 6:37 amComment

The next generation of Microsoft’s Edge browser will be available to all in January. Microsoft has been rebuilding Edge on Chromium, the open-source browser that also powers Google Chrome, for… Read More

Microsoft unveils Azure Arc, aiming to fend off Google and Amazon with new hybrid cloud tech

by Todd Bishop on November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 at 7:10 amComment

Microsoft has long made hybrid technologies a core part of its Azure platform, letting customers run cloud technologies on their own servers in addition to the public cloud, but the… Read More

Satya Nadella: Staying out of politics, focusing on tech, helped Microsoft win Pentagon cloud contract

by Monica Nickelsburg & Todd Bishop on November 1, 2019November 1, 2019 at 12:07 pm 3 Comments

Microsoft’s surprise victory last week in a protracted competition to build the Pentagon’s war cloud has some critics asking whether politics played any role in the outcome. Amazon was long… Read More

Podcast

Microsoft

GeekWire Podcast: Amazon protests JEDI deal; Cortana reads email; Cosmic Crisp first taste

Microsoft will bring Project xCloud game streaming service to Windows 10 PCs

Together again? Microsoft and Salesforce deepen cloud partnership despite years of rivalry and rifts

Microsoft AI chief Harry Shum to depart in February after 23 years at the tech giant

Minecraft Earth goes national: Microsoft’s augmented reality game now live across U.S.

Supreme Court hears Microsoft case challenging Trump’s decision to terminate DACA

Microsoft backs California data privacy law taking effect next year

Review: Microsoft Cortana reading email aloud on an iPhone is surprisingly useful, to a point

Microsoft goes to bat for Dreamer employees as Supreme Court prepares to hear DACA case

Looming cuts to transit cast doubt on Microsoft’s vision for Seattle-Vancouver high-speed rail

Satya Nadella and other Sounders owners on how they’ve applied lessons from sports to business

Watch: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Elizabeth Warren, billionaires, antitrust and space exploration

How Nokia’s former CEO landed at a Seattle startup, rejoining Microsoft vet who led Nokia integration

Planting the seeds of digital agriculture: Startup bets the farm on Microsoft’s new ag tech platform

How Microsoft is approaching the Seattle region’s affordable housing crisis

Surface Pro X reviews: An intriguing, yet flawed, step in Microsoft’s battle with Apple’s iPad

Microsoft and Nokia reunite for new alliance, 5 years after failed $7B smartphone megadeal

Microsoft experimented with a 4-day work week in Japan — and saw a big jump in productivity

Microsoft unveils new Office mobile app that brings together Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Remember Yammer? Microsoft overhauls business social network, integrates with Teams and Outlook

Microsoft’s Cortana can now read emails out loud and run through your daily schedule

Microsoft’s updated Edge browser, running on Chromium, gets a release date and a refreshed logo

Microsoft unveils Azure Arc, aiming to fend off Google and Amazon with new hybrid cloud tech

Q&A: Satya Nadella on Microsoft’s new world view, dual-screen devices and Pentagon cloud deal

First look: Microsoft’s new Industry Experience Center aspires to be a crucible of tech innovation

Microsoft discovers Russian hackers targeted sports organizations ahead of 2020 Olympics

Microsoft doubles down on Internet of Things with new features to simplify building connected devices

Techstars Startup Weekend Seattle: Space Edition

Spinnaker Summit 2019

Dungeon Siege West