Tag Archives: Microsoft

Business

Microsoft Responds to Critics of Store Policy for Open Source Software

The Microsoft Store has to deal with numerous plagiarisms. Popular and free open source software is price tagged under other names. From a purely legal point of view, this is permitted thanks to liberal software licenses. However, it is not nice to see when inexperienced users pay money for free software that does not go to the actual developers.

Image: Microsoft Store

Because of this, Microsoft introduced a new store policy, as we reported in a previous article . It completely prohibits the pricing of free open source software. From a purely formal point of view, no one should be able to earn money with their app as soon as it is available elsewhere free of charge and open source.

It was clear to us from the start that Microsoft’s goal was to fight annoying plagiarism. I found it very unlikely that the legitimate developers charging for their apps would also be subject to this policy. However, I have expressed concerns. Because it is not possible for the store team to understand whether the submission came from the actual developer or from a third party.

New Microsoft Store policy causes critics

However, the directive, taken literally, prohibits any financial gain from open source free software. Accordingly, it was foreseeable that Microsoft could reap massive critics for this. That’s how it happened.

Both in numerous news articles and on platforms such as Twitter and Reddit, many people are visibly disappointed with Microsoft. Because it gives the impression that Microsoft would have a problem with the fact that developers would be rewarded for their great work if they made it available open source. Mainly because many developers take this route of charging a small price in the store as it is a simple and straightforward payment interface.

Business, Financial

Microsoft Store completely bans the sale of open source software

Microsoft has now announced that it will ban the sale of open source software in the Microsoft Store. The change will officially come into effect on July 16.

Image: Microsoft Store

The Microsoft Store is known for its many illegitimate apps. Numerous open source programs have been offered for sale in the past without the rightful developers of the project being compensated or involved in any way. The group had announced that it would take action. And they seem to have opted for the worst possible compromise.

Microsoft bans the sale of all open source programs from its store. So that they can only be offered there for free or not at all. Many projects had previously used the store for funding by paying for the program on the store while at the same time making it available for free through the official site. Developers were disappointed with the move and have already given their opinion on Twitter. Projects like WinSCP or Krita make paid versions of their open source programs available in the store. They ask for a small sum in the store, which can be considered a donation, to support the development of the application.

Developers are asking Microsoft to revise the policy and provide actual open source developers with a way to make their apps available through the Store for a fee. In-store sales can help projects get better funding, which will also benefit the programs themselves.

Business, Financial, Gaming, TechNews

Activision Blizzard sold

Stockholders of Activision Blizzard voted to sale for $68.7 Billion sale to Microsoft

At a special meeting, the stockholders of Activision Blizzard approved Microsoft’s proposal to sell the gaming company for $68.7 billion.

This all-cash transaction values the creator of games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush at $95 per share.

“Today’s overwhelmingly supportive vote by our stockholders confirms our shared belief that, combined with Microsoft, we will be even better positioned to create great value for our players,” said Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

He added that the deal would provide “even greater opportunities for our employees, and to continue our focus on becoming an inspiring example of a welcoming, respectful and inclusive workplace.” The company is facing numerous lawsuits for sexual harassment, retaliation and discriminatory workplace practices. Kotick himself has been accused of knowing for years about sexual misconduct and rape allegations at his company but not doing anything about it.

In light of these conflicts, Kotick announced a zero-tolerance policy against harassment and $250 million investment in recruiting gender diverse talent. At that time, only 23% of employees are identifying as women or non-binary people. But employee dissatisfaction has prevailed.

When the acquisition was announced in January, quality assurance testers at Raven Software, a division of Activision, had been on strike for five weeks. They protested the layoffs of 12 contractors, which came after over a month of consistent overtime work.

“We realized in that moment that our day-to-day work and our crucial role in the games industry as QA was not being taken into consideration,” Onah Rongstad, a QA tester at Raven Software, told TechCrunch at the time.

Computer Chips, Financial

Chinese lockdown could mean new problems for supply chains

Microsoft warns: Chinese shutdowns could mean new problems for PC supply chains

Microsoft is taking a conservative approach to ongoing shutdowns in China, which threaten to extend the instabilities in the existing PC supply chain that have persisted throughout the pandemic. But company executives sounded the alarm that these new shutdowns will have an effect on PC and console sales.

Image: Circuit Board Chip, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.
Image: Circuit Board Chip, Free Stock Picture, MorgueFile.com.

During its earnings report for the first calendar quarter of 2022, Microsoft said that revenue in its More Personal Computing division was $14.5 billion, up 11 percent over the same period a year ago. Microsoft Surface revenue increased by 13 percent. Overall, Microsoft reported net income of $16.73 billion (up 8 percent year over year) on revenue of $49.36 billion, up 18 percent.

In comments to analysts during the call, Microsoft chief financial officer Amy Hood noted that revenue in both search and in Windows exceeded expectations, but that that was “offset by Surface,” which the company apparently expected to perform better.

In describing the company’s outlook, however, Hood went on to offer more detail. For the current quarter, Microsoft said it expects revenue for More Personal Computing to be between $14.65 billion and $14.95 billion, just slightly higher than the current quarter, which will be the fourth quarter of the company’s fiscal 2022 year. “Our guidance reflects the current constraints from the shutdowns in China, which has negatively impacted Q4 supply for OEM, Surface and Xbox consoles, and Windows OEM,” she said.

Gaming

Xbox Series X: Features owner should know

The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s current top console and the big competitor to Sony’s PlayStation 5. We’ll show you some practical tips with which you can adapt the Xbox Series X to your needs and make gaming a real highlight.

Xbox Series X: Tips and settings for the perfect gaming experience

1. Personalize your home screen and theme

Xbox offers many ways to change the look of your console to give it a personal touch.

  • Change Color : This setting makes the tiles and accents appear in a different color.

    1. To do this, press the Xbobx button and open the guide.
    2. Go to Profile & system tab > Settings > General > Personalization > My color and theme > My color, select a color and then press OK.
  • Change Background : Users can choose a solid color or an image such as game art, a screenshot, or a custom image based on their preference.

    1. Press the Xbox button and open the guide.
    2. Select Profile & system > Settings > General > Personalization > My wallpaper and choose one of the options presented. Note : Custom images must be less than 3MB. The optimal size for wallpaper is 1920 x 1080.
  • Change theme : Here you can select standard mode or dark mode.

    1. Press the Xbox button and open the guide.
    2. Go to Profile & system > Settings > General > Personalization > System theme and choose between the options light or dark. Under “Planned” you can also set the design to change depending on sunrise or sunset.

2. Transfer Xbox One Games

You can transfer any old games you bought on your previous Xbox console to your Xbox Series X/S.

1. On your new console, go to Settings > System > Backup & Transfer > Network Transfer and enable the option.
2. Select your old console and select any games you want to transfer. Then click “Copy Selected” to start the process.

3. The right screen settings

Not too bright, not too dark: With the right screen settings, every game becomes a real experience. You can check and, if necessary, adjust your current settings under Settings > General > TV & display options. Tip : Make sure your cable and TV connection support HDMI 2.1, because not all devices automatically have this feature.

4. Personalize the controller

It doesn’t matter whether it’s a shooter, flight simulator or action adventure: In the controller settings you can easily change the controls on your controller and adapt them to your wishes. Go to Settings > Devices & Connections > Accessories and Configure.

5. Link the controller to your profile

If you share your console with one or more people, but have a special controller that you only want to use, you can easily link it to your profile.

To do this, use the controller you want to associate with your profile, go to Settings > Account > Sign-in, Security & Passkey > This controller and add it to your profile.

6. Power saving mode

So that your console doesn’t run constantly during long periods of inactivity and consumes power unnecessarily, you can also simply send the Xbox to automatic power-saving mode.

In the settings under General > Sleep & Startup you can set how long you have to be inactive for the console to switch off. The default for this is one hour.


7. Control Xbox via Google Assistant or Alexa

Open Settings, select Devices & connections > Digital assistants and check the box for digital assistants. Then follow the onscreen instructions to connect either your Google Assistant or Alexa to the console.