Microsoft news – Page 26

Posted on October 4, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Shaping the future of accessible technologies

This week, we announced the Speech Accessibility Project, led by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), to further address the data desert in speech technologies. Working with tech leaders across the industry, UIUC will gather a set of high-quality, diverse speech samples that will help accelerate speech technologies. This one-of-a-kind cross-industry collaboration is rooted in the belief that inclusive speech recognition should be a universal experience.

This project highlights a real opportunity. As expectations evolve with how technology is used at home, in school and at work, Microsoft continues to prioritize partnerships to rapidly accelerate how people with disabilities are included in and represented by the systems, designs and features of technology.

While the interest in improving speech interactions is not new and not unique to any single organization, this is an important step that shows how we make progress is changing. We are recognizing as an industry that partnership is crucial to progress. Microsoft is working with partners on not only creating innovative accessible and disability-inclusive technologies, but to raise the bar for what is possible.

Disability representation data is crucial

One of the biggest challenges the research community and industry at large faces is a data desert for disability representative data. A data desert is the lack of data for a particular group, which leads to scientific discoveries and innovations developed without those groups being counted. One area where it is particularly relevant is tied to speech technologies.

Speech recognition is powered by machine learning (ML) models, and without diverse, representative data, ML models cannot learn diversity of speech, limiting customer scenarios where this technology can bring benefits. And although there are regional statistics currently available about people with disabilities, there is a lack of consistency in the types of questions asked, how disability is defined and the methods of reaching people with disabilities, especially in low- and middle-income communities.

To respond to this gap between societal need and tool capability, Microsoft has partnered with the World Bank, in collaboration with the Disability Data Initiative at Fordham University, to develop a public facing, online “disability data hub” to more accurately document representation of disability across populations, geographies and development indicators.

The World Bank works with local advisors and disability experts to inform the design and functionality of this hub, and Microsoft is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this effort. This was needed even a decade ago, but given the growth in disability, the state of technology and data analysis, and interest from decision-makers, this could not be happening at a better time.

Incremental progress is useful

Disability-led AI investments in everyday Microsoft technologies, such as Seeing AI, continue to move the needle, not only by adding useful features but by driving innovation in ways that were not possible even two years ago. Recent updates to Windows 11 delivered new accessibility features, including the availability of Live Captions from the operating system – whether connected to the internet or not. Employees working on Windows started with an idea and co-designed with people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing over a few years to ultimately re-envision a system-wide live captioning experience. And, while live captions are useful in many scenarios, increasing options for communication access at the operating system level regardless of connectivity is real progress.

We know that our partnerships and collaboration with those most impacted by the technologies are fundamental to understanding, developing and validating the features we build. Through conversations with our customers and disability advisory boards, we continue to increase our understanding of the challenges and opportunities we have to improve and create more inclusive experiences.

The moment is now

Accessibility in 2022 is different. The need for accessibility has increased and capabilities of technology have matured. At Microsoft, we believe access to technology is a fundamental right globally. No single feature will get us where we intend to go but leaning into the innovative nature of accessibility and disability inclusion will aid progress in multiple areas, alongside the partners and community advocates with whom we are on this journey. There will be more moments, for sure, but what we do now will help expand the group of people that deeply understand the innovation potential of accessible technology when we find ourselves with the next opportunity to accelerate.

With the historic commitment to disability inclusion and the innovation experience of the Beckman Institute at UIUC and the Speech Accessibility Project, we are humbled by the opportunity to be involved, and are optimistic about how this will improve the future of inclusive speech experiences at scale. And we are grateful for the expertise, guidance and support from both Team Gleason and the Davis Phinney Foundation for the project’s initial focus on potential benefits to the ALS and Parkinson’s communities, with more community partners being added throughout.

Posted on October 4, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Now available: New tools for deployment, data connection, donation import and marketing in Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit

At Microsoft, we believe technology is a powerful force for empowering people and organizations. And we believe the benefits of world-class technology should be both accessible and relevant for nonprofits and international development organizations. Serving the needs of mission-based organizations is critical to how we at Microsoft achieve our mission as a company, and those needs have rapidly evolved over the past few years: a historic health and economic crisis, persistent issues of systemic racial injustice and inequity, and rising food insecurity. Climate change is having devastating effects all over the world, a situation felt acutely as communities in the southeastern US and Atlantic basin emerge from Hurricane Ian and begin the road to recovery.

Organizations are having to shift, expand, and add programs and services to meet the needs of the communities and individuals they serve. This keeps fundraising at the forefront of nonprofit priorities, and although donors are giving more than ever, it’s not keeping pace with inflation. The fundraising landscape is undergoing significant change. Donor numbers and retention rates are down. Younger generations are challenging the traditional conception of philanthropy, with a desire to engage across donations, advocacy, and volunteering. And the pandemic accelerated adoption of digital channels–online giving has increased 42% since 2019 and engagement via mobile devices is on the rise (Blackbaud).

So what’s needed? Fundraising teams are having to strengthen their digital engagement strategies to meet donors’ evolving preferences and expectations. With Giving Tuesday and year-end campaigns just around the corner, now is the time to evaluate approaches and tools to both maintain current supporters and reach new audiences.

This is exactly why we created Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit. We want to equip the nonprofit sector with affordable, accessible, secure technology to meet these evolving trends head-on. Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit harnesses the power of Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure, and LinkedIn all brought together by the Nonprofit Common Data Model and built on a platform that provides best-in-class security and compliance. It is a suite of modular applications that provide nonprofits a holistic, connected platform, empowering staff with the latest tools to fundraise, work with networks of volunteers, and deliver impactful programs. Today, thousands of nonprofit organizations take advantage of the platform in over 30 countries.

With our latest release of Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit, available today, we’ve delivered Marketing insights capabilities, resource guides for Fundraising and Engagement and Volunteer Management, redesigned donation import functionality, a new first-party installation service to automate deployment of Fundraising and Engagement, and much more:

Nonprofits can activate Fundraising and Engagement faster and easier with the new Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit installer. This allows organizations to quickly set up Azure services to realize the value of their data.
We recognize that nonprofits use many tools on multiple platforms. We at Microsoft embrace and encourage interoperability across systems. It’s critical that nonprofits not be constrained in where and how to derive insights on data. That means being able to use their data regardless of where it lives by leveraging the tools and services they want. We make a range of data connectors available to make this possible, and I’m pleased to announce our Salesforce connector allows Salesforce clients with NPSP data to use Microsoft’s deep analytics capabilities in Azure and PowerBI.
If you’ve ever wondered how well your marketing campaign performed to bring in major donors, Marketing insights lets marketing and fundraising staff see in real time how and where constituents engaged. With the new Marketing insights tab in Fundraising and Engagement, nonprofits can gain more comprehensive constituent profiles and enable better collaboration between development and marketing departments.
If you ever found technology set up to be cumbersome and clunky or found user adoption difficult, this new release addresses just that. We’ve added interactive adoption and training for simpler onboarding and connections to your existing platform. The new Resource pages in Fundraising and Engagement and Volunteer Management help staff get set up quickly and easily access training, documentation, and support resources to make onboarding and adoption easier.
The new guided donation import process provides lightweight data validation that aggregates data in an intuitive user interface. This will enable organizations to import and validate massive donation datasets in a straightforward way, and to get a more holistic view of their donors.

I’d like to introduce you to an organization using Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit to improve collaboration and efficiency across departments. As Canada’s leading first aid charity, St. John Ambulance empowers all Canadians to save lives by providing first aid training, supplies, and courses to communities across the country. Today, in 300+ communities across Canada, 10,000+ St. John Ambulance volunteers provide over one million hours of community service each year. It’s imperative that the organization efficiently build volunteer capacity and streamline organizational processes to make for great volunteer experiences. MISSION CRM, a Microsoft partner based in Toronto, implemented Microsoft’s Volunteer Management and Volunteer Engagement products for St. John Ambulance’s National Office and all their Councils across Canada. St. John Ambulance selected Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit partly because they had already adopted Microsoft Dynamics 365 and wanted to easily extend their use of that platform.

By replacing disparate solutions across the country, the organization will move forward with a unified approach to the management and deployment of volunteers. There are five different volunteer profiles which are accommodated within the solution and aggregate into a national database of thousands of volunteers which can be mobilized at any time. St. John Ambulance will also be implementing Fundraising and Engagement to create a full 360-degree view of all their volunteers and supporters in one place.

I can’t wait to see how this implementation will further the great work that St. John Ambulance is driving across Canada.

I recently visited India where Microsoft works in partnership with many nonprofits and international development organizations like UNICEF to support their work with the largest generation of young people in history to strengthen education and skills, and connect them with socioeconomic opportunities. I find myself reflecting on the role digital technology has to play in solving systemic problems. It’s one piece of a complex puzzle. But our belief is that as organizations change, Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit is an important tool for nonprofit staff, supporters, and stakeholders to drive operational efficiency and programmatic efficacy, and to engage new communities of donors.

Visit our website to learn more about Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit and other nonprofit offers from Microsoft.

Posted on October 3, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Bringing LGBTQIA+ history to life in the metaverse and through open source design

Bringing LGBTQIA+ history to life in the metaverse and through open source design.

By Aleksey Fedorov

It feels like it’s about to rain. Dark silhouettes of skyscrapers shape the horizon. I can hear the chants and feel the energy of a nearby crowd. As I walk toward Stonewall Inn, I’m repeating the steps millions have taken before me and though I’ve been here countless times before, this time is different. I’m here in my VR headset, virtually experiencing Christopher Street Park in the metaverse.

Many of our community’s memories are tied to places and events — like that fateful night of June 28, 1969, at Stonewall Inn — and to honor LGBTQIA+ History Month, we wanted to bring history to life in an accessible way. We’re excited to invite everyone into this living museum, which is filled with rich stories, collective memories, and poignant interviews.

Christopher Street Park is a strip of green grass with pink walkways, sandwiched between streets and giant screens showing LGBTQIA+ history. — *Christopher Street Park has been re-created in AltSpace VR for everyone to experience and discover.*

Creating the future we want to see can only happen if we decide to make history together, which is why we’re also open sourcing the Pride flag we released this past June! We’ve long been believers in the power of democratic design — in people coming together to define their own narratives and futures — and we were so inspired and humbled by the global response to the flag design that we want to share it beyond our own borders. By open sourcing it, we’re eager to see how you remix it as a way of continuing to create and define the future of our movement.

Here is the story of these two new experiences.

The new Pride flag, converging beams of color representing 40 LGBTQIA+ communities. — *Pride flag now represents 40 LGBTQIA+ communities and is open source, available for everyone to build on.*

A Banner of Pride
The Pride flag is one of the most visible symbols of the LGBTQIA+ community. Originally created by Gilbert Baker in 1978, it has gone through many updates and changes over the years to reflect the ever-growing and expanding movement.

“We wanted to show how large our community is. Intersectionality. Solidarity. Unity. They are important, we need them more than ever,” said Andre Bazire, one of the people behind the new Pride flag that Microsoft introduced this year.

Those themes resonated deeply with our global community, and your reactions defied our wildest imagination.

“Flag discourse is over, this is the new flag now,” said dieDoktor in response to the flag design. “It’s a vibe.” “It’s so chaotic, I love it.” The first comments came in quickly and within hours, there were thousands of likes, retweets, replies, and new comments that gave us all the feels. “Into the queerverse,” “Bi not afraid,” “Biblically accurate Pride flag.”

Twitter user dieDoktor retweets an Xbox post of the new Pride flag.

Tweeter user Still_A_Commie puts Star Wars characters in a spaceship zooming straight into the Pride flag.

Twitter user Iffy has telephone both floating into the Pride flag as a reference to the movie “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” — A few of our favorite reactions and tweets to the Pride flag we shared earlier this year.

In this avalanche of emotions one thing was clear: people loved the representation the flag brought to light — and the daring, unapologetic way we celebrated LGBTQIA+ unity and impact.

We believe in the collective power to make change. Pride for us is not a private project. Inspired by your response, we’re making our 2022 Pride flag design available to every person on the planet — to use, build on, and share. Together.

We’re releasing source files and ready-made assets on GitHub and Figma under Creative Commons licenses, from wallpapers for laptops, tablets and phones, to assets that you can make wholly yours.

We’re also making updates to the original flag design to further advance LGBTQIA+ visibility and representation. With the addition of Aroace, Ambiamorous, Aroflux, Aceflux, Demiromantic, and Unlabeled flags, this Pride flag now represents 40 LGBTQIA+ communities in all — and our passion for expanding LGBTQIA+ visibility and representation doesn’t stop here. We hope you’ll continue building and evolving this flag yourself, as a symbol of Pride that unites and grows beyond borders.

The old Pride flag with converging beams of color, but not all LGBTQIA+ communities are represented. — From left to right, the new Pride flag and the original version with Ally flags. The new flag features updated flag colors and six more LGBTQIA+ flags.

Living history
What happened at Stonewall Inn changed our history. At a time when some are trying to reverse the progress of the past decades, Microsoft designer iAsia Brown felt compelled to act. “It’s so important for us to know our history. Where we came from, what we fought for, and use that as a starting point for action today,” she said.

We know that proximity drives empathy, so Brown, together with a few Microsoft designers and industry experts, set about re-creating Christopher Street Park in VR. “We didn’t just want to build another street. We wanted to create a living museum. A place you can keep coming back for more and keep learning.”

The street is walled with video screens showing footage from the riots. Interviews with activists intersperse with stories and audio snippets, and there’s a timeline of key milestones of LGBTQIA+ history. And, like in a real museum, there are real visitors — just like you, too.

A virtual Black woman wearing a black shirt with a pink skeleton, stretches out her hand, giving a tour of Christopher street park. — *Microsoft designer iAsia Brown narrates a short, guided tour of Christopher Street Park, accessible for everyone on* *YouTube*.

And because history should be shared, we are making this experience available for everyone on the planet. You can join on Windows, Mac, or in a VR headset and experience it with others. We are also excited to release a short, guided tour narrated by iAsia herself.

Honoring LGBTQIA+ people every day of the year
The power of human history lies in the visceral ties between the past, present, and future. The past remains alive in the present and it’s from the present that we imagine the future we want to build together.

Pride history is alive every single day and as we strive to uplift LGBTQIA+ people worldwide, we’re leaning into the power of the metaverse and open source design. We hope these new experiences inspire you to continue creating and defining our shared history and we’d love for you to join us on this journey here and on Microsoft Unlocked.

Posted on October 3, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

New Microsoft Cloud Partner Program launches

Today, we mark the official launch of the new Microsoft Cloud Partner Program. It is my pleasure to welcome all our partners to this evolution in how we develop and deliver cloud applications, services, and devices for customers everywhere. With the global reach, strategic investments, and technology stack from Microsoft, we empower our partners to create and sell differentiated products and end-to-end solutions for customers in any scenario and every industry. Additionally, we are committed to making the Cloud Partner Program a beneficial place for all partners, whether you build and sell services, software solutions, or devices. I’m excited to share a bit more about today’s launch and what we have in store for the coming months.

Through the Cloud Partner Program, our commitment is to provide you with investments and global reach to differentiate your offering, scale your customer connections, and position for long-term profitability:

Tap into the largest technology ecosystem: With the breadth of the Microsoft technology stack, purpose-built partner offerings, and our extensive customer reach, the Cloud Partner Program offers opportunities for you to quickly develop and sell competitive solutions to customers around the globe. By partnering with us, you can grow your business at the scale of Microsoft and expand your customer connections in markets and industries across the globe.
Innovate on the most comprehensive, end-to-end cloud platform: Whether you want to develop or extend on the Microsoft Cloud, provide customers with best-in-class solutions and services, or sell cutting-edge devices, the Cloud Partner Program is how we support your goals. As a partner, you can get more out of Microsoft’s investments to keep you and your customers at the forefront of cloud innovation.
Do business with a partner you can trust: By choosing to partner with Microsoft, you choose a partnership secured on a strong foundation of trust built over multiple decades. The Cloud Partner Program is how we remain accountable to you and your customers. With our combined deep understanding of what businesses need to meet evolving opportunities and drive long-term profitability, we can work together to empower people and organizations everywhere to achieve more.

Let’s take a closer look at what today’s changes mean for your business.

Differentiating with Solutions Partner designations

In the months leading up to today’s launch, we’ve shared information about the new Solutions Partner designations, which are replacing legacy silver and gold competencies. The six designations aligned to the Microsoft Cloud — an important method of validating your skills and experience — are now generally available to all partners.

Those of you who have already met the requirements for a designation will receive it immediately if you have legacy benefits, or once you have paid the fee if you’re attaining benefits for the first time. Congratulations! You can visit Partner Center today to download and display your new badge to begin differentiating your organization in the market. You can also visit the Solutions Partner dashboard in Partner Center to view how you’re tracking towards Solutions Partner designations (Global and MPN Admins have access). I recommend that all partners check the latest requirements for each designation and refer to the Solutions Partner benefits guide to ensure you have the latest information so you can choose whether to move to the new benefits on your anniversary date or retain the legacy benefits.

While the initial set of Solutions Partner designations is geared towards partners who sell services, we are working on creating additional industry designations for partners who build software as well. At Microsoft Inspire this year, we also announced that we’re adding industry designations to differentiate solutions based on partners’ demonstrated performance with customers, technical maturity, and customer success. We’ll be prioritizing industry designations anchored on the Microsoft Industry Clouds and aligning across both the Solutions Partner and ISV programs.

Following the launch of these new designations, a reminder that legacy silver and gold competency badges are no longer valid. Partners will continue to receive legacy benefits until their next anniversary date. On a partner’s first anniversary date after today (October 3, 2022), those who attain a Solutions Partner designation can choose to move to the updated Solutions Partner benefits or retain their legacy benefits, and pay the corresponding fee. Partners who do not meet the requirements for a Solutions Partner designation, but who renewed a competency by September 30, 2022, will have the option to continue to pay the fee to retain their legacy benefits at the time of their next anniversary date.

ISV partners and the Cloud Partner Program

We’re investing in simplifying the offerings we provide for partners through the Cloud Partner Program and as part of our efforts to increase available resources for ISV partners, we recently announced the ISV Success program. Currently in private preview and moving to public preview later this year, the ISV Success program is the pathway for ISV partners within the Cloud Partner Program. Through this resource we’re helping ISV partners access benefits to build and publish apps faster, accelerate innovation, and reach more customers. Read more about this pathway for ISVs here.

Personalize your path to success

I have seen firsthand how each of our partners are on a unique journey to success. As we embrace our new, evolved relationship, we have prepared a Training Gallery for you to find a centralized destination for a variety of reference materials including walking decks, demo videos, Solutions Partner benefits guide and FAQ.

Microsoft partners make more possible. Whether you’re building your first app, developing complex integrations, helping customers migrate to the cloud, or exploring new services offerings, we’re here to empower you to achieve more. This evolution of our network was designed to have the most relevant benefits for you, our partners. Thank you for your continued partnership as we find new ways to meet customers’ emerging needs together.

Posted on October 3, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Xbox, Doritos and Rockstar Energy Drink join forces to give away Game Pass, prizes and DLC

Today, in the US and select international markets, Xbox joins forces with fan favorite snack Doritos and energy beverage Rockstar Energy Drink to unveil special edition packaging featuring iconic game franchises from the world of Xbox.

When fans purchase specially marked products, they can enter for chances to win instantly thousands of prizes to ignite a newfound love for gaming or celebrate the ongoing joy gaming brings them.

First-time Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members will receive one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for free and fans in participating countries will receive their choice of exclusive downloadable content across some of the most popular titles available on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: Fallout 76, Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite, PUBG: Battlegrounds, The Elder Scrolls Online and Madden NFL 23.

Participating Doritos and Rockstar Energy Products In-line Asset

Unlockable In-Game Content and Prizes

From October 3 until December 30, 2022, with each purchase of specially marked Rockstar Energy Drink cans or Doritos bags, fans can unlock in-game items, inspired by the bold taste of Doritos and the fully charged flavor of Rockstar Energy Drink, including:

Doritos US in-game content:

Fallout 76 – Heat-Eater Power Armor Paint
Forza Horizon 5 – Tankito Doritos Outfit
Halo Infinite – Tasteful Sensation Razorback and 2XP Boost
PUBG: Battlegrounds– Dinoland Mascot
The Elder Scrolls Online – Karthwolf Charger Mount
Madden NFL 23 – Doritos Ultimate Team Pack (exclusive to Doritos)

Doritos International in-game content:

Fallout 76 – Heat-Eater Power Armor Paint
Forza Horizon 5 – Tankito Doritos Outfit
Halo Infinite – Tasteful Sensation Razorback and 2XP Boost
PUBG: Battlegrounds– Dinoland Mascot Suit
The Elder Scrolls Online – Karthwolf Charger Mount

Rockstar Energy US in-game content:

Fallout 76 – Heat-Eater Power Armor Paint
Forza Horizon 5 – Tankito Doritos Outfit
Halo Infinite – Tasteful Sensation Razorback and 2XP Boost
PUBG: Battlegrounds– Dinoland Mascot
The Elder Scrolls Online – Karthwolf Charger Mount

Rockstar Energy fans in select international markets will also be able to grab a specially marked can for their first free month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and enter to win other exciting Xbox prizes.

Fans in the US can visit www.doritosrockstarenergy.com to enter the code received on-can or on-bag to redeem the downloadable content and enter for a chance to instantly win from over 10,000 gaming-themed prizes —including Xbox Series S consoles, Xbox Wireless Controllers, PC gaming setups, gaming chairs and other amazing gear from Xbox, Doritos and Rockstar Energy.

Participating Doritos and Rockstar Energy Products

In the US, Xbox fans will find their favorite games featured across iconic Rockstar Energy Drink flavors including Original, Sugar Free, Pure Zero Punched and Pure Zero Silver Ice and popular Doritos flavors Nacho Cheese, Cool Ranch, Spicy Sweet Chili, Spicy Nacho, 3D Crunch Nacho Cheese and 3D Crunch Spicy Ranch. Participating products will vary across international markets.

The special edition Rockstar Energy cans are available in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom. While fans in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain will not see specially marked cans in stores, they will be able to enter the sweepstakes to win prizes such as Xbox Series S and first-time Xbox Game Pass Ultimate users in select markets can receive one-month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Fans in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden should be on the lookout for the exclusive packaging available in locations wherever Doritos are sold. Fans in Australia will be able to participate beginning November 4.

For full US program details, visit www.doritosrockstarenergy.com.

About Doritos and Rockstar Energy Drink

For years, Doritos and Rockstar Energy Drink have changed the world of gaming through partnerships with blockbuster titles and unique gaming experiences. This partnership, Doritos’ and Rockstar Energy’s biggest on-pack gaming promotion ever, takes Doritos’ and Rockstar Energy’s gaming programs to another level.

Posted on September 30, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Satya Nadella addresses the next generation of UK game makers at Xbox Academy

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella last week joined an Xbox Academy workshop designed to support and inspire an audience of aspiring game developers from all across the UK.

In partnership with Into Games and Catch 22, Microsoft’s Xbox Academy hosted a free two-hour workshop in London where a panel of games industry specialists shared their expert knowledge and advice with young people, many of whom come from hard-to-reach or under-represented backgrounds.

Sixty percent of UK adults play games.

“It’s fantastic to see an event like this, and a group like this coming together,” Satya told attendees during his fireside chat with Xbox On host, Charleyy Hodson. “To build a great game, you need to start by saying let’s attract a whole diverse group of people to get into this industry and be part of the teams that are creating these games.

Satya underscored the importance of gaming to Microsoft, and Microsoft’s commitment to the industry, saying “It’s core to our DNA … what motivates us is how we bring more of the joy of gaming to the 3 billion people who play.”

Speaking about the range of skills required to create games, Satya added “We, as an industry, have to continue to really make it more inviting. It’s not just about hardcore coding – it’s that spectrum of skills that are required to create games.

“I think that the case for diversity in gaming is actually probably the easiest to see, because of the very nature of what games are,” Satya added. “We are definitely very committed to doing our part, in terms of whether it’s Xbox Academy or anything else that will help more gamers or more people across all backgrounds get into [the games industry].”

Satya was joined by Rare Studio Head Craig Duncan and Executive Producer Louise O’Connor, who each reflected upon their own careers and echoed Xbox’s commitment to fostering talent in great studios that, in turn, make great games wherever, whenever, and however players want to play.

Into Games’ Chief Executive Declan Cassidy and Cassia Curran, founder of Curran Games Agency, also offered practical advice and guidance on establishing a career in the UK games industry.

Attendees were able to direct questions to all speakers and find out more about establishing a games industry career in their particular area of interest.

Craig Duncan, Studio Head, Rare and Louise O’Connor, Exec Producer, Rare
Cassia Curran, Founder, Curran Games Agency
James Butcher, Xbox Category Director, UK and Ireland
Declan Cassidy, Chief Executive, Into Games

As for Satya ‘s personal advice to those looking to kick off a games industry career?

“I always say, don’t wait for your next job to do your best work,” Satya advised. “I never felt that the first job I was doing was less important than the job I’m doing today, quite honestly.

“We all have a high ambition, we want to get somewhere – and that’s all fantastic. But what’s going to get you there is the passion and the excellence with which you deliver what you’re doing today.”

“These kinds of events are amazing for me,” said attendee, Ben, afterwards. “My passion is accessibility and I’m particularly interested in user experience. I think a big thing for me is trying to find a company which has the same kinds of values as me, so I want to have a word with Rare in a bit!”

Kyle, who came through the Catch 22 programme, was particularly interested in Cassia Curran’s advice about the differences between game development and game publishing, whilst Max – who had travelled from Manchester to take part in the workshop following a C++ bootcamp hosted by Into Games – was looking for “good advice from people about what they have learned along the way making games”.

Posted on September 29, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Microsoft Flight Simulator releases World Update XI: Canada

Explore the diverse beauty and expansive mystique of the world’s second largest country

Canada is filled with a plethora of sights to explore from the air: magnificent urban architecture, wave-battered northern coastlines, and vast sweeps of tundra, glaciers and towering peaks. Microsoft Flight Simulator’s World Update XI invites simmers to explore this massive, diverse country, presented in the highest resolution and fidelity yet!

Microsoft Flight Simulator - World Update XI: Canada Screenshot

In creating World Update XI: Canada, the Microsoft Flight Simulator team processed troves of its latest geospatial data, including digital elevation models, satellite imagery, and aerial photography. Complementing the data, models and imagery, the update highlights 12 urban regions enhanced with the latest photogrammetry data and features 87 hand-crafted points of interest.

World Update XI features:

5 handcrafted five airports including:
- British Columbia’s Castlegar / West Kootenay Regional Airport (CYCG)
- Victoria International Airport
- Vancouver Island
9 exciting missions:
Three bush trips (Vancouver Island, Newfoundland, and the Canadian Rockies)
Three landing challenges (Castlegar, Barkerville, and Calgary)
Three discovery flights (Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto).

World Update XI: Canada is available free to all owners of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Simply update your account, download World Update XI from the in-game marketplace, and prepare to be enchanted by the sights of Canada from the air!

We hope you’ll visit Canada today in Microsoft Flight Simulator’s World Update XI: Canada. The sky is calling!

Microsoft Flight Simulator is now available for Xbox Series X|S and PC with Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass, Windows, and Steam, and on Xbox One and supported mobile phones, tablets, and lower-spec PCs via Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta). For the latest information on Microsoft Flight Simulator, stay tuned to @MSFSOfficial on Twitter.

Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard Game of the Year Edition

Microsoft Flight Simulator: Standard Game of the Year Edition

Xbox Game Studios

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$59.99 $47.99

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

The Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year (GOTY) Standard Edition celebrates all the positive feedback, reviews and awards garnered, but it is also a “Thank You” to our fans – new and old – that have made Microsoft Flight Simulator such a phenomenon. The Microsoft Flight Simulator Standard Game of the Year Edition includes 25 highly detailed planes with unique flight models and 38 hand-crafted airports. This enhanced edition introduces simmers to five all-new aircraft, eight new handcrafted airports, six new Discovery Flights, new tutorials, and updates to the weather system The five new handcrafted aircraft in Microsoft Flight Simulator include:
• Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet: Our first military jet and a highly requested feature from the community. The Top Gun: Maverick expansion will release with the movie next Spring, but we wanted simmers to have the opportunity to test their need for speed this holiday.
• VoloCity: We partnered with well-known German company Volocopter, which is working on an eVTOL called “VoloCity”, a vision for an urban air taxi. We worked closely with the Volocopter engineering team to develop an authentic version of the prototype aircraft for the simulator. This is our first aircraft that can perform pinpoint landings and is a teaser of what you can look forward to in 2022 when we intend to launch helicopters in the sim.
• Pilatus PC-6 Porter: This legendary short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility aircraft is a highly versatile plane from Switzerland and comes with several cockpits, cabins, and landing gear variations. It is the result of our close collaboration with the manufacturer and the development efforts by famed developers Hans Hartmann and Alexander Metzger resulted in a great and fun new aircraft with exception capabilities in the simulator.
• CubCrafters NX Cub: Yakima-based CubCrafters recently introduced a nosewheel option for their flagship CC-19 XCub Aircraft, popularly called the NX Cub, which we are pleased to introduce to the flight sim audience to further enhance our bush flying and off airport options.
• Aviat Pitts Special S1S: One of our most popular planes gets a single-seat option with the release of this aircraft. New Airports – We are adding eight handcrafted airports in Central Europe and the United States:
• Germany o Leipzig/Halle Airport (EDDP) o Allgäu Airport Memmingen (EDJA) o Kassel Airport (EDVK)
•Switzerland o Lugano Airport (LSZA) o Zurich Airport (LSZH) o Luzern-Beromunster Airport (LSZO)
•United States o Patrick Space Force Base (KCOF) o Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (KNKX) The Game of the Year release is adding information about 545 previously missing airports in the United States. New Missions -Based on the popularity of the recently introduced Discovery Flights, we are adding an additional six locations (Helsinki, Freiburg im Breisgau, Mecca, Monument Valley, Singapore, and Mount Cook) to this popular series. New Tutorials – To further expand the onboarding experience, we are adding 14 new tutorials, introducing simmers to Bush flying (in an Icon A5) and IFR (in a Cessna 172). New Features – We are also pleased to introduce several highly requested features by the community: an updated weather system, early access to DX12, and a dev mode replay system. New Photogrammetry Cities – As part of our ongoing collaboration with Bing Maps, we are pleased to add a number of new photogrammetry cities: Helsinki (Finland), Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany), Brighton, Derby, Eastbourne, Newcastle, and Nottingham (UK) and Utrecht (Netherlands). Microsoft Flight Simulator Standard Game of the Year Edition will be available as a free update for owners on PC and Xbox Series X|S. For new users, the GOTY Standard Edition is the perfect entry point to flight simming as it offers an even richer experience, and it will be the item they purchase as we are retiring the original. Invite your friends to experience the wonders of flight. The sky is calling!

Posted on September 29, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Introducing Microsoft’s 2022-2023 Showcase Schools

In the last few years, schools around the world have experienced an incredible pace of change. As challenging as this time has been, it has also opened the door to an unprecedented opportunity to transform education programs. Institutions are now shifting their focus to a truly learner-centered approach using technology and new learning tools.

Today we recognize the achievements of those institutions that make up the new and returning cohort of the 2022-2023 Microsoft Showcase School program. This program represents a global community of K-12 schools that harness digital transformation to create immersive and inclusive experiences that inspire lifelong learning and empower students to achieve more.

These Showcase Schools are distinguished by their commitment to education transformation and have leveraged Microsoft’s Education Transformation Framework to drive a culture of learning, innovation, and continuous improvement. Their hard work is reflected in improved learning outcomes for their students and an increased focus on future-ready skills.

Listen to the podcast “Leading Innovation: What school leaders are thinking, saying, and doing today” to hear from Showcase School leaders about challenges they faced and how they overcome them.

The vibrant online communities of Showcase Schools come together to tackle challenges, celebrate successes, share learnings, and try new solutions using Microsoft Teams. These communities are also supported by Microsoft and our partners through capacity building, transformation guidance, amplification opportunities, and early access to research and solutions.

This year, we would also like to congratulate the following education systems for their visionary leadership; they leveraged the Showcase School program to build internal capacity and enable organic growth

Philippines Department of Education
Ministry of Education Bahrain
Ministry of Education Oman
Madeira Region
Broward County Public Schools
Millennium Education Management
Discovery Schools Academy Trust
Greenwood Academies Trust
IGC Group

Congratulations to this year’s Showcase Schools and Showcase Systems!

We would like to also welcome our new and returning cohort of schools joining the incubator path of the Showcase School program. A big welcome to them and congratulations on starting this journey! View all the schools in the incubator path.

Join the Microsoft Showcase School program today

If you are a school leader who is interested in joining the Showcase School program, please follow these steps:

All schools joining the program start on the incubator path to begin or expand their transformation journey. When a school reaches the Showcase School criteria, they can then apply to become a Showcase School.

Please stay in touch with us by:

Posted on September 29, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

Policy Analytics for Azure Firewall now in preview

This blog was co-authored by Gopikrishna Kannan, Principal Program Manager, Azure Networking.

Network security policies are constantly evolving to keep pace with the demands of workloads. With the acceleration of workloads to the cloud, network security policies—Azure Firewall policies in particular—are frequently changing and often updated multiple times in a week (in many cases several times in a day). Over time, the Azure Firewall network and application rules grow and can become suboptimal, impacting the firewall performance and security. For example, high volume and frequently hit rules can be unintentionally prioritized lower. In some cases, applications are hosted in a network that has been migrated to a different network. However, the firewall rules referencing older networks have not been deleted.

Optimizing Firewall rules is a challenging task for any IT team. Especially for large, geographically dispersed organizations, optimizing Azure Firewall policy can be manual, complex, and involve multiple teams across the world. Updates are risky and can potentially impact a critical production workload causing serious downtime. Well, not anymore!

Policy Analytics has been developed to help IT teams manage Azure Firewall rules over time. It provides critical insights and recommendations for optimizing Azure Firewall rules with a goal of strengthening your security posture. We are now excited to share that Policy Analytics for Azure Firewall is now in preview.

Optimize Azure Firewall rules with Policy Analytics

Policy Analytics helps IT teams address these challenges by providing visibility into traffic flowing through the Azure Firewall. Key capabilities available in the Azure Portal include:

Firewall flow logs: Displays all traffic flowing through the Azure Firewall alongside hit rate and network and application rule match. This view helps identify top flows across all rules. You can filter flows matching specific sources, destinations, ports, and protocols.
Rule analytics: Displays traffic flows mapped to destination network address translation (DNAT), network, and application rules. This provides enhanced visibility of all the flows matching a rule over time. You can analyze rules across both parent and child policies.
Policy insight panel: Aggregates policy insights and highlights policy recommendations to optimize your Azure Firewall policies.
Single-rule analysis: The single-rule analysis experience analyzes traffic flows matching the selected rule and recommends optimizations based on those observed traffic flows.

Deep dive into single-rule analysis

Let’s investigate single-rule analysis. Here we select a rule of interest to analyze the matching flows and optimize thereof.

Users can analyze Firewall rules with a few easy clicks.

Figure 1: Start by selecting Single-rule analysis.

With Policy Analytics, you can perform rule analysis by picking the rule of interest. You can pick a rule to optimize. For instance, you may want to analyze rules with a wide range of open ports or a large number of sources and destinations.

Figure 2: Select a rule and Run analysis.

Policy Analytics surfaces the recommendations based on the actual traffic flows. You can review and apply the recommendations, including deleting rules which don’t match any traffic or prioritizing them lower. Alternatively, you can lock down the rules to specific ports matching traffic.

Figure 3: Review the results and Apply selected changes.

Pricing

While in preview, enabling Policy Analytics on a Firewall Policy associated with a single firewall is billed per policy as described on the Azure Firewall Manager pricing page. Enabling Policy Analytics on a Firewall Policy associated with more than one firewall is offered at no additional cost.

Next steps

Policy Analytics for Azure Firewall simplifies firewall policy management by providing insights and a centralized view to help IT teams have better and consistent control of Azure Firewall. To learn more about Policy Analytics, see the following resources:

Posted on September 28, 2022 by sick skills — Leave a comment

New Outlook for Windows available to all Office Insiders

Hi, Office Insiders! My name is Margie Clinton, and I’m a Group Product Manager on the Outlook team. I’m excited to announce that the new Outlook for Windows will begin rolling out for all Office Insiders to try starting today!

Explore the new Outlook for Windows

This past May, we expanded our work of creating a more consistent Outlook experience across endpoints (including Windows) with the release of our early preview of the new Outlook for Windows. This new Outlook for Windows is designed to provide a contemporary yet familiar Outlook experience that helps to improve personal productivity and email organization for users.

Since then, we’ve received valuable feedback from Office Insiders on Beta Channel about how to create a more consistent, feature-rich experience. We’ve taken this feedback into account and incorporated updates into this most recent rollout.

Beginning today, members of our Office Insiders community on Current Channel (Preview) will begin to have access and be able to explore new Outlook for Windows as we roll it out to the community. In the coming weeks, this experience will also be made available for Windows Insiders using a similar toggle within the Windows Mail app.

How it works

If you are signed up as an Office Insider and running Beta Channel or Current Channel (Preview) builds, all you need to do is slide the Try the New Outlook toggle located in the upper-right corner of your classic Outlook for Windows, and follow the onscreen instructions.

NOTE: You can switch back to your previous Outlook experience whenever you want. Just switch the toggle off and it will automatically open your previous version with no data or email loss.

What’s new in Outlook for Windows?

We’ve been listening to feedback since May and our team has been working diligently to improve the new Outlook for Windows. We’re excited to share that, in addition to numerous performance improvements, the following updates have been made:

The ability to support Microsoft accounts

Now you can add your personal Outlook.com, Hotmail, or Windows Live email accounts to this new Outlook for Windows.

Quick Steps

Now you can save time with the Quick Steps feature, which shows personalized triage actions that you can use repeatedly to keep your inbox clean and organized, and newsletters or important files in easy reach.

Dynamic calendar column widths

Now you can adjust the width of columns in your calendar, letting you customize how much space to give each day as you view the details of your weekly schedule.

Simplified Ribbon options

Now you see new pared-down Ribbon options give a sleeker look and feel that is easier to navigate as you email.

Tips in Outlook

Now you can take advantage of tips that let you know about new, useful features as they roll out so you can take advantage of them right away. You can also see Tips in the calendar board view, giving you everything you need to plan your schedule in one place.

Updates already available

The new features above build upon what we already made available in the early preview version in May (read more about it here) including:

Microsoft Loop to keep your team synced across Microsoft 365 apps
Using @ mention to find and attach documents
Intelligent assistance automatic reminders
Drag and drop emails to your To Do with My Day
The new Outlook calendar board view
Pinning important emails
Sweep to keep your Outlook inbox tidy
Shared mailboxes and folders for easy collaboration

What’s next?

Features that we plan to release to our Insider community—both enterprise and consumer customers—in the upcoming months include:

Support for multiple email accounts within the same app. In the future you will be able to access multiple email inboxes and calendars (including both work and personal) in the same Outlook experience, just as you can today in Outlook mobile.
Support for third-party email accounts in Outlook for Windows, including Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and more.
Numerous visual updates and personalization options so you can create your preferred email experience.
Offline support so you can get things done and access content even when not connected to the Internet.
Search folders for quick and easy access to all your emails.
Support for web add-ins to enrich emails and calendar events with third-party apps and services like Salesforce and Zoom.
Native ICS file type support designed to help you easily view and manage calendar events so you never miss an important event.

If you’re a member of the Windows Insiders community, in the coming weeks you will begin to gain access to the new Outlook for Windows via a toggle—similar to what you see above—in the Mail and Calendar apps in Windows.

Requirements

Minimum OS version Windows 10 Version 1809 (Build 17763)
A Microsoft work or school account, or a personal Microsoft account (at this time)
Internet connection (at this time)

Availability

These features are rolling out to Office Insiders running Beta Channel or Current Channel (Preview) Version 2209 (Build 15629.20058) or later of Outlook for Windows.

Don’t have it yet? It’s probably us, not you.

Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it.

Known Issues

Since the new Outlook for Windows is still in preview, it is likely that there might be some gaps.

Why am I not seeing the preview toggle?

If you are using a consumer account, the rollout to Beta Channel or Current Channel (Preview) might take some time.
Your organization has not added you to Beta Channel or Current Channel (Preview). You can ask your IT administrator if they can add you.
If you are unable to connect a Microsoft 365 work or school account to the new Outlook, contact your IT administrator.

Feedback

We look forward to continuing to build Outlook for Windows using the valuable input we receive from you.

If you have any feedback or additional suggestions for improvements, please click Help > Feedback to let us know.

Learn what other information you should include in your feedback to ensure it’s actionable and reaches the right people. We’re excited to hear from you!