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24 votes
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Microsoft's $68.7bn (£55bn) deal to buy US video game company Activision Blizzard has been blocked in the UK by the Competition and Markets Authority
13 votes -
Microsoft crackdown disables emulators downloaded to Xbox consoles
7 votes -
People Make Games get their asses beat in Microsoft Excel eSports
9 votes -
Microsoft’s Bing is an emotionally manipulative liar, and people love it
14 votes -
The emotional resonance of Microsoft Flight Simulator
3 votes -
AI-powered Bing Chat loses its mind when fed Ars Technica article / "It is a hoax that has been created by someone who wants to harm me or my service."
29 votes -
Bing AI can't be trusted: Microsoft knowingly released a broken product for short-term hype
8 votes -
Microsoft launches the new Bing, with ChatGPT built in
13 votes -
Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees
10 votes -
Netflix will be next on Microsoft’s shopping list
9 votes -
In which I liberate the ending to Minecraft from Microsoft… and give it to you
11 votes -
The twisted life of Clippy
6 votes -
Free AI bot that provides the Excel formula for any problem
7 votes -
An experiment to test GitHub Copilot's legality
11 votes -
Every new trailer from the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022
7 votes -
Microsoft trying to kill HDD boot drives by 2023: Report
8 votes -
Microsoft to curb use of non-competes, drop NDAs from worker settlements, disclose salary ranges, launch civil rights audit
22 votes -
My experience with Windows 10
I'm a longtime Linux user, and I haven't used Windows in a while aside from just launching games from Steam on my living room computer, but my new work laptop is Microsoft's flagship Surface Pro 4...
I'm a longtime Linux user, and I haven't used Windows in a while aside from just launching games from Steam on my living room computer, but my new work laptop is Microsoft's flagship Surface Pro 4 so I figured it'd be the best experience you can have on a Windows machine.
I got the laptop in yesterday, and here's the summary of my experience:
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I am required by IT to use Chrome. To install Chrome, I had to click through no fewer than three "Are you sure you don't want to use Microsoft's more secure, faster browser?" banners to do so.
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When I plug in my external monitor, by default, the two monitors were mirrored; when I went into display settings, it didn't show the external monitor until I closed and reopened the settings menu.
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I have an Apple Magic Touchpad 2, and I had some issues getting it set up on Ubuntu 20.04 when I initially got it. These problems are now solved on the latest version of Ubuntu, but I was expecting a nice contrast in a good plug-and-play experience on Windows. Instead, I had to install sketchy drivers from some random GitHub page to get it to work properly.
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I've had some minor annoyances with my audio interface (a Zoom R-22) not being set as the default when I want it to be on Ubuntu, and I was really looking forward to getting a smooth video calling experience with my nice mic and interface on Windows. Lo and behold, the R-22 audio input - the whole reason I have it - doesn't work at all, at least in the Zoom video calling app.
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On Ubuntu, I use QV4L2 to configure the framing, zoom, exposure, etc of my camera. It's a bit clunky, and I was looking forward to having a smooth experience with this on the premier business OS. Unfortunately, the camera on this laptop has extremely aggressive aperture priority mode enabled, and there is no first-party app to configure it! The documentation tells me to go to Settings -> Devices -> Camera but there is no such menu item. So, I just look either washed-out or ultra-dark in every video call.
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After running Windows Update and rebooting, I was greeted with a full-screen and quite annoying to exit tutorial for Microsoft Teams - an app I did not install, because my company uses Slack.
This in addition to some setup papercuts, but I think those were probably due to my corporate IT's process rather than Windows itself.
Is this common? Do people who use Windows just... put up with this kind of thing? Or am I having an exceptionally bad experience for some reason?
15 votes -
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Eve Online fans literally cheer Microsoft Excel features at annual Fanfest
18 votes -
Microsoft is moving ahead with an Xbox Game Pass Family Plan
7 votes -
Secrets of an Excel spreadsheet esports player
11 votes -
Microsoft to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion USD
46 votes -
Bliss - The story of Windows XP’s famous default wallpaper
4 votes -
EU companies issues formal complaint against Microsoft OneDrive Windows integration
10 votes -
Microsoft unveils 'Super Duper Secure Mode' in latest version of Edge
6 votes -
Microsoft Edge’s new ‘buy now, pay later’ feature is the definition of bloatware
18 votes -
Microsoft gaming chief calls for industry-wide game preservation
11 votes -
Windows 11 blocks Edge browser competitors from opening links
38 votes -
The Metaverse is already here - It's Minecraft
15 votes -
Microsoft angers the .NET open source community with a controversial decision
24 votes -
Windows 11: The Ars Technica review
26 votes -
Making bracket pair colorization 10k times faster in VSCode
7 votes -
Running emulators in Xbox's Edge browser
2 votes -
Microsoft, Google, Facebook and other tech firms are pressing lawmakers to stop prosecutors from secretly snooping on private accounts
3 votes -
Mozilla has defeated Microsoft’s default browser protections in Windows
18 votes -
Halo Infinite will release on December 8, 2021 - Limited-edition Xbox Series X and Elite controller now available for pre-order
9 votes -
Everything shown during Microsoft's Xbox Gamescom livestream
3 votes -
Xbox and Xbox Game Pass are coming to more screens
7 votes -
FSF-funded call for white papers on philosophical and legal questions around Copilot
7 votes -
Norway says cyber attack on parliament carried out from China – attack had utilised a security hole in Microsoft's Exchange software
10 votes -
Psychonauts 2 | Story trailer
6 votes -
How to install Windows 3.1 on an iPad
8 votes -
How many layers of UI inconsistencies are in Windows 10?
10 votes -
Microsoft Flight Simulator adds beautiful Nordic views – update gives new perspectives on Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Finland
8 votes -
Windows 11 leak reveals new UI, Start menu, and more
21 votes -
Minecraft removes decade-old 4chan shoutout
19 votes -
Microsoft brought me back into their ecosystem with Game Pass
I'm primarily a PC gamer with a library slowly approaching 1,000 games on Steam. While I have sometimes bought games through the other storefronts like Blizzard, GOG, Uplay, and EA Origins, I...
I'm primarily a PC gamer with a library slowly approaching 1,000 games on Steam. While I have sometimes bought games through the other storefronts like Blizzard, GOG, Uplay, and EA Origins, I never really invested significant time in them to the point where I don't keep track of what is in those libraries. Suffice to say, I thought that I was so entrenched in Steam that I couldn't possibly play in another storefront for any meaningful amount of time.
This has changed for the past year. I hopped on one of those deals that gave me access to Game Pass since Microsoft added all the Bethesda games and partnered with EA Play. And I gotta say, I'm invested now. Invested so much that I bought a Series X despite having zero interest when the new generation of systems was announced. Game Pass on Xbox is an even better deal than Game Pass on PC. The library is larger and for the games that are Play Anywhere, I can continue my save file on my PC when my living room TV is unavailable.
I really think that Microsoft has a winning strategy with Game Pass this generation and it really surprised me how my attitude to the Xbox ecosystem changed this year. While I think both Sony and Nintendo have great exclusives, the value proposition for me of convenience and a rotating slate of quality games will likely keep me invested and subscribed, moreso than Xbox Gold or PS+ have in the past.
14 votes -
The next great disruption is hybrid work—thoughts from Microsoft on the future of work
9 votes -
Microsoft reducing Windows store cut to just twelve percent
12 votes