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By Sszecret
Microsoft Weekly: Price fluctuations, Win32 reloaded, and hardware availability
by Florin Bodnarescu
This last week has brought a bit of indecisiveness from Microsoft in regards to Xbox Live Gold pricing, a commitment to Win32, and an expansion in hardware availability. You can find info about that, as well as much more below, in your Microsoft digest for the week of January 17 – 23.
Price fluctuations
On Friday, Microsoft caused a bit of a reaction from its player base as it decided to unceremoniously – and rather randomly – bump up the price for Xbox Live Gold. The monthly membership was increased by $1 to $10.99, the three-month price by $5 to $29.99, and the six-month membership was bumped up to $59.99. The latter price is the same the service used to cost for an entire year, which means that in effect, Microsoft doubled the price for Gold at the yearly level.
Not surprisingly, the reaction was swift and angry, at which point the company thankfully backpedaled on this decision, further stating that pricing will remain that same, and that free-to-play multiplayer games will not require a subscription.
It is however very possible that the company was trying to make Xbox Game Pass Ultimate a no-brainer deal at $180 per year, versus the (previously new) $120 per year for Xbox Live Gold. In case you had any doubts that Microsoft really wants folks to adopt Game Pass, you get 12 months of Game Pass Ultimate and a Razer Kishi Controller when buying a Galaxy S21 from the UK’s EE wireless carrier.
And speaking of such things, the Games with Gold for February have been revealed, and they include Gears 5, Resident Evil, Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition, Indiana Jones and the Emperor’s Tomb, as well as Lost Planet 2.
For folks that do however prefer Game Pass, Remedy’s Control is now available to play as part of the subscription, along with a slew of other titles like The Medium, Desperados III, and many more. For the full lineup of titles, as well as games leaving the subscription, be sure to check out this link.
Finally, in more app news than anything else, the YouTube app on Xbox now has HDR support for videos.
Win32 reloaded
As you’d imagine, Microsoft was busy handing out Insider preview builds this week as well, with build 21296 making its way to the Dev channel. Don’t get too excited though, as it includes two minor changes to the Clipboard and Storage Spaces, as well as a laundry list of fixes, but even more known issues. The vast majority of known issues are related to the newly introduced news and interests feature from the taskbar.
There’s also build 20285 for folks previewing Server builds, a build which currently has no changelog attached to it.
In other Insider news, build 19042.782 made its way to testers in the Beta and Release Preview channels, bringing about a substantial number of fixes, despite it being a mere cumulative update. On a somewhat related note, there are reports that Microsoft may start testing Windows 10 21H1 beginning with build 19043. To the surprise of few, this will most likely be an enablement package, just like 1909 and 20H2.
And speaking of those, Microsoft did also release some out of band updates for at least one of those versions, namely 1909. The Knowledge Base number for this update is KB4598298, and bumps the build number up to 18363.1350. There are a lot of fixes included, but the bug related to system and user certificates is still present. For its part, 1809 got KB4598296, which brings the build number up to 17763.1728 with the singular known issue listed as being the “0x800f0982 – PSFX_E_MATCHING_COMPONENT_NOT_FOUND” message related to Asian language packs.
Finally, we’ll end with the story that’s hinted at in the title of this section, namely the Redmond firm’s commitment to Win32. It would appear that indeed, reports of its demise were greatly exaggerated, despite Microsoft’s best efforts to supplant it via Windows 8’s Metro UI and companion WinRT toolset, or Windows 10’s UWP approach. There’s also Project Reunion which aims to unify all of the disparate libraries and APIs, as well as Windows 10X which is still yet to prove itself – as it hasn’t even come out.
To aid with the transitionary period though, there’s now a toolset called win32metadata, which allows devs to wrap Win32 APIs previously only (easily) accessible to programs written in C or C++. As to how successful this will be, remains to be seen
Hardware availability
Folks following the company closely may know that it recently released its Surface Pro 7+ hardware refresh, but it’s worth noting that the “previous” generation is still up for grabs. Specifically, there’s now a Surface Pro 7 + Type Cover (with Fingerprint ID) which would normally cost $2,059.98 being sold for $1,699.98. If you’re in the market for such a device, this bundle will save you about $360.
Moving on to the more traditional laptop form factor, the Laptop Go is now available in India, while the Laptop 3 may soon receive another variant, as it’s been spotted passing through Bluetooth certification.
In terms of the education market, Microsoft has also released five new inexpensive options from partners, all of which support 4G LTE and range in price from $185 to $329. There’s also the Classroom Pen 2, which is now being sold for $19.99.
Dev channel
Microsoft, Cruise, and GM have teamed up to commercialize self-driving vehicles. Microsoft Lists is now available for iOS. An event centered on Azure SQL and Data Factory will kick off on February 3. The Redmond giant will hold a free Azure Quantum Dev Workshop on February 2. You can now receive notifications from Yammer communities in Teams. Microsoft To Do’s web app now supports AI-based task suggestions. Windows Terminal is set to gain a settings UI in its next version. Teams will be integrated into SAP solutions. Microsoft has stopped PAC donations. Logging off
We’re at the edge of this weekly column, so how else would we end, other than talking about Microsoft’s eponymous browser.
Kicking things off with some Insider news, folks in possession of a HoloLens 2 can now test out the brand-new version of Edge inside the AR environment, joining testers who’ve had access to it on other platforms for quite a while.
For example, Edge Dev’s build 89.0.767.0 is now out, adding minor autofill improvements, with the stable channel getting Edge 88 complete with history sync, sidebar search, and more. Also part of this release is Password Monitor, a built-in tool that lets you know whether your passwords have been compromised.
And lastly, if you find the default look of the browser a tad boring, there’s always the option to change things up a bit via custom themes. Yes, the browser has been able to add Chrome themes for a while, but now custom ones, based on Microsoft properties like Ori and the Will of Wisps have been added to Edge’s add-on store.
Missed any of the previous columns? Be sure to have a look right here.
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By Rich Woods
Xbox Games with Gold for February include Gears 5 and more
by Rich Woods
Today, Microsoft announced the Games with Gold that Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will be able to claim for free during the month of February. Typically, this includes two Xbox One games and two Xbox 360 games that are playable via the Backward Compatibility program. This month, however, there are five free games, one of which is optimized for Xbox Series X|S, and that game is a big title: Gears 5.
Here's the full list:
Gears 5 (Xbox One, Optimized for Xbox Series X|S, February 1 -28)
Resident Evil (Xbox One, February 1 - 28)
Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition (Xbox One, February 16 - March 15)
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (Xbox, February 1 - 15)
Lost Planet 2 (Xbox 360, February 16 - 28)
As usual, it's also not too late to claim some of this month's Games with Gold. You can still claim Little Nightmares (Xbox One) and Breakdown (Xbox) until the end of the month, and Dead Rising (Xbox One) until February 15.
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By LoneWolfSL
Microsoft announces the Pulse Red Xbox Wireless Controller
by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe
The modernized Xbox Wireless Controller that Microsoft launched with its new generation of Xbox Series X and S consoles is gaining a new variant soon. Announced today, the Pulse Red variant will be joining the Carbon Black, Robot White, and Shock Blue controller options that are already available.
Similar to the Shock Blue controller's coloring style, the new Pulse Red arrives with red analog sticks, menu buttons, and a top case, which are joined by a white back case. Meanwhile, the front of the controller, triggers, bumpers, and the D-pad are matte black.
As expected, all of the improvements brought to the new generation of controllers can be seen here too, such as the new remappable Share button on the middle, textured dot pattern on triggers and bumpers, multiple device recognition, and USB-C connection, among others. The controller is compatible with Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One console families, PC, and mobile devices.
The Pulse Red Xbox Wireless Controller will go on sale for $64.99 starting February 9 across most Xbox-supported regions, and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 14-day trial will be included in the package. Gamers in China will be able to pick the controller up starting tomorrow, January 12.
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By indospot
Injustice 2, Torchlight III, PES 2021, and more coming to Xbox Game Pass in January
by João Carrasqueira
Hot on the heels of a strong December for Xbox Game Pass, with the addition of two waves of titles, Microsoft has announced an array of new games making their way to the subscription service over the course of January. You may notice that the addition of EA Play to Xbox Game Pass for PC isn't among the news today, and it remains unclear when that will happen.
The titles being added to the library include some big names, such as Torchlight III, Injustice 2, and eFootball PES2021 for console, as well as YIIK: A Post Modern RPG for PC. It also includes the PC version of Neoverse, after the console and cloud versions were added last month. Here's the full list coming over the next couple of weeks:
eFootball PES 2021 Season Update (Android and Console) – January 7 Injustice 2 (Android, Console, and PC) – January 7 The Little Acre (Android and Console) ID@Xbox – January 7 Neoverse (PC) – January 14 Torchlight III (Android and Console) – January 14 What Remains of Edith Finch (PC) – January 14 YIIK: A Postmodern RPG (PC) – January 14 In addition to the new titles, this month also brings some new perks for Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, including the Chapter 1 Pass for Spellbreak (available until April 8), the Holiday Cruisers bundle for World of Warships: Legends (until April 1), and the Legend of War Pack for World of Tanks (until March 31). There is also a new weekly quest worth in Dead by Daylight, which is worth 100 points.
Of course, as usual, there are also some games leaving the Game Pass program. The following four games will no longer be available to play as part of the subscription after January 15:
FTL: Faster Than Light (PC)
My Friend Pedro (Console and PC)
Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (Console)
Tekken 7 (Console)
If you have yet to try these games and you'd like to, you may want to do it soon.
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By Usama Jawad96
Here are the five biggest tech disappointments of 2020
by Usama Jawad
With the year drawing to a close, it's a good time to view the year in tech in retrospective. While we had some truly amazing technology grace our lives this year - and you can have a look at some of it here -, 2020 also had its fair share of disappointing tech products, services, and happenings in general.
In this piece, we'll look at five of the biggest tech disappointments of 2020. Note that this is very much dependent upon personal preferences so you obviously may not feel as strongly about a product as we do, and vice versa. Furthermore, the failures that we highlight may not necessarily be commercial flops, and may have their ardent customers and fans for various reasons. With that out of the way, let's begin!
1 - Microsoft Surface Duo
Following much fanfare, Microsoft finally took the wraps off its highly anticipated "Surface Phone" last year, under the "Surface Duo" moniker. The dual-screen hinge design as well as Microsoft's penchant for building premium Surface devices had many hopeful that this would be the time the company finally nails the mobile category with a truly revolutionary device that amplifies productivity. Coupled with the fact that it would run Android rather than some new Microsoft OS meant that it would enjoy a huge library of apps too - unlike Windows Phone, where the "app gap" became the bane of its existence.
Well, the Surface Duo finally landed in August this year, housing a Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128/256GB storage, a 3,577 mAh battery, a very mediocre camera, and two 5.6" displays held together by a hinge. Apart from the specs being nothing to write home about with an outdated processor and a very mediocre camera, the things that really disappointed about the Surface Duo on paper were its price tag of $1,399 and its U.S.-only availability.
As our Senior Editor Rich Woods wrote back then as well, the Surface Duo was tragically overpriced. With foldable phones priced around $1,500 and above, you would think that Microsoft's offering fits in neatly in this niche, but an important distinction is that other devices in this price bracket offer a foldable display, rather than two displays held together by a hinge. In fact, the LG V60 variant which comes with a dual-screen accessory, Snapdragon 865, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 5,000 mAh battery is priced at $899, which is considerably cheaper than the Surface Duo. On paper, the V60 is a much better value offering than the Duo.
Of course, the next argument from ardent supporters was that the Duo offers premium build quality and an Android OS that is customized by Microsoft for this device. While the first argument definitely holds weight, the second fell extremely short when reviews of the Duo started pouring in, with the most scathing ones pointing out the numerous software bugs and glitches present in the device that actually result in decreased productivity in day to day tasks, rather than the opposite.
Although all of this is expected from a first-generation device that largely appears to be experimental - and we've seen Microsoft turn things around with the Surface before as well -, it was still disappointing to see the Duo fail to live up to the hype that it had built over the past couple of years. This is one device that many believed would allow Microsoft to establish a foothold in the saturated mobile market, but clearly, this is not the case. With the company offering three years of feature updates for the Duo as well as finally expanding availability to more markets, one would hope that the company has learned its lessons from this release and things will improve both for this device and other potential successors. This particular device category certainly has promise, but can't live up to it right now, and definitely not at this price.
2 - Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles
Yet another heavily hyped product that failed to live up to expectations this year, to some extent. While development on Cyberpunk 2077 started back in 2012, it was not until the completion of The Witcher 3's DLCs in 2016 that CD Projekt Red (CDPR) went all-in on its upcoming AAA title. The title was marketed as a truly groundbreaking gaming experience, the likes of which players had never seen before. The game was delayed multiple times, but was finally released on December 10, 2020.
Let's be clear here from the get-go: Cyberpunk 2077 is not a bad game by any means. According to most reviews and feedback from players around the world, it delivers a gripping narrative, decent gameplay, and a beautifully designed vertical open world. The problem is that it doesn't offer a polished experience right now, not even close to one.
On PC, many players are experiencing bugs and crashes, but they still seem to have the better end of the stick as compared to console players. When it launched, players on last-gen consoles, namely PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, were treated with a myriad of issues, with the most glaring one being the game struggling to hit 30fps, and mostly hovering around the 20fps and below mark. It is important to note that this happens while maintaining a resolution of below 1080p on both consoles. On PlayStation 4, it hovers at 900p and lower, and the Xbox One runs at a similar resolution too. PS4 Pro and Xbox One X fare only slightly better.
The situation is only slightly better on next-gen consoles such as PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. While the title runs at a better resolution, it is barely able to maintain the ideal 60fps target. Other issues such as bugs and crashes still persist across console generations.
Thousands of people have complained about the state of Cyberpunk 2077 on consoles, claiming that CDPR intentionally misled players by not showing off gameplay on consoles providing no console copies to reviewers.
The company has since issued an apology, accepting that the game is not in a decent condition especially on last-gen consoles, and that it will be releasing major patches in 2021 to address concerns. However, it has emphasized that the patches "won’t make the game on last-gen look like it’s running on a high-spec PC or next-gen console, but it will be closer to that experience than it is now".
Following this public apology, Sony removed Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store, offering full refunds to anyone who wants them. Microsoft has offered refunds for digital Xbox copies of the game as well, but has not delisted it.
Since the title's launch, CDPR's stock has dropped by almost 40%. That said, it is important to note that Cyberpunk 2077 is apparently not a failure in terms of units sold. Recently, CDPR revealed that it has managed to sell 13 million copies, after removing refunds from the equation. One can only hope that the firm manages to pull itself together and turn things around sooner rather than later.
3 - Quibi
We wouldn't be surprised if you told us that you haven't heard of Quibi before. The name is a play on the "quick bites" phrase, where the platform offered short video content and shows to mobile users only. It launched on April 6, 2020, with a free 90-day trial and two subsequent subscription plans: $4.99/month with ads or $7.99/month without them.
Although it received 1.7 million downloads in its first week, reception ranged from mixed to negative, with some praise directed at original shows. This made sense given that this is already a market mostly captured by TikTok, YouTube, and other services, which offer free alternatives. And if Quibi was targeting users who had subscribed to the likes of Netflix or Disney+, it didn't have the brand recognition or content to justify its price.
This was further confirmed when reports indicated that 90% of roughly one million people who signed up for a free trial in the first three days after launch did not renew their subscription after its expiration.
Following its lukewarm reception, Quibi announced that it is shutting down on December 1. The company stated that it is closing its doors "because the idea itself wasn’t strong enough to justify a standalone streaming service or because of our timing". The latter is a bit difficult to believe since we are in the middle of a pandemic in which people have more time on their hands to stream shows, especially ones which have episodes less than 10 minutes in length.
This was rather a quick end for a company which raised $1.75 billion from investors such as Walmart, PepsiCo, and Anheuser-Busch. It would be unfair to say that Quibi failed for lack of trying since it did try to chase original programming, and was actually nominated for 10 Emmy awards, two of which it won. Many claim that it failed purely because it spent too much on advertising and was focused on mobile users only rather than offering a broad platform.
Farewell Quibi, we hardly knew ye.
4 - Apple's stance on cloud game-streaming
Microsoft finally brought its Project xCloud cloud game streaming service to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate this year, allowing people to play console games using just their Android smartphones and tablets. The key concern here is "Android" only, when it comes to mobile platforms.
Microsoft fully intended to bring this service to iOS devices as well but faced stiff resistance from Apple, which claimed that it won't allow it because the company claimed it wouldn't be able to review the games being offered, and would have no control over what content is made available to users. This is a very weird argument because it doesn't translate well to content streaming services like Netflix or Disney+, which also offer different content in the same way without moderation from Apple.
Microsoft isn't the only company facing problems on this end. Google Stadia and Nvidia's GeForce Now are unavailable on iOS for the same reason as well, although the former worked out the issue by releasing a dedicated Progressive Web App (PWA).
Following criticism on its stance, Apple did backpedal a bit in September by offering an olive branch. Kind of. It modified its rules to allow game-streaming with some caveats; game-streaming providers can still offer catalog apps, but they'll have to link to the individual games in the App Store. Moreover, they'll have to allow users to sign up for the service in the app, meaning that Apple gets a 30% cut, and they'll have to support Sign in with Apple.
Microsoft promptly responded to the move, stating that it offers a poor customer experience. The company went on to say that:
Unfortunately, Apple has refused to budge further, and Microsoft isn't willing to comply with Apple's restrictive rules either. As such, it has been rumored that the Redmond tech giant is working on an alternate solution to circumvent Apple's policies. It is reportedly planning to introduce a browser-based web app - à la Google Stadia - that will directly bring xCloud game streaming to iOS next year. This was allegedly confirmed by Microsoft's gaming head Phil Spencer at an internal meeting with employees, in which he stated: "We absolutely will end up on iOS".
5 - Zoom's privacy and security fiasco
Online communication platform Zoom had an excellent year when it comes to stock prices and usage in 2020. This was mostly thanks to the ongoing pandemic in which people were forced to work from home, observe social distancing, and adjust to the "new normal", where most formal work communication has to be done remotely.
However, the company also had a string of issues related to user privacy and security, which were all the more serious because of the number of people using the platform this year. While the firm dealt with each problem as it emerged, it was in the headlines frequently, and usually not because of good reasons.
In March, it was revealed that Zoom sends analytics data to Facebook, even if the user doesn't have a Facebook account, a security gap which the company plugged by removing the problematic SDK. Then in April, a major vulnerability was disclosed which allows hackers to steal a user's Windows credentials. SpaceX immediately prohibited its employees from using Zoom in official capacities.
Following this fiasco, Zoom vowed to fix privacy and security flaws in a 90-day feature freeze. During this period, it updated its macOS pre-installation scripts because it was revealed that they contain abusive behavior that circumvents Apple's OS restrictions and installs the software on Macs without proper user consent. It also enabled waiting rooms by default to prevent "zoombombing".
While it was fixing these issues, Zoom developed a negative press image as a software that is insecure and violates user privacy. Two U.S. state attorneys started looking into Zoom's privacy practices, while a shareholder sued the company. Google banned its use on employee laptops, Singapore prohibited teachers from using it, Standard Chartered told employees to stay away from it, and the Indian government called it an "unsafe" platform for video conferencing.
The company also made a misleading claim that it has "more than 300 million daily users", a phrase that it backtracked on and changed to "surpassing 300 million daily Zoom meeting participants".
While things have been better for the video conferencing app on the privacy and security front in the second half of 2020, with the company finally rolling out support for end-to-end encryption, it was certainly disappointing to see a mainstream service, being used daily by millions of users around the globe amidst the pandemic, be so lax when it comes to ensuring the safety of its online user base. Here's to hoping for a stronger showing next year with the COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon and competitors like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet upping their game as well.
Those were our picks for the top five tech disappointments of 2020, but we're certain that there may have been other things which ticked you off as well. Managed to grab a next-gen console yet or did you have to submit to the will of malicious scalpers? We have highlighted what we personally consider the biggest tech disappointments this year, but feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments section as well!
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