Microsoft acquires Solair to help customers harness the power of the Internet of Things

- Sam George - Partner Director, Azure IoT

Today, I’m pleased to announce that Microsoft has acquired Solair, an Italian company that has been delivering innovative Internet of Things (IoT) services to customers across a number of industries, including manufacturing, retail, food & beverage and transportation. Solair shares our ambition for helping customers harness their untapped data and create new intelligence with IoT, and this acquisition supports our strategy to deliver the most complete IoT offering for enterprises. … Read more »

‘Inside the Music,’ an Army vet at Microsoft gets White House props and Windows 10 is now on 300 million active devices – Weekend Reading: May 6 edition

- Suzanne Choney - Microsoft News Center Staff
Inside the Music, KEXP, Kinect

This week at Microsoft, music is among our muses, an Army vet and self-described “computer nerd” at Microsoft is honored at the White House, and Windows 10 is now running on 300 million active devices around the world. Let’s get it started: New music, new sounds. Over the years, Microsoft has partnered with alternative nonprofit radio station KEXP through the company’s nonprofit software and grant program. And now a special … Read more »

Microsoft adds intelligence to industry, Horvitz wins an AI award and Skype celebrates a big milestone – Weekend Reading: April 29 edition

- Susanna Ray

Wurst and beer were on the minds – and in the stomachs – of many in the tech world this week, as tens of thousands descended on Hannover, Germany, for the world’s largest industrial technology fair. Grab a tasty snack or beverage yourself as you sit back and enjoy this Weekend Reading overview. At the Hannover Messe, Microsoft and its partners demonstrated intelligent aircraft engines, street lights, buildings, factories, refrigerators … Read more »

The future of mobile app development

- Nat Friedman - Corporate Vice President, Mobile Developer Tools
Xamarin

It is incredible how much has happened since Xamarin joined Microsoft just over a month ago, starting with Scott Guthrie’s Build 2016 announcements that Xamarin is now part of all editions of Visual Studio at no additional charge — from Community to Enterprise — and our plans to open source the Xamarin SDK. It is a dream come true for us to be able to put the power of Xamarin … Read more »

Satya Nadella: Digital transformation is changing the face of manufacturing

- Suzanne Choney - Microsoft News Center Staff
Nadella-HMI-Feature-Hero

A digital transformation is remaking companies and their factories, bringing the intersection of manufacturing and technology even closer, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Sunday in his keynote address at Hannover Messe 2016, the world’s largest industrial technology fair, in Germany. Enabling that transformation are systems of intelligence that help companies gain insight and take action from big data, optimize their operations and change the very nature of the business models … Read more »

Microsoft grants help kids learn computer science, Earth Day is celebrated and influential engineer is honored — Weekend Reading: April 22 edition

- Tracy Ith
WR_We day

From a huge effort to help kids realize their potential to a celebration of our dear old planet, this week brought plenty of interesting and inspiring news around Microsoft. We’ve rounded up some of the highlights in this latest edition of Weekend Reading. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced grants to 100 nonprofit partners in 55 countries as part of YouthSpark, a global initiative to increase access for young people to … Read more »

Sparking opportunity for all youth around the globe

- Mary Snapp - Corporate Vice President and Head of Microsoft Philanthropies
The Dublin-based CoderDojo Foundation helps parents and volunteers start free computer programming clubs for young people. There are nearly 1,000 CoderDojo clubs in more than 65 countries around the world.

Sometimes all it takes is a spark: that one class, that one teacher, that one project which makes a difference. It can change the lives of young students who may have had little opportunity to excel, or perhaps even to complete high school, to enable them to become successful engineers, entrepreneurs or computer scientists. This is the inspiration behind our global YouthSpark initiative. Last September, Satya Nadella announced a three-year, … Read more »

Welcome to the invisible revolution

- Microsoft Corporate Blogs

Think of your favorite pieces of technology. These are the things that you use every day for work and play, and pretty much can’t live without. Chances are, at least one of them is a gadget – your phone, maybe, or your gaming console. But if you really think about it, chances also are good that many of your most beloved technologies are no longer made of plastic, metal and glass. … Read more »

Computer industry luminaries salute Dave Cutler’s 5-decade long quest for quality

- vsclarkmnc - Microsoft News Center Staff
Microsoft's Dave Cutler photographed on April 12, 2016. (Photography by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures)

Within the technology industry, the cycle of invention is captured in eras, from mainframe and mini, to PC, Internet, mobile and the cloud.  Most within the industry move from wave to wave, hoping to catch each successive one at just the right time. Then there are the wave makers.  The giants on whose shoulders the industry stands. Dave Cutler is a wave maker, with a broad set of shoulders. Cutler, … Read more »

Cutting-edge workspaces, Internet of Things near-space balloons and using the cloud to help giraffe populations — Weekend Reading: April 15 edition

- thomask
large

Spring has officially sprung. Birds are in the trees. Flowers are blooming. We don’t know if it’s the season or what, but Microsoft too is bubbling over with excitement and new stories. Join us for Weekend Reading for an overview of recent happenings. As Microsoft works to empower everyone on the planet to achieve more, the company is making a statement with new, vibrant workspaces for employees. The totally redone … Read more »

Microsoft announces teacher-inspired updates for Windows, Office, ‘Minecraft’

- Tony Prophet - Corporate Vice President, Education Marketing
education, Windows

At Microsoft, we’re all in on education! Our company mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In education, it’s to empower every student. Today, we’re proud to share the latest on what’s coming for Back-to-School 2016/2017. Introducing Microsoft Classroom and Microsoft Forms, OneNote Class Notebook now with Learning Management System (LMS) integration, new experiences for Windows 10 and the dawn of “Minecraft: … Read more »