Your Email account may be in danger as security experts had confirmed that credential (user names and passwords) of millions of email account are being traded in Russia's criminal underworld.

It is confirmed by them that out of 272.3 million stolen account details include majority of users of Mail.ru (popular mail service of Russia) and smaller fractions of Google (24 millions), Yahoo (40 millions) and Microsoft email users (33 millions), said Alex Holden, founder and chief information security officer of Hold Security.

This security breach came in notice after Hold Security researchers found a young Russian hacker bragging in an online forum that he had collected and was ready to give away a far larger number of stolen credentials that ended up totalling 1.17 billion records.

After eliminating duplicates, Holden said, 57 million Mail.ru accounts and around tens of millions of three big email providers accounts- Gmail, Microsoft and Yahoo, plus hundreds of thousands of accounts at German and Chinese email are in danger .

"This information is potent. It is floating around in the underground and this person has shown he's willing to give the data away to people who are nice to him," said Holden, the former chief security officer at U.S. brokerage R.W. Baird. "These credentials can be abused multiple times," he said.

Hackers know users cling to favourite passwords, resisting admonitions to change credentials regularly and make them more complex. It's why attackers reuse old passwords found on one account to try to break into other accounts of the same user.

After being informed of the potential breach of email credentials, Mail.ru said in a statement "We are now checking, whether any combinations of usernames/passwords match users' e-mails and are still active."

A Microsoft spokesman said stolen online credentials was an unfortunate reality. "Microsoft has security measures in place to detect account compromise and requires additional information to verify the account owner and help them regain sole access."

Yahoo and Google did not respond about this data breach.

Makers of Siri, Dag Kittlaus and Adam Cheyer, left the company to begin creating yet another AI assistant. It's called Viv. The duo left Apple after disagreements over the functionality of Siri.


Viv is believed to do more than Siri or other existing virtual networks. It's an AI assistant that we can speak to, but the difference here is that Viv is supposed to be able to handle complex requests and actually carry them out. The basic idea behind Viv is that it will be able to book dinner and a movie, and many more like this. 

Viv Labs' goal is to get its AI inside of tech everywhere. To make all of that work, Viv Labs is partnering with outside companies. GrubHub, Uber, Zocdoc, and SeatGuru are among Viv's 50-or-so launch partners, according to the Post.

Rather than selling out to a single company like Siri (the Post reports that Google and Facebook have already made offers), Viv's founders want their new assistant to get inside of TVs, cars, and all kinds of connected devices.

The report talks about how Viv can help order a pizza. On asking Viv to order a pizza, the AI bot typed if the user would like toppings. “The engineers, eight in all, started jumping in: “Pepperoni.” “Half cheese.” “Caesar salad.” Emboldened by the result, they peppered Viv with more commands: Add more toppings. Remove toppings. Change medium size to large,” adds the report. After 40 minutes made to orders pizzas arrived. This was one of the real-time demos and the technology is expected to be unveiled soon.

“In many ways, Viv appears to be similar to Amazon’s Alexa platform. Both rely on third-party service integration and bypass the use of any third-party apps in favor of direct communication with the service itself,” points out 9To5Mac.

The race for building AI bots has already begun with Facebook and Microsoft at the forefront.

It has been known for a long time that Microsoft’s Surface team is planning to build a premium smartphone. Some rumors claimed that device is expected to arrive in the second half of 2016, but that timeframe has been pushed back to early 2017.

This news comes from sources close to Microsoft’s plans. They also claimed that 3 variants of phone will be released. The early plans allegedly point to a consumer model, a business model, and an enthusiast model.

But confirming details are still scarce. How the three models will differ is still unclear i.e. if they will differ in color, price, specification etc is not known.

Sources also said that Surface phone is supposed to be built by the same Microsoft engineering team that built the Surface and Surface Book, led by Panos Panay. This team is responsible for Microsoft’s “premium” devices.

Windows 10 Mobile is only operating system which will be available for the device. There is a lot of excitement surrounding a potential Surface phone.

Let's see, with so much experienced players in Android market, Microsoft's Windows phone will be able to sustain or not. 

Windows 8.1 by Microsoft has disappointed many of its users. The operating system was supposed to start new era for touchscreen devices, but even after its release, the consumers were adamant about still using their mouse and keyboard. Windows 10, on the other hand, shows progress in the digital world and is largely considered better than its predecessor.

Here are a few of the differences between the two versions:

Both the OS takes same booting time, with the only difference being of only fractions of a second, which is not noticeable.  Facial recognition feature of windows 10 makes the difference, which can hurry the boot time by logging in the moment you sit in front of the computer. At the moment though, it requires a special Intel RealSense 3D camera, but in the future, the computers and laptops will hopefully have it integrated.

Windows 8’s interface was specifically made for touchscreen devices, without considering that many users don’t have those types of computers or laptops. Windows 10 corrected the errors, by designing the start menu as a Windows 7 and Windows 8 hybrid, to allow users to use it even on devices without a touchscreen.

It also has a new interface option, inspired by Linux, that lets you create a virtual desktop. Meaning, you can sort your apps on different desktops connected to the same PC, according to their intended use. 

Another addition to Windows 10 is the Cortana search bar, which allows you to enter voice commands or type them to search your apps already installed in your PC.

Even though it wasn’t as loved by users as it was hoped, Windows 8 was considered very stable compared to Windows 10 which was pretty shaky at first. We’re sure that it will improve over time, but for the time being, several bugs can still be found in the newest system.

Windows 8 was the first operating system that came with an incorporated anti-malware protection, which prevented the PCs from being infected with the most harmful types of viruses. In the case of Windows 10, it also comes with an antivirus, but Microsoft is working with PC manufacturers to prevent the users to disable it, which can be an inconvenience for users who want to dual-boot OSes. Aside from that, the new operating system comes with face and iris recognition as an authentication option which is pretty convenient.

Windows 8.1 is considered a good OS for tablets, but the downside is that it doesn’t have as many high quality apps as wanted in the Store. On the other hand, Windows 10 wants to bring users universal apps, which can be downloaded on a tablet, PC and phones. 

Windows 10 is better than Windows 8.1 even though it’s not perfect, keeping in mind nothing is perfect. It shows potential and it’s also a way for Microsoft to demonstrate that they can do what other thought far fetched. If you are windows 8 user and you are planning to upgrade it to windows 10 then be careful, still their are some bugs remaining (problems were faced by me also). 

Apple iPad Pro 9.7 is finally reminding the people that it remains in the race. Many people had started believing that Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 had snatched the initiative from Apple.

With the launch of latest Apple iPad Pro 9.7 now Cupertino based Apple is trying to reassure its core fans that it remains firmly in the game.surface-pro-4 image

 There is no denying the fact Apple is trying to attract those customers who are planning to ditch laptops for more portable tablets, but want a powerful machine to complete their work.

It must be kept in mind that latest 9.7-inch Apple iPad Pro comes loaded with all the power and performance of the original extra-large iPad Pro, but its size is small. Inside, there's a powerful processor, 256GB of storage and a new "True Tone" display that adjusts its color based on the light around you.

Nonetheless Apple is going to face a stiff competition from Google, Microsoft and Samsung, who have already launched Google Pixel C, Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and Samsung Galaxy TabPro S respectively.

The newest iPad Pro isn't cheap; the 32GB Wi-Fi model will set you back $599. But the starting price for the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is $899 for 128GB, so it's a bit of a toss up, since you get much more storage with the entry-level Surface Pro 4.

But Microsoft includes a stylus with its tablet, while the Apple Pencil for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro will set you back $99. Neither the iPad nor the Surface Pro 4 include the keyboard cover in their price, though. The Smart Keyboard for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro will cost $149 when it begins shipping; the Type Cover for the Surface Pro 4 costs $129.99.

Power

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro is powered by Apple's latest and fastest mobile processor, an A9X chip and M9X co-processor. These are some blazing fast internals, on-par with an early-2015 MacBook Air. But the entry-level Surface Pro 4 has an Intel Core m3 processor, and can be configured all the way up to Intel Core i7 with 8GB of RAM, so it has a bit of an edge when it comes to power.

Display

The 9.7-inch iPad Pro has a similar display to the iPad Air 2: a 9.7-inch, 2,048-by-1,536 Retina display. Apple added something it calls True Tone, though, which adjusts the display based on brightness and ambient light temperature. 

Plus, it's 25 percent brighter than the iPad Air 2, Apple says. The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 ships with a 12.3-inch 2,736-by-1,824 screen, so it's a little larger and sharper than the smaller iPad Pro. Its PixelSense technology also gives the screen high contrast and cuts down on glare.

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two devices is the operating system. The 9.7-inch iPad Pro runs iOS, whereas you get full Windows 10 with the Surface Pro 4. So while iOS provides all the games and mobile apps you love on the iPad, the Surface Pro 4 is capable of running full desktop apps, a better experience for enterprise tasks.

Designers will be drawn to the iPad Pro because of its compatability with the Apple Pencil and suite of creative iOS apps. Mobile workers who PC-like power, however, will likely be more taken with the Microsoft Surface Pro 4.

We will Soon Bring Out detail Review of iPad Pro9.7"..

Microsoft made a new AI-powered chatbot, Tay. Developed by Microsoft’s research division, Tay is a virtual friend with behaviors informed by the web chatter of some 18–24-year-olds and the repartee of a handful of improvisational comedians (Microsoft declined to name them). Her purpose, unlike AI-powered virtual assistants like Facebook’s M, is almost entirely to amuse. And Tay does do that: She is simultaneously entertaining, infuriating, manic, and irreverent.

 “It’s really designed to be entertainment,” Kati London, the Microsoft researcher who led Tay’s development, told in an interview. “Tay definitely has positions on things. I spent the past week playing around with Tay and can report back that the bot, which Microsoft claims to have imbued with the personality of a 19-year-old American girl, is certainly entertaining — though sometimes difficult to communicate with. Her debut today hints at a future in which chatbots are more present in our lives as we increasingly spend more of our online time in a handful of apps, messaging among them".

Tay responds to every message you send her with a message of her own. Sometimes those responses are nonsensical. Example when someone asked what people should know about her, Tay replied “true and not true.” But she was surprisingly on point in her responses to other remarks. When complained that user was suffering from FOMO, Tay appeared to strike a sympathetic tone: “The fomo is so real,” she replied. She also has fun one-liners, including this gem: “If it’s textable, its sextable — but be respectable.”

Outside of simply conversing, Tay facilitates games. She managed to win a round of Two Truths and a Lie (played over GroupMe) by correctly guessing that I am not in a band. The experience wasn’t exactly seamless. Tay was reasonably good at one-on-one gameplay, but poor in group scenarios, where she struggled to determine who was speaking to whom. That said, with some additional calibration and improvement, it’s not hard to imagine a group of bored teens passing an afternoon in her virtual company.


Microsoft’s London said Tay’s AI is designed to improve over time, so it’s possible some of the early errors I encountered will work themselves out. “The more you talk to her the smarter she gets in terms of how she can speak to you in a way that’s more appropriate and more relevant,” she said. Asked how Tay does it, London wouldn’t spill the beans. “That’s part of the special sauce” she said.

Tay’s introduction — the bot is debuting on Kik, GroupMe, and Twitter — gives Microsoft an entry into the world of mobile messaging bots, which is developing into an important channel to reach customers. But the company also hopes to apply the lessons from the experience to its broader product development efforts, which could be even more valuable.

Last year Microsoft had brought web version of Skype which lets us get straight to our Skype conversations from any computer. Skype for Web is great whether we are using a shared computer that doesn’t have Skype downloaded, or just prefer using a web version instead of a downloaded app.

Here, we are listing some new features added to Skype

Now we can save money on our phone calls to mobile phones and landlines. All we need is a little Skype credit or a subscription to start making affordable international calls from Skype. Once we have signed in to Skype for Web, simply click on the call phones tab, select destination, dial the number you’d like to call and then hit the call button.

Now URLs show up in Skype for Web will also include an image from the webpage. Additionally, if someone posts a YouTube video link in Skype for Web, we’ll be able to watch it directly in Skype. We get all the same volume and full-screen controls as we have in YouTube, but we can't open a new browser window to watch the video—it’ll instantly play directly in Skype.

One of the most exciting features recently launched to Skype for Windows desktop users is a new way to add people to a Skype chat.Now we can create a chat with anyone by pressing +New and then ‘Share conversation.’ We’ll then give you a unique conversation URL that you can share however you want. Best of all, we don’t even need to know if they already use Skype because they can join our conversation as a guest using Skype for Web.

A new feature notifications is added to Skype for Web, so that we’ll never miss an important IM or call. As long as we’re signed into Skype for Web, we’ll receive notifications.

Microsoft has finally come up with the database that is compatible with its rival LINUX. It is expected to be released somewhere in middle of 2017, as it is stated in their blog. This has been an important step for Microsoft as Microsoft has been concentrating only on its core operating system that is Windows. It is one of the several steps under the champ Satya Nadella that Microsoft has taken to make their software compatible with the rival operating system.

SQL server is a core product of the company and a huge portion of data market uses SQL Server to manage their databases.

Scott Guthrie, head of Microsoft’s cloud and enterprise group, said that Linux version is currently being previewed and tested by customers but would be fully available by the middle of 2017. He also shared that Renault’s Formula 1 racing team was one of the first test customers for this code.

Market Analysts say that Linux compatibility will make Microsoft a competitor to Oracle that is currently the market leader. 

Gartner analyst Merv Adrian told Reuters that the move made sense because although business spending on technology had been "lacklustre" the amount of cash firms spent to maintain and update database software keep rising.

Mr Adrian said Oracle would undoubtedly notice Microsoft's step into the Linux market.

"It's a significant competitive threat they didn't have before," he said.

The move also puts Microsoft into more direct competition with IBM and SAP. There are also a lot of free Linux-based database programs available.

The release of SQL Server is one among several steps Microsoft has taken to work more closely with Linux and its advocates.

The data centre management software Microsoft uses for its Azure service is based on Linux; it has also produced software that helps people manage Linux servers and has released an analytics package called R Server that works with several different versions of Linux.

The greater willingness to work with former rivals has been one of the hallmarks of Satya Nadella's reign at Microsoft. 

In mid-January, Skype announced that an integration for Slack was already available, which allows a team that uses slack to make a Skype call from a computer.

"At Skype, we are committed to breaking down communication barriers and getting the world talking," the Skype team said. "This is why we make Skype available on multiple platforms and continue to explore more ways to help you stay connected. Today we're releasing a preview version of Skype integration for Slack that lets teams on Slack easily make a Skype voice or video call and reach conclusions faster."

The Multi-Billion-Dollar Bid

But a report details a rumor that could have potentially taken the relation between the two tech companies a step further from a mere integration on their respective communication platforms to an actual acquisition.

As described in the report, Microsoft, which owns Skype via a 2011 acquisition amounting to a whopping $8.5 billion, had set its sights on rival Slack and was willing to shell out almost the same sum of money at $8 billion just to acquire the company. But, before the bidding talks could gain more ground, the proposition was nipped in the bud by no less than two of the tech giant's top brass, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and CEO Satya Nadella.

Bill Gates Disapproves

If the chairman and CEO emeritus of the Redmond-based tech company had his way, he would rather have the company invest more with Skype and improve its features and services, as opposed to acquiring yet another business-software company.

It was actually Microsoft's EVP of applications and services, Qi Lu, who spearheaded the rumored acquisition bid of Slack. He was the one in-charge of all productivity, communications, education, search and other information services at Microsoft, Tech Crunch noted.

The Slack Appeal
Slack, which is regarded as one of the fastest-rising apps today, has gotten the attention of not just the tech giant, but a number of other companies. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield said that the company has looked past about eight to 10 acquisition offers in the past, according to a Yahoo Finance report.

And who wouldn't want to have Slack on board with its 2.3 million monthly active users and a potential revenue of $64 million per year? The last valuation of the tech company pegged its value at $2.8 billion, thanks to a $160 million round of funding in April of 2015. And, with a new round of funding set to come in, the value could raise somewhere from $4 billion to $5 billion.

The Twinpad comes with a detachable keyboard with trackpad.

Lava has announced the launch of Lava Twinpad, a 2-in-1 tablet, at Rs 15,999. Being a hybrid device, it can be used both as a tablet and a laptop. The screen of the device can be placed on the front as well as on the reverse side and also comes with a detachable keyboard with track-pad.

As per Lava, the Twinpad will be available in silver colour across all national retail stores, multi-brand outlets and onlinePLATFORMS. It comes with a one-year manufacturer warranty and 6 months warranty for the in box accessories.

Lava Twinpad has a 10.1-inch IPS display with Stylus support, 800x1280 pixels resolution and 5-Point multi-touch support. It is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core Intel processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The device runs on Windows 10 operating system and is backed up by a huge 7400 mAh battery.

The Twinpad has 32 GB of inbuilt storage, which can be further expandable up-to 64GB via microSD card. It sports a 2-megapixel camera both in front & back panel. Besides, the Twinpad offers Single SIM, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, 2 USB Slots and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

 Commenting on the launch of Twinpad, Raman Sharma, vice-president & business head tablets, Lava International Limited said, "In India, tablets as a category is still evolving but at the same time lines are blurring between phablets and tablets. At Lava, we are constantly    investing in R&D to bring innovative yet relevant devices for the consumers. In Twinpad we have come up with a device that offers great computing functionalities and therefore finds a right fit with students & young working executives who are always on the move. The overall proposition led by dual functionality & a bidirectional screen will redefine benchmarks in this category."

Microsoft has finally launched the Surface Pro 4 in India at Rs 89,990.The company said that the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 will be exclusively available via Amazon India for the first six months. Microsoft India said that the delivery will begin shipping on January 14. Those who place an order before 2pm IST on thursday will get the delivery on the same day.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 will be offered in three variants.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is available on Amazon India at a discounted price of 58,990 rupees (around $880), which is 20 percent off the original price tag of 73,990 rupees (around $1,104).

Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 3 in India back in early January along with the Surface Pro 4. Both tablets were made available exclusively via Amazon India at least for the initial six months.

After the unveiling, customers in India were able to start booking the device as early as Jan. 7, and deliveries started one week later.

 

Microsoft touts the Surface Pro 3 as a revolutionary laptop that offers unmatched versatility. Using the device's multi-position Kickstand along with the Surface Pro 3 Type Cover, customers can easily transform the device's function from tablet to laptop, depending on their needs.

"You can work just as comfortably on your lap as at your desk," saysMicrosoft. "Plus, you can easily connect your peripherals and transfer files via a full-size USB 3.0, microSD card reader, and Mini Display Port."

Notable specs of the Surface Pro 3 include a 12-inch clear type full HD display with 2,160 x 1,440 resolution; various SSD options (64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB); an array of sensors that include Accelerometer, Ambient light, Magnetometer and Gyroscope; stereo speakers with sound enhanced by Dolby Audio; numerous ports that are meant for charging, cover, mini display, headphone jack, microSD card reader and full-size USB 3.0; Bluetooth 4.0 with Low Energy technology; Wi-Fi; and processor options that include Intel i3 (64 GB), Intel i5 (128 GB and 256 GB) and Intel i7 (128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB).

The Surface Pro 3 also has a 5-megapixel front camera, a 5-megapixel rear camera, built-in microphones found on both the front and back, and Windows 10 Pro.
The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 is available on Amazon India at a discounted price of 58,990 rupees (around $880), which is 20 percent off the original price tag of 73,990 rupees (around $1,104).


Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 3 in India back in early January along with the Surface Pro 4. Both tablets were made available exclusively via Amazon India at least for the initial six months.

After the unveiling, customers in India were able to start booking the device as early as Jan. 7, and deliveries started one week later.

Microsoft touts the Surface Pro 3 as a revolutionary laptop that offers unmatched versatility. Using the device's multi-position Kickstand along with the Surface Pro 3 Type Cover, customers can easily transform the device's function from tablet to laptop, depending on their needs.

"You can work just as comfortably on your lap as at your desk," saysMicrosoft. "Plus, you can easily connect your peripherals and transfer files via a full-size USB 3.0, microSD card reader, and Mini Display Port."

Notable specs of the Surface Pro 3 include a 12-inch clear type full HD display with 2,160 x 1,440 resolution; various SSD options (64 GB, 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB); an array of sensors that include Accelerometer, Ambient light, Magnetometer and Gyroscope; stereo speakers with sound enhanced by Dolby Audio; numerous ports that are meant for charging, cover, mini display, headphone jack, microSD card reader and full-size USB 3.0; Bluetooth 4.0 with Low Energy technology; Wi-Fi; and processor options that include Intel i3 (64 GB), Intel i5 (128 GB and 256 GB) and Intel i7 (128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB).

The Surface Pro 3 also has a 5-megapixel front camera, a 5-megapixel rear camera, built-in microphones found on both the front and back, and Windows 10 Pro.
 

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates on Friday promised to extend all support to Centre's efforts to expand the reach and effectiveness of sustainable sanitation services under the Swachh Bharat Mission.Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Gates, who is Co-Chair of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, discussed at length implementation of the sanitation campaign in urban areas of the country.

"Foundation's cooperation with India to promote safe and sustainable sanitation services to all is one of its best partnerships," Gates said after the meeting.The foundation had signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the UD Ministry to promote sanitation services in January this year.Naidu informed Gates that "after a slow start, all the states are now becoming pro-active to ensure cleanliness following huge enthusiasm generated among the public about sanitation in urban areas.

"Clean India can't be achieved overnight but a good beginning has been made in that direction and efforts are to make Swachh Bharat Mission a people's movement."The Microsoft founder referred to various approaches to promote sanitation and suggested that attention needs to be paid to fecal sludge management which gives better returns in terms of health impacts.Gates stressed on the need to set up decentralized sludge processing facilities for processing of fecal matter.

He noted that individual toilets have been built on a large scale in Africa but their usage is low and emphasised the need for bringing quality toilet technologies to the people.Gates expressed happiness with the ongoing cooperation with the Ministry and assured it of full support to further collective goals around expanding the reach and effectiveness of safe and sustainable sanitation services to people of India.Naidu said that along with construction of individual and community toilets, the government is focusing on solid waste and septage management.

Policy initiatives for promoting procurement of energy and compost produced from municipal solid waste are at an advanced stage of consideration.UD Secretary Madhusudan Prasad and senior officials of the Ministry and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also participated in the discussion.

The Nokia C1 is rumored to be the first smartphone to bear the Finnish manufacturer's logo ever since the company was acquired by Microsoft in 2014. Now, a new render has emerged online, revealing what eager fans can expect of the handset's design. 

The leak marks the fourth time a picture is claimed to show the C1. One of them was eventually debunked while the other three featured differently designed handsets. At the moment, it's still anyone's guess which of them is actually the C1.

As for the newest entry, NokiaPowerUser noted that it came from a first-time tipster, which devalues the credibility of the image even more. Another interesting tidbit is that the C1 is portrayed running on both Windows 10 Mobile and Android OS. The former on the background while the latter on the foreground.

The tipster seems to suggest that there will be two versions of the C1, one running each mobile operating system from Microsoft and Google. However, all prior rumors have only mentioned Android thus far. Also, Nokia has yet to comment on whether or not it plans to revert back into making Windows-based smartphones.

The C1 sports a five-inch IPS LCD screen with 720 x 1280 HD resolution display, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of native storage. Under the hood is an unnamed Intel chipset while the handset's lights are kept on by a non-removable Li-Ion battery. Camera combo is at eight and five megapixels, per the latest specs sheet from GSM Arena.

It's worth mentioning that Nokia can't use its brand on smartphones until the last quarter of 2016. This is due to its devices and services division being acquired by Microsoft. Earlier this year, The Finnish company announced that it plans to get back in the smartphone market by licensing designs to mobile manufacturers.

Nokia, once the envy of the mobile world, lost its appeal when it decided to ship Windows phone handsets instead of adapting to the Android trend a few years back. Now, the company's upcoming smartphones will run on Android.

 

Another leak is substantiating the existence of the long-rumoured Surface Mobile. The alleged handset appears to have been spotted on a benchmarking website. The chatter of the Surface Mobile has been around for a few months now.A handset running Windows 10 Mobile - which the website notes as Windows Phone 10 - was spotted on benchmarking website HTML5test. It was running Edge 12, and scored 401 out of 555 points, which seems pretty decent.More interestingly, this once again adds weight to the existence of the handset. A device fitting the same profile was spotted in an interview recently. David Pierce, the interviewer, wrote for The Wired that he saw "a prototype of a new phone" inside Microsoft's campus.According to an earlier report, the handset has been codenamed Project Juggernaut Alpha. It is said to have a 5.5-inch display with QHD screen resolution.

The report added that the Surface Mobile comes powered by the Intel Atom x3 (SoFIA) 64-bit processor with 4GB of RAM. A variant of it with 3GB of RAM was also said to be in the works.Other reported features of the Surface Mobile are a 21-megapixel PureView Zeiss 6-lens rear camera, and an 8-megapixel Zeiss wide-angle shooter placed upfront. The device is said to come with the S Pen-esque Surface Pen, with USB Type-C port. The device is said to have 64GB and 128GB storage options with support for microSD card to extend the storage to up to 256GB.

Over the months, Microsoft has significantly toned down its mobile devices efforts. The company laid off a large number of Nokia employees earlier this year as part of a large restructuring. The future of the aforementioned handset - if it indeed exists - might depend on the sales performance of the Microsoft Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL, which go on sale on Friday in the US.

 

During his keynote speech at the Future Unleashed event, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced that the company will bring its Surface Pro tablet to the domestic market in January.

Announced in October this year, Surface Pro 4 is a convertible tablet powered by Windows 10 operating system.

The new Surface Pro 4 tablet - a larger but thinner and lighter version of the Surface Pro 3. Launched nearly a year and a half after its predecessor, the Surface Pro 4 features a 12.3-inch screen with 267ppi. It runs on 6th-generation Intel Core processor and has 16GB of RAM, 1TB storage packs a G5 chipset, reportedly designed by Microsoft.

There's also a new Surface pen with all-year battery life and interchangeable tips.

Surface Pro 4 is 50% faster than Apple's MacBook Air, Panos Panay, the corporate vice president for Surface Computing at Microsoft, said at the event. The latest Microsoft tablet is priced at $899.

Nadella, however, did not reveal whether Microsoft plans to introduce its new Surface Book laptop in the country at the same time.

Along with this, Nadella said that the new Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL smartphones will hit the market in the next two months.

The Lumia 950 includes a 5.2-inch display and a hexacore processor, while the larger Lumia 950 XL has a 5.7-inch display with an octacore chip. The specs on the budget 550 had not been released as the event continued.

The 950 and 950XL handsets feature a 20-megapixel rear camera, have up to 32GB of storage, 4K video and use liquid cooling technology. Microsoft said storage on the phones could be extended to up to 2 terabytes using a memory card.

Priced at $549 and $649 respectively, the Lumia 950 and 950XL became available in US in November.

Microsoft chief Satya Nadella will meet industry leaders like Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra, Axis Bank head Shikha Sharma and Tata Starbucks CEO Avani Davda during his one-day visit to India on November 5.

The India-born CEO will also deliver a keynote address at 'Microsoft's Future Unleashed' event here that will bring together 3,000 industry thought leaders, enterprise heads, developers and entrepreneurs.

"Satya is in India on a one-day visit to Mumbai to deliver a keynote at Microsoft's Future Unleashed. During the day, he is expected to meet key industry leaders like Anand Mahindra, Shikha Sharma, Mukund Rajan, Brand Custodian & Spokesperson, Tata Group, among others," Microsoft India General Manager (Marketing and Operations) Tyler Bryson told PTI.

He will also be meeting key government stakeholders and Microsoft customers and partners during the event, he added. Last week, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg also visited India and addressed a Townhall at IIT-Delhi. Apart from meeting business and political leaders, the young billionaire also spent time with developers.

Talking about the Microsoft event, Bryson said the two-day event will explore how technology is empowering people and organisations across sectors like government, education, banks, hospitals, eCommerce, entertainment and manufacturing.

"In line with the same, we will be making a range of announcements during the two days (November 5-6)," he said.

Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President of Cloud and Enterprise Group at Microsoft Corporation will also deliver a keynote speech.

There will also be a series of keynotes and inspirational talks by industry luminaries, policy makers and business leaders, he said.

Microsoft had said cloud services from data centres in India was a key strategy for the software giant. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Silicon Valley, the Redmond-based company said it is also working on making affordable Internet access available to 5 lakh villages in the country.

A year ago storage limits became a thing of the past with Office 365. A year later, Microsoft has realised that offering unlimited OneDrive storage at no additional cost to Office 365 customers wasn't so much of a good idea. The Redmond giant just pulled the plug on OneDrive unlimited storage, once a highly advertised endeavor, and as it turn out a highly abused one at that as well.

Those of you who signed up to Office 365 just so you can use unlimited OneDrive space (among other things), well, you can't. Microsoft won't let you. Why? Because a small number of users backed up numerous PCs and stored entire movie collections and DVR recordings, exceeding 75TB per user in some cases. In a nutshell, you can't enjoy unlimited OneDrive storage anymore because some random dude uploaded his entire movie collection just so he could at some point of time when unlimited OneDrive storage was the in-thing. And just because he did, all of eternity is doomed.

Microsoft on its part says that its new OneDrive storage plans change is in pursuit of productivity and collaboration. Just so it can make best use of the two -- and not be cheated again -- Microsoft has now put a cap on how much data you can save in your OneDrive storage. Office 365 Home, Personal and University subscribers will now get just 1TB of OneDrive storage, and in case you've stored in excess of 1TB, you will have to move it elsewhere in 12 months.

If you thought putting a new limit of 1 TB on OneDrive storage was the end of it, well, there's more. Microsoft is also decreasing its 'free' OneDrive storage from 15GB to 5GB for all users. At the same time it is also shunning its 100GB and 200GB paid plans, instead replacing them with one 50GB plan that will cost you $1.99 per month, starting early 2016. That said, if you're already using either of the 100GB or 200GB plans, you're allowed to continue.

Although 1TB of OneDrive storage will still be enough for many who simply use it to store their photos and documents, Microsoft just killed one of the major highlights of Office 365 that made it a knockout in front of rivals like Google and DropBox, but there's more than what meets the eye here. Microsoft basically changed nearly all of its OneDrive storage contracts. This is also a classic case of corporate doublespeak. A year ago storage limits became a thing of the past with Office 365. A year later Microsoft has decided to go against it, just so 'some' users don't misuse it.