Microsoft

HP Spectre x360 14 Review: The New Best 2-in-1 Laptop

Our Verdict The HP Spectre x360 14 is a beautifully constructed 2-in-1 laptop with a vibrant 3:2 OLED touch screen to showcase your work. It has an excellent keyboard and a variety of ports for all of your accessories. Those who prioritize battery life may want to consider a non-OLED configuration, however. For Sleek, attractive… Read more

Microsoft’s new FPS Boost mode for Xbox Series X and S can double frame rates in games

Microsoft is launching a new FPS Boost feature for its latest Xbox Series X and Series S consoles that’s designed to make existing games run better. While Microsoft has previously focused on improving frame rates with backward compatibility for its latest Xbox consoles, FPS Boost is specifically designed to improve older games without developers having… Read more

Microsoft hid its new Xbox headset in the Series X launch trailer months ago

Microsoft’s new Xbox Wireless Headset appeared in the company’s Xbox Series X and S launch commercial all the way back in October. British actor Daniel Kaluuya picked up the headset early on in the ad, but nobody noticed it was an unannounced accessory at the time. Microsoft announced its new Xbox Wireless Headset on Tuesday… Read more

Google reportedly shut down its Stadia studios a week after praising them

Google made the surprise announcement on February 1st that it would be shuttering its in-house Stadia game development studios. But the news wasn’t just a surprise to Stadia customers; it was a bolt from the blue for the Stadia development team, which, just a week prior, had been told that the studios were making “great… Read more

Microsoft starts new program to help make more accessible games

Microsoft is expanding its accessibility efforts with a new program for evaluating Xbox and PC games. Today, its gaming accessibility team announced that developers can send their games to be evaluated for accessibility and tested by players with disabilities. The program was announced alongside updates to the Xbox Accessibility Guidelines that were released in early… Read more

Microsoft Edge won’t show you notification requests other people don’t like

Microsoft is trying a new solution for the persistent “would you like to allow notifications from this website” requests that you see across the internet: crowdsourcing data on which ones people block and which ones they allow. According to a blog post today, Microsoft is calling this feature adaptive notification requests, and the company is… Read more

Microsoft Edge is getting a Kids Mode to add ‘guardrails’ to browsing the web

Microsoft is updating its Edge browser with a Kids Mode that should make browsing safer and more customizable, in a kid-friendly way. The feature is not widely available, but it’s being rolled out to Edge Insiders in Microsoft’s Canary test channel, with the feature coming to the dev channel soon after. Kids Mode can be… Read more

Microsoft Announces $99 Xbox Wireless Headset Set to Debut in March

Home News (Image credit: Microsoft) Microsoft today announced the Xbox Wireless Headset, which it described as “the future of gaming audio,” and started to accept pre-orders for the accessory. The headset was purportedly designed in tandem with the next-gen Xbox Series X and S consoles but will remain compatible with the Xbox One line and… Read more

New Xbox Wireless Headset supports Dolby Atmos and DTS Headphone:X

Home News (Image credit: Microsoft) Microsoft has announced a new wireless gaming headset for the Xbox Series X and Series S. Called the Xbox Wireless Headset, it launches on 16th March and will cost £94.99 ($99.99, AU$129.99). It connects wirelessly to your console without needing a separate dongle and supports spatial audio technologies such as… Read more

Six free alternatives to the LastPass password manager

Free is always nice, and when a free app is no longer free (or when the free version becomes so limited it is virtually useless), then you have to decide whether to pay up or move on. This happened with the Evernote note manager almost five years ago, and now it is time for users… Read more

IBM sets new climate goal for 2030

IBM plans to get rid of its planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions from its operations by 2030, the company announced today. And unlike some other tech companies that have made splashy environmental commitments lately, IBM’s pledge emphasized the need to prevent emissions rather than developing ways to capture carbon dioxide after it’s released. The company committed… Read more

Microsoft Flight Simulator’s new UK update brings famous castles and football stadiums to life

Microsoft Flight Simulator is getting a big update today focused on the UK and Ireland. The World Update III, as Microsoft puts it, includes high-resolution 3G imagery for cities like London, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, and Oxford. More than 70 custom landmarks and points of interest have been improved, including famous bridges, palaces, cathedrals, and famous… Read more

Microsoft announces new Xbox Wireless Headset, available March 16th for $99

Microsoft is launching a new $99 Xbox Wireless Headset next month. It’s the first wireless Xbox headset since the Xbox 360 days, and it’s designed to connect with Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S consoles, PCs, and mobile devices via Bluetooth. The Xbox Wireless Headset design improves nearly every aspect of the basic… Read more

Microsoft’s new Office app now available on iPad

Microsoft has updated its unified Office mobile app to work on Apple’s iPad devices. The new Office app combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint into a single application, and originally launched for iOS and Android back in 2019. Microsoft has been gradually improving it ever since, but it always ran in a windowed mode instead of… Read more

Here’s a first look at Microsoft’s xCloud for the web

Microsoft has started testing its xCloud game streaming through a web browser. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s Xbox plans tell The Verge that employees are now testing a web version of xCloud ahead of a public preview. The service allows Xbox players to access their games through a browser, and opens up xCloud to work on… Read more