Hacker News with Generative AI: Microsoft

Microsoft Urges Businesses to Abandon Office Perpetual Licenses (microsoft.com)
As a leader of a small or medium-sized business, you may have invested in Microsoft Office years ago through a perpetual license or “on-premises” version to equip your team with essential productivity apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Microsoft, Business Software, Licensing, Productivity Tools
6 points by m463 4 hours ago | 0 comments
Microsoft redesigns BSOD, drops QR code, frowning face, blue colour (windowslatest.com)
Microsoft is killing off the Blue Screen of Death… and replacing it with Black Screen of Death. It’s also dropping the frowning face for some reason, and I am not sure I like it because the updated screen doesn’t have enough information. Let me show how it’s changing in newer builds of Windows 11 24H2 and what it means for the IT admins.
Windows 11, Microsoft, Operating Systems, User Interface, Technology
20 points by vo2maxer 2 days ago | 4 comments
Microsoft turns 50: Four employees recall their early years (seattletimes.com)
Fifty years ago, two kids from Seattle flipped the tech industry on its head.
Microsoft, Technology, History, Business, Seattle
7 points by jnord 3 days ago | 2 comments
Organic Maps migrates to Forgejo due to GitHub account blocked by Microsoft (mastodon.social)
Open Source, Software, Microsoft, GitHub, Forgejo
137 points by mraniki 3 days ago | 46 comments
New Windows 11 build makes mandatory Microsoft sign-in even more mandatory (arstechnica.com)
Microsoft released a new Windows Insider build of Windows 11 to its experimental Dev Channel today, with a fairly extensive batch of new features and tweaks.
Windows 11, Microsoft, Operating Systems, Security
74 points by Brajeshwar 4 days ago | 47 comments
Windows 11 is closing a loophole that let you skip making a Microsoft account (theverge.com)
Microsoft is no longer playing around when it comes to requiring every Windows 11 device be set up with an internet-connected account.
Windows, Operating Systems, Microsoft, Security, Privacy
197 points by nickthegreek 5 days ago | 198 comments
Microsoft forces Windows 11 to use a Microsoft Account – removes bypassnro (windowscentral.com)
Microsoft, Windows 11, Operating Systems, Security
10 points by josephcsible 5 days ago | 8 comments
Windows Server 2025 locking up after Feb patch, no word of when a fix will land (theregister.com)
Microsoft is warning that a faulty patch pushed out in February is causing Windows Server 2025 Remote Desktop sessions to freeze under certain circumstances.
Windows Server, Security Patches, Technical Issues, Microsoft
5 points by cf100clunk 5 days ago | 1 comments
A note on the USB-to-PS/2 mouse adapter that came with Microsoft mouse devices (microsoft.com)
Back in the early days of USB, Microsoft mouse devices often came with a USB plug at the end of the cable, but also came with a small green adapter to convert the USB type-A plug into a PS/2 plug. How did this adapter work?
Hardware, Legacy Technology, Computer Peripherals, Microsoft
381 points by luu 6 days ago | 141 comments
Windows Roadmap (microsoft.com)
Windows, Operating Systems, Microsoft, Software, Roadmap
4 points by ingve 6 days ago | 1 comments
Microsoft Abandons More Data Center Projects (datacenterknowledge.com)
Microsoft has walked away from new data center projects in the US and Europe that had been set to consume 2 GW of electricity, according to TD Cowen analysts, who attributed the pullback to an oversupply of the clusters of computers that power artificial intelligence.
Microsoft, Data Centers, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing
41 points by WaitWaitWha 7 days ago | 0 comments
Full History of Windows Longhorn [Microsoft Employee Insider] (youtube.com)
Windows, Operating Systems, History, Microsoft
18 points by written-beyond 7 days ago | 0 comments
Playwright Tools for MCP (github.com/microsoft)
Playwright, Software, Microsoft, Tools, Automation
181 points by alex_hirner 7 days ago | 34 comments
Microsoft introduces deep research and analysis tools for Copilot (engadget.com)
Microsoft has launched two new "reasoning agents" for Copilot that were designed to analyze vast amounts of work data, including emails, meetings, chats and documents.
Microsoft, Copilot, AI, Productivity, Business
3 points by malshe 7 days ago | 0 comments
Microsoft introduce two reasoning agents for work: Researcher and Analyst (microsoft.com)
Today, we’re excited to introduce two first-of-their-kind reasoning agents for work: Researcher and Analyst.
Microsoft, Reasoning Agents, Artificial Intelligence, Work, Productivity
5 points by prestonlau 8 days ago | 1 comments
Microsoft's many Outlooks are confusing users – including its own employees (theregister.com)
Baffled by the plethora of Outlook options out there? You aren't alone. Microsoft veteran Scott Hanselman posted a list of some more variants that could be used to do the same thing.
Microsoft, Email Clients, User Experience, Software, Technology
81 points by rntn 8 days ago | 88 comments
Half-life of Microsoft products is 7 years (shape-of-code.com)
I get a lot of pushback from developers/managers when I tell them that the average application has a relatively short lifetime, i.e., half-life of 4-8 years.
Software Development, Software Lifecycles, Microsoft
24 points by xuancanh 9 days ago | 1 comments
Apple does AI as Microsoft did mobile (world.hey.com)
When the iPhone first appeared in 2007, Microsoft was sitting pretty with their mobile strategy.
Apple, Microsoft, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Devices, Competition
5 points by skadamat 9 days ago | 1 comments
VSCode extensions found downloading early-stage ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Two malicious VSCode Marketplace extensions were found deploying in-development ransomware, exposing critical gaps in Microsoft's review process.
Cybersecurity, Software Development, Ransomware, Microsoft
4 points by greyadept 10 days ago | 0 comments
VSCode extensions found downloading early-stage ransomware (bleepingcomputer.com)
Two malicious VSCode Marketplace extensions were found deploying in-development ransomware, exposing critical gaps in Microsoft's review process.
Cybersecurity, Software, Ransomware, Microsoft
6 points by rmason 12 days ago | 0 comments
Scientists Question Microsoft's Quantum Computing 'Breakthrough' (pcmag.com)
Some physicists are questioning Microsoft's February claim that it made a significant breakthrough in quantum computing.
Quantum Computing, Science, Microsoft
10 points by gmays 12 days ago | 4 comments
Steam on Xbox evidence Microsoft didn't want you to see (theverge.com)
Microsoft revealed earlier this year that it’s combining “the best of Xbox and Windows together” for handhelds, and now the company is starting to drop the first hints at what that UI might look like.
Microsoft, Xbox, Gaming, Software, UI
11 points by tosh 13 days ago | 1 comments
Microsoft sent me an email telling me to throw my computer in the trash (mastodon.social)
Microsoft, Security, Cybersecurity, Social Media
20 points by panic 14 days ago | 4 comments
Microsoft quantum computing claim still lacks evidence (nature.com)
A Microsoft researcher today presented results behind the company’s controversial claim last month to have created the first ‘topological’ qubits — a long-sought goal of quantum computing.
Quantum Computing, Microsoft, Science
61 points by mathgenius 15 days ago | 17 comments
Windows 11 updates are accidentally getting rid of Copilot (arstechnica.com)
Microsoft's Windows updates over the last couple of years have mostly been focused on adding generative AI features to the operating system, including multiple versions of the Copilot assistant.
Windows 11, Microsoft, Generative AI, Copilot, Software Updates
11 points by lentoutcry 15 days ago | 7 comments
FTC Removes Posts Critical of Amazon, Microsoft, and AI Companies (wired.com)
The Trump administration’s Federal Trade Commission has removed four years worth of business guidance blogs as of Tuesday morning, including important consumer protection information related to artificial intelligence and the agency’s landmark privacy lawsuits under former chair Lina Khan against companies like Amazon and Microsoft. More than 300 blogs were removed.
FTC, Government, AI, Privacy, Amazon, Microsoft
306 points by gnabgib 15 days ago | 113 comments
Microsoft isn't fixing 8-year-old shortcut exploit abused for spying (theregister.com)
An exploitation avenue found by Trend Micro has been used in an eight-year-long spying campaign, but there's no sign of a fix from Microsoft, which apparently considers this a low priority.
Cybersecurity, Software Vulnerabilities, Microsoft, Espionage
33 points by rntn 15 days ago | 13 comments
Microsoft paywalling AI features in Notepad and Paint (pcworld.com)
There’s some bad news for Windows users who want to use all of the built-in features of the operating system and its integrated apps. Going forward, Microsoft is restricting features in two iconic apps, which you’ll need to unlock with a paid subscription.
Microsoft, AI, Software, Paid Subscriptions, Operating Systems
87 points by billybuckwheat 17 days ago | 86 comments
Microsoft's 1986 IPO (homeip.net)
On March 13, 1986, Microsoft shook up the financial world, and to some degree, we are still feeling the reverberations from that 40 years later. That was the day of Microsoft’s very successful IPO.
Microsoft, IPOs, Finance, History
119 points by giuliomagnifico 17 days ago | 87 comments
Microsoft quantum breakthrough labeled 'unreliable' and 'essentially fraudulent' (theregister.com)
Microsoft's claim of a quantum computing breakthrough has attracted strong criticism from scientists, though the software giant says its work is sound – and it will soon reveal data that proves it.
Quantum Computing, Science, Microsoft, Technology, Controversy
6 points by cwwc 17 days ago | 0 comments