microsoft

  1. Windows 3.0: The GUI Shift That Reshaped PC Computing (1990)

    Windows 3.0’s arrival in 1990 was less a single product launch than a change in the way millions of people thought about personal computing — and yes, the tiny game of Solitaire bundled with it played a surprisingly large role in that cultural shift. Background / Overview Windows 3.0 launched...
  2. Microsoft to Retire Outlook Lite: Migrate to Outlook Mobile in 2025

    Microsoft will begin retiring the lightweight Outlook Lite Android app on October 6, 2025, blocking new installs that day as it directs users toward the full Outlook mobile client and consolidates engineering around a single, feature-rich Android email experience. Background Outlook Lite...
  3. Point B Named Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure) with Analytics on Azure Specialization

    Point B’s announcement that it has been named a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI (Azure) and awarded the Analytics on Microsoft Azure specialization marks a purposeful deepening of the firm’s cloud analytics practice—and it arrives at a moment when Microsoft’s partner credentials carry...
  4. Microsoft licenses Claude Sonnet 4 in 365 Copilot, signaling a multi-model AI strategy

    Microsoft’s reported decision to license Anthropic’s Claude models into Microsoft 365 — bringing them into productivity features in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook — is the most explicit signal yet that Microsoft plans to move from a single‑vendor AI stack to a multi‑model Copilot strategy...
  5. Microsoft September Patch Tuesday: 80+ CVEs, SMB Audit, and JSON vulnerability fixes

    Microsoft’s September Patch Tuesday delivers a heavy, operationally urgent security package: more than 80 CVEs across Windows, Office, Hyper‑V, Azure components and developer libraries, including eight items Microsoft rates critical and two vulnerabilities that were publicly disclosed before the...
  6. Microsoft 6502 BASIC Open-Sourced: A 1970s ROM-Era Interpreter

    Nearly half a century after those first keystrokes on primitive terminals, Microsoft has made public the assembly-language source for its 6502-targeted BASIC interpreter — a compact, remarkable artifact of early microcomputer engineering that is now available on GitHub under a permissive MIT...
  7. Microsoft's 3-Day RTO and Forum Tightening: Impacts on Work, AI, and Safety

    Microsoft’s decision to close a high‑visibility employee forum and to roll out a phased, three‑day‑a‑week return‑to‑office baseline represents a coordinated reshaping of how the company will manage employee speech, campus security and everyday work patterns — a package Microsoft frames as...
  8. Microsoft adds Anthropic Claude Sonnet to Copilot for multi-model Office AI

    Microsoft’s productivity stack is entering a new, more plural era: after years of deep integration with OpenAI’s models, Microsoft is reported to be adding Anthropic’s Claude — specifically the Sonnet model family — into Office 365’s Copilot workflows, creating a multi‑model orchestration that...
  9. Microsoft Surface Duo: Ambition and Flaws in a Dual-Screen Productivity Experiment

    Five years after Microsoft shipped the Surface Duo, the company’s boldest pocketable experiment—a dual-screen Android handset that briefly promised to reshape mobile productivity—stands as a study in ambition undone by rushed execution, poor communication, and mismatched expectations...
  10. Microsoft Copilot Goes Multi-Model with Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 in Office 365

    Microsoft’s Office productivity stack is entering a deliberate, workload‑focused transformation: Redmond will begin routing select Copilot and Office 365 features to Anthropic’s Claude models — notably the Sonnet 4 family — alongside continued use of OpenAI and Microsoft’s own models, a...
  11. Microsoft Tightens Internal Moderation, Security, and 3-Day RTO Policy

    Microsoft has quietly rewired the rules of the workplace inside one of the world’s largest technology companies: in a coordinated set of moves, Microsoft has tightened moderation of internal communications, hardened campus access after on‑site protests, and announced a phased return‑to‑office...
  12. Microsoft enforces three-day in-office baseline and tighter internal speech controls

    Microsoft’s latest internal reset pairs a sweeping return‑to‑office baseline with a near‑immediate tightening of how employees may speak, gather, and access company space — a package of changes that recasts the company’s post‑pandemic workplace model as an operational lever for “intensity” in AI...
  13. Ask Ralph: Brand-First AI Stylist for Conversational Fashion

    Ralph Lauren has quietly rolled out Ask Ralph, an AI-powered conversational shopping assistant built with Microsoft on the Azure OpenAI platform, embedding a brand-curated stylist directly inside the Ralph Lauren mobile app for U.S. customers and presenting shoppable, head‑to‑toe outfit...
  14. Microsoft Tightens Work Speech and RTO in a Structured Hybrid Era

    Microsoft’s recent policy shift tightens who can speak freely inside the company and where employees may work from, a move that recalibrates the balance between safety, operational control and employee expression inside one of the world’s largest technology firms. Background For much of the...
  15. Microsoft Tightens Internal Forums, Campus Access, and a 3-Day RTO for AI Push

    Microsoft’s internal playbook has shifted decisively: the company has moved to restrict open employee forums, tighten campus access after a high‑profile sit‑in, and impose a phased three‑day‑a‑week return‑to‑office baseline for many staff — a package of measures that recasts Microsoft’s...
  16. Microsoft's 3-Day RTO and Tightened Moderation: The AI Push

    Microsoft’s most recent internal reset marries a firmer return‑to‑office mandate with a parallel tightening of internal speech and campus access — a package of changes that recasts the company’s post‑pandemic workplace rules as an operational lever in its AI‑first strategy and a response to...
  17. Microsoft Starts Three-Day In-Office Cadence in Phased Return-to-Office Rollout

    Microsoft has told staff it will end broad work‑from‑home flexibility for many roles and enforce a minimum three‑day‑a‑week office baseline — a phased, location‑by‑location return‑to‑office plan that begins with the Redmond/Puget Sound workforce and carries an effective compliance target in late...
  18. Microsoft Mandates Three-Day In-Office Baseline as AI-First Push Reshapes Work

    Microsoft’s internal playbook has shifted sharply: in the space of weeks the company moved to narrow open employee forums, tighten campus access after a high‑profile sit‑in, and set a firm, phased requirement that many staff spend at least three days a week in the office — a package of changes...
  19. Microsoft Tightens Internal Speech and Mandates a 3-Day Office Return

    Microsoft’s internal playbook has shifted: the company has moved decisively to limit open employee speech and reassert physical presence as a baseline for collaboration, coupling tighter moderation of internal channels and heightened on‑campus security with a phased requirement that many staff...
  20. Microsoft 365 Copilot to Mix Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4 with OpenAI Models

    Microsoft’s Office 365 product line is poised for a material AI shift: sources say Redmond will begin routing certain Copilot and Office features to Anthropic’s Claude models — notably the Sonnet 4 family — alongside continued use of OpenAI and Microsoft’s own models, a move that reflects both...