All posts tagged: Microsofts

Microsoft’s Coreutils finally gave Windows the eight commands I was using Linux for

Microsoft’s Coreutils finally gave Windows the eight commands I was using Linux for

Published by skeptic

This last week, I replaced WSL with Microsoft’s Coreutils for my daily work. This meant natively running commands like ls, grep, find, cat, and the rest on Windows; the same commands I use on Linux. However, I wasn’t just interested in whether they functioned, but whether they could replace a full Linux subsystem for file management, log filtering, and small scripts. It turns out I was able to do a lot without having to leave my Windows terminal. Related There’s a version of PowerShell that’s even more powerful — and it’s already on your Windows PC I switched to WSL 2 and finally stopped feeling locked into Windows — here’s why that changes everything. I wasn’t missing Linux; I was missing eight commands. Windows never gave me a language for the terminal Afam Onyimadu / MUO While working on a client project, I needed to find a config file that I had renamed some days earlier. I had already opened a WSL tab even before I consciously decided to. At that point, it struck me …

I read Microsoft’s Windows 11 ‘quality’ progress report – and the subtext says it all

I read Microsoft’s Windows 11 ‘quality’ progress report – and the subtext says it all

Published by skeptic

Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Microsoft says it’s refocusing Windows on performance and reliability. File Explorer, Search, and Start are getting responsiveness fixes. The pressure to add new AI-based annoyances hasn’t gone away. Earlier this year, Microsoft Windows boss Pavan Davuluri wrote an open letter addressed to the Windows Insider community but really aimed at a much larger cohort of frustrated Windows enthusiasts and power users. That post laid out a laundry list of improvements that would be coming to Windows: more control over updates, a “more intentional” approach to AI, more attention to performance and reliability, and some enhancements to the user experience that customers have been complaining about for five solid years. Also: Microsoft announces sweeping Windows changes – but no apologies “We’re listening to customer feedback” was the ostensible message, but the subtext was really a confession that Microsoft had been ignoring customer feedback for years. And last week, we got an update on that admission.  The pressure to …

Microsoft’s Quantum Chief Doesn’t Care That Scientists Don’t Believe His Results

Microsoft’s Quantum Chief Doesn’t Care That Scientists Don’t Believe His Results

Published by skeptic

The man leading Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar scheme to build a quantum computer says he isn’t interested in appeasing scientists. When Zulfi Alam’s team claimed last year to have effectively split an electron into so-called Majorana quasiparticles in its bid to reinvent computing, some scientists simply didn’t believe the software giant. They cited inconclusive data in Microsoft’s research papers and the lack of peer-review analysis for many of the results. But Alam, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of quantum, tells WIRED with a chuckle, “I don’t really care.” Microsoft is one of several tech powerhouses racing alongside a raft of startups to build commercially useful quantum computers. The goal for these companies is to create computers that could solve currently impossible problems in fields from drug development to defense by exploiting quantum mechanics to process units of information, known as bits, in a fundamentally different way than how classical machines do. (There are also concerns that quantum computers will be used to crack encryption.) Companies are taking different approaches to constructing quantum bits—“qubits” for short—including using neutral atoms, …

Xbox Project Helix Details for Microsoft’s Hybrid Console

Xbox Project Helix Details for Microsoft’s Hybrid Console

Published by skeptic

Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox Project Helix is undergoing a significant redesign under the leadership of Asha Sharma, reflecting a shift in its approach to third-party storefront access. Initially envisioned as a hybrid system blending PC and console gaming, the Helix was expected to support platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store. However, as Colt Eastwood highlights, Microsoft is now reconsidering this open-platform model due to concerns about revenue loss and ecosystem control. By potentially restricting direct access to external storefronts, the company aims to prioritize its own marketplace while maintaining the Helix’s core appeal as a versatile gaming system. Dive into key insights about how these changes could shape the Helix’s user experience and market positioning. Explore the implications of Microsoft’s evolving strategy for gamers who value cross-platform compatibility and gain insight into how the company plans to balance affordability with premium hardware. This deep dive also examines the broader challenges of sustaining profitability in a competitive gaming landscape, offering a closer look at the trade-offs driving these pivotal decisions. Project Helix Redesign TL;DR Key …

Microsoft’s own mistakes are pushing users toward Linux faster than anyone expected

Microsoft’s own mistakes are pushing users toward Linux faster than anyone expected

Published by skeptic

Desktop Linux has seen a massive surge in popularity in the past few years alone, which, ironically enough, is in no small part thanks to Microsoft. The recent string of Windows hiccups has forced folks to migrate to Linux, and the number seems to be ever-increasing. Outside of desktops, Linux has always been quietly building the backbone of the internet and almost every other cloud service, while Windows Server seems to slip into the background, unnoticed. The Linux wave is here, and it doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. Not even Microsoft, in all its power, can hope to stand against it. Related Using Linux made me appreciate these 5 Windows features Using Linux reminded me how Windows quietly excels at drivers, settings, apps, and gaming without demanding constant tinkering. Linux has always been the popular choice for servers It’s only recently that desktop Linux has started to gain traction Desktop Linux gaining traction can be regarded as a relatively new phenomenon, but the same has not been true for cloud computing and server …

How AI Agents Built Microsoft’s New Majorana 2 Quantum Chip

How AI Agents Built Microsoft’s New Majorana 2 Quantum Chip

Published by skeptic

Microsoft’s latest leap in quantum computing comes in the form of the Majorana 2 chip, a development that features a 1,000-fold improvement in reliability over its predecessor. As explained by AI Grid, this breakthrough addresses a critical challenge in the field: the instability of qubits, which are prone to losing coherence within microseconds. By extending qubit stability to an average of 20 seconds, and in some cases up to a minute, Microsoft has made significant progress toward scalable quantum systems. This achievement is underpinned by a key material upgrade, replacing aluminum with lead as the superconductor, which enhances resistance to external disturbances like radiation and cosmic rays. Dive into this deep dive to explore how the Majorana 2 chip’s enhanced stability could unlock new applications in fields like drug discovery, clean energy innovation and optimization problems. Gain insight into the role of Microsoft’s AI-driven Discovery platform, which accelerated the chip’s development by analyzing decades of research data and identifying critical issues. Finally, understand the challenges that remain in validating and scaling this technology for real-world …

Microsoft’s New Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Get Faster—and Way More Expensive

Microsoft’s New Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Get Faster—and Way More Expensive

Published by skeptic

Microsoft has announced some long-awaited updates to its Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices, both of which are being refreshed with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 chips. The company hasn’t given specific names to this new generation of devices, but this is technically the eighth-generation Surface Laptop and 12th-generation Surface Pro. These new Qualcomm chips have been slowly rolling out on various Windows laptops throughout this first half of the year. Microsoft says the new chips provide “up to 53 percent faster graphic performance than the previous generation,” as well as 15.5 hours of battery life. While these chips are certainly impressive in the testing I’ve done (whether that’s the Snapdragon X2 Elite or Snapdragon X2 Plus), the real story here is the accompanying price hike. The new Surface Laptop starts at $1,599, a $600 increase over the $999 starting price of the previous generation, which was known as the Surface Laptop 7th Edition when it launched in 2024. That initial $999 price was then officially increased a couple of months ago, bringing it up …

Microsoft’s New Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Get Faster—and Way More Expensive

Microsoft’s New Surface Laptop and Surface Pro Get Faster—and Way More Expensive

Published by skeptic

Microsoft has announced some long-awaited updates to its Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices, both of which are being refreshed with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 chips. The company hasn’t given specific names to this new generation of devices, but this is technically the eighth-generation Surface Laptop and 12th-generation Surface Pro. These new Qualcomm chips have been slowly rolling out on various Windows laptops throughout this first half of the year. Microsoft says the new chips provide “up to 53 percent faster graphic performance than the previous generation,” as well as 15.5 hours of battery life. While these chips are certainly impressive in the testing I’ve done (whether that’s the Snapdragon X2 Elite or Snapdragon X2 Plus), the real story here is the accompanying price hike. The new Surface Laptop starts at $1,599, a $600 increase over the $999 starting price of the previous generation, which was known as the Surface Laptop 7th Edition when it launched in 2024. That initial $999 price was then officially increased a couple of months ago, bringing it up …

Studios in Microsoft’s Xbox division brace for closures

Studios in Microsoft’s Xbox division brace for closures

Published by Sam Flores

Several studios in Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox gaming division, including Montreal-based Compulsion Games and San Francisco-based Double Fine, are in active negotiations to spin off as they try to thwart closure, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Cambridge, England-based Ninja Theory, the maker of Hellblade, is also in conversations with Xbox, as are several other studios across the portfolio that are at risk of being shuttered. The studios may still have the opportunity to buy themselves back from Xbox and go independent, although many employees will probably lose their jobs as a result, said the people, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak to the press. Employees at several studios have been informed of the situation and given permission to seek new work but were told that the status of the studios is still in flux. An Xbox spokesperson declined to comment. The potential closures are part of a broader reorganization being overseen by Asha Sharma, who took over as Xbox’s new chief executive in February. Last week, …

Microsoft’s open-source SkillOpt automatically upgrades AI agent skills without touching model weights

Microsoft’s open-source SkillOpt automatically upgrades AI agent skills without touching model weights

Published by skeptic

Agent skills have become an important part of real-world AI applications, providing a mechanism — a set of instructions saved in a folder of text-based markdown (.md) files, usually — for models to adapt to specific enterprise use cases and complex workflows. However, optimizing these skills is a slow process and faulty process, as they cannot be trained in the same way as the parameters of the underlying AI model. Instead, users typically must update them manually by retyping the instructions in each file, playing a “guessing game” as to what changes might improve agentic AI performance and reduce errors. SkillOpt, a new, open source (MIT Licensed) framework developed by Microsoft, does one better: it introduces an optimizer designed for agent skills, turning the agent’s skill .md document as a trainable object that evolves based on performance feedback. It uses deep-learning-style optimization to make it possible for the AI to systematically explore modifications to the document and find the best combination of instructions. Most importantly, it accomplishes this procedural adaptation without making changes to the …