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Microsoft Ignite is the company’s annual conference for developers and IT professionals where we get to hear about the changes in Copilot, Windows, Microsoft 365, and Azure that will impact some of Microsoft’s biggest customers. Microsoft Ignite 2023 included a big focus on AI, and this year’s show will be very much the same.
The Verge will be covering all the news out of Microsoft Ignite. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will kick off the main keynote at 9AM ET / 6AM PT on November 19th. It’s being livestreamed on Microsoft’s site and will be followed by sessions and deep dives into the main announcements from the show.
Azure AI Foundry is Microsoft’s new ‘unified’ AI application platform.
The idea with Azure AI Foundry is that it will help organizations manage their AI tools. As Microsoft says in a blog post:
Azure AI Foundry helps bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI technologies and practical business applications, empowering organizations to harness the full potential of AI efficiently and effectively.
Microsoft announces its own Black Hat-like hacking event with big rewards for AI security
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images
Microsoft is creating an in-person hacking event, Zero Day Quest, which it says will be the largest of its kind. The event will build upon Microsoft’s existing bug bounty program, and incentivize research into high-impact security flaws that can affect the software powering cloud and AI workloads.
“This new hacking event will be the largest of its kind, with an additional $4 million in potential awards for research into high-impact areas, specifically cloud and AI,” explains Tom Gallagher, VP of engineering at Microsoft’s security response center. “Zero Day Quest will provide new opportunities for the security community to work hand in hand with Microsoft engineers and security researchers — bringing together the best minds in security to share, learn, and build community as we work to keep everyone safe.”
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Windows in mixed reality arrives for Meta Quest 3 headsets in December.
Meta has been working on improving the Windows VR experience with its Quest headsets in recent months, and now Microsoft says the full capabilities of Windows 11 are coming to the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S in December. You’ll be able to have a large multiple-monitor workstation through Quest 3 headsets in public preview next month. We’re still waiting to hear when Windows Volumetric Apps will be available, though.
Screenshot: Meta Connect
Microsoft’s new Windows Resiliency Initiative aims to avoid another CrowdStrike incident
Image: Microsoft
The CrowdStrike catastrophe that took down 8.5 million Windows PCs and servers in July has left many of Microsoft’s biggest customers looking for answers to make sure that such an event never happens again. Now, Microsoft has some answers in the form of a new Windows Resiliency Initiative that’s designed to improve Windows security and reliability.
The Windows Resiliency Initiative includes core changes to Windows that will make it easier for Microsoft’s customers to recover Windows-based machines if there’s ever another CrowdStrike-like incident. There are also some new Windows platform improvements to provider stronger controls over what apps and drivers are allowed to run, and to help allow anti-virus processing outside of kernel mode.
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Microsoft is making it a lot easier to search for files on Copilot Plus PCs.
A new “improved” Windows search will allow you to search for documents, photos, and other files by just describing them — even when you’re not connected to the internet. The new AI search experience will roll out to Windows Insiders on Copilot Plus PCs early next year.
Searching for something like “red barn” will pull up matching images and file names.Image: Microsoft
Microsoft’s new Copilot Actions use AI to automate repetitive tasks
The Verge
At Microsoft’s Ignite conference today the software giant is introducing Copilot Actions, a new way for Microsoft 365 Copilot users to automate repetitive tasks. Microsoft is also adding AI agents to SharePoint, allowing PowerPoint to translate entire presentations, and improving how Copilot works in Outlook to find the best time for meetings.
Copilot Actions, now in private preview, enables anyone to automate repetitive everyday tasks. That could include automating a summary of meeting actions from Teams meetings, generating weekly reports, or even automating meeting prep. Copilot Actions are designed to be something you set and forget, much like an AI-powered macro that goes off and does its thing based on some fill-in-the-blank prompts.
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Microsoft Teams will help you speak in a foreign language during meetings
Illustration: The Verge
Microsoft Teams meetings are getting a new interpreter feature that lets each participant speak or listen in the language of their choosing. Interpreter in Teams uses real-time AI-powered speech-to-speech translation to simulate your speaking voice during meetings.
A preview will be available in early 2025 that will include up to nine languages, and the ability for the interpreter feature to simulate your personal voice in a different language.
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Windows 365 Link is a $349 mini PC that streams Windows from the cloud
Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is planning to launch a new purpose-built miniature PC for its Windows 365 cloud service next year. Windows 365 Link is a $349 device that acts like a thin client PC to connect to the cloud and stream a version of Windows 11.
The Link device is designed to be a compact, fanless, and easy to use cloud PC for your local monitors and peripherals. It’s meant to be the ideal companion to Microsoft’s Windows 365 service, which lets businesses transition employees over to virtual machines that exist in the cloud and can be streamed securely to multiple devices.
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Windows Hotpatch can download updates without a reboot.
The enterprise-focused feature downloads updates in the background that “become effective immediately upon installation, eliminating the need for a restart.” It’s supposed to pair with Windows Autopatch, a cloud service that automates updates across Windows, Microsoft 365, Edge, and Teams.
Windows Hotpatch is now available in preview.
Microsoft Places launches to make it easy to plan office days.
Microsoft is making Places, its new app to coordinate in-office days with colleagues, available to everyone today. Microsoft Places uses AI and a dedicated location plan section where you can set and share the days you’ll use the office and view which days your co-workers are heading in. Microsoft is also planning to integrate this all into Copilot soon, too.
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