When Microsoft was first developing the Surface Duo, it was originally intended to run a Windows 10-based OS code-named Andromeda that looked a lot like Windows Phone. Of course, the company ended up canning those plans, opting to make the Duo Android-based instead.
But you can now get your hands on an unstable build of Andromeda and see what might have been.
Beyond part one’s exposure of affiliate revenue hijacking, MegaLag digs into Honey’s “extortion” by adding limited-use “friends and family” type discounts and lying to the store owners about never removing codes for unaffiliated businesses while trying to sign them up as partners.
Other misdeeds described include marketing Honey’s for-adult-use-only browser extension to kids in partnership with channels like Mr Beast, who encouraged kids to install it everywhere they could, while collecting data on everyone who installed its extension, even if they never signed up. And despite a cease-and-desist from PayPal’s lawyers, this series isn’t over yet.
id Software, which created Doom and Quake, announced on Friday that they’ve voted to join the Communication Workers of America.
They’re now among a growing number of game developers, artists, designers, producers, and engineers under Microsoft who have chosen to unionize, including Bethesda and the teams working on Diablo, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch.
[Communications Workers of America]
Following a Fallout-themed Xbox controller released last year featuring Vault Boy, Microsoft has announced a new version inspired by Pip-Boy. The standard controller is available now for $82.97, but both it and the Elite controller can be further customized through the Xbox Design Lab. Season two of Amazon’s Fallout series debuts on December 17th.
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The study (pdf) analyzed 37.5 million de-identified Copilot conversations to show patterns in how people interacted with AI, but are we that surprised there’s a spike in existential questions around 2AM?
The researchers suggested more variety in AI beyond the standard chatbot approach, with different skills and personalities for different devices, such as more personal AI models for mobile platforms.
Microsoft seems to have gotten the message that Linux is becoming real competition and that the Xbox Ally needs more work! “[W]e will continue refining system behaviors that matter most to gaming: background workload management, power and scheduling improvements, graphics stack optimizations, and updated drivers,” the company writes.
[Windows Experience Blog]
The “production release” of Windows MIDI Services just hit the Dev and Beta Windows Insider channels, and Microsoft says it will land on retail installs in “the next few months.” This means higher-resolution expression, two-way communication between devices, and less need for third-party drivers. MIDI 2.0 was announced in 2019, but adoption has been slow, with macOS and Android adding support in 2021 and 2022, respectively. There are still only a handful of compatible devices available, too.
We’ve had year-end recaps from Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, and more so far, but real heads are waiting for the big one.
verge_user_m4f74353:
These are great, but I’m still holding out for my Microsoft Teams Reviewed this year🤞
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