It might not get the same kind of attention as Google and Apple, but Microsoft is still one of the biggest and most powerful tech companies operating today. It runs Azure, one of the biggest cloud computing services, and maintains Windows 11 and the whole Office suite of software. It also makes plenty of Surface hardware and has a whole slew of gaming products, including the Xbox Series X. But the company is ever expanding — building new hardware, acquiring new game studios, and making sure that even if Microsoft doesn’t run your phone, it can touch plenty of the apps on it.
Rejoice, Windows and em dash fans! Microsoft is finally adding an improved Windows-wide keyboard shortcut for em dash and en dash. The change is part of the latest Windows 11 Dev channel builds, so it should arrive for all Windows 11 users later this year. Currently, you have to use Alt+0151 for an en dash (–) and Alt+0150 to get em dash (—), which is problematic on smaller keyboards.
Nvidia has released a new Game Ready driver (581.15) today that’s optimized for the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle update that will introduce RTX Hair. It’s the first game to use spheres to improve Harrison Ford’s virtual hair instead of triangles. RTX Hair is designed to improve lighting and shadows, all while maintaining performance in the game and not taking up too much extra memory.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is coming to Nintendo’s new console in 2026. Bethesda also shared a new look at the upcoming DLC for the game called The Order of Giants.
Microsoft still can’t decide whether to use Xbox PC or Xbox on PC. Last month I highlighted how the company has been using both brands in recent weeks, before seemingly settling on Xbox on PC. Now, Xbox game studio Ninja Theory has just used both brands in a single post on X 🙃
There are a variety of AI-powered tools to convert 2D images to 3D ones, but Microsoft has just introduced its own Copilot 3D feature that’s free of charge. It converts images to the GLB format, which is compatible with 3D viewers, design tools, and game engines. Just be warned, it doesn’t work well with animals or humans.
A Microsoft workers group says reporting by The Guardian, Local Call, and +972 Magazine “revealed incriminating details about Microsoft’s indispensable role as the technological backbone of Israel’s mass surveillance of Palestinians all over Palestine” with the IDF’s Unit 8200, despite the company’s denials.
...Microsoft and Unit 8200 worked closely to build a Microsoft-powered mass surveillance weapon that “collects and stores recordings of millions of mobile phone calls made each day by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.”
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Small form factor PCs are nothing new, but this is a refreshing take.
The head of GitHub says coding with AI is ‘here to stay.’
