Under current models, such as text-to-speech used in Cortana, technology can only create snippets of humanlike voice. There are also some limitations, such as skipping words in synthesized speech. That’s because current models have slower mel-spectrogram generation. If you’re unfamiliar with mel-spectrogram, it’s the representation of power made by a sound. Microsoft’s FastSpeech aims to solve how mel-spectrogram performance. Described in a paper, “FastSpeech: Fast, Robust and Controllable Text to Speech”, the technology boasts a specialized architecture....

However, while Microsoft told users to update their drivers, it seems the company’s solution does not work. Users are reporting they are still seeing an error message when they update to the Windows 10 May 2019 Update. Despite updating the Intel RST driver, users are still being pegged y the problem. Users continue to see the following message: “Intel Rapid Storage Technology (Intel RST): The inbox storage driver iastora.sys doesn’t work on these systems....

To do so, it borrows a page from Outlook’s book. Using AI, it automatically organizes messages into offers, financials, and reminders. At the same time, it gives users automatic reminders for trains and flights, and bill payments, while checking their status for you. Further, users can type using their voice, with backups automatically uploading to Drive. Other more minor features like a dark mode, automatic bill sharing, and more will also come in handy....

1 Xbox One Strategy2 Sony Gains, but does Microsoft win? Before tackling the issue of Microsoft’s Xbox One vision and strategy failure, Mehdi’s blog post on LinkedIn over the weekend shed some valuable insight into what Microsoft has learned. The company suffered a customer backlash and it taught some lessons within Redmond: “My learning is that you cannot create fans, you have to earn them…our team has embarked on the journey to build a fan-centric culture at Microsoft…you really focus on doing the right thing for your customers…Doing the right thing is not always the easiest thing and that will be the truest test of your values....

Specifically, the company has added SMS support to Your Phone. This essentially means users can now mirror their SMS messages from their smartphone to Windows 10 PC. The updated functionality is part of version 1.0.12432.0 of Your Phone, which is currently available to Windows Insiders. This includes the members using the app on the Release Preview Ring. Like other features of the service, you will need to have the Microsoft Apps Your Phone app installed on an Android smartphone....

“Devices with this issue, might also have issues reaching the internet using applications that use WinHTTP or WinInet,” it explained in its documentation. “Examples of apps that might be affected on devices in this state are as follows but not limited to Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Office, Office365, Outlook, Internet Explorer 11, and some version of Microsoft Edge.” This issue appears to permeate all recent Windows versions, from 1909 to 1709....

Users are still able to download the Reader application, but are now greeted by a notification when launching the service. The note says support will end in February 2018. Once this happens, the app will not be useable. “Microsoft is retiring the Reader app on this and later versions of Windows 10 and you will not be to use this app after 15 February 2018. We recommend Microsoft Edge for reading PDF, Windows XPS Viewer for XPS, and Windows Photos app for TIFF files,” Microsoft says....

According To the company, Windows 11 2022 Update running the KB5020044 update is not always showing all UI elements in the Task Manager. For example, incorrect colors, unreadable sections, and other problems. Microsoft points out the problem is affecting users with their color mode set to custom in Windows (via Personalization settings). That leads to the obvious workaround for this problem, and one that Microsoft is suggesting. Yes, you can simply head to the Settings app and change from custom colors....

If you are unfamiliar with Microsoft Search, it is a search tool that functions across Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Office, OneDrive, Yammer, Windows, and Bing. Announced at Build 2018 and developed in preview, Search because generally available at Build 2019. Main Abilities of Kendra

That report rose an alarm over a “likely Chinese state-sponsored” attack that has been hitting the energy sector in India for two years. Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center says it found related activity during October 2022 and this is a “vulnerable component on all the IP addresses published as IOCs” and there is evidence of a “supply chain risk that may affect millions of organizations and devices.” “We assessed the vulnerable component to be the Boa web server, which is often used to access settings and management consoles and sign-in screens in devices....

That means Microsoft is overhauling the UI and design. In a video this week, the Xbox team highlights the Home dashboard. According to the company, it loads 50% faster than the Xbox One version and consumes 40% less memory. For gamers, this performance boost means switching between games will be 33% faster. Whether users will feel this change of pace remains to be seen, but it will be nice to launch titles more efficiently....

According to Brad Sams at Thurrott, the company has several reasons for taking this decision. Chief among them is the time skipping versions affords Microsoft. Instead of bringing incremental updates to the headset and underlying technology, the company can now make more sweeping updates behind the scenes. While 2019 is two years away, Microsoft believes it has the market space to take such action. HoloLens is the only viable mixed reality headset, so competition is almost non-existent....

You may remember Microsoft rolled out its first Azure Sphere chip (the MediaTek MT3620) in October last year. Called Pluton, the system features a custom Linux kernel and secured containers for apps. With this secure boot system, Sphere users have additional firmware and hardware protection. Azure Sphere answers an important question: in an environment of connected devices, how can security be maintained? Cars, household appliances, locks, toys, consumer electronics, lights, and more all run on microcontrollers (MCUs) and all are becoming increasingly connected....

1 Progress2 Risks More than four in 10 (42 percent) of teens from 22 countries have asked their parents for help when faced with online issues. While this is still less than half, it shows kids are slowly starting to understand help is better than silence. There’s no doubt that teenagers are deeply affected by what happens online. A generation raised on the internet build many of their social structures online....

1 Most Likely2 Possible As usual, there has been plenty of rumors surrounding what Microsoft will launch at its event. From the Surface Pro 7 to the Surface Centaurus, if all reports are to believed Microsoft will be on stage all afternoon. Of course, not all devices rumored will be announced, but here what to expect from the Surface event. Most Likely Surface Pro 7: A year ago, Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 6....

As for the upcoming additions. Microsoft says it will make changes to how Access Control Service namespaces are created. The new creation process will be restricted from June 30, 2017. From then, customers who want to create a namespace must do so through Azure customer support. The second new feature coming to ACS is full support for Azure Active Directory and Azure AD B2C. In the announcement, the company says that Azure AD is the future of ACS, and that it will be updated to support most scenarios within the cloud authentication service....

On Android, Microsoft is attempting to address the feature parity. A new update for Microsoft Teams has been issued, bringing the service up to version 1416/1.0.0.2018091302 on Google’s mobile platform. This release is focused on improving the call experience with some interesting call-related features. Among them is the ability to consult with a recipient before a call is transferred. Another new feature that will interest Microsoft Teams users is the ability to participate in Q&As during live events....

The functionality is a continuation of existing integration between Creative Cloud and Teams. Previous additions let users search, preview, and share assets directly in Teams, with visual search and keyword support. “Building on the existing integration between Creative Cloud and Microsoft Teams that launched last year, we’re excited to extend support to Adobe XD, enabling designers and stakeholders to collaborate more efficiently on prototypes and design specs,” said Adobe senior manager Minson Chen....

Large Gallery view has been available in Microsoft Teams since last year, allowing up to 49 participants on a screen at the same time. The new preview version allows users to increase participants in a single view to 98. “When you choose Large Gallery view, and if there are more than 49 videos, navigation controls < and > would appear below the Large Gallery and you can use these controls to view or engage with more video participants,” Microsoft says....

Th app makes use of web platform enhancements that came with the Windows 10 April 2018 update. Thanks to Edge, Microsoft has implemented progressive web app support, allowing developers to publish them in the store. As you would expect, Microsoft Teams fits that category. New Features and Limitations The release combines with a number of developer-focused improvements for Teams announced at Build 2018. “Apps in Chat—coming soon to developer Preview, you can now update your app so that it can be used in private 1:1 and group chats....