Microsoft gives away free Acer Mixed Reality headsets to all attendees at Vision 17 VR/AR Summit

Microsoft has started seeding the ground for Mixed Reality apps by giving away Acer Mixed Reality headsets (above) to all attendees at the Vision 17 VR/AR Summit which started today in Los Angeles.

The summit is the premiere event for augmented and virtual reality and is being hosted by Unity Technologies at the Loews Hollywood, Los Angeles. It brings together creators, artists, programmers and leaders in the VR and AR space for a two-day conference focused on laying the groundwork for and understanding of the future of the industry.

All the attendees will now receive Acer Mixed Reality headsets to be delivered later this summer.

Microsoft gives away headsets to all the developers at #Vision17 http://pic.twitter.com/WPzdABGi9l

— Will Mason – VR + AR (@WBMason) May 1, 2017

The Acer headset features dual 1440 x 1440, 90fps screens encased in a light and comfortable flip-up headset with inside-out tracking, and Microsoft is also expected to give them away at Build this year.

"We're at a crossroads, and the way that we experience entertainment, of all kinds, is going to dramatically change over the next five years," said Tony Parisi, Head of VR/AR Strategy, Unity Technologies. "Vision Summit is focused on helping VR professionals navigate and define how technology, storytelling and consumer expectations will converge. It's exciting creating the future, and this is going to be the place to be."

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Bing Maps releases 3.67 Million Square KM of new imagery for Turkey, Greece and Argentina

Microsoft Bing Maps team today released new imagery of 3.67 million square kilometers in Turkey, Greece, and Argentina in partnership with Digital Globe. Recently, Bing team also announced the availability of new imagery in Italy and Switzerland which included 297,000 square kilometers in Italy and 38,000 square kilometers in Switzerland.

Microsoft highlighted the below stunning imagery of Turkey, Greece and Argentina:

• Located on the Mediterranean coast of southwest Turkey, Antalya is a popular tourist destination, attracting millions tourists each year. Visitors enjoy the natural beauty and the ancient cities of Antalya, including the Xanthos recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.
• The island of Samos is located in the eastern Aegean Sea. Heralded as the birthplace of several Greek philosophers, including Pythagoras of the Pythagorean Theorem, it is also known for its vineyards and wine from ancient times to present day.
• Cordoba is the second largest city in Argentina and home to The National University of Cordoba, which is the oldest university in the country. As seen in the aerial image below, it is also home to piece of art that can only be viewed from the sky – a forest in the shape of a guitar. The guitar formed out of trees was created resident in memory of his late wife.

You can explore more places like the above on Bing.

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Microsoft to sponsor Smart Cities NYC ’17 event this week

Microsoft launched its CityNext initiative several years back. They have partnered to work with number of cities in various countries around the world. The Microsoft CityNext initiative enables Microsoft to offer deeper and better service to cities by engaging their vast ecosystem of partners to enable cities to do both "more with less" and "New with Less." By transforming their existing infrastructure and investments, connecting and streamlining operations across many city functions, and engaging citizens and businesses in solving their toughest challenges, Microsoft CityNext is accelerating innovation and opportunities for cities globally.

Microsoft yesterday announced that they are sponsoring Smart Cities NYC '17, a first-of-its-kind event focused on the intersection of technology and urban life. Microsoft will also be taking part in the panel discussion on how smart cities are leveraging the cloud to better serve constituents. Microsoft highlighted the below examples:

• Azure-based TransitScreen empowers commuters with a convenient, real-time picture of all their nearest transportation options—and helps cities become more sustainable and healthier places to live, work and play.
• Through a partnership with DataKind, Microsoft is analyzing traffic collision data in New York, Seattle and other Vision Zero Cities, which aim to reduce traffic-related deaths and serious injuries to zero.
• Fathym's Internet of Things-enabled WeatherCloud enhances driver safety during inclement weather.
• The Microsoft Connected Vehicle Platform provides a set of services built on the Azure cloud to empower auto manufacturers to create custom connected driving experiences.

Read the full list here.

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Halo: Legends anime-styled series is now on Netflix

Microsoft today announced the released of Halo: Legends anime-styled series on Netflix. Halo: Legends is a science-fiction saga delves into the rich Halo universe with seven exciting stories (told in eight parts) including tales of Master Chief's mysterious origins, the Spartans' advanced combat capabilities and the tense rivalry between Spartans and Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODSTs).

Halo: Legends was made in collaboration with world's leading animators from Japan, "Halo Legends" draws you into the center of humankind's ongoing battles with the Covenant, dynamically depicted in cutting-edge animation styles that deliver breathtaking visuals and gripping adventure.

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Gears of War 4’s May update adds treacherous new maps and multi-GPU support

Gears of War 4's May content update arrives tomorrow, packed full of surprises for fans! Strap in as The Coalition unveils a new original map created by the team, celebrate the return of a fan-favorite map from Gears of War 2, and see a beloved hero brought back from the dead to join the multiplayer ranks. There's a lot of content for everyone and a few technical enhancements in there too.

As mentioned earlier, this month brings a brand-new map designed by The Coalition in Dawn, along with their first returning map from Gears of War 2 called Security. Dawn is set in a stunning Outsider village built around an abandoned mining colony and defined by two defensive structures–the high ground of the bar, and the entrenched mine on the low side. Prepare for a new kind of fight centered around the vital Dropshot spawn, as it's surrounded by both high and low flanks and features a risk-it-all one-way vault to secure the weapon.

Since Gears of War 4 came out, fans have been asking the team to bring back some of the classic maps from Gears of War 2. The Coalition has worked extensively to bring this map up to modern graphical and gameplay standards, with improvements that incorporate Gears of War 4's close-cover combat, Horde and proper support for respawn-based modes. The new setting for Security takes you to a fight over a glorious decadent depository, with stacks of gold bars providing makeshift cover throughout the map. Defensive lasers bar access to key parts of the map, so prepare for a tough fight for the button that disables the lasers to give your team control over the flow of combat.

Speaking of Gears of War 2, the plucky Benjamin Carmine met his horrible end inside the Riftworm. This month, you'll be able to find Benjamin Carmine back from the dead in one of the game's May Gear Packs as Zombie Ben Carmine–complete with his missing lower torso innards. Truly pleasant, right?

Aside from the maps, we're excited to announce that multi-GPU support arrives with the May update for Windows 10 players! This has been a hotly-requested feature for months now and it's finally here. It's definitely a glorious day! The Coalition's Windows 10 team has been hard at work implementing support for users who use multiple graphics card setups, and now fans can take full advantage of their setup to really push the visuals in Gears of War 4. The May content drop is definitely expansive so be sure to download it tomorrow!

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Fitbit to blaze into market with GPS smartwatch with 4-day battery life, more

More details regarding Fitbit's rumoured smartwatch has leaked via Yahoo Finance.

Codenamed Project Higgs, the device, which has been delayed due to issues with making it fully waterproof and improving its GPS antenna, has been pushed back till later this year.

According to the leak it features:

• A refined version of the Blaze aluminium unibody design with accents with swappable bands.
• 1000 nits of brightness colour screen for easy outdoor visibility.
• GPS
• Heart rate monitoring
• Wireless payments
• Offline Music from Pandora
• 4-day battery life between charges

It will also feature a custom OS, and surprisingly, given Fitbit's purchase of Pebble, will be arriving sans an app store, though this is expected to arrive later, but should feature a series of specially built apps. It is set to cost around $300 and is expected to launch before Apple's fall event.

Fitbit is also set to deliver a set of wireless headphones code-named "Parkside" presumably compatible with Project Higgs and designed to hang around your neck.   Available in "Nightfall Blue" and "Lunar Gray," they are set to cost around $150, and hopefully, offer something more than just plain Bluetooth A2DP.

Fitbit has shown good support for Windows phones and PCs over the years, and with the demise of the Microsoft Band, the Project Higgs looks like a good replacement going forward.

Will our readers pick one up this holiday season? Let us know below.

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Microsoft hoes own row with major Microsoft Teams update for Windows Phone

Microsoft Teams recently picked up fairly major updates on Android and iOS. Thankfully, the software giant didn't forget about Windows Phone and also released a major new update for the app on Windows Phone. The new update comes brings a couple of new features, some of which were much-needed.

Firstly, the update now supports single sign-in with the Office 365 apps, removing the need to sign-in to Teams if you have already signed into another Office 365 app on your Windows Phone. The update also now lets users @mention other members of the company on teams and channels, which is something you would hope the app to have from day 1. More importantly, you can now share content from Microsoft Teams in other mobile apps via the Share page in Windows Phone which was another much-needed addition to the app.

Here's the full changelog:

• Single sign-in with other Office 365 apps
• You can now @mention teams and channels
• You can open emails sent to a channel
• You can share Microsoft Teams content in other mobile apps
• Improved mobile support for Connector messages
• Support for certificate-based based authentication
• Support for mobile device management
• Bug fixes and performance improvements

Microsoft Teams is still missing quite a lot of features on Windows Phone, and even on Android and iOS. Microsoft seems to be working on addressing this issue, so there should be feature parity across all platforms in the coming months. In the meantime, you can get Microsoft Teams for Windows Phone from the Windows Store below.

Microsoft Teams (Free, Windows Store) →

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