Microsoft

Summer is upon us and if your mission for the perfect beach bod has fallen by the wayside, get back on track with the Microsoft Band 2. The new model activity tracker has all the key features you need to reach your goals - from heart rate and calorie tracking technology to the latest fitness know-how courtesy of Microsoft Health web dashboard. The multifunctional accessory is ideal for those who love exploring the great outdoors whilst getting fit. Or those who take their fitness goals seriously and want to improve their performance. What's more, Mirror Vouchers is offering you £50 off the Microsoft Band 2 until 30 June 2016, which means you can get yours now for £149.99. How the Microsoft Band 2 will help you get fit Optimise your training By tracking your heart rate 24/7 you'll get a better insight into your optimum heart rate zones for high and low level intensity training. Once you know what level your heart rate should be at for the type of training you're doing, … [Read more...] about Achieve your fitness goals with the Microsoft Band 2 activity tracker plus save £50 off with this deal

Microsoft’s attempt at engaging millennials with artificial intelligence has backfired hours into its launch, with waggish Twitter users teaching its chatbot how to be racist. The company launched a verified Twitter account for “Tay” – billed as its “AI fam from the internet that’s got zero chill” – early on Wednesday. The chatbot, targeted at 18- to 24-year-olds in the US, was developed by Microsoft’s technology and research and Bing teams to “experiment with and conduct research on conversational understanding”. “Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation,” Microsoft said. “The more you chat with Tay the smarter she gets.” But it appeared on Thursday that Tay’s conversation extended to racist, inflammatory and political statements. Her Twitter conversations have so far reinforced the so-called … [Read more...] about Tay, Microsoft’s AI chatbot, gets a crash course in racism from Twitter

Microsoft is re-entering the smartphone market with a dual-screen foldable handset. The Surface Duo is the tech giant's first smartphone since the Microsoft Lumia 650 in 2016, when the company appeared to give up on mobile because of intense competition from iOS and Android. At an event in New York, Microsoft showed off the pocket-friendly product for the first time, although it won't be available until the Christmas period of 2020. The PC-maker is working with Google to bring Android apps to the device, coupled with Microsoft's productivity experiences. Speaking about the device, Panos Panay, chief product officer at Microsoft, said: "It has to fit in your pocket," "You will be more productive on two screens." The Duo follows a new trend in smartphone design which emerged with other foldables, notably Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X. The event showcased several new Surface devices, including a foldable tablet called the Surface Neo running an adapted version of Microsoft's … [Read more...] about Microsoft makes surprise return to smartphones with foldable Surface Duo

Microsoft has unveiled its next-generation Xbox console which is set to hit the shelves before the end of 2020. Known as 'Project Scarlett', the device will be four times more powerful than the Xbox One X with 'resolution and frame rates never seen before'. The company said that the console will be powered by an Advanced Micro Devices chip, during its Xbox E3 conference in Los Angeles. It will show up to 120 frames per second, or twice the average TV, and include a solid-state drive, allowing games to load much faster than on its older hard drives.  However, Microsoft did not show what the device would look like or reveal a price. Scroll down for video  Microsoft has unveiled its next-generation Xbox console, known as 'Project Scarlett', which is set to hit store shelves during the 2020 holiday season. Pictured: the console's launch at the E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles  DETAILS ABOUT WHAT COULD BE INCLUDED IN THE DEVICE:  Other details shared … [Read more...] about Microsoft unveils ‘Project Scarlett’ console FOUR TIMES more powerful than the Xbox One X with ‘resolution and frame rates never seen before’

Microsoft has discreetly pulled a facial recognition database from its site that contained 10 million images of some 100,000 people.  The internet giant took down the database after a Financial Times investigation revealed that the database has been used by companies and military researchers to train facial recognition systems around the world.  The public dataset, called 'MS Celeb,' included images of 'celebrities' pulled from the internet, but also contained photos of 'arguably private individuals,' often without their knowledge or consent, the FT found.  Scroll down for video Microsoft has discreetly pulled a facial recognition database from its site that contained 10 million images of some 100,000 people, called MS Celeb, following an investigation Microsoft, which referred to MS Celeb as the largest publicly available facial recognition data set in the world, said the database was meant for use by academic researchers. The images were harvested from the web under … [Read more...] about Microsoft quietly deletes its facial recognition database that contained over 10 MILLION images of 100,000 people