Monthly Archives: November 2024

News, Technology

Microsoft Ignite Day 1 Keynote: Here comes the new trends for IT world per Microsoft

While Microsoft Ignite is not necessarily a consumer-focused events, most of the thing presented on this event are going to be indirectly or directly attached on how people in general uses Windows for productivity and mixing with personal and professional work.

Ys, it is an unavoidable thing to do if your work closely with IT or have the privileged to working on a remote friendly environment.

Let’s cut to the chase, shall we?

Teams will translate for you in other languages

Microsoft Teams meetings are getting a new interpreter feature that lets each participant speak or listen in the language of their choosing. Interpreter in Teams uses real-time AI-powered speech-to-speech translation to simulate your speaking voice during meetings.

The new feature will be offered as a preview (be aware on not relying 100% on the feature) by early 2025.

More automation with Copilot for Microsoft 365

Microsoft announced Copilot Actions, designed to help you with repetitive task within your Microsoft 365 environment with things like automating a summary of meeting actions from Teams meetings, generating weekly reports, or even automating meeting prep.

Copilot Actions is designed to be something you set and forget, much like an AI-powered macro that goes off and does its thing based on some fill-in-the-blank prompts.

Hotpatch should reach consumer users of Windows 11

Microsoft announced Windows Hotpatch, which basically is the ability for Windows Update dealing with updates WITHOUT making your system requiring a reboot.

Unfortunately, there is no news if this will be given outside commercial customers, aka us peasants.

Because Microsoft knows that companies are limiting Remote workplace environment

Unfortunately, my workplaces are avoiding as possible remote work opportunity, while understandable, theses past few years proven that remote work shouldn’t be a privileged, but an incentive to do work if of course, your tasks are justified so.

With that in mine, enters Microsoft Places, which uses AI to coordinate in-office days with colleagues, dedicated location plan section where you can set and share the days, you’ll use the office and view which days your co-workers are heading in.

The feature is available now and, in the meantime, Microsoft is working o incorporate as part of Microsoft Copilot.

A Windows 11 Copilot+ PC response to Apple’s Mac Mini

Surprisingly, Microsoft announced a new original hardware and enters the Windows 365 Link PC, which an undisclosed Intel processor, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, USB-A 3.2 port, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 wireless connectivity.

With an introductory MSRP of $349, Microsoft believes that having a Windows-as-a-Services environment, where Windows 11 Weill be served via Cloud computing instead of a locally installed OS, will “makes sense for commercial customers, who have a set of scenarios and workloads that they’re using today [where Microsoft thinks] this is a more compelling alternative”.

Windows 365 Link combined with these AI experiences could be another unique selling point for Windows 365 over similar cloud PC solutions from Citrix and others. Windows 365 Link is now in preview and will become available in select markets for $349 in April 2025.

Copilot+ PC will increment Universal Search power

A new “improved” Windows search will allow you to search for documents, photos, and other files by just describing them — even when you’re not connected to the internet, coming in next year. 

The takeaways from the notorious CrowdStrike incident continues

We already know that Microsoft has just enough of developers and companies using indiscreetly software and services that requires access at the kernel level and this year ‘s CrowdStrike incident served as a BIG & GOOD EXMAPLE that this behavior needs to stop or at least or at least heavily check in/

With that, the Windows Resiliency Initiative…

The Windows Resiliency Initiative includes core changes to Windows that will make it easier for Microsoft’s customers to recover Windows-based machines if there’s ever another CrowdStrike-like incident. There are also some new Windows platform improvements to provide stronger controls over what apps and drivers are allowed to run and to help allow antivirus processing outside of kernel mode.

Also, related to security, Microsoft is creating an in-person hacking event, Zero Day Quest, which it says will be the largest of its kind. The event will build upon Microsoft’s existing bug bounty program and incentivize research into high-impact security flaws that can affect the software powering cloud and AI workloads.

Microsoft HoloLens is out, enters more support for Meta Quest 3

Meta and Microsoft announced that the full capabilities of Windows 11 mixed reality for Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are coming to the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S in December. You’ll be able to have a large multiple-monitor workstation through Quest 3 headsets in public preview next month.

Windows 11 will have more “companions”

Microsoft is creating a new companions experience for the Windows 11 taskbar that will surface important data with just a click. Microsoft 365 Companions will include contacts and people, files, or calendar appointments integrated into the taskbar of Windows 11.

Games, Gaming, News

Think you know everything about the not-so-public details of Half-Life 2?

Another legendary frasnchi9se that celebrates their rounds to the sun is Half-Life 2, which has already reached 20 years since it was originally launched and Valve decided to give us some never seen before perspectives and details.

Above, you can see the Half-Life 2: 20th Anniversary documentary which of course, follows the development of the 2004 PC game and features interviews with the majority of the game’s development team.

One important (and sad for many) aspect of the documentary is, that shown off development footage of the cancelled Half-Life 2: Episode 3.

Half-Life 2 is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It was published for Windows on Valve’s digital distribution service, Steam.

Editorial, Featured, GeeZus, News

I guess that this gamer and blogger needed to get back to its roots

It’s, short, but the first of many editorials to come and how about breaking the ice on actually talking about what I mentioned on 11/19/24’s stream?

I’m excited to share some big news and if you couldn’t tell already: I’m returning to blogging!

For those of you who’ve been following my gaming content, you know how passionate I am about sharing my experiences and insights with the community. Blogging has always been a special place for me, I am a blogger since I discovered the Internet, but it was after 2010 that I made it in a pro, freelancing way.

From there, it was Black Berry Puerto Rico, Esmandau, Qiibo, GGs and a first attempt on my own blog 100% mine, I guess that it would not hurt try it one more time, this time as a second stint 100% my own again.

I’m committed to maintaining my gaming content creation, but I believe that blogging offers a unique opportunity to expand my creative horizons. I’m looking forward to sharing a mix of gaming-related posts, personal essays, and other topics that I’m passionate about.

I’m still figuring out the exact format and frequency of my blog posts, but I promise to keep you updated as I develop my plans. In the meantime, I’m eager to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

Thank you for your continued support. I can’t wait to embark on this new chapter with you!

About GeeZus

Gamer since I could hold a controller, never looking back.

ENG/SPA | Gamer | Variety Streamer | Tech Critic | Human | Tekken 7 #FA2022 13th Place

@GeeZusGG (Facebook, X, YouTube), @geezus.xyz (Bluesky) & thegeezus@mastododon.social.

Games, Gaming, News, Xbox

For Microsoft there is a future for Xbox for both software & hardware

There has been a talk about Microsoft Gaming and Xbox in general and not for the good in terms on how plausible will be to maintain its position as part of the “big three” along Sony (with PlayStation) and Nintendo and how futures look blurry.

To mitigate this blurriness, Microsoft Gaming CEO, Phil Spencer, took advantage on the proper media tour post-Microsoft earnings to give some visualization on the state of the gaming market for Xbox.

Xbox is NOT quitting hardware business

Hardware historically hasn’t been a great forte in terms of Xbox Earnings, and of course, with the entry of Activision Blizzard as part of the earning has not helped matters at all.

Added to the fact that the current Game Pass Cloud push includes resorting in partners had ware like Amazon’s Fire TV devices.

Burt despite on how the public perception might be, for Phil Spencer, is all part of the plan.

To Rolling Stone he said:

We’ll definitely do more consoles in the future, and other devices.

We think about hardware that can create unique value for our players or creators on our platform. We don’t need to do incremental hardware for our own benefit.

Does a new device really give you a unique experience on screen in some way? [It’s] less like the old days, going from the original Xbox to 360 – that was standard definition to high definition. No [it’s] arder ti show té Benefit.

Also, Spencer admitted that Microsoft is working heavily on one of the poor kept-secret, the Xbox device that will challenge the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch in the portable gaming market, but we are still years away from a proper release, so chances about what “Microsoft wants to talk at The Game Awards” in terms of hardware…might be safe to not go high on expectations.

More releases outside Xbox and PC aren’t ruled out

Early this year, Microsoft surprised the gaming world releasing four games of Xbox Game Studios in other platforms, after a big push on exclusivity.

Phil Spencer, this time told Bloomberg that they are not feeling limited on approaching other platforms after being brought the possibility of the next Halo game available on Playstation5.

I do not see sort of red lines in our portfolio that say ‘thou must not.

Also, Spencer said to Bloomberg that Spencer said Xbox is still open to more acquisitions following last year’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Methodical on expansion and debunking an Avowed theory

Finally with Game File, there was an opportunity to have Phil Spencer talk about how Microsoft Gaming and Xbox Game Studios sees the development of expansions for their first party games.

While there is no rulebook and developers are not obligated to add expansions, personally he dislikes “manipulative” expansions in terms of the expansion doesn’t serve the whole experience of the game to the user and for example, it is used to “fill a cliffhanger” technically speaking.

Finally, it was time to acknowledged what happened to Avowed that was delayed until February 2025.

And no, there were not a technical thing or anything, just that this Holiday season will be a busy one with Diablo IV new expansion, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, Indiana Jones & The Great Circle, and Xbox felt that Avowed could just be lost in the “new game” backlog unneedled.

Games, Gaming, News

The Warcraft 30th anniversary brings more games with remastered treatment

This month was the 30th anniversary of Warcraft as one of the biggest franchises of Blizzard Entertainment and while there was an expectation that we might be seeing a proper 4th game (not counting World of Warcraft), Blizzard has other plans.

With this, Blizzard announced Warcraft I & II: Remastered or the massive update for both Warcraft: Orcs & Humans and Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and its expansion, Beyond the Dark Portal, released as a stand-alone game.

Expect mastered graphics, updated UI, and modern controls, with both games retaining their original stories and in the case of Warcraft II, it will include both classic and remastered graphics modes, along with the online PvP multiplayer.

And of course, Warcraft III: Reforged

Warcraft 3: Reforged Patch 2.0, which “overhauls the environments and lighting and revamps the user interface”, according to Chan. “In addition, we are uprising all classic Warcraft 3 assets to HD.”

All three titles are available as part of the Warcraft Remastered Battle Chest, which is priced at $39.99.

As for World of Warcraft

Blizzard has announced plans to add player housing to World of Warcraft in its next expansion, Midnight.

Blizzard announced plans to launch World of Warcraft Mists of Pandaria Classic in the summer of 2025 too.

Featured, Games, Gaming, News

GOG step up for gaming preservation without marketing stunts

The preservation for video games is a hot topic and not a topic where gaming companies, fans and historians sees a happy-medium. Nevertheless, there is always a chance that some of the gaming industry can share their grain of salt for the good of it.

Enters Good Old Game or GOG, the Projekt Red’s own PC gaming storefront focusing on recent a past released made and announcement this month.

The GOG Preservation Program ensures classic games remain playable on modern systems, even after their developers stopped supporting them. By maintaining these iconic titles, GOG helps you protect and relive the memories that shaped you, DRM-free and with dedicated tech support.

With GOG Preservation Program, GOG intentions are that classical games remain playable for modern system as technically as possible and with this, a proper marketing and selling of the game without string attached or bracing for a remaster of a remake.

The context behind this move, is that as per Video Game History Foundation, which claims that 87% of games created before 2010 are inaccessible today, a HORRIBLE number in days that there is an increase of kids not respecting where gaming came from at all.

GOG already included and re-developed games from Resident Evil, Warcraft, Dragon Age, Fallout, System Shock, Diablo, Heroes of Might and Magic, Dungeon Keeper, The Witcher, and Monkey Island franchises and of course, plans to keep adding more games to the Preservation Program over time.