As movie goers around the world await the release of “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” Candy Crush Saga is rolling out an in-game adventure in partnership with King and Warner Bros.
From July 6-19, Candy Crush Saga players can interact with the stars,
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We hope your kids are enjoying their summer. Needless to say, this past school year was a challenge for everybody, and summer fun was long overdue.
That said, your kids will inevitably get bored from time to time during the break from school, and th
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While summer break is in full swing, back-to-school shopping is underway with a quarter of shoppers already searching for items that will prepare them for the upcoming school year.
The post Get ready for back to school with savings from Microsoft Store appeared first on Windows Experience Blog.
Surface Go 2[/caption]
Save $100 on Surface Go 2 + Type Cover
- You can get Microsoft’s smallest, lightest 2-in-1 laptop and type cover for $100 off and receive a free sleeve (valued at $69.99) with purchase. The Surface Go 2 is perfectly portable with tablet-to-laptop versatility, making it a must have for whatever the school year has in store.
Surface Pro X[/caption]
Save up to $300 on Surface Pro X
- The ultra-thin Surface Pro X is available at $300 off. Built for the ways you study and connect; the Surface Pro X has up to 15 hours of battery life and touchscreen capabilities.
ASUS i3 VivoBook[/caption]
Save $500 on select PCs, gaming PCs and monitors
- Besides Surface, families can also find PCs and monitors on Microsoft Store on sale, including $140 in savings on the ASUS i3 VivoBook. The ASUS VivoBook is meant to be taken on the go and is great for transitioning between virtual and in-person classroom settings.
Today, I’m excited to share more information about the Windows 11 accessibility journey.
Earlier this year, Microsoft announced its What’s coming in Windows 11 Accessibility appeared first on Windows Experience Blog.
Beyond possible, efficient and yes, delightful
Accessible technology is a fundamental building block that can unlock opportunities in every part of society. A more accessible Windows experience has the power to help tackle the “disability divide” -- to contribute to more education and employment opportunities for people with disabilities across the world. Already, more than a billion people enjoy creating, connecting, learning and achieving on Windows. Beyond simply making these things possible, we aspire for each of our users across the disability spectrum to enjoy experiences that are efficient, fun and yes, delightful. Windows has a great opportunity. Our ambition is shaped by you. We have a lot to do, and what’s outlined below is just the start. Information about how to reach us to provide feedback or for assistance with Windows is included at the end of this post.Windows 11 is the most inclusively designed version of Windows
Windows 11 was redesigned for productivity, creativity and ease of use. While it will feel familiar, e.g., with a Desktop, Start menu, Search, Taskbar, Settings and many other features that you have come to expect, it is also simpler, with a modern, fresh and clean design. Accessibility was considered from the start, with inclusive design reviews of new and redesigned features. And, beyond designing for accessibility with and for people with disabilities, we employed Trusted Tester conformance tests, usability tests and other processes to help ensure Windows 11 is accessible at availability later this year. Meanwhile, we’re excited to gather additional feedback from Windows Insiders about how we can further improve the experience. If you’re not a Windows Insider yet, now is the time to join!
Windows 11 Start menu. Windows 11 is both familiar and simpler with a modern, fresh and clean design.[/caption]
Windows 11 offers familiar assistive technologies like Narrator, Magnifier, Closed Captions and Windows Speech Recognition to support users across the disability spectrum. Windows 11 also supports assistive technologies created by our partners including popular screen readers, magnification programs, CART services, speech commanding and other experiences.
Windows 11 also includes many improvements.
People who are blind, and everyone, can enjoy new sound schemes. Windows 11 includes delightful Windows start-up and other sounds, including different sounds for more accessible Light and Dark Themes. People with light sensitivity and people working for extended periods of time can enjoy beautiful color themes, including new Dark themes and reimagined High Contrast Themes. The new Contrast Themes include aesthetically pleasing, customizable color combinations that make apps and content easier to see.
Deaf and hard of hearing, language learners, and people in noisy or in quiet environments can enjoy redesigned Closed Caption themes that are easier to read and customize.
And, multiple sets of users can enjoy Windows Voice Typing, which uses state-of-the-art artificial intelligence to recognize speech, transcribe and automatically punctuate text. People with severe arthritis, repetitive stress injuries, cerebral palsy and other mobility related disabilities, learning differences including with severe spelling disabilities, language learners and people that prefer to write with their voice can all enjoy Voice Typing.
Ultimately, everyone can enjoy Windows’ simplified design and user experience. It is modern, fresh, clean and beautiful.
Windows accessibility features are easier to find and use
Importantly, more than improving existing accessibility features, introducing new features and making users’ preferred assistive technology compatible with Windows 11, we are making accessibility features easier to find and use. You gave us feedback that the purpose of the “Ease of Access” Settings and icon was unclear. And you said that you expected to find “Accessibility” settings. We listened and we changed Windows. We rebranded Ease of Access Settings to Accessibility and introduced a new accessibility “human” icon. We redesigned the Accessibility Settings to make them easier to use. And of course, Accessibility features are available in the out of box experience and on the Log on and Lock screens so that users can independently setup and use their devices, e.g., with Narrator.
Windows 11 Accessibility Settings, formerly known as “Ease of Access” Settings.[/caption]
Windows accessibility just works in more scenarios
Windows 11 is a significant step towards a future in which accessibility “just works,” without costly plug-ins or time-consuming work by Information Technology administrators. With Windows 10, we made it possible for assistive technologies to work with secure applications, like Word, in Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG). With Windows 11, we made it possible for both Microsoft and partner assistive technologies to work with applications like Outlook hosted in the cloud, in Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). For example, with Windows 11, Office is accessible as a Remote Application Integrated Locally (RAIL) using Narrator. While that may sound like a lot of jargon to most people, the impact is significant. People who are blind will have access to applications like Office hosted in Azure when they need it. Windows 11 will also support Linux GUI apps like gedit through the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) on devices that meet the app system requirements. And, we enabled these experiences to be accessible. For example, people who are blind can use Windows with supported screen readers within WSL. In some cases, the assistive technology experience is seamless. For example, Color Filters, “just work.” Importantly, the WSL team prioritized accessibility from the start and committed to enable accessible experiences at launch. They are excited to share more with Insiders and to get feedback to continue to refine the usability of their experiences. We look forward to sharing more about other new experiences we introduced last week like our partnership with Amazon to bring Android apps to Windows in the coming months.Modern accessibility platform is great for the assistive technology ecosystem
Finally, I am happy to share that we have been working closely with assistive technology industry leaders to co-engineer what we call the “modern accessibility platform.” Windows 11 delivers a platform that enables more responsive experiences and more agile development, including access to application data without requiring changes to Windows. We embraced feedback from industry partners that we need to make assistive technology more responsive by design. We embraced the design constraints of making local assistive technology like Narrator “just work” with cloud hosted apps over a network. We invented and co-engineered new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to do both; to improve the communication between assistive technologies like Narrator and applications like Outlook that significantly improve Narrator responsiveness in some scenarios. The result is that Narrator feels more responsive and works over a network with cloud-hosted apps. We also embraced feedback from industry partners that we need to increase assistive technology and application developer agility to increase the pace of innovation and user experience improvements. We made it possible for application developers, like Microsoft Office, to expose data programmatically without requiring Windows updates. With Windows 11, application developers will be able to implement UI Automation custom extensions, including custom properties, patterns and annotations that can be consumed by assistive technologies. For users, this means we can develop usability and other improvements at the speed of apps.Try Windows 11 and give us feedback
An early preview build of Windows 11 is now available to Windows Insiders. And, later this year, Windows 11 will start to be generally available. I’m excited for your feedback — both positive and constructive — to create better experiences for each of us. Whether you’re using an Insider build, or a generally available version, Windows 10 and Windows 11 make it easy to share your thoughts and suggestions — just press the Windows logo key + F to launch the Feedback hub and share what’s top of mind. Finally, if you are a customer with a disability and need technical assistance, the Disability Answer Desk is there to assist via phone (800-936-5900) and chat. In addition, we also have an ASL option available for our customers who are deaf or hard of hearing in the U.S. (+1 503-427-1234). Please contact us, we are always happy to help.]]>Between June 29 – July 12, the Minecraft Marketplace Summer Celebration delivers a sale filled with items up to 33% off and two free
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]]>Between June 29 – July 12, the Minecraft Marketplace Summer Celebration delivers a sale filled with items up to 33% off and two free maps, the first of which is available now.
Rasa Studios created the first map, which includes four headliner games, seven mini-games, six custom skins and lots of gifts. Oreville Studios made the second map, a customized adventure that will launch July 9. It’ll have challenges and mini-games, more than 100 unique models, custom music and animated cutscenes.
Head over to Minecraft.net to get more details and install the Minecraft for Windows 10 Starter Collection if you don’t have it already.
]]>HP has unveiled its lightest consumer laptop yet: the HP Pavilion Aero 13 laptop PC, starting at less than 2.2 pounds (1 kg).
This is also the first Pavilion laptop to feature a full magnesium aluminum chassis, a 4-sided narrow bezel and a 90% scree
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When Windows 11 is available later this year, you should be able to upgrade this laptop to it [1]. Powered by up to the latest AMD Ryzen 7 5800U Mobile Processor with AMD Radeon Graphics, you can expect fast responsiveness when working or browsing, and smooth details while watching movies.
Sustainability figures into every stage of its lifecycle, starting with post-consumer recycled and ocean-bound plastics, saving over 6,000 plastic bottles from entering the ocean [2]. The device features water-based paint, and its outer box and fiber cushions are 100% sustainably sourced and recyclable. It’s also EPEAT Gold Registered and Energy Star Certified.
The HP Pavilion Aero 13 is expected to be available beginning in July at HP.com for a starting price of $749. Select U.S. retailers are expected to carry it later this fall.
Find out more about it over at HP.
[1] Not all features are available in all editions or versions of Windows. Systems may require upgraded and/or separately purchased hardware, drivers, software or BIOS update to take full advantage of Windows functionality. Windows is automatically updated, which is always enabled. ISP fees may apply and additional requirements may apply over time for updates. See http://www.microsoft.com.
[2] Based on HP’s internal analysis as of March 22. 6,417.32 recycled plastic bottles consumed, based on HP’s projected lifecycle volume. Manufactured recycled ocean bound plastic material in product speaker enclosure. Calculation based on grams per product (using 12.7 grams per 16.9 ounce “single serve” bottled water container) multiplied by projected shipment volume/ 12.7 grams.]]>Gateway is expanding its Ultra-Slim Notebook series to include laptops outfitted with the latest 11th Gen Intel processors. These will be available exclusively in Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com.
These lightweight Windows devices
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Microsoft Windows 10 Home comes pre-installed. That means an easy start up and smooth connections, added security, password-free unlocking and Focus Assist to block notifications. It also includes Microsoft Photos and Xbox Game Bar to instantly chat with friends, monitor performance and make screen recordings. One model of Gateway Ultra-Slim Pentium Notebooks comes in a vibrant green and includes Minecraft Starter Edition (a value of $26.99), with free updates and community creations.
Another notebook, a 2-in-1 touch screen convertible, powered by an Intel Celeron N4020 – Dual Core processor, comes not only with Windows 10 Home, but also loaded with Microsoft 365 premium personal apps and services.
When you buy one of these devices, you’ll be able to upgrade to the next generation of Microsoft Windows when it’s available.
You’ll find these ergonomically designed PCs in a variety of vibrant colors and screen sizes – over a range of prices, from $199.99 to $699.99.
Head over to the press release to get more details on these devices.]]>As of June 28, Xbox Cloud Gaming is available to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members with Windows 10 PCs and Apple phones and tablets, via browser, across 22 countries. If you’re a member or want to become one, go to Big milestone: Custom Xbox Series X hardware now powers Xbox Cloud Gaming, which expands to Windows 10 PCs and Apple devices appeared first on Windows Experience Blog.
]]>At a time when the PC is playing a more central role in our lives, Windows 11 is designed to bring you closer to what you love.
We’ve simplified the design and user experience to empower your productivity and inspire your creativity. It’s modern, fresh, clean and beautiful. From the new Start button and taskbar to each sound, font and icon, everything was done intentionally to put you in control and bring a sense of calm and ease. We put Start at the center and made it easier to quickly find what you need. Start utilizes the power of the cloud and Microsoft 365 to show you your recent files no matter what platform or device you were viewing them on earlier, even if it was on an Android or iOS device.
Windows has always been about helping you work how you want, by offering flexibility of multiple windows and the ability to snap apps side by side. New in Windows 11, we’re introducing Snap Layouts, Snap Groups and Desktops to provide an even more powerful way to multitask and stay on top of what you need to get done. These are new features designed to help you organize your windows and optimize your screen real estate so you can see what you need just the way you want in a layout that’s visually clean. You can also create separate Desktops for each part of your life and customize them to your liking – imagine having a Desktop for work, gaming or school.
Windows 11 cuts through complexity and brings you simplicity.
A faster way to connect to the people you care about
Another critical part of bringing you closer to what you love is bringing you closer to the people you love. The last 18 months drove new behavior for how we create meaningful connections with people digitally. Even as we start to return to more in-person interaction, we want to continue to make it easy for people to stay close with each other no matter where they are. And we don’t want the device or platform you’re on to be a barrier.
With Windows 11, we’re excited to introduce Chat from Microsoft Teams integrated in the taskbar. Now you can instantly connect through text, chat, voice or video with all of your personal contacts, anywhere, no matter the platform or device they’re on, across Windows, Android or iOS. If the person you’re connecting to on the other end hasn’t downloaded the Teams app, you can still connect with them via two-way SMS.
Windows 11 also gives you a more natural way to connect with friends and family through Teams, allowing you to instantly mute and unmute, or start presenting directly from the taskbar.
Delivering the best PC gaming experiences yet
If you’re a gamer, Windows 11 is made for you. Gaming has always been fundamental to what Windows is all about. Today, hundreds of millions of people around the world game on Windows and find joy and connection with loved ones and friends through play. Windows 11 unlocks the full potential of your system’s hardware, putting some of the latest gaming technology to work for you. Like: DirectX 12 Ultimate, which can enable breathtaking, immersive graphics at high frame rates; DirectStorage for faster load times and more detailed game worlds; and Auto HDR for a wider, more vivid range of colors for a truly captivating visual experience. Nothing has changed in our commitment to hardware compatibility – Windows 11 supports your favorite PC gaming accessories and peripherals. With Xbox Game Pass for PC or Ultimate, gamers get access to over 100 high-quality PC games with new games added all the time, and it’s still just as easy to find people to play with, no matter if they’re playing on a PC or console.
To learn more about what Windows 11 means for gamers, check out Xbox Wire.
A faster way to get the information you care about
Windows 11 brings you closer to the news and information you care about faster with Widgets – a new personalized feed powered by AI and best-in-class browser performance from Microsoft Edge. Even when we’re at our most focused and creative we still need breaks – a moment to check in with the outside world or give ourselves a mental reset. Today, we often pick up our phones to check the news, weather or notifications. Now, you can open a similarly curated view directly from your desktop. When you open your personalized feed it slides across your screen like a sheet of glass so it doesn’t disrupt what you’re doing. For creators and publishers, Widgets also opens new real estate within Windows to deliver personalized content. Our aspiration is to create a vibrant pipeline for global brands and local creators alike, in a way that both consumers and creators can benefit.
An all-new Microsoft Store where your favorite apps and entertainment come together
The new Microsoft Store is your single trusted location for apps and content to watch, create, play, work and learn. It’s been rebuilt for speed and with an all-new design that is beautiful and simple to use. Not only will we bring you more apps than ever before, we’re also making all content – apps, games, shows, movies – easier to search for and discover with curated stories and collections. We’re excited to soon be welcoming leading first and third-party apps like Microsoft Teams, Visual Studio, Disney+, Adobe Creative Cloud, Zoom and Canva to the Microsoft Store – all offering incredible experiences to entertain, inspire and connect you. When you download an app from the Store you have the peace of mind of knowing it’s been tested for security and family safety.
We’re also pumped to announce that we are bringing Android apps to Windows for the first time. Starting later this year, people will be able to discover Android apps in the Microsoft Store and download them through the Amazon Appstore – imagine recording and posting a video from TikTok or using Khan Academy Kids for virtual learning right from your PC. We’ll have more to share about this experience in the coming months. We look forward to this partnership with Amazon and Intel using their Intel Bridge technology.
Creating a more open ecosystem unlocking new opportunity for developers and creators
We are taking steps to further open the Microsoft Store to unlock greater economic opportunity for creators and developers. We’re enabling developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) to bring their apps regardless of whether they’re built as a Win32, Progressive Web App (PWA), or Universal Windows App (UWP) or any other app framework, creating an opportunity to reach and engage with more people. We’re also announcing a progressive change to our revenue share policies where app developers can now bring their own commerce into our Store and keep 100% of the revenue – Microsoft takes nothing. App developers can still use our commerce with competitive revenue share of 85/15. We believe creating a more open ecosystem ultimately benefits our customers – giving them secure, frictionless access to the apps, games, movies, shows and web content they want and need.
To learn more about the changes to the Microsoft Store, visit this Windows Blog post.
If you want to learn more about what Windows 11 means for developers, visit the Windows Developer Blog.
Faster, more secure and familiar for IT
For IT, Windows 11 is built on the consistent, compatible and familiar Windows 10 foundation you know. You’ll plan for, prepare and deploy Windows 11 just as you do today with Windows 10. Upgrading to Windows 11 will be like taking a Windows 10 update. The familiar management experiences you have in place today – like Microsoft Endpoint Manager, cloud configuration, Windows Update for Business and Autopilot – will support your environment of tomorrow as you integrate Windows 11 into your estate.
Just as with Windows 10, we are deeply committed to app compatibility, which is a core design tenet of Windows 11. We stand behind our promise that your applications will work on Windows 11 with App Assure, a service that helps customers with 150 or more users fix any app issues they might run into at no additional cost.
Windows 11 is also secure by design, with new built-in security technologies that will add protection from the chip to the cloud, while enabling productivity and new experiences. Windows 11 provides a Zero Trust-ready operating system to protect data and access across devices. We have worked closely with our OEM and silicon partners to raise security baselines to meet the needs of the evolving threat landscape and the new hybrid work world.
You can learn more about Windows 11 as the operating system for hybrid work and learning in the Microsoft 365 blog.
It’s a great time to buy a PC
Since day one of developing Windows 11, we have been working closely with our hardware and silicon partners for seamless integration across software and hardware. That co-engineering begins with innovation in the silicon. From AMD and the incredible graphics depth brought by the Ryzen processors to the incredible performance of Intel’s 11th gen and Evo Processors, to Qualcomm’s AI prowess, 5G and Arm support, the innovation of our silicon partners brings together the best of Windows 11 with the largest hardware ecosystem in the world.
And with Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Surface and others, we’ve worked to ensure most PCs* you can buy today will be ready for Windows 11 – across a variety of form factors and price points.
Together, we’ve tuned Windows 11 to not only be optimized for speed and efficiency, but to take advantage of improved experiences with touch, inking and voice.
When you use Windows 11 on a tablet without a keyboard, we’ve improved the experience for touch, creating more space between the icons in the taskbar, adding bigger touch targets and subtle visual cues to make resizing and moving windows easier, as well as adding gestures. We’re also enabling haptics to make using your pen even more engaging and immersive – allowing you to hear and feel the vibrations as you click through and edit or sketch. Lastly, we’ve brought forward enhancements in voice typing. Windows 11 is incredible at recognizing what you say; it can automatically punctuate for you, and comes with voice commands. This is a fantastic feature for when you want to take a break from typing and speak your ideas instead.
Windows 11 will be available through a free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 PCs and on new PCs beginning this holiday. To check if your current Windows 10 PC is eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 11, visit Windows.com to download the PC Health Check app. We’re also working with our retail partners to make sure Windows 10 PCs you buy today are ready for the upgrade to Windows 11. The free upgrade will begin to roll out to eligible Windows 10 PCs this holiday and continuing into 2022. And next week, we’ll begin to share an early build of Windows 11 to the Windows Insider Program – this is a passionate community of Windows fans whose feedback is important to us.
This is just the beginning
Windows is more than just an operating system; it’s a fabric woven into our lives and in our work. It’s where we connect with people, it’s where we learn, work and play. Over time it’s remained familiar and adapted to us. We hope you’re as pumped as we are for Windows 11.
We can’t wait to see what Windows 11 empowers people to do and inspires them to create.
*Look for PCs that indicate they are eligible for the free upgrade, or you can check with your retailer for more information.
June 30, 2021 - This post was edited after publication with an updated device image.]]>Today, we introduced Windows 11. What makes Windows, well, Windows is the variety of apps available - from core to casual games, from sophisticated productivity suites to so
The post Building a new, open Microsoft Store on Windows 11 appeared first on Windows Experience Blog.
]]>- Get introduced to the best apps and games with curated stories and collections
We want the Microsoft Store to be the place to get all your favorite apps – including the ones you haven’t heard about…yet! We are introducing Stories, rich editorial content to keep you informed about the best apps and inspire you to achieve more with your device.
- Run your favorite Android mobile games and apps on Windows
We also announced a partnership with Amazon to bring their catalog of Android apps and games to Windows. Windows customers will be able to discover Android apps in the Microsoft Store, and acquire them through the Amazon Appstore.
- A “pop-up” store that helps install apps from the web
With the new pop-up store, we are making it easy to install apps from the browser; when you click a Microsoft Store download badge on a web page, the Microsoft Store will pop up to manage the install – without pulling you away from what you were doing.
A more open Microsoft Store for developers
We believe app stores should be grounded in choice, fairness and innovation. Inspired by these principles, our new Microsoft Store takes two important steps to address feedback from developers about what an app store can do for them:
- Support for more types of apps
Starting today, Windows developers can publish any kind of app, regardless of app framework and packaging technology – such as Win32, .NET, UWP, Xamarin, Electron, React Native, Java and even Progressive Web Apps. Developers can sign-up here to publish desktop apps, or build and package PWAs using our latest open-source tool PWABuilder 3.
- Flexibility and choice of commerce platform
Many developers love the Microsoft Commerce platform because of its simplicity, global distribution, platform integration and its competitive revenue share terms at 85/15 for apps and 88/12 for games.
Starting July 28, app developers will also have an option to bring their own or a third party commerce platform in their apps, and if they do so they don’t need to pay Microsoft any fee. They can keep 100% of their revenue.
Ready for you We are launching an early preview of the new Microsoft Store for you to try in the upcoming Windows Insider build. We’ll continue to build and refine it in the open, and we’d love for you to participate or – for developers – to bring your existing or new apps. See you there! Editor’s note – June 24, 2021 – The page above was updated to provide a link for developers to sign up to publish desktop apps.]]>
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