#Microsoft Ignite 2021

[cloudatlasinc]

UnifyCloud today announced it has been named a finalist of the Modernizing Applications 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

"Being recognized with a Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards honor for the fifth year in a row is a tremendous achievement for UnifyCloud.” said Vivek Bhatnagar, UnifyCloud CTO. ���Being named a finalist for the Modernizing Applications Award reflects our commitment to helping organizations navigate their digital transformation journeys with innovative application modernization solutions. We are proud of our partnership with Microsoft and remain dedicated to driving excellence and delivering significant value through our CloudAtlas platform. Together, we are making modern application and AI development and deployment more accessible."

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered outstanding Microsoft Cloud applications, services, devices, and AI innovation during the past year. Awards were classified in various categories, with honorees chosen from more than 4,700 nominations from more than 100 countries. UnifyCloud was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in Modernizing Applications

The Modernizing Applications Partner of the Year Award recognizes a partner who has a track record of modernizing a portfolio of customer applications for the cloud. The winning partner has demonstrated a deep understanding of their customers’ business challenges and has helped motivate adoption of new cloud technologies and practices.

“Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards!” said Nicole Dezen, Chief Partner Officer and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft. “The momentum generated by numerous AI & Copilot announcements this year fueled innovation from our partners, enabling groundbreaking services and solutions to customers. I am inspired by the capability and creativity in our partner ecosystem and this year's winners beautifully demonstrate the best of what’s possible with AI and the Microsoft Cloud.”

The 2024 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards are announced ahead of MCAPS Start for Partners, our digital event on July 10th and 11th. Partners will receive recognition at MCAPS Start for Partners ahead of in person celebrations during the week of Microsoft Ignite in November. Additional details on the 2024 awards are available on the Microsoft Partner blog: https://aka.ms/POTYA2024_announcement. The complete list of categories, winners and finalists can be found at https://aka.ms/2024POTYAWinnersFinalists.

About UnifyCloud

UnifyCloud is a leading provider of cloud migration and optimization solutions, helping organizations simplify and accelerate their journey to the cloud. With a focus on innovation and customer success, UnifyCloud and its CloudAtlas platform empowers organizations to maximize the benefits of cloud computing, minimize complexity and risk, and achieve their strategic objectives in the cloud.

A Microsoft Solutions Partner in the areas of Infrastructure, Digital & App Innovation and Data & AI, the company has been recognized as a Microsoft Partner of the Year honoree for five consecutive years:

2024 Microsoft Worldwide Modernizing Applications Partner of the Year Award finalist

2023 Microsoft Worldwide Modernizing Applications Partner of the Year Award finalist

2022 Microsoft Worldwide Migration to Azure Partner of the Year Award finalist

2021 Microsoft Worldwide Modernizing Applications Partner of the Year Award finalist

2020 Microsoft Worldwide Solution Assessment Partner of the Year Award winner

2023 Microsoft Asia Pacific Region Partner of the Year finalist nominee

Independent Solutions Vendor (ISV)

Digital and App Innovation (Azure)

Infrastructure (Azure)

Social Impact

For additional information contact, contact marke@unifycloud.com or visit unifycloud.com.

[gqresearch24]

Microsoft Expands Presence In Southeast Asia

(Source-stylemagazine.com)

Microsoft, under the leadership of chairman and CEO Satya Nadella, has unveiled ambitious plans to bolster its presence in Southeast Asia. The tech giant announced a series of significant commitments, including the establishment of a new regional data center in Thailand. This move comes as part of Microsoft’s broader strategy to deepen its engagement in the region and harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive economic growth and innovation.

Investment in Thailand

On Wednesday, Satya Nadella revealed Microsoft’s intention to build a new regional data center in Thailand, signaling the company’s commitment to the country’s digital transformation. Alongside this infrastructure investment, Microsoft pledged to provide AI skills training for over 100,000 individuals and to support local developers. While the exact investment amount was not disclosed, Nadella emphasized the immense potential for Thailand to embrace a digital-first, AI-powered future.

Thailand’s Digital Evolution

In a statement, Nadella highlighted Thailand’s opportunity to leverage AI technologies to fuel growth and productivity across both public and private sectors. The rising demand for cloud computing services in Thailand underscores the significance of Microsoft’s commitments, which aim to unlock economic and productivity opportunities enabled by AI. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin expressed optimism about Microsoft’s contributions, citing the potential for growth, innovation, and prosperity as part of Thailand’s ‘Ignite Thailand’ vision.

Expanding Footprint in Southeast Asia

Microsoft’s latest initiatives in Thailand build upon its ongoing expansion efforts in Southeast Asia. In 2021, the company announced plans to establish regional data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia, further solidifying its presence in the region. Currently, Microsoft operates its Southeast Asia data center out of Singapore, positioning itself to meet the growing demand for cloud services and data processing capabilities in the region.

Fueling the AI Revolution

The surge in AI adoption has fueled demand for cloud computing services and data centers, as organizations require robust infrastructure to support AI-driven initiatives. Microsoft’s investment in new data centers aligns with the growing need for scalable and reliable computing resources to facilitate AI development and deployment. These facilities play a critical role in housing vast datasets and powering the training of AI models, driving innovation across industries.

Empowering Workforce with AI Skills

In addition to infrastructure investments, Microsoft is committed to providing AI skilling opportunities to 2.5 million people across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region by 2025. This initiative aims to equip individuals with the necessary skills to harness the potential of AI, fostering a workforce capable of driving digital transformation and innovation. By investing in talent development, Microsoft seeks to empower individuals and organizations to thrive in the AI-driven economy of the future.

As Microsoft strengthens its presence in Southeast Asia and accelerates AI adoption, the region stands to benefit from enhanced digital capabilities, economic growth, and job creation. With its focus on innovation and collaboration, Microsoft is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the digital landscape of Southeast Asia for years to come.

Also Read: Microsoft and Google Stocks Surge on AI-Powered Cloud Computing Demand

[accapitalmarket]

Rebounding US CPI ignite debates on rate cuts, stock market spins in no direction

US indices were choppy on Thursday following the release of stronger-than-expected December inflation figures. The higher US consumer price index (CPI) seemingly poured further cold water on the more optimistic hopes of an early move by the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates after last week’s above-forecast jobs report.

At the close in New York, the DJIA was up just 0.04%, at 37,711, while the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite and the broader S&P 500 both ended almost flat at 14,970 and 4,780 respectively. All three main indices started higher before dropping lower after the CPI data and then rallying into the close.

The US annual inflation rate increased to 3.4% in December, above forecasts for a rise to 3.2%, up from 3.1% in November. The core inflation reading came in at 3.9%, against expectations of 3.8%, but eased from 4.0% in November. On a monthly basis, the CPI was 0.3% higher in December from November, having risen 0.1% in November from October.

Some commentators thought that the data meant there is still not enough evidence for the US central bank to start cutting rates, although others still felt a March rate cut was possible. The US dollar initially jumped after the CPI numbers but ended weaker against the euro, GBP, and the yen, but off the session lows.

NAS100Roll H4

Among stocks, software giant Microsoft briefly took over as the largest US company by market value, replacing Apple for the first time since November 2021 before that position was again reversed by the close. Microsoft ended 0.5% higher, while Apple was 0.3% lower, having shed 1.0% earlier. Banks were weaker ahead of the start of the latest earnings season.

US30Roll H1

Citigroup dropped 1.8% after a filing showed the lender booked about 3.8 billion USD in combined charges and reserves that will impact its fourth-quarter earnings, to be reported on Friday. Fellow lenders JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo are also set to post earnings on Friday.

Crypto stocks got an initial boost after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first US-listed exchange-traded funds (ETF) to track spot bitcoin. In reaction, Bitcoin reached $49,051, its highest level since December 2021, before dropping back to around $46,400. Coinbase shares had gained 5% but reversed to be down 6.7%.

UKOILRoll H1

USOILRoll H1

Among commodities, oil prices rebounded after falls in the previous session as attacks on shipping through the Red Sea persisted, with Iran boarding an oil tanker. UK Brent crude was up 1.1% to 76.86 USD a barrel, while US WTI added 1.2% to 72.61 USD.

Disclaimer:

The information contained in this market commentary is of general nature only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You are strongly recommended to seek independent financial advice before making any investment decisions.

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The content of this market commentary is owned by AC Capital Market (V) Ltd. Any illegal reproduction of this content will result in immediate legal action.

[todaynewsguru]

Microsoft Announces Mesh for Teams, Loop for better hybrid working, and more at Ignite 2021

Microsoft Announces Mesh for Teams, Loop for better hybrid working, and more at Ignite 2021

Microsoft Ignite 2021: Tech giant Microsoft held its Ignite 2021 event on Tuesday and the event focused on the future of work in a hybrid environment. The Redmond-based company showcased the new features it has added across the spectrum of solutions it offers to further a world with digital flexibility. The biggest among them is Mesh for Microsoft Teams. But along with that, not only is Teams…

[techiespage]

Microsoft is the latest of the biggest tech companies canceling its events, due to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. An official statement revealed that Microsoft is adjusting its whole event calendar and strategy. For the rest of 2020, the company is “embracing the opportunity to experiment with new platforms” to provide “the highest quality of digital-first experiences”. Sources revealed to the media that Ignite The Tour, the MVP Summit 2021 and Build 2021 will also follow suit and will only be livestreamed. Microsoft already canceled its MVP Summit 2020 that was bound to take place last month in Seattle, and Inspire 2020 was scheduled for July in Las Vegas. . . . . #microsoft #techcompanies #techcompany #cancelling #events #covid19 #pandemic #world #official #strategy #2020 #2021 #experiment #platforms #sources #media #ignite #mvp #summit #suit #livestreamed #seattle #lasvegas #usa #us #unitedstates #tech #techies #techies_page #technology https://www.instagram.com/p/B-gqE0-AOLs/?igshid=d4qxk6w4bzom

[raploading915]

Bluestacks Mac Keyboard Mapping

Bluestacks Mac Keyboard Mapping Download

Bluestacks Script Commands

BlueStacks is an American technology company best known for BlueStacks App Player and other cloud-based cross-platform products. BlueStacks App Player is designed to enable Android applications on Microsoft Windows PCs and Apple’s macOS. It was created in 2009 by Jay Vaishnav, Suman. founded Saraf and Rosen Sharma, former CTO of McAfee and a member of the board of directors of Cloud.com. Investors are Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint, Samsung, Intel, Qualcomm, Citrix, Radar Partners, Ignition Partners, AMD, and others. The company was presented on May 26, 2011 at the Citrix Synergy Conference in San Francisco. Citrix CEO Mark Templeton demonstrated a first version of BlueStacks on stage and announced that the companies have entered into a partnership. The public alpha version of the BlueStacks App Player was released on October 11, 2011. App Player came out of beta on June 7, 2014. On July 23, 2014, Samsung announced that it had invested in BlueStacks. That brought the total external investment in BlueStacks to $ 26 million.

It is one of the best Android emulator for PC that offers custom key mapping for keyboard configurations. Running GoPro App on PC or Mac - Bluestacks.

Dec 11, 2020 Apple is stricter when it comes to the Apps it accepts to its App store. IOS users can still use a mouse and keyboard combo to play games, but their options will be quite limited than Android users.

Dec 21, 2020 First, launch BlueStacks on your computer and navigate to the My Apps tab. Now, open PUBG Mobile. Once PUBG Mobiles opens up, go to the Menu ba r at the top. Here, select Actions and then click on Open keyboard controls UI in the drop-down menu.

Use the letters and symbols on your Apple keyboard to help you determine your keyboard layout by country or region. Some keyboard layouts are only available in certain countries or regions. If you need keyboard replacement or repair, contact Apple or a service provider.

BlueStacks Emulator. This android emulator comes with multiple features to enhance a better user experience. Besides, it comes with a user-friendly environment for better interaction. Using the keyboard, you can set mapping. Besides, it allows you to customize the control to the keys.

Contents

13 Security

13.1 About Post Author

BlueStacks App Player

The App Player, software that virtualizes an Android operating system, can be downloaded in versions for Windows 10 and macOS. The basic functions of the software are free to download and use. A paid monthly subscription is required for advanced optional features. The company claims that the App Player will be able to run 1.5 million Android apps as of November 2019. In February 2021, BlueStacks had been downloaded more than 1 billion times and had users of more than 500 million. Mouse, keyboard and external touchpad controls.

Minimum requirements

Current minimum requirements for App Player for Windows include: Windows 7 or higher, 2 GB or more system memory, 5 GB hard drive space, administrator rights, and an Intel or AMD processor. BlueStacks collides with BitDefender antivirus software. The latest version of the graphics card driver is also suggested. The minimum requirements for macOS are: macOS Sierra or higher, 4 GB RAM, 4 GB hard disk space and a model newer than 2014.

How did it all start?

The foundation for the idea was laid on a family outing when the daughter of one of their founding members wished she could play her mobile phone games on her father’s laptop.

The first year- It was the year 2011. The paths of the founding members crossed. Streets in Silicon Valley and worked together to create downloadable software that would provide users with a “virtual Android experience” on Windows PCs and Macs. BlueStacks was started as a cross-play platform with a team of three. BlueStacks is one of the most recognized technology brands in the industry and has a team of more than 300 employees around the world. The app player has become the best Android gaming platform for computers (PC), and trusted by more than 500 million players from more than 200 international gamers. Some of the world’s leading game developers use our platform to promote their games.

What is BlueStacks?

Emulators will turn your PC into a Mac, play games from all eras, and more – here’s what you need to know about the potential benefits and risks of using an emulator. Like any emulator, BlueStacks creates a virtual version of an Android device that is running in a window on your computer. It doesn’t look exactly like an Android device, but it looks good like a phone screen so even a new user shouldn’t have any problems with it. BlueStacks is free to download, install and use. While you can run almost any Android app with BlueStacks (it supports about 97% of the apps on the Google Play Store), the app has found its largest audience among Android users wanting to play mobile games on their desktop computers. The app is optimized for gamers, but offers direct access to the Google Play Store and each app can be downloaded via your Google account just like on an Android device.

Main BlueStacks Features and Functions

The BlueStacks home screen doesn’t reflect a specific version of Android or the phone screen, but it should be easy for any Android user to find their way around. The home screen also contains an icon for the Google Play Store. as a collection of system applications (including settings). A toolbar on the side of the window gives you access to the various modes and functions of the programs, as well as adjusting the volume, taking screenshots, rotating the screen and much more. There is also a separate settings icon for adjusting the BlueStacks settings. This is different from customizing the settings for the Android virtual device. You can navigate using the Back, Home and Recent Apps icons in the lower right corner of the toolbar.

Easy app installation: You can install Android apps without delay from the Google Play Store inside BlueStacks withinside the same manner you’ll install any app to your phone. If you’ve got an app’s .APK file (the executable app file) you could install it from the BlueStacks toolbar.

Integration with PC gadgets: BlueStacks integrates seamlessly together along with your computer’s gadgets and peripherals, inclusive of the mouse, keyboard, webcam, and greater. These gadgets will paint as though they had been constructed into your Android device, and Android apps may be capable of taking advantage of them automatically.

Game controls: Most Android video games have hard and fast default controls that make fine use of the computer’s mouse and keyboard, even though you could alter and customise those controls inside BlueStacks.

Multi-example support: BlueStacks permits you to open the equal recreation in a couple of windows, gambling it with or greater money owed at once. You can use this to play a couple of video games at the same time, to play the equal recreation from numerous money owed, or maybe to play multiplayer video games with yourself.

Macros: BlueStacks consists of a sturdy macro editor to automate obligations with keyboard shortcuts.

New released versions

In December 2015, BlueStacks, Inc released the new version BlueStacks 2.0, which allows users to run multiple Android applications at the same time. BlueStacks 2.0 was also available for Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks or higher until 2018.

Then On April 7, 2016, the company launched BlueStacks TV, which integrates Twitch.tv directly into the BlueStacks App Player. This addition allows users to stream their apps on Twitch without the need for any additional hardware or software. BlueStacks launched the Facebook Live integration in September 2016, which allows users to broadcast their game to their Facebook profiles, the pages they control, or the Facebook groups they belong to.

In July 2017 BlueStacks released BlueStacks 3 based on a new engine and interface design. BlueStacks 3 has added an App Center that adjusts game suggestions, an account system, a chat, a new key mapping interface and multiple instances. Multi-instance allows users to launch multiple BlueStacks windows with the same or a different Google Play account.

On January, 2019, they released BlueStacks + N Beta on Android 7 (Android Nougat) and claimed to be the first and only Android gaming platform to have Android 7 at that time, as most of the Android emulators were running Android 4.4 (KitKat), including older versions of BlueStacks. This beta version is powered by an updated “HyperG” graphics engine that enables BlueStacks to take advantage of the full range of APIs from Android 7.

On September 18, 2018, BlueStacks announced the release of its latest flagship version, BlueStacks 4 at. According to the Antutu benchmark, BlueStacks 4 tests 68 times faster than all popular mobile phones. BlueStacks 4 also includes dynamic resource management that only initializes the required Android libraries, thus freeing up resources. A new database and search provide a clean user interface. Automatic key bindings in games that are compatible with key customization are also available for additional customization. Also, BlueStacks 4 supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Android 7.2 Nougat. Development for macOS has restarted and version 4 is currently available on the website from November 2019 and was first released for Mac in January 2019.

On January 17th, 2019 BlueStacks released a 64-bit version of BlueStacks 4 bis released its early access program This version runs on a 64-bit version of Android 7.2, which enables improved performance and more efficient use of memory. The prerequisites for running this build include running a 64-bit version of Windows 8 or higher with virtualization enabled and HyperV disabled. This 64-bit version allows you to install and use the Android apps ARM64v8a.

Bluestacks Mac Keyboard Mapping Download

On May 19, 2021 BlueStacks released BlueStacks 5.

BlueStacks Compatibility and System Requirements

BlueStacks has relatively modest system requirements and should run fine on most modern computers. Some of the main system requirements for installing BlueStacks:

PC: You must have Windows 7 or higher, although Windows 10 is recommended 2 GB of RAM is required but 8 GB or more is recommended. You need at least 5 GB hard disk space (SSD recommended) and broadband internet access. Your PC needs a modern multi-core CPU to run BlueStacks properly.

Mac: Requires mac OS 10.12 (Sierra) or higher, but macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) is recommended.4 GB of RAM is required, 8 GB or more is recommended. You will also need at least 8 GB of space on your hard drive and an SSD is recommended. Your Mac needs a modern multi-core CPU to run BlueStacks successfully, and it must have an Intel HD Graphics 5200 or better.

Performance of the BlueStacks

How will BlueStacks affect your computer’s performance? If you are using a medium specification computer, the software may crash. It could also consume a significant amount of your PC’s system resources. This is because it has high CPU and RAM usage. Of course, it will slow down your computer’s performance. However, this is normal as Android and desktop / laptop operating systems have different builds.

Popularity of the BlueStacks

As mentioned above, BlueStacks is one of the most popular Android emulators right now. It’s preferred by millions of users for its performance and customization flexibility, but don’t take our word for it, you may never know if there is anything better in the future.

Updated software of BlueStacks is safe software

When BlueStacks was first introduced to the public, there were several security issues. It was a controversial app at the time. But the developers managed to update it and release the latest version with updates. In short, the latest version brings security and convenience to every user.

Is BlueStacks safe and can rely on this application?

BlueStacks is a legitimate application that was developed and produced by a large company. As long as you install the program from the BlueStacks website, it is safe to install and use. Installing from a third-party site can be more complicated. Even so, some anti-malware utilities may even block the program from installing it from the Bluestack website. As long as you install the official Bluestack program, you can safely proceed. It’s also perfectly legal, although some companies argue otherwise, the emulators are protected by US law and can run like any other application.

Is It Legal To Use Android Bluestacks Emulator?

The only reason people are speculating about the software’s legality is that most of the emulators break the rules and regulations, however, Bluestacks is an Android emulator and Android is an open source operating system, which means you can Second to change, Bluestacks is just an emulator that is not malicious in any way and allows its users to log into their Google Play accounts. In other words, it’s safe to say that Bluestacks is legal to use.

Security

Certainly, BlueStacks is 100% safe for your PC or laptop. There is no concrete evidence that BlueStacks activates spyware and malware. If you just want a safe and legitimate emulator, BlueStacks is for you. Why waste all the fun you can have being unreasonable? Security Issues If you don’t have an Android device and want to use an Android application, the best way to do this is to download the software.

Download Tamil Keyboard for PC free at BrowserCam. Arunk. launched Tamil Keyboard undefined for Google Android and iOS however you might also install Tamil Keyboard on PC or MAC. Let's learn the criteria to download Tamil Keyboard PC on Windows or MAC computer with not much trouble.

For people who have already installed an Android emulator in the PC you can keep working with it or explore Bluestacks or Andy emulator for PC. They've got loads of favorable reviews by the Android users when compared to the many other free and paid Android emulators and even both of these happen to be compatible with windows and MAC OS. We encourage you to very first find the suggested OS requirements to install the Android emulator on PC following that download provided that your PC complies with the minimum OS requirements of the emulator. It is quite an easy task to download and install the emulator when you're prepared to and just needs couple of moments. Please click on underneath download link to begin downloading the Tamil Keyboard .APK to your PC for those who do not discover the undefined in google play store.

How to Download Tamil Keyboard for PC:

Download BlueStacks free Android emulator for PC considering the link displayed in this particular page.

Start installing BlueStacks Android emulator simply by clicking on the installer If the download process is fully completed.

Move forward with the easy-to-follow installation steps just by clicking on 'Next' for multiple times.

Within the final step click the 'Install' choice to get going with the install process and click on 'Finish' whenever it is ended.During the last and final step please click on 'Install' to begin the final installation process and you'll be able to click 'Finish' in order to finish the installation.

Within the windows start menu or alternatively desktop shortcut open BlueStacks Android emulator.

Before you decide to install Tamil Keyboard for pc, it's essential to connect BlueStacks emulator with your Google account.

To finish, you should be sent to google playstore page this lets you search for Tamil Keyboard undefined utilising the search bar and install Tamil Keyboard for PC or Computer.

Bluestacks Script Commands

If you install the Android emulator, it's also possible to utilize the APK file to successfully install Tamil Keyboard for PC either by simply clicking on apk or by launching it via BlueStacks App Player considering that few of your preferred Android games or apps are usually not available in google playstore as they do not stick to Program Policies. You could follow the above same exact procedure even though you prefer to opt for Andy or if you choose to go with free download and install Tamil Keyboard for MAC.

[choicesblog616]

Azure Teams

Azure Teams Status

Teams And Azure Devops Integration

Overview

Azure DevOps Services for teams to share code, track work, and ship software; Azure Pipelines Continuously build, test, and deploy to any platform and cloud; Azure Boards Plan, track, and discuss work across your teams; Azure Repos Get unlimited, cloud-hosted private Git repos for your project; Azure Artifacts Create, host, and share packages.

Azure DevOps Services for teams to share code, track work, and ship software; Azure Pipelines Continuously build, test, and deploy to any platform and cloud; Azure Boards Plan, track, and discuss work across your teams; Azure Repos Get unlimited, cloud-hosted private Git repos for your project; Azure Artifacts Create, host, and share packages with your team. Ignite 2021 announcements summary - Teams, Power Platform, Azure, Security and Compliance Microsoft announced a lot of changes and enhancements to their cloud products this month at Ignite, their major conference. Microsoft is radically simplifying cloud dev and ops in first-of-its-kind Azure Preview portal at portal.azure.com.

Microsoft Teams is the chat-centered workspace that provides instant access to everything needed for DevOps teamwork. It is that dedicated hub that brings your teams, conversations, content, and tools from across Azure DevOps, GitHub, and Office together into one place.

Important: Before you proceed with this lab we recommend you to complete the GitHub integration with Azure Pipelines and GitHub integration with Azure Boards labs.

Task 1: Integrate Microsoft Teams with Azure DevOps and GitHub

Azure Teams Status

Launch Microsoft Teams - you can either open the web app or download the app to your desktop from here

Azure DevOps Services integration with Microsoft Teams provides a comprehensive chat and collaborative experience across the development cycle. Follow the instructions here to integrate Teams with your Contoso-Air Azure DevOps project.

Install and configure the Azure Pipelines app with Teams to monitor the events for your pipelines. Follow the instructions here to set up and manage subscriptions for releases, pending approvals, completed builds etc. and get notifications right into your Teams channel

Install GitHub for Microsoft Teams application from Microsoft Teams App Store.

Setup a tab for GitHub Pull requests in your Teams channel. While configuring the tab, select the repository for which you would like to pin the issues or pull requests view. Once the tab is pinned, everyone in the team can view the tab but only those who’ve access to the repository would be able to see the issues/pull requests content.

Task 2: Using Microsoft Teams as Your DevOps Hub

Teams And Azure Devops Integration

Open the Conversations tab.

You have subscribed to the updates from Azure DevOps for work items, build summary etc.. by installing Azure DevOps Services connector in the previous task.

You should be able to see work item notifications as shown below.

You can also manually link items from GitHub and Azure DevOps in conversation.

Select the recently closed user story.

Enter a message and press Enter to share with the team.

Now everyone on the team can see the progress.

Select the Pull requests tab which you have set up in the previous task. This provides a way to check in on GitHub pull requests without having to leave the context of other conversations and collaboration being done for this specific project.

You can open pull requests directly from Teams. Click the newly created one to open it in a new browser tab. Close the tab when satisfied.

Switch to the Stories Board tab. If you have not setup earlier follow the instructions here to bring in your team’s kanban board or favourite dashboard directly into Microsoft Teams. This provides interactive access to the Azure DevOps Kanban board directly from Microsoft Teams.

Task 3: Managing DevOps Processes from Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a great place to manage certain DevOps processes, such as approving deployments. To illustrate this, we’ll add a pre-deployment approval to the release pipeline and invoke it using the same GitHub pull request model as before.

Navigate to the Azure DevOps browser tab.

Select your Release pipeline. Select Edit | Edit pipeline.

Click Pre-deployment conditions for Stage 1.

Select the option to Enable the Pre-deployment approvals and add yourself as an approver.

Click Save.

Return to the GitHub browser tab. You need to make a minor change to the codebase so that you can create a pull request and generate an approval request.

Select the Code tab in your repo.

Click the Edit button to make a quick update to the readme.

Make a minor change (such as adding a new line). Check Create a new branch and give it a name. Click Propose file change.

Click Create pull request.

Switch to Microsoft Teams now. There should be new conversation notifications for the commit and pull request as shown below.

Return to GitHub and click Merge pull request.

Click Confirm merge.

Return to Microsoft Teams. When the release pipeline is ready to deploy, you will receive an approval notification in Teams. Click Approve to approve the release.

Once the deployment succeeds, you will receive another notification of the success.

[tepton]

人間の操作を記録し再生する機能や、自動化シナリオをドラッグ＆ドロップでビジュアルに編集可能な機能を備える

［速報］マイクロソフト、無料でRPA機能「Power Automate Desktop」をWindows 10ユーザーに提供開始。Microsoft Ignite 2021 － Publickey

[themediabulletin]

The global Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) market is currently generating revenue of around USD 22.1 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach the USD 161 billion-mark by 2025. Learning, training, and scientific visualizations are a few of the most significant Virtual Reality technology applications that help reduce investments and enrich a wide range of industries.

The increasing demand for smartphones and tablets is extensively contributing to the growth of the AR and VR market across the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as an opportunity for computer-related technologies to fight against the outbreak. Many tech giants and start-ups are currently working on preventing the spread of the virus by working remotely. For example, the tech giant Microsoft has announced to organize its events like Microsoft Ignite, and Microsoft Build 2020 digitally till 2021.

[demanddynamics]

Microsoft Ignite 2021: What’s new in Dynamics 365? New Features & Updates

The most impactful event, Microsoft Ignite 2021 is back again with some of the key trends and what’s new in Dynamics 365.

From strengthening Azure AI, making it a power platform to all the way down to investments in security skilling that includes compliance and identity, Microsoft is back again with its Ignite 2021 conference with a barrage of new product features and announcements that always keep end-customers on the edge of their seats. And this time, it’s all about the power of cloud computing. As we get along from what we have witnessed from the virtual conference, we’ll begin by taking a look at the 5 trends that CEO – Satya Nadella believes will drive the next wave of innovation.

Unprecedented times always gives the courage to overcome the most unimaginable constraints. And, 2020 has proved that for every industry across every business function as we all have witnessed a second wave of digital transformation, starting from healthcare to manufacturing, accelerating digital initiatives to build resilience and transform like we have never seen before.

This year’s ignite 2021 started off with the chief outlining the five key attributes that will drive the next generation of innovation in the cloud. And they are,

Ubiquitous and decentralized computing

Sovereign data and ambient intelligence

Empowered creators and communities everywhere

Expanded economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce

Trust by design

A detailed study/run-down on the aforementioned five trends that were highlighted during the conference will be covered in another blog. For now, let’s take a look at some of the key announcements on the business applications front. Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.

What’s new in Dynamics 365?

While Microsoft Teams saw several updates at Ignite 2021, we couldn’t be happier for its integration with Dynamics 365. As remote work becoming the new norm, the synergy between Dynamics 365 and teams makes way for enabling enterprises to connect with customers in a better way.

Teams and Dynamics 365 (New Integrations)

Ignite 2021 has got our team of certified experts at DemandDynamics perplexed with the latest integration between Teams and Dynamics 365. A collaboration that all of our users love to use without having to switch between the applications.

That means, users can now leverage Teams from their Dynamics 365 workspace to make calls, start or continue chats, schedule meetings and collaborate, and more without having to juggle back to Teams. On the flip side, users can also access and share their Dynamics 365 content from within Teams, without having to go back to Dynamics 365.

Here’s how Teams integration with Dynamics 365 is going to help business functions.

Dynamics 365 Sales: With the new integration, sellers can connect sales records to Microsoft Teams without having to leave Dynamics 365 Sales. Also, you can use teams to manage calls and access other functionality from within the seamless interface of Dynamics 365.

Dynamics 365 Marketing: From the comfort of a single window, marketers can set up, promote and report on events hosted on Microsoft Teams directly from Dynamics 365 Marketing. Allowing you to nurture attendee relationships during and after the event across multiple channels.

Dynamics 365 Customer Service/Field Service: From Dynamics 365 Customer Service, you can now easily find the right subject-matter-expert directly to resolve your customer issues on the fly. (All thanks to Teams Integration)

Dynamics 365 Human Resources: Later this year, you can access Dynamics 365 Human Resources directly within Microsoft Teams. This helps managers review and approve requests in just a couple of clicks.

Dynamics 365 Intelligent Order Management, is a new application in disguise for legacy ERP customers to scale their order management process from intake to delivery. This “purpose-driven supply chain solution,” as Microsoft refers to it, is a quick-access tool for companies to handle the overwhelming commerce requirements with ease. It can perform numerous actions for businesses based on need. It can utilize AI to decide the best way to fulfilling an order, based on current inventory, and game out potential implications of the options available.

Did we mention real-time personalized customer experience capabilities in Dynamics 365 Marketing? I don’t think we did. The all-new capability is slated to public preview in April.

Power Platform updates in Ignite 2021:

As part of Microsoft’s on-going mission to democratize app development and filling the gaps for developer resource shortage, it has released a handful of updates to make Power Platform much more user-friendly.

Power Automate Desktop to Power BI Premium, this year’s release has its focus on the stability and security across the functions. Some of the Premium Gen 2 enhancements include,

Flexibility to license per user or per capacity;

Faster processing – up to 16x performance boost with Microsoft managed architecture.

Auto-scale to automatically add capacity when needed; and

Consistent and reliable cost management with utilization metrics.

Industry Cloud updates in Ignite 2021:

One of the most exciting announcement from the conference come from the industry cloud. Microsoft has announced three new industry clouds will be out to power the financial services, manufacturing and non-profit sectors. These three inclusions will join the list of already available

Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services (New)

Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing (New)

Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare (Launched Oct, 2020)

Microsoft Cloud for Retail (Announced early January 2021)

From what we know from the event, the first update to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare is slated for a release in April 2021. This update includes four new features and adds support for eight additional languages. Feature updates focus on further streamlining virtual health, care collaboration and patient self-service.

As we think of the growth potential, businesses across the world are amplifying their efforts to adapt, digitize and transform at a rapid pace and Microsoft Ignite just tells us that it’s just the beginning of the innovation.

Spark the ignition of your digital transformation journey with us:

Whether you intend to integrate new apps with Microsoft Dynamics 365 or an existing stack, DemandDynamics is here to help. To begin with, our team of experts evaluate your current and future needs to strategically align the Dynamics 365 implementation with your specific business goals and objectives to make sure we leave no coin unturned.

As a Microsoft Gold Partner, we provide the best Microsoft Dynamics 365 Consulting and Implementation services in the industry to meet your business needs with insights and expertise that increase productivity and drive digital transformation.

[thealbajessica-blog]

Microsoft ends free security updates for the operating system

Windows 7 is, effectively, dead. For a year now, Microsoft had intimated users of the operating system that it will stop issuing security updates for free, come January 14, 2020. Users will be able to run Windows 7 even after the cutoff date, but their systems are likely to be especially vulnerable to security problems. To reinforce the point, Microsoft is issuing a pop-up notification to Windows 7 users from January 15, 2020.

Read more about Microsoft Ignite Splitter

The Redmond-based tech major has been periodically issuing reminders to users about the end-of-support date. It has been sending notes with the text: ‘Your Windows 7 PC is out of support’. The notification will not be sent to systems in kiosk mode, or domain-joined machines.

The notifications to Windows 7 users, is part of a patch, embedded in a monthly rollup KB4530734, which has been added to its Patch Tuesday set of updates. These have been made available to Windows 7 SP1 users since December 10, 2019. It has been designed to configure Windows 7 PCs to display the January 15 end-of-support date.

The notification makes a sales pitch for Windows 10, saying “Microsoft strongly recommends using Windows 10 on a new PC for the latest security features and protection against malicious software.” The warning message has three options: Learn more, remind me later, and don’t remind me again. Users will be nagged about the susceptibility of the machines to attack if they don’t click on the “don’t remind me again” button.

Microsoft will continue Windows 7 support for business users who purchased Extended Security Updates. Windows Virtual Desktop owners will also be eligible to receive security updates for three years at no extra charge. Essential software like Office 365 ProPlus will continue to be supported and will receive support with Windows 7 Extended Security Updates through January 2023.

Third-party applications like Google’s Chrome browser on Windows 7 will be supported until at least July 2021. The end-of-support date for the new Chromium-based Edge browsers was not mentioned.

Source: Economictimes

Blog: office.com/setup

[billehrman]

This Too Shall Pass

As investors, we take a multi-year view. While we do not want to minimize the devastation to life caused by the coronavirus nor its near term impact to the global economy, our role is to look over this valley, as this too shall pass, and take advantage of the inefficiencies created in all of the financial markets.

Global stock markets and commodity prices are falling while bond prices are soaring.  The dollar has regained its strength and safe haven status along with the Japanese yen. Opportunities are being created for the patient, long-term investor, but go slowly as uncertainty is the word of the day and markets hate uncertainty.

So far there are approximately 12,000 reported cases of coronavirus worldwide and nearly 260 deaths globally, all in China. If history is any guide, the rate of change in the number of people getting the virus and dying from it should begin to slow in a matter of weeks. The Chinese government is moving rapidly to contain the virus, corporations are shutting down their operations asking employees to stay at home, governments are restricting travel from and to China, and the best of the best in healthcare are working together to control, mitigate, and ultimately find a cure for the virus.

Let’s put the coronavirus in perspective.  The flu has infected over 19 million people while killing over 10,000 so far in the 2019-2020 flu season in the U.S alone. No one talks about it as a national disaster and a detriment to growth as we feel that we have it under control. Do we? The health authorities, when approving a vaccine each year for the flu season, rarely get it right. Does the flu epidemic alter the long growth potential of the U.S? No. Will the coronavirus alter the long-term growth potential of China? Not really! So why not look over the valley and take advantage of these near-term inefficiencies in the financial marketplaces? It is not easy for sure, but the best opportunities are created when others are uncertain and panic. We maintain a long-term view: buy when value exists and sell when fully valued.  We always challenge our core beliefs and remain open to change, if/when warranted. We fully recognize that we live in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environment but invest for long term gains rather than trade which is a losing strategy over time.

Our base case remains that the coronavirus and the flu will both be contained before the end of the first quarter, 2020. There is no doubt that near term global economic growth will be penalized big time as growth in China in the first quarter could easily be halved from previous expectations and multinational earnings will clearly be impacted too. But will that alter long-term prospects for both China and these corporations. Not at all!

Chinese monetary authorities mentioned yesterday that they will provide all the capital needed to deal with the economic blow from the coronavirus to support their financial markets. We fully expect the government to announce a massive additional fiscal stimulus plan to jump start the Chinese economy once the virus is contained.  In fact, all of the global monetary authorities will keep the money spigot wide open in 2020. Our Fed, which met this past week, confirmed its easy monetary policy not expecting the funds rate to increase until inflation reaches 2% for a sustained period which won’t happen anytime soon. On the other hand, Fed Chairman Powell did mention that the Fed may begin to wind down its $60 billion per month expansion in its balance sheet sometime this spring but that remains to be seen during these questionable times. The Fed will continue, no matter, to expand its balance sheet in the future but at reduced levels to maintain ample reserves in the system so the repo problem does not happen again.

Investment Conclusion

The engines for accelerating global growth are primed and ready to go once the world gets its arms around the coronavirus, trade deals kick in, and monetary stimulus is in effect, reducing the cost of capital for businesses and consumers alike.  Add to all of this, the benefits of major fiscal stimulus in China, Japan, and the U.S.  If anything, the virus may cause both monetary authorities and governments to do even more than is currently on their plates to re-ignite their economies.

We expect the global economy, as well as that of the U.S, to improve as we move through the year. For example, the U.S economy alone will be hit by around 0.5% annualized during the first two quarters of 2020 due to Boeing’s problems bringing the Max back online. We are hopeful that the FAA will approve it by mid-summer with production beginning even sooner but at much lower levels than existed in 2019. On the other hand, all of the trade deals finally concluded by the U.S. with China, Mexico, Canada, Japan and others will ramp up, too, as we move through the year, potentially adding well over 0.7% to annualized growth in the latter half of 2020. Net net, we would not be surprised to see first half GNP growth slightly less than 2% with the final two quarters running at 3% or above. In addition, as we wrote above, China’s growth will accelerate rapidly with added monetary and fiscal stimulus once the coronavirus is controlled such that their economy will recover and sustain growth at around 6% annualized once again as the year progresses.

Just the acceleration of these two economies alone would be sufficient to boost global growth as we move through the year, but we also expect the emerging markets, Japan, Australia, India and others to move into gear as the year progresses. By the way, India’s government just slashed taxes and increased fiscal spending to boost growth back above 5% in 2020 from beneath 4% last year. You can see why we remain optimistic that global growth will end the year on a high note, after a sluggish start, which is not the consensus at this time, which we like.

After having reduced our economically sensitive stocks over the last few weeks as discussed in previous blogs, we are looking to add them back over the next few weeks as they are beginning to be priced, once again, at recession valuations. Each of the companies that we would buy have strong managements with winning strategic long term plans, have exceptionally strong free cash flow after investing in their businesses, have dividend yields well over 3% and growing and are buying back tons of stock out of free cash flow reducing the count by over 3% per year. Energy is not part of this group.

Before we conclude this blog, we must discuss two areas of uncertainty that has existed in the marketplace over the last few months. First, it now is evident that the Senate will vote next week to exonerate Trump. The impeachment proceeding will finally come to an end. Second, Brexit is a done deal as of Friday night at 11:00 PM. The transition phase will last for a year with Britain as a nonvoting member of the Eurozone but be able to trade freely within the EU. If the two sides cannot reach a deal on their future relationship by December 31st, business will be conducted on World Trade Organization terms and border checks will be imposed where now none exist. We would not be surprised to see Trump and Johnson make a major trade deal between them before either one makes one with the Eurozone.

In conclusion, we believe that the major issues facing investors today are transitory and that growth will resume as we move through the year. We are also factoring in that all of the monetary authorities are unusually accommodative providing far more capital to the system than is needed by the real economy thus finding its way into risk assets just like last year. And you know how the financial markets reacted last year!  Remember that most all interest rates have retreated to near all-time lows, spreads remain tight and major bank capital/liquidity ratios are at all time highs. Clearly the stock market multiple should exceed 20 times projected earnings.

But the major difference today than last year is that we are on the cusp of accelerating global growth with all the stars aligned once the coronavirus is controlled. This too shall pass. This has happened time and again when epidemics spread in parts of the world. Now is the time to average into stocks when uncertainty is high, valuations are low, dividend yields exceed the 10-year treasury yield, and few are optimistic about the future. We expect to look back in a few months after the virus is controlled and ask why we did not do even more buying as others panicked. We recognize that the Chinese markets could have a blood bath when they reopen next week but we expect the government to do all in its power to mitigate the decline. We will continue to average into those stocks that we want to own long term as prices weaken.

Our major area of emphasis remain technology, including the semis. Look at Microsoft’s numbers. It is our second largest position. We also own some financials who are earning more each year, generating tremendous free cash flow, pay large and growing dividends and are shrinking their capitalizations big time. This has all been done with a relatively flat yield curve. Can you imagine their earnings once the yield curve normalizes?

Global capital goods and industrials remain a major focus, too, as their volumes and earnings grow despite sluggish global growth. They are generating over 100% free cash flow per year that is in the billions being used to enhance shareholder returns. Also, we own the low-cost industrial commodity companies that are also generating billions of free cash flow with large well supported dividend yields over 5% and large buybacks in place. We expect shortages in copper in 2021.  Housing related retailers is another area that we favor as there is a shortage of low cost housing in this country. Finally, we own many special situations where their intrinsic value is at least 50% greater than current valuations. Each one has exceptionally strong balance sheets with huge free cash flow, too and yield over 3%. We own no bonds and are flat the dollar.

Our weekly investment webinar will be held Monday at 8:30 am EST. You can join by entering https://zoom.us/j/9179217852 into your browser. Feel free to send questions in advance to bill.ehrman@prosperitefund.com.

Remember to review all the facts; pause, reflect and consider mindset shifts; turn off the pundits/experts; look at your asset mix with risk controls; listen to as many earnings call as possible; do independent research and …

Invest Accordingly!

Bill Ehrman

Paix et Prospérité LLC

[mixityapp]

Apple Is Stepping Into the Metaverse. Will Anyone Care? - The New York Times

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Apple Is Stepping Into the Metaverse. Will Anyone Care?

Interest in the futuristic, immersive digital world is fading just as Apple plans to debut a virtual reality device.

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Attendees try out the Caliverse Hyper-Realistic Metaverse experience at CES 2023 in Las Vegas in January. Now Apple is expected to jump into the V.R. market.Credit...Alex Wong/Getty Images





By Kellen Browning and Mike Isaac

Kellen Browning and Mike Isaac reported this article from San Francisco.

June 2, 2023, 5:01 a.m. ET

Mark Zuckerberg embraced a digital world known as the metaverse when he said in November 2021 that he was changing his company’s name from Facebook to Meta.

A month later, Bill Gates, a founder of Microsoft, wrote that within two or three years, he believed most virtual meetings would transition from two-dimensional grids of video “to the metaverse, a 3D space with digital avatars.”

Soon after, Microsoft announced that it would spend $70 billion to buy the video game giant Activision Blizzard and said the deal would “provide building blocks for the metaverse.”

But since then, interest in the metaverse has stalled. Technology investors have moved on to new trends like artificial intelligence. And some metaverse projects have been shuttered at companies like Disney and Microsoft, despite that burst of enthusiasm.

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Enter Apple. At its Worldwide Developers Conference starting on Monday, the tech giant is expected to debut its virtual reality hardware product: high-tech goggles that blend together the digital and physical worlds.

The company is betting that it can tempt consumers with mixed reality products better than Meta, whose high-end Quest Pro headsets have not sold well, and that it can ignite mainstream interest in virtual reality in a way that other companies have not. The Apple headset is expected to cost about $3,000 and will look like ski goggles, according to current and former employees familiar with its development.

Apple has done this before. Eventual hits like the iPod, iPhone and Apple Watch started in niche markets that grew into big businesses. But even Apple executives have been skeptical about the company’s prospects in virtual reality, which, they say, may still not be ready for its mainstream moment.

What Is the Metaverse, and Why Does It Matter?

Card 1 of 5

The origins. The word “metaverse” describes a fully realized digital world that exists beyond the one in which we live. It was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel “Snow Crash,” and the concept was further explored by Ernest Cline in his novel “Ready Player One.”

An expanding universe. The metaverse appears to have gained momentum during the online-everything shift of the pandemic. The term today refers to a variety of experiences, environments and assets that exist in the virtual space.

Some examples. Video games in which players can build their own worlds have metaverse tendencies, as does most social media. If you own a non-fungible token, virtual-reality headset or some cryptocurrency, you’re also part of the metaversal experience.

How Big Tech is shifting. Facebook staked its claim to the metaverse last year, after shipping 10 million of its virtual-reality headsets and announcing it had renamed itself Meta. Google, Microsoft and Apple have all been working on metaverse-related technology.

The future. Many people in tech believe the metaverse will herald an era in which our virtual lives will play as important a role as our physical realities. Some experts warn that it could still turn out to be a fad or even dangerous.

Apple declined to comment.

The idea of an immersive, all-encompassing online universe made more sense to many investors when people weren’t leaving their homes during the height of the pandemic. Metaverse-related start-ups raised about $664 million in venture capital in the first five months of 2023, a drastic drop from the more than $2.93 billion they raised in the same period in 2022, according to data compiled by PitchBook. That drop-off cuts recent metaverse start-up investment to about a quarter of its peak in the first half of 2022, PitchBook said.

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“The metaverse investment fad — it came and went, and now people are focused on A.I.,” said Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowen & Company. “The people who were hopping on it because it was a sexy thing to talk about have hopped back off.”

This year, Microsoft shuttered a virtual reality world, called AltspaceVR, that it acquired in 2017. The company also laid off some employees working on its HoloLens mixed reality headset and eliminated or reassigned teams that had been working on metaverse projects, according to a person familiar with the changes.

In a statement, Microsoft said it was still committed to the metaverse and pointed to the news that it was rolling out three-dimensional avatars for Microsoft Teams meetings.

Disney also laid off about 50 employees who had been working on metaverse projects, according to a person familiar with the cuts. News about Microsoft’s and Disney’s cuts was reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

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At Meta, Mr. Zuckerberg’s plan to restructure the company around metaverse-centric technologies has been costly. Meta’s hardware unit, Reality Labs, which includes its Oculus headsets, is responsible for a significant part of Meta’s recent big increase in spending. That division lost about $4 billion in the first three months of this year.

Image



At Meta, Mark Zuckerberg’s efforts to restructure the company around metaverse-centric technologies has been costly.Credit...EyePress News, via Reuters



Mr. Zuckerberg cautioned that building the metaverse would be a money-losing proposition with little promise of early returns. Still, it has taken much longer than he anticipated. In recent months, Mr. Zuckerberg and his lieutenants have spent more time talking up Meta’s expertise in A.I., though he has bristled at the notion that the metaverse is no longer his focus.

“A narrative has developed that we’re somehow moving away from focusing on the metaverse vision,” he said in a call with investors in April. “So I just want to say upfront that that’s not accurate. We’ve been focusing on both A.I. and the metaverse for years now, and we will continue to focus on both.”

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A Meta spokeswoman, Ashley Zandy, said: “We’ve always been clear that our metaverse vision is a long-term one, and nothing about that has changed. We are committed to our metaverse vision, and we’re seeing good momentum.”

On Thursday, Mr. Zuckerberg teased a version of the Meta Quest 3, the company’s latest VR headset, which will cost $499 and may come this year. Consumers have spent more than $1.5 billion on apps and games in Meta’s Quest app store to date.

For Apple, its new headset could be the beginning of a long-term plan that eventually leads to a more popular virtual reality product, like a lightweight pair of glasses.

Some analysts have suggested the company could take an experimental approach, gauging how early adopters use it and then making changes before marketing a future version to a broader audience. That would be similar to what it did with the Apple Watch. It was initially marketed as a general purpose companion to the iPhone but was later reframed as a fitness gadget.

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Despite the decline in interest, many argue it’s far too soon to write off the idea of the metaverse. Companies that had been preaching the metaverse well before Meta popularized it, like Roblox and Epic Games, are still committed to their long-term visions.

Matthew Ball, a venture capitalist who has written a book about the metaverse, said the mainstream attention to the concept after Facebook changed its name had spurred outlandish predictions about how soon people would be spending their time in immersive online worlds.

“This was more about timeline mismanagement,” Mr. Ball said. “The intense focus on the metaverse within a short period of time, with some arguing it was here now or was about to be, was bound to disappoint many.”

Image



Some have suggested that companies such as Roblox and Epic provide a far more compelling vision of a metaverse than Meta or Microsoft.Credit...Jason Henry for The New York Times



With their tens of millions of participants, user-generated content and digital economies, Roblox and Epic Games, which produces the battle royale game Fortnite, could provide a more compelling vision of a metaverse.

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Roblox, a platform with millions of games often aimed at children, had 66.1 million daily users in the first quarter of 2023, a 22 percent jump from a year earlier. Craig Donato, the company’s chief business officer, said that Roblox was working on expanding into other immersive online experiences, but that a full-fledged metaverse was still far away.

“We’re very much in the first or second inning,” Mr. Donato said.

In March, Epic Games released new tools designed to help Fortnite players create and make money from their own games on the company’s platform, spurring the creation of an online economy in Fortnite — a cornerstone of the vision of the metaverse preached by Tim Sweeney, the company’s chief executive. Mr. Sweeney said mainstream interest for the metaverse attracted people who weren’t really invested in the space.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people tried to attach themselves to that trend without really delivering the goods,” he said. “But if you look at the trend, it’s continuing to grow, and it continues to look like exponential growth.”

Brian X. Chen and Karen Weise contributed reporting.

Kellen Browning is a technology reporter in San Francisco, where he covers the gig economy, the video game industry and general tech news. @kellen_browning

Mike Isaac is a technology correspondent and the author of “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” a best-selling book on the dramatic rise and fall of the ride-hailing company. He regularly covers Facebook and Silicon Valley, and is based in San Francisco. @MikeIsaac • Facebook

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[unpopularopinion26]

Death of the Metaverse

The Metaverse, the once-buzzy technology that promised to allow users to hang out in a video-game-like world, has died after being abandoned by the business world. It was barely three years old.

The Metaverse was born in 2021 when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg changed the name of his trillion-dollar company to Meta. After a much-heralded debut, the Metaverse became the obsession of the tech world and a quick hack to win over Wall Street investors. The hype could not save the Metaverse, however, and a lack of coherent vision for the product ultimately led to its decline. Once the tech industry turned to a new, more promising trend — generative AI — the fate of the Metaverse was sealed.

The Metaverse is now headed to the tech industry's graveyard of failed ideas.

Over promise

From the moment of its delivery, Zuckerberg claimed that the Metaverse would be the future of the internet. The glitzy, spurious promotional video that accompanied Zuckerberg's name-change announcement described a future where we'd be able to interact seamlessly in virtual worlds: Users would "make eye contact" and "feel like you're right in the room together." The Metaverse offered people the chance to engage in an "immersive" experience, he claimed.

These grandiose promises heaped sky-high expectations on the Metaverse. Glowing profiles of the Metaverse seemed to set it on a laudatory path, but the actual technology failed to deliver on this promise throughout its short life. A wonky virtual-reality interview with the CBS host Gayle King, where low-quality cartoon avatars of both King and Zuckerberg awkwardly motioned to each other, was a stark contrast to the futuristic vistas shown in Meta's splashy introductory video.

The Metaverse also suffered from an acute identity crisis. A functional business proposition requires a few things to thrive and grow: a clear use case, a target audience, and the willingness of customers to adopt the product. Zuckerberg failed to articulate the basic business problems that the Metaverse would address. The concept of virtual worlds where users interact with each other using digital avatars is an old one, going back as far as the late 1990s with massively multiplayer online role-player games, such as "Meridian 59," "Ultimate Online," and "EverQuest." And while the Metaverse supposedly built on these ideas with new technology, Zuckerberg's one actual product — the VR platform Horizon Worlds, which required the use of an incredibly clunky Oculus headset — failed to suggest anything approaching a road map or a genuine vision. In spite of the Metaverse's arrested conceptual development, a pliant press published statements about the future of the technology that were somewhere between unrealistic and outright irresponsible. The CNBC host Jim Cramer nodded approvingly when Zuckerberg claimed that 1 billion people would use the Metaverse and spend hundreds of dollars there, despite the Meta CEO's inability to say what people would receive in exchange for their cash or why anyone would want to strap a clunky headset to their face to attend a low-quality, cartoon concert.

Confusion

The inability to define the Metaverse in any meaningful way didn't get in the way of its ascension to the top of the business world. In the months following the Meta announcement, it seemed that every company had a Metaverse product on offer, despite it not being obvious what it was or why they should.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella would say at the company's 2021 Ignite Conference that he couldn't "overstate how much of a breakthrough" the Metaverse was for his company, the industry, and the world. Roblox, an online game platform that has existed since 2004, rode the Metaverse hype wave to an initial public offering and a $41 billion valuation. Of course, the cryptocurrency industry took the ball and ran with it: The people behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT company conned the press into believing that uploading someone's digital monkey pictures into VR would be the key to "master the Metaverse." Other crypto pumpers even successfully convinced people that digital land in the Metaverse would be the next frontier of real-estate investment. Even businesses that seemed to have little to do with tech jumped on board. Walmart joined the Metaverse. Disney joined the Metaverse.

Companies' rush to get into the game led Wall Street investors, consultants, and analysts to try to one up each other's projections for the Metaverse's growth. The consulting firm Gartner claimed that 25% of people would spend at least one hour a day in the Metaverse by 2026. The Wall Street Journal said the Metaverse would change the way we work forever. The global consulting firm McKinsey predicted that the Metaverse could generate up to "$5 trillion in value," adding that around 95% of business leaders expected the Metaverse to "positively impact their industry" within five to 10 years. Not to be outdone, Citi put out a massive report that declared the Metaverse would be a $13 trillion opportunity.

Spectacular Crash

In spite of all this hype, the Metaverse did not lead a healthy life. Every single business idea or rosy market projection was built on the vague promises of a single CEO. And when people were actually offered the opportunity to try it out, nobody actually used the Metaverse.

Decentraland, the most well-funded, decentralized, crypto-based Metaverse product (effectively a wonky online world you can "walk" around), only had around 38 daily active users in its "$1.3 billion ecosystem." Decentraland would dispute this number, claiming that it had 8,000 daily active users — but that's still only a fraction of the number of people playing large online games like "Fortnite." Meta's much-heralded efforts similarly struggled: By October 2022, Mashable reported that Horizon Worlds had less than 200,000 monthly active users — dramatically short of the 500,000 target Meta had set for the end of 2022. The Wall Street Journal reported that only about 9% of user-created worlds were visited by more than 50 players, and The Verge said that it was so buggy that even Meta employees eschewed it. Despite the might of a then-trillion-dollar company, Meta could not convince people to use the product it had staked its future on.

The Metaverse fell seriously ill as the economy slowed and the hype around generative AI grew. Microsoft shuttered its virtual-workspace platform AltSpaceVR in January 2023, laid off the 100 members of its "industrial metaverse team," and made a series of cuts to its HoloLens team. Disney shuttered its Metaverse division in March, and Walmart followed suit by ending its Roblox-based Metaverse projects. The billions of dollars invested and the breathless hype around a half-baked concept led to thousands — if not tens of thousands — of people losing their jobs.

But the Metaverse was officially pulled off life support when it became clear that Zuckerberg and the company that launched the craze had moved on to greener financial pastures. Zuckerberg declared in a March 2023 update that Meta's "single largest investment is advancing AI and building it into every one of our products." Meta's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, told CNBC in April that he, along with Mark Zuckerberg and the company's chief product officer, Chris Cox, were now spending most of their time on AI. The company has even stopped pitching the Metaverse to advertisers, despite spending more than $100 billion in research and development on its mission to be "Metaverse first." While Zuckerberg may suggest that developing games for the Quest headsets is some sort of investment, the writing is on the wall: Meta is done with the Metaverse.

Lesson learned ?

The death of the Metaverse should be remembered as arguably one of the most historic failures in tech history.

I do not believe that Mark Zuckerberg ever had any real interest in "the Metaverse," because he never seemed to define it beyond a slightly tweaked Facebook with avatars and cumbersome hardware. It was the means to an increased share price, rather than any real vision for the future of human interaction. And Zuckerberg used his outsize wealth and power to get the whole of the tech industry and a good portion of the American business world into line behind this half-baked idea.

The fact that Mark Zuckerberg has clearly stepped away from the Metaverse is a damning indictment of everyone who followed him, and anyone who still considers him a visionary tech leader. It should also be the cause for some serious reflection among the venture-capital community, which recklessly followed Zuckerberg into blowing billions of dollars on a hype cycle founded on the flimsiest possible press-release language.

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Inside Azure Datacenter Architecture with Mark Russinovich

To offer a Microsoft Azure technical overview from the subject matter expert and CTO, Mark Russinovich, I am re-publishing in this post a highly educational and informative session of Mark during Microsoft Ignite 2021 event. Many things may have changed since then but this video definitely is a very concise introduction to all things Azure, from an infrastructure architecture perspective.

Azure end-to-end infrastructure layer architecture In this video, Mark Russinovich covers the following areas: - Inside datacenter infrastructure and regions - Inside intelligent infrastructure and machine learning and AI ops - Inside networking, physical and virtual - Inside compute services and servers - Inside Azure Resource Manager - Inside Azure storage and data Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69PrhWQorEM Inside Azure Datacenter Architecture with Mark Russinovich

Source

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/events/ignite-mar-2021/azure/sessions/od343/ Read the full article