It’s rare that you see a Microsoft Surface device being promoted without its Surface Pen. It’s a key feature that is talked up regularly by the Surface team, and it’s one area ripe for innovation. The latest details show work continues to make a more intelligent Pen.

The details come from a patent titled "Stylus for Zero Force Activation” and details a system to improve the Surface Pen’s ability to know when to switch to inking mode. Mayank Parmar reports:

“...Microsoft says the stylus still uses a vibrating tip to determine when contact with a surface occurs. The patented Surface Pen also comes with a capsule that is designed to minimize the motion of the shaft and the shaft runs parallel to the length of the stylus.

"The tip has two antennas and one is connected to the shaft using a track made of metal material. There’s also a transmitter located in its tip and it can detect the position of the stylus tip, and then quickly switch to inking mode."

Microsoft’s Surface vision has always been built around different modes of working. Think of the Surface Pro 2-in-1s with their detachable keyboards that allowed for a tablet experience with and without qwerty input. Think of the Surface Book’s outstanding feature of a laptop with a fully detachable screen? Even in the Surface Laptop, which doesn’t have a physical transformation you can still move between pen input and trackpad movements. The Surface is about multiple modes and switching between them quickly and easily.

That includes the Surface Pen. It has two modes of use. The first is the more traditional stylus-based approach to computing, replicating the ideas of a mouse or trackpad in operation. The second mode is inking mode, where your artistic flair can take over.

Allowing the Surface Pen to better understand when to switch modes, to decrease the delay in switching modes, and to create a ‘magical’ experience mixing stylus- and inking-modes is a natural next step for Microsoft to address.

As always, a published patent does show the direction a company is taking with hardware development, but it does not guarantee that this technology will be seen on consumer devices. But some patents heel more likely to show up than others. This one feels like something we’ll be seeing in the near future.

Source:forbes

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When Microsoft’s Panos Panay took to the stage late last year to introduce the world to the Surface Duo, ‘the holidays 2020’ was announced as the retail launch. For many, including myself, that suggested a fourth quarter appearance for the dual-screened Android-powered device.

Now it looks like we’ll be seeing the revolutionary device in the next few weeks. Let’s look at the clues that are building up towards a surprising release date.

Lets start with the paperwork. The Surface Duo has picked up a number of certifications in the last few weeks, including from the US FCC and variants for Canada and Japan. As well as the regulatory details, you also have Google’s all-important Android Compatibility Test Suite that opens up a number of critically important features:

"Arguably this is a formality for an Android device, but the certification is vital for another part of the Android ecosystem that the public is familiar. Google Mobile Services - which is required to have the Google Play Store (and other associated services such as Youtube) - has ‘Android Compatibility’ as part of its requirements.”

Then there’s the visuals, because we also have new images from the device. The PR materials have leaked via a US carrier - the Surface team may have pushed the line that the Surface Duo is not a phone heavily, but it still has a cellular data connection. Jon Fingas for Engadget:

“Well-known leaker Evan Blass has shared …a batch of renders for the Surface Duo while claiming the dual-screen Android device will launch with AT&T. He didn’t provide release details or pricing, but it’s safe to say that monthly payments could make it easier to justify the unique clamshell device.”

Finally, perhaps the biggest signal comes from long-term Microsoft commentator Paul Thurrott. As well as noting the leaked press material, he also highlighted the briefings that will be taking place in the next week:

"As I noted on Twitter myself, Microsoft MVPs were invited to attend a virtual Surface briefing, presumably for Duo, on August 12."

There’s a lot of information out there, and none of them have a specific date that says ‘The Surface Duo will launch on this date’, but the momentum is building and the moment is close.

Source: Forbes

 

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Walmart Inc (WMT.O) is partnering with Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) in the software maker’s bid for Bytedance-owned TikTok, the world’s largest retailer said on Thursday.

ByteDance has been in talks to sell TikTok’s North American, Australian and New Zealand operations which could be worth $25 billion to $30 billion to companies including Microsoft and Oracle (ORCL.N), people with knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump has demanded that China’s ByteDance, which owns TikTok globally, sell its U.S. operations, citing potential national security risk due to the vast amount of private data the app is compiling on U.S. consumers.

“We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of U.S. TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of U.S. government regulators,” the retailer said in a statement.

The two companies are two years into a five-year partnership as part of the retailer’s push for wider use of cloud and artificial intelligence.

Walmart said TikTok’s integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets “is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets.”

The retailer’s shares were up about 4.4% on the news.

source:reuters

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The owner of TikTok has chosen Oracle over Microsoft as the American tech partner that could help keep the popular video-sharing app running in the U.S., according to a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly about it.

Microsoft announced Sunday that its bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations was rejected, removing the tech giant from the running a week before President Donald Trump promises to follow through with a plan to ban the Chinese-owned app in the U.S. over spying concerns.

TikTok and the White House declined to comment Sunday. Oracle didn’t return a request for comment but has previously declined comment.

Walmart, which had planned to partner with Microsoft on the acquisition, said Sunday it “continues to have an interest in a TikTok investment” and is talking about it with ByteDance and other parties.

The Trump administration has threatened to ban TikTok by Sept. 20 and ordered ByteDance to sell its U.S. business, claiming national-security risks due to its Chinese ownership. The government worries about user data being funneled to Chinese authorities. TikTok denies it is a national-security risk and is suing to stop the administration from the threatened ban.

Microsoft said in a Sunday statement that ByteDance “let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft.”

Microsoft added it was “confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users while protecting national security interests.” The company said it “would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combating disinformation.”

TikTok, which says it has 100 million U.S. users and about 700 million globally, is known for its fun, goofy videos of dancing, lip-syncing, pranks and jokes. It’s recently become home to more political content such as the comedian Sarah Cooper, who drew a large audience by lip-syncing Trump’s own often-disjointed statements from public appearances.

TikTok denies that it has shared user data with the Chinese government or that it would do so if asked. The company says it has not censored videos at the request of Chinese authorities and insists it is not a national-security threat.

TikTok has sued to stop the ban, but not the sale order. The negotiations have been complicated by several factors, including Trump’s repeated demands that the U.S. government should get a “cut” of any deal, a stipulation and role for the president that experts say is unprecedented.

In addition, the Chinese government in late August unveiled new regulations that restrict exports of technology, likely including the artificial intelligence system TikTok uses to choose which videos to spool up to its users. That means ByteDance would have to obtain a license from China to export such technology to a foreign company.

The deal had come together rapidly after the administration ramped up its threats against TikTok this summer, despite TikTok’s efforts to put distance between its app and its Chinese ownership. It installed former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its American CEO, but he resigned in August after just a few months on the job, saying the “political environment has sharply changed.”

Both Microsoft and Oracle are known more for their business software offerings than for those intended for consumers.

Oracle primarily makes database software. It competes with tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon that provide cloud services as well as business-software specialists like Salesforce.

Thill suggested that TikTok competitors like Facebook and Snapchat should be “cheering on Oracle” as a buyer because Oracle wouldn’t “add a lot of value to the app.”

The president said on Aug. 18 that Oracle was “a great company” that “could handle” buying TikTok. He declined to state his preference between Oracle and Microsoft as buyers.

source: AP

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