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Today only, Amazon’s discounting several popular Microsoft computing peripherals, including several mice, a few webcams, and even a PC-compatible wireless Xbox 360 controller. Like all Gold Box deals though, these prices are only available today, or until sold out.

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Microsoft today released their Power BI app for Apple Watch. It supports both KPI and card tiles to provide you with a heartbeat measure of your business.

• When you open the Power BI app for Apple Watch, you will see an Index screen with a quick overview of all applicable tiles from the synced dashboard. Keep a close eye on your most important metrics. You can drill into a specific tile by tapping on it to get more data.


• The Power BI app for Apple Watch also supports displaying a tile directly on the watch face so it is visible and accessible at all times. This display will stay up to date, and will update shortly after your Power BI datasets are scheduled to update. You’ll always have the latest information at your fingertips!

Other improvements available in this update are listed below.

•Added the ability to center map tiles to your current location when in focus mode.

•Added custom link tiles that can send the user to any URL. Links to different dashboards and reports will open within the app, while links to external URLs will open in a browser.

•Improved Power BI Mobile support to offer additional self-service options for users.

•Updated SQL Server 2016 integration to use SSRS folder navigation and support quick access to favorite mobile reports and KPIs.

Update the iOS app here from App Store.

Earlier this week, Microsoft revealed that the company is working on a new Skype Universal Windows App for Windows 10 PCs. The company is planning to release the new app to Insiders in one of the upcoming Redstone builds. Today, we got to try out the new Skype UWP app for Windows 10 PC as well as Mobile (but it will be coming to Mobile later for Insiders). So how is it?

Well, it’s definitely better than the current Messaging + Skype app on Windows 10. You can send mojis, get push notifications, call someone, and use the basic Skype features (including Skype commands). Here are some screenshots:

GALLERY

The app does have some rough edges, but these will hopefully get polished before the public release. It is worth noting that the Mobile app is quite laggy at the moment, which is probably why Microsoft won’t be pushing it to Insiders anytime soon. Microsoft will possibly show off this app at Build 2016, which is happening next week.

Earlier this week, Microsoft revealed that the company is working on a new Skype Universal Windows App for Windows 10 PCs. The company is planning to release the new app to Insiders in one of the upcoming Redstone builds. Today, we got to try out the new Skype UWP app for Windows 10 PC as well as Mobile (but it will be coming to Mobile later for Insiders). So how is it?

Well, it’s definitely better than the current Messaging + Skype app on Windows 10. You can send mojis, get push notifications, call someone, and use the basic Skype features (including Skype commands). Here are some screenshots:

GALLERY

The app does have some rough edges, but these will hopefully get polished before the public release. It is worth noting that the Mobile app is quite laggy at the moment, which is probably why Microsoft won’t be pushing it to Insiders anytime soon. Microsoft will possibly show off this app at Build 2016, which is happening next week.

Microsoft has been working on making its signature Live Tiles much more interactive and capable for a couple of years now. While the software maker has tweaked the Live Tiles UI several times since Windows 8’s original introduction, the fundamental way you interact with Windows 10’s Live Tiles remains the same. That might be about to change.

At Microsoft’s Build developers conference next week, the company is holding a session entitled “What’s New for Tiles and Toast Notifications.” The session teases that Live Tiles are about to change. “Live Tiles are evolving with two highly-requested surprises that you won’t want to miss,” reads the session notes. Windows 10 was originally supposed to ship with interactive Live Tiles, so Microsoft might be ready to include them in an update.

Our Surface team is incredibly passionate about helping people be more productive. We live and breathe this mission every day.

One thing that we believe very, very deeply is that the best work is done by teams. People who get together, challenge each other, and work together can accomplish so much more than people working individually. And yet there wasn’t a device designed for teams to use together.

So we set out to change that. We set out to build technology to unlock the power of teams much better. And we got customers, partners, our software team, and our hardware team together to build a first-of-its-kind new solution, Surface Hub.

We have built Surface Hub as a group. We have been building our Surface products with Surface Hub. Even more importantly, we have seen how innovative businesses and partners have embraced this opportunity to pioneer new ways for groups to work together. They have been our inspiration.

I can tell you confidently, our Surface team works together better because we have Surface Hub. Our early Surface Hub business partners can tell you confidently that they work together better with Surface Hub. This is why we built Surface Hub. And this is why we are so proud to announce that Surface Hub has begun shipping to business customers. We are excited to see how Surface Hub will bring people together to work, create and learn in new ways.

We are not just releasing a powerful device. We are releasing a team-empowering solution that will make meetings more productive, modernize workflows, and let people engage with data much better. We designed Surface Hub from the ground up for ink and touch, and harnessed the best collaboration and security features of Windows 10, Skype for Business, Office, OneNote and Universal Windows apps. We’ve seen how businesses and disciplines like healthcare, manufacturing, automotive, consulting, defense, finance, education, and design can bring Surface Hub into workspaces to bring a new level of innovation and efficiency to their teams. They can reduce costs and improve effectiveness, compared to legacy AV and presentation technology.

In short, we’ve seen the future of group productivity as we have built this with our partners and customers. We couldn’t be more excited about the future with this new category of product. We also can’t thank our customers and partners enough for their inspiration and contributions in making this product with us.

Surface Hub will help transform businesses and teams

Companies like AstraZeneca, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and SHoP Architects have seen that Surface Hub will improve how people work together and engage customers. We’ve watched the magic that happens as Surface Hub fundamentally transforms not only conference rooms and huddle-spaces, but also factory floors, lecture halls, hospitals, and executive offices and boardrooms.

For example, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia will be using a Qwaltec developed application on Surface Hub as a command-and-control center for doctors and medical staff, to manage scheduling and replace outdated whiteboards. The hospital is calling it a “game changer,” not only because it will help the hospital save time and money, but also because Surface Hub helps connect the entire care team to their patients with up-to-date information.

Read more about how other organizations are using Microsoft Surface Hub, including Barlit Beck, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University, European School of Management and Technology, and SHoP Architects.

Surface Hub will save companies money

In a recent Total Economic Impact study commissioned by Microsoft, Forrester Consulting* worked with five Surface Hub early adopter customers to outline the costs, benefits and risks for implementing Surface Hub in a business environment. This resulted in benefits of more than $850,000 (3 year NPV**) based on savings in device deployment and management costs, avoided printing and device purchase costs, and improved sales.

Companies that conduct meetings in rooms and collaboration spaces with a Surface Hub installed experienced a 75% improvement in remote attendee setup and post-meeting productivity, saving about 15-20 minutes per hour-long meeting spent on setting up video or screen-sharing services and completing meeting notes. Organizations saw decreased printing costs of up to $9,000 in the first year, using Surface Hub with pen and touch-enabled screen to make changes and take group notes instead of paper copies. Companies that conducted sales meetings using Surface Hub as a platform for presentations and collaboration with clients estimate a 20% sales improvement with those clients.

Surface Hub fits into many businesses

We know all companies have different needs and workplaces. To customize their experience, Surface Hub customers can easily visit the Windows Store for Business and download a variety of commercial-grade Windows 10 apps to help the business like viewing 3D modeling and CAD files, analyzing videos, facilitating brainstorm and voting sessions, and more. Some examples of applications that can be used on Surface Hub include: Buzz Radar; FluidMath;Mediator by Interknowlogy; MURAL; Power BI; Sensavis The 3D Classroom; Portal Mindmap by HeadCandy; Stormboard for Surface Hub; TechSmith Loop;SharpCloud; tuServ by Black Marble; Virbeya; and XOS ThunderCloud. And, as a Windows 10 device, the Surface Hub benefits from Windows Update for Business, which provides flexibility in managing when and how updates are deployed.