There still aren’t too many Windows 10 PCs or laptops on the market with ARM-based processors, but folks who do have those machines will soon be able to run 64-bit x64 apps on them. Microsoft says it will at last roll out 64x emulation to Windows Insider testers in November.

Windows 10 has been able to emulate 32-bit x86 apps on ARM for a while, along with native 32-bit and 64-bit apps. Support for x64 emulation will allow those systems to run a far wider selection of software. As such, ARM-based Windows PCs and laptops will have far improved utility.

According to WSJ, the feature is still being developed, but it may include asking users to write a list of goals or tasks for the day. At the end of the day, the feature will ask them which tasks they completed and move uncompleted tasks to the next day. It will also ask users how they feel in the morning and evening. The danger is that this will just feel like more work.

While a virtual commute sounds a bit depressing, Microsoft says this is an attempt to promote employee wellness — a shift for a company that has primarily focussed on connectivity and productivity. Of course, there are many ways to clear your head before and after work, and when you’re already spending so much time in front of a screen, it might be nice to do something analog, like, say, going for a walk.

As part of an antitrust settlement in Europe, Google has to offer new Android users a choice of downloading a rival search product. These choice slots are auctioned off, and Google has just published the options that will be presented to users between October 1st and December 31st of this year. The biggest news is that Microsoft has managed to get its rival product placed in some of Europe’s biggest markets. 

From October 1st, Bing will be one of the four options available to users in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway and the UK. As Bloomberg reports, Info.com, PrivacyWall and GMX were all big winners, taking the majority of the slots across the continent. But the big news is however much Microsoft paid to get Bing in front of users in those markets, and if that will help improve its market share — currently believed to be 3.06 percent.

“We’re aware that many of you have been with us since the very beginning, helping to build an incredible global community of players over the years who’ve enjoyed this game just as much as we have. For that we say thank you,” Zynga wrote.

In-app purchases will be available until November 17th, when the game’s payment system will be turned off. You’ll still be able to play until December 31st, and any remaining credits should be used by then.

That said, the Series X has a few features that deserve extra attention before launch day on November 10th. The Series X is priced at $499, while its all-digital counterpart, the Xbox Series S, will cost $299.

Before diving in too deep, let’s lay the ground rules. There are limitations on the scope of the initial preview, with specific features we’re allowed to discuss. Fortunately, this round covers the console’s most obvious improvements: the performance of the backward compatible library, the quick resume feature and the look and feel of the hardware itself, including the new Xbox Wireless Controller.

First up, backward compatible games on Xbox Series X.

Engadget

Back compat 

On day one, both of Microsoft’s next-gen consoles will support more than 500 games from the original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. On Series X, all backward compatible games receive automatic HDR support, and some will even play at double their original framerates, bumping 30FPS titles to 60FPS, and 60FPS to 120FPS. This library will run natively on the console, meaning each game can take advantage of the Series X’s faster CPU, GPU and SSD, and even hit 4K. 

Series S games will receive similar treatment, though they’re upgraded from their Xbox One S versions, meaning they won’t be playable in 4K.

Resolution aside, players on both consoles will have immediate access to a library 19 years deep. Alongside selling Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, this is a huge part of Microsoft’s pitch for the next generation: the fact that the Series X will have plenty of content at launch, and these titles will perform better than ever. 

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s main console competitor, Sony, hasn’t outlined how backward compatibility will work on the PlayStation 5. Many PS4 games will be playable on PS5, but it’s still unclear which ones, how they’ll take advantage of the new hardware, or if they’ll be accessible outside of a PlayStation Plus subscription. There’s no word on games from before the PS4 era, either.

On Xbox Series X, Microsoft’s commitment to spit-shining its old and classic games has resulted in one massive improvement: Faster load times.

Engadget

In my experience, backward compatible games on Xbox Series X load three to four times faster than their Xbox One counterparts. Take Remedy’s Control, for example — booting up a scene on Xbox One takes 30 to 38 seconds, while the same scene on Series X consistently takes just 9 seconds, 10 at the most. This ratio rings true for most games I’ve tested, and it’s significantly changed the way I interact with the new console overall.

Whenever I die or fast travel in most console-bound AAA games, I automatically drop the controller while waiting for the new scene to load, knowing it’ll take enough time to give my fingers a break. Or I’ll grab a fresh drink, or reach for my phone and scroll through Reddit while the loading bar creeps across the bottom of the screen.

With Series X, there’s no time for this nonsense. When a fail state pops up, my hands will instinctually fall to my lap, but almost immediately, the game is ready for another round. I’ve had to become more proactive with my drink breaks.

Not only are Series X backward compatible games faster to load, but many of them take advantage of another speedy new console function — quick resume.

We’ve asked Microsoft for comment, although it already said it was “investigating the matter.” The Verge claimed the code was legitimate, with Ronin Dey and others also supporting those beliefs (via Windows Central).

One version of the code leak also includes code for MS DOS, Windows CE, Windows Embedded and Windows NT, although those aren’t believed to be new leaks. Experts talking to ZDNet believed the new leaks came from academia, which has long had access to Windows source code to help bolster its security.

This won’t necessarily lead to security issues on par with the WannaCry ransomware attack. While WannaCry exploited Windows XP flaws, the campaign succeeded in part due to poor security policies. No amount of source code will change that, especially if it doesn’t include later XP releases. Microsoft also ended regular support for Windows XP in 2014, limiting any help to organizations with special contracts. Windows XP has been vulnerable for years, and this isn’t likely to make the situation worse.

The Windows XP SP1 source code leak looks pretty legit

Thanks to @RoninDey for confirming https://t.co/A2Ap1fKX5x

— Greg Linares (@Laughing_Mantis) September 24, 2020

The Edge team is also continuing to work on reducing the amount of memory and CPU power the browser needs. The Windows 10 May 2020 Update, for instance, reduces the browser’s memory usage by up to 27 percent based on the tech giant’s internal tests. Finally, Microsoft shrunk Edge’s size by half over the past year so that it doesn’t take up too much storage on your device.

Microsoft’s Edge browser recently overtook Firefox as the most popular Chrome alternative, according to NetMarketshare stats. Chrome still has the lion’s share of the market with over a 70 percent share, and Firefox isn’t that far behind, but Microsoft’s contender has been slowly gaining popularity.

After a bit of investigation, Neumann realized that Bing Maps’ data set essentially covered the entire planet. The only problem? It was all in 2D. After using some of that data to build a flyable 3D version of Seattle, Neumann turned to the Azure team to craft a machine learning method for converting the entire planet into a giant 3D model.

“AI has just tremendously grown in the last few years,” said Eric Boyd, CVP of Azure AI, in an interview. “It’s really driven by the massive amounts of data that are now available, combined with the massive amounts of compute that exist in the cloud … The results you can see are really pretty spectacular where you can come up with algorithms that now look at literally every square kilometer of the planet to identify the individual trees, grass and water, and then use that to build 3D models.”

Azure’s integration goes beyond the shape of the world. It also powers the flight controller voices using AI Speech Generation technology, which sound almost indistinguishable from humans. It’s so natural that many players may think Microsoft is relying solely on voice actors.

Since the company began exploring ways to bring Azure AI into the game in 2016, the capabilities of machine learning have also evolved dramatically, according to Boyd. ”The AI algorithm space has really grown in the last several years,” he said. “And so vision algorithms, which is what’s heavily used to identify all these different trees and buildings and classify them exactly, those have come a tremendous way.”

Since it leans so heavily on the cloud, Flight Simulator is a “living game” in the truest sense, Neumann said. All of the machine learning algorithms the game relies on will steadily improve over time, as the company irons out bugs and optimizes the engine. (And perhaps becomes more aware of potential issues, like the typo that created a 212-story tower in Melbourne.)  But he points out the algorithms can only be as good as the source data, so Microsoft is working harder to refine that as well.

Just a few days after opening up Xbox remote play to Android users, Microsoft has confirmed it’s testing the feature on iOS devices as well. The Verge’s Tom Warren got a look at the new Xbox app in beta, and it works just like you’d expect: It connects directly to your Xbox One (or upcoming consoles), and lets you play anything that’s already on your system. To be clear, this is different from Microsoft’s xCloud service because it’s running off of your own console, something Sony is already doing with its Remote Play app.

So what does this mean for the rest of us? The new iOS Xbox app looks pretty stable, and Warren says that he expects it to arrive on the App Store soon. Microsoft isn’t being specific on availability either, but hopefully it arrives in time for Xbox Series X and S owners to play some games on the go.

When it comes out on November 24th, Football Manager 2021 will the first entry in the popular simulation series to make its way to Xbox consoles in more than a decade. Sega plans to release the game on Xbox One, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, with a single purchase getting you access to both the current and next-generation versions of the game. You’ll also have to chance to buy Football Manager 2021 on PC and Mac, where they’ll be available through Steam and the Epic Games Store.  

Sega says the Xbox release of Football Manager 2021 builds on the Touch version of the series — which the company has typically released on iOS and Android devices, as well as Nintendo Switch. But don’t worry, Sega says it’s fully optimized the game for Xbox controllers. The Xbox version will also support Microsoft’s Play Anywhere feature, allowing you to transfer your saves between an Xbox console and Windows PC. If you pre-order the game now through Steam or the Epic Games Store, you can get a 10 percent discount and early access to the game two weeks before its official release date.