Newsletter Archives

• Skype to shut down

  Posted on March 2, 2025 at 03:00 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  On Friday, February 28, Microsoft posted The next chapter: Moving from Skype to Microsoft Teams to its Microsoft 365 blog (recommended reading). There are two important things you need to know.

  First, Skype will be gone sometime in May, including paid plans. Second, Microsoft Teams will be free to all, and those with existing Skype accounts can use those credentials to log in, preserving chats and contacts.

  This was inevitable. Despite owning Skype for 14 years, Microsoft clearly wanted its own collaboration tool to become even more widespread. Zoom is a formidable competitor. Also, Microsoft’s messaging around Teams has been confusing, partially because of the existence of Skype. “Free” may prove compelling.

  Microsoft Microsoft 365, Microsoft News, News, Skype, Teams

• The hardware baton passes, sort of

  Posted on March 25, 2024 at 02:41 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT

  

  By Will Fastie

  I try to follow Microsoft news carefully, but it can be hard when the news about Microsoft comes from an unexpected third party.

  In January, Onward Brands published a press release stating that its Incase brand would be introducing a series of “Designed by Microsoft” products. These comprise a significant portion of the hardware accessories sold by Microsoft.

  The discovery of this news came as a surprise.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.13.0, 2024-03-25).

  Microsoft Accessories, Incase, Keyboards, Mice, Microsoft News, Newsletters, Onward Brands, Webcams

• Microsoft’s fall Surface event

  Posted on October 17, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  For once, Microsoft pulls off a professional event.

  For those of you who follow my coverage of significant Microsoft announcements, you know I’ve had a somewhat negative opinion of the presentations. On October 12, the company conducted its fall event to announce new Surface models. The presentation may not have exceeded my expectations, but it at least met them.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.42.0, 2022-10-17).

  Microsoft News Microsoft, Microsoft News, Newsletters, Surface, Windows 11

• Windows 11 2H22 released, mostly

  Posted on September 26, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.39 • 2022-09-26

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Well, it wasn’t really 2H22. It was 2022.

  The entire news cycle about Windows 11, starting with its announcement over 18 months ago, has been different. Maybe weird is a better descriptor.

  The announcement wasn’t an event; nothing was live. There wasn’t even a video from Panos Panay, who was simply noted as the author of a blog post. The surprise twist in all this, especially from the perspective of someone in the press, was that the announcement was not accompanied by a press release in Microsoft’s usual location. Instead, it was given its own microsite. The release was not mentioned on Microsoft’s home page and was noted only on the Windows page with an eyebrow link at the very top.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.39.0, 2022-09-26).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft News AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft News, Newsletters, Windows 11

• $68.7 billion? Peanuts.

  Posted on January 24, 2022 at 02:41 CST by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  Frenzy around corporate acquisitions is nothing new; but this time, for Microsoft, it seems overstated.

  Last week, Microsoft announced its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the well-known maker of such game franchises as Candy Crush, Call of Duty, and World of Warcraft. Part of the frenzy surrounded the price — almost three times more than Microsoft’s previous large acquisition, LinkedIn.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.04.0 (2022-01-24).

  Microsoft News Acquisitions, Microsoft, Microsoft News, News, Newsletters

• The Next Windows

  Posted on June 7, 2021 at 02:44 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT NEWS

  

  By Will Fastie

  What is it? We don’t really know.

  By now, the news is out that Microsoft will host a livestream event on Thursday, June 24, 2021, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The event does not have a title; the livestream page on Microsoft’s site just says, “Join us to see what’s next for Windows.”

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.21.0 (2021-06-07).
  This story also appears in the AskWoody Free Newsletter 18.21.F (2021-06-07).

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft News, Windows News AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft, Microsoft News, Windows