These new Bing updates will be focused on managing informational queries. Bing has also provided examples having to do with the user asking the search what measures they can take to remove the background noise from their podcast recordings. The generative AI will help users with a more detailed explanation. Complex problems can also be solved. All in all, this new update targets queries that go beyond ‘surface-level results’.

Microsoft has also provided a short guide on how to use this new update. US users can type in Bing Genrative Search right into the search bar and queries will be presented for the users to choose from as a demo. The generative search capabilities can thus bring even more relevant and comprehensive answers that cover a wide range of topics.

Generative Search Capabilities: More on Bing generative search

Microsoft has explained that the Bing generative search experience blends both the foundation of search results from Bing with the power of LLMs and SLMs. It deeply understands the queries given by the users and reviews a multitude of sources. After reviewing multiple sources of information, Bing then matches the content and provides the search results in an AI layout to meet the needs of the users.

Bing has also stated that since this feature is in beta, users may have to go through longer loading times. The system may take more time to ensure complete accuracy with relevance which may increase in loading time. Bing’s generative search results will also include proper citations and links to the original source that they pulled based their results on.

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The Microsoft headset was launched back in February 2019 so it’s had a good 5 year run since. The headsets will be receiving security and software regression updates till 2027. However, the production of these headsets has been halted permanently. Furthermore, production for the HoloLens 1 also ended years ago. So the future of the HoloLens series is up in the air. According to reports, Microsoft has ditched plans to continue with the HoloLens 3. All hope for a new HoloLens may not be lost though, as Microsoft has alluded to potential future update plans.

HoloLens 2: More on this headset by Microsoft

HoloLens 2 is an MR (mixed reality) headset by Microsoft and it is the direct successor of the first Microsoft HoloLens. It made its debut in February 2019 at the Mobile World Congress.

These AR glasses are ergonomic in design with transparent lenses. Users can interact with virtual objects that blend into the real world. The headset is compact and comparatively lighter than the Oculus Quest 2. In fact, the glasses weigh only 19.96 oz. The battery lasts up to 3 hours. Priced at $3,500, these glasses offer eye tracking and users will have to use their hands to manoeuvre around.

These smart glasses come with 64 GB of storage capacity and 4 GB RAM. The holographic display has a resolution of about 2k 3:2 light engines. The density also measures up to >2.5k radiants. Equipped with Snapdragon 850, these glasses are built with a custom Microsoft Holographic processing unit.

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This is not Qualcomm’s first time laying off its workers. The decision to lay off the workers in Sand Diego comes not even a year after the company laid off 1.250 workers in 2023. The California WARN notice announced the job layoffs but The San Diego Union-Trubune were the first to report on the Qualcomm layoffs. 

Employees from 16 facilities across San Diego will be hit and Qaualcomm’s headquarters are no exception. The company’s headquarters in San Diego also has a cybersecurity team. However no clarification has been given regarding whether this division will be affected. The tech company has reported a 435 billion annual revenue and the company’s CEO, Cristiano Amon got a hefty $23.5 million compensation package. 

Qualcomm Lays Off: Growing trend of tech layoffs

Qualcomm is one among many tech companies that have laid off their employees. The lack of job security has made working in the tech industry a gamble. This ‘trend’ of tech layoffs is expected to continue as the years go by. Concerns about AI taking over jobs are also up for debate which could lead to even more layoffs. But there are other factors such as a shift in company priorities or budget cuts. These reasons could lead to people losing their jobs.

Other than the Qualcomm layoffs, tech giants such as Microsoft have also cut down more than 650 jobs from the Xbox division, The layoffs affected the supporting and corporate division. No game development divisions were affected by this layoff. Furthermore, the company has also laid off 1,900 employees from the gaming division, which includes employees from Activision Blizzard, Xbox and ZeniMax.  

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Microsoft is continuing its streak of laying off its employees. This is especially apparent in its gaming venues. This recent layoff comes months after Microsoft closed four game studios: Alpha Dog Studios, Arkane Austin, RoundHouse Games, and Tango Gameworks. The four studios were subsidiaries belonging to Bethesda. Additionally, around 1,900 jobs were laid off from Activision back in January.

It should be of note that the Xbox Games layoff does not include any game development positions as it only focuses on the corporate and support functions. It came after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023 so the job cuts are due to Microsoft’s aim to integrate teams and save on resources.

Xbox Games Layoff: More companies are laying off game studios

Microsoft is not the only company cutting down jobs as companies such as EA (Electronic Arts), Sony Group Corp., and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. have all partaken in shutting down huge projects. For instance, Sony withdrew Concord, a multiplayer video game a mere two weeks after the game was officially released. It has been said that Sony did not have the patience to wait around for the game to take off. The company might have expected an instant hit especially since it allocated a big budget towards Concord’s development.

Most of the time, budget cuts are the reason these bug companies go ahead with the job layoff. Most of the time, job security is not provided. Microsoft has stated that it would provide its laid-off US employees with exit packages to help them in their transition period. Exit packages may differ outside the US.

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With the rise of AI, came the rise of image generation. It is a powerful tool with capabilities beyond imagination. It has assisted in streamlining the creative process. To put it simply, AI has helped users bring out their creative side. However, with its perks, AI also comes with its fair share of downsides and deepfakes, particularly ‘deepfake porn’ is among them.

Deepfake porn is abusive sexual and non-consensual AI images posted and spread on the internet. This phenomenon has become a recurrent problem with the rise of AI. However, some companies, especially Microsoft is tackling deepfake porn on their own accord.

Microsoft is Tacking Deepfake Porn: Microsoft’s Partnership with StopNCII

Microsoft has made its stance clear on the existence of deepfake porn on their platform. The company has wiped off over 300,000 non-consensual explicit images from its Bing Image search. Microsoft’s policy whitepaper, published on July 30, has suggested policies to protect Americans from exploitative deepfakes. Additionally, users could use the reporting tool if they find any abusive deepfake material, but Microsoft recognizes that this alone will not curb this practice.

To aid its fight against these deepfakes, Microsoft has partnered with StopNCI. StopNCII which stands for Stop Non-Consensual Intimate Image Abuse, is an organisation created against the spread of such material online. StopNCII makes use of image hashing to protect the victims. Image hashing is the method of employing an algorithm to give a hash value to each specific image that has been uploaded. Copies of the image therefore all contain the same hash value as each other. StopNCII thus shares these hashes with partnered companies to detect and effectively remove the images.

This partnership between the two companies will bring forth a ‘victim-centred’ approach. This will affect the way deepfake detection works on Bing.

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The Paint 3D app was initially released as an updated and improved version of MS Paint when Windows 10 was launched. However, with the app’s discontinuation, Microsft plans to focus more on MS Paint paint in Windows 11 with the addition of several new AI-powered features. Besides AI features, MS Paint will also see the integrations of some of the best features from Photoshop.

This Microsoft app joins the roster of other Microsoft apps that have either been discontinued or removed as a service. Some of these include Windows Mixed Reality discontinuation and the removal of Microsoft Teams from Windows 11. The company also plans to end support for Android devices for Windows 11 in 2025.

Paint 3D and What the App Was About

The app is a free service that came as an add-on from Microsoft on Windows 10. Furthermore, this app lets users unleash their creative side and bring their ideas to life on a canvas. It has been dubbed the ‘reimaged’ version of MS Paint as it includes an updated design and more features. Users can make 2D drawings as well as 3D models.

The main difference between MS Paint and Paint 3D is that MS Paint is limited to 2D art. Whereas the latter lets users choose between drawing on a 2D canvas or utilising 3D objects. The app, unfortunately, did not take off as Microsft expected it to as other 3D creation platforms such as Blender took centre stage.

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Microsoft and OpenAI are now official competitors as Microsft openly lists OpenAI as competitors in its yearly report. OpenAI now joins Microsoft’s lists of competitors including Google, Amazon, Meta and Apple.

This move by Microsoft has blindsided many as the relationship between the two leading tech companies was generally positive and mutually beneficial. However, this move by Microsoft may or may not complicate their partnership.

Microsoft and OpenAI- Current State of their Partnership

As per reports, Microsft has invested over $13 billion in OpenAI to become its only cloud service provider. Furthermore, Microsoft has even integrated OpenAI’s AI technology into its products. However, Microsoft has been pushing itself into the AI market with its products. The tech company has several AI services such as its AI chatbot Copilot and Microsoft Azure AI.

Despite the open listing, OpenAI has assured that Microsft will remain a partner. A spokesperson from OpenAI has further stated that competition between the two companies has always been recognised but their partnership has not been affected.

2024 has not been the best year for Microsoft and OpenAI’s relationship as Microsoft withdrew a board seat at OpenAI, following the reinstatement of Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO. There are also rumours circulating about internal competition between the two companies, such as Microsoft’s CEO hiring a member from DeepMind’s AI team. This member was none other than Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of Deepmind.

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Microsoft announced in an official post that the video chatting app will remove all ads from the whole platform. This move aims to provide users with a smooth sailing-video call experience free from any interruptions.

Ad-Free Skype and What Comes With the New Update

Skype will now offer users an ad-free video call experience which is quite rare in a time when companies lock as many features as possible being a paywall or subscription service. Microsoft especially, is one company that likes to integrate as many ads as it can into its products and services. Perhaps this new marketing strategy aims to restore Skype’s former glory as the biggest video call app.

The new ad-free Skype update comes from the latest Skpye 8.125.76.201 update which introduced other new features. These new features include an improved version of the AI image generation experience on the desktop version of Skype and integration of OneAuth in the iOS version of Skype. OneAuth speeds up and simplifies the signing-in process.

Besides these features, the new update has also fixed several bugs and improved the issues relating to stability. In addition, the Microsoft-owned app has also made the platform’s design more user-friendly.

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Bing’s latest update comes with several new features including changes in the layout. Bing’s new AI update also reviews thousands if not millions of sources to match the user’s search query properly. It then creates a search result layout generated by AI to match the user’s search query properly.

Bing Generative Search Features

Both generative AI and LLMs (Large Language Models) have been merged with the search result page to produce personalised responses to users’ questions. Bing will generate a full AI search result page filled with detailed information. For instance, a user can search for “Bollywood Movies” and the search engine will provide the user with details of the movie genre such as its history and movie examples. Proper sources and links are provided to allow users to dig more into the specified topic.

Bing has stated that it has enhanced their system and procedures to increase Bing’s accuracy. Furthermore, the Microsoft-owned company also plans to study how such generative usage affects website traffic for publishers.

The Bing Generative Search is currently being rolled out but the company expects to develop the search engine further to improve and create a more seamless experience for users.

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The unionisation has been described as a ‘wall-to-wall’ union since it spans across several teams under the gaming company. Through this unionisation, Bethesda aims to protect its workers against any risks of layoffs.

Bethesda is following ZeniMax Media’s footsteps in forming a union. To elaborate, Bethesda is a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, and the parent company formed a 300-worker union.

Bethesda has officially become the first game company under Microsoft to fully unionise. Besides Bethesda, other game companies such as Activision Blizzard and Sega of America have unionised.

Bethesda Game Studios: More on the gaming studio

The game studio was created in 2001 and is based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. The game studio became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media in 1999. In addition, the parent company of Bethesda was acquired by Microsoft in 2021 for $7.5 billion.

Bethesda is responsible for creating iconic games and game franchises such as Starfield, Doom Eternal, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls.

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