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By Mollie Ruiz-Hopper as written on news.microsoft.com

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All Windows 10 PCs will get Windows Holographic access next year

By Darrell Etherington as written on techcrunch.com

Windows 10 users will be able to dive into mixed reality starting next year, with an update planned that can let any “mainstream” Windows 10 PC run the Windows Holographic shell the company first revealed in January 2015.

The update will allow users to multi-task in mixed reality environments, which combine traditional 2D Windows 10 apps with immersive, 3D graphical environments. These will be enabled via a range of “6 degrees of freedom devices,” input devices that add positional tracking to other more traditional forms of input, like clicking and pointing.

The Windows team is trying to make this more broadly available, too, thanks to support for a range of Windows 10 PCs that don’t necessarily need the specs required to run full-scale VR today. As an example, Microsoft presented a video of Windows 10 Holographic running at 90 FPS on an Intel NUC, a tiny desktop PC that’s not super expensive and included integrated Intel graphics.

While it’s still unlikely that we’ll all be doing our average desk workflow of spreadsheets and slide presentation in mixed reality any time soon, it’s good to see Microsoft set a timeline for public availability of a feature which, at launch, seems like it had the potential to become vaporware rather than a shipping product.

Intel and Microsoft are also building a specification for mixed reality PCs, as well as head-mounted displays that let users experience the mixed reality operating environment. The public release of the spec is planned for an upcoming Windows hardware develop conference in Shenzhen this December.

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Minecraft comes to VR today with Windows 10 Edition beta

By Darrell Etherington as written on techcrunch.com

Minecraft is now ready for its virtual reality debut: The update for the Minecraft Windows 10 Beta that adds VR support is available today. It’s a free update for people who already own the Windows 10 Edition Beta version of the game, but you can also get on board if you purchase the beta edition now.

There’s support for windows and mice, if you’re good enough at operating those without being able to see them, but there’s also support for the Xbox One controller, which you can use either plugged in via micro USB on Windows 10, or in tandem with the wireless Xbox One Controller for Windows adapter.

Microsoft says they’ve done a lot to ensure a range of players with a range of systems can get the most out of their VR experience, thanks to VR-specific customization options designed to maximize performance or help increase player comfort. Early impressions from people with preview access seem to enjoy what Mojang and Microsoft have put together for this, however, so go check it out if you have the necessary kit.

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See how Japan Airlines will transform the way airline mechanics are trained with a mixed reality app built for Microsoft HoloLens. This is just the beginning of what JAL expects to achieve with HoloLens.

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New Video Series This Week on Windows Highlights Windows 10 Anniversary Update

As written on blogs.windows.com

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update begins rolling out today for customers around the world. The Anniversary Update is full of features and innovations that will bring new experiences with Windows Ink*, Cortana**, gaming and more. To give you an overview of new features that are rolling out in the update, check out the video below. It’s a part of a new weekly series we are piloting called This Week on Windows, where we’ll bring you the latest in Windows news, apps, and tips from experts here at Microsoft.

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Windows Holographic on Windows 10

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We just released some exciting news about Windows Holographic – the platform included with Windows 10 – which powers the amazing mixed reality experiences available on Microsoft HoloLens.

Starting soon, Windows Holographic will be coming to devices of all shapes and sizes – from fully immersive virtual reality to fully untethered holographic computing.

Imagine wearing a VR device and seeing your physical hands as you manipulate an object, working on the scanned 3D image of a real object, or bringing the holographic representation of another person into your virtual world so you can collaborate. This is what we mean by mixed reality – where we break down the barriers between virtual and physical reality.

We are dramatically expanding the potential of these mixed reality experiences on Windows 10 by inviting our partners to build PCs, displays, accessories and mixed reality devices with the Windows Holographic platform.

Source: blogs.office.com

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How to Turn Your Computer Into a Wi-Fi Hotspot in Windows 10

By Melanie Pinola, Mobile Office Expert

You might sometimes find yourself with just one internet connection point--a single wired connection for your laptop at the hotel, for example, or your smartphone tethered over USB to your computer. But what if you have other devices that need internet access, such as your Wi-Fi-only tablet or your friend's or family member's laptop? The good news is you can share your laptop's wired or mobile broadband internet connection wirelessly with other devices.

The bad news is, with Windows 10, it takes a bit of trickery in the command prompt to turn your computer into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

To share your computer's internet connection, you'll need to open the command prompt in administrator mode and type in a few commands. The instructions below were adapted from the excellent guide on NirmalTV, which offers screenshots of the process.

1. Open the command prompt in administrator mode by right-clicking on the Windows Start button and selecting "Command Prompt (Admin)". Alternatively, you can use this keyboard shortcut: Windows key + X (Win+X) then select the Command Prompt (Admin) option.

2. When the "Administrator: Command Prompt" window opens, type the following command: netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=[networkSSID] key=[password]. Replace the "networkSSID" and "password" fields with the name you want for your new Wi-Fi hotspot network and its password (you'll use these to connect other devices to your computer's Wi-Fi hotspot). Then hit Enter.

3. Next, type in the following command to start the network: netsh wlan start hostednetwork and hit Enter. This enables and starts the ad-hoc wireless network connection.

4. Next, head to your Windows' network connections page (type in "network connections" in the search field in the taskbar in Windows 10 and click on "View network connections" or navigate to the Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network Connections).

5. Right-click on the network connection that is your computer's source of internet access (e.g., the ethernet connection or the 4G broadband connection).

6. Choose "Properties" from the context menu.

7. Go to the "Sharing" tab and check the box next to "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's internet connection"

8. From the dropdown list, select the Wi-Fi connection you just created.

   Hit OK and close the properties window.

You should then see your Wi-Fi hotspot in Windows 10's network and sharing center. From your other devices, select the new Wi-Fi network in the wireless settings and enter the password you set to connect to it.

These command prompt steps for setting up an ad-hoc network aren't as user-friendly as having a built-in method with a graphic user interface, but it's what we have so far in Windows 10 and will do in a pinch.

If you're using an older version of Windows or are on a Mac, you can accomplish this "reverse tethering" in other ways:

• Use Internet Connection Sharing (e.g., when you have a laptop wired to a router or modem and want to share the connection via your Wi-Fi adapter or a second Ethernet port)

• Use Internet Sharing on Mac OS X

• Use Connectify, a free app that shares a single Wi-Fi connection wirelessly (so you don't need a second network adapter). It requires Windows 7 or above.

Finally, to stop sharing your internet connection over the new Wi-Fi hotspot you created in Windows 10, enter this command in the command prompt: netsh wlan stop hostednetwork

Source: http://mobileoffice.about.com

US Department of Defense Commits to Upgrade 4 Million Seats to Windows 10

By Yusuf Mehdi / Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group as written on blogs.windows.com

One of the largest enterprises anywhere – the US Department of Defense (DoD) – has joined the ranks of enterprise customers planning swift Windows 10 deployments.

With more than 76% of our enterprise and education customers in active pilots of Windows 10 and more than 200 million active devices running Windows 10, we’re seeing accelerated and unprecedented demand for Windows 10 amongst enterprise customers.

The Secretary of Defense has directed all U.S. DoD agencies to begin the rapid deployment of the Microsoft Windows 10 throughout their respective organizations for information systems currently utilizing Microsoft Operating Systems. From laptops to desktops to mobile devices, including Surface devices, the DoD is targeting its Windows 10 upgrade for completion in a year, an unprecedented move for a customer with the size and complexity of the DoD.

The Rising Importance of Security for Government Agencies

Today’s government agencies face new and emerging challenges that range from a constantly shifting threat landscape to managing multiple platforms and devices in the enterprise environment. And the modern threat landscape has never been more challenging – driving tremendous costs and risk to the security of critical information. Security breaches can take 200+ days to detect and industry experts predict there will be over two million new malware apps by the end of the year. Clearly, these are driving factors in President Obama’s action plan announced last week to improve cybersecurity across government systems and devices.

Terry Halvorsen, CIO for the DoD, also shared this fall that more tools were needed for automated cyber defense, highlighting significant security challenges to the DoD networks. Halvorsen singled out software integration as a challenge to his mission and was quoted as saying, “If you have an impending need to survive you will innovate,” adding that DoD networks are “getting shot at” virtually every day. With the DoD spending approximately $44 billion annually on cybersecurity and IT, Halvorsen said the DoD needed to deploy innovation faster to ensure systems are more secure, more efficient and cost-effective, and standardized on one platform.

Because the U.S. Department of Defense is a prime target of cyber criminals and one of the largest and most complex organizations in the world, its leaders know the importance of securing its baseline systems.

Department of Defense Bets on Windows 10

The DoD’s intention to move to Windows 10 began in earnest in November when Halvorsen issued a memo directing all Combatant Commands, Services Agencies and Field Activities to rapidly deploy Windows 10 to improve the Department’s cybersecurity, lower the cost of IT and streamline the IT operating environment.

Further demonstrating a strong vote of confidence for the platform, Windows 10 has been certified as meeting specific government criteria and standards. The National Information Assurance Program, the arm of the US government responsible for evaluating commercial IT products for use in National Security Systems has certified Windows 10 against the Mobile Device Fundamentals Common Criteria protection profile. Additionally, Microsoft’s Surface family of devices have been certified and are available through the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Unified Capabilities Approved Products List and can be easily worked into deployment plans. This means that Surface has met the strict security and interoperability requirements required by the DoD.

As the Department upgrades, it may incorporate some of the following Windows 10 security features:

• Windows Hello: One of the greatest weaknesses in any security environment is the use of passwords, which can easily be hacked and used to gain access to secure resources and data. With Windows 10, agencies can identify individuals and restrict access through integrated multi-factor authentication using biometric mechanisms like facial recognition or fingerprints using the Windows Hello and Windows Passport features.

• Enhanced threat resistance and device security. Working from a crypto-processor, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) -approved chip, tools include familiar features like Secure Boot, which helps prevent malware from embedding itself within hardware or starting before the OS, and Trusted Boot which helps maintain the integrity of the rest of the operating system. Device Guard ensures that only signed applications and code can run on these devices. And Credential Guard safeguards credentials inside a hardware-based virtualized environment and breaks the popular “pass the hash” used in many major breaches.

• Windows Defender, provides anti-malware service, which currently protects almost 300 million Windows devices every day.

• Enterprise Protection, currently in testing with enterprise customers and available soon, provides separation between both corporate and personal data and prevents corporate data from being copied out of corporate files to non-corporate files and locations, such as public website or social channels. Additionally, when EDP is used with Rights Management Services, it can protect data locally adding another layer of protection even when data roams or is shared.

It is exciting to see adoption of Windows 10 by so many enterprise customers, including those with the highest of security demands, such as the Department of Defense.

Source: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/02/17/us-department-of-defense-commits-to-upgrade-4-million-seats-to-windows-10/