❌

Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

Inside the life and career of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, billionaire, and philanthropist

A close-up photo shows Bill Gates smiling.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates continues to hold unparalleled influence even after stepping down from the company.

Metin Pala/Anadolu via Getty Images

  • Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and one of the wealthiest men in the world.
  • Gates was a software genius who dropped out of Harvard to launch a wildly successful career in tech.
  • He now spends much of his time on philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill Gates is perhaps best known as one of the wealthiest people in the world, becoming the first-ever centibillionaire in 1999 at the height of his Microsoft career.

But wealth is hardly all that defines this complex, accomplished, and immensely influential man, whose other titles rightly include philanthropist, entrepreneur, software developer, father, and occasional lightning rod for controversy.

Understanding Bill Gates as a whole requires looking at the varied aspects of his life more closely, and then stitching together a portrait of the legendary Microsoft CEO, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and generally peerless man whose efforts have shaped much of the latter decades of the 20th century and the early decades of the 21st.

Gates' childhood and early years

Gates, 69, was born in the autumn of 1955 in Seattle, Washington. He was the only son in the family, with a sister named Kristianne who is one year older, and another sister, Libby, who is nine years younger.

Gates' childhood fostered his love of technology. He largely eschewed sports and more typical childhood activities, instead taking an early interest in technology. He wrote his first lines of code while still a young teen; it was a software program that allowed a human to face off against a computer playing tic-tac-toe.

A grainy black and white photo shows a young Bill Gates in 1984.
Bill Gates was a computer whiz from an early age, and later dropped out of Harvard and went on to found Microsoft.

Associated Press

By the time Bill Gates was in high school at Lakeside Prep School, he was writing code for the school itself and was soon working with the Computer Center Corporation, a local business in Seattle that offered users time on their computers, personal computers still being a thing of the future. (Gates was briefly banned from the CCC for sneaking in lines of code that granted him extended free time using the machines.)

Bill Gates would go on to matriculate at Harvard University in the fall of 1973, but he would not finish his college degree.

The foundation and growth of Microsoft

In January of 1975, Gates and fellow software genius and childhood friend Paul Allen moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to work for the company Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, Inc. (MITS), a company that was just beginning to create PCs (personal computers). Gates managed to convince the executives he and Allen could create software for their new hardware.

That role did not last long. Later that same year, Gates and Allen founded their own company, named for "microcomputer" and "software," known today as Microsoft.

A young Bill Gates and Paul Allen lean against a desk in a 1970s office.
Gates and his longtime friend Paul Allen founded Microsoft together and launched the massively successful Windows operating system just a few years later.

Doug Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images

Microsoft relocated to Bellevue, Washington, in 1979, and in 1980, the company made a deal with tech juggernaut IBM to develop an operating system for the company's first consumer-ready PC. The MS-DOS 1.0 OS was released in the summer of the following year.

Then, just four years later, in 1985, Microsoft released the first version of its now vaunted Windows OS. New versions of Windows would come out every few years from that point on, and it has grown so dominant that nearly three-quarters of the world's computers run Windows.

Allen departed from Microsoft for medical reasons in 1983 (though he would live another quarter of a century), while Gates would remain the CEO until the summer of 2008, when he voluntarily stepped down from the leading role of the company he had grown into a company that would enjoy revenues of more than $60 billion that same year.

Gates' post-Microsoft career and philanthropy

When Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft, he stepped up as the co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the charitable organization he and his then wife Melinda Gates had founded in the year 2000. (The foundation was a revamp of the organization Gates had established in 1994 under the name the William H. Gates Foundation.)

The BMFG is a nonprofit with global reach that happens to make a tidy profit, thanks in no small part to its massive holdings of Microsoft stock. The foundation has offices around the world and is, in words from its own site: "Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives."

The BMGF funds research into the fight against malnutrition, malaria, gender inequality, to name a few, and in support of causes such as agricultural development, clean water programs, and much more.

The foundation has an endowment of more than $75 billion and planned to spend a staggering $8.6 billion on philanthropic work in the year 2024. Bill Gates has donated an estimated $36 billion-plus of his own fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gates' relationships and friendships

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, wearing name tags, walk together outdoors past some bushes.
Bill and Melinda Gates were married for 27 years.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Bill Gates married Melinda French Gates, whose maiden name was Melinda Ann French, on New Year's Day in 1994 on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. The couple met at work, Melinda being a Microsoft employee, though she departed the company in 1996 to focus on family and, soon, on charitable work.

The Gates have three children together and would remain married until their divorce on August 2, 2021, after a span of 27 years. The reasons for the divorce were several, one reportedly being that Gates spent one weekend each year vacationing with (and possibly physically involved with, though this was always denied) an ex-girlfriend, Ann Winblad. This was an arrangement Melinda Gates tacitly approved, though with displeasure.

The largest issue, and indeed the thing that finally compelled Melinda French Gates to end the union, was Bill Gates' regular association with Jeffrey Epstein the financier, convicted sex offender, and accused trafficker who died by suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019.

Gates is currently in a relationship with Paula Hurd, who was born in 1962 and is seven years his junior. Hurd, formerly married to the late Co-CEO of Oracle Corporation Mark Hurd, has two adult daughters and works primarily coordinating and planning large-scale philanthropic events.

Gates and Hurd had been known to be in a relationship since early 2023, but were not to appear together at a major public event until April of the following year, when they accompanied one another to a major red carpet event.

Melinda French Gates, for her part, was reportedly briefly in a relationship with a Fox News correspondent named Jon Du Pre, but the pair are no longer together.

Another contentious relationship β€” one that likewise soured after many years β€” is Gates' friendship with billionaire Warren Buffett. The two men were on close terms for decades, with their relationship going beyond mere affinity. Gates joined the board of Buffett's investment firm, Berkshire Hathaway, in 2004 and would remain on it until 2020.

Warren Buffett points in the distance while Bill Gates laughs and photographers circle around them.
Gates and Buffett were once close friends.

Rick Wilking/Reuters

Buffett, for his party, was a trustee on the board of the BMGF from 2006 until 2021. He stepped away and also went cold on Gates for reasons rather in line with his divorce: Buffett was deeply troubled by the association of Gates with Epstein. He had also come to dislike the growing bureaucracy of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and was off-put by how rude Gates could often be to others.

There are also some wild conspiracy theories about Bill Gates, such as that he was behind a scheme to place microchips into COVID-19 vaccines, that Gates wanted to do away with the American cattle industry and instead compel people to eat insects, and that a fund backed by Gates that was developing a new way to produce baby formula has led to a nationwide baby formula shortage.

There is, of course, no evidence to support any of these plots and plenty of common sense to debunk them, but these wild theories and others abound nonetheless

Bill Gates' net worth and land

Bill Gates' multistory lakefront mansion in Medina, Washington, is surrounded by trees.
Gates owns a number of properties throughout the US and some 275,000 acres of farmland.

Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images

Bill Gates' net worth can change by the millions in any given day as markets rise and fall, but it is usually near $160 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That places him in the bottom half of the top 10 richest people in the world. As noted, he achieved the top title in 1995 and maintained it most years up until 2017.

Gates has less wealth today largely because he has given so much of it away in the name of philanthropy.

Today, Bill Gates' primary property is a 66,000 square foot mansion in Medina, Washington, which is just east of Seattle, across Lake Washington. Construction took seven years and involved a team of 300 workers. There are six kitchens and 24 bathrooms.

Gates also owns vast swathes of farmland, totaling approximately 275,000 acres. For comparison, all five boroughs of New York City cover just 193,700 acres. During a Reddit Q&A session (called an "AMA" for "ask me anything"), Gates explained the massive holdings, saying: "I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. I have invested in these farms to make them more productive and create more jobs. There isn't some grand scheme involved - in fact all these decisions are made by a professional investment team."

Gates' lifestyle, hobbies, and beliefs

Gates, who has a 2,500-square-foot gym in his mansion, is a firm believer in the benefits of exercise. He reportedly works out for at least an hour every day, whether running, swimming, playing tennis, or doing strength training. He is also reportedly a fan of pickleball.

While he grew up attending a Protestant Reformed church, Gates seemed drawn to the Catholic church in the 2010s, largely because of Melinda. These days, he seems to skew agnostic, with religion not playing much of a role in his life.

Books, however, play a huge role. Gates has claimed he reads up to 50 books a year. And he also collects rare books, such as a manuscript created by Leonardo da Vinci for which he paid well over $30 million.

Like many other billionaires and tech moguls, Gates collects cars, and has a 23-car garage at his Washington home. His collection is filled with high-end sports cars and luxury vehicles alike. And, apparently, a blue Ford Focus.

Read the original article on Business Insider

What is Skype? A history of Microsoft's free video-calling app and how to use it

A pair of white earbuds and a smartphone featuring the Skype logo is in focus, with a blurred laptop and coffee mug in the background.
Skype is Microsoft's free video-calling app that was once a major telecommunications industry disruptor, but has since fallen out of popular use.

Aytac Unal/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

  • Skype is a free video-calling platform that Microsoft acquired for $8.5 billion over a decade ago.
  • Skype was once the go-to video-calling app and telecommunications industry disruptor.
  • But now, Skype has faded out of popular usage in favor of platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

Skype, a telecommunications platform currently owned by Microsoft, became ubiquitous in the early 2000s, at one point accounting for up to 40% of all international calls.

While Skype has since lost some of its audience to Microsoft Teams β€” particularly in the business context β€” and a significant portion of its market share to Zoom, it still maintained an average of 40 million daily users as of 2020.

Founded in 2003 by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas ZennstrΓΆm and Danish entrepreneur Janus Friis, Skype held its first public trial in August of that year. By 2005, the company was acquired by eBay for $2.5 billion. In 2009, a portion of Skype was resold to Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for $1.9 billion, giving the company a market valuation of $2.75 billion.

Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, making it a division of Microsoft with its former CEO Tony Bates reporting to then-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Following the acquisition, Microsoft integrated Skype into its product lineup, discontinuing Windows Messenger in favor of the Skype client, which became the default messaging service in Windows 8.1. By 2013, Skype was available across multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, iPadOS, iOS, Android, and BlackBerry.

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer shakes hands with former Skype CEO Tony Bates in front of a backdrop featuring both the Microsoft and Skype logos.
Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Skype was once a telecommunications industry disruptor

By offering free voice and video calls between Skype users globally, it effectively undercut traditional telecommunications providers that charged hefty fees for international calls. This disruptive technology approach that Skype took paid dividends in terms of the platform's immense popularity, especially in regions where long-distance calling was prohibitively expensive.

Instead of paying telecommunications companies long-distance rates, the only fee you'd incur would be the internet data that Skype used for your audio or video call. Skype also offered low rates for calls to landlines and cellphones.

Through its North American subscription plan, you could get 2,000 minutes of calling for $5.94/month – or the equivalent of about 0.297 cents per minute; if you go over 2,000 minutes, the rate goes to $0.35/minute. For US only calls, a 2,000 minute plan costs just $2.54 with extra time costing only $0.15/minute.

Skype's advantages and disadvantages

Despite no longer being the industry leader in terms of market share, Skype is still a capable free solution for video and audio calls.

Unlike the free version of Zoom, Skype doesn't have a 30 minute time limit. Additionally, in 2023 Microsoft integrated Bing AI with Skype, allowing users to converse with it in a private chat or mention it in group chats and ask it questions; you can even ask it to help plan vacation destinations or generate jokes.

However, Microsoft has clearly prioritized other tech like Microsoft Teams at the expense of Skype over the years.

In 2015, Skype for Business replaced Lync as Microsoft's business communication solution. In 2017, Microsoft announced plans to replace Skype for Business with Microsoft Teams, with its official retirement occurring in July 2021.

Where Zoom and Teams pull away from Skype is less in the one-on-one context and more in business centric contexts where you might have more than 50 people – the maximum size Skype supports – on a single call. Skype also does not have breakout room functionality like what you see with Zoom.

How to use Skype

Once you've downloaded Skype to your computer or mobile device, you can make a new Skype call through desktop or mobile by opening the Skype app and clicking New call or Start a call.

A screenshot of the Skype desktop app shows the "New Call" button emphasized with a red box and arrow.
Hit "New Call" and a screen will show you a list of contacts, recently called people, and a search bar.

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

You can add contacts to Skype or invite people to join Skype by navigating to the Contacts tab and clicking New Contact and searching for the person via their Skype name, phone number, email, or full name.

How to delete your Skype account

If you, too, are gravitating towards platforms like Zoom or Teams rather than Skype, you might be wondering how to delete your Skype account.

Since your Skype account is tied into your Microsoft account, it is not possible to close your Skype account without closing your entire Microsoft account. If you want to proceed, you can close your Microsoft account by visiting the Microsoft account closure page, signing in, and selecting either 30 or 60 days from the dropdown, clicking Next, and following Microsoft's prompts.

A screenshot shows Microsoft's account closure prompts, including a dropdown menu and "Next" button emphasized with red boxes and arrows.
Microsoft lets you choose between a 30-day or 60-day waiting period before your account is permanently closed.

Kyle Wilson/Business Insider

How to change your Skype name

Your Skype name itself cannot be changed, however, you change your account's display name.

Start by clicking on your Skype profile picture, then select Skype profile and click the pencil icon to edit the display name and make your changes.

A screenshot shows a settings menu on Skype allowing a user to change their display name.
Change your display name by clicking the pencil icon.

Kyle Wilson/Business Insider

Read the original article on Business Insider

What is Microsoft Edge?: Everything you need to know about Microsoft's internet browser for Windows

A smartphone resting on a laptop keyboard displays the Microsoft Edge logo.
Microsoft Edge is an internet browser built by Microsoft to replace Internet Explorer.

Jaque Silva/NurPhoto via Getty Images

  • Microsoft Edge is an internet browser installed by default on all new Windows computers.
  • Edge was made to replace Internet Explorer, and runs faster and with more features.
  • Edge now works with Microsoft's new AI-powered features like Copilot.

There was once an old joke among Windows users: "Internet Explorer is the best browser to download a better browser with."

In other words, Internet Explorer β€” Microsoft's old flagship internet browser β€” was been around for years, and few people actually liked it. That's a big reason why in 2015 Microsoft released Edge, their new and improved browser.

Edge gradually replaced Internet Explorer and became increasingly popular over the years, until the latter browser finally shuttered in 2022.

Though Edge was created with the Windows user in mind, iOS users can download it on their Macs, iPhones, or iPads, too. Edge can even be used on Linux and on Xbox.

Microsoft has made a big effort with Edge to improve the browsing experience, and it's paid off. Microsoft Edge has enough features and benefits that it's actually a real alternative to more popular browsers like Chrome or Firefox.

This is especially true with the Edge's most recent update, which now features Copilot, Microsoft's AI tool that can assist users with research and summarize pages and content. Edge also features Microsoft's AI-powered search engine Bing right in the browser's sidebar for easy access.

Here's everything you need to know about Microsoft Edge, including what it offers, and how to download it on your PC, Mac, iPhone, or Android device.

Microsoft Edge, explained

The current version of Edge was built on what's called a "Chromium" browser. This means that it can run hundreds of extensions that were originally meant for Google Chrome users. This includes screen readers, in-browser games, productivity tools, and more.

This is in addition to the extensions already in the Microsoft Store, which you can also use. If you can think of a feature you'd like the browser to have, there's probably an extension for it.

A screenshot of the Microsoft Edge browser shows the "Extensions" button emphasized with red boxes and arrows.
You can find the Extensions menu by clicking the three dots at the top-right and clicking "Extensions."

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

If you sign up for a free Microsoft account, you can sync your bookmarks, history, passwords, and more. This means that if you use Edge on a different computer, you'll have all of your browsing data available in moments.

Reviews have also said that this new version of Edge runs faster than previous versions, putting it about on par with Chrome and Firefox.

If you'd like to give Microsoft Edge a try, you can download it from Microsoft's website.

A screenshot of the Microsoft Edge download page shows the "Download Edge" button emphasized with a red box and arrow.
Just hit the "Download Edge" button on Microsoft's website.

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

The page should automatically detect whether you're using a Mac, PC, iPhone, or Android device. If you think the page has gotten it wrong, click the arrow next to the "Download" button to see all the available versions.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Everything to know about Microsoft 365, formerly Microsoft Office: Programs, features, cost, and how to use it for free

A woman types on a laptop featuring a Microsoft webpage that says "Office is now Microsoft 365."
Microsoft Office has been rebranded as Microsoft 365, and is now a cloud-based subscription service with programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Serene Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

  • Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based software suite with programs like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
  • Microsoft 365 was formerly called Microsoft Office, and used to be a one-time purchase.
  • Microsoft 365 has a variety of subscriptions with different costs, but there are also free versions.

If you have, at any time in the past few years, worked in an office, gone to school, or generally been alive, you have probably used myriad Microsoft 365 products. And the same is true, relatively speaking, even going back several decades.

That's because Microsoft 365 is a 2010 rebranding of Microsoft Office, the suite of software that included venerable programs like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint, among others.

Whereas you used to access that software via the Windows operating system, today Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based service accessed remotely via a paid subscription.

What programs does Microsoft 365 feature?

Microsoft 365 goes well beyond the basic word processing, spreadsheet-making, and presentation designer software that has been around since the 20th century.

Along with the aforementioned programs, 365 also features OneDrive, a cloud storage service for keeping files secure, Teams, which is a collaboration software that allows for video meetings, live chat, file sharing, and more, Skype, the video call platform, and Outlook, which is Microsoft's email service.

How much does Microsoft 365 cost?

There are different plans at different rates. You can pay $9.99 per month for a Microsoft 365 family plan which allows up to six users to share one account, with that price adding up to $119.88. Or, you can pay $99.99 one time to save on a year-long subscription.

A one-person Microsoft 365 Personal plan costs $6.99 per month, which is $83.88, or you can pay once and get a year for $69.99.

Can you get Microsoft 365 for free?

Microsoft 365 is available for free in a few ways, though most have some limitations. There is a free version of Microsoft 365 that can be used in a web browser. Users must sign up for a Microsoft account with an existing or new email address to access Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and so forth.

You can also get a free download of the Microsoft 365 Access Runtime files, but this is available only in downgraded 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

Students and teachers can get Microsoft Office 365 Education for free with a valid school email address, and all users can sign up for a one-month free trial of a Microsoft 365 subscription. Just make sure to cancel ahead of the next billing cycle.

How to cancel Microsoft 365?

Canceling Microsoft 365 takes just a few steps:

  1. Sign in to the Microsoft account you used to purchase Microsoft 365, select Services & subscriptions from the dashboard, and click Manage to cancel or modify the Microsoft 365 subscription.
A screenshot of a Microsoft 365 account page shows the "Services & subscriptions" and "Manage" buttons emphasize with red boxes and arrows.
You can cancel or upgrade your Microsoft 365 subscription from the "Services & subscriptions" section of your Microsoft account.

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

  1. Select Cancel subscription (it might say Upgrade or Cancel).
  2. Review the additional information on the page, and at the bottom select I don't want my subscription, then confirm the cancellation.

What's the difference between Microsoft 365 and Office Suite?

The real differences are the pay model and the way you access the software. The classic Office Suite was a one-time purchase that gave you programs (Word and Excel, e.g.) that you could use offline any time you wanted.

Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based service that you primarily use online (you can use 365 programs offline, but the saving may not be reliable) and that you will pay for each month or once a year.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Microsoft accuses group of developing tool to abuse its AI service in new lawsuit

Microsoft has taken legal action against a group the company claims intentionally developed and used tools to bypass the safety guardrails of its cloud AI products. According to a complaint filed by the company in December in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, a group of 10 unnamed defendants allegedly used […]

Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Microsoft sues service for creating illicit content with its AI platform

Microsoft is accusing three individuals of running a "hacking-as-a-service" scheme that was designed to allow the creation of harmful and illicit content using the company’s platform for AI-generated content.

The foreign-based defendants developed tools specifically designed to bypass safety guardrails Microsoft has erected to prevent the creation of harmful content through its generative AI services, said Steven Masada, the assistant general counsel for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit. They then compromised the legitimate accounts of paying customers. They combined those two things to create a fee-based platform people could use.

A sophisticated scheme

Microsoft is also suing seven individuals it says were customers of the service. All 10 defendants were named John Doe because Microsoft doesn’t know their identity.

Read full article

Comments

Β© Benj Edwards | Getty Images

Internal Microsoft document shows one way managers decide which employees they can't afford to lose — and it's all about AI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks in front of a large screen displaying the words "Microsoft Copilot."

Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images

  • Microsoft managers use forms to request retention bonuses for employees they can't afford to lose.
  • One such document, viewed by BI, includes a field specific to employees' AI contributions.
  • Microsoft AI employees earn much more than their colleagues, according to payroll data viewed by BI.

Some managers at Microsoft may be trying harder to retain talented employees with AI know-how, according to an internal document viewed by Business Insider.

Microsoft managers can request retention bonuses for employees they feel they can't afford to lose. The process involves filling out forms that include questions such as, "What harm is done if employee leaves Microsoft?"

The document viewed by BI showed a new field focusing on employee contributions in artificial intelligence.

"In the context of AI transformation as a key priority, please indicate if this individual is critical AI talent and share the risk to the AI initiative/s if talent is not retained," the document tells Microsoft managers.

The refreshed document was prepared for a specific, large group inside Microsoft. However, it's unclear whether the AI question is being added to similar retention documents in other parts of the company.

A Microsoft spokesperson said that the company did not have a central form for special stock and cash-award requests and that organizations and teams could choose whether to add different fields, depending on their strategic priorities.

Still, the addition of the AI question to this specific document suggests that the AI talent wars may be pushing some parts of Microsoft to do more to prevent poaching by rivals.

Google, OpenAI, Meta, and other tech companies are racing to develop the most powerful AI models and the best generative-AI tools, and they need employees who know the technical details of how to craft these products. That's caused bidding wars for some talent, along with multimillion-dollar compensation packages sometimes.

Higher pay for AI talent

Microsoft has already prioritized AI talent when it comes to compensation.

As of September, the average compensation in Microsoft's AI group was about 37% higher than the average for all the company's US employees. Software engineers working in AI, for example, earned 48% more than the average software engineer at the company, according to a payroll spreadsheet shared with BI.

In 2023, during a leadership crisis at OpenAI, Microsoft's chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, said the software giant would hire hundreds of OpenAI employees and match their compensation.

He made the announcement in the middle of job cuts and a salary freeze at Microsoft, which made some employees furious.

Are you a Microsoft employee or do you have insight to share? Contact the reporter, Ashley Stewart, via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email (astewart@businessinsider.com). Use a nonwork device.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Microsoft bet big on its Copilot AI tool. Here's everything to know about Copilot's features, cost, and risks.

A shadowy figure standing in front of a Microsoft logo types on a smartphone open to the Copilot app.
Microsoft's Copilot AI tool has been integrated into much of the company's productivity software, like Bing, Teams, Word, PowerPoint, and more.

Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto

  • Copilot is Microsoft's generative AI tool now featured in much of its productivity programs.
  • Copilot can draft text, analyze information and data, and suggest ideas.
  • Copilot has also been plagued with security issues, and customers have criticized its effectiveness.

The entire tech industry is mired in an AI arms race, and Microsoft bet big on Copilot, its generative artificial intelligence chatbot.

Microsoft released Copilot in 2023, and rapidly rolled it out across various products and softwares. The company markets Copilot as a tool to help users with productivity tasks such as drafting a memo for work, adding to or amending hectic calendars, analyzing a spreadsheet or a few lines of code, or even writing a poem or short story.

By combing the vastness of the internet in fractions of a second to source troves of information and then engaging in machine learning and informed prediction, Copilot can create content; it can analyze, interpret, and explain extant data; and it can create systems for planning and managing many aspects of your life, from work to recreation to hobbies and more.

"We believe Copilot will be the new UI that helps you gain access to the world's knowledge and your organization's knowledge, but most importantly, it will be your agent that helps you act on that knowledge," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during a keynote address at Microsoft's annual Microsoft Ignite business conference in November 2023.

Not long after Copilot's launch, industry experts predicted that for the fiscal year 2024, Copilot would generate billions for the company. However, the AI tool is not without its flaws. Customers and company insiders have criticized Copilot for its ineffectiveness and cost, and IT leaders have questioned its value to their companies; the widespread disappointment in Copilot has raised doubts over its long-term profitability.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella paces and speaks in front of a large screen displaying a slide labeled "Windows Copilot Library + On-device models."
Nadella framed Copilot as a revolutionary AI tool, but it has been beleaguered with criticisms and security flaws.

Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

What is Microsoft Copilot AI?

Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered chatbot that relies on large language models (often shorted to LLMs) to help users with productivity and content creation tasks. The more you use it, the more it learns about your interests, preferences, and habits, and the better it tailors itself to serving your needs. It's available for use on Windows, Macs, and both the Apple iOS, and Android mobile platforms.

You can use Microsoft Copilot in many programs that you likely already use, including Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, and more. It can assist you in rapidly creating and editing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more, acting both as your content creator and an editor and sort of AI coworker.

The basic version of Microsoft Copilot is free to use on the web, in Windows, with a Mac OS, and with Android and iOS. The free version includes access to GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o during non-peak times. It also allows users to create and edit AI images, use plugins, and more.

However, there is also a paid version of Copilot called Copilot Pro, which offers more advanced features and better access. Copilot Pro includes all the features of the free version, plus priority model access and the ability to use Copilot in Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.

To use Copilot Pro, you need a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, which costs $6.99 per month for a personal subscription and $9.99 per month for a family subscription, good for up to six users. With Copilot Pro added, the total cost is around $26.99 per month.

Is Microsoft Copilot better than ChatGPT?

A smartphone displays icons for AI apps including Gemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot.
Microsoft's Copilot AI tool has a number of competitors, including Google's Gemini and ChatGPT.

Jaque Silva/NurPhoto

In some ways and for some uses, Copilot can be more effective than ChatGPT. Copilot is better for quick, tactical tasks that come about during your workflow, while ChatGPT is more commonly used for broader tasks and conversational AI, like for writing a creative story or rehearsing before a meeting or interview.

Copilot is part of the Microsoft ecosystem and can easily pull information from across Microsoft applications, which can be helpful, and it can also reply to questions with visual responses, such as photos and images. Also, unlike ChatGPT, which doesn't provide sources for its responses, Copilot does, making cross-referencing and fact-checking easier. That said, the paid version of ChatGPT is only $20 a month, so it's $7 cheaper than Copilot Pro.

What are the risks of using Microsoft Copilot?

Using Microsoft Copilot can pose several risks, including data leakage. Customers have already raised multiple security issues with Copilot, and in some cases delayed deployment over the concerns.

Copilot can generate outputs that include sensitive data, which may be shared with the wrong audience as the AI simply doesn't know better. For example, while you use Microsoft Teams, Copilot could summarize conversations and record action items against your better judgement, which could accidentally reveal private information.

There is also the all-too-common human problem of over-reliance. As Copilot and other AI tools become increasingly integrated into daily life, users may unknowingly rely on it more, which could impact investment and strategic decisions, how they write and express themselves, and frankly how much creative and critical thinking they do.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Microsoft jobs are competitive, but lucrative. Here's what to know about careers, skills, and salaries at Microsoft.

Microsoft's logo is emblazoned on top of a concrete wall at the company's headquarters in Washington.
Microsoft has a challenging and highly competitive hiring process.

David Ryder/Getty Images

  • Microsoft has approximately 228,000 employees worldwide.
  • Microsoft is one of the most sought-after workplaces in the tech industry, so jobs are competitive.
  • Here's what to know about the various jobs at Microsoft, skills you'll need, and the best salaries.

Since its 1975 founding, Microsoft has grown into one of the largest companies in the world, and its software has changed the way the world uses computers and other devices.

Currently, Microsoft employs roughly 228,000 people, globally.

A publicly traded company since early 1986, the multinational business has long been a darling of investors, and it has been a much sought-after workplace by people in the tech world.

Getting a job at Microsoft is much easier said than done, though.

Is Microsoft hard to get into?

Anyone hoping for employment at Microsoft should expect to compete against a flood of other highly qualified applicants at any given time. There are usually multiple rounds of interviews β€” as many as five in some cases, depending on the position β€” and different positions require different types of experience.

For technical roles, Microsoft's hiring process includes things like testing you on problem-solving skills and coding.

All jobs at Microsoft require at the minimum a college degree, usually in an applicable field, such as data science or mathematics, or demonstrable experience in a directly related position elsewhere. Some positions require several years of relevant experience, and others require more advanced degrees.

Experience at other large tech companies can be a huge bonus. One former Microsoft product manager who shared his resume with Business Insider said he believed his experience at Facebook, plus his entrepreneurial experience, gave him a competitive edge.

It is, in short, hard to get a job at Microsoft, but a rejection upon your first application is no reason not to try again. Many people are hired by the software giant only after applying multiple times, with their persistence and commitment seen as a positive sign by the company.

An aerial view shows Microsoft's campus in Washington state, including multiple large buildings interspersed with trees and pathways, and a soccer field in the middle.
Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, and has a sprawling campus.

David Ryder/Getty Images

What types of jobs can you get at Microsoft?

Microsoft is a massive organization, being a software maker, and has a number of divisions that often have job postings, like the cloud-computing software Azure, the productivity suite Microsoft 365, or the legacy operating system Windows. The list of jobs one could potentially get at Microsoft is long and varied.

But Microsoft also owns a number of companies, and it may be worth expanding your job search to workplaces like GitHub, Skype, or LinkedIn.

At Microsoft or its companies, you could work in everything from data analytics to hardware engineering to digital sales to legal and corporate affairs. There are software designers, marketers, supply chain specialists, and so many more different roles needed to keep the company working.

On the software side, specifically, Microsoft often has openings for developers, software engineers, product managers, and more.

How to get a job in Microsoft?

If you have the requisite education and experience, and have done your research on the role and perfected your resume, you can start by applying online at the Microsoft Careers page.

Microsoft offers internships for those early career job-seekers lacking in experience, and, of course, it's always a good idea to network with anyone you know who works there before you apply. Note that Microsoft often implements hiring freezes, so don't try to join up during one.

Like any massive company, sometimes Microsoft has to restructure itself, and Microsoft layoffs can be massive, with thousands of employees dismissed at the same time. The post-pandemic period has been particularly brutal at Microsoft, with multiple rounds of job cuts throughout 2023 and 2024 in divisions like Azure, Xbox, and Activision Blizzard.

Know as you are going in that even if you do an excellent job in your role with Microsoft, your job may be cut in the future. The tech industry is in a period of flux, so it's always wise to have a Plan B.

What is the highest paying job at Microsoft?

The CEO of Microsoft makes nearly $50 million in total each year when you count the cash, stocks, and other compensation, and that makes being the boss the highest paid job at Microsoft.

Other very well-compensated jobs β€” compared to regular salaries, not the CEO's package β€” are Corporate Vice President, which has a salary around $650,000 plus stock compensation.

But even non-executive roles at Microsoft are widely known for their high salaries. For example, the role of Principal Software Engineer, typically pays about $215,000 plus stocks, and that of Senior Data Scientist, pays just under $200,000 annually.

Federal data from 2020 showed some of Microsoft's highest-paying jobs, including up to $240,000 for a research role, $220,000 for a program manager, and $204,000 for a hardware engineering role.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Linux Foundation bands together Chromium browser makers in a β€œneutral space”

Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers sounds like a very niche local meetup, one with hats and T-shirts that barely fit the name. But it's really a "neutral space" for funding and support, corralling together some big names with a stake in the future of Chrome's open source roots, Chromium.

The Linux Foundation, a nonprofit started in 2000 that has grown to support a broader range of open source projects, spurred the initiative. In a press release, the Foundation states that the project will allow "industry leaders, academia, developers, and the broader open source community" to work on Chromium, with "much-needed funding and development support for open development of projects."

A few names you don't often see together are already on board: Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Opera. Krystian Kolondra, executive vice president of browsers at Opera, stated in a release that "as one of the major browsers contributing to the Chromium project," Opera would "look forward to collaborating with members of the project to foster this growth and keep building innovative and compelling products for all users."

Read full article

Comments

Β© Chromium

Microsoft Excel is one of the most popular spreadsheet programs. Here's what to know about cost and how to learn Excel.

A blurry face is positioned in front of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet on a laptop.
Microsoft Excel is a popular spreadsheet software used by millions to organize and analyze data.

Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

  • Microsoft Excel is a widely used spreadsheet software that has been around for decades.
  • To learn Excel, start slowly, play around with the basics, and seek out online tutorials.
  • Excel is part of the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity software, that you can buy on subscription.

Excel, Microsoft's spreadsheet program with millions of diehard fans and millions of outspoken detractors, has been around since 1985. In its multiple decades of existence, Excel has undergone myriad updates and improvements and, in the hands of a skilled user, it's truly a remarkable piece of software.

But mastering the many formulas, layouts, and tools that come into play with the countless rows, columns, cells of an Excel file can be a daunting and frustrating process. We're here to tell you that it's worth it, and that Excel can actually be a rewarding and β€” dare we say it? β€” enjoyable program to use.

Just ask the data whizzes who participate each year in the Microsoft Excel World Championship. You read that correctly; Excel Esports is a live competition in which participants solve unusual game tasks using Microsoft Excel. It began in the fall of 2020, and it sees competitors advancing through rounds of challenges by scoring points for correctly solving challenges in limited periods of time.

Also called the Financial Modeling World Cup, problems presented during the Microsoft Excel World Championship go well beyond matters of finance and accounting and include challenges based on data analysis, formula creation, and much more.

But even if you don't see yourself competing on the world stage, Excel is a highly useful program for the average user. Here's what you need to know about using Excel:

How much does Microsoft Excel cost?

If you choose to buy just Microsoft Excel as opposed to the Microsoft 365 suite of software, which comes with Excel along with programs like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Teams, the one-time purchase price is $159.99. You will pay just $6.99 per month for the full Microsoft 365 subscription, though, so that's usually the better route.

And if you're wondering why Excel is so expensive, it's largely because of all the security features built into the program. Note that you can get a one-month free trial of Microsoft Excel and all the other 365 programs, including Copilot, the company's AI-powered productivity tool.

What is the easiest way to learn Excel?

A woman sits cross-legged on a couch, holding a laptop displaying a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Experiment with Microsoft Excel to learn the basics, like adding and adjusting columns and rows.

Julia Nikhinson/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

There is a lot to learn with Excel β€” more than most people will ever likely know. The key to mastering Excel is to start slowly, making sure you fully understand each function before moving on to more complicated aspects of the software.

Start by just playing around with the basics, such as changing the width and height of columns and rows, respectively, making text colored, bold, or in different fonts, and so on. When you have the basics down, turn to free online tutorials to help you learn more about Excel's more involved features, such as creating formulas.

You can use the tutorial service Udemy's online courses like "Useful Excel for Beginners" or "Excel Quick Start Tutorial: 36 Minutes to Learn the Basics," to name a few examples.

There are also scores of books you can buy (or get from the library) that are all about learning Microsoft Excel.

What formulas can you make in Microsoft Excel?

You can make hundreds and hundreds of different formulas in Excel, including those that run mathematical equations, that generate calendars or schedules, that calculate averages and values, that reshape the layout of a spreadsheet to make it look better, and so much more.

A few of the must-know Excel formulas include SUM, which is used to rapidly do addition with data entered into cells, COUNT, which, predictably, is used for counting numbers, and VLOOKUP, which can calculate the value in a table or other array. You can enter any formula by selecting an empty cell and typing the = sign in front of the formula (for example, =SUM or =VLOOKUP).

Read the original article on Business Insider

What to know about Microsoft Azure, the cloud computing platform and computing, networking, and storage services

Four people cluster around a table of laptops in front of several screens displaying Microsoft Azure AI features.
Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing competitor to Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.

Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images

  • Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's vaunted cloud computing platform.
  • Azure offers a range of cloud-based solutions for the creation and management of applications.
  • Most Azure products use a pay-as-you-go pricing model, but some products can also be used for free.

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing platform that offers a range of cloud-based computing, networking, and data storage services.

Microsoft Azure boasts "solutions that enable organizations to build, deploy, and manage applications and services through Microsoft's global network of data centers."

Crystal clear, right? Don't worry, we'll break it down for you, but first just to clarify, Azure is indeed a computing platform, not just a storage platform.

In short, Azure lets you do things that require much more processing power than your computer has because the computing is done far from your desk, couch, or that coffee shop table. Now for the longer view.

When was Microsoft Azure created?

The same company that brought you PowerPoint, Word, and more, launched Azure as Windows Azure back in 2010, rebranding it to Microsoft Azure in 2014. With the launch of the company's AI interface Copilot in 2023, using Azure became easier than ever, as the smart chat interface can help less tech-savvy users take advantage of Azure's many uses.

Azure is now used by a plethora of small and large businesses and organizations. Indeed, Azure has become such a valuable platform and suite of services that Microsoft offers certifications in dozens of different Azure features and softwares to help IT professionals, developers, and engineers learn the intricacies.

Azure has become a critical component of Microsoft's business model since its 2010 launch, with executives often boasting of Azure's revenues in earnings calls.

However, Azure has not been immune from the turbulence within the tech industry in the post-pandemic era. Large rounds of Microsoft layoffs tend to be a "when" and not an "if" sort of thing, so it was hardly a great shock when hundreds of Azure employees were laid off in early summer 2024.

The large round of job cuts specifically targeted workers in the Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering departments, and were part of a pattern of layoffs begun in 2023 and expanded in 2024.

Microsoft Azure Services

Azure allows you to use an already immense and ever-growing catalog of services; it would be way too heavy of a lift to cover them all here, so we will showcase a few of the things you can do via this cloud computing platform.

Azure AI Search: This service allows you to conduct advanced, tailored smart searches and build up a vectored database of relevant retrieved information.

Azure Open Datasets: Host and share curated datasets that are honed and refined through machine learning, growing more accurate over time.

Speaker Recognition: This service allows for the ever-improving recognition of speech and integrates spoken words into programming, documents, and more. It is multilingual, of course.

Azure AI Content Safety: Azure can automatically watch out for images, text, and video content that might be inappropriate β€” or simply irrelevant β€” and filter them out of your content.

How much does Microsoft Azure cost?

Most Azure products use a pay-as-you-go model rather than fixed rates for different products or a flat monthly fee. Your costs could be as low as pennies each month for basic cloud storage or the managed hosting of a simple website or well into the thousands of dollars for enterprise-level use of myriad AI-enabled products.

Many Azure products can also be used for free. New users can enjoy 25 services free for 12 months, while others remain free at all times to all people. These include API management, the Azure AI Bot Service, and the Azure AI Metrics Advisor, to name just a few.

Microsoft Azure vs. AWS and Google Cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the heavy hitter in cloud computing and storage, arguably leading the way in networking, cloud storage, mobile development, and cybersecurity.

Google Cloud Platform GCP is big on data analysis and arguably allows the easiest user experience and more seamless interaction with products created by other brands.

Microsoft Azure, for its part, provides vastly scalable and efficient software products, and it's usually cheaper than Google Cloud or AWS.

Read the original article on Business Insider

The full list of major US companies slashing staff in the new year, including Microsoft, BlackRock, and Ally

Microsoft
Microsoft is planning job cuts in the new year, Business Insider previously reported.

RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

  • Job cuts are continuing into 2025 following waves of reductions last year.
  • Companies like Microsoft, BlackRock, and Ally have all confirmed cuts.
  • See the list of companies letting workers go in 2025.

Layoffs and other workforce reductions are continuing in 2025, following two years of significant job cuts across tech, media, finance, manufacturing, and retail.

While companies' reasons for slimming their staff vary, the cost-cutting measures come amid the backdrop of technological change. Some 41% of companies worldwide are expected to reduce their workforces over the next five years due to the rise of artificial intelligence, according to a recent World Economic Forum report.

Companies like Dropbox, Google, and IBM have previously announced job cuts related to AI. Meanwhile, tech jobs in big data, fintech, and AI are expected to double by 2030, according to the WEF.

Here are the companies with job cuts planned or already underway in 2025 so far.

BlackRock is reportedly cutting 1% of its workforce
BlackRock
BlackRock is planning layoffs, according to a recent report.

Eric Thayer/Reuters

BlackRock told employees it plans to cut about 200 people of its 21,000-strong workforce, according to Bloomberg.

The reductions are more than offset by some 3,750 workers who were added last year and another 2,000 expected to be added in 2025.

BlackRock President Rob Kapito and Chief Operating Officer Rob Goldstein said the cuts will help realign the firm's resources with its strategy, Bloomberg reported.

Bridgewater is cutting approximately 90 staff
bridgewater associates
Bridgewater's layoffs will return its head count to where it was in 2023, a person familiar with the matter told BI.

Bridgewater Associates

Bridgewater Associates cut 7% of its staff on Monday in an effort to stay lean, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

The layoffs at the world's largest hedge fund bring its head count back to where it was in 2023, the person said.

Founder Ray Dalio said in a 2019 interview that about 30% of new employees leave the firm within 18 months.

The Washington Post is cutting 4% of its non-newsroom workforce
The Washington Post building
The Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post is reportedly conducting layoffs in January.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Washington Post is eliminating less than 100 employees in an effort to cut costs, Reuters reported Tuesday.

A spokesperson told the wire service that the changes would occur across multiple areas of the business and indicated that the cuts would not affect the newsroom.

"The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are," the spokesperson said, according to Reuters.

Microsoft is planning an unspecified number of cuts
Microsoft store sign
Microsoft confirmed to BI that job cuts were planned.

NurPhoto/Getty Images

Microsoft is planning job cuts soon, and the company is taking a harder look at underperforming employees as part of the reductions, according to two people familiar with the plans.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed cuts but declined to share details on the number of employees being let go.

"At Microsoft we focus on high performance talent," the spokesperson said. "We are always working on helping people learn and grow. When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action."

Ally will cut less than 5% of workers
Ally Bank
Ally is offering several supports for

Ally Bank/Facebook

Digital financial company Ally is laying off roughly 500 of its 11,000 employees, a spokesperson confirmed to BI. The impacted employees were notified on Tuesday.

"As we continue to right-size our company, we made the difficult decision to selectively reduce our workforce in some areas, while continuing to hire in our other areas of our business," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said the company is offering severance, out-placement support, and the opportunity to apply for openings at Ally.

Ally made a similar level of cuts in October 2023, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Is your company conducting layoffs? Got a tip?
a woman typing and texting on her phone
The author, not pictured, only texts her best friend.

Tim Robberts/Getty Images

If you are an employee with a tip about upcoming job cuts, please contact Dominick via email or text/call/Signal at 646.768.4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out

Read the original article on Business Insider

Microsoft rolls back its Bing Image Creator model after users complain of degraded quality

Ahead of the holidays, Microsoft said it was upgrading the AI model behind Bing Image Creator, the AI-powered image editing tool built into the company’s Bing search engine. Microsoft promised that the new model β€” the latest version of OpenAI’s DALL-E 3 model, code-named PR16 β€” would allow users to create images β€œtwice as fast […]

Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

What is OneDrive? How to get started with Microsoft's cloud storage service and backup, sync, share, or delete files

A close-up image shows a thumb hovering above a Microsoft OneDrive icon on a smartphone screen.
Microsoft OneDrive lets you backup files, photos, videos, and music.

Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images

  • Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage service that lets you backup, sync, or share your files.
  • Microsoft OneDrive comes with a Microsoft 365 subscription, but there is also a free version.
  • You can use OneDrive on devices like computers, laptops, tablets, phones, and even Xboxes.

OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud-based online storage solution.

Most OneDrive users get access as a part of a Microsoft 365 subscription, which includes Microsoft Office and 1TB of OneDrive storage space. But you can also get a free OneDrive account with 5GB of space.

OneDrive lets you keep files that you create and store on your computer in sync with the cloud. You can connect any number of other devices, such as laptops, phones, tablets, and even your Xbox with OneDrive, letting you keep those files in sync and making them available from anywhere.

In addition, OneDrive lets you back up specific locations from your computer to the cloud. If you turn this feature on, you can automatically keep files stored on your Desktop, in the Documents folder, and photos in your Pictures folder on your OneDrive, effectively giving you a reliable automatic backup of your most critical files.

In 2024, Microsoft also incorporated its Copilot AI tool into OneDrive, enabling features like a chat mode, where you can ask Copilot questions, and AI-curated summaries and comparisons of your files.

How to get started with OneDrive

In Windows 11, OneDrive has been deeply integrated into the operating system, making it easy to configure and use. Even if you are using a different operating system, though β€” such as a Mac or Windows 8 β€” using OneDrive is still quite similar.

Here are the main things you need to know.

Sign in and start using OneDrive

If you are using OneDrive for the first time, you'll first need to download it β€” if it isn't already installed β€” and sign in. After you sign in to your OneDrive account, you'll be prompted to configure the service based on your needs.

How to sign into OneDrive 2
If you're new to OneDrive, create a free account from the OneDrive app's sign-in page.

Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Use OneDrive to back up files on your computer

By default, OneDrive can keep the files on your computer's OneDrive folder in sync with the cloud. But you can also enable a continuously synced OneDrive backup of the Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders.

To do this on a PC, open Settings, navigate to the Sync and backup tab, hit Manage backup, and toggle whichever folders are labeled Not backed up.

For a Mac, select the OneDrive icon in your Menu bar, then open Preferences, navigate to the Backup tab, hit Manage backup, and click Start backup for any folders that aren't already backed up.

Share OneDrive files with other people

OneDrive makes it easy to share individual files or even entire folders with other people. You can invite people to share your files or share a link to those shared files.

There are several different ways to share files and folders on OneDrive, including passing along a "Share" link and using the OneDrive "Share" button.

What is OneDrive 3
It's easy to share files and folders with other people using OneDrive.

Dave Johnson/Business Insider

Delete files from OneDrive

Need to remove a file, document, or photo? There are a couple of ways to delete files from OneDrive, but you should know it will remove the file across your OneDrive enabled devices.

For Windows users, click File Explorer on your task bar, then select your OneDrive folder. Select all of the items within that folder that you want to delete, and press Delete.

For Mac users, open Finder, find the OneDrive folder, select the items you want to delete, and drag and drop them into Trash.

Stop OneDrive from syncing

You might need to pause syncing temporarily or permanently stop OneDrive from syncing a particular folder on your computer.

To do this on Windows or Mac devices, right-click the OneDrive icon on your taskbar. To pause syncing, choose whichever length of time you'd like to temporarily stop syncing for. To permanently stop syncing, click Quit OneDrive.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Microsoft backs its $3B AI push in India with public and private sector deals

Microsoft announced a sweeping series of artificial intelligence partnerships across India’s core sectors on Wednesday, a day after pledging to invest $3 billion in the country over the next two years as it intensifies competition with rivals Google and Amazon. The tech giant’s chief executive Satya Nadella (pictured above) unveiled agreements with five major organizations […]

Β© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Inside the history of Activision Blizzard, the video game maker Microsoft bought for $69 billion

The Activision Blizzard logo is displayed on a large, concave screen in a dimly lit room as small groups of people watch the screen.
Activision Blizzard, owned by Microsoft, is the video game maker behind popular franchises like Call of Duty.

AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

  • Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, making it the third-largest gaming company.
  • Activision Blizzard had some 10,000 employees as of 2022, but Microsoft has enacted mass layoffs.
  • Here's the history of the company behind iconic games like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

Activision Blizzard is one of the most well known publishers in the video game industry.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, the company is best recognized for its popular franchises, including Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Candy Crush Saga.

Activision Blizzard made major international headlines following complaints about working conditions and its Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition in 2023. The all-cash deal saw shareholders of Activision receive a buyout of $95 per share. Following the purchase, Microsoft reported revenue from its Xbox division increased 61% by January 2024.

Here's everything to know about the creation of Activision Blizzard, its successes, and the many controversies that have dogged the company over the years.

The merger that created Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard was formed in 2008 through the merger of Activision and Vivdeni Games. The Activision name dates back to 1979 when the previous company became the first independent, third-party console video game developer. The "Blizzard" portion of the company's name comes from Vivendi Games' subsidiary, Blizzard Entertainment.

Following the merger, most of Vivendi Games' subsidiaries were shuttered, except for Blizzard Entertainment. Their games were either discontinued, published by other studios, or retrained and published by Activision Blizzard.

In 2010, the studio Bungie entered into a 10-year, $500 million publishing deal with Activision Blizzard with the main goal of turning the "Destiny" franchise into a major franchise. The deal ended a year early in 2019, and Bungie split from Activision Blizzard on what appeared to be amicable terms that allowed Bungie to retain the publishing rights for the "Destiny" franchise.

In 2022, the state of California filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, alleging widespread harassment of female employees and a "pervasive frat boy" culture. More than 1,000 Activision Blizzard employees signed a petition calling for CEO Bobby Kotick to resign. Even PlayStation head Jim Ryan and Xbox head Phil Spencer criticized Activision when reports emerged that Kotick personally intervened to save the job of a senior staff member the company's human resources department wanted to fire over sexual harassment allegations.

The former CEO of Activision Blizzard, Bobby Kotick, speaks onstage while seated in an armchair.
Amid a major lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, over 1,000 employees called for CEO Bobby Kotick's resignation.

Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Vanity Fair

The Microsoft acquisition

When Microsoft declared its intent to buy Activision Blizzard, it said Activision was key to providing the "building blocks for the metaverse." Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella later said in an investor conference call that the company sees the metaverse as "a collection of communities and individual identities anchored in strong content franchises accessible on every device."

In an effort to assuage regulator concerns, Microsoft and Sony struck a binding 10-year deal in the summer of 2023 to keep the Call of Duty franchise available on PlayStation consoles. Microsoft vice chair Brad Smith declared that the company "remains focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before."

The lawsuit brought by the state of California was settled for $54 million in 2023, and the settlement found the sexual harassment claims unfounded and cleared Kotick of any wrongdoing. Initially, it was reported that following the closure of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Kotick would stay on as CEO of the soon-to-be subsidiary. However, he ultimately ended up leaving the company upon the deal's completion.

Microsoft's acquisition faced legal challenges from the FTC and European regulators but was ultimately allowed to proceed, making Microsoft the third-largest video game company and bolstering the company's Xbox division, providing access to Activision Blizzard's extensive catalog of games and franchises.

As part of the deal, Activision's estimated 10,000 employees joined Microsoft under its Xbox division. Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard is its third purchase of a video game developer, following its previous acquisitions of Mojang, the maker of Minecraft, in 2014 for $2.5 billion, and ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, in 2021 for $7.5 billion.

Layoffs in the post-pandemic landscape

The Activision Blizzard booth at the 2013 E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo shows crowds of people clustered around a large screen.
Activision Blizzard and the rest of the gaming sector has struggled to adjust to the post-pandemic landscape with plummeting sales and shrinking player bases.

Daniel Boczarski/WireImage via Getty Images

Despite Microsoft's market cap hitting a record-high $3 trillion in January 2024, the company laid off 1,900 workers across Activision, Xbox, and holding company ZeniMax. Activision Blizzard was reportedly the most affected by the layoffs, despite Microsoft earnings calls showing that Activision Blizzard generated billions of dollars in revenue throughout 2024.

These Microsoft layoffs came after after the company enacted 10,000 job cuts in January 2022 and a further 1,000 that July. In September 2024, Microsoft laid off another 650 employees from its Xbox division, with the job cuts predominantly across its corporate and support roles.

These job cuts come as the tech and gaming industries face significant challenges: plummeting sales, shrinking player bases, and rising competition. Companies across the sector are adjusting to the post-pandemic landscape, where the explosive growth in gaming seen during the lockdowns has returned to more pre-pandemic levels.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Microsoft is planning job cuts and focusing more on underperforming employees

Satya Nadella.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BI

  • Microsoft plans job cuts targeting underperforming employees.
  • The reductions are happening across the company, including in its important Security division.
  • Performance-based cuts are often backfilled by Microsoft, so total headcount may not change much.

Microsoft is planning job cuts soon and the company is taking a harder look at underperforming employees as part of the reductions, according to two people familiar with the plans.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed cuts, but declined to share details on the number of employees being let go.

"At Microsoft we focus on high performance talent," the spokesperson said. "We are always working on helping people learn and grow. When people are not performing, we take the appropriate action."

When people leave for performance reasons, Microsoft often backfills the roles, so there may be little change to the company's overall headcount, the spokesperson added. At the end of June, Microsoft had roughly 228,000 full-time employees.

Microsoft is taking a stronger stance on performance management like its competitors, the people familiar said, and managers at the company have spent the last few months evaluating employees all the way up to level 80, one of its highest levels. The people asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters.

The cuts are happening across the company, including in its important Security division, the people said.

Are you a Microsoft employee or do you have insight to share? Contact reporter Ashley Stewart via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email (astewart@businessinsider.com). Use a nonwork device.

Read the original article on Business Insider

How to use Microsoft PowerPoint: Get started creating and customizing multimedia presentations and slide decks

An open laptop on a table features a PowerPoint presentation on nuclear energy, while a pair of blurry hands types on the keyboard.
Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most popular presentation programs that lets you create and collaborate on multimedia slide decks.

Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images

  • Microsoft PowerPoint is a program that lets you create presentations and slide decks.
  • PowerPoint is part of Microsoft 365's suite of productivity applications.
  • Learn how to create a new presentation, and add text, images, videos, audio, and more.

Microsoft PowerPoint is a program designed to help you make interactive, multimedia decks consisting of multiple pages called slides. First created by a software company named Forethought Inc. in 1987, PowerPoint was acquired by Microsoft and released in 1990 in a format similar to the one you know now.

PowerPoint has been continually updated and improved over the years, and today it is a powerful tool that can be used for meetings and presentations, to create collaborative, dynamic documents, to create digital signage, and much more.

What is Microsoft PowerPoint best used for?

PowerPoint is an excellent tool for transmitting ideas. Because the program can use text, sounds, and media such as photos and videos, it is ideal for business presentations heavy on data, for educators to share facts and concepts, for realtors to use in showcasing properties, for marketers to use to introduce new products, and much more.

Anytime you have information to transmit in a multimedia format, PowerPoint is a great program to use. You can arrange PowerPoint slides based on chronology, scale, to tell a story, or however else will best serve your purposes.

Can you get Microsoft PowerPoint for free?

There are a few ways to get Microsoft PowerPoint for free, though they tend to have limitations. You can use PowerPoint for free online when you use a Microsoft 365 account online, which is free but does require creating an account. You have to use PowerPoint in a web browser if you try this technique.

You can also get a free Microsoft 365 app on a smartphone or tablet and use PowerPoint within that app, though using the program on a smaller touchscreen device can be frustrating.

To get the full range of functionality of PowerPoint, you need to need to pay, though. To buy the standalone program for a one-time purchase price, you'll pay $179.99, or you can pay for the full Microsoft 365 suite of programs, which includes Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and other useful software. A yearly subscription to Microsoft 365 costs $69.99, or you can do a one-time purchase for $149.99.

What are some alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint?

PowerPoint is not alone in the interactive multimedia presentation creation software game. Its competitors include Apple Keynote and Google Slides. Which is better among PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, and Google Slides is largely a matter of personal preference.

If you are more comfortable with the Mac OS than with Windows, for instance, Keynote will be your best bet. In a similar vein, if ease-of-use is critical for you, Apple Keynote is generally considered less overwhelming to learn and use than PowerPoint or Google Slides.

If collaboration with coworkers, students, or friends and family is critical for you, Google Slides is the best choice, as it allows multiple users to edit and comment simultaneously. PowerPoint's cloud integration allows for real-time co-authoring and sharing through OneDrive, but it's not as seamless as Google Slides. And Keynote's collaborative features are limited compared to PowerPoint and Google Slides.

However, if creating a richly-composed multimedia deck is paramount, go with PowerPoint. PowerPoint has features such as a graphic designer that put a high degree of control into its users' hands.

How to make a PowerPoint Presentation

The basic steps to making a PowerPoint presentation are quite approachable, though admittedly it can get complicated at a highly involved level. Here are some simple steps to get you started, though.

Create a presentation

  1. Open PowerPoint.
  2. In the left pane, select New.
  3. Select an option: to create a presentation from scratch, select Blank Presentation. To use a prepared design, select one of the templates. Either way, hit Create.
A screenshot of Microsoft PowerPoint shows the buttons "New," "Blank Presentation," and "Create" emphasized with red boxes and arrows.
Get started by selecting either a blank presentation, or one of the templates offered by PowerPoint.

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

Add text to your slides

  1. Add a slide by clicking the thumbnails on the left pane and selecting the slide type you want your new slide to follow or in the Home tab, select New Slide. Now, you have a single-slide deck made.
  2. In the Slides section, click Layout, and then select the layout you want from the menu, in this case a text box.
  3. Place the cursor inside the text box, and then write something.
  4. Select the text, and then hit one or more options from the Font section of the Home tab, such as bold, italic, underline, and so forth.
A screenshot of a Microsoft PowerPoint slide shows the "Layout," "Title and Content," and "Click to add text" buttons emphasized with red boxes and arrows.
Select your preferred slide layout and click to add text.

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

Add images, videos, audio, or tables

  1. Click the to the Insert tab, then select Pictures.
  2. Select the source you want. (Your desktop, for example)
  3. Browse for the picture you want, select it, and then select Insert.
A screenshot from Microsoft PowerPoint shows a dropdown menu with various options for adding images, emphasized with a red box and arrow.
Add pictures from your own photo library, files, the internet, or PowerPoint's gallery of stock images.

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

You can follow these same steps to insert tables, videos, audio clips, and more.

A screenshot of Microsoft PowerPoint shows the "Table," "Video," and "Audio" buttons emphasized with red boxes and arrows.
PowerPoint lets you insert tables, videos, and audio the same way you insert pictures.

Michelle Mark/Business Insider

You can even use Microsoft's Copilot AI tool to help you along the way β€” users can now add a Microsoft Copilot Pro subscription to use AI features in all Microsoft 365 apps, including PowerPoint, for $20 per month.

With Copilot, you can type instructions to have the AI tool create and edit slides for you, and even generate speaker notes or merge content from other Microsoft 365 files, like a Word doc or Excel sheet.

Read the original article on Business Insider

❌