Microsoft is all set to infuse AI onto Raspberry Pi, a tiny device. They are working on systems that can run machine learning algorithms on microcontrollers as small as a speck of red pepper flake. If not totally tiny, there are devices such as sensors in the current scenario that can collect data and send it to machine learning models running in the cloud. However, the disadvantage of this is that the processing requires a lot of power in data crunching along with occupying a lot of storage space. This is where the team at Microsoft is playing a big role. The only hitch is to get neural network in as small as a breadcrumb sized micro controller. The entire research process is in line with Microsoft’s growing indulgence in the area of AI and machine learning. Read more at:  http://analyticsindiamag.com/making-tiny-bits-smart-infusing-ai-onto-raspberry-pi/

Skype Lite is a lighter, more data friendly version of the video calling app, and is available only in India. Skype Lite with Aadhaar integration can be downloaded by Android users from the Play Store. In the latest Skype Lite version, Microsoft has enabled support for Aadhaar integration. This can be used for verification of users and their identity online and is more secure. However, Skype will not store any Aadhaar information and details will be securely encrypted. Users of Skype Lite app can request for Aadhaar verification of contacts they chat with, over a video call. Users can also choose to share their Aadhaar information with the other contact in order to confirm their identity. Read more at: http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/technology/microsoft-aadhaar-card-linking-skype-lite-needs-to-be-integrated-now-heres-how-to-do-it/750625/

Microsoft launched Cortana 2 years ago to give a competition to Apple's Siri and Google Now. The Cortana is an intelligent personal assistant created by Microsoft for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 Mobile.   The goal was to develop something that would give enterprise users the ability to query data sets easily. Read more at: http://www.cmswire.com/mobile-enterprise/microsoft-just-loves-cortana/

Microsoft and Facebook are teaming up to build the undersea cable “Marea” that will link Viriginia Beach to Bilbao, a stretch of 6600 km, with an estimated data capacity of 20TB/s. “Marea” will be cloud-driven to ensure reliable connections for Microsoft cloud services and high speed. Its completion is expected to be by October 2017. Read more at: http://www.extremetech.com/internet/229287-microsoft-facebook-team-up-to-construct-worlds-fastest-transatlantic-cable

According to Gartner's latest report on global smartphone sales of Q1 2016, the sales of the major North American companies have taken quite a hit. Apple and Samsung held on to the top two spots with 14.8% and 23.2% of the market respectively. While Huawei and Oppo were the big winners this past year, Lenovo fell off the map entirely. The ambitious projects of Microsoft and BlackBerry, though, have simply not worked, with them holding 0.7% and 0.2% of the market, and it looks extremely unlikely for them to compete with the Android market and neither company seem particularly keen to try developing their own brands with the collapsing market shares. Read more at: http://www.extremetech.com/electronics/229092-latest-smartphone-sales-data-is-grim-news-for-windows-phone

Microsoft recently announced upgraded model of SQL server, which includes reporting services, analysis services and Integration Services to help companies in critical decision making. SQL server 2016 includes non-clustered columnstore index support with columnar index in-memory or on-disk row store for deploying an operational analytics and it has polybase. SQL server 2016 made several improvements in analytical services such as enterprise readiness, modelling platform, BI tools, SharePoint integration, and hybrid BI. An SQL server 2016 analysis service also provides functional parity with SharePoint vNext and Excel vNext. To know more about SQL server 2016 features, please follow this link: http://sqlmag.com/blog/what-coming-sql-server-2016-business-intelligence

Last month, Microsoft announced Microsoft Azure Stack at its Ignite Conference. Since then, there has been a lot of commotion among cloud technology enthusiasts as to what it is, how is it different from the existing Microsoft Azure pack, etc.

Tim Anderson (author) has answered these questions in his highly informative article at theregister.co.uk. According to him, the special features of Azure Stack fall into three categories. They are:

• Infrastructure services
• Application services
• Azure Resource Manager

To know more about this private cloud solution, please visit the following link:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/05/18/azure_stack_versus_azure_pack_whats_the_difference/

IoT has been present since long. But, recently this concept has achieved infinite fame with its easy to use nature and its feature of simplifying the complex devices. With IoT’s horizon widening and Microsoft being the Cloud software giant, with its program called, Azure, there are humongous possibilities of getting the benefits of both by combining their usage.

Kevin Miller, Microsoft’s Principal Program Manager for Azure IoT, has shared best practices for creating IoT solutions with Azure. They are:

• Think big. Start small
• Telemetry First
• Stream Analytics
• Don’t interrupt the fast path
• Defense in depth

Follow these guidelines and try the magic that this synergy provides.

To know more, please read the following article by Jonathan Allen at infoq.com:

http://www.infoq.com/news/2015/04/Azure-IoT