Consumer Reports is sort of like a purchaser’s Bible – if it says a product is good, you can generally trust that it is. According to the Seattle Times, four of Microsoft’s laptops and tablets have had their Consumer Reports recommendation withdrawn. Not an ideal situation for Microsoft – especially right before the back to school season. Consumer Reports allegedly withdrew the recommendations after a survey showed that these devices caused problems for their owners after a mere two years of ownership. Two versions each of the Surface Laptop and Surface Book were officially blacklisted for “poor predicted reliability in

Microsoft will lay off thousands of employees across the globe as part of its plan to change the company’s sales organization. According to TechCrunch, Microsoft will merge parts of its enterprise customer business with its small-and-medium-enterprise business unit. According to a comment Microsoft made to GeekWire, “Microsoft is implementing changes to better serve our customers and partners.” The goal is to focus more on the growing cloud computing business side of things, including Microsoft’s rapidly expanding Azure business. As of the fiscal quarter that ended in March, Azure’s run rate reached $15.2 billion. In the same time period, its intelligent

Slack has been making a splash as a workplace collaboration tool, taking advantage of a new and interesting business communications market. But according to the Seattle Times, software giant Microsoft has decided to give the new start-up a run for its money by unveiling its workplace-messaging software, Microsoft Teams. Like Slack, Microsoft Teams allows users to set up chat rooms with individuals and groups, make expandable threads, and share files. If your business or school uses Microsoft’s Office 365 productivity suite, you should already be able to access the new application with no extra charge. Microsoft Teams has been two

Microsoft’s Office 365 for consumers has been around for four years now and has sold 25 million subscriptions. However, according to ComputerWorld, the rate of new subscribers plunged down 62 percent from 2015. In each of the final three quarters of 2016, Office 365 subscriptions grew by approximately 900,000 subscribers, which is its smallest period of growth since early 2014. Subscriptions reached an all time high in the first quarter of 2015, with 3.2 million additions. Microsoft has never set public goals for its subscription numbers, but have spoken in the past about transferring its software business from a one-time

Windows 10’s free upgrade period ends July 29, and Microsoft really wants you to take advantage. From now until Friday, all American and Canadian Microsoft retail stores are offering to install Windows 10 on compatible devices for free. And if Microsoft can’t complete the upgrade by the end of that business day, they will give you a free 15-inch Dell Inspiron notebook. Of course, some conditions apply. If your PC isn’t capable of running Windows 10, the offer isn’t valid. However, you may be eligible to receive $150 credit towards a new PC. Also, the offer specifies that your computer