Microsoft offering deals on Surface, Xbox One and various accessories starting tonight

Microsoft Canada is getting into the spirit of giving early by giving customers access to upcoming Black Friday deals on various products.

As of 9 p.m. EST tonight, buyers can see the deals on microsoftstore.ca so they can plan holiday shopping ahead of time. Hit jump for the details.

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Microsoft announces partnership with OpenAI as part of commitment to democratizing AI

Microsoft just announced a new partnership with OpenAI as part of their commitment to democratizing AI and making it accessible to everyone. The partnership is focused on making significant contributions to advance the field of AI, while also furthering a mutual goal of using AI to tackle some of the world’s most challenging problems.

In order to help advance their research and create new tools and technologies that are only possible with the cloud, OpenAI chose Microsoft Azure as their primary cloud platform, tapping into Microsoft’s deep learning research and ongoing commitment to AI, along with Azure’s support for open source technologies.

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Microsoft taking MacBook trade-ins for discounts on Surface models

Microsoft will be happy to take old notebooks including Apple MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros as trade-in fodder for new Surface Pro or Surface Book models in Canada. The promo runs from November 8^th – 22^nd, Microsoft is offering up to $750 toward a new Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book when you trade in a used device.

As Microsoft's fine-print states, "customers must trade-in qualifying Apple MacBook  device (Air or Pro) subject to these terms. Excludes Ipad, newly released Surface Book, Studio devices, and Performance Base models. Any appraised value will be determined at trade-in and provided as a Microsoft online store redemption code and is valid online only." Read more about the promo here.

Slack puts out full-page ad just as Microsoft readies to enter team-based chat service

Photo from the Verge

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

In a move reminiscent of old-school passive aggressive tech company taunting, Slack took out a full-page ad on the New York Times to "Welcome Microsoft," and offer some advice as the Redmond Giant unveiled its competing Microsoft Teams collaborative chat service.

Slack is the darling communications app of the technology teams and one of Silicon Valley's most beloved services and it was long rumoured to be in Microsoft's sights as a company to be acquired. There may have been some back-channel negotiations that somehow fell through. Anyway, when a company pulls a stunt like this, they're not really just talking to the recipient (in this case, Microsoft), but the world at large in order to tout their features and brag about their achievements. 

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