Microsoft moving away from consumer phones, might linger in enterprise moving forward

The fate of Windows Phone or Windows 10 on Mobile has been up in the air for some time now since Microsoft has repeatedly proven that it is pulling back (but not out) of the mobile market altogether. With the recent sale of Nokia's feature phone business plus the general ambiguity regarding the direction of Microsoft as a mobile device maker, we now get confirmation that the company is looking to move past its desire to compete in the consumer smartphone market. With market share falling less than 1 per cent globally, there's really little else the company can do to make their platform more exciting for consumers at this point.

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Microsoft discounts Lumia 950 XL by $150, price in Canada is now $699

Microsoft's flagship Lumia 950 XL phablet is currently on sale for CAD $699.00 with a $150.00 discount on the octa-core 5.7-inch smartphone that brings many of the advantages of previous Nokia flagships including wireless charging, a 20 megapixel camera with OIS, expandable storage as well as the ability to run a desktop version of Windows using Continuum and a display dock accessory (this only runs Office, some universal apps and the Edge browser right now). 

Microsoft has been discounting and bundling both the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL (even bundling the smaller smartphone for free if one bought the phablet). This latest move is aimed at clearing inventory and getting more people to buy these Windows Phones perhaps in anticipation of new hardware.

Source: Thurott.com

Microsoft stops making Xbox 360 consoles

Microsoft has announced that the 10 year run of the XBox 360 console has come to an end. The company announced that they will stop manufacturing the Xbox 360.

“Xbox 360 means a lot to everyone in Microsoft,” Head of Xbox Phil Spencer notes in a post to the Xbox Wire blog. “And while we’ve had an amazing run, the realities of manufacturing a product over a decade old are starting to creep up on us. Which is why we have made the decision to stop manufacturing new Xbox 360 consoles. We will continue to sell existing inventory of Xbox 360 consoles, with availability varying by country.”

XBox 360 was kept on despite the existence of the XBox One which suffered from weaker sales when compared to the PS4. With a newer, smaller XBox One expected to be announced at E3. Microsoft will continue to support XBox Live, 4,000 game titles are available for the now classic console, hardware will continue to be supported indefinitely and various Xbox 360 games are now compatible with Xbox One. Read more about it here.

Source: Thurrott.com

Microsoft technology improves response time, expands reach to help bring missing children home

In Canada, 41,000 children are reported missing every year. The Missing Children Society of Canada (MCSC) uses a mix of mobile and social technology to create its emergency response Search Program, including the Most Valuable Network™ (MVN) platform which sends time-sensitive alerts and information to Canadians to help recover missing children across Facebook and Twitter. 

The first hours a child is missing are by far the most critical. That’s why the MCSC knew they needed the social media alerts from their MVN application to go out faster. The program was growing fast, and their legacy system was struggling to keep up. That meant the alerts were taking up to an hour to be sent out.

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