Posted by Dan ReedCorporate Vice President, Technology Strategy & Policy, Extreme Computing Group
Mobile and intelligent devices have become essential everyday tools in most of our lives as evidenced by the nearly 5 billion active cell phones in the world today and the rapidly emerging Internet of Things.
For many of us, it’s hard to remember a time when we couldn’t immediately respond to a time-sensitive e-mail, access the latest video from a smartphone or connect our phones to our cars or other devices. However, the reality is that this seemingly seamless functionality comes at a cost. Every new download, upload or connection adds strain on a wireless communications network which is based on usable radio spectrum. That spectrum is intrinsically limited by the laws of physics and practical economics.
This week, in an effort to address the limitations of the current approach to managing wireless spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission will obtain comments in response to its Notice of Inquiry on dynamic radio spectrum access. We strongly support the FCC’s commitment to exploring more intensive and efficient use of the nation’s radio spectrum.
Microsoft announced today that Portland Public Schools, the largest school district in Oregon, plans to first move faculty and staff to Microsoft’s Live@edu cloud computing platform, followed by their high school students.
So far, more than a third of the state of Oregon has enrolled in Live@edu. Along with Portland Public Schools, the following school districts are also reaping the benefits of Live@edu: Ashland Public Schools, Columbia Gorge, Coos Bay School District, Phoenix Talent School District, McMinnville School District, Redmond School District, St. Cecilia School and Sisters School District. You can read more about how the Coos Bay Public School District is using Live@edu’s Web-based tools to enhance its IT instruction and learning environments, and to help students improve their study skills.
Posted by Jeff MeisnerSenior Manager, Corporate Blogs
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Canterbury Province in New Zealand (population: 440,000) Monday just before midnight local time.
Microsoft activated its Disaster Response protocol and took a number of steps, including ensuring the safety of our employees and offering customers, partners and local response agencies technical support to help ensure business continuity.
Did you know that there are about 6,000 languages spoken throughout the world, and half of those are projected to be in danger of being lost forever over the next century?
Today is International Mother Language Day, a day designated to celebrate the multitude of unique languages spoken by people all over the world.
We hope our comments on consumer privacy provide the Commerce Department and the FTC with helpful feedback.