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Tag: Mary Jo Foley

  • Microsoft Is Killing Off SwiftKey for iOS

    Microsoft Is Killing Off SwiftKey for iOS

    Microsoft is killing off its SwiftKey predictive keyboard for iOS, with plans to remove it from the App Store as of October 5.

    SwiftKey is a predictive keyboard that gained popularity on Android and iOS before being bought by Microsoft. In recent years Apple’s own iOS keyboard has included many of the features SwiftKey became famous for, such as predictive text and swipe gestures.

    It appears Microsoft is now ending support for the iOS version of SwiftKey, according to ZDNet, removing it from the App Store as of October 5. Chris Wolfe, Director Product Management at SwiftKey, gave the following statement to the outlet:

    “As of October 5, support for SwiftKey iOS will end and it will be delisted from the Apple App Store. Microsoft will continue support for SwiftKey Android as well as the underlying technology that powers the Windows touch keyboard. For those customers who have SwiftKey installed on iOS, it will continue to work until it is manually uninstalled or a user gets a new device. Please visit Support.SwiftKey.com for more information.”

    Microsoft refused to provide any comment as to the reason for the change of plans, but ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley theorizes the decision may be in response to Apple’s walled garden policies. In the name of privacy Apple restricts access to core elements of iOS, making it difficult for a product like SwiftKey to integrate as fully as the built-in keyboard.

    Microsoft may have simply decided it could no longer deliver the product and experience that it can on Android.

  • Miguel de Icaza, Xamarin Founder, Leaving Microsoft

    Miguel de Icaza, Xamarin Founder, Leaving Microsoft

    Miguel de Icaza, founder of Xamarin and a developer behind the Mono framework, is leaving Microsoft.

    Miguel de Icaza was one of the original developers that helped create the Mono framework, in an effort to bring .Net to Linux. He went on to co-found Xamarin, a company dedicated to supporting Mono and using such frameworks to make cross-platform mobile development much faster and easier. Microsoft acquired Xamarin in 2016, and de Icaza stayed with the company.

    According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, de Icaza is now leaving, and will likely pursue various startup opportunities…eventually.

    “I am going to rest while the kids are in school,” he told Foley, saying he plans on enjoying vacation time with them. Ultimately, however, de Icaza believes he’ll be lured back to the startup life.

    “Living in this industry is like the kid at the candy store – too many things are happening and there are too many choices. So I want to spend some time sampling some of the candy, and then deciding which one I want to buy a pound of,” de Icaza said.

    “If I wanted to work for a big company, I would have stayed here (at Microsoft). It is awesome here,” he added. “I learned a lot, it was good, but I do miss the startup world, and building and running a team – which I have not been doing here in this role.”

    Given his track record of innovative development, it’s a safe bet de Icaza will have no shortage of opportunities available to him.

  • Windows 10X Single-Screen In 2021, Dual-Screen In 2022

    Windows 10X Single-Screen In 2021, Dual-Screen In 2022

    Windows users excited about the upcoming Windows 10X will have to wait until the sprint of 2021 for a single-screen rollout, with dual-screen support debuting a year later.

    Windows 10X is the latest update to Windows that ditches legacy code, focuses on a simpler interface, modular design and is built to support multi-screen devices. As the pandemic has taken its toll, however, Microsoft diverted resources to more pressing issues, delaying the Windows 10X release.

    According to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft’s plans are beginning to take shape.

    “I’m hearing Microsoft’s latest plan calls for 10X to debut on single-screen devices designed primarily for businesses (especially firstline workers) and education in the spring of 2021,” writes Foley. “And in the spring of 2022, Microsoft is aiming to roll out 10X for additional single screen and dual-screen devices, my contacts say.”

    Another significant change is that the initial release will likely not support running Win32 apps in containers, as was originally planned. Instead, this feature will be pushed back to the 2022 release at the earliest.

  • Microsoft Delaying Windows 10X and Surface Neo

    Microsoft Delaying Windows 10X and Surface Neo

    Users excited about Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 10X and Surface Neo phone will have to wait till next year, according to reports.

    Microsoft unveiled the Surface Neo in October, with plans to ship the dual-screen device in 2020. Along with it, the company was also planning on releasing Windows 10X, a version of the operating system designed specifically for foldable devices. With the effects of the pandemic in full swing, it appears Microsoft may be putting both releases on hold to address more pressing issues.

    According to Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet’s All About Microsoft writer, sources inside Microsoft said “that Chief Product Officer Panos Panay informed some of his team internally today, April 8, that Microsoft wouldn’t be delivering its own Surface Neo dual-screen 10X devices this calendar year. In addition, Microsoft also won’t be enabling third-party dual-screen Windows devices to ship with 10X in calendar 2020.”

    Notably, Foley’s sources do not indicate Microsoft is delaying the Surface Duo, the Android-driven sibling to the Neo. If true, this would seem to indicate the bottleneck lies with fine-tuning Windows 10X, rather than a hardware issue.