Pedro Hernandez

About

Pedro Hernandez is a writer for eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

Microsoft Launches ‘Try and Buy’ Program for Pricey Surface Hub

IT buyers evaluating Surface Hub, Microsoft’s all-in-one digital whiteboard and teleconferencing solution, now have more buying options. With prices starting at $8,999 for the 55-inch version of the device, and reaching a stratospheric $21,999 for the 84-inch model, it’s reasonable for businesses to want to carefully evaluate the Surface Hub before they devote a significant […]

Microsoft Cognitive Services Aids Speech Recognition App Development

Microsoft today announced the addition of the new Custom Speech Service to the company’s Cognitive Services toolkit and collection of APIs that developers can use to build machine-learning and artificial-intelligence applications. Custom Speech Service, currently available in preview, addresses some of the shortcomings of voice-recognition systems, like noisy environments and different speaking styles. It enables […]

Encryption for Data at Rest comes to Azure File Storage

Microsoft has kicked off a preview of its Storage Service Encryption (SSE) for Azure customers, enabling organizations to protect their cloud files with the added security of an encryption at rest feature. “Microsoft handles all the encryption, decryption and key management in a fully transparent fashion,” said Lavanya Kasarabada, a Microsoft Azure Storage program manager, […]

Evernote Makes Notetaking Frictionless in iOS App Revamp

The latest of version of Evernote for iOS not only looks different, it streamlines many of the popular app’s note taking and content capture functionality. “All of the main things that you want to do in the application are just a touch away,” Nate Fortin, vice president of Design at Evernote, told eWEEK during an […]

Windows 10 Cloud Leak Points to Potential Chrome OS Fighter

Chromebooks, inexpensive notebook PCs powered by Google’s Chrome OS, are becoming an increasingly common sight, particularly in schools. A Web leak that made the rounds this past weekend suggests that partnering on inexpensive Windows 10 PCs for classrooms isn’t the only way Microsoft plans to compete for budget-conscious technology buyers. Windows 10 Cloud, a version […]

Edge Browser Reads E-books Aloud in Latest Windows 10 Mobile Build

Microsoft Edge is gaining the ability to read e-books aloud in the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update. Now, members of the Windows Insider early-access and feedback program can see, or rather listen to it, for themselves. The company this week released Build 15025 for Windows 10 Mobile to insiders. Building on the new e-book functionality […]

Microsoft Outlook on iOS Welcomes Evernote and Other Add-Ins

Microsoft released its mobile Outlook client for iOS and Android two years ago this week, based on the software giant’s late-2014 acquisition of the popular email app, Acompli. To celebrate, the company announced add-in support for the iOS version of the app. The first batch includes Evernote, GIPHY, Nimble, Smartsheet, Trello and Microsoft’s own Dynamics […]

Microsoft Tightens Azure AD’s Access Controls for SaaS Apps

The Tenant Restrictions feature in Azure Active Directory is now generally available, allowing organizations to exert more control over their users’ interactions with software-as-a-service applications to prevent leaks of sensitive information. Alex Simons, director of Program Management at Microsoft’s Identity Division, explained that Tenant Restrictions “enables organizations to control access based on the Azure AD […]

Microsoft’s .NET Strategy Rests on Community Engagement, Better Tools

Microsoft made a splash in 2014 when the company announced it was open-sourcing key .NET components and again last year with the version 1.0 release of the modular, cross-platform .NET Core framework. Now that the dust is settling, Microsoft program manager Mads Torgersen is sharing the company’s vision for the .NET developer ecosystem, including the […]

Microsoft Sharpens Edge Browser in Windows 10 Creators Update

Drowning in browser tabs? Microsoft wants to help multitaskers get better organized in the upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update. It’s not uncommon for web users to keep multiple browser tabs open while researching topics, comparison shopping or simply keeping tabs on their favorite sites. When the highly-anticipated update arrives in the spring, it will include […]