Xpertfeed

Summary:  Microsoft's coming Skype Teams service may be available for beta testing by November. Meanwhile, LinkedIn and Microsoft are partnering on new training courses. Microsoft may be aiming to deliver a beta version of its  Skype Teams service  -- its intended Slack competitor -- by November, according to a new report. Sams' sources also said Skype Teams will likely be available as part of the various Office 365 business plans, and it will be integrated with other Office 365 services. Given there's also a free tier of Slack, I wonder whether Microsoft may opt for a freemium model, as it has with a number of its existing services, and offer an entry-level free version of Skype Teams with options to upgrade to unlock more features.Brad Sams of Petri.com provided an update this week from his sources on  what's happening with Skype Teams . Sams said Skype Teams has been under development for 18 months and that it's currently in private testing. An expanded

Summary: Google continues to make Google Maps more sophisticated, as Apple, Uber, and others work on their own mapping capabilities Google has acquired the two-year old startup Urban Engines to incorporate its location-based analytics into Google Maps. "Location analytics is an important focus for both Urban Engines and Google, and we're excited to combine forces to help organizations better understand how the world moves," said Urban Engines in a blog post . Google Maps has been improving and expanding its functionality, as Apple and other companies like Uber bolster their own mapping capabilities. Jen Fitzpatrick, who leads the Google Maps team, told Business Insider that they're trying to build "the richest, deepest, most detailed understanding of the real world that's ever existed". That includes incorporating the sort of rich traffic data that Urban Engines collects and

Summary: Microsoft's late October hardware launch this year may be as much about its partners' Windows 10 devices as much as its own Surface-branded ones, sources say. Microsoft is holding a fall hardware launch in late October, where I'm hearing it will take the wraps off a Surface-branded device, which some of the contacts are saying is known as "Cardinal".(I don't know if "Cardinal" is a codename or a final name. I'm betting codename.) I've heard that Surface Cardinal could be positioned as a product that can turn your desk into "a studio". My bet: Cardinal is the rumored Surface All-in-One device running Windows 10, which may come in  one, two, and/or three different screen sizes (21, 24 ,or 27) , as first reported by Windows Central. This may be  the consumer-focused version of Microsoft's Surface Hub , as Windows Central speculated, using the Perceptive Pixel screen technology that's at the core of Surface Hub

Summary: The delay comes amid a handful of reports of exploding batteries in the flagship device. Samsung is delaying shipments of the Galaxy Note 7 to conduct more quality control testing, the company  confirmed  to Reuters. The company did not elaborate on why it needs to conduct more quality testing on the new, large-screen flagship device, which has been available in the US since Aug. 19. However, the delay comes amid scattered  reports  of instances in which the battery of the device apparently exploded. While less concerning, there have also been some reports of substandard performance, and Matthew Miller reported on his experience with lag and performance issues. After performing a hard reset, though, Miller reported having a "flawless" experience with the phone. The Note 7, which features an improved curved glass design, water resistance, microSD expansion card, and usability improvements, has received largely rave reviews. Delaying shipments could