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Microsoft Office's simplified visual update is now available
Microsoft has released a visual update for Office that promises a simpler, sleeker look with extras like better theming.
Microsoft is merging its OneNote apps for Windows
Microsoft is rolling out a series of updates for its OneNote apps on Windows with the intention of creating a single user experience.
The best organization apps for students
Here's a list of the best organization apps to help you organize your school life and manage your time.
The best note-taking apps for students
Every student needs a good note-taking system. The human brain, after all, can only store and retain so much information. There's nothing wrong with relying solely on pen and paper (and if that's your preference, go for it!). But if you're reading Engadget, we suspect you're interested in some kind of digital equivalent: an app that can store those handwritten notes or, if you're ready to take the plunge, let you record everything with a keyboard or stylus. It should be fast, intuitive and, most important, accessible from all of your favorite devices.
Microsoft's redesigned Office icons reflect its move to the cloud
Microsoft's Office icons on Windows and the web have been conservative, to put it mildly. They've been functional things you click while you scramble to finish a business spreadsheet or school report. The company would like you to sit up and take notice this time around, though. It just unveiled redesigned Office icons that will reach apps and the web in the "coming months," and they're decidedly more interesting. To Microsoft, they're a reflection of how much Office has changed in the five years since the icons last received a makeover.
Microsoft adds dictation to Office web apps to help with dyslexia
Microsoft has made voice dictation available for desktop Office users for months. Now, though, it's making the feature available to web users in the name of aiding those with dyslexia. The browser versions of both Word and OneNote will enable dictation sometime in the "coming weeks" so that dyslexic students can write more effectively than they would by typing. This should also help for dysgraphia (a condition that makes it difficult to write coherently) and people with mobility issues, Microsoft added.
Office 365's revamped web launchers put you to work sooner
Sometimes, it's not your productivity apps that need a tune-up... it's how you get to those apps that needs work. And Microsoft knows it. The tech firm has redesigned the Office.com front end and Office 365's web app launcher. There's now a recommended section that surfaces the activity that's relevant to you, so you can quickly jump to where you're needed -- say, a Word file that needs edits or your recent PowerPoint presentation. You can also search for people, apps, documents and sites right from the get-go.
Microsoft wants OneNote to be the go-to classroom app
Microsoft has been quietly focusing on the education market with its OneNote app for some time now. It's offered free Office 365 subscriptions for students, an integrated math tutor and a classroom-centric add-on called OneNote Class Notebook. The company has just updated OneNote with even more educational extras, including improvements to Notebook, new learning tools and some fun new stickers that teachers and students can use to spice up their collaborations.
Microsoft simplifies OneNote UI for the visually impaired
March Rogers, Microsoft's Director of Product Design for OneNote, spent a year working with teachers and students to figure out the best way to reimagine the app's user interface. The result is a OneNote that's easier to navigate, even for people with visual impairment and mobility problems. You'll now find all the app's navigation controls on the left-hand side, not just so you can find your notes more quickly, but also because that makes things easier to parse for screen readers. As a result, your notes are now front and center, helping you focus on what you need to learn.
OneNote can now use Android's split-screen mode
As Windows Phone is not so much an ongoing concern anymore, Microsoft's software is decidedly cross-platform at this point. Today, the company's collaboration and note-taking software OneNote is getting some Android-specific updates. For starters, the OneNote app now supports Android's new split-screen mode that launched with Android 7 Nougat -- you can view the app side-by-side with other Office apps, or really any other app you want. For a productivity app, that's pretty helpful.
Scan photos into Office 365 with Office Lens on Windows 10
Microsoft's Office Lens app has let folks upload photos from their iOS and Android devices since April 2015. But now your Windows 10-running phone, tablet, PC can snap photos — or even the Hololens, if that's your thing.
Microsoft OneNote can help solve your math homework
Just in time for back to school season, Microsoft has made a few slick updates to Office 365, intended to help users get more out of their pen-based digital notes. Building on the beta launch of Windows Ink, OneNote has added new ink effects, a replay feature and a new intelligent math coach that can help you solve handwritten equations.
Microsoft's OneNote tool imports all your Evernote content
With Evernote having a tough time of it lately, Microsoft is trying to swoop in with OneNote. It's just released the OneNote Importer tool that will make it easy for folks to transfer all their Evernote data to its own ecosystem. To use it, you'll need a PC with at least Windows 7 installed (and preferably Evernote for Windows), so it's not an option for mobile or Mac-only users, at least for now. If you have multiple devices, however, any notes you import will be synced on Mac, Android and iOS.
Microsoft OneNote gets instant access on Android, 3D Touch on iOS
Microsoft has released quite a number of major OneNote updates for Android, iOS, Windows and the web. If you're an Android user, you'll be able to quickly write down thoughts or copy-paste text even if you have another app open, thanks to the new OneNote badge. It can live anywhere on the screen, and you simply have to tap it to open it up. The company's doing staged roll outs, though, so you might have to wait for two to three weeks to get the feature. If you have an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, you'll get 3D Touch support instead. When you press on the app icon, a menu will pop up allowing you to quickly create a new note or view recent ones. In addition, OneNote's interface has been optimized for the iPad Pro's larger screen.
Skype video and voice chats come to Office and Outlook on the web
You can already have Skype text chats while you're collaborating on Office Online docs or checking mail at Outlook.com. But wouldn't you rather talk to your colleagues and keep your hands free for, you know, work? You're about to get just that: Microsoft says it will bring Skype's video and voice chats to everyone using Office Online and Outlook.com, starting in November. On top of this, it's trotting out a Chrome extension that lets you quickly work with Office and Sway content in the browser, whether it's stored on your PC or in the cloud. All told, you don't have to worry quite so much about leaving Office's native apps behind.
Microsoft brings Outlook and Translator to your smartwatch
Microsoft has just released a bunch of productivity apps for wearable devices -- nope, not for the Band, but for Android Wear smartwatches and the Apple Watch. First for the Apple Watch is Outlook, which allows you to read full emails and respond with either canned replies or your own through voice dictation. Cupertino's wearable also gets to-do app Wunderlist and will soon be able to install private social network Yammer, which will be able to take advantage of iOS 8's Handoff feature with an iPhone.
Microsoft combines OneNote for iPhone and iPad, updates Android app too
Hot on the heels of releasing a new version of OneNote for the Mac, Microsoft is pushing out some updates to its corresponding iOS and Android apps. For starters, there are no longer separate applications for the iPhone and iPad; in fact, iPad users will be prompted to re-download the app the next time they launch it. The main benefit here seems to be that Microsoft has an easy way of porting over all the features from the more advanced iPhone app, without having to re-code them for the tablet version. That means, for instance, that you can now access OneNote from the Notification Center on the iPad, the same way you already can with the iPhone. Microsoft also brought over the "recent notes" view, along with the ability to see page previews in landscape mode. Lastly, this update fixes a bug that caused problems with the whiteboard camera.
Office Lens for Android and iOS turns your phone into a scanner
You no longer have to carry a Windows Phone if you want to quickly copy receipts and meeting agendas for the sake of your notes. Microsoft has just released Office Lens in both finished form for iOS and a preview for Android, letting you use your device of choice to turn photos into usable documents. The experience is familiar if you've tried the app before -- all you have to do is get a good snapshot, and the app will convert the output into OneNote-friendly text and image formats. Both Office Lens releases are free, so don't hesitate to give them a spin if you'd rather take pictures than jot down memos.
Samsung Galaxy S6 comes with Microsoft apps out of the box
Those rumors that Samsung would reduce the glut of in-house software on the Galaxy S6 and include some of Microsoft's apps? They're at least partly true. Both the S6 and S6 edge will ship with a "Microsoft Apps" folder that currently includes OneDrive, OneNote and Skype. There's no hint of Office -- at least not yet -- but you will get 115GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for two years. You certainly won't be hurting for photo backup space, then. It's hard to say if the bundle is the direct result of Microsoft and Samsung calling a truce in their Android royalty dispute. Either way, the move is going to give Microsoft's services a lot more exposure. While they've been available on Android for some time, their absence in phone bundles has typically made it easier to lean on equivalents from the likes of Google and Dropbox. Don't miss out on all the latest news, photos and liveblogs from MWC 2015. Follow along at our events page.
OneNote for iPad finally gets handwriting support
If you use OneNote on the iPad, you've probably wondered by now why the heck you can't just use a pen. After all, the Android tablet added stylus support six months ago, and the Windows version has had this feature since 2003 (a full seven years before the iPad even existed). Finally, though, Microsoft is throwing Apple fans a bone: The company just issued an update that allows iPad owners to use the stylus of their choice (or their fingers), complete with 16 ink colors and various onscreen writing implements (marker, highlighter, et cetera).
