Microsoft’s room of books is truthful dense that it erstwhile caused a field building to sink, according to an unproven fable among employees. Now those beingness books, journals, and reports, and galore of Microsoft’s integer subscriptions to starring US newspapers, are disappearing successful a displacement described wrong Microsoft arsenic an “AI-powered learning experience.”
Microsoft started cutting backmost connected its worker subscriptions to news and reports services successful November, pinch immoderate publishers receiving an automated email cancellation of a contract. “This correspondence serves arsenic charismatic notification that Microsoft will not renew immoderate existing contracts upon their respective expiration dates,” sounds an email from Microsoft’s vendor guidance team. “We would for illustration to return this opportunity to definitive our sincere appreciation for your partnership, collaboration, and continued support passim our engagement.”
Strategic News Service (SNS), which has provided world reports to Microsoft’s astir 220,000 labor and executives for much than 20 years, is nary longer portion of Microsoft’s subscription list. In an email to Microsoft labor that relied connected SNS reports, the patient notes that “Microsoft has conscionable released an automated announcement that each room contracts, of which the SNS Global Report is possibly the astir strategical for your ain use, are to beryllium turned off.”
Microsoft labor I’ve spoken to precocious person mislaid entree to integer publications for illustration The Information. They’re besides incapable to execute integer checkouts of business books from the Microsoft Library. While Microsoft often rotates the publishers it uses successful its Library service, this clip it’s portion of a overmuch broader alteration that seems for illustration firm costs cutting mixed pinch the continued push for AI.
In an soul FAQ astir the changes, Microsoft notes that subscriptions aren’t being renewed arsenic “part of Microsoft’s displacement to a much modern, AI-powered learning acquisition done the Skilling Hub.” This intends the beingness room abstraction is changing, too. “The Library closed arsenic portion of Microsoft’s move toward a much modern, connected learning acquisition done the Skilling Hub,” notes the FAQ. “We cognize this alteration affects a abstraction galore group valued.”
It’s not clear what Microsoft intends to do pinch the aged room abstraction successful Building 92, though this wasn’t its original home. The room was antecedently portion of a now-demolished area of Microsoft’s Redmond campus, connected the 2nd level of Building 4. Its location, supra the crushed level cafeteria, is what created that fable astir the dense books damaging that building. “The weight of the books took their toll connected Building 4,” said seasoned Windows developer Raymond Chen successful a 2020 blog entry. “Some group opportunity that the building was sinking. Maybe. But everyone agreed that the pillars successful the underground parking were starting to crack.”
Microsoft is now successful the mediate of transitioning from its room to immoderate this “AI-powered learning experience” is. I understand the institution will support immoderate integer subscriptions, but it’s not yet clear which ones will stay aft this modulation play is complete. I reached retired to The Financial Times, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal to remark connected Microsoft’s changes, but I didn’t get immoderate responses successful clip for publication.
Most publishers won’t beryllium keen to talk losing firm contracts aliases subscriptions, but SNS didn’t clasp backmost connected its thoughts astir Microsoft’s AI-powered learning future. “Technology’s early is shaped by flows of power, money, innovation, and group — nary of which are predictable based connected LLMs’ probabilistic regurgitation of aged information,” says Berit Anderson, main operating serviceman of Strategic News Service. “We look guardant to welcoming Microsoft backmost into the SNS organization whenever they determine they would for illustration to return.”
- UK constabulary blasted Microsoft Copilot for intelligence mistake. One of Britain’s largest constabulary forces has admitted that it made a correction successful an intelligence study aft utilizing Copilot to hunt for information. The report, which led to Israeli shot (soccer) fans being banned from a lucifer past year, included a nonexistent lucifer betwixt West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The West Midlands Police initially blamed the correction connected “social media scraping” aliases a Google hunt result, earlier admitting AI had been utilized successful the report. It’s not clear what type of Copilot the West Midlands Police were using, but it’s alarming to spot a constabulary unit trust connected AI unsocial for its intelligence reports alternatively of fact-checking the output. Microsoft says it hasn’t been capable to replicate what is being reported and makes it clear group should reappraisal the sources that Copilot uses.
- Microsoft scrambles to quell fury astir its caller AI information centers. Microsoft announced a five-point scheme this week that it calls “Community-First AI Infrastructure.” It includes paying much to effort and forestall information halfway power demands from raising people’s energy bills, minimizing h2o use, training workers and creating jobs, and contributing to section taxes adjacent its information centers. Microsoft’s scheme is simply a response to a surge of guidance against information halfway projects, wherever immoderate communities person pushed developers to cancel aliases hold projects.
- PC shipments conscionable grew unexpectedly amid RAM shortages. Last week I outlined why 2026 is going to beryllium a volatile twelvemonth for the PC market, but 2025 ended good for PC makers. IDC reports that PC shipments grew 10 percent year-over-year successful the 4th fourth of 2025. While the extremity of Windows 10 support will person helped push that number up, IDC notes that PC makers person besides been aggressively pulling guardant inventory to combat imaginable tariffs and the world representation shortage. Consumers and businesses are now bracing for much value rises, particularly successful the 2nd portion of 2026 erstwhile RAM stockpiles commencement moving low.
- Microsoft is retiring its Office Lens app connected iOS and Android. Microsoft first launched its Lens scanner app connected iOS and Android successful 2015, pinch the expertise to return a photograph of a archive aliases a whiteboard and person it decently cropped and converted into a Word aliases PDF document. It’s now being retired because the aforesaid functionality is included successful the OneDrive app. The Lens scanner app won’t beryllium functional aft March 9th, truthful you’ll either person to usage OneDrive aliases find different solution to immoderate archive scanning needs.
- Trump’s fundraisers asked Microsoft for its White House ballroom donation. The Trump management approached Microsoft for its aid to money the White House’s $300 cardinal ballroom, according to documents released this week. Microsoft attended a meal held for supporters of the ballroom task and confirmed it donated to the Trust for the National Mall successful September. “Microsoft understands that these costs (along pinch contributions from different donors) will beryllium utilized to support the building of the ballroom,” says Microsoft counsel Karen Christian.
- Microsoft is making it overmuch easier to adhd hyperlinks successful Word docs. Microsoft is making it a batch faster and easier to adhd links to matter wrong Word documents. Instead of having to unfastened a paper point to insert a nexus aliases usage the CTRL + K keyboard shortcut, you can now simply paste a nexus connected apical of the matter you want to hyperlink. This matches what’s commonly recovered successful modern contented guidance systems and matter editors, and it’s rolling retired to Word connected the web, Windows, and Mac.
- Microsoft’s shutting down Word’s built-in Send to Kindle feature. In early February, Microsoft will discontinue support for a button wrong Microsoft Word that lets users nonstop documents to devices for illustration the Kindle Scribe. You’ll still beryllium capable to nonstop Word documents to your Kindle, but you’ll request to usage Amazon’s charismatic instrumentality instead.
- Microsoft mightiness person conscionable leaked Forza Horizon 6’s merchandise date. Microsoft is preparing to show the first gameplay of Forza Horizon 6 adjacent week, and it looks for illustration we’ll besides get a merchandise day for the game. An X poster claims to person seen a pop-up wrong Forza Horizon 5 that promotes preorder accusation for Forza Horizon 6. I haven’t been capable to reproduce the pop-up, and I haven’t seen further reports of others seeing it, but it mentions a May 19th merchandise date. That aligns pinch sources telling maine that Forza Horizon 6 is owed successful the period of May. I wouldn’t expect to spot Playground Games’ different title, Fable, until later this year, though.
- Microsoft will put bargain buttons straight successful Copilot. Microsoft is letting Copilot users make purchases straight wrong the AI chatbot. If you commencement asking for suggestions astir clothing aliases sneakers, Copilot tin aboveground a checkout option to fto you acquisition items wrong the app. OpenAI launched a akin checkout characteristic wrong ChatGPT recently, and Microsoft is moving pinch retailers for illustration Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Ashley Furniture, and immoderate Etsy sellers.
- Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are paying up for “enterprise” entree to Wikipedia. Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral AI person joined Google successful paying the Wikimedia Foundation for entree to Wikipedia’s postulation of articles. The business includes API entree that is “tuned” for commercialized usage and AI companies. This type of entree will let Microsoft to amended its Copilot responses, and the Wikimedia Foundation will besides build features for its endeavor customers and “try to building the information successful ways that support what these companies’ needs are.”
I’m ever keen to perceive from readers, truthful please driblet a remark here, aliases you tin scope maine astatine [email protected] if you want to talk thing else. If you’ve heard astir immoderate of Microsoft’s concealed projects, you tin scope maine via email astatine [email protected] aliases speak to maine confidentially connected the Signal messaging app, wherever I’m tomwarren.01. I’m besides tomwarren connected Telegram, if you’d for illustration to chat there.
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