Mary Jo Foley at All About Microsoft reports that Microsoft will be releasing Service Pack 1 (oops — I meant Anniversary Update) on August 2nd just a few short days after the one year release date anniversary of Windows 10 and the end of the free upgrade offer.
Ms. Foley spoke with Terry Myerson (Windows and devices group executive vice president) last week and reports that there will be “…six major buckets of new features…”
Myerson, with whom I spoke last week about the coming update, said there are six major buckets of new features coming in the Anniversary Update. The six: More enterprise security features; Edge browser improvements, including extension support; Windows Ink for better pen use; new Cortana enhancements; and cross-device gaming support.
There will apparently be two new Enterprise features with this update.
On the enterprise front, Enterprise Data Protection, which has been renamed “Windows Information Protection,” will debut as part of Windows 10. This enterprise feature, which Microsoft officials have been touting since 2014, provides file-level encryption for business data and apps in the name of data separation and leak prevention.
The other major, brand-new enterprise security feature which will ship as part of the Anniversary Update is the Windows 10 Defender Advanced Threat Protection threat-intelligence and attack detection service. Sources had told me Microsoft was aiming to make this service available some time in the third calendar quarter of 2016. Extensive testing — by 300 enterprises and with 700,000 endpoints — resulted in the service being ready to roll with the Anniversary Update, Myerson said.
And one more fun promotion from Microsoft for students.
Microsoft also announced today a new back-to-school promotion via which students can get $300 off when buying an Xbox One and Surface together at Microsoft Stores through August 14.