firehose

Microsoft may be backing away from some of the restrictive software policies it had previously outlined for its next-generation console, the Xbox One. An update to the Xbox One website hints at possible loosening of requirements related to online check-ins, the ability to play games offline and secondhand sales of games.

"As a result of feedback from the Xbox community, we have changed certain policies for Xbox One," Microsoft wrote on its official web site, saying its previously announced policies were "no longer accurate."

Just prior to E3, Microsoft outlined its policies for Xbox One games, explaining that the console would require an online check-in (at least) every 24 hours to authenticate ownership of video game software. Failing to authenticate game software would render the game unplayable, even for offline, single-player games. Microsoft explained that online requirements for Xbox One games would enable the offloading of certain computations to the cloud.

Microsoft also outlined a vague used games policy, saying that restrictions on used games would be left up to publishers. Xbox One owners would be able to transfer game licenses for software to friends, but those transfers had their own limitations.

Consumers reacted angrily to Microsoft's restrictive and confusing policies on Xbox One, rallying behind rival Sony and its next-generation PlayStation. Confusion over Microsoft's Xbox One plans was most recently reflected on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, when the host said the rival PlayStation 4 was the only console that would play used games.

Sony reacted to Microsoft's announced policies at E3, saying the PS4 would not require console owners to check in via the internet and that software could be resold and traded as it was on PlayStation 3."When a gamer buys a PS4 disc, they have the rights to use that copy of the game, they can trade in the game at retail, sell it to another person, lend it to a friend or keep it forever," said CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America Jack Tretton.

Tretton's announcement was met with a standing ovation from conference attendees.

Microsoft has offered its basic Office Web Apps to Outlook.com and Office 365 customers for over three years now, but one of the big drawbacks for students and businesses has been the lack of true real-time co-authoring. Google Docs has long supported real-time editing with multiple users, but the Office Web Apps have been fairly basic when it comes to editing documents alongside other users. Microsoft is planning to change this over the next few months, and the company is demonstrating the changes this week.

In an early preview video it's clear the co-authoring editing is almost identical to Google Docs, with improvements that keep the full fidelity of a particular document while allowing others to edit text and other elements. New features in the Word Web App including find and replacement, header and footer support, and the ability to add comments in an edit view. Like Google Docs, co-authors will be shown in the document with a different colored cursor. Excel users will be pleased to learn that autofill and data validation are making their way to Office Web Apps, alongside the freeze pane feature.

Launching in the coming months

The Office Web Apps demonstration starts at 5 mins and 34 seconds in the video below, and according to the spokesperson the features should all launch within "the next several months," bringing Microsoft's Office web offerings even closer to Google's rival service.

The recently-proposed We Are Watching You Act, which seeks to prevent corporations from storing and sharing personal data, could affect the Xbox One's next-gen Kinect, according to a statement on United States House of Representatives official website.

The bill, proposed by Congressman Michael Capuano (D-MA) and Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC), would require companies to explicitly ask the consumer's permission to store their data. This would necessitate the technology in question, in this case the next-gen Kinect, to display an opt-in message and on-screen warning reading "We are watching you" every time the device begins recording.

The device would also have to inform the user how the data is collected and who will see it. If the user declines to allow the device to record and share, the company — Microsoft in this instance — would have to offer a new service identical to the existing one save for its ability to record.

"This may sound preposterous but it is neither a joke nor an exaggeration," Capuano wrote. "These DVRs would essentially observe consumers as they watch television as a way to super-target ads. It is an incredible invasion of privacy. Given what we have recently learned about the access that the government has to the phone numbers we call, the emails we send and the websites we visit, it is important for consumers to decide for themselves whether they want this technology. Think about what you do in the privacy of your own home and then think about how you would feel sharing that information with your cable company, their advertisers and your government."

"Allowing this type of technology to be installed in the homes of individuals without their consent would be an egregious invasion of privacy," added Jones. "When the government has an unfortunate history of secretly collecting private citizens' information from technology providers, we must ensure that safeguards are in place to protect Americans' rights."

Polygon has reached out to Microsoft and Congressman Capuano and will share more information as we receive it.

Facebook comment threads are about to get quite a bit more crazy. A new camera button is rolling out that allows users to reply to posts with a picture. It's a simple feature, but it's one that hasn't been available on the social network to date. Facebook hasn't yet officially announced the new functionality, but the company has informed The Verge that the new commenting feature will be rolling out globally today to both the desktop and mobile websites. Users on Facebook's apps will be able to view photo comments, but they will not be able to upload such comments until a later date. In the past, Facebook has included automatically-generated image previews when users post a URL in a comment, but with today's addition the picture is uploaded from your computer to Facebook's servers. It's all good news, except for this one caveat: unlike Google+, animated GIFs are not supported.