Short Takes Daily: What's going on in the world of Microsoft for Friday, May 22, 2015

​Hello! Here's the reading to ease you into a long weekend (for the U.S., anyway). We've got some new Q&As from John Savill, the 411 on several new Microsoft apps that should help you manage your day, and why your Flickr stream has suddenly gone all Gorillas in the Mist on you. Remember: we will be formatting hyperlinks so they open in a new window if the source is not on Windows IT Pro or SuperSite for Windows.

Now, let's get to the news ...

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FROM OUR SITE/OUR SISTER SITES

Q. How often do I need to reboot my Hyper-V servers to keep them "fresh"?

Security Sense: Unfortunately, the Only Safe Assumption Is That You Have No Privacy

May's Surface Pro Series Firmware Updates Now Available for Enterprises

Q. What is the minimum number of disks for Storage Spaces?

Karl Popper and Technical Troubleshooting

Gallery: OneClip App for Windows 10

Windows 10 build 10122 upgrade failure work around

Hands On: Windows 10 build 10122 in Tablet Mode on HP Stream 7

Gallery: Tablet Mode in Windows 10 build 10122

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WHEN YOUR LIFE REVOLVES AROUND YOUR MEETINGS

Meet Revolve, an app that allows you to virtually stalk your coworkers before you are stuck in a meeting with them; it pulls information that would normally be found in a contact manager and mashes it to information normally found in a calendar. Or, as Microsoft puts it on the app store page:

"Revolve prepares you for every conversation in every meeting. It works in the background to find and display relevant insights about the people you're going to meet. Easily sidestep small talk and spark real conversations that matter."

You can check out a gallery of screenshots that shows how app users can easily access information about fellow meeting attendees. The app has not been publicly released yet.

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MEET YOUR NEW OFFICE WORKERS

In keeping with a renewed focus on productivity and a seamless Office 365 experience, Microsoft's rolling out a bunch of products designed to keep you working well: Office Now, which includes information on your commute, what you should pay attention to in your email, and what's looming on your calendar, and OneClip, which copies and pastes documents, photos, text, phone numbers and more for sharing between devices. 

Also, check out this tour of the Office 2016 for Windows.

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NEWS OF THE WEIRD, TECH CATEGORY

And because it's the weekend, tech news that's not necessarily about working smarter, but marveling at endless --and sometimes inexplicable -- human ingenuity:

This App Turns Your $600 Apple Watch Into A $20 Casio Calculator Watch

Oculus Rift hack transfers your facial expressions onto your virtual avatar

No bunnies in the buff here, Playboy launches app that is safe to use at work

Flickr's monstrous tagging algorithm labels people as 'apes'

British poo-powered bus sets speed record

This Canadian just blasted away the world record for hoverboard travel

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Have a great weekend and we'll see you for fresh short takes on Tuesday.