Daily Update, Nov. 27th – Giving Tuesday & Bing Top Searches of 2012

Today is Giving Tuesday, a national initiative to give back during the holiday season. Microsoft is a founding partner of this day of giving, and today only, we’ll match any donation 1:1 on Give for Youth, a micro-giving site that makes it possible to fund and follow the dreams of young people around the world, up to a total of $100,000.

In other news, the Bing team has released its always-entertaining look back at the year’s top searches. This year was filled with profound moments and moving stories, such as the Summer Games, the presidential election and Hurricane Sandy, among many others. From rising stars and newborn babies to celebrity scandals and natural disasters, explore the Bing top searches and reminisce about the biggest moments in 2012.

Windows Phone enthusiasts will be excited to find that the Bing Translator app is now available on Windows Phone 8. With over 1 million downloads to date it’s one of the more popular apps in the marketplace, and provides you with a great resource for translating voice or text through your phone. A new feature for Windows Phone 8 is a translator “lens” that’s easily available from the phone’s camera, providing point-and-shoot translation whenever you need it. See it in action via the video below.

And finally, leading Italian food company Barilla Group has chosen Microsoft’s Office 365 to power its move to the cloud, citing better IT interoperation and enterprise expertise across services and products.

Posted by Jeff Meisner
Editor, The Official Microsoft Blog