Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Microsoft has announced Power Fx, a new open source programming language. The Windows-maker describes it as "a low-code general purpose programming language based on spreadsheet-like formulas".

The language can be used across Microsoft’s Power Platform, and the fact that it is based on Microsoft Excel means that it should be immediately accessible to large numbers of people, even if they would not necessarily consider themselves programmers.

Continue reading →

Whether you’re a system administrator or a Windows power user, the chances are that you spend lots of time performing the same tasks over and over again. To help with this, Microsoft has made its Power Automate Desktop tool for Windows 10 free for everyone.

This enterprise-quality macro-like utility can be put to endless uses, helping to optimize all manner of workflows by automating frequently performed tasks. Available to install free of charge right now, it will eventually be included in Windows 10 as standard.

Continue reading →

To comply with "right to repair" laws in France, Apple has revealed repairability ratings for various models of MacBook and iPhone. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the ratings make for rather bleak reading.

The ratings are based on analysis of how easy it is to dismantle a device, how easy it is to get hold of spares, and the availability of repair manuals. The idea behind the ratings is to give people an idea of how likely it is that they will be able to fix problems themselves, and Apple's low scores show that at-home repairs can be pretty much ruled out across the board.

Continue reading →

Around a month and a half ago we reported about a serious flaw in Windows 10 that could be exploited to corrupt the contents of an NTFS drive. With Microsoft dawdling in its response, it was down to security researchers from OSR to produce a third-party patch.

But now Microsoft has stepped up to the plate and, finally, come up with an official fix for the flaw. Sadly, it's not all good news as the fix is not currently available for everyone.

Continue reading →

It may only be four months since macOS Big Sur launched, but already Apple has released its fourth significant update.

Big Sur 11.2.2 is here, and it's an important update for owners of certain MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops. There have been numerous reports of problems with third-party USB-C hubs and docks.

Continue reading →

There have long been problems with Intel drivers for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, with users experiencing blue screens (BSODs) in Windows 10 as well as unstable connections.

Now Intel has released a pair of driver updates that should address the issues once and for all. The company has new update for the Intel PROSet/Wireless software as well as the Intel Wireless Bluetooth software. In addition to fixing stability problems, these are also security updates, so users of affected Intel hardware are being encouraged to get the updates installed as soon as possible.

Continue reading →

There are many different types of update for Windows 10, some of which are more important than others. To make things easier to manage, both for the company itself and for end users, Microsoft is now integrating servicing stack updates (SSUs) into the latest cumulative updates (LCUs).

Cumulative updates should be familiar to most Windows 10 users, but SSUs are not something that everyone will be aware of. Nonetheless, the change Microsoft is introducing is a important one that should help to reduce update problems in future.

Continue reading →

It is now five and a half years since Windows 10 was released, and we've seen a lot of changes to the operating system over this time. There have been endless additions, numerous changes, and the occasional removal of dead wood.

Among the things that have been killed off so far are various elements of the Control Panel and ways of accessing it, causing upset with many users. But now Microsoft is turning its attention to things which the vast majority of people regard as completely unnecessary. The company has seemingly realized that very few people are interested in 3D modelling and is indulging in a little spring cleaning.

Continue reading →

Ahead of March's Patch Tuesday releases, Microsoft has released a preview of the KB4601382 update. This cumulative update is available for Windows 10 2004 (Windows 10 May 2020 Update) and Windows 10 20H2 (Windows 10 October 2020 Update), and it includes a number of important fixes.

Some of the highlights of this particular update include addressing a screen flicker issue during video playback, fixing a problem that prevented some keyboard keys from working, and improving application startup times in certain scenarios.

Continue reading →

Anyone who has invested in Windows 10 LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel) has had the comfort of knowing that Microsoft offered 10 years of support. But this is changing.

The company has announced that the support period for Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC is being halved to just five years, bringing the operating system in line with the recently announced changes to Office support. However, support for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC will remain at 10 years.

Continue reading →

As cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum become more and more mainstream, there is growing interest in not only investing in crypto, but also mining for it. It is increasingly popular for the "spare" processor power of GPUs to be put to this very use, but NVIDIA is clamping down.

The graphics card maker is deliberating limiting the mining capabilities of its latest GeForce RTX 3060 GPUs, saying "GeForce is made for gaming". But it is not all bad news for fans of crypto-mining; the company is also launching a new NVIDIA CMP (Cryptocurrency Mining Processor) line.

Continue reading →

The death of Flash has been on the cards for quite some time. What was once a staple of the online experience soon became little more than a security nightmare, and all of the major web browsers have slowly but surely dropped support for the software. Back in October, Microsoft released an update to not only remove Flash from Windows, but also prevent it from being reinstalled.

Now the company is upping the ante, and is pushing out the KB4577586 update to Windows users. The update is installed automatically and kills Flash once and for all.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has acknowledged a problem with an update for Windows 10 that was released earlier this month. The KB4601319 update was part of February Patch Tuesday releases, and it is causing issues with webcams for some users.

While the impact of the problem appears to be limited to a fairly small number of webcams, the issue is no less irritating for those affected. Thankfully, Microsoft is not only aware of the problem and is working on a fix, but also provides details of a workaround in the meantime.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 users are keenly awaiting the release of the next big update to the operating system. Due for release in the next four months -- in June if a recent leak is correct -- Windows 10 21H1 is not a major release, and this has important implications.

The fear with milestone releases to Windows 10 is that hardware requirements change. But ahead of the release of Windows 10 21H1, Microsoft has made it clear that this will not be the case with this update.

Continue reading →

Some Windows 10 users who have installed the KB4535680 update from last month are experiencing problems with BitLocker.

The update was released on January 12 to fix issues with Secure Boot DBX, but some users are complaining that the patch is triggering BitLocker recovery. For people using BitLocker on just one computer, this may not be too much of an issue, but for administrators taking care of lots of systems it is rather more problematic.

Continue reading →