Wayne Williams

Microsoft releases Windows 10 Spring Creators Update Build 17107 for the Fast ring

We’re edging ever closer to the release of the next big Windows 10 feature update. Rumored to be called the Spring Creators Update, it includes a number of high profile new features and improvements.

Last week, Microsoft rolled out two new Insider builds -- one for those on the Fast ring, and another for those who opted to Skip Ahead (the first in the Redstone 5 branch). Today, the software giant delivers a build just for those on the Fast ring.

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Nostalgia is not a good enough reason to buy the Acorn Micro Phone C5

If you grew up in the UK in the 1980s, you’re probably familiar with the Acorn Computers brand. The company produced a number of popular microcomputers, such as the Acorn Electron and the Acorn Archimedes. It’s best known as the maker of the BBC Micro -- the education focused computer found in many schools across the country (and which was the inspiration for the Raspberry Pi).

Brand nostalgia is a big thing right now, with modern versions of old computers -- like the ZX Spectrum and C64 -- making their way on to the market. If you were an Acorn devotee back in the day, the good news is there’s a new smartphone for you, arriving in time to commemorate the brand’s 40th anniversary. The bad news is it isn’t a great smartphone, or even a custom built one.

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Fall Creators Update now on 85 percent of Windows 10 PCs

It won’t be too long now until the next big feature update for Windows 10 rolls out. Expected to be called the Spring Creators Update, this introduces a number of big features, most notably Timeline, a welcome addition that lets you resume past activities you started on your main PC, other Windows PCs, or iOS/Android devices.

In preparation for the new feature update, Microsoft has been pushing the previous one -- The Fall Creators Update -- onto as many compatible systems as possible.

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Just one percent of NHS trusts have migrated to Windows 10

Last year, the UK’s National Health Service was hit hard by the WannaCry/WannaCrypt ransomware attack that went on to infect computers around the world. The attack was so bad that Microsoft took the unprecedented step of patching Windows XP to try and stem the spread of the problem.

While it first believed that NHS computers running XP were the source of the issue, it turned out to be Windows 7 systems that were mostly to blame. PCs running Windows 10 were immune from the attack. You would have thought, having been through such a terrible experience, that the NHS would have taken steps to prevent it happening again, but it seems not.

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iPhone beaten in performance race by 1970's Apple II and other even older computers (and a mechanical calculator)

It’s a fact that today’s mobile phones boast way more computing power than the systems used by NASA to put a man on the moon in the 1960s.

The iPhone 6, released in 2014, is 32,600 times quicker than the speediest Apollo-era computers and capable of performing instructions a whopping 120,000,000 times faster. So in a race against seven computers from the past 75 years, you’d imagine the iPhone 6 would wipe the floor with an Apple II from 1977, a 1990s PC running Windows 98, and a £12.99 BBC Micro:Bit, right? Wrong.

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Windows 10 compatibility issues forcing US Air Force to scrap a significant number of computers

The US Department of Defense has decreed that the Air Force must complete its migration to Windows 10 by March 31 2018.

Failure to do so will result in any systems not running Microsoft’s latest operating system being denied access to the Air Force Network. However, because Windows 10 is not compatible with many of the Air Force’s existing systems, a significant number of computers will need to be replaced in order to hit the deadline.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17101 for the Fast ring and Redstone 5 Build 17604 for Skip Ahead

Windows 10 Insider Preview builds have been arriving much less frequently with the Redstone 4 branch than with Redstone 3 (Fall Creators Update), but as we get nearer to the official release of the next feature update that is likely to change.

Today, Microsoft rolls out two new builds, just a week after the last one. These are Build 17101 for Insiders on the Fast ring, and Build 17604 for those who have opted to Skip Ahead -- that is elected to bypass builds for RS4 and move straight to RS5.

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Happy Valentine's Day! Black Mirror's 'Coach' site reveals how long you have left with your current partner

Black Mirror is one of Netflix’s better original series. The show presents a nightmarish vision of modern society and new technologies and in the latest season, one episode in particular stood out for a lot of people.

In Hang the DJ, a dating system called 'Coach' not only pairs up singletons, it reveals how long they have together.

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Official Amazon Music app for Windows 10 lands in the Microsoft Store

Part of the reason why Windows 10 S failed was because it only allowed software from the Microsoft Store and the Store is famously lacking in quality apps.

It’s always news when a big name app arrives in the Store, and today Amazon Music debuts there for users in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.

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How to install and use the fantastic Kodi alternative that's gaining in popularity

Kodi is a superb, and very flexible free media center, but in the past year or so legal crackdowns, court cases, vanishing add-ons and other bad publicity have made people wary of it, and understandably so. It’s not illegal to use Kodi, but installing add-ons that let you stream copyrighted content for free could get you into trouble.

In the wake of all this bad publicity, rival streaming service Mobdro has been gaining in popularity. The app can be installed on any Android device, including phones, tablets, Amazon's Fire TV Stick, and Google's Chromecast 2.

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Woojer Strap: Adds a whole new dimension to sound [Review]

I first reviewed Woojer three years ago when it was a matchbox-sized subwoofer that could be worn in a choice of ways -- in the center of your chest, the base of your spine, or against your hipbone or collarbone. Since then, the product has undergone a massive change, and is now a large, adjustable strap which you wear across your body (there’s also a vest version).

Despite having changed form significantly, the idea behind Woojer remains the same -- which is to help you feel sound, not just hear it.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17093 to the Fast ring

When Microsoft was working on what became the Fall Creators Update, we typically saw weekly builds rolling out to Insiders on the Fast ring. With the Redstone 4 branch -- rumored to be called the Spring Creators Update -- new builds are coming out at a much slower rate.

Two weeks after Build 17083 arrived, Microsoft has rolled out new Build 17093 to Insiders on the Fast ring and Skip Ahead.

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Get 'LinkedIn Profile Optimization For Dummies' ($14 value) FREE for a limited time

Your LinkedIn profile is essentially a platform to shape how others see you, highlight your abilities, products, or services, and explain how your work impacts lives.

Whether your goal is job search, branding, reputation management, or sales, people are Googling you -- and your LinkedIn profile is more often than not their first point of contact. With a focus on who you are, the value you deliver, and the culture you cultivate, the profile you'll create with the help of this guide will make that first connection a positive one -- giving you a better chance to see results.

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Get 'Machine Learning For Dummies' ($13 value) FREE for a limited time

Without machine learning, fraud detection, web search results, real-time ads on web pages, credit scoring, automation, and email spam filtering wouldn't be possible.

Covering the entry-level topics needed to get you familiar with the basic concepts of machine learning, Machine Learning For Dummies will quickly help you make sense of the programming languages and tools.

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TVAddons releases new standalone Git Browser for Kodi

Unofficial Kodi add-on provider TVAddons promised to 'change how people access streaming media forever', and two weeks ago it released a new GitHub Browser to make it easier to browse and install Kodi addons.

Following feedback from users, the site has now introduced an updated standalone Git Browser for Kodi with fixes and new functions.

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