Five years ago, I wrote a story about how Windows 8.1's Calculator app summed up what was wrong with Microsoft's new OS. Windows 8.x was designed as a one-size-fits-all operating system, and apps were designed with little thought given to the different screen sizes they'd be viewed on.

The problem was, on a desktop PC with a large screen, the Windows Calculator was massive. Or, as I put it at the time, "bloody huge -- filling my screen with buttons the size of business cards." Fast forward to 2018, and Microsoft is at it again, this time in the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

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Development on the next big version of Kodi, codenamed 'Leia', is progressing nicely. It’s expected to be released by the end of this year.

For those who can’t wait, you can install pre-release versions, and the newest of these -- Beta 3 -- is available to download and install today.

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Yesterday, Microsoft made the Windows 10 October 2018 Update available to anyone who wants it, meaning there’s currently only one development build on the go.

Because of that, new builds on the 19H1 branch are now being pushed out to insiders on both the Skip Ahead and Fast rings. If you’ve yet to opt out of the Insider program or switch to the Slow ring, and your PC downloads and installs Build 18252, released today, you will need to roll it back and take appropriate action.

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Microsoft is holding a new hardware event today in New York City and has unveiled the latest generation of its tablet/laptop hybrid, the Surface Pro 6.

Microsoft’s iPad rival has come a long way since its debut back in 2012, when it was an unqualified flop. These days, it’s a true laptop alternative, and as you’d expect, the Surface Pro 6 is the most powerful version yet.

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Microsoft is hosting a special event in New York City where it is taking the wraps off the next generation of Surface devices.

It’s not just about hardware though, as the tech giant has announced the next big feature update for Windows 10, the October 2018 Update, is now available to download.

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Usage share monitoring service StatCounter saw Windows 10 overtake Windows 7 back in February, and its latest figures put the new operating system on 50.07 percent, well ahead of Windows 7 on 37.2 percent.

Rival monitoring service NetMarketShare disagrees however. While Windows 10 gained significant share in August, at Windows 7’s expense, the latest figures, for September, show a reversal of fortune.

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Taking a leaf out of the Lumen Database, unofficial Kodi add-on provider TVAddons has been maintaining a list of blacklisted Kodi Addons in a regular transparency report.

This blacklist is not the result of DMCA takedown notices, but rather is compiled based on Kodi addons that were submitted to its index but judged not to meet the company’s own verification standards.

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The Windows 10 October 2018 Update is expected to arrive as early as next week, but for those people who are already looking forward to the following feature update, out next spring, Microsoft has a new build for you.

Build 18247, on the 19H1 branch, isn't the most exciting Skip Ahead build you'll ever encounter, as it doesn't contain any new features.

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There are a number of Linux distros available for the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), including Ubuntu, openSUSE Leap 42, Debian GNU/Linux, and Kali Linux.

However, these distros tend to lack development tools and contain unnecessary packages, such as systemd. WLinux is a new, open source Linux distribution based on Debian stable that has been specially optimized for WSL.

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Amazon’s surprise hardware event in Seattle today revealed a lot of new Alexa-powered devices, but it’s the Fire TV Recast that will be of most interest to a lot of users.

It’s a new companion DVR that lets you watch, record, and replay free over-the-air TV programming on the Fire TV, Echo Show, and on compatible Fire tablet, iOS, and Android devices.

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At its surprise reveal today, Amazon took the wraps off an Alexa-powered microwave, a smart plug, and a whole host of other devices.

It also announced updates to its Echo Dot, Echo Plus and Echo Show products, with improved audio and the nicer, fabric look Amazon introduced to the Echo last year.

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At its surprise event today, Amazon revealed a new smart plug which lets you control home appliances with Alexa.

It doesn’t actually come with an Echo -- or microphones -- built in, but that’s to be expected given it will sell for just $25 (which is pretty much on par with other similar products).

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Amazon hosted a surprise event today in Seattle where it took the wraps of a whole raft of Echo products.

One of the weirdest devices it revealed is an Alexa-powered microwave with a built-in Dash button that will allow you to order popcorn should you run out -- prefect for movie night!

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Three days ago, Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 Build 17760 to Windows Insiders. This build for the forthcoming October 2018 Update (aka Redstone 5) was the first with "no known issues”, showing how close we're getting to the actual release.

Since then, however, the company has found and fixed a number of additional problems, and encountered a couple more which will be addressed in a subsequent build.

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Microsoft is introducing a number of new features in Windows 10 1809, aka the October 2018 Update, including a dark theme for File Explorer, a new screenshot tool, and clipboard, search, Notepad, and Edge improvements. Sadly what promised to be the big new feature, Sets, hasn't made it into the OS this time around.

With each new Windows 10 update, some existing features get dropped, or stop being actively developed. Here are all the features that have been removed or deprecated in this forthcoming release.

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