Back from the dead: Unofficial Kodi add-on provider TVAddons now has 12 million monthly active users
TVAddons has had a tough year. The site, which provides access to unofficial Kodi add-ons, and for a time had a custom build of Kodi called FreeTelly, has been sued, had its site closed down and its domains and social media accounts seized.
On top of that, it’s also had a number of run-ins with Team Kodi, which called for the site to be permanently shut down, claiming it brings "nothing but misery to everyone."
Vivaldi browser now available for Raspberry Pi and other ARM based Linux devices
Vivaldi, the new web browser from Jon S. von Tetzchner, the former co-founder of Opera, is already available for Windows, macOS and Linux (x86/x86_64), but from today you can now run it on ARM based Linux devices, including Raspberry Pi.
The speedy browser offers useful built-in functionality such as tab grouping, screenshot capture, and ability to take notes. Part of Vivaldi’s appeal is it’s highly customizable, and the experimental new build offers even more options for tinkerers.
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Popular Start menu replacement Classic Shell is dead
When Windows 8 arrived there was one thing that everyone wanted to know -- "Where’s the Start button gone?" In removing the traditional Start menu from its reimagined tiled OS, Microsoft managed to immediately alienate the majority of its user base. It was, unquestionably, one of the main reasons why that OS flopped so badly.
Thankfully, programs like Classic Shell (which has been around since 2009) stepped in to fill the void, reintroducing the classic Start menu to Windows 8, and later Windows 10. While Microsoft’s new OS has a Start menu of its own, a lot of people still prefer Classic Shell’s simpler, tile-free design.
Steam: Windows 7 now nearly three times more popular than Windows 10
While Windows 10 still lags behind Windows 7 in terms of market share, there’s one section of user that has embraced the new operating system since day one -- gamers. That’s no surprise of course, as they like to run the latest and greatest hardware and software.
Steam’s monthly usage survey, which shows the state of things from the gamers’ perspective, has consistently reported Windows 10 as the top operating system of choice, until last month when -- to the surprise of many -- Windows 7 took over.
Anti-piracy firm's scaremongering attack on Kodi boxes should make you angry
You can’t have failed to notice, but copyright holders and anti-piracy groups are waging war on Kodi -- and "fully loaded" Kodi boxes in particular -- at the moment. And as is the case in all wars, the first casualty is truth.
A new video from the Hollywood-backed Digital Citizens Alliance is so full of lies and nonsense it will have you shaking your head in wonderment. Does anyone truly believe this propaganda anymore (if they ever did)? Clearly the DCA thinks they do.
NetMarketShare: Windows 7 has been losing share faster than we thought
Each month, analyst firm NetMarketShare releases numbers showing the state of the desktop operating system market, and we report on it.
This month, it showed the gap between Windows 10 and Windows 7 narrowing significantly (although the two operating systems aren’t quite as close as shown by StatCounter’s figures). That’s not the only change though -- the historical figures of the two operating systems have been adjusted as well, so what’s the story?
StatCounter: Windows 10 fails to overtake Windows 7, but edges slightly closer
When StatCounter released its operating system usage share figures last month it showed the gap between Windows 7 and Windows 10 had narrowed significantly.
It looked, based on that data, as if the new operating system would overtake the old one during November, but surprisingly that didn’t happen.
NetMarketShare: Windows 7 still well ahead of Windows 10
According to the latest figures from NetMarketShare, Windows 10 is edging closer to Windows 7’s usage share, but it still has a way to go until it overtakes it.
In October, Windows 10 saw its slowest growth in months, posting a gain of just 0.17 percentage points. In November, however, it’s a very different picture.
Windows 10 is now on 600 million active devices
At 2015’s Build developer conference, Microsoft announced that it anticipated over 1 billion Windows 10 devices to be in consumers hands within 2 years, but thanks to the failure -- and ultimate death -- of Windows 10 Mobile, that was clearly never going to happen, and Microsoft was forced to admit as much a year ago.
When the OS was offered as a free download, initial growth was strong, with Windows 10 finding its way on to 350 million devices in the first year. But growth slowed significantly once the free period ended.
Bad news for Windows 10 testers -- you may not get access to all future features
Microsoft is working in earnest on the next feature update of Windows 10, codenamed Redstone 4. It’s already released a number of builds to Insiders in the Fast ring, and today the software giant revealed some of the big new features users can look forward to.
However, it also delivered something of a bombshell to Insiders keen to test forthcoming features and changes for themselves -- future additions aren’t going to be available to all.
Microsoft reveals some of the exciting new features coming to the next version of Windows 10 (Redstone 4)
Windows Insiders get to test up and coming Windows 10 features before anyone else. New features and updates appear in Insider builds on a regular basis, often with little warning or fanfare.
Terry Myerson, EVP for Windows and Devices, today provides an insight into some new additions which will appear in the next big Windows 10 update, codename Redstone 4, expected to arrive next April.
Fall Creators Update already on over 20 percent of Windows 10 PCs
Microsoft released the Creators Update for Windows 10 back in April, but it was a glacial, and at times problematic, rollout. A fortnight after the initial launch, Microsoft warned users to wait until they were offered it, rather than opting for a manual update, and even when it was finally made available to (almost) all, the take up was very low.
Its successor, the Fall Creators Update, launched in October, at which point a quarter of Windows 10 users still didn’t have the Creators Update.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17046 to the Fast ring
Microsoft is back to rolling out new Insider Preview builds to the Fast ring on a weekly basis.
The latest release, Build 17046, introduces a number of improvements, changes and fixes. So what’s new this time around?
Kodi boxes: UK government explains why you MUST stop using them now
Kodi boxes, and other so-called illicit streaming devices (ISDs), are the big-target for anti-piracy organizations at the moment. It’s a war being fought on many fronts. While bulling third-party add-on developers into retiring using legal threats is one of the most high-profile approaches, it’s far from the only tactic being used.
Governments and anti-piracy organizations are also using heavy doses of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) to persuade Kodi lovers to seek other -- legal -- methods for streaming content.
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Williams is BetaNews' managing editor. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for over 20 years now. He’s written for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a fair few of them in his time also. If you like what you read, you can Buy Me a Coffee!
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