Wayne Williams

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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NetMarketShare: Windows 10 still some way behind Windows 7

If you believe StatCounter’s numbers, Windows 10 finally overtook Windows 7 in January. However, if you tend to trust NetMarketShare’s monthly desktop operating system figures more, well, then it didn’t.

According to the analyst firm’s numbers, in January Windows 10 narrowed the gap by a fair margin, but Windows 7 is still some way in the lead.

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StatCounter: Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7

Every month, StatCounter reports on the state of the desktop operating system market. Since October last year, the analyst company’s figures have shown the gap between Windows 10 and Windows 7 narrowing. It looked as if the newer OS would overtake the older one in November, but that didn’t happen, and it didn’t happen in December either.

However, in January, according to StatCounter, Windows 10 finally claimed the top spot.

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Get 'Front-End Performance' ($29 value) FREE for a limited time

Performance matters. Technology may allow us to "go bigger", but maybe not necessarily be better when it comes to performance. Servers and Internet connections are getting more sophisticated, and as a result, we feel the need to keep filling them. However, this isn’t the time to become lazy. This is the time to utilize the amazing tools that are available for making websites faster, and to learn how to improve user experience and satisfaction.

Front-End Performance is a practical collection of tutorials on front-end website performance for web developers. It’s packed with useful, real world hints and tips that you can use on your sites today.

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Which Black Mirror technologies would you be willing to actually use?

Satirical Netflix anthology series Black Mirror (named after the reflection you see when staring at a phone with the screen off) presents a nightmarish vision of modern society and new technologies.

In each standalone episode, writer Charlie Brooker focuses on near-future technological innovations, like an immersive dating app that tells you when your relationship will end, a synthetic replica of a deceased loved one, and a virtual reality world for dead people. If you’ve ever watched the show and thought, 'I’d use that!' about a particular piece of future tech, you’re not alone.

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Has your Gmail icon turned blue? Here's why, and how to change it back (if you want to)

I usually have at least two Gmail windows open in my browser. One for my BetaNews email, and one for my personal account. There’s never been an easy way of knowing which is which in a tab-filled browser without clicking on one of the tabs, but this has now changed.

The icon on regular Gmail accounts is still red, but the icon for corporate Gmail accounts (G Suite), or Gmail with a custom domain, has turned blue.

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Apricorn Aegis Bio 3.0: A simple, but super-secure biometric drive [Review]

If you want to keep your personal data safe and secure, then a hardware encrypted drive is your best bet. Secure drives, like the Apricorn Aegis Secure Key 3z, require you to enter a PIN into the integrated keypad to unlock the drive. These also come with a variety of security measures to make sure they can’t be brute forced.

If you prefer a different way of securing your data -- one that doesn’t require remembering a long PIN -- then you might prefer a biometric solution like the Aegis Bio 3.0. This a USB drive with a built-in finger reader. Unlocking the drive, and therefore your data, just involves swiping your finger down the AuthenTec TouchStrip sensor.

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Fall Creators Update on nearly 75 percent of all Windows 10 PCs

The Windows 10 Creators Update rollout was a bit of a mess. Shortly after it launched, Microsoft warned people not to install it, and a quarter of Windows 10 users still didn’t have it by the time its successor, the Fall Creators Update, arrived last October.

Microsoft has definitely learned its lessons this time around however, as the Fall Creators Update is being installed at a much faster rate. According to AdDuplex, last month (a mere two months after it launched), the Fall Creators Update was already on half of all Windows 10 PCs in use, and in January, that figure has increased to nearly three quarters.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17083 with Timeline improvements and privacy enhancements

Windows Insiders have got used to Fast ring releases arriving at a slower pace lately, but it looks as if Microsoft might be stepping on the gas once more, as Build 17083 arrives a mere fortnight after 17074.

The latest build comes with lots of new features and improvements, including the additional privacy options announced earlier.

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