Wayne Williams

Read classic computer and video game magazines in your browser

The Internet Archive offers a wealth of fantastic ways to revisit the past, whether you’re trawling through classic animated GIFs from the nineties, running Windows 3.1 programs in your browser, or playing DOS, classic arcade, or vintage console games online.

The latest trip down memory lane comes in the form of classic computer and video gaming magazines, something that really resonates with me as there are titles there that I not only read in my youth, but that I wrote for, or which were put together in the same building I worked in.

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Microsoft kills the ability to uninstall stock apps from Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with a selection of decent stock apps, but if you don’t use some (or indeed all) of them, then really they serve no purpose other than to take up disk space.

Microsoft introduced the ability to remove unwanted stock apps in build 14936 for Windows Insiders, but now it’s taken back that option.

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Facebook makes its privacy settings much clearer

Facebook has made lots of changes to its privacy settings over the years, usually in a bid to make them simpler to understand and use, yet many people just stick with the defaults.

Facebook’s new Privacy Basics aims to make it much easier for people to find the tools they need to control their information on the social network.

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Microsoft set to introduce new gaming features to Windows 10 this week

The last three Windows 10 Insider Preview builds have offered a wealth of new features, and the next build, which is expected in a day or so, won’t be any different.

This week’s update will include some big new additions for PC gamers, including Game Mode and Beam video game streaming.

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Mysterious Windows 10 update has users scratching their heads in confusion [Update]

Digital amnesia

Earlier today, Microsoft pushed out a new update for Windows 10. Since updates are mandatory in the new OS, it’s likely you already have it installed.

So what does it do? Microsoft isn’t saying. There’s no detailed information on its purpose, and the vague descriptions that do exist are conflicting.

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The new Windows Defender Security Center aims to improve Windows 10 safety

When extolling the virtues of Windows 10, Microsoft is keen to stress how much safer the new OS is.

The problem, of course, is that the weakest link in any security chain is pretty much always the user. Microsoft is introducing a new feature to Windows 10 that will make the OS more secure, and help users make better decisions.

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Google developing smart tools for Raspberry Pi

Google has big plans for creating a range of smart tools for the Raspberry Pi, and is asking users what they would like to see.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation says the search giant is developing tools covering AI and machine learning, and potentially areas such as robotics, IoT, 3D printing, home automation, wearables, and drones.

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ASUS takes on Raspberry Pi with its 4K-capable, Kodi-ready Tinker Board

If you love Raspberry Pi, but require a little more power for your projects, then ASUS’s Tinker Board could be just what you’re looking for.

Although there’s no shortage of Raspberry Pi alternatives, the low-cost Tinker Board is better than most because its quad-core 1.8GHz ARM Cortex-A17 processor has the oomph to handle 4K video and 24-bit audio, and it comes with twice as much RAM as the latest Pi.

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Anonymous search engine DuckDuckGo celebrates over 10 billion searches

A lot of people are more privacy aware than they have been in the past, and are wary of entrusting everything they search for to Google.

That’s where privacy-focused sites like DuckDuckGo come in. Its growth since it launched 8 years ago has been nothing short of staggering, with the number of searches skyrocketing since 2013, when Edward Snowden first revealed how the US government was spying on its people.

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How to automatically free up disk space in Windows 10 Creators Update

Over time your hard drive can get clogged up with leftover junk, including temporary files, cookies, cached internet data and file fragments. You can remove this clutter manually, use a tool like CCleaner, or make use of the built-in Windows Disk Clean-up tool.

In the Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft is introducing a new feature called Storage Sense which can automatically free up disk space. You don’t need to wait for the Creators Update to try it though.

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Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15014 for PC and Mobile arrives on the Fast ring, and delivers yet more new features

Happy user

Microsoft is aiming for April for the Windows 10 Creators Update, so is rushing out new builds for Insiders to try. Last week we got not one but two new releases on the Fast ring -- Build 15002, which introduced a wealth of changes and new features, and Build 15007, which also introduced a fair amount of new functionality.

The latest release, Build 15014 fixes a ton of issues from the previous two builds, but also introduces some exciting new features.

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Facing a backlash, Microsoft pulls post claiming Windows 7 is 'no longer able to keep up'

At the end of last week, Microsoft Germany published a post waving an early goodbye to Windows 7, and stating that the aging OS can "no longer keep up with the increased security requirements", and sticking with it could prove costly for users and businesses.

The software giant’s solution for Windows 7 users worried about security was, naturally, to switch to Windows 10. But, having faced an inevitable backlash from Windows 7 users and security experts, the company has pulled the post.

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These are all the Samsung phones set to get Android Nougat

The big difference between iOS and Android is when a new version of Apple’s mobile operating system arrives, it is pushed out to all compatible iPhones and iPads. When a new version of Google’s OS is released, there could be a considerable delay before it hits your Android phone, and -- depending on the make, model and carrier -- the chance that it might never do so.

If you have a Samsung phone and have been wondering when -- or indeed if -- you’re going to be getting an update to Android Nougat, the South Korean tech giant today details which devices will be getting the upgrade, and when.

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Microsoft starts advertising its Chrome add-ons in Windows 10

If you’re a Windows 10 user, you’ll be no stranger to Microsoft’s adverts which appear all throughout the operating system, including on the Start menu, and the Lock screen. As I wrote a week ago, Microsoft is planning on introducing even more adverts in the Creators Update.

The latest ad to appear is for one of Microsoft’s Chrome extensions, and it arrives -- appropriately enough -- above the Chrome icon on the taskbar. The browser doesn’t need to be open at the time.

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Anonymous launches a new operation -- to stop seagull genocide!

Anonymous has launched many different operations over the years, and declared war on a diverse number of foes, including The Church of Scientology, Islamic State, the Ku Klux Klan, and Donald Trump.

While the hacktivist collective will occasionally say crazy things -- it’s called for a new American revolution, and for mankind to conquer space -- it does often fight for good causes. Its latest operation is strictly for the birds. No, seriously.

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