Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14942 arrives on the Fast ring -- introduces several big changes
It’s been a full week since the last Insider Preview build made its way on to the Fast ring, but it’s been worth the wait.
Arriving just in time for the weekend, the latest release, Build 14942, is much more interesting than its predecessor, and introduces some major new features.
Anonymous declares war on the 'corrupt' US government -- and calls for revolution
Anonymous has declared war on various organizations and individuals in the past, ranging from Islamic State, and Ku Klux Klan, to Donald Trump.
Today, in a video it describes as a "call to arms", the hacktivist collective declares war on -- wait for it -- the "corrupt" US government, which it says has "been working to end the Constitution because it has been bought by corporations" and will "endanger the American people".
Ockel Sirius A is the world's most versatile mini Windows 10 PC
If you have a phone running Windows 10 Mobile, you can use it as a mini PC, connecting it to a TV or monitor. However, this functionality -- Continuum for phones -- is only available on certain devices.
If you want a more powerful pocket PC, then Ockel Sirius A is a promising solution. It’s a full Windows 10 PC in a tiny, mobile-sized device that will fit comfortably in your pocket.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14931 for PC arrives on the Slow ring
Two weeks ago, Microsoft released Insider Preview Build 14931 to the Fast ring. It wasn’t the most exciting of new builds, as it didn’t offer any new features as such, but focused instead on improvements and fixes.
Today, that build makes its way to the Slow ring. Improvements for PC include:
Is Microsoft planning to resurrect its dreaded Get Windows 10 nagware? [Update: no, it isn't]
Two weeks ago, Microsoft finally removed its scummy Windows 10 nagware from Windows 7 and 8.1 systems. This came as a major relief to everyone who didn’t want to upgrade to the latest operating system, but who had been forced to weather a storm of increasingly sneaky tactics as the software giant pulled every trick possible to get as many users to upgrade before the free period expired.
With the nagware removed, users were no doubt hoping that would be the end of the matter, but it turns out that might not be the case after all.
Chromecast Ultra delivers 4K content for just $69
Google’s Chromecast has evolved a fair bit since the streaming dongle first launched three years ago.
The newest member of the Chromecast family, announced today at the Made by Google event, keeps the same puck-like design of its predecessor, but offers 4K resolution video streaming, for a very affordable price -- just $69.
Watch the 'Made by Google' hardware event here, live
Google, as you’ll no doubt be aware by now, is hosting a major hardware event today where it will be taking the wraps off, among other things, its new Pixel phones.
The "Made by Google" event will showcase the next generation of Google created hardware, and start today at 12PM ET/5PM BST / 9AM PT.
Anonymous' new weekly news show will make you angry
Four weeks ago, I reported on how hacktivist collective Anonymous was planning its own weekly news show. The aim of Teh Weekly News is, Anonymous says, to "balance establishment media by providing unregulated investigative news that has not been molded to corporate or government interests".
The first episode of the new show is available to watch below, and does a good job of covering all of the stories that likely anger you when they appear, often only fleetingly, in the mainstream news.
Steam shows Windows 10 usage dropping among gamers too, as Linux and Mac make gains
September wasn’t a good month for Windows 10. After enjoying uninterrupted meteoric growth since launch, usage share for the new OS actually dropped off last month, according to the latest figures from NetMarketShare announced on Saturday.
That's not the only bad news for Microsoft either. Gamers, who typically prefer to be running the latest operating system, also turned their back on Windows 10 in September.
WTF? Windows 10 now actually losing market share
It was expected, that once Windows 10 stopped being free, upgrades would slow significantly. That turned out not to be the case last month when NetMarketShare’s usage figures showed it, rather surprisingly, to be business as usual. Growth in August was no different from growth in previous months, although I speculated it might have been buoyed by sales of new back to school PCs.
In September though, according to NetMarketShare, Windows 10 didn’t just show slower growth, it actually went into reverse gear and lost usage share. Yes, you read that right.
Swim.com app transforms Apple Watch 2 into an advanced swim workout tracker
It was clear at the launch of the new Apple Watch that the company was focusing very much on the health aspect of its popular wearable, and by making the new iteration waterproof it could, for the first time, appeal to swimmers as much as runners.
Apple Watch Series 2’s basic swim functionality may be enough for some users, but if you take your swimming seriously, there’s a new Swim.com app designed with you in mind.
Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14936 for PC and Mobile arrives on the Fast ring
The Ignite conference in Atlanta might be keeping many Microsoft employees busy, but it hasn’t stopped developers working on the next big update of Windows 10.
A week after Build 14931 arrived on the Fast ring, Windows Insiders are today being treated to another new update -- Build 14936 for PC and Mobile.
Amazon launches all-new Fire TV Stick with faster hardware and Alexa Voice Remote
There are a lot of media streaming products to choose from, but my personal favorite is Amazon’s Fire TV Stick. It’s compact, powerful and gives you access to Amazon’s full range of on-demand video content, as well as apps and games.
Today, the retail giant announces a new version of Fire TV Stick that’s faster and adds Alexa voice control to the remote. No more browsing long lists of TV shows and movies, now you can simply ask Alexa to play anything you're interested in, launch apps, and more.
How to send secret messages in Facebook
There are lots of different messaging apps available, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google’s latest offering, Allo. Which you use will likely depend on what apps your friends prefer, but privacy might also be a big factor. Google Allo, for example, is a bit of a privacy nightmare, unless you use the Incognito mode.
You probably don’t want Facebook snooping on your private conversations, so may have steered clear of Messenger previously, but the good news is the social network now lets you send private messages to friends which can only be read on the device of the person you're communicating with -- and not by Facebook itself.
If you rip your music from YouTube, we've got some bad news for you
In the eighties and nineties, MTV was the place to go to watch music videos. That’s all changed now of course. If you want to watch a music video, YouTube is the number one destination.
If you like a song, it’s really easy to rip the music from the video, using one of the many free online services. Just paste in the URL and hey presto it comes out as an MP3. Some sites even let you specify the audio quality, and add tags. However, the music labels understandably aren’t keen on this "stream ripping", and plan to put a stop to it.
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Williams has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for over 30 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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