Wayne Williams

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update introduced a lot of changes to the new OS, including several to the lock screen.

Cortana can be used there, and you may also see fun facts, tips, and advertisements before you log in. If you don’t want to see those, you can disable this new feature. Here’s what you need to do.

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The Internet Archive has a good selection of games in its collection. You can play vintage console games, classic DOS games, and more, all directly in your browser.

If you were an Amiga owner back in the day you’ll be thrilled to know that the site has now added thousands of games from that classic computer to its library.

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Windows 10 was free for an entire year, and Microsoft nagged users to upgrade to the new OS almost constantly during that period. Yet, despite this, it seems there are plenty of people looking for ways to get Windows 10 for free now it’s a paid product. Go figure.

As it happens, there are still ways to legally get Windows 10 without paying, so if you’ve decided you do want to upgrade after all, here are some methods to try.

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Free upgrades to Windows 10 officially came to an end on 29 July, but there are ways to continue upgrading without purchasing a license. The easiest method is to take advantage of a scheme that Microsoft has in place for users of assistive technologies.

As detailed here, Microsoft created a web page that allows users with accessibility needs to continue to upgrade to Windows 10 for free, but because it doesn’t require users to prove they use assistive technologies, anyone can take advantage of the free extension.

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Windows 10 Anniversary Update is slowly rolling out to all users but the process may take a while. You can hurry it along, by following the instructions here, or there's another even better way.

If you can’t wait to try the new features, the good news is Microsoft has updated its Media Creation tool to include the update and you can use this to download Windows 10 now and create your own installation media on either a USB flash drive or DVD. This is particularly handy if you want to perform a clean install, or update multiple computers in quick succession.

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As we’ve mentioned previously, the Windows 10 Anniversary Update for PCs is rolling out now, but it may take a while to reach your system.

If you’re the impatient sort who doesn’t want to wait (and who could blame you), the good news is you can hurry the upgrade along, and start installing it now.

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One of the biggest changes in the new Windows 10 Anniversary Update is the introduction of extension support in Edge.

Admittedly, this is something that should have been included in the browser from day one, not popping up a year later, but hey ho, it’s here now. There aren’t many extensions at the moment -- just an unlucky 13 -- but there are some very useful ones available.

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Windows 10 Anniversary Update is starting to roll out to users globally. There are lots of changes and improvements to the operating system but one of the biggest is to the Start menu.

If you had gripes about how Microsoft implemented it originally, the new version should go some way to appeasing you. If you liked the original approach, you'll likely be very happy with the changes. Here’s what’s new:

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While it may take a while for the Anniversary Update to arrive on all Windows 10 systems, it is slowly rolling out to eager users across the globe, starting with "newer" devices first.

If you’re a Windows Insider, or have been following news of the various Insider Preview builds, you’ll know there’s a lot of new features and improvements in the update. These are the headline changes:

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July was the last month of Windows 10 being available for free, and that coupled with Microsoft's final aggressive push should have resulted in the operating system being installed on a lot more devices.

NetMarketShare has updated its usage share figures for July and while Windows 10's growth in that month is decent, it's not much different from what we've seen in previous months, which is a little surprising.

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Today, July 29, is the last day for users of Windows 7 and 8.1 to upgrade free of charge to Windows 10. If you don’t take up the offer in time, and you decide you do want to upgrade after all, the only option will be to buy a copy of the OS.

But hold on. That’s not entirely true. If you want Windows 10 after the deadline has expired, you’ll still be able to get it for free, legally, and doing so couldn’t be easier.

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If there are certain aspects of Windows 10 you don’t like you may be able to change them using a registry hack or adjusting settings in the Group Policy Editor. The Group Policy Editor is available in all professional editions of the operating system, but not Home.

It’s a great tool, and lets you bypass annoyances like Microsoft making Cortana 'unkillable'. Unfortunately, in the Anniversary Update Microsoft has restricted what policies are available to Windows 10 Professional users, and blocked the corresponding registry keys so you can’t make the changes that way either.

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PDF is a great file format because it shows a document exactly how it’s intended to look. There’s no shortage of tools you can use to create your own PDFs, and if you have Microsoft Office installed you can even save documents and spreadsheets in that format via the Save As menu.

Windows 10 cleverly offers native PDF printing, so you can turn almost any document or image into a PDF without needing to install anything.

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Microsoft’s aggressive campaign to get customers to upgrade to Windows 10 might have seen the new OS grow in popularity, but the company's approach has, understandably, upset a lot of users. The software giant employed some increasingly sneaky tricks to fool Windows 7 and 8.1 users into accepting an OS upgrade they didn’t want and, inevitably, some unhappy victims are now looking to sue.

The software giant has already paid out $10,000 to a Californian whose PC was ruined by a Windows 10 update, and several US Attorney-Generals are reported to be actively pursuing cases against Microsoft. But on top of that two new lawsuits seeking class-action status have surfaced.

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We’re only a few days away from the global roll out of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and Microsoft is busy squashing the last few bugs before its prime-time release.

There are lots of changes in the update, including a more usable Start menu, Windows Ink, an updated Windows Defender, and an improved Cortana you can’t turn off. Wait, what?

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