The kindest thing that can be said about Microsoft Edge is Windows 10's new browser has potential. It’s far from awful, it’s just rather unfinished. There’s little there to tempt users of Firefox or Chrome into switching.

Microsoft is working to change that though, and make the browser more appealing. Today it reveals a little more about its future plans, including how it will be handling extensions. It doesn’t announce exactly when the browser will receive this much-requested feature, but it does touch on how add-ons will be made available, and how you’ll be able to try out some early examples for yourself.

Continue reading →

Now that Microsoft is forcibly downloading Windows 10 onto unsuspecting Windows 7 and 8.1 users’ PCs there’s going to be a lot of unhappy customers faced with a new OS they never asked for nor wanted.

You can prevent this from happening by making sure the "Recommended Update" setting is unchecked on your PC, but if you fail to do this and accidentally allow the installation to go ahead (or maybe you tried Windows 10 and didn’t like it), the good news is it’s easy to roll things back to your original operating system.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has changed the Windows 10 update from "Optional" to "Recommended". And by "Recommended" it means "You’re getting it whether you want it or not".

If your Windows 7 or 8.1 PC is set to install recommended updates automatically (because -- more fool you -- you just wanted it to be up to date and safe) then Microsoft will cheerfully download the new OS and start the installation process for you. Don’t want that to happen? Here’s how to stop it.

Continue reading →

Microsoft says it wants to get people to a "safer place" and that’s why it’s so aggressively pushing Windows 10. But it’s one thing to advertise the new OS on someone’s computer, and another thing entirely to force them to upgrade to it.

Microsoft Marketing Chief Chris Capossela, says a lot of people are putting off upgrading to Windows 10 ("constantly kick[ing] the can down the street" in his words), and so the software giant is taking steps to give them a "push" into taking action. But not with a gentle reminder, or even full on nagging, but by downloading and then starting the OS installation without permission, and that sucks.

Continue reading →

As you’ll have seen earlier, according to figures from NetMarketShare, Windows 10 overtook Windows 8.1 in January, taking just six months to do so. StatCounter, which also measures operating system usage, shows Windows 10 achieving the same feat in that month, although its figures are slightly different.

To mark this achievement it seems only right to compare Windows 10’s growth with that of past Windows releases to see how the new OS is really doing.

Continue reading →

A month ago, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 was on over 200 million devices. It also claimed that Windows 10 adoption was accelerating, which seemed to be in clear contradiction of NetMarketShare’s monthly usage figures. The pattern there showed adoption of the new OS to be slowing month after month.

That wasn’t the case in January however, as the latest usage figures from NetMarketShare show Windows 10 starting the new year at a fair pace and finally doing something it’s been threatening to do for the past couple of months -- overtaking Windows 8.1.

Continue reading →

Free online storage space is something many of us really appreciate. Quotas are usually so generous that’s there’s rarely a need to spend money on a paid subscription.

However, Microsoft recently announced plans to cut back on the amount of free storage offered to OneDrive users. As a recap, the base storage will drop from 15GB to 5GB, the 15 GB camera roll storage bonus is being discontinued, Office 365 Home, Personal, or University users will no longer get unlimited storage, and some paid tiers are going away also.

Continue reading →

Last week Microsoft issued a voluntary recall for AC power cords for its Surface slates, after reports they could overheat and potentially catch fire.

Today, Apple follows suit, issuing a voluntary recall for certain AC wall plug adapters which could break and potentially "create a risk of electrical shock if touched".

Continue reading →

The first half dozen times I encountered the Bill meme on Facebook, I found it amusing. But after a while, the sanctimonious stick man -- who explains how people should use the web, among other things -- began to grate.

And then everyone started to make their own versions, using their own names. At that point, it was clear, enough was enough. If you feel the same, be like me, and block Bill, and all of the other variations by following these steps.

Continue reading →

For Windows Insiders, the Fast ring used to be something of a misnomer, with new Windows 10 preview builds trickling out on a rather infrequent basis. Microsoft promised to change that in the new year, and it’s already been as good as its word. Six days after the last new build, there’s already another available to install.

There’s a big jump in build numbers too. Last week’s release was Build 11102, and the new version is 14251. That might signify a major leap forward, with loads of changes and new features, but don’t get too excited.

Continue reading →

As an iPhone and iPad user, I spend a fair amount of time in Safari. Today, however, the browser has been crashing for me every time I carry out a search via the address bar.

I first thought it was a problem with my iPhone, but then I had the same problem with my iPad. It turns out to be a problem that's affecting a lot of users.

Continue reading →

Microsoft Edge is deeply integrated in Windows 10, but while it’s a reasonable browser it still has a long way to go before it even comes close to rivaling the likes of Google Chrome or Firefox.

If you don’t use Edge, and I don’t, then its presence in Windows 10 might be a bit of an annoyance, especially when it sets (and occasionally resets) itself to not only be the default browser, but the default PDF reader too. Fortunately, you can block the browser, so you don’t need to ever worry about it again.

Continue reading →

If you’re thinking of buying either Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book, there’s quite a few variations in the range to consider, with different capacities for different budgets.

Today Microsoft launches the most powerful versions yet of both devices, and also introduces a new Gold Surface Pen for people looking to make a "bold statement" (Microsoft’s words, not ours).

Continue reading →

Microsoft promised late last year that it would be speeding up the rate that new Windows 10 preview builds arrived on the Fast ring in 2016, and (so far) it’s been as good as its word. A mere week after Build 11099 was pushed out to insiders, there’s a new build ready to install.

Build 11099 was rather unexciting for the most part, as it simply introduced structural improvements to OneCore, the core that Windows 10 shares across devices. Build 11102 is a little more interesting and introduces one welcome new feature for Microsoft Edge.

Continue reading →

As you may already be aware, Microsoft has discovered that in certain situations the Surface Pro’s power cable could overheat, making it a potential fire hazard.

This is a problem that affects cables for the Surface Pro, Surface Pro 2, and Surface Pro 3 on devices purchased before March 15 2015 (in the US) or July 15 2015 (in all other territories). Microsoft has issued a voluntary recall, and you can now request a replacement power cord. The process is fairly simple, and this is what you need to do.

Continue reading →