Wayne Williams

Windows 11 Phone is everything a mobile operating system should be

Microsoft certainly bet big on Windows 10 Mobile, even going so far as to buy phone giant Nokia in order to make its own handsets for it. While there was much to recommend the tiled mobile operating system, the combined might of iOS and Android proved too strong for the would-be rival. Windows 10 grew into a great operating system on PCs and tablets, but the company was forced to pull the plug on its mobile aspirations.

Windows 11 is slowly replacing Windows 10 (with the emphasis on 'slowly') but given the chance, would it fare any better on mobile than its predecessor did?

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Get 'Connect, Relate, Motivate' ($9.99 value) FREE for a limited time

Communication has become one of the most puzzling paradoxes of our time. We live in a world that is hyper-connected; more plugged in, tuned in and turned on than ever before.

Yet, social science confirms that more and more people feel isolated and disconnected from their communities and families. They feel overworked, underpaid, misunderstood and alone. Connect, Relate, Motivate is a fresh approach to tackle modern communication challenges, written for today's time poor reader; easily consumed in one sitting (one flight), or one night!

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Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25120 with new Bing-powered desktop search bar

A while back, Microsoft announced that it would be using the Insider Dev Channel to trial new, more experimental ideas in Windows 11. In the latest insider flight, Build 25120, we see a good example of this.

Insiders will now see a new search bar on the desktop that they can use to search the web. This won’t be something that appeals to everyone -- especially as it uses Bing to return results -- but it’s easy enough to disable.

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Microsoft Teams finally arrives in the Microsoft Store -- so long as you don't want it for personal use on Windows 11

The apps section of the Microsoft Store has been an embarrassment since day one, and even now -- despite Microsoft’s efforts to improve it -- it’s still a dumpster fire.

Perhaps most embarrassingly of all, if you went to the app store expecting to be able to download Microsoft Teams, you’ll have drawn a blank as it wasn’t there. Today though, that finally changes. Well, changes for some users anyway.

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Here's what's new and changed in Kodi 20 'Nexus' Alpha 1

Yesterday, we revealed that the next big version of Kodi had hit an important milestone. Nightly builds of Kodi 20 'Nexus' have been available for months, but now there’s a much more stable release for users to download.

Although it’s only a pre-release build, and therefore will likely have some bugs to watch out for, Kodi 20 'Nexus' Alpha 1's arrival will excite a lot of people. Team Kodi is very proud of this release, and highlights the following changes and new features.

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Debian-derived Kali Linux now available for download with GNOME 42

Kali Linux is a fantastic distro that is used primarily for digital forensics and penetration testing. Even if you’ve never used it before, you may well have seen it in movies and TV shows like Mr Robot. It comes with wide range of tools to help in investigations and incident responses.

Today the distro’s developer, Offensive Security, announces Kali Linux 2022.2, with new features and tools, as well as a number of impressive updates.

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Kodi 20 'Nexus' hits a major development milestone and is available to download now [Updated]

Kodi 20 -- codename 'Nexus' -- is the next version of the popular home theater software. In development for around a year, builds for the successor to Kodi 19 'Matrix' have been available to download for a while now, but these have all been 'nightly' releases, and not suitable for most users.

Today though, Kodi 20 hits a big milestone and finally becomes a more viable choice for those who want to try out the next major iteration.

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AvdanOS Pro really is the Windows 11/macOS alternative we need!

If you want to run a modern version of Windows, you can choose between Windows 10 and Windows 11. If you have an Apple computer, then it will run macOS, and if you don’t fancy any of those options, then you can opt for various flavors of Linux distro.

But what if you’re not blown away by any of those? AvdanOS Pro gives us a glimpse of what the future could look like.

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Get 'Python for Geeks' ($39.99 value) FREE for a limited time

Python is a multipurpose language that can be used for multiple use cases. Python for Geeks will teach you how to advance in your career with the help of expert tips and tricks.

You'll start by exploring the different ways of using Python optimally, both from the design and implementation point of view. Next, you'll understand the life cycle of a large-scale Python project. As you advance, you'll focus on different ways of creating an elegant design by modularizing a Python project and learn best practices and design patterns for using Python.

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Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 25115 with one new feature and lots of fixes

Windows 11 laptop

It’s Wednesday, so that usually (with occasional exceptions) means a new Windows 11 test build. Not today though, today Microsoft rolls out two new builds -- one for the Dev Channel (Build 25115) and one for the Beta Channel (Build 22621).

The Dev Channel flight comes with one new feature, but there is some bad news -- it won’t be offered to ARM64 PCs.

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DuckDuckGo add-on now blocks Google's latest tracking and targeting methods

DuckDuckGo

Google I/O kicks off today and while the search giant might want us to believe it cares about our privacy, most people are rightly wary of what Google knows about us, and what it does with the huge swathes of personal data it gathers.

DuckDuckGo provides a privacy-first alternative to Google Search, but the company offers much more than that, including a Chrome extension which helps safeguard your browsing. Today, the company announces an update to the add-on which means it can block Google’s latest tracking and targeting methods – Google Topics and FLEDGE.

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Windows XP 2022 Edition is everything Windows 11 should be

Windows users currently have a choice of two (supported) operating systems -- Windows 10 or Windows 11. While Microsoft would prefer users to be running the latest OS, adoption of Windows 11 has slowed dramatically in recent months.

When Windows XP first arrived back in 2001 it really shook things up with its revolutionary design and playful color scheme. If you were wondering how it might look if it was released today, we have the answer.

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Apple finally kills off the iPod

Although MP3 players existed long before Apple got into the music game,  the iPod really took things up a notch. The iconic music player has evolved and improved over the years, but now after over two decades (the original model was introduced on October 23 2001), Apple has decided the iPod has had its day and announced plans to cease production.

The news has been a long time coming of course -- these days most people stream music on phones, so don’t need a standalone player -- but the announcement will sadden a lot of people. It really is the end of an era.

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This amazing video shows driverless cars being tested back in 1971

Although the likes of Tesla’s Autopilot have brought self-driving cars to the roads, they still require active driver supervision and it will likely be a while before full autonomy arrives, although we are getting ever close.

The idea of self-driving vehicles isn’t new, however. Indeed, early prototypes were being tested way back in the last century.

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Get 'LinkedIn For Dummies, 6th Edition' ($16 value) FREE for a limited time

LinkedIn multiplies what you know by the power of who you know to deliver the number one social platform for business professionals and new job seekers. 

LinkedIn For Dummies shows LinkedIn newcomers the best ways to discover new opportunities, enhance their personal brand, network with other professionals, and give an exponential boost to their career. Consider this book a passport to help you connect more successfully with many of LinkedIn's 660+ million members in over 200 countries, as well as an expert guide to the platform’s tools and features and the proven tactics that get you noticed.  

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