The essential collection of Windows 10 guides -- everything you need to get started, fix annoyances, and more

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Here on BetaNews we’ve posted a wealth of how-to guides designed to help you master Windows 10. While the new OS isn’t difficult to get to grips with, certain elements are far from intuitive.

With all the news that’s been happening, you may have missed some of these guides -- especially ones from before Windows 10 launched -- so we've put together this one-stop shop for all the helpful information posted so far. Below you'll find out how to download Windows 10, get the ISO, create installation media, install Windows 10 on Mac or in a virtual environment, change the default browser or the default search engine, block automatic updates, and much, much more. As new guides are added, so this article will be expanded to include the latest content.

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HP rolls out a range of Enterprise Services for Windows 10

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Businesses usually like to wait a while before rolling out a new operating system to allow any initial snags to be ironed out.

Of course systems providers have to be ready to support them when they do make the move and HP has announced the availability of a full suite of Windows 10 services designed to help enterprises control costs and smooth out the move to the new operating system.

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Yahoo! launches! LiveText! video! messaging! app!

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Yahoo is making a first step in the messaging world, with the launch of LiveText for iOS and Android. The app will be available in North America and Europe, following a brief test in Hong Kong and Taiwan last month.

The messaging app is similar to Snapchat, with an image or video and superimposed text. When video streaming is unavailable, LiveText will offer a text only option. Interestingly, the video will be silent, meaning no audio playback between the two recipients.

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Turning Splunk data into pre-emptive breach detection

Breach detection

In case you haven't heard of it Splunk is one of the most popular machine data analytics tools, used to provide early warning of network and system issues.

IT teams often rely on access to this data for security information and event management (SIEM), but as malware becomes more sophisticated it can be difficult to spot what's important in time to prevent major breaches.

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Apple's iPad still rules the tablet market, despite declining sales

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Apple is still first place in the tablet market, despite two years of solid decline in sales. The figures released by IDC earlier this week show Apple as the major vendor, with 24.5 percent of the market share.

This is a far cry from Apple’s performance three years ago, when it held almost 50 percent of the tablet market. The tablet has continuously lost market share since, dropping three percent since 2014 and shipping 2.4 million less units.

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Small but (almost) perfectly formed -- Inateck MercuryBox BP2101 [Review]

Inateck BP2101 speaker

A technology writer's world can often seem full of Bluetooth speakers, they have successfully colonized a corner of my office, so it takes something special to stand out from the crowd. In terms of build quality the latest from Inateck makes an immediate impression but does it live up in other areas?

The whole package has a premium feel to it, even the cardboard box is nice. The speaker itself is a neat design with an aluminum chassis that feels solid and weighty. There are rubber end caps, one of which has a fold-down flap covering the USB and Aux ports, and a rubber panel on top with buttons for power, pause, +/- and Bluetooth calls. It comes with braided USB and 3.5 mm jack cables both of which have Velcro ties to keep them tidy when not on use, another quality touch, a wrist strap and a soft pouch to carry the speaker around in. There's a well-produced instruction leaflet too.

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Half of all Internet users are on Facebook

Could Facebook at Work put the work back into social networking?

Approximately half of the world’s online population accesses Facebook on a monthly basis, the social media giant has reported.

By the end of Q2 2015, 1.49 billion people accessed the website at least once in a month, up 13 percent from the same period last year and representing half of the estimated global online population of 3 billion, Facebook said.

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Celebrating SysAdmin Day with a System Mechanic giveaway

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The last Friday in July marks not only the beginning of a lovely weekend, but also the day when system administrators across the globe are celebrated. July 31, 2015 is the sixteenth System Administrator Appreciation Day, and we have prepared a BetaNews giveaway to mark this special occasion.

Just like last year, we will be giving away 10 System Mechanic licenses, courtesy of iolo, the software's maker. As always, every BetaNews reader is welcome to enter the giveaway. Here is what you need to know.

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HP ProBook 455 G2: A low-cost business notebook for Ubuntu lovers [Review]

HP 455

Most of the laptops you can buy come with Windows pre-installed. Obviously the latest batch have Windows 10 on them, with more being announced daily. If you prefer Linux you can either replace Microsoft's operating system with your distro of choice, or set up a dual boot configuration.

Online retailer Ebuyer, however, offers Linux-minded consumers a third option with its range of HP ProBook notebooks that come with Ubuntu pre-installed. There are three models on offer: HP 255, HP 355, and HP 455.

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How to clean install Windows 10

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Windows 10 is now officially available, and many of you want to run the new operating system on your PCs and tablets right away. And why not? There are lots of cool features to get excited about, like the new Start menu, Cortana, Action Center, multiple desktops, and Edge. And it is offered as a free upgrade, if you have a valid Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 license, which makes it even more attractive.

Obviously, those who are using Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can upgrade straight to Windows 10. But, the same cannot be said about Windows XP or Windows Vista users, who have to perform a clean install. That being said, a clean install is always recommended when moving to a new version of Windows, as it allows you to have an untainted experience, devoid of any issues that can crop up as a result of an upgrade. Here is how you can make a clean install of Windows 10.

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Stop Windows 10 using your internet connection to share updates to other people

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A lot of things have changed in Windows 10, not least the way in which updates are delivered. Now that Windows 10 has been officially released and is gradually spreading around the globe, more and more people are starting to discover that the latest version of Microsoft's operating system is using more bandwidth than expected.

Windows 10 uses a P2P-style system called Windows Update Delivery Optimization (WUDO) which means that once your computer has downloaded an update it can be shared to not only other computers on your network, but also other people online. While it makes sense to share updates to your own computers, you might well resent giving up your bandwidth to others. Thankfully, it's easy to disable internet-wide WUDO.

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Remove 'Quick Access' from File Explorer in Windows 10

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When you go into File Explorer in Windows 10 you’ll see a selection of your most frequently accessed folders, and 20 of the most recently opened files.

This is useful if you want quick access to content you’ve been using recently, but if you don’t want all of these links cluttering up File Explorer you can hide the view, or disable it entirely.

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Silent Circle's ultra-secure Blackphone 2 joins Google's Android for Work program

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The security of mobile communications is of paramount importance to many people, but it is particularly high on the list of priorities for business and enterprise customers. Silent Circle is a company that caters to those concerned with privacy and security, billing its work as the 'world's first enterprise privacy platform'.

The company's original Blackphone generated some interest, and earlier in the year we learned about the follow-up -- the Blackphone 2. Kitted out with a customized version of Android, the security-focused handset is the latest addition to Android for Work, Google's own security-focused program.

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Windows 10 Mobile will soon support Xiaomi smartphones

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All the news surrounding Windows 10 is focused primarily on desktop and tablet, with little mention of Windows 10 Mobile from any Microsoft executives.

Vice president of Operating Systems Joe Belfiore has finally updated us on Windows 10 Mobile, stating that the Insider program allowing Mi 4 owners to flash the operating system will be open to anyone.

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ScreenOut is an always-on-top Chrome video viewer

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You’re browsing with Chrome, and have found a great video. Ideally you’d watch it all, uninterrupted, but there’s other work to do, and so you have to resize all your various windows to fit.

ScreenOut is a Chrome extension which gives you another option. Click an address bar button and the video opens in a floating, always-on-top pane. Then you can switch to some other application while still watching the clip.

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