Solid state drives are extremely popular with consumers these days, and it isn't hard to see why. Not only are they much faster than traditional mechanical hard disk drives, but they have dropped in price dramatically over the last several years.

Consumers aren't the only ones loving solid state drives nowadays. Even the enterprise is getting aboard the SSD train. After all, data centers can benefit greatly from the faster performance provided by an SSD. The major downside to a solid state drive, however, is capacity -- they typically hold much less data than hard disk drives. Today, Kingston unveils a new M.2 NVMe PCIe 2280 SSD that is primarily designed to be a boot drive for servers. Called "DC1000B," it can be used in conjunction with larger capacity storage drives.

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Which computer is right for you? How much RAM is enough? What ports do you need? Buying a new laptop or desktop can be a hellish series of self-questioning, dilemmas, doubt and confusion. But now Microsoft has a new tool that will help you to home in on the perfect computer.

With the new online tool, Microsoft promises to "help you find a computer that meets your needs". All you need to do is answer a number of questions describing your requirements and intended usage, and you'll be provided with a series of suggestions.

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Windows 10 is a very good operating system, but despite Microsoft initially offering it as a free upgrade, many users were reluctant to switch from Windows 7, and it’s easy to understand why. A lot of Windows 10’s big changes -- the Microsoft Store, bundled third-party apps, live tiles in the Start menu, Cortana, Bing integration, and so on -- simply weren't that appealing to users of previous versions of Windows.

Windows 7 still offers everything that most people would want from an OS, but over a decade on from its debut it now looks and feels quite dated compared to its successor, and of course tomorrow it reaches its end of life as well, leaving people little option but to switch. However, if the aging OS had a modern makeover, could it win back many of those people who have moved on to Windows 10 or a Linux alternative? I suspect so. Take a look at this superb modern re-imagining of Windows 7 and make up your own mind.

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Tomorrow is the day that Windows 7 reaches end of life, and it seems that everyone has different advice about what to do. Take Microsoft, for instance. The company believes that the best course of action someone with a Windows 7 computer can take is to buy a new Surface device, rather than upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10.

This is the advice Microsoft is giving to anyone visiting its Surface business pages, where it says that splashing some cash on a new Surface Pro 7, Surface Pro X, Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro with LTE Advanced, Surface Book 2 or even a Surface Go is better option than upgrading an existing system from Windows 7 to Windows 10.

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The end of Microsoft's support for Windows 7 is now just hours away. It should not come as any sort of surprise, as coverage of the end of life for the operating system has been widespread, but there are still plenty of people and businesses using the decade-old OS.

Some are put off by the hassle of upgrading (although it's easy), while others are discouraged by cost (although you can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free). But the ramifications of sticking with Windows 7 could be serious -- so much so that the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a stark warning not to use the operating system for email or banking.

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Windows 7 is dead. Well, technically it will meet its demise tomorrow. On January 14th, the wildly popular operating system reaches "End of Life" status. This means Microsoft will stop supporting it. The company obviously hopes all remaining Windows 7 users will upgrade to Windows 10, but not everyone plans to do that. While Windows 10 is actually a very good operating system, many folks are put off by the overwhelming number of updates and aggressive telemetry. Understandably, some people feel that Microsoft's data collection is tantamount to spying.

Ultimately, using Windows 7 after tomorrow is foolish. Look, you should never use an unsupported operating system -- it is simply bad practice. If you refuse to upgrade to Windows 10, your best bet is to opt for a Linux-based operating system. There are many of those from which to choose, such as Ubuntu, Mint, and Fedora to name a few. There is one such Linux distribution,  however, that is designed to run on older hardware and is focused on providing a welcoming experience to Windows 7 switchers. Called "Linux Lite," it has a user interface that will feel familiar to Windows 7 users. Today, Linux Lite 4.8 is released.

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Back in October last year, Yahoo announced that not only was Yahoo Groups closing down, but all data was going to be deleted.

The company encouraged anyone who wanted to safeguard content to put in a data download request by the middle of December. As this was a short deadline there were numerous complaints and requests for more time. Yahoo obliged and offered an extension... but the clock is ticking down fast.

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Windows 7 is a great operating system -- there is a reason so many computer users have clung to it. Well, we can also thank the terrible Windows 8 for scaring people from upgrading, I suppose. Windows 8.1 was better, and Windows 10 is actually pretty good, but neither are loved like Windows 7 is.

Sadly, Microsoft is killing Windows 7 for most users -- it reaches end of life status in just two days, on January 14th. After that date, Windows 7 will be unsupported (except for businesses that choose to pay for extended support) -- you'd have to be a fool to continue using that operating system. You should upgrade to Windows 10 ASAP or switch to a Linux-based OS.

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Telemarketing calls often come through at the most inconvenient times, such as when a person has just sat down to enjoy a hot dinner or is trying to put a toddler to bed.

Although laws restricted how telemarketers operated, many found loopholes. For example, a New York law enacted in 2001 allowed people to opt-out of prerecorded robocalls, but not live telemarketer calls.

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Microsoft has a long and illustrious/checkered history (delete as applicable), and if you’ve worked with computers over the years you’ll have used many of the company’s ever-evolving software and hardware.

In a new video, Microsoft takes us through time, starting on April 26 1983 and going right through to today, showcasing just how much things have changed over the years.

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Updates for Windows 10 proved more than a little problematic last year, but it wasn't just Microsoft's own updates for the operating system that caused issues -- driver updates were often a headache for users too.

A confidential company document has now been published that details how Microsoft plans to deal with the problem. There are two key lines of attack: changing the release schedule for drivers that require Microsoft approval so they do not coincide with Windows updates, and giving hardware partners the option of requesting a block on feature upgrades that cause problems.

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If you haven't made or broken any New Year's resolutions yet, here are some you might like to try. Research from Kaspersky indicates that 40 percent of people plan to change their digital lifestyle in 2020 with most aiming to reduce the time they spend with their gadgets.

The research shows 42.3 percent would make a digital New Year's resolution for 2020 rather than something more traditional.

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Updates are usually released to introduce new features and take things forwards, but with the next update to Windows Terminal Microsoft is taking inspiration from the past.

Due for release next week, the updated version of Windows Terminal will include experimental retro-style CRT effects. What does this mean in practice? It means using the old school PxPlus IBM VGA8 font and CRT-style scan lines; pointless, but a nice bit of fun. Of course, there are also other things to look forward to in this update.

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It is remarkable that as time marches on, laptops are actually losing ports. You'd think computers would get more useful over time, but actually, it is the opposite. Instead, notebook manufacturers are largely embracing USB-C, meaning customers have to buy dongles to regain the ports they need. This can be both a blessing and curse. As a positive, it looks better aesthetically and lessens the chance you will have outdated ports on your machine. On the negative side of this, not only do dongles and adapters cost money, but they are easily lost too. Sigh.

But hey -- at least we have companies such as Plugable producing affordable, high-quality dongles so our needs can be met. If you need to connect your laptop to multiple monitors, that company has a new adapter that should interest you. The USB-C DisplayPort 1.4 MST to Dual HDMI 2.0 Adapter can push two 4K monitors at 60Hz. This is important, as many similar adapters top out at 30Hz, leading to a very poor visual experience. Best of all, it is very inexpensive at under $40.

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The new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser will be released on January 15, 2020 (a day after support ends for Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system) and Microsoft plans to provide it as an upgrade that will replace the classic version of Edge.

Since the new Edge is based on Chromium, it is clear that some things have changed. You can follow development of the new Edge here on BetaNews or on the official Edge Development blog.

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