NetMarketShare: Windows 10 still has quite some way to go to beat Windows 7's share
NetMarketShare reports on the state of the desktop operating system market on the first day of each month, and it has long shown Windows 10 to be lagging well behind Windows 7. However, tweaks to how the analyst firm records these numbers means the gap has closed recently.
The latest figures, for the final month of 2017, show Windows 10 growing and Windows 7 declining, but the difference in usage share hasn’t altered by much.
How to use Kodi to play classic video game ROMs -- Mario, Sonic, Zelda, and more!
As someone who was born in the 1980s, I experienced the golden age of video games. While the graphics were archaic by today's standards, the games were much more fun than the ones of today. People tend to forget that fun is the most important aspect of video games -- sound and graphics be damned. You bought a completed game and there were no updates, DLC or loot crates to be had. It was an amazing time.
Luckily, enjoying these classic games of yesteryear is very easy thanks to emulators. While the legality is a bit sketchy, you can download thousands of retro games (ROMs) and play them on your PC with near-flawless results. To make things even more convenient, the Kodi media center can now be used to play these ROMs. If you want to try this for yourself, I am happy to say you can do so immediately. The folks over at TVAddons have created a very useful guide.
Ring in New Year 2018 with Manjaro Linux 17.1.0
Today is the big day -- New Year's Eve! Tonight, many people will celebrate ringing in the new year at midnight. They will drink champagne, dance, and generally have a fun time.
If you are a nerd like me, however, you won't be leaving the house. Instead, you will probably be watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest while eating low-quality frozen hors d'oeuvres -- there is no shame in that, though. This year, there is actually something very fun you can do while sitting on your couch -- install a Linux distribution! You see, Manjaro Linux 17.1.0 is now ready for download. Hell, installing an Arch-based Linux distro is better than going to a party, right?
Apple's $29 iPhone battery replacement offer is available right now -- but supplies are limited
After admitting to slowing down older iPhones, Apple subsequently apologized for the lack of transparency about the issue. In addition to the apology, the company also announced that iPhone owners would be able to replace their batteries at a discounted rate of $29 starting in late January.
In an update to the original statement, Apple has now brought forward its replacement program so you can get a new battery for your iPhone 6 (or later) handset starting right now. Alternatively, you can do it yourself, with a discounted iFixit kit.
Donald Trump wants US Postal Service to charge Amazon 'much more'
In an attack on Amazon, President Trump has called upon the US Postal Service to charge the retail giant "much more" to ship packages to customers.
This is not the first time Trump has hit out at Amazon and Jeff Bezos, but his latest vocal volley was not well-received by his followers on Twitter.
The New York Times pulls support for its Windows Phone app
Microsoft's Windows Phone was actually pretty terrible. While it had some redeeming qualities, the now-failed platform was quite deficient compared to iOS and Android. Only the absolute biggest Microsoft loyalists truly embraced it, and even they have mostly moved on. Yeah, other consumers bought Windows Phone devices, but likely just because some of the models were so damn inexpensive -- it was like purchasing a feature-phone. Hell, the NYPD famously regretted choosing Microsoft's mobile OS.
That's why it is surprising that The New York Times -- one of the most important news outlets in history -- is still supporting a Windows Phone app. Well, I should say it was supporting it. You see, in a rather unceremonious announcement, the company says it is ending support for that app.
Keep on top of your wardrobe using these three apps
For the fashion conscious, the change in seasons usually follows a change in wardrobe and when it comes to upgrading a wardrobe, everyone has different requirements.
But, there are people who avoid retail at all costs, shopping on the internet and ordering everything to their home. You can go one step further as many high street retails have sophisticated apps which make online clothes shopping a pleasant experience. We’ve picked three of the best.
ADATA launches UV230 and UV330 retractable USB flash drives
USB flash drives are becoming less popular thanks to the cloud. If you need to access a file on the go, using a cloud-based storage service like Dropbox is extremely convenient. Unlike a flash drive, you don’t have to worry about losing it.
These diminutive drives definitely still have a place, though. For instance, I use them regularly for installing Linux distributions and Windows 10. Not to mention, they are wonderful when an internet connection is not available. Today, ADATA unveils two new models. Both use USB Type-A for connectivity, but one uses USB 3.1, while the other uses the slower USB 2.0.
Facebook to use facial recognition to notify users when photos of them are uploaded
A new feature touted as a privacy tool sees Facebook automatically identifying users in photographs that are uploaded. It uses the same technology already employed to make image tagging suggestions.
The social networking giant is using facial recognition to alert people when someone uploads a photo of them, regardless of whether they have been tagged in the image. For the feature to work, Facebook users will have to agree to the company keeping a record of them in a facial database.
John McAfee and the strange Twitter hack
In a cautionary tale for the festive season, unorthodox security guru John McAfee claims to have had his Twitter account hacked.
The account sent out a number of 'coin of the day' Tweets on December 27th encouraging followers to buy some lesser known crypto currencies. Nothing especially strange in that as McAfee has himself sent this type of message in the past.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Two-hundred-and-sixty-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.
Microsoft will end the last official option to upgrade a Windows machine to Windows 10 for free. The company ends the free upgrade option to users who use Assistive Technologies on December 31, 2017.
Unofficial Kodi add-on provider TVAddons set to 'change how people access streaming media forever'
Six years ago, web developer umOuch launched XBMC HUB, the first add-on community for the XBox Media Center (Kodi's original name).
It provided an easy way to find and install unofficial add-ons, and later evolved into TVAddons, branching out into new areas in the process. In 2016, TVAddons even created its own fork of Kodi, called FreeTelly.
Kodi comes full circle, now available for Xbox One
Kodi started life as XBMC (XBox Media Center) and was designed to run on Microsoft's original Xbox. The software has since then enjoyed a meteoric -- and somewhat controversial -- rise, and is now available for most platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, and Linux.
One platform it was missing from was the latest generation of Microsoft's console, the Xbox One, but that oversight has finally been corrected. You can, from today, install Kodi on both that console and the Xbox One S. Although there is a catch.
Edward Snowden's Haven app turns a smartphone into a security device
The name Edward Snowden will always be associated with the NSA, but the man has fingers in many other pies. His latest venture is an app called Haven which can turn a smartphone into a security device that keeps an eye on your possessions.
Haven is an Android app, currently in beta, designed to be installed on an "extra" phone that you wouldn't mind losing. Placed with your belongings, it uses a phone's sensors -- microphone, camera, gyroscope, accelerometer, and so on -- to detect and record theft and tampering.
Twitter kills anti-Nazi bot Imposter Buster that tried to expose racists
A Twitter account designed to alert users about racist accounts has been shut down by Twitter. Imposter Buster was a bot created by journalist Yair Rosenberg in an attempt to expose racism on the platform.
But while many people welcomed the activities of Imposter Buster -- which would automatically join in the conversations of high-profile racist users in an attempt to expose their trolling of ethnic minority users -- Twitter saw things differently and slapped the bot with a permanent ban.
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