Microsoft Intune update will improve Windows 10 support
Microsoft will release a service update to its Intune management software within the next week, introducing a number of new features and enhancements.
A large part of the update will be dedicated to Windows 10 support, ensuring that Intune is optimized for a number of features native to Microsoft’s new operating system.
Microsoft will sell mobile data plans to Windows 10 users
Windows 10 users will soon be able to purchase mobile data plans directly from Microsoft. The software giant says that this option will be introduced to make it easy for its customers to have Internet access in areas without Wi-Fi coverage.
The mobile data plans will be offered via the Cellular Data app that Microsoft has published in Windows Store. To take advantage of this offer, Windows 10 users will need to get a Microsoft SIM card first.
If you're fine with Microsoft's approach to privacy in Windows 10, you're out of touch
Yeah, I'm going to bang that drum again. We've talked endlessly about privacy and telemetry in Windows 10. Endlessly. It's brought up some interesting issues for debates, led to comparisons between Microsoft and Google, and lots and lots of lots of bile. A case in point is an article from dear, dear Mr Ed Bott over on ZDNet. Mr Bott refers, subtweet style, to my recent article about Microsoft recording how long people are using Windows 10.
He refers -- albeit indirectly -- to me (and writers like me who question Microsoft) as a "dedicated Microsoft hater" and a "clueless writer" peddling in clickbait. He suggests I'm not interested in facts; this despite the fact I have gone out of my way to garner such delights from Microsoft. Bott completely -- COMPLETELY -- misses the point. I can only hope he does so on purpose because otherwise he just sounds disingenuous and a bit stupid. The problem here is not that Microsoft is gathering data (as it is perfectly entitled to do so), but the lack of transparency surrounding it. Microsoft does nothing to help itself.
Australian university to hand out Surface 3 to students
Microsoft is doing its best to push its line of Surface products out there to businesses and students, even getting prominent placement in NFL games (though announcers still sometimes refer to them as iPads). The Surface Pro is on its 4th generation, but for those who don't need quite as much power, there's the Surface 3 which has a smaller screen and isn't as capable, but which costs a fraction of the price of its bigger siblings and still runs Windows 10.
It's perfect for education uses, which is why Western Sydney University in Australia is handing out 5,000 Surface 3 slates to its students.
Capture desktop activity with Automatic Screenshotter
Taking regular screenshots of the desktop sounds like a smart way to record what’s happening on your PC. Until you try it, and are left sorting through folders packed with pointless, near-identical images.
Automatic Screenshotter is different. It doesn’t just blindly capture images at fixed intervals, but also uses a host of rules and options to ensure it only captures the most relevant screens for you.
The State Of Wearables
I have been skeptical about the mass market potential of wrist-worn wearables ever since Google unveiled Android Wear in 2014. Since then, we have seen a number of high profile smartwatch launches, including the Apple Watch and the recent Fitbit Blaze (which was greeted with an 18 percent decline in FitBit's stock price).
However, the hunt for a killer app continues and I have yet to come across a relevant use case for mass market users.
Microsoft and Rambus team up for quantum computing research
Researchers at Microsoft are partnering with Rambus in order to evaluate the future memory requirements of quantum computing.
The two technology firms will share their resources and expertise in order to determine the types of computer architecture that will provide the biggest improvement to memory capabilities and overall system performance. Gary Bronner, vice president of Rambus Labs said that existing architectures are struggling to meet the increasing demands of real-time data consumption.
Best Windows apps this week
One-hundred and sixty-two in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x and Windows 10 in the past seven days.
The week has been rather slow in terms of new releases and updates, but that was to be expected following Christmas.
Insiders should see new Windows 10 builds next week and faster releases through 2016
The first week of the New Year is out of the way and Windows Insiders are eagerly awaiting the first Windows 10 build of 2016. The waiting may be over soon, as Microsoft says that it should be just "a few more days" before testers' patience is rewarded.
It's only a few weeks since the Redstone branch of Windows 10 became public, and Microsoft's Gabe Aul suggests that a new build could be on the way next week. The Windows 10 team just needs time to recover from Christmas and the New Year, and then we should also start to see more frequent build releases.
Predictions 5 & 6: Drones and driverless cars? Not this year
When it comes to predictions it is often easiest just to take some really popular new technology and point out the obvious time it will take to be actually adopted. You could say I’m doing that here with drone deliveries and driverless cars, but I like to think my value-added is explaining why these will take so much longer than some people expect.
Amazon.com has been making a lot of noise about using small helicopter drones to deliver packages. I’m not here to say this is an impossible task or that drones won’t at some point be used for this purpose, but what I am saying is that it won’t happen this year, won’t happen next year, and in any true volume won’t happen even five or 10 years from now.
BlackBerry will only release Android devices in 2016
BlackBerry has heralded the new year with a new move -- that is, to shift to Android for its upcoming devices in 2016.
In BlackBerry’s statement, company CEO John Chen said that its BB10 operating system will take a back seat this year as the company intends to launch two Android-powered devices to accompany the BlackBerry Priv.
NirSoft’s WifiHistoryView reveals your laptop’s network history
NirSoft has unveiled WifiHistoryView, a free tool for Windows Vista and later which displays the history of your computer’s wireless network connections.
For every time you’ve connected to or disconnected from a network, WifiHistoryView displays the date and time it occurred, the network name (SSID), profile name, network adapter name, MAC address, BSSID of the router/Access Point, and more.
EFF vs John Legere
John Legere waved his magic spin-control wand today, following accusations from Google and the EFF—that's Electronic Frontier Foundation to you, Bud—that the cellular carrier throttles video streams in violation of Net Neutrality rules. In a video, T-Mobile's CEO calls the throttling accusations a "game of semantics" and "bullshit".
"We give our customers more choices, and these jerks are complaining?" Legere blasts. "Who the Hell do they think they are? What gives them the right to dictate what my customers or any wireless consumer can choose for themselves?" I wonder, too.
Toshiba embraces USB Type-C with Canvio Premium HDD and TransMemory EX Dual
USB is one of the most important inventions in the history of computing. You young folks don't know how good you have it -- before USB, installing hardware was a huge headache. Over time, the standard has become faster and ubiquitous, but always had one huge issue -- knowing which way to connect it! A rectangle is a stupid port design; that was one way the now-dead FireWire was superior.
The invention of USB Type-C, however, remedied that large user pain point. This new connector can now be inserted in any direction, making USB even better. Some companies, like Google and Apple, were early to adopt it, but now, it is starting to explode in popularity. Today, Toshiba announces some good-looking USB Type-C drives, with its new Canvio Premium HDD and the TransMemory EX Dual flash drive.
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo balk at UK's Investigatory Powers Bill
The Investigatory Powers Bill may only be in draft form at the moment, but the UK government has already come in for criticism for its plans. Today, scores of pieces of written evidence, both for and against the proposals, have been published, including input from the Reform Government Surveillance (RGS) coalition.
Five key members of the coalition are Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo. In their written evidence, the quintet of tech companies express their concerns about the draft bill, seek clarification from the UK government, and issue warnings about the implications of such a bill.
Most Commented Stories
© 1998-2025 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.