One-hundred and forty-two in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows 8.x/10 in the past seven days.

Microsoft pushed out a new Insider build to Fast Ring systems this week which caused several issues. Probably the biggest of them all was that 64-bit versions of Chrome did not work properly anymore.

Continue reading →

Buying a Windows laptop can be an extremely stressful ordeal. Unlike Apple, whose OS X is limited to just a few models, Windows notebooks are manufactured by many companies, in countless designs. If you shop online or go to a local store, like Best Buy, your head could easily explode from all of the options.

It is for this reason, that you should do your homework -- read reviews, educate yourself on specs and find out which brands are most reliable. If you don't have time for all of that, I can save you the trouble. The HP Spectre x360 is the laptop you want for back-to-school and beyond. OK, now go buy it. Oh, you want to know why I am saying it is the laptop you want? Well then read on to find out more.

Continue reading →

Samsung is trying to woo iPhone owners with a new promotion that gives Apple fans the chance to rent one of its latest flagships for a single dollar. For one paltry buck, curious iPhone users can test drive a Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge, or Galaxy S6 Edge+ with no obligation.

It's a unique scheme and one that might appeal to those who are scared of commitment... but only those with an iPhone. If you're interested you can sign up to test the Samsung handset of your choice with your current carrier, on your current tariff.

Continue reading →

ColorVeil is a free Windows app with a single purpose: to place a color filter over your screen, reducing brightness and cutting eye strain.

The program is a tiny download -- 21.8KB, really? -- and immediately applies a default filter on launch. Right-click its system tray icon and a settings dialog appears when you can choose your preferred shade and opacity.

Continue reading →

When we think of smartphones, two platforms come to mind: Android and iOS. For some, Windows Phone is there as the third, but as Gartner’s second quarter smartphone sales results show, Microsoft is losing even more ground.

Combined, Android and iOS own 96.8 per cent of the smartphone market. Android actually dropped market share from 83.8 last year to 82.2 percent this year. Apple managed an increase from 12.2 to 14.6 percent in the same time period.

Continue reading →

The most important skill that any young person should learn nowadays is coding, or programming. By learning to code, you can create anything -- your mind becomes your only limitation.

Unfortunately, many girls shy away from computers and science, for various reasons. Some people blame a male-dominated culture, and yeah, there is probably something to that. Don't forget, American women couldn't vote until 1920! Many companies and organizations are trying to encourage girls to code, one of which is Microsoft. Today, the company announces that it taught Justin Bieber's ex-girlfriend, singer Selena Gomez, to code using a Surface Pro 3! This will be broadcast on TV and will hopefully inspire both boys and girls.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 is, for the most part anyway, a decent operating system, but there are teething problems with it. We’ve explained how to fix many of the worst issues with the new OS, but for many people problems persist.

Audio woes are easily the most common complaint with the new operating system and so Microsoft has taken the unusual step of releasing a series of short troubleshooting videos that will help anyone experiencing sound problems to (hopefully) overcome them. And yes, it’s not just one video, it is a whole series -- with 7 videos posted so far.

Continue reading →

Since the launch of Windows 10, you might have decided to rekindle your interest in the preview builds that are made available to Windows Insiders. Just a few days ago, Microsoft released Build 10525 and many people rushed to install it to see what was new.

But what’s that? An ugly watermark in the lower right of the desktop. If you're upset by the appearance of the "Windows 10 Pro Technical Preview. Evaluation Copy. Build 10525" text that appeared after the upgrade, here's what you need to do to get rid of it.

Continue reading →

The Right to Be Forgotten has proved somewhat controversial. While some see the requirement for Google to remove search results that link to pages that contain information about people that is "inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant" as a win for privacy, other see it as a form of censorship.

To fight back, there have been a number of sites that have started to list the stories Google is forced to stop linking to. In the latest twist, Google has now been ordered to remove links to contemporary news reports about the stories that were previously removed from search results. All clear? Thought not...

Continue reading →

New research has found that almost 80 percent of Apple Watch owners are using the tech giant’s contactless payment system, Apple Pay.

The research was carried out by Wristly, which is an independent research platform. It asked 1,000 people whether they were using Apple Pay or not and almost 80 percent of them answered affirmatively. Nine percent said that they preferred to pay through their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus (these are the only two compatible iPhones as of now).

Continue reading →

Many pundits -- myself included -- were skeptical that smartwatches would be a hit with consumers. While the wrist-worn computers haven't been a runaway hit, they have done better than many expected. Google's Android Wear, the Apple Watch, and Microsoft Band have all provided perceived value to consumers, and the segment should continue to mature.

Today, Google announces a major improvement to Android Wear with all-new interactive watch faces. This addition should increase the overall experience, while making the wearables more attractive to consumers.

Continue reading →

Google might have a greater market share when it comes to mobile operating systems, but it is behind Apple on some of the essentials, and it shows.

That is the opinion of Wall Street Journal’s Dan Gallagher, who reflected on the Google vs Apple, Android vs iOS battle, as Google prepares the launch of Android 6.0, named Marshmallow.

Continue reading →

There have been various numbers thrown around suggesting how many people have downloaded Windows 10 and how many have the operating system installed. Great debates have started about just how accurate these figures may be, but as any statistician will tell you, the more data you have to work with, the more likely it is to give an accurate picture.

Microsoft announced that there were 14 million downloads in the first 24 hours after launch, and it has been estimated that this figure now stands at anything from 50 million to 67 million. UK-based data analysis firm GoSquared has put together a tool that shows, in real time, Windows 10 adoption around the world by indicating its share of Windows traffic.

Continue reading →

McAfee has released the first public beta of McAfee Free Antivirus.

The package is very basic, and just includes real-time protection, and -- optionally -- McAfee WebAdvisor to keep you safe online. There’s not even on-demand scanning, although a grayed-out "Scan Now" button suggests it’s on the way.

Continue reading →

The number of high profile security breaches in recent years highlights the risk for individual organizations. But what about the risks that stem from other businesses in the supply chain?

Security ratings specialist BitSight has released new data that looks at the overall security ratings of four common business services industries -- law, PR, accounting and benefits administration -- each of which have access to sensitive data.

Continue reading →