One of the frustrations facing Windows Phone users -- much like Android fans -- is that when an OS update is announced it can be difficult to find out when, or indeed if, a particular handset will receive it. Carriers can take an age to release update to their customers.

With Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft is making things much simpler by taking over the task of pushing out updates. This means users will no longer have to wait for their mobile carrier to get around to it. It's something that will help not only to ensure that as many people as possible are using the very latest version of the operating system, but will also help to stamp out a serious problem: fragmentation.

For all you Windows enthusiasts out there who appreciated the Dell Chromebox, a miniature computer from the manufacturer, but wished that it ran Windows instead, your wish has finally come true. The American technology giant has launched the Inspiron Micro Desktop which shares the same design language as the Dell Chromebox, but runs on Windows. It will set you back by at least $179.

As for the specifications, the Inspiron Micro Desktop packs in 2 gigs of RAM alongside 32GB of storage, which can be expanded via external SD card or an external hard drive. There's an Ethernet port, one HDMI outlet, SD card reader and a DisplayPort. Regarding USB, it comes equipped with one 3.0 port and three 2.0 ports. It also supports Wi-Fi for connectivity.

Later this summer, Windows 10 will be released. Microsoft has pushed out numerous builds in recent months but details about how the upgrade process will work have been a little thin on the ground. Today Microsoft reveals how users of both genuine and non-genuine versions of Windows 7 and 8.x will be able to upgrade to Windows 10.

We already know that the upgrade process will be simple and Terry Myerson had already suggested that it would be possible to upgrade from a pirated version of Windows for free. Now the differences between the upgrade process for genuine and non-genuine version of Windows are made clear -- and pirates will have to put up with a desktop watermark.

Video and photos are universal these days. Most of us walk around with a camera in our pocket. Everyone benefits. Consider the meteor over Russia or almost instant access to breaking news of all sorts.

However, sometimes photos aren't good enough for the events in your life. Video is better -- like for a kid's birthday party or graduation, or family vacation. There's better, and there's better. Microsoft just released Hyperlapse to help you turn these videos into neat little time-lapses to make them a bit cool and easier to share.

Facebook and privacy are not words that generally belong in the same sentence, but a Belgian watchdog has expressed surprise at just how little regard for European law the social network shows. The Privacy Protection Commission says "Facebook tramples on European and Belgian privacy laws", and warns users to take action.

Mark Zuckerberg's site is accused to tracking users even if they are not logged into a Facebook account, and sidestepping questions from European regulators. Although the Privacy Protection Commission is not able to impose fines for failure to abide by European law, it is in a position to offer advice -- and the advice to people is to use software to block Facebook's tracking regardless of whether they use the site or not.

On May 1st, Tidal billed my credit card for the first month of music streaming. Yesterday, my subscription to Google Music ended. I should be satisfied with the switch, given how much more I enjoy 1411kbps lossless listening over the more typical 320kbps compressed streaming music. But recent, recurring service problems put my customer continuation into question.

Quality of content, or available selection of it, isn't the problem. I find plenty of music to enjoy, and the default playlists are smartly curated. The high-fidelity is just that. But slow starts, drop-offs, and song skips disrupt the listening experience -- and for a service costing twice as much as major competitors, like Beats, Rdio, or Spotify, I expect more but get less. There is no customer support option that I can find, either.

I have never seen The Mindy Project, but was always perplexed by its allure. Based on advertisements, the show looked horrible, and from what I read, its ratings were not great. After 3 seasons, I was elated when FOX cancelled the show; it makes room for something new.

Today, The Mindy Project returns from the dead thanks to  an unlikely source -- Hulu. While the service is known for streaming already-aired network shows (including Mindy) and some original programming, picking up the discarded trash of the FOX network for new episodes hardly seems like a good move.

Even though it reigns supreme in one of the world’s largest markets, China, Alibaba wants to expand globally. If it fails to do so, it might not survive, the company’s new CEO said recently.

In a speech given to employees on Wednesday, the new Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said Alibaba will heavily invest in "new and existing overseas operations".

Xiaomi isn’t a household name in the western part of the world. But that is because the Chinese electronics conglomerate only sells its products in a handful of Asian regions. Despite its limited demographic, the company has managed to turn many heads. In its five years of existence, Xiaomi has become the largest smartphone vendor in its home country China and fifth largest manufacturer in the world.

Earlier this year, Xiaomi announced its plan to debut some of its products in US and UK by the end of 2015, and the company is now starting to deliver on that promise. It announces today that it will be holding a beta test flash sale on May 19 on its official Mi.com portal. The company will be accepting orders from people in the United States, United Kingdom as well as France and Germany.

The results of a recently conducted study have shown that our attention span is... oh wait, I lost you.

That’s right. Our attention span has dropped from 12 seconds back in 2000, to an alarming eight seconds today. To put things into perspective, a goldfish’s attention span is nine seconds. So yes, a goldfish can read this article longer than you do without getting bored to death and opening Facebook.

Companies that accept credit card payments and process cardholder data are facing some significant changes that they will need to comply with by June 30th.

This is a result of new Data Security Standard requirements from the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, known as PCI DSS 3.0. This will see many of the things that were previously only seen as best practice become mandatory.

Google is facing something of a European revolution as mobile companies consider blocking ads on a massive scale. Israeli company Shine has developed software that blocks mobile ads, and it has gained the attention and support of a number of telecom companies in Europe.

Talking to the Financial Times, one wireless carrier said that the software had been installed at its data centers and could be enabled by the end of the year. With the potential to automatically block most ads on web pages and within apps, the repercussion of the ad boycott could be huge as mobile providers try to wrestle control from the likes of Google.

One-hundred and thirty in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps and games released for Windows in the past seven days.

This week saw the release of several high profile apps for Windows, something that does not happen too often.

The mobile landscape seems to be set for the near future. Android and iOS will continue to dominate, while Microsoft will hope to reach respectable market share with Windows 10 Mobile. While there are other hopeful operating systems in this segment, such as Ubuntu and Firefox OS, the odds are not in their favor. With that said, more options are better and I see potential in Mozilla's operating system.

Today, Mozilla announces the launch of new devices running Firefox OS, courtesy of Panasonic. Wait, is Panasonic releasing new smartphones? No. Actually, these are televisions running Firefox OS and they are available now. Whoa. A 4K TV that can run web apps? Sign me up!

Google has announced that, this summer, some of its self-driving vehicle prototypes will be unleashed on the streets of Mountain View. The weird-looking cars will be equipped with the typical controls and go out on the public roads of the search giant's home town with a safety driver on board.

As you may already know, Google's prototypes do not currently feature the usual controls that are on the average vehicle. But, at least in this following testing phase, a removable steering wheel and accelerator and brake pedals will be installed in each car. There will be a "neighborhood-friendly" 25 mph speed limit in place.