Articles about Microsoft

The past few Windows 10 Insider builds haven’t been very exciting -- mostly just featuring a number of fixes and minor improvements -- although that’s hardly surprising thanks to the impact of COVID-19.

Build 19592, released today to those on the Fast ring, does include a new (but familiar to some) tablet experience for 2-in-1 convertible PCs, although it’s rolling out slowly.

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Microsoft has released KB4052623, an update that addresses an issue with Windows Defender that was preventing scans from running properly.

While a workaround had been suggested by some, now there is an official fix available which should banish the "Windows Defender skipped an item due to exclusions or network protection settings" error message.

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If you've used any version of Window before Windows 10, you'll definitely be familiar with the Control Panel. It's still present in Windows 10, but with various updates to the operating system Microsoft has been gradually encouraging people to use only the Settings app.

With just about every update to Windows 10, the prominence of the Control Panel has been reduced to the point that it's a bit of a chore to get to. According to references found in Windows 10 insider Build 19587, Microsoft could be on the verge of hiding or removing the Control Panel completely, or at least elements of it.

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There are numerous technology companies that have agreed to offer their services for free as the world tries to tackle the coronavirus crisis, and others who have taken steps to reduce their strain on the internet. Tomorrow, #BuildforCOVID19 Global Online Hackathon kicks off, with many of the big names from the world of tech coming together to tackle some of the problems COVID-19 presents.

There are also numerous partners from the health community, including the World Health Organization, and the aim is to come up with software solutions that can be used to improve health and hygiene, help with social isolation, assist in education, and help businesses stay afloat.

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Microsoft is putting Windows 10 into coronavirus lockdown. The company has announced that from May it will only be releasing security updates for the operating system, as it puts all optional updates on pause.

New versions of Edge have already been put on hold and it is little surprise that, in light of coronavirus, Microsoft is choosing to focus its energy on the updates that matter the most. The decision means that no more so-called "optional C and D releases" will be release from May.

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Yesterday we wrote about a bug in Windows Defender, seemingly introduced by a recent update. Only affecting Windows 10, the bug causes some virus scans to fail, and in others a somewhat unhelpful message informs users that there were unspecified "items skipped during scan".

The error message goes on to make reference to scanning exclusions as well as network scanning settings, and it is here that a simple solution has been found.

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The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are widespread and varied across the tech world. Streaming video services have been reducing quality to ease the strain on the internet, support for old versions of Windows has been extended, and many brand-new cinema releases have been pirated earlier than normal.

In addition to delaying the end of support for Windows 10 version 1709, Microsoft also says that the COVID-19 crisis will impact on the development of its Edge browser. This means that Edge 80 is the last stable build we're going to see for a while.

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COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, with ever greater numbers of cases and deaths being reported on a daily basis. It’s having a huge impact not just on people’s health, but on our way of life and on the global economy.

While at the start of the year no one expected us to be where we are now, the threat of a fast-spreading virus has been anticipated for quite some time. Indeed, back in 2015, Bill Gates gave a TED Talk on this very subject.

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Microsoft's run of problematic updates for Windows 10 continues. This time an update is causing an issue that could have serious security implications for users -- it has broken Windows Defender.

While the Windows Defender security tool is included in Windows 7 and 8 the problem only affects Windows 10. Many people are finding that when they perform a virus scan, an error message is displayed that reads: "Items skipped during scan. The Windows Defender Antivirus scan skipped an item due to an exclusion or network scanning settings". For others, scans simply fail after a few moments.

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Three-hundred-and-seventy-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

Windows 10 is installed on 1 billion devices, finally. In other news, Microsoft is pushing its services more aggressively via nag screens and Microsoft Edge (Chromium) users may now review and rate extensions in the official Store.

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Proclaiming that "it is time for DirectX to evolve once again", Microsoft has revealed DirectX 12 Ultimate which unifies the graphics technology for Xbox Series X and PC gaming.

There are a number of graphic hardware features for developers to take advantage of, including DirectX Raytracing 1.1, Variable Rate Shading, Mesh Shaders and Sampler Feedback. But Microsoft stresses that the new API will not reduce compatibility. DirectX 12 Ultimate is described as an "additive initiative"; hardware that does not support it will still be able to run next-generation games, but without some of the visual enhancements.

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Microsoft recently announced that Windows 10 had hit the milestone of running on a billion devices. To mark this, the operating system team created a celebratory video. What's interesting about this video is the fact that it gives us a glimpse of new features coming to Windows 10, as well as changes to the UI.

We've already had a hint of the direction Microsoft is going in aesthetically with the roll-out of new icons, but this new video also shows off the redesigned Start menu, wider adoption of Fluid UI, and an updated version of File Explorer

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The coronavirus pandemic is having all manner of consequences around the world, both predicted and unforeseen. With Google having announced that Chrome and Chrome OS will only be receiving security updates as a result of a revised development schedule, Microsoft has now announced that it is extending the end of service date for Windows 10 version 1709.

End of service for the Fall Creators Update was due on April 14 this year, but in light of the current public health situation the company now says that the date has been extended by six months to October 13. But the extension does not apply to all editions of Windows 10 version 1709.

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The past few Windows 10 Insider builds haven’t been hugely exciting, but that’s probably no surprise given the state of the world at the moment and the number of people switching to working from home.

Today’s new Insider release for those on the Fast ring, Build 19587, is no exception, but it does come with a number of improvements and fixes.

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It is somewhat surprising that the Microsoft-owned GitHub has been around for so long without there being a mobile app, but now this is changing. After a period of beta testing, GitHub for mobile is now available.

The app makes it possible for development teams to keep in contact on the move, as well as merging code from the comfort of a smartphone or tablet.

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