Articles about Microsoft

Microsoft's Xbox Series X has a terrible name, but it looks incredibly cool

Microsoft has never been very good at naming things. Windows 10, for instance, isn't even the tenth version of Windows. The company plans to eventually release an operating system called Windows 10X -- since X is the Roman numeral for ten, is it technically "Windows 10 10" then? Sigh. The original Xbox was followed by the Xbox 360, which was then followed by Xbox One. In other words, the third Xbox is named "One" -- what kind of craziness is that? The company confused things even further by releasing Xbox One variants dubbed "S" and "X."

And now, Microsoft has unveiled its next generation Xbox, and following tradition, it has a terrible name! What has the company named it? Xbox Series X. Yup, that's the real name. Its name is way too close to "Xbox One X," and shows Microsoft is apparently devoid of any creativity in the branding department. Name aside, however, it does look really cool -- it is a vertical tower that can be positioned horizontally if you prefer. Thankfully, it appears to have an optical drive, so physical games disks will live on for at least one more generation of game console.

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Zorin OS 15.1 Linux distro is ready to replace Microsoft's dying Windows 7 on your PC

Windows 7's death is imminent -- support for the popular operating system ends next month on January 14, making it extremely dangerous to use from a security standpoint after that date. This is very unfortunate for the millions of computer users that don't want to switch to the much-maligned Windows 10. Thankfully, in 2019, you don't have to run Windows anymore -- Linux is a totally legitimate option for both business and home use these days. Hell, even the Windows-maker sees the writing on the wall -- the company recently released its wildly popular Office 365 program, Microsoft Teams, for Linux.

If you are ready to ditch the soon-to-be-unsupported Windows 7 for a more secure Linux-based operating system, you have plenty of great options. One of the best choices, however, is Zorin OS -- a Linux distribution that specifically targets people switching from Windows. Today, the latest version of that operating system, Zorin OS 15.1, is released to the world.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 (2004) Build 19041.1 to the Fast and Slow rings

Microsoft is putting the finishing touches to the next big feature update for Windows 10, with the focus now firmly on identifying and fixing problems.

Build 19041.1 is rolling out to Insiders on the Fast and Slow rings and includes a number of changes and improvements.

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Windows 10's new Quick Searches feature now available globally

Last Month, Microsoft introduced a new feature to Windows 10 that makes it quicker and easier to get answers and results from the web.

The Quick Searches feature, which is found in Search Home, was originally only available to EN-US users, but has now been expanded to a number of other territories and languages.

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Microsoft is about to start aggressively advertising Windows 10 to Windows 7 stragglers

Windows 7 close up

Windows 7 may be an aging operating system, but there are still plenty of individuals and organizations using it. With the end of support date of January 14 fast-approaching, Microsoft is getting twitchy and is eager for everyone to upgrade to Windows 10.

Having already started to notify Windows 7 hangers on that support is due to come to an end, the company is now ready to get a little more aggressive. If you haven't moved on from Windows 7, soon you will see full-screen notifications warning you that "your Windows 7 PC is out of support".

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Linux users get an early Christmas gift -- Microsoft Teams

Modern Linux users have it pretty good. In 2019, there are many major players supporting desktop operating systems running the open source kernel. Years ago, it felt like Linux on the desktop was a second class citizen -- switching from Windows was not as easy as it is today. These days, it is totally possible to forgo Microsoft's desktop operating system and still have a high quality computing experience with top-notch software, including video editing and PC gaming.

To show just how far we've come, Microsoft today brings an essential Office 365 program to Linux. No, it isn't Word, Excel, or PowerPoint -- that would be a true miracle. Actually, it is one of the newer Office applications that is seeing a surge in popularity -- Microsoft Teams. This is a top-notch communication and collaboration service. Depending on who you believe, Teams actually has more users than Slack -- a very impressive feat. Now, Microsoft Teams joins Slack on the Linux desktop!

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OneDrive to get Save for Later and File Request features

Microsoft published the OneDrive Roadmap Roundup for November 2019 on December 10, 2019. The roadmap highlights features that Microsoft plans to introduce into the company's cloud service OneDrive.

The first feature, called Save for later, allows OneDrive users to bookmark files or folders across OneDrive and SharePoint for later access.

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Microsoft is killing off Wunderlist in May 2020 as it focuses on its own To Do app

Wunderlist to Microsoft To Do

It is no secret that since buying Wunderlist, Microsoft has wanted to -- ultimately -- close it down. The question on users' lips has been,"when?".

And now we have an answer. Microsoft has revealed that Wunderlist will be retired on May 6, 2020. So with just five months to go, what does this mean for users?

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 (2004) Build 19037 and makes Windows PowerShell ISE a 'Feature on Demand'

We’ve already had one new Insider build for Windows 10 20H1 this week, Build 19035, but arriving in time for the weekend comes a second one.

Build 19037.1 is available for both Fast and Slow rings, and fixes a couple of additional issues.

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Best Windows 10 apps this week

Three-hundred-and-sixty-four 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.

Microsoft released Windows 10 in 2015 and ran a free upgrade campaign in the first year. Mark discovered that it is still possible to upgrade to the new version of Windows 10 for free; this may be useful to know for users who run the soon-expiring Windows 7 on their devices.

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Microsoft is forcing Windows 10 November 2019 Update on people

Colorful Microsoft logo

Microsoft has started to push the Windows 10 November 2019 Update (Windows 10 version 1909) onto users.

Keen to get as many people as possible running the latest version of Windows, the company says that it will "automatically initiate" the upgrade process for people currently running Windows 10 October 2018 Update (Windows 10 version 1809).

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Get 'LinkedIn For Dummies, 5th Edition' ($24.99 value) FREE for a limited time

LinkedIn is the premiere social network for professionals looking to discover new opportunities, enhance personal branding, connect with other professionals, and make career advancements. With LinkedIn For Dummies, you’ll have step-by-step instructions on how to take advantage of the latest tools and features to do all of this and more.

This book will teach you how to create an attractive profile that employers will notice, as well as ways to expand your network by making connections around the globe. You'll also learn how to best navigate the new user interface, write recommendations, take a course with LinkedIn Learning, and conduct your job search.

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Microsoft pulls Notepad from the Microsoft Store

Microsoft announced this week that it won't offer Notepad through the Microsoft Store anymore. Notepad, the default plain text editor on Windows, is included in every version of the operating system.

The functionality of the text editor has been improved in recent times; Microsoft added support for text zooming, new shortcuts, improved text wrapping, line endings, and more.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 (2004) Build 19035 to both Fast and Slow rings

The next big feature update for Windows 10 is drawing ever closer to completion, although there are still a number of known issues for Microsoft to address.

Today the software giant releases Build 19035 to Fast and Slow Insider rings, as well as Cumulative Update Build 19035.1000 (KB4533028). The latter features no new changes but is designed to allow Microsoft to test its servicing pipeline for 20H1.

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You can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free

Purple Windows 10 box

When Windows 10 first appeared, Microsoft made quite a fuss about that fact that while it was possible to upgrade for free, this was a time-limited offer. Many people rushed to upgrade because they felt the deadline was hanging over them like the sword of Damocles… but it seems that the deadline was not as pressing as Microsoft made out.

In fact, you might be surprised to learn that more than five years after the launch of Windows 10, it is still possible to upgrade for free. So what's going on?

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