Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-sixty-two 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 the November 2019 Update for Windows 10 this month and enabled the upgrade via Windows Update and the Update Assistant.
Microsoft rolls out Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar integrations to Outlook.com
Microsoft seems to have started rolling out new integration options to Outlook.com, making life easier for anyone who uses both Microsoft and Google services.
As well as offering Gmail integration to allow people to read emails from their Google accounts within Outlook online, Microsoft is also in the process of adding support for Google Calendar and Google Drive.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 19028
Now that the Windows 10 November 2019 Update is widely available, Microsoft’s attention is firmly on the next feature release, due out next year.
The latest builds on the 20H1 branch haven’t introduced any new features, instead the focus has been firmly on fixing problems and making improvements.
Microsoft lends its support to DNS over HTTPS to boost user privacy
Joining the likes of Mozilla and Google, Microsoft has announced that it will support DNS over HTTPS (DoH).
The company says that the adoption of encrypted DNS is important for the overall health of the internet ecosystem. It goes on to set out a number of principles that will be at the heart of adopting DoH in the Windows DNS client.
Microsoft updates cloud contracts after EU privacy complaints
Microsoft has announced changes to its Online Services Terms for commercial cloud customers after an EU investigation raise concerns about existing policies' compliance with European regulation.
The company bills the changes as the introduction of "more privacy transparency" in the wake of a probe into potential violations of GDPR relating to telemetry data collected from Office 365 users. Microsoft says the new contractual terms will be offered to customers globally, not just within Europe.
Logitech G Adaptive Gaming Kit makes Microsoft Xbox Adaptive Controller even better for disabled gamers
For most people, playing a video game is as easy as picking up a controller. Unfortunately, there are some folks out there that cannot hold a typical gamepad due to disability. For a long time, people with disabilities were forced to either not play video games or struggle with what was available.
These days, however, the gaming market is more thoughtful regarding the less-able. A great example of this is Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Controller -- a special device designed to make gaming a reality for disabled people. Today, Logitech G is taking things further with its Adaptive Gaming Kit -- a brilliant add-on to Microsoft's offering. For this new product, Logitech even consulted with AbleGamers -- a charity focused on inclusion in gaming.
Microsoft is blocking the Windows 10 November 2019 Update on systems with certain Realtek Bluetooth drivers
Some drivers for Realtek Bluetooth radios are casing compatibility issues with Windows 10 November 2019 Update, leading Microsoft to block the update on affected systems.
Anyone with an outdated version of the Realtek Bluetooth driver will be greeted by a message informing them: "Realtek Bluetooth: Your PC has a driver or service that isn't ready for this version of Windows 10". Updating Windows 10 to the latest version is blocked until users follow the steps set out by Microsoft.
Microsoft is killing off Cortana for some users
Microsoft has quietly confirmed the rumors that it is planning to discontinue its Cortana digital assistant for some users. Starting next year, the company will no longer support Cortana on either iOS or Android in certain markets.
While Microsoft is yet to confirm which countries will be affected, the UK, Canada and Australia are known to be on the list. The change means that there will be no Cortana mobile app, and integration will be removed from the Microsoft Launcher.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 19025
Three days ago, Microsoft rolled out new Windows 10 20H1 Builds for the Fast and Slow rings, and made the Windows 10 November 2019 Update available for non-Insiders.
Today, Fast ring Insiders get another yet release -- Build 19025.
Amazon fights Microsoft's JEDI contract win in court over bias claims
When Microsoft was awarded the controversial $10 billion JEDI contract by the US Department of Defense, many people voiced surprise -- including rival bidder Amazon.
Now Jeff Bezos' company is heading to court, claiming that the process of choosing who to assign the contract to was biased. But these claims have been denied, with the Department of Defense saying there was no outside influence involved in the decision.
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Microsoft kills off My People, deprecates other Windows 10 features
Microsoft rolls out two feature updates a year for Windows 10, although the latest release, the November 2019 Update (1909) -- out now -- is more of a system pack.
While the software giant adds new features in these releases, it also removes some, and deprecates others. It has updated its list of features that are no longer being developed for one reason or another, and this time around that list includes My People.
Microsoft .NET Framework Repair Tool updated to support new versions
Microsoft published an updated version of the company's .NET Framework Repair Tool this week; the new version supports newer versions of the Microsoft .NET Framework, in particular versions 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.7.1, 4.7.2 and 4.8, which older versions did not support.
Administrators may download the latest version of the application from the Microsoft website. The list of supported .Net Framework versions is available on the same page and links are provided to download these to the local system (which is useful when the program is run in offline mode).
Windows 10 will soon refuse to connect to WEP networks
There are various ways of protecting wireless networks, and as technology develops old methods become outdated. One wireless security technique that has fallen by the wayside is WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) because it is very easily defeated.
Having been superseded by WPA2 and WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access generations 2 and 3), Microsoft is completely dropping support for WEP from Windows 10. Soon, it will not be possible to connect to a wireless network with WEP in place.
As Windows 10 April 2018 Update (1803) reaches end of service, Microsoft pushes May 2019 Update
Microsoft is issuing an automatic update to Windows 10 May 2019 Update for anyone still using version 1803 of the operating system.
The Home and Pro editions of Windows 10 April 2018 Update have now reached end of service, and Microsoft is keen for users to upgrade to a more recent version so they can continue to receive security updates.
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