Articles about Microsoft

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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Windows Insiders who upgraded devices running Insider Builds of the Windows 10 operating system to the latest build, Windows 10 build 19033, may have noticed that the option to sign-in automatically is no longer available.

Automatic Login is quite useful in certain circumstances; I use the feature on all of my devices to sign in quicker. The devices are fully encrypted and the master password needs to be entered during boot before Windows is even loaded.

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You can tell we’re getting closer to the release of Windows 10 20H1 as the watermark has vanished from the Insider builds, and the latest flight, Build 19033, is available for both Fast and Slow rings.

Microsoft also says it is going to start releasing new test builds in the future from its development branch (RS_PRERELEASE) again, rather than the VB_RELEASE branch (those '20H2' builds will once again have the watermark).

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With the latest release of the Linux-inspired Windows Terminal preview, Microsoft just made the app a whole lot more useful and user-friendly.

The addition of a multi-pane option to Windows Terminal v0.7 means that it is now possible to run two terminals side by side -- something that will be appreciated by many users. Other changes include the arrival of tab re-ordering, and a thinning of the border around Terminal.

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Microsoft has had a pretty bad run of things recently with numerous problematic updates for Windows 10. With the November 2019 Update the spate of issues continues.

Despite the diminutive size of the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, it is still wreaking havoc for some users. The update is breaking one of the fundamental components of Windows 10, freezing File Explorer when the search box is used.

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If you're looking to install either Windows 10 1903 or Windows 10 1909 (the May 2019 and the November 2019 updates) and you're a user of Avast or AVG Antivirus, you may well find that Microsoft prevents you from updating.

The company has identified a compatibility issue with the antivirus software and is therefore blocking the updates. Microsoft is also advising users not to try to sidestep the block by manually installing the update.

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When you download Windows 10 November 2019 Update (Windows 10 version 1909), you might be somewhat surprised at just how small it is.

At a ridiculous 180KB (yes, you did read that correctly) this is a tiny size for a feature update -- but it doesn't signal the way things are going to be moving forward. So how on earth did Microsoft manage to make this update so small? What's going on?

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If you were hoping to get your hands (or ears) on a pair of Microsoft's Surface Earbuds for Christmas, you're going to have to wait a little longer.

Originally pencilled in to launch before the end of the year, Microsoft's $249, AirPod-baiting wireless earphones have been delayed. The worldwide launch is now destined for spring 2020 according to a tweet by Panos Panay.

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Now that the Windows 10 November 2019 Update is done and dusted, Microsoft is hard at work putting the finishing touches to the 20H1 release, due out next year.

The software giant rolled out another Insider flight earlier in the week, Build 19028, and today -- in time for the weekend -- it treats us to a second new build.

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Ah, Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving where people run to the store to score great deals on various items. Technology enthusiasts in particular love this day, as you can save a lot of money on computers, tablets, smartphones, and more. Over the years, however, Black Friday has begun starting earlier and lasting longer -- it no longer lasts just a single day. Hell, you don't even need to leave the house anymore -- many retailers put the same deals online.

Case in point, starting today, Microsoft is launching some of its Black Friday deals -- an entire week in advance! This includes both online and physical Microsoft Store locations. Not all of sales start today, however -- the company is staggering the dates a bit. And yes, this sale includes many of the the products you love, such as Xbox, Surface, and other Windows 10 devices.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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