Articles about Microsoft

The Windows 10 Creators Update rollout began in April, but unless you took it upon yourself to manually update your PC, there’s a good chance you won’t have been offered it, especially if have an older system. In June, according to AdDuplex, just 35.7 percent of Windows 10 users were running the latest feature update.

AdDuplex has just updated its figures for July, and this shows that 50.1 percent of Windows 10 users now have the update. That might seem like a big jump forward, but to put the speed of the upgrade into context, three months after its rollout began, the Anniversary Update was already on 3/4 of all PCs.

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Since Microsoft is working on making Windows 10 available on ARM devices, it was only a matter of time before questions arose on the possibility of the full-blown Windows 10 also making its way to smartphones.

After all, the ARM hardware that underpins the upcoming PCs is also available on smartphones. The first processor to power these devices is Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835, which is found on Android flagships like Samsung's Galaxy S8 and HTC's U11. Previous chips in this line can be seen in Lumia handsets as well.

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Microsoft is delivering on its plan to bring two updates per year to Windows Server and the company has revealed the first-ever Insider build of the operating system.

Users who are registered with a corporate Active Directory credential can download Windows Server Insider Preview Build 16237. Microsoft has made sure that this update adds many new features that highlight the company's interest in microservices and containers.

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The Creators Update rollout is continuing at a glacial pace, with most Windows 10 users yet to be offered it. The reason for this is Microsoft wants to make sure the update is fully compatible with PCs before it’s pushed to them (you can, of course, download and install the update manually at any time).

However, it turns out there’s a whole class of PCs running Windows 10 that simply can’t be upgraded to the Creators Update. And these aren’t old PCs either.

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You may not need an app to access LinkedIn from a Windows 10 PC, but the Microsoft-owned professional social network believes that it can offer users something that a browser cannot: a better user experience.

The LinkedIn app for Windows 10, which is rolling out now in Windows Store, promises to be "more engaging and fully integrated" with the operating system, thanks to features like real-time notifications and trending news.

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Microsoft has been producing operating systems for decades, but it’s never been very good at naming them. Things started off well enough, with a straightforward numbering system -- Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0, Windows 3.0. Then the company opted for a year-based approach -- Windows 95, Windows 98 -- before switching to using letters -- Windows ME (Millennium Edition) and XP (eXPerience, eXtra Patches?).

Then we had Windows Vista, followed by a return to numbers -- Windows 7 and Windows 8, and a random jump to Windows 10. And now we’re getting twice yearly updates for that latest operating system, with rubbish names that appear to have been thought up by someone who hates their job.

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The upcoming Redstone 3 release of Windows 10 has been known as the Fall Creators Update for some time now -- but in some parts of the world this name sounds nonsensical. While fall is the season that follows summer in many countries, it's not the case worldwide.

It is for this very reason that the update will bear a different name in a number of countries including the UK, Australia, New Zealand and India. Come September, Windows 10 users in these nations will be installing Windows 10 Autumn Update.

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While Windows 10 is arguably successful from a market share perspective, it is still failing in one big way -- the user experience. Windows 8.x was an absolute disaster, and Microsoft's latest is certainly better than that, but it is still not an enjoyable experience. Quite frankly, the people clutching to Windows 7 aren't so crazy.

The most glaring issue is the privacy aspect, or lack thereof. Look, telemetry is a good thing for the development of the operating system, but users shouldn't be forced to participate. Hell, I don't even totally mind if it is opt out rather than opt in. But if a user wants to remove their computer entirely, that should be their right.

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Microsoft’s annual ebook giveaway sees the company offering vast amounts of guides for free. These are high-quality titles covering pretty much every Microsoft product or service you care to think of.

There are millions of Microsoft ebooks up for grabs, and you can download as many -- or as few -- as you'd like (or all of them if you're feeling greedy), and they are available in a choice of formats -- PDF, MOBI, EPUB and DOC.

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As was expected, just after releasing the ISO files for Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Build 16232 to all Windows Insiders, Microsoft has rolled out a brand new build just for those on the Fast ring.

Build 16241 comes with a sizeable number of improvements and fixes.

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Microsoft is rolling out redesigned versions of the Outlook app for iOS and Android, bringing the cleaner, Windows 10-inspired look, and an improved workflow to mobile users.

The redesign brings changes to navigation, conversations, and search, with the primary focus being on making it faster to achieve things. Account switching is easier, replying to conversations is streamlined, and the revamped interface is clearer and more spacious.

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When Microsoft announced the Surface Pro in May it also unveiled a couple of new Type Covers to go along with its latest Windows 10 hybrid device. And, now, the software giant is making sure that the keyboards work with the Surface Pro 4 as well.

Microsoft has added support for the Surface Pro Type Cover and Signature Type Cover via a new firmware update, that it just released for the Surface Pro 4. It comes with an updated keyboard driver, version 1.1.504.0.

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Last week we reported how Microsoft is laying off thousands of its workers as it shifts its focus towards cloud a bit more. It was reported, on multiple occasions, that it will be sales jobs, and mostly abroad, that will be nixed.

However, new media reports are now painting a different picture. Among those that left the company is Jim DuBois.

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Researchers at behavioral firewall specialist Preempt have discovered two vulnerabilities within the Microsoft Windows NT LAN Manager (NTLM) security protocols.

The first involves unprotected Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) from NTLM relay, and the second discovery impacts Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Restricted-Admin mode. Both vulnerabilities can result in unauthorized credential use, risk of password cracking and potentially domain compromise.

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It has been well-established that Microsoft is a friend of open source. The company releases many projects on GitHub, and recently, the Windows-maker became a Cloud Foundry Foundation Gold Member. During Build 2017, the company even shocked the world by announcing it was bringing Linux distributions to the Windows Store.

Some SUSE-based distros recently arrived in the Windows Store as promised, but sadly, no Fedora or Ubuntu. While Red Hat's distro is still missing, today, Canonical's finally arrives. Yes, folks, Ubuntu has officially joined the Windows Store Linux party!

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