Articles about Microsoft

Before Microsoft began the Windows 10 Creators Update rollout two weeks ago, I wrote about why users shouldn’t rush to install it.

Today, in a post on the Windows blog, John Cable, Director of Program Management, Windows Servicing and Delivery, says much the same thing, and recommends that users don’t manually install the Creators Update, but rather wait until it’s automatically offered. But why? Because the update is causing problems for users.

Continue reading →

If you want to free up disk space in Windows 10, you can use the Disk Cleanup tool, or a third-party program like CCleaner.

However, the Windows 10 Creators Update offers a third choice, which is to go through the Settings app. You can free up space, and also have the operating system automatically remove junk for you.

Continue reading →

Graduation is almost here for many high school and college students. With that comes both fun and scary aspects. The enjoyable part is finally achieving the diploma and having a party with friends and family. The scary part? Being thrust into the real world. It can be a good scary, however, as it means the world is a blank canvas -- full of possibilities.

If you need to buy a gift for a graduate in your life, you can always give them cash, but that is so impersonal. If you want to set them up for success, a Windows 10 PC is a wise choice -- especially when paired with an Office 365 subscription. If you want to go that route, and save some money, the Microsoft Store has you covered. The store is offering up to $200 in savings during a limited-time special gradation sale.

Continue reading →

When searching for a job nowadays, you will find that Microsoft's LinkedIn has largely disrupted the process. Long gone are the days of emailing or faxing a resume -- you can both find and apply for a job directly through the service. Even if you are not actively searching for a new career, LinkedIn is a great place to network and meet other professionals.

To show just how popular LinkedIn has become, the service today makes an impressive announcement -- it has achieved more than 500 million users in 200 countries. With a half a billion users, maybe Microsoft's $26.2 billion purchase price wasn't so crazy after all!

Continue reading →

Change can be good, but not always. While Windows 10 is a great operating system, many people would prefer to stay with Windows 7. Stick with what they know and like.

Microsoft now views Windows as a service, which means Windows 10 gets updated and changed a couple of times a year. In the latest iteration of the new operating system, Microsoft replaced the old Windows Defender with a new Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app version. But if you don’t like this change, the good news is it’s easy to restore the classic version of Windows Defender.

Continue reading →

Microsoft is due to hold an event in NYC on May 2, and it's widely expected that the company will unveil Windows 10 Cloud -- although it may not be until Build slightly later in the month. On paper, Windows 10 Cloud sounds very much like Microsoft's answer to Google's Chromebook, and leaks suggest this is precisely the market that Microsoft is targeting.

As the May event has an education focus, it's apparent that any low-cost Chromebook-like Windows devices will be aimed at the education sector -- but that's not to say that there won’t be interest from other people looking for cheap hardware. And thanks to the latest leak, we know the recommended minimum hardware spec to run Windows 10 Cloud.

Continue reading →

We're already seeing preview builds of Windows 10 Redstone 3 creeping out after the launch of Windows 10 Creators Update, and we now know that the final release date is scheduled for September.

The revelation comes as Microsoft announces plans to align its feature releases of Windows and Office, primarily to make things easier for enterprise users. Releases will come in March and September, and the next big update for Windows 10 (i.e. Redstone 3) "will be targeted for September 2017."

Continue reading →

Rambus and Microsoft are working together on developing systems that optimize memory performance on cryogenic temperatures. This is the second time the two companies are teaming up, following the initial collaboration back in December 2015.

According to Rambus, the new partnership aims to "enhance memory capabilities, reduce energy consumption and improve overall system performance."

Continue reading →

In addition to rolling out new Windows 10 Insider Preview builds for both PC and Mobile, Microsoft has also launched a new audio podcast.

Explaining the move, Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar says: "Many of you have been asking for our team to share more about our future plans about the overall Windows Insider community. We want to be inclusive of all consumption styles, so we thought we would experiment with an audio podcast."

Continue reading →

It’s only been five days since Microsoft rolled out a new Windows 10 Insider Preview build to the Fast ring, but hot on the heels of Build 16176 comes Build 16179, the third release for the new Redstone 3 branch.

That’s not the only new build however, as there’s also a new one for Window 10 Mobile, Build 15205.

Continue reading →

Any organized soul worth their salt has a good to-do service (or two) to support them. This is something that has been strangely lacking from Microsoft, but this is all set to change with Microsoft To-Do.

This reminder app has been in the works for a little while under the codename of Project Cheshire, but Microsoft has just launched a preview version of it. The online service works in conjunction with apps for iOS, Android and Windows, and you can try it out for yourself right now.

Continue reading →

Much was made of Microsoft's decision to offer Windows 10 as a free upgrade, and then withdrawing the free upgrade. If you've been holding off jumping from Windows 7 or Windows 8.x to Windows 10 because you find the cost off-putting, there's some good news.

If you download yourself a copy of Windows 10 Creators Update from Microsoft, you should find that when you are prompted for a product key the license code from Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 works just fine to activate your copy of the new operating system.

Continue reading →

Microsoft is making it easier than ever to sign into a Microsoft account, adding a new authentication option in the Microsoft Authenticator app that lets you approve the sign in attempt using just your Android smartphone or iPhone.

Here's how it works. When you enter your Microsoft account handle you will get a prompt from Microsoft Authenticator to approve or deny the attempt. To take advantage of this option, you need to add your Microsoft account to the app or, if you already did so, turn on the "Enable phone sign-in" option.

Continue reading →

The Windows 10 Creators Update is rolling out to users now, but Microsoft is working hard on the next big update to its operating system, and has already pushed out two new builds for Redstone 3 to Windows Insiders on the Fast ring.

The latest of these builds, 16176, includes a feature that Microsoft is calling "Power Throttling" (working name), which is designed to run "background work in a power-efficient manner", improving battery life significantly.

Continue reading →

As you probably know by now, Microsoft is blocking Windows Updates on Windows 7 and 8.1 systems powered by next-generation processors like Kaby Lake and Ryzen.

It’s yet another of Microsoft’s desperate efforts to get users to switch to Windows 10, and one that -- understandably -- hasn’t gone down well with users who don’t want to upgrade to the new operating system. Thankfully, there is now a workaround.

Continue reading →