Microsoft

With the release of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Microsoft pushed out a major update for .NET Framework, which arrives with a large number of changes, including support for .NET Standard 2.0, adding roughly 200 new APIs as a result, and improved performance.

And, for developers to be able to take advantage of the new features that are part of .NET Framework 4.7.1, Microsoft also updated the Visual Studio 2017 IDE to version 15.5.

Microsoft has released Windows 10 Fall Creators Update and if you want to get your hands on the latest version of the operating system you can now download the ISO files straight from the software giant's website.

Microsoft has a dedicated landing page for Windows 10 ISO files, which lets you download both the 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 10 Fall Creators Update ISO files without messing around with the Media Creation Tool. However, if you click that link from a Windows device you will be redirected to the Media Creation Tool page. That's a bummer, but you can easily avoid that. Here's how.

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is slowly rolling out to users with compatible systems, but don’t expect to be offered it any time soon. A quarter of users are still waiting to get the Creators Update.

If you can’t wait to try the new features, the good news is Microsoft has updated its Media Creation tool to include the update and you can use this to download Windows 10 now and create your own installation media on either a USB flash drive or DVD. This is particularly handy if you want to perform a clean install, or update multiple computers in quick succession.

The latest feature update for Windows 10 is rolling out to users now. But while Microsoft might have started the process today, it will likely be quite a while before you’ll be offered it. Only newer PCs will get it at first, and it might take weeks, or months, before it reaches your system.

The good news is, if you’re willing to take a bit of risk, you can start the upgrade immediately.

The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, rolling out now, brings a lot of changes and improvements to the OS, and if you’re a Windows Insider you’ll have been testing them for months.

If you’re not a Windows Insider and you haven’t been keeping close tabs on the development of the latest feature update, this comprehensive list will reveal the full range of new features, changes, and improvements. There's plenty to get excited about.

Microsoft is set to begin shipping its second generation Surface Book in November and says it wants to offer the power of a desktop with the versatility of a tablet.

Surface Book 2 will be available in both 13 and 15-inch versions, weighing in at 3.38lbs and 4.2lbs respectively, both will have a PixelSense Display with multi-touch, plus Surface Pen, and Surface Dial on-screen support. The 15-inch version will have nearly seven million pixels -- 45 percent more than a MacBook Pro.

Four and a half years ago, an internal bug-tracking database at Microsoft was breached by a "highly sophisticated hacking group," according to five former employees of the company. The hack of the secret database was never made public.

It is believed that this is only the second time such a corporate database has been breached. US officials were alarmed to learn of the hack which could have exposed software vulnerabilities to the attackers, reports Reuters.

Microsoft and Amazon Web Services have joined forces to make machine learning accessible to a greater number of developers.

With that in mind, the duo has launched an open-source deep learning library called Gluon. The library will work as an interface where developers will be able to create prototypes, build, train and deploy ML models for either cloud or mobile apps.

Earlier today, news broke about the KRACK vulnerability that affects the WPA2 protocol. Security researchers have warned that the problem affects millions of devices running everything from Windows to Android and Linux.

Microsoft has announced that it has already released a security patch to fix the vulnerability in Windows. Google says that a patch for affected Android devices will be released "in the coming weeks."

When you update your copy of Windows 10 to the Fall Creators Update (from tomorrow), one of the changes you may notice is the introduction of a new, but quite subtle, look to the OS.

Microsoft's Fluent Design language is essentially like Aero, with cool transparency and blur effects added throughout.

Looking for new ways to make money out of its professional social network LinkedIn, Microsoft is testing video advertisements. Currently in closed beta testing, video advertising is available to "a limited number of advertisers" and it may well prove unpopular with LinkedIn users.

Following a well-worn path set out by the likes of Google, Facebook and others, the video ads will autoplay. The one saving grace is that videos will play without sound, but this is unlikely to be enough to prevent them from quickly becoming an irritant.

The data collecting activities of Windows 10 has landed Microsoft in trouble again. Investigating the telemetry built into the operating system, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has said that Microsoft's spying is a violation of local privacy laws.

Of particular concern to the authority is the fact that users are not clearly told that data will be collected in both Windows itself and Microsoft Edge. With Microsoft's web browser gathering data about every URL that's visited by users who have not opted out of telemetry, and Windows 10 itself sucking up detailed information about app usage, the DPA is concerned that users are not adequately informed or protected.

It came as something of a shock to people when Microsoft first released an Android launcher in the guise of Arrow Launcher. Now the company is making it more obvious who is behind the app, bringing the launcher out of beta and relaunching it as Microsoft Launcher.

Joe Belfiore only very recently admitted that Windows Phone is dead, and this is something that is borne out by Microsoft's increasing interest in developing iOS and Android software. What may well come as a surprise to many is that Microsoft Launcher is actually a decent piece of software.

Windows Insiders who haven’t yet updated to the new Windows 10 RS4 build released today (and there may be many, as we're hearing reports of problems with its deployment), have a cumulative update heading their way.

Build 16299.19 (KB4043961) is currently rolling out to Windows Insiders running Build 16299.15 (the Fall Creators Update RTM), and offers a number of quality improvements.

Last week, Microsoft rolled out Build 16299.15 -- the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update RTM -- to Insiders on the Fast ring, and then also released it to those on the Slow and Release Preview rings.

The official Fall Creators Update rollout starts next week, meaning we’re now starting to see builds from the Redstone 4 (RS4) branch making their way to Insiders, as the Fast and Skip Ahead branches merge. Build 17017 for PC arrives today in time for the weekend, introducing some useful new features.