Articles about Microsoft

Microsoft has made the release-to-manufacturing (RTM) versions of Windows Server 2016 and System Centre 2016 officially available to enterprise customers.

As revealed at its recent Ignite conference, Windows Server 2016 customers will also receive the commercial version of Docker at no additional cost.

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Microsoft is rolling out Windows 10 Insider Preview builds on a weekly basis now. Last week’s release, Build 14942, introduced several big new features, including the ability to collapse the Apps list in the Start menu, and expanding the default range of After Hours from 12 hours to 18.

Today’s update, Build 14946 for both PC and Mobile, is similarly packed with changes, improvements, and new features.

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If you’re having problems getting the Windows 10 Start menu to open, or it’s just not working as it should, you’re not alone. Quite a few people have encountered issues following upgrading to the new OS, or updating to a new build.

Rebooting might fix temporary problems, but if it doesn’t we have some more advanced solutions for you to try.

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Microsoft's new Azure-hosted, combined CRM and ERP service, Dynamics 365 will begin its rollout on November 1 and the company will show off some of the features of its new service in a live-streamed event this week.

In July, the company announced its plans for Dynamics 365 and began to inform its reseller partners regarding what the service would offer. At that time it was revealed that Dynamics 365 would be a combination and redesign of the capabilities of Dynamics CRM, Dynamics AX and Project Madeira which is now known to be a new small-business software as a service based on the Microsoft Dynamics NAV platform.

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While virtual reality can transport a user into a different "world", augmented reality enhances the actual world. In other words, AR arguably has more potential than VR. Quite frankly, actual reality is pretty great already -- do we really need to be transported to a different virtual reality? Our time on the Earth is short -- who has time for make-believe? AR could one day improve our everyday lives.

One of the more intriguing augmented reality solutions comes from Microsoft. Its HoloLens device has sparked the imaginations of many, getting developers -- including NASA -- excited. Unfortunately, the device has not been available to all regions -- it was limited to the USA and Canada. Today this changes, as Microsoft announces that it will be delivering HoloLens to more countries, such as Australia, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and UK.

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Windows 10 Mobile is a virtually dead platform. True, Microsoft is still developing it, but there are so few active users, that it is totally irrelevant. It isn't a bad mobile operating system, but a lack of apps makes it a non-starter for many. Ultimately, there is no compelling reason to choose a device running it over, say, an iPhone 7.

Today, what looks to be the best Windows 10 Mobile smartphone ever -- the HP Elite x3 -- becomes available for purchase. It is only being sold directly from Microsoft in its retail locations or its online store. The big question, however, is who the heck will buy such an expensive phone without access to many popular apps? I mean, $800 is a significant chunk of change, am I right?

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With Windows 10, Microsoft has encouraged users away from the Control Panel in favour of the newer Settings. This is fine for many things, but there are still times when the Control Panel is needed.

In recent builds of Windows 10, the Control Panel shortcut has vanished from the Win + X menu (which can also be accessed by right clicking the Start button), leaving some people perplexed about how to change certain settings. Thankfully, there is a way to get the shortcut back in the latest Insider builds.

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While Windows 10 introduced massive changes, some things have remained constant -- such as the bundled Paint app. After years of minor tweaks, Paint is finally in line for a major upgrade.

In recent days, details of the overhauled Paint have appeared online, including introductory videos that show the app will deal with 3D work as well as regular 2D drawing. Now the app has leaked online so you can try it out for yourself.

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Windows 10 is, it’s fair to say, a bit of a divisive product. While it hasn’t alienated users to the same degree Windows 8.x did, it hasn’t been universally embraced in the same way that Windows 7 was either.

Part of the reason for that can be laid squarely at Microsoft's door -- the company’s overly aggressive push to get people to upgrade meant a lot of users were put off before they’d even given the new OS a chance.

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It’s been a full week since the last Insider Preview build made its way on to the Fast ring, but it’s been worth the wait.

Arriving just in time for the weekend, the latest release, Build 14942, is much more interesting than its predecessor, and introduces some major new features.

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If you have a phone running Windows 10 Mobile, you can use it as a mini PC, connecting it to a TV or monitor. However, this functionality -- Continuum for phones -- is only available on certain devices.

If you want a more powerful pocket PC, then Ockel Sirius A is a promising solution. It’s a full Windows 10 PC in a tiny, mobile-sized device that will fit comfortably in your pocket.

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There are a number of benefits to being a Windows Insider, the primary one being that you gain access to the latest features before anyone else. If you're running build 14936 of Windows 10, there's a new option available that will be of interest to many people -- the ability to remove built-in apps.

It's something that Windows 10 users have been looking for for some time, and it's not quite clear why it has taken Microsoft so long to make the option available. The good news is that it is now possible to remove some of the default apps that you simply do not need; the bad news is that there are still some that remain untouchable.

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Two weeks ago, Microsoft released Insider Preview Build 14931 to the Fast ring. It wasn’t the most exciting of new builds, as it didn’t offer any new features as such, but focused instead on improvements and fixes.

Today, that build makes its way to the Slow ring. Improvements for PC include:

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Two weeks ago, Microsoft finally removed its scummy Windows 10 nagware from Windows 7 and 8.1 systems. This came as a major relief to everyone who didn’t want to upgrade to the latest operating system, but who had been forced to weather a storm of increasingly sneaky tactics as the software giant pulled every trick possible to get as many users to upgrade before the free period expired.

With the nagware removed, users were no doubt hoping that would be the end of the matter, but it turns out that might not be the case after all.

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Yahoo has been having something of a rough time of late, and things are not getting any easier. It has emerged that the company created a custom tool to search customers' emails for specific terms as directed by the NSA and FBI.

Reuters shares the story of two former Yahoo employees who say the company complied with a government directive to search through all incoming emails. In response to the revelations, Apple, Google and Microsoft have all denied engaging in similar activity.

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