Windows 10 Anniversary Update has been gradually rolling out to computers around the world and like any big software update it has caused its fair share of problems. The latest issue to rear its head sees Anniversary Update killing webcams.

The problem comes about as the update prevents USB webcams from using MJPEG or H264 encoded streams, instead requiring the use of YUY2 encoding. Microsoft is aware of the issue and is working on a fix that should be released in September, but all is not lost in the meantime.

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Windows 10 has a history of interfering with user choice when it comes to software. The operating system was found to be uninstalling some user programs without permission shortly after the November Update arrived, a problem that persisted for some time.

Now it seems as if the Anniversary Update is doing the reverse, and bringing back bundled apps that users have previously uninstalled. Is it a mistake on Microsoft’s behalf, or is the company, once again, running roughshod over user choice?

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Ah, you can never get enough paranoia nowadays, can you? Security researcher Mike Patterson -- founder and CEO of security analytics organization Plixer -- says Microsoft's Windows 10 sends encrypted data from your machine every five minutes, and there’s basically very little you can do to stop it.

Even when he opted out of everything he could find, regarding data transfer, the OS still continued to do it. The weirdest part about it is that you can’t really determine what is being sent. The content was encrypted so that it is impossible to know what’s going out, essentially hiding this information from the end-user.

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Evernote is a very popular organization and note-taking solution. Not only is it easy to use, but it is cross-platform. In other words, users can sync their content between multiple devices running different operating systems. Unfortunately, earlier this year, Evernote did something shocking. It limited its free "Basic" option to two devices. This was not popular.

This abrupt change was a deal-breaker for users that leveraged more than just a pair of devices. While some folks were willing to pay for a tier that met their needs, other people decided to switch to other solutions, such as Microsoft's free (and wonderful) OneNote. In fact, Microsoft created an import tool to help Windows users make the switch. Today, that tool comes to Apple's macOS (OS X 10.11 or higher).

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Microsoft has been a big proponent of open source and Linux lately. Heck, Ubuntu binaries are in Windows 10! Satya Nadella's leadership seems to be a big catalyst here. While we do not yet have top-tier software like Microsoft Office running natively on Ubuntu or RHEL (yet), the company has been putting resources behind open source projects and Linux-compatible software such as Skype.

Today, the Windows-maker cements its status as a Linux and open source champion by putting its command-line PowerShell tool and language on GitHub. This shows a strong commitment from Microsoft towards the Linux community. Is this a bad sign for Windows?

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Microsoft finally began rolling out the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 Mobile yesterday, but today there’s already a new Redstone 2 build for those users on the Fast ring. Build 14905 is also available for PC users.

The new build doesn’t fix the freezing issues that some users have reported following installation of the Anniversary Update (although there are workarounds you can try if affected) but it does include several improvements and fixes for PC and Mobile.

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Despite being tested over a long period of time by Windows Insiders, Windows 10 Anniversary Update is not problem free. A large number of users have reported issues with the updated OS freezing on them.

While Microsoft doesn’t yet have a fix available, it is aware of the problem and a few days ago suggested some workarounds. Today, it updates its suggestions, with some additional things for users to try.

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Two months ago, we reported on a Change.org petition that had been set up to persuade the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) to investigate Microsoft for "malicious practices regarding Windows 10".

That petition picked up close to 6,000 signatures, and today the EFF responds with a deep dive into Microsoft’s sneaky tactics and Windows 10’s spying, and its take on things is pretty damning. According to the EFF, Microsoft’s strategy for user adoption has "trampled on essential aspects of modern computing: user choice and privacy" and, naturally, the privacy-focused organization thinks that’s wrong.

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Microsoft's point-collecting program Bing Rewards is being renamed Microsoft Rewards. It will work in very much the same way as before (collect points and use them to buy games, apps, movies and so on), but there are a few changes that accompany the rebranding.

As before, Microsoft Rewards will be limited to the US and India, and the program lets you earn points by shopping in the Microsoft Store and Windows Store as well as searching with Bing and simply browsing with Microsoft Edge. If you're a seasoned user, there are a few changes to note.

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Windows' User Account Control (UAC) feature was designed to help keep computers safe from malicious software installations, but there are already at least a couple of ways to bypass it. A new technique for circumventing UAC not only makes it possible to execute commands on a computer, but to do so without leaving a single trace.

Security researchers Matt Nelson and Matt Graeber discovered the vulnerability and developed a proof-of-concept exploit. The pair tested the exploit on Windows 7 and Windows 10, but say that the technique can be used to bypass security on any version of Windows that uses UAC.

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Believe the hype and you're probably under the impression that virtual reality, augmented reality, or some hybrid of the two is where the future of computing lies.

Microsoft certainly thinks that AR/VR has an important role to play and today the company announced that an update to Windows 10 next year will bring Windows Holographic to everyone. The company is working with Intel to come up with the specification for mixed reality ready PCs and head mounted displays.

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It’s clear by the delay in pushing out finished versions that Windows 10 Mobile is far from a priority for Microsoft. That’s understandable, given the tiny number of compatible handsets out there, but even so, it’s a frustrating situation for fans of Microsoft’s mobile platform.

If you’ve been waiting, and waiting, for the Anniversary Update to arrive on your Windows Phone, the good news is Microsoft is finally rolling it out, two weeks after the big OS update hit PCs, and a week after it was expected.

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Apple and Microsoft target the same crowd with the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4, but they go about it from totally different directions. The former has repurposed a consumer-oriented platform to handle the heavier loads required by prosumers while the latter has tweaked its full-fledged PC operating system to work on a tablet touted to be a laptop replacement.

It is this difference in approach which has proven controversial and, to stir the pot once more, Microsoft has released a new Surface Pro 4 ad to suggest that it is a real "computer" while the iPad Pro is basically nothing more than a glorified iPad with keyboard support. Surprised?

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Professional social network LinkedIn is suing 100 anonymous individuals for data scraping. It is hoped that a court order will be able to reveal the identities of those responsible for using bots to harvest user data from the site.

The Microsoft-owned service takes pride in the relationship it has with its users and the security it offers their data. Its lawsuit seeks to use the data scrapers' IP addresses and then discover their true identity in order to take action against them.

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In May, Microsoft introduced a Convenience Rollup for Windows 7 SP1 that brought the operating system fully up to date. The company also announced that it would be issuing monthly update rollups for Windows 7 and 8.1, as well as Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2.

Those rollups only contained non-security updates, so you could still choose which security patches to apply, which to avoid, and when to apply them. Not anymore.

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