Microsoft

One of the biggest changes in the new Windows 10 Anniversary Update is the introduction of extension support in Edge.

Admittedly, this is something that should have been included in the browser from day one, not popping up a year later, but hey ho, it’s here now. There aren’t many extensions at the moment -- just an unlucky 13 -- but there are some very useful ones available.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update is starting to roll out to users globally. There are lots of changes and improvements to the operating system but one of the biggest is to the Start menu.

If you had gripes about how Microsoft implemented it originally, the new version should go some way to appeasing you. If you liked the original approach, you'll likely be very happy with the changes. Here’s what’s new:

While it may take a while for the Anniversary Update to arrive on all Windows 10 systems, it is slowly rolling out to eager users across the globe, starting with "newer" devices first.

If you’re a Windows Insider, or have been following news of the various Insider Preview builds, you’ll know there’s a lot of new features and improvements in the update. These are the headline changes:

Today is the day that Windows 10 Anniversary Update rolls out to the masses, but this is not the only big Windows 10 news of the day. The version of Microsoft Edge included in the latest update features support for extensions -- and this means that millions of Windows 10 users can now take advantage of Adblock Plus.

Of course, this is not entirely new news. Windows Insiders have been able to use Adblock Plus for a little while now, but now that same option is available to anyone running the latest version of Microsoft's operating system.

When it comes to get working done, I leverage many operating systems -- Windows 10, Ubuntu, iOS, and believe it or not, even Chrome OS. Google's cloud-focused desktop OS is actually quite capable -- depending on needs, of course. Many things work wonderfully in a browser nowadays, such as word processing, spreadsheets, and photo editing.

Apparently, Charles Schwab has seen the light on Chromebooks too, as the financial company has chosen them for a specific need -- in-person account opening. In other words, the much-respected company did not choose Windows 10 for this project. Sorry, Microsoft!

Automation tools for mobiles were something of a craze a little while ago, with the likes of IFTTT proving incredibly popular. Last month, Microsoft released its own automation tools, Flow, to iOS users, and now a beta version has been launched for Android.

Microsoft's take on automation is very much what you would expect -- it's all about connecting different cloud services and apps, and getting them to work together in a helpful way.

July was the last month of Windows 10 being available for free, and that coupled with Microsoft's final aggressive push should have resulted in the operating system being installed on a lot more devices.

NetMarketShare has updated its usage share figures for July and while Windows 10's growth in that month is decent, it's not much different from what we've seen in previous months, which is a little surprising.

Windows 10 will not load unsigned kernel mode drivers, starting with version 1607 of the operating system. This is something that had been announced back in 2015, but is only just being implemented.

The decision was taken in order to improve the security of Windows 10, but Microsoft says that "due to technical and ecosystem readiness issues, this was not enforced by Windows Code Integrity and remained only a policy statement". Now it is a reality, and it's something developers and users need to keep in mind.

It's now a full year since Windows 10 was first, and to thank the Insiders who have been providing feedback to help shape the direction of the operating system, Microsoft has a couple of gifts and a little surprise.

As well as handing out an exclusive-to-Insiders wallpaper package and a Ninja Cat animated GIF, Microsoft has also awarded Insiders with a surprise badge that appears next to their profile in the Feedback Hub.

It's another couple of days until Windows 10 Anniversary Update rolls out to users, but Xbox One users now have something very exciting to download -- the Xbox Summer Update. Previously available as a preview, the latest system update sees the arrival of Cortana, background music and much more.

Major Nelson has announced that the rollout of the update starts this weekend, but there is no guarantee of when it will arrive on your Xbox One. If you're the impatient kind, you'll be pleased to hear that you can force the update to download and install it straight away!

On August 2, coinciding with the launch of Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Microsoft is updating its Privacy Statement. The company is a little light on the details of exactly what the changes are, but says that more will be revealed on the big day. The aim of the changes, as with previous updates is to "eliminate redundancies, improve usability and increase clarity and transparency".

Microsoft makes clear that it is in the habit of sharing user data with others "in certain cases" and it also announces that the Services Agreement will be updated on September 15. You are advised that if you don’t agree with the changes you should "discontinue using the products and services, and close your Microsoft account before these terms become effective".

Today, July 29, is the last day for users of Windows 7 and 8.1 to upgrade free of charge to Windows 10. If you don’t take up the offer in time, and you decide you do want to upgrade after all, the only option will be to buy a copy of the OS.

But hold on. That’s not entirely true. If you want Windows 10 after the deadline has expired, you’ll still be able to get it for free, legally, and doing so couldn’t be easier.

If you still think that Windows 10 Mobile has a future then you must not have yet seen just how many Lumia smartphones were sold last quarter. We have known for quite some time that the operating system has no place in today's landscape, and now Microsoft is officially confirming it.

Microsoft has not provided a sales figure for the Lumia line when it announced its earnings results earlier this month, like it has done previously, but the software giant has revealed how many units it moved during the whole fiscal year 2016, giving us just what we need to complete the puzzle.

Today is the big day -- July 29, the last day when you can upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge. Actually, the cut-off point really depends on where you are in the world, but you have until 11:59 pm UTC-10. Timeanddate.com has a handy conversion to work out what this means for you.

It would be fair to say that there has been plenty of warning about the impending deadline, but there are still people who are putting things off. But really there is no reason not to upgrade; even if you decided you don’t want Windows 10, you can rollback, and you have the option of changing your mind further down the line without having to cough up for the upgrade.

With strange serendipitous timing, just as the free upgrade period for Windows 10 is coming to an end, Microsoft is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of Windows Server. Way back in 1996, the company unleashed Windows NT 4.0 Server onto an unsuspecting world. The rest, as they say, is history.

Described as the operating system that would 'knock the socks of Unix' Windows NT 4.0 Server stuck around for four years before being replaced by the enterprise-specific Windows 2000 Server. With laughably low system requirements -- 133 MHz CPU, 32 MB RAM and 1 GB of disk space -- this was the start of a journey incorporating centralization and security.