How to get total control over Windows 10's automatic updates

windows update

One of the (many) things that divides opinion about Windows 10 is Microsoft’s decision to make updates mandatory. If you have Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise or Education editions you can defer updates, but you can’t reject them outright.

Windows 10 Home users don’t have this luxury and updates are installed automatically once they become available.

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Huawei MateBook first-impressions review

Huawei Matebook display

At MWC 2016, Huawei has announced the MateBook 2-in-1 tablet, entering an ever-growing market already populated by the likes of Apple’s iPad Pro and Microsoft’s Surface Pro devices.

Aimed at business users, the Intel-powered MateBook provides the mobility of a smartphone with the power and performance of a laptop, enabling the modern mobile workforce to work anytime, anywhere.

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Problems booting up Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14267? Here's a quick fix

Fix repair computer solution keyboard

Microsoft has been rolling out new Windows 10 Insider Preview builds to the Fast ring at a rate of about one a week for the past month or so.

The latest build, 14267, introduced some welcome improvements, including three additions to Microsoft Edge, but it also added a fast startup bug which has stopped some users being able to boot Windows.

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How to download any Windows ISO for free

Windows-10 key

Whatever version of Windows you're running, the time will probably come when you want to reinstall. You might be lucky and can have recovery media on hand, or your recovery partition may be intact. If not, what can you do? You can download ISOs for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 direct from Microsoft.

It's always best to be prepared, so rather than waiting until you find yourself in desperate need, why not spend a few minutes grabbing the ISO (or ISOs) you need in readiness. There's no need to head off to a torrent site to download an illicit copy of Windows along with a crack, everything is available from Microsoft. Here's what you need to do.

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Microsoft forms IoT-focused Open Connectivity Foundation with Intel, Samsung, and others

Internet of things

As someone who is historically an early adopter of technology, I surprised myself when I didn't jump head-first into the Internet of Things. Don't get me wrong, I love the IoT concepts of the connected home and smart appliances, but a lack of standards make me hesitant. As of now, my house has but one such device -- a WeMo smart outlet so I can turn on a lamp with an Amazon Echo.

A lack of standards for IoT is extremely problematic, but luckily, companies are realizing this dilemma. In fact, Microsoft announces the IoT-focused Open Connectivity Foundation with partners Intel, Samsung, Cisco and more. While this coalition is a step in the right direction, I am sure there will be many competing groups vying for adoption; the fight could last many years.

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Why is Microsoft not selling HoloLens to consumers?

Microsoft steps into the future with HoloLens, holographic computing meets virtual reality

HoloLens is one of the most exciting things that Microsoft is working on. First showcased more than a year ago, this headset could transform how we interact with technology on a daily basis, making it possible to display holograms on top of everyday objects. Imagine having a huge TV that is playing your favorite show showing up on your bedroom wall, or seeing snow falling down around you on a hot summer's day. The possibilities are virtually endless.

But while HoloLens has no doubt captured the imagination of many consumers, Microsoft has not made a kit available to the general public, choosing instead to only offer it for developers and businesses. Question is, why not consumers as well?

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10 reasons why I don't use Microsoft Edge, and one why I do

edge logo

Microsoft Edge is the default system browser on Windows 10. Microsoft ships the operating system with Internet Explorer as well, and it is easy enough to use either one of the browsers to download Firefox, Chrome, Opera or any of the other browsers available for Windows.

When Windows 10 came out, I was interested in Microsoft Edge for a number of reasons. It is a new browser by Microsoft that did away with old dependencies that held Internet Explorer back. That should make it sleeker, faster and less prone to attacks.

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Mendix products now available on Microsoft Azure

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Platform-as-a-service provider Mendix and Microsoft today announced a partnership which will bring Mendix services on the Azure cloud platform.

Mendix says the new partnership will allow Azure customers to seamlessly access Mendix’s rapid application development capabilities, adding that two versions are available -- free and commercial.

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Microsoft wants to make Windows 10 and Office 365 more accessible

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Making its products accessible to as many people as possible is clearly in Microsoft's best interests. Today the company outlined how it plans to improve accessibility in Windows 10 and Office 365, setting out a roadmap built on three key principles.

Transparency, accountability and being inclusive will be the company's cornerstones for 2016. Microsoft wants to "to think about all of our customers and all of the ways we can empower them with technology". But what does this actually mean.

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Windows 10 Insider Preview Redstone Build 14267 arrives on the Fast ring -- and brings welcome improvements

Windows 10

After a flurry of new builds, Insiders on the Fast ring have had to wait a whole two weeks for the latest Windows 10 update to arrive.

Unlike previous Fast ring releases, which focused on updates to OneCore (the core that Windows 10 shares across devices) and preparing the ground work for future additions, like extensions, Build 14267 actually has some improvements worthy of note, including several usability enhancements to Microsoft Edge.

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Vertafore and Microsoft launch first custom CRM solution for the insurance industry

CRM

CRM systems have become essential tools for sales and marketing teams, giving them the ability to organize and automate the processes that build good customer relationships.

But off-the-shelf solutions don't always meet the needs of specialist industries. Insurance technology specialist Vertafore is launching its new Agency SalesTrack solution, built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM to cater specifically for the insurance sector.

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Microsoft offers Red Hat Enterprise Linux in Azure Marketplace

Red Hat logo

Azure already supports a number of major Linux distributions, like CentOS and openSUSE, but Microsoft is now taking things one step further by offering Red Hat Enterprise Linux instances through the cloud platform's Marketplace.

This comes as a direct result of Microsoft's partnership with Red Hat, which, among other things, is meant to "help customers embrace hybrid cloud computing by providing greater choice and flexibility deploying Red Hat solutions" on the software giant's cloud platform.

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Microsoft's Surface Book goes on sale in the UK

surface book

Surface Book, Microsoft’s hybrid laptop/tablet combo, officially launches in the UK from today.

If you're not familiar with it, the device has a detachable screen, a hinge that divides opinion (some people think it looks great, others hate it), and enough power to suit most users’ needs. It has a 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display with a 3:2 aspect ratio that makes it great for getting "real work" done.

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New drivers and firmware fix Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book power management problems

surface_book_folded

Both the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book have been well-received devices on the whole, but there have been complaints from some users about power management. A failure to properly enter sleep mode has been causing not only battery drain, but also heat issues -- now Microsoft have issued fixes.

Starting today, new drivers and firmware updates are rolling out that address these problems as Microsoft says it continues to listen to user feedback.

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Microsoft announces a new Windows 10-friendly Wireless Display Adapter

Microsoft-Display-Adapter-2-1024x576

Microsoft launched its original Wireless Display Adapter back in 2014. The accessory allows anyone to wirelessly beam content from a Miracast-enabled device -- be it a tablet, smartphone or laptop -- directly to a big screen TV. It functions in a similar fashion to the Chromecast, but while Google's dongle works best with apps that support it, Microsoft's product uses Miracast technology and doesn't require individual app support.

Today the tech giant announces plans for an updated model. So what’s changed?

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