These days, patent lawsuits are ten a penny and big players like Google, Apple, and Microsoft are frequently involved in litigation. Out of the blue, Microsoft and Google have announced that they are burying the hatchet and will no longer pursue patent issues between themselves in the courtroom.

But more than just kissing and making up, the two companies have announced that they will "collaborate on certain patent matters". Quite what this means moving forward remains to be seen, but it could mean that there are some interesting joint ventures on the horizon.

If you’re a Windows 7 user, you might want to check carefully which updates you install. Users on Windows forums, Reddit and Twitter are concerned about a new "important" update that looks more than a little suspicious.

The update appears to be a language pack, but the details that accompany it are far from the usual information you’d expect to see, leaving many to wonder if Microsoft's update servers could have been compromised.

If you have been keeping an eye on the Microsoft rumor mill, then you know that the software giant is expected to take the wraps off two Windows 10 Mobile flagships soon. These would be its first premium smartphones since taking over Nokia's phone business, and also the first new high-end Lumias to arrive in one and a half years.

We expect Microsoft to announce both smartphones at its upcoming media event on October 6. However, the team at Microsoft Store UK has decided to jump the gun, having just listed Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL on the site.

If you want a tablet that can double up as a laptop replacement, there really is no better option than Microsoft's venerable Surface Pro 3. It has been the undisputed king in this segment for well over a year now, and it is easy to see why: it has a big, high-resolution screen, it comes with a stylus, it can take a decent keyboard, its battery life is good, it is extremely fast, and, on top of all this, it can run every Windows program that you want. Nothing comes close, really.

But now that Google has announced Pixel C, its own productivity-oriented tablet, you may be wondering how it fares up against Surface Pro 3. So, let's take a look at the two and see which one is best.

Perhaps inspired by the backlash Microsoft has faced over privacy concerns in Windows 10, Apple has published its own privacy policies on a new page that's designed to be easy to read. Written in plain English, the site sets out Apple's position regarding privacy in OS X and iOS. As well as touting the steps to which the company goes to protect its customers' privacy, Apple also uses the documents to trumpet numerous security features.

This is Apple riding the waves of interest concerning privacy, using it as an opportunity to get one over the likes of Microsoft and Google. There are promises of "telling you up front exactly what’s going to happen to your personal information and asking for your permission" as well as the offer that "if you change your mind later, we make it easy to stop sharing with us". Sounds great in theory, but does it stand up to scrutiny?

I am not a Windows 10 "fan boy". In fact, I’ve frequently expressed my dislike for many of the UI choices Microsoft made with the new OS. I’ve also noted how unstable Windows 10 can be for some users, and I’ve extensively documented my own woes attempting to upgrade an HP Envy x2 hybrid laptop (still no resolution to that one).

So, when I knew that I’d be writing extensively about Windows 10 -- both for BetaNews and in my capacity as an Industry Analyst -- I made the decision to invest in what I thought would be the best platform on which to test the OS and its myriad features: A Microsoft Surface 3. My thinking was that, to wring the best experience out of Windows 10, you need to give it a fully-compatible hardware configuration. And what better way to ensure such a configuration than by purchasing one of the very devices Windows 10 was designed to showcase?

It seems as Microsoft is working on a virtual reality device that bears huge resemblance to Google’s Cardboard project. The Microsoft VR kit will be given to developers attending a hackaton which will take place on October 17.

The kit works the same way Google Cardboard works -- it’s a generic headset with a slot for a Lumia phone.

Yesterday, Microsoft's Terry Myerson defended how the company has handled privacy in Windows 10. The level of concern about privacy in Windows 10 is unprecedented -- it even has some torrent sites spooked --  but my colleague Brian feels that Microsoft has, somehow, earned our trust. He is wrong.

Microsoft has broken the trust of many users, and Myerson's post does little to patch things up. In reality, it is an exercise in public relations, spin, and misdirection. It also raises more questions than it answers. In particular, it highlights the obnoxious disregard Microsoft appears to have for home users.

Windows 10 is the best operating system to ever come from Microsoft. I have single-handedly installed it on many computers for myself, friends and family. I have no trepidation about using it or recommending it. With that said, I understand both consumers and pundits criticizing Microsoft over privacy setting in the newest Windows.

Can these settings be confusing for the average person? Absolutely. Should people blindly trust Microsoft? No, not blindly, but based on the company's track record, it has certainly done enough to earn our trust. If you are using a company's operating system, you have to have some level of faith in that company -- otherwise you should disconnect from the Internet or give up on computers altogether. Today, Terry Myerson, Microsoft's Executive Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group, attempts to quell privacy fears regarding Windows 10. You know what? His explanation seems honest and sincere.

Microsoft launched the much-awaited Office 2016 last week. Available as part of Office 365, or as a standalone suite, there are new versions of the desktop apps for Windows, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Project, Visio and Access.

I’ve been using the new suite since launch, and I really like it even though it’s not massively different from its predecessor. If you’re running Office 2016 (or thinking of doing so) and want to make sure you get the most out of it, Microsoft has put together a set of handy Quick Start Guides which are available to download for free.

Call it a missed opportunity. Microsoft finds itself with a unique chance to leverage its full range of products and services to promote the new OS. Unfortunately, not all parts of the Redmond giant are on board with the new strategy. The Office team, in particular, has only half-heartedly embraced key Windows 10 technologies, like Universal Windows Apps and XAML. And this lack of commitment may very well prove fatal to Windows 10 Mobile.

But first, some perspective: Rewind the clock to late last year when Microsoft was touting the forthcoming Office 2016, including the much anticipated "touch-centric" version of Office (code-named "Gemini") that customers had been clamoring for. Next, fast forward a few months to when the first technical previews were released -- both Office 2016 and what would go on to be known as "Office Mobile" -- and reality set-in. Not only were the new fangled "Mobile" versions less functional than their Win32-based counterparts, they lacked much of the core integration plumbing (COM/OLE/VBA) that had made traditional Office such a powerful in-house development platform.

Bing may now be the default search engine in Microsoft Edge, but that is about to change for Windows 10 users in China. Microsoft has announced that it will replace Bing with a local alternative, making its new browser a more attractive option to Windows 10 users in the country.

The new default search engine -- and homepage -- in Microsoft Edge will be Baidu, which Microsoft says has over 600 million active users. In turn, according to Microsoft, Baidu's "'Windows 10 Express' will make it easy for Chinese Internet users to download an official Windows 10 experience".

Microsoft’s Garage division has released Snip, a simple tool for capturing, annotating and sharing screenshots.

There are plenty of similar tools around, and Snip doesn’t begin to compete with the best of breed freeware, but it still has a few features you might find very interesting.

Earlier in the week there was a serious Skype outage. Users around the world found they were unable to connect, unable to communicate, throwing many people into confusion. Yesterday, Microsoft issued an apology -- but it’s simply not good enough.

The new Microsoft, under the direction of Satya Nadella, has been banging the "mobile first, cloud first world" drum, and this means being connected. The company might well be "extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused to our users", but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Ah! The joys of living on a tropical island. The sun. The sand. The surf... ing the web with high latency on a clogged Internet connection while paying through the nose for capped bandwidth. Yes, it truly is "paradise" -- unless, of course, you’re a seasoned Industry Analyst trying to get some work done over said connection. Which is why the latest bit of Windows malware to grace the PCs of my bandwidth-hungry teenagers has me absolutely livid.

Dubbed the "Massive Payload Virus" (MPV) by experts, this malicious code is designed specifically to cripple metered Internet connections by plastering any fully-activated Windows 7 or 8 system with gigabytes (over 3GB per PC, in my case) of data. The enormous download (which also appears to be code of some kind) is then spooled into a single, cleverly named folder in the PC’s root directory, where it lies dormant until triggered by an as yet undetermined external event.