Windows 10

Windows 95 was never much to look at, with its predominately grey, boxy design, but two decades ago it was revolutionary, introducing Windows users to the concept of a Start menu and taskbar for the first time, as well as rudimentary plug-and-play support.

Truth be told, it was never the greatest of operating systems (Windows 98 and XP both improved significantly on the foundations it laid down) but if it had a modern makeover, could we forgive its shortcomings? Feast your eyes on Windows 95 -- 2018 Edition, and decide for yourself.

It’s fair to say Windows 10 hasn’t had the smoothest of rides. Users were slow to adopt it, and Microsoft’s response to this -- forcing the OS on to users against their will -- didn’t go down at all well. As you’d expect.

Windows 10 is now a pretty good operating system, and offers a number of welcome features, but it’s not without its problems, as consumer champion Which? has found.

There is a new remote installation feature available in the Microsoft Store on the web, making it possible to install apps on Windows 10 devices even if you are not currently using them.

Working much like the option found in Google Play that lets Android users push apps to any of the devices they have associated with their Google account, the new feature from Microsoft provides a similar ability with Windows 10 apps.

It is no secret that Microsoft would like people to move away from the decades-old SMBv1 protocol -- the same protocol that was exploited by Wannacry. The company has been trying to encourage users to seek out an alternative or move to a more recent version for some time.

Now people are starting to discover that upgrading to Windows 10 April 2018 Update kills the protocol. Users have taken to forums to complain that the latest Windows 10 update disables SMBv1, and even goes as far as blocking it from being re-enabled.

Two-hundred-and-eighty-six in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.

As always, if I've missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email.

Microsoft continues to roll out new Windows 10 RS5 builds on a weekly basis. Build 17686 is available to Fast ring Insiders and those who have opted to Skip Ahead.

This build includes some privacy improvements, better localized settings, and updates for Windows Mixed Reality. It also includes a number of improvements, fixes, and known issues.

Windows 10 Mobile might be all but dead and buried, but there have been rumors of a new Surface Phone for a while now.

The phone, should it exist, is expected to be a foldable device with a hinge in the middle and two displays, allowing it to switch from phone to tablet mode in seconds.

Two-hundred-and-eighty-five in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.

Microsoft published a bunch of new PWA applications to the Windows Store. These applications work only on Windows 10 version 1803 or newer. New additions are: Rand McNally, EasterSales, News.com.au, Boots.uk, Rocketmiles, and EBTH.

Microsoft seems -- finally -- to have got the hang of its six monthly update schedule for Windows 10. Not only has it pushed out the April 2018 Update to over 50 percent of Windows 10 users in a very short space of time, but the next feature update, codenamed Redstone 5, is shaping up very nicely already.

The big new feature in this next major update is Sets, and Build 17682 introduce some improvements to it based on Insider feedback.

Microsoft rolls out feature updates for Windows 10 twice a year, often at quite glacial speeds. The Creators Update, released last Spring, was particularly slow and problematic. By the time its successor arrived, six months later, over a quarter of users (27.5 percent) still didn’t have it.

The Fall Creators Update push was, in comparison, much smoother. Helped by the delay in getting the Spring 2018 Update out of the door, it managed to make its way on to more than 92 percent of Windows 10 PCs, making it the most installed Windows 10 update ever.

It's just a couple of days since Microsoft temporarily disabled Windows 10 April 2018 Update on PCs running Avast antivirus. Just as with certain SSDs, a compatibility issue was making the update problematic.

But now Avast says it has identified the issue and is working to push out an update to people that will avoid the problem. The company also has instructions for people whose computers have been left sitting in a blue screen state.

Two-hundred-and-eighty-four in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days.

Microsoft released a patch for Windows 10 version 1803 that addresses issues with certain SSDs and upgrades. The company recommends that users wait until the June Patch Tuesday to upgrade to Windows 10 version 1803 on affected devices, though.

Microsoft has been rolling out new Windows 10 RS5 builds on a weekly basis, but it looked as if we weren’t going to get one this week due to what appeared to be a roll-back bug. However, it turns out the problem was actually a deployment issue which Microsoft was able to fix server side.

The just-released Build 17677, for Fast ring and Skip Ahead Insiders, has a number of additions.

The rollout of Windows 10 April 2018 Update was recently blocked to some computers because of problems with certain SSDs. Now Microsoft has issued an update that addresses the issues.

Releasing the KB4100403 patch, Microsoft says that problems with Intel SSD 600p Series or Intel SSD Pro 6000p Series, and Toshiba XG4 Series, Toshiba XG5 Series, or Toshiba BG3 Series drives, are fixed. After installing it, users should be able to upgrade to Windows 10 April 2018 Update.

New Windows 10 feature updates get tested thoroughly both internally at Microsoft and by Windows Insiders. However, with so many PC variations and third-party programs, it's all but impossible to identify and eradicate every potential issue. That's why as soon as a new big Windows update gets released we suddenly hear of previously undetected problems arising.

In the case of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, or Windows 10 1803 as it’s also known, we’ve seen users reporting issues with Intel and Toshiba SSDs, and some upgraders have experienced a black screen with no icons -- something I initially encountered after upgrading to the Fall Creators Update last year.