Windows 10

By now, most Windows 10 users would have been expecting to either be running the Spring Creators Update/April Update (take your pick of the name), or be waiting to be offered it. However, that’s not the case.

With no word from Microsoft on exactly when the new feature update will arrive, the Fall Creators Update remains the latest (non-Insider) version of Windows 10. And it also has the greatest usage share of any Windows 10 update, ever.

While we’re still waiting for a release date for the next feature update of Windows 10 -- the April Update expected in May -- Microsoft has rolled out another Redstone 5 build for Insiders who have opted to Skip Ahead.

Build 17655 introduces a makeover for mobile broadband (LTE) connectivity and there’s a number of other changes and fixes to be aware of.

Anyone who downloaded and installed Windows 10 Redstone 5 Build 17650 for Skip Ahead may have noticed references to the previously unheard of Windows 10 Lean. Microsoft has made no announcement about this, so WTF is Windows Lean?

As you might guess from the name, this is a version of Windows 10 where the focus is on reduced size. With an install footprint around 2GB smaller than Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Lean is a stripped back version of the operating system with unnecessary extras cut out.

Windows 10 Spring Creators Update will probably actually be released with a different name: Windows 10 April Update. Users who have installed build 17134 -- believed to be the RTM build -- have spotted a reference to the new name in Microsoft Edge post installation.

This is not the first time this name has been suggested. Less than a week ago a Microsoft video emerged that made reference to Windows 10 April 2018 Update, and the new discovery in Edge would only seem to offer further proof.

Two-hundred-and-seventy-nine 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 another potential RTM candidate for the Windows 10 Spring Creators Update recently; the company postponed the launch of the update due to a reliability bug that was discovered before release.

Microsoft is busy trying to kill the last remaining -- but problematic -- bugs in the Spring Creators Update (or whatever it ends up being called) but work is still continuing apace on its successor.

Build 17650 for the Redstone 5 branch introduces a number of changes and fixes, including a Fluent Design refresh for the Windows Defender Security Center.

When Microsoft releases Office 2019 later this year, it will be killing off the desktop version of OneNote. At the moment there are desktop and UWP (Universal Windows Platform) versions available, but soon Microsoft will only offer OneNote for Windows 10.

While the killing off of OneNote 2016 coincides with the launch of Office 2019, OneNote for Windows 10 will also become the "default OneNote experience" for Office 365 users.  But because the desktop version of the app has a dedicated userbase, it will continue to be supported for a number of years.

I have some friends who own, and regularly use, a 1920s wind up gramophone. It’s a great piece of audio equipment and there’s something very satisfying about lifting the arm and dropping the needle down on a 78 record and enjoying the tinny sound it produces.

Getting use out of a similar-era radio isn’t as easy, which is why Derek Traxler, the owner of a computer store and repair shop in Uptown Minneapolis, decided to go to rather extreme measures to breathe new life into his 1920’s battery-powered Claratone tube radio.

Hardware authentication specialist Yubico is announcing a new FIDO2 compatible security key which will be supported in Windows 10 devices and Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).

This means that organizations will have the option to enable employees and customers to sign in to an Azure AD joined device with no password, simply by using the security key to get single sign-on to all Azure AD based applications and services.

Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17133 was widely thought to be the RTM for the forthcoming Spring Creators Update after it rolled out to Insiders on the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings in quick succession.

However, Microsoft’s discovery of a blocking bug threw a rather large spanner in the works and delayed the release of the forthcoming feature update.

For better or worse, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) initiative seems to be moving full steam ahead. There are some very respectable distributions available in the Microsoft Store, such as Debian, Ubuntu, and Kali to name a few. Not to mention, Microsoft is trying to encourage even more maintainers to submit their distros with a new tool.

Apparently, some Windows 10 users have been clamoring for the ability to copy and paste both from and to WSL consoles -- a reasonable request. Well, as of Insider Build 17643, this is finally possible.

Two-hundred-and-seventy-eight 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 postponed the release of Windows 10 version 1803, the Spring Creators Update, due to blocking bugs. The company has not revealed a new date yet for the release.

It had been thought that Build 17133 that rolled out to Windows Insiders was the RTM version of Windows 10 Spring Creators Update. But with the discovery of a bug in this build, it seems that this will not be the one that rolls out to everyone.

Yesterday we reported about a "blocking bug" that looks set to delay the release of the next big update to Windows, and now it seems that there will be at least one more build before RTM is reached. Oh -- and the name could well be changing too.

The next big update for Windows 10 has been delayed while Microsoft rushes to fix a newly-discovered bug.

Known variously as Windows 10 version 1803, Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version Next, Redstone 4 and Windows 10 Spring Creators Update, it was widely thought that the update had reached RTM and was on the verge of rolling out. However, this last-minute discovery means there will be a little longer to wait.

Cast your mind back several years and you'll remember Windows 3.0 and earlier. This was when Microsoft started to bring home computing to the masses, and for anyone raised on modern Windows, the lack of Start menu, taskbar and other components makes the operating system seem antiquated and unusable.

But use it we did! Back then, there was no File Explorer, but File Manager instead -- and it's something that people sometimes feel nostalgic about. A couple of days ago, Microsoft open sourced the File Manager code, and a Windows 10 version has been released.