The Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities affected millions of processors around the world, and the "fixes" that followed compounded the problems with reports of the patches bricking AMD PCs, and Ubuntu systems, and causing major slowdowns. Intel even told customers to stop installing the patches due to 'unpredictable' reboot issues.

In a new blog post, Microsoft provides an update on the state of the situation, and has some good news for Windows 1o users.

Continue reading →

Shortly after Microsoft released the latest Windows 10 preview build to Insiders on the Fast ring, reports started coming in that the Store was missing for a number of users.

The problem wasn’t one of those listed in the known issues, and Microsoft announced that it was investigating. If you’re on the new build and the Store is missing for you, there is now a workaround you can try.

Continue reading →

While NetMarketShare has Windows 10 stumbling backwards in February, StatCounter shows the opposite. Rather than the new OS losing share, the Irish analyst firm has Windows 10 shooting upwards, past Windows 7.

That’s good news for Microsoft as it would have been rather embarrassing if Windows 7 had reclaimed the crown after only one month.

Continue reading →

Depending on which analyst firm you believe, Windows 10 either finally overtook Windows 7 in January (StatCounter), or it simply narrowed the gap a little more (NetMarketShare).

If you were expecting NetMarketShare’s latest figures to show Windows 10 besting Windows 7 there as well this month, you are in for a nasty surprise as its numbers for February have the OS slipping into reverse gear and actually losing share.

Continue reading →

We’re pretty much on the home straight for the next big feature update of Windows 10.

Rumored to be called the Spring Creators Update, the final release on the Redstone 4 branch will introduce a lot of new features and improvements to Microsoft’s newest OS. Today's Insider build polishes things up and adds some improvements for enterprise customers.

Continue reading →

We’re edging ever closer to the release of the next big Windows 10 feature update. Rumored to be called the Spring Creators Update, it includes a number of high profile new features and improvements.

Last week, Microsoft rolled out two new Insider builds -- one for those on the Fast ring, and another for those who opted to Skip Ahead (the first in the Redstone 5 branch). Today, the software giant delivers a build just for those on the Fast ring.

Continue reading →

Starting with Redstone 4, Microsoft will give developers a new option for their UWP apps in Windows 10 -- support for multiple instances of an app. This is a feature that lots of Windows 10 users have been asking for, so it will be welcomed with open arms.

As of Windows 10 version 1803, multiple-instance support for UWP apps will be available to developers on an opt-in basis. Microsoft has published a detailed blog post that explains how the function can be used.

Continue reading →

Two-hundred-and-seventy-one 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.

The Fall Creators Update is on 85 percent of all Windows 10 PCs according to AdDuplex.

Continue reading →

It won’t be too long now until the next big feature update for Windows 10 rolls out. Expected to be called the Spring Creators Update, this introduces a number of big features, most notably Timeline, a welcome addition that lets you resume past activities you started on your main PC, other Windows PCs, or iOS/Android devices.

In preparation for the new feature update, Microsoft has been pushing the previous one -- The Fall Creators Update -- onto as many compatible systems as possible.

Continue reading →

Last year, the UK’s National Health Service was hit hard by the WannaCry/WannaCrypt ransomware attack that went on to infect computers around the world. The attack was so bad that Microsoft took the unprecedented step of patching Windows XP to try and stem the spread of the problem.

While it first believed that NHS computers running XP were the source of the issue, it turned out to be Windows 7 systems that were mostly to blame. PCs running Windows 10 were immune from the attack. You would have thought, having been through such a terrible experience, that the NHS would have taken steps to prevent it happening again, but it seems not.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 on ARM is a very interesting proposition for road warriors. You get the benefits of a full-featured operating system in a package that rivals the battery life and connectivity options of a mobile device. What's not to like?

While on paper it may sound like it offers the best of both worlds, Windows 10 on ARM is not perfect -- at least not yet -- as Microsoft's own documentation raises some serious questions surrounding its usability and compatibility.

Continue reading →

Two-hundred-and-seventy 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 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.

Continue reading →

Samsung makes excellent products -- it cannot be denied. While the company is probably best known for its wildly popular Android smartphones, the Galaxy-maker is much more than that. You can pretty much outfit your entire home with Samsung appliances and electronics -- televisions, Blu-ray players, refrigerators, washing machines, and more.

Where Samsung doesn't shine as brightly is with computers. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying the company makes bad Windows 10 laptops and Chromebooks -- quite the contrary -- but consumers are probably more likely to think of companies like Dell, Lenovo, and Acer for this market. Samsung has seemingly been trying to change this, however, as it has been pumping out some beautiful machines. Today, the company announces that its anticipated trio of Windows 10 laptops -- the Notebook 9 Pen, the Notebook 9 (2018), and Notebook 7 Spin (2018) -- will finally hit stores on February 18.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 Insider Preview builds have been arriving much less frequently with the Redstone 4 branch than with Redstone 3 (Fall Creators Update), but as we get nearer to the official release of the next feature update that is likely to change.

Today, Microsoft rolls out two new builds, just a week after the last one. These are Build 17101 for Insiders on the Fast ring, and Build 17604 for those who have opted to Skip Ahead -- that is elected to bypass builds for RS4 and move straight to RS5.

Continue reading →

Part of the reason why Windows 10 S failed was because it only allowed software from the Microsoft Store and the Store is famously lacking in quality apps.

It’s always news when a big name app arrives in the Store, and today Amazon Music debuts there for users in the US, UK, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.

Continue reading →