Best Windows 10 apps this week

crime

Two-hundred-and-sixty-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.

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.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17093 to the Fast ring

Windows-10 key

When Microsoft was working on what became the Fall Creators Update, we typically saw weekly builds rolling out to Insiders on the Fast ring. With the Redstone 4 branch -- rumored to be called the Spring Creators Update -- new builds are coming out at a much slower rate.

Two weeks after Build 17083 arrived, Microsoft has rolled out new Build 17093 to Insiders on the Fast ring and Skip Ahead.

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Panasonic refreshes 'Toughbook 20' rugged 2-in-1 Windows 10 detachable laptop

PC_-_Carry_Mode_Tablet_Front_Left_Angle_(handle_up)

Have you ever walked into a Starbucks and seen a bunch of millennials sipping expensive lattes as they type on their super-thin (and often fragile) laptops? Please know that is not the only way people work with computers. Actually, there are many hardworking men and women that do downright dirty jobs in the field -- a thin laptop and a fancy latte just won't do. These folks need a normal cup of coffee to go and a laptop that can withstand abuse.

For many years, Panasonic has been producing its "Toughbook" line of computers for the blue-collar workers that make the world turn. The company's machines can take a beating, making them ideal for first responders, construction workers, the military, and more. While they may cost a bit more up front, they can pay for themselves over time as they survive when other computers will have already died. Today, the company refreshes its famed 10.1-inch "Toughbook 20" 2-in-1 Windows 10 detachable laptop/tablet with a new 8mp rear camera, a bridge battery, plus updated processor and storage options.

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Microsoft's aggressive Get Windows 10 (GWX) app slapped by Finnish authorities

Windows 10 -- Do great things sign

The hostile Get Windows 10 -- often referred to as simply GWX -- push by Microsoft proved controversial around the world. Now the Finnish Consumer Authority has reached an agreement with the company that means the Windows-maker will no longer force apps onto users.

The authority was unhappy with Microsoft not only for pushing the GWX app to computers without consent, but also for changing the design language used in the UI. In the GWX app, clicking the X button did not close the notification window as users would have expected, but instead started the installation of Windows 10.

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Microsoft is dropping Windows 10 S as a standalone product in favor of S Mode

Windows 10 S logo

The arrival of Windows 10 S was greeted with a degree of scepticism. The cutdown version of Windows 10 is only capable of running apps from the Microsoft Store for a focus on security, and is optimized for cheaper computers.

There has always been the option of unlocking Windows 10 Professional but now it has emerged that Microsoft is going to kill off Windows 10 S as a standalone product. That's not to say that the S variant is being killed off entirely however. Microsoft is bringing a new "S Mode" to Windows 10 Home, Enterprise, and Pro.

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Best Windows 10 apps this week

vdrum

Two-hundred-and-sixty-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.

Depending on which service you believe when it comes to Windows 10's usage share, the operating system either overtook Windows 7 last month or did not.

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Microsoft extends Windows 10 support and makes Office 2019 a Windows 10 exclusive

Windows 10 and Office 2019

If you're thinking about upgrading to Office 2019 when it is released in the second half of 2018, you'll have to make sure that you have upgraded to Windows 10 first. Microsoft has revealed that Office 2019 will only run on Windows 10 (and the next LTSC release of Windows Server), dropping support for Windows 8.x and earlier.

In the same announcement, Microsoft also revealed that it is extending the support period for Windows 10, following the news that the operating system has finally overtaken Windows 7.

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NetMarketShare: Windows 10 still some way behind Windows 7

Windows relief

If you believe StatCounter’s numbers, Windows 10 finally overtook Windows 7 in January. However, if you tend to trust NetMarketShare’s monthly desktop operating system figures more, well, then it didn’t.

According to the analyst firm’s numbers, in January Windows 10 narrowed the gap by a fair margin, but Windows 7 is still some way in the lead.

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StatCounter: Windows 10 finally overtakes Windows 7

Shocked

Every month, StatCounter reports on the state of the desktop operating system market. Since October last year, the analyst company’s figures have shown the gap between Windows 10 and Windows 7 narrowing. It looked as if the newer OS would overtake the older one in November, but that didn’t happen, and it didn’t happen in December either.

However, in January, according to StatCounter, Windows 10 finally claimed the top spot.

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Best Windows 10 apps this week

cryptobook

Two-hundred-and-sixty-seven 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 now installed on nearly 75 percent of all Windows 10 PCs according to AdDuplex data.

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Fall Creators Update on nearly 75 percent of all Windows 10 PCs

Windows 10-Thumbs-up

The Windows 10 Creators Update rollout was a bit of a mess. Shortly after it launched, Microsoft warned people not to install it, and a quarter of Windows 10 users still didn’t have it by the time its successor, the Fall Creators Update, arrived last October.

Microsoft has definitely learned its lessons this time around however, as the Fall Creators Update is being installed at a much faster rate. According to AdDuplex, last month (a mere two months after it launched), the Fall Creators Update was already on half of all Windows 10 PCs in use, and in January, that figure has increased to nearly three quarters.

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Chuwi LapBook Air 14.1 has a cool design, but quality is lagging [Review]

Chuwi LapBook Air 14.1 top

Chuwi has managed to attract quite a bit of attention with its laptops and tablets. The LapBook 14.1 that I reviewed early last year was great, thanks to a nice mix of features and performance. But now there's a new kid on the block, which looks even more impressive.

It's called the LapBook Air 14.1 and it supersedes the LapBook 14.1 in the company's lineup. Compared to the old model, it adds a metal build, more RAM and more storage, but a higher price tag too. On paper, it looks like a killer combination, but what's it actually like to use? I've tested it to find out.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17083 with Timeline improvements and privacy enhancements

Windows-10 key

Windows Insiders have got used to Fast ring releases arriving at a slower pace lately, but it looks as if Microsoft might be stepping on the gas once more, as Build 17083 arrives a mere fortnight after 17074.

The latest build comes with lots of new features and improvements, including the additional privacy options announced earlier.

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Microsoft announces additional improvements to Windows 10 privacy

privacy

When Microsoft first launched Windows 10 back in 2015, one of the big complaints people had about the new operating system was that it spied on users. Really spied on them.

Following the inevitable backlash, the software giant has reigned in this snooping with each new feature update, and the next big release -- codenamed Redstone 4 -- will take things further when it arrives in a few months' time.

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Best Windows 10 apps this week

fitbit

Two-hundred-and-sixty-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.

Microsoft plans to move Font management to the Settings application in the next feature update of Windows 10 (out March/April 2018). Users may download fonts from the Store.

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