Yesterday, something went horribly wrong with my PC leaving me with no option but to use the Windows 10 Reset option to wipe all my programs and start over. It was the first time I’d had to use it, and things went smoothly enough, even if it took forever to get everything setup again afterwards.

The ability to Reset Windows 10 -- re-installing the OS while keeping, or removing your personal files -- is a great idea (although admittedly not as good as being able to install Windows over the top of itself as you could with XP), and now Microsoft is spinning it off into a standalone tool.

Continue reading →

The advent of app stores has meant that software installation is very hands-off process these days. Select the app you want, hit install, and everything is taken care of for you. On one hand, this is great as it simplifies and accelerates things, but it also removes an element of control from the user.

With an update to the Windows Store app in Windows 10, Microsoft is changing this. Building on the ability to move apps from one drive to another, Windows 10 Anniversary Edition will now ask where you would like to install larger apps -- a real boon for people with more than one hard drive.

Continue reading →

With the planned release date for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update drawing ever nearer, Microsoft is hard at work squashing as many bugs as it can.

Naturally, this means new builds released to Windows Insiders won’t offer any significant new features, but they will contain important fixes, general improvements and welcome performance boosts.

Continue reading →

Since the launch of Microsoft Edge, numerous changes and updates have been made to Microsoft's latest web browser. The arrival of ad-blocking was a real crowd-pleaser, but Microsoft is mindful of the fact that many enterprise users are going to be sticking with Internet Explorer for some time yet.

Today the company announces that some of the enterprise-specific enhancements and tweaks made to the Windows 10 version of IE11 will also be making their way to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. In fact, the improvements are rolling out to more Windows 10 users as well. Changes made to Internet Explorer 11 in Windows 10 version 1511 are also coming to version 1507 as part of the cumulative updates released today.

Continue reading →

An eagle-eyed Reddit user has noticed that code run through Visual Studio 2015 C++ compiler make calls to Microsoft's telemetry services. Microsoft has already upset a large number of people with the privacy and telemetry issues in Windows 10, and there is now a busy thread on Reddit discussing the company's thinking behind including this 'feature'.

Coders have expressed concerns that Microsoft appears to be inserting calls to its telemetry service into binaries as they are compiled. Calls to telemetry_main_invoke_trigger and telemetry_main_return_trigger raised a few eyebrows having been found in both debug and release versions of the software. The good news -- maybe -- is that telemetry can be disabled.

Continue reading →

It’s not news that the PC market is in serious decline. We’ve been talking about the death of the PC here for more years than I care to remember, and the latest forecasts from IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker don’t provide any relief either.

According to the analyst firm, worldwide PC shipments are forecast to decline by 7.3 percent year over year in 2016, with Windows 10 cited as one of the reasons behind the drop.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 updates may add new features, beef up security, and refine the user experience, but they can also be a source of frustration if the operating system decides to automatically install them at the wrong moment. There are times when you really want to keep using your PC, and not let Windows 10 restart it to finish the job. Just ask this pro gamer who had a Twitch stream ruined right in the middle of a gaming session watched by 130,000 followers.

So what can you do? You may be tempted to disable automatic updates or Windows Update altogether, but that is obviously not ideal. However, you can control when Windows 10 can automatically install updates. Here is how you can configure it.

Continue reading →

It’s been a couple of weeks since we last had a new Windows 10 Insider Preview build released to the Fast ring, but today the wait is over as new Windows Insider chief Dona Sarkar has pushed the button to roll out Build 14361 for both PC and Mobile.

This new release includes new features, some improvements to existing features, and plenty of fixes. The release date for the big Windows 10 Anniversary Update is edging ever nearer, so the quest is on to fix as many problems as possible before then.

Continue reading →

To keep enterprise users happy, Windows 10 includes both Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Internet Explorer may be included for legacy support, but just like non-enterprise customers, Microsoft is keen to get everyone shifted across to Edge or at least ensure the two browsers work well together.

To help encourage this migration, Windows 10 Anniversary Update brings support for a number of new management policies in Microsoft's newest browser. There's a clear need to continue to support legacy line of business (LOB) applications, but Microsoft also wants to make management as easy as possible.

Continue reading →

Depending on your hobbies or career, you may have a need for rugged devices. What would be some of these scenarios? Maybe your job is a coal miner, police officer, farmer, or in the military. Maybe on the weekends you need to take a laptop on a snowmobile or ATV. Whatever the case, constantly breaking your computer due to hostile environments can get costly quick.

Today, Getac announces one of the most rugged Skylake-powered Windows 10 laptops on the market. Called the B300, it has a Core i7 processor and is built like a tank. Not only can it take a beating, but its hardcore internal specifications can dish one out too.

Continue reading →

Security is an ongoing struggle for businesses and many data breaches can be traced back to the use of out of date software.

A new survey from systems management company Adaptiva asked more than 150 IT pros their feelings about their enterprises' security, and found that the majority were concerned about potential vulnerabilities.

Continue reading →

Windows 10 is a great operating system from a usability standpoint. Unfortunately, between the privacy issues and Microsoft's unethical upgrade tactics, more and more folks are turned off to it. Luckily, thanks to Linux, users don't have to tolerate the company's shady behavior.

If you want to switch to Linux, please know that while Ubuntu is a great operating system, it is not the only OS based on that kernel. Quite frankly, there are too many distributions, but I digress. Another fairly easy-to-use Linux-based operating system is Manjaro. For many folks leaving Windows, the default UI should be an inviting sight. Today, version 16.06 code-named "Daniella" becomes available for download. Will you format your Windows drive and join the Linux community?

Continue reading →

There aren't many small Android tablets that can set your world on fire. The manufacturers that are still invested in this market no longer seem to be interested in producing smaller devices, as their attention is now either focused on larger slates or hybrid devices. So, if you are in the market for a small tablet that runs Android, you clearly aren't spoiled for choice.

This is why, after nearly three years on the market, the second-generation Nexus 7 is still my favorite. Google's last small slate got so many things right back in 2013 that I have been struggling to find an attractive replacement for it. But since Xiaomi introduced the Mi Pad 2, I have been wondering whether it is the successor that I have been waiting for so long. Given the opportunity to test it, I set upon to find out whether there truly is a small Android tablet to get excited about these days.

Continue reading →

If you’re unhappy with the way Microsoft is forcing Windows 10 onto people who really don’t want it (including plenty of people who don’t even know what it is), then you’re not alone.

A new Change.org petition is seeking supporters in order to have the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) investigate Microsoft for "malicious practices regarding Windows 10".

Continue reading →

I worked in sales for some years and one of the first things you are taught is the art of the alternative close. That’s where the sales person offers someone a choice of two options, neither of which leads to "no". Here’s an example: "When is a good time to start your Windows 10 upgrade? At a preset date and time, or now?"

Microsoft’s increasingly aggressive tactics to get people to upgrade to Windows 10 are now legendary. The last trick the company pulled was to reverse the meaning of clicking the X on the nag screen. Instead of meaning, "go away and stop bothering me" it now means "yes, I want the upgrade". Or rather it did. For, according to The Register, Microsoft has now removed the X, leaving Windows 7 or 8.1 users with the choice of picking a date for an upgrade, or upgrading now. There’s no close button, no cancel option. Just reschedule or upgrade immediately.

Continue reading →