It seems like it has been a while since there was a new build of Windows 10 -- official or leaked -- but Wzor has come up with the goods once again. This time around we are treated to a leak of Windows 10 Build 10558 and Microsoft has added new goodies and changed a few things, making this one of the most interesting Windows 10 builds in ages.

There are some cosmetic changes here and there, but the addition of new apps -- such as Microsoft Phone -- shows that progress is being made as we move towards Threshold 2. As well as updates to the operating system itself, there are also important changes to Microsoft Edge.

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"Wintel", meaning Windows and Intel, is probably the most significant combo in the advancement of the personal computer. If it wasn't for the contributions of Microsoft and Intel, especially when combined, the entire computing landscape would be very different.

Today, Intel releases some information, including an infographic, about its contributions to Windows 10 -- Microsoft's latest, and some would say greatest, operating system. Yes, Intel helped to make Windows 10 better.

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I make my living with words. I type, I edit, I revise -- it’s been the rhythm of my life for nearly three decades. So when my primary tool of the trade (Microsoft Office) sneezes, my whole world catches the flu.

Case in point: Windows 10 "Insider" build 10547. After updating to this, the most current build of post-RTM Windows 10, I started noticing a new and potentially catastrophic (for me, at least) behavior. Whenever I tried to save a document in Microsoft Word, the application would hang. Any subsequent attempts to load the program and resume working were blocked by the fact that that previous crash had somehow left the document file in question locked by the file system.

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The previous set of usage figures released by analysis firm NetMarketShare showed users were upgrading to Windows 10 at an impressive rate. In August -- the first full month of availability for the new OS -- Windows 10 went from 0.39 percent to 5.21 percent share, leapfrogging Windows 8 (but not Windows 8.1) in the process.

Given how easy it is for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users to upgrade to the new OS (the files get downloaded onto your hard drive in preparation), and the fact it’s free to those users too, you would no doubt have expected this pace to continue in September, maybe even accelerate a little. Unfortunately for Microsoft, interest in Windows 10 appears to have actually waned considerably in that month.

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If you want a tablet that can double up as a laptop replacement, there really is no better option than Microsoft's venerable Surface Pro 3. It has been the undisputed king in this segment for well over a year now, and it is easy to see why: it has a big, high-resolution screen, it comes with a stylus, it can take a decent keyboard, its battery life is good, it is extremely fast, and, on top of all this, it can run every Windows program that you want. Nothing comes close, really.

But now that Google has announced Pixel C, its own productivity-oriented tablet, you may be wondering how it fares up against Surface Pro 3. So, let's take a look at the two and see which one is best.

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Perhaps inspired by the backlash Microsoft has faced over privacy concerns in Windows 10, Apple has published its own privacy policies on a new page that's designed to be easy to read. Written in plain English, the site sets out Apple's position regarding privacy in OS X and iOS. As well as touting the steps to which the company goes to protect its customers' privacy, Apple also uses the documents to trumpet numerous security features.

This is Apple riding the waves of interest concerning privacy, using it as an opportunity to get one over the likes of Microsoft and Google. There are promises of "telling you up front exactly what’s going to happen to your personal information and asking for your permission" as well as the offer that "if you change your mind later, we make it easy to stop sharing with us". Sounds great in theory, but does it stand up to scrutiny?

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I am not a Windows 10 "fan boy". In fact, I’ve frequently expressed my dislike for many of the UI choices Microsoft made with the new OS. I’ve also noted how unstable Windows 10 can be for some users, and I’ve extensively documented my own woes attempting to upgrade an HP Envy x2 hybrid laptop (still no resolution to that one).

So, when I knew that I’d be writing extensively about Windows 10 -- both for BetaNews and in my capacity as an Industry Analyst -- I made the decision to invest in what I thought would be the best platform on which to test the OS and its myriad features: A Microsoft Surface 3. My thinking was that, to wring the best experience out of Windows 10, you need to give it a fully-compatible hardware configuration. And what better way to ensure such a configuration than by purchasing one of the very devices Windows 10 was designed to showcase?

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Yesterday, Microsoft's Terry Myerson defended how the company has handled privacy in Windows 10. The level of concern about privacy in Windows 10 is unprecedented -- it even has some torrent sites spooked --  but my colleague Brian feels that Microsoft has, somehow, earned our trust. He is wrong.

Microsoft has broken the trust of many users, and Myerson's post does little to patch things up. In reality, it is an exercise in public relations, spin, and misdirection. It also raises more questions than it answers. In particular, it highlights the obnoxious disregard Microsoft appears to have for home users.

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Windows 10 is the best operating system to ever come from Microsoft. I have single-handedly installed it on many computers for myself, friends and family. I have no trepidation about using it or recommending it. With that said, I understand both consumers and pundits criticizing Microsoft over privacy setting in the newest Windows.

Can these settings be confusing for the average person? Absolutely. Should people blindly trust Microsoft? No, not blindly, but based on the company's track record, it has certainly done enough to earn our trust. If you are using a company's operating system, you have to have some level of faith in that company -- otherwise you should disconnect from the Internet or give up on computers altogether. Today, Terry Myerson, Microsoft's Executive Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group, attempts to quell privacy fears regarding Windows 10. You know what? His explanation seems honest and sincere.

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The PC market is in a decline, and there’s nothing new about it. We reported earlier how the upgrade cycle for the PC won’t be complete before 2017, when people are mostly expected to upgrade their machines.

However, much was expected from the recent release of Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 10. To be more precise, the OS was expected to boost PC sales before 2017. That, according to a Gartner report, didn’t happen.

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Earlier in the week there was a serious Skype outage. Users around the world found they were unable to connect, unable to communicate, throwing many people into confusion. Yesterday, Microsoft issued an apology -- but it’s simply not good enough.

The new Microsoft, under the direction of Satya Nadella, has been banging the "mobile first, cloud first world" drum, and this means being connected. The company might well be "extremely sorry for any inconvenience caused to our users", but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

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Laptops are designed to be portable, but you are crazy to carry it under your arm or in a chintzy bag. You paid good money for the thing, so you should protect it. While backpacks are the most logical choice for comfort and weight distribution, they are not exactly stylish (you will look like a high-school student). Carrying a messenger bag is surely the more trendy option, if that sort of thing matters to you.

Today, booq announces an all-new notebook messenger bag called 'The Shadow'. Not only is it stylish (for both men and women), but it will accommodate 15 inch laptops and smaller, plus additional accessories too.

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Ah! The joys of living on a tropical island. The sun. The sand. The surf... ing the web with high latency on a clogged Internet connection while paying through the nose for capped bandwidth. Yes, it truly is "paradise" -- unless, of course, you’re a seasoned Industry Analyst trying to get some work done over said connection. Which is why the latest bit of Windows malware to grace the PCs of my bandwidth-hungry teenagers has me absolutely livid.

Dubbed the "Massive Payload Virus" (MPV) by experts, this malicious code is designed specifically to cripple metered Internet connections by plastering any fully-activated Windows 7 or 8 system with gigabytes (over 3GB per PC, in my case) of data. The enormous download (which also appears to be code of some kind) is then spooled into a single, cleverly named folder in the PC’s root directory, where it lies dormant until triggered by an as yet undetermined external event.

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In the modern workplace there’s increasing demand for people to be able to work remotely or bring their own devices into the office. That presents a problem for IT departments who need to deliver secure access to corporate data and ensure that everyone is using approved applications.

One way of allowing employees and contractors to use their own PCs but still ensure they’re running the approved corporate software is the IronKey Workspace. It’s a bootable USB stick that can be loaded with a corporate Windows image including applications, security controls and access policies. It will work on any reasonably modern PC and on some Macs too.

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Windows 10 is a major departure from the norm for Microsoft. This is not only the first time Windows has been made available as a free upgrade, but the first time that users have been able to get actively involved in the development process. The existence of the public previews for Windows Insiders has made this one of the most transparent development programs to come out of Redmond.

Broken down into the Fast Ring and the Slow Ring, Microsoft has explained how the Windows 10 development process works, saying that the former is for those who want to be on the bleeding edge, the latter for those who want to play it safer. Ultimately, however, you should be either in or out, and this leads us to the question: what's the point of the Windows 10 Slow Ring?

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