Articles about Windows 10

Windows 10 comes with lots of features that you might not need, or want. These include Cortana, Bing in Windows Search, and the Game Bar. In addition, Microsoft’s operating system spies on you in a number of ways.

Thankfully, disabling unwanted features and locking down your privacy just got way easier.

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With the release of Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Microsoft not only introduced a range of new features and options, but also took some away. One thing that has changed with Windows 10 version 2004 is that Cortana is now a standalone app rather than an integral part of the operating system.

Not that you would necessarily notice, that is. Although the digital assistant is now separate from Windows itself, it still automatically runs at startup – it is possible, however, to disable Cortana and stop it from running in this way, or remove it completely.

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In computing terms, a sandbox is an isolated environment inside which you can safely run operating systems and software without risking your data, privacy, or security. Therefore, the Windows Sandbox does exactly what it says on the tin: provides a lightweight desktop environment inside which you can safely test programs.

Why would you do this? The primary reason is security: you don’t know whether you trust a program or file, so by launching the Windows Sandbox tool in Windows 10 Professional or Enterprise you’ll create a Windows within Windows. If you’ve been experimenting with Hyper-V, you’ll see it shares the same underlying virtualization technology, albeit with some crucial differences.

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Last week, Microsoft started the staggered release of Windows 10 May 2020 Update, and many people are looking for ways to force the download before it is offered to them.

We already know that there are quite a few issues with the feature update, and Microsoft is also actively blocking the update for some people. Anyone for whom the update is blocked is being shown a message informing that that their  "device isn't quite ready" to receive the May 2020 Update.

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Now is a wonderful time to be in the market for a laptop. There are many great models powered by the latest Intel and AMD processors. Companies like HP and Dell, for instance, have some very compelling computers out right now, while Microsoft recently released some new Surface devices. If you live on the web, a Chromebook may meet your needs. Heck, even Apple notebooks should be considered, as its entire MacBook line finally has "good" keyboards again. Whether your budget is a few hundred bucks -- or a few thousand -- there is a quality laptop out there for you.

The problem with having such a crowded laptop market, is manufacturers can have a hard time standing out among the competition. Well, Samsung has managed to do exactly that. You see, today, the company announces that its existing 13.3-inch Galaxy Book S is the first-ever computer to get Intel's revolutionary Lakefield CPU as an option. This fanless (woo-hoo!) Intel Core processor with Intel Hybrid Technology (Core i5-L16G7) enables very long standby battery life, making it an intriguing machine for road-warriors. The Galaxy Book S can be an "always-connected" computer thanks to its Wi-Fi 6 and LTE radios. You also get 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 512GB of SSD storage. Best of all, unlike the neutered ARM model of the Galaxy Book S, this Intel variant can run all Windows programs -- including 64-bit software!

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Microsoft began to roll out the latest big feature update for Windows 10 a couple of days ago, and you can get it via Windows Update, or force the update if it’s not yet showing up for you, although that’s probably not a great idea given the current number of known issues.

With each new OS update, however, some existing features get dropped, or stop being actively developed. Here’s what’s missing in Windows 10 2004, the May 2020 Update.

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Three-hundred-and-eighty-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.

Microsoft released the Windows 10 May 2020 update this week. Mark published a guide on how to get the update at this point (as it is being rolled out gradually). Make sure you check the number of issues that it has before you start the upgrade.

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Microsoft just managed to release the Windows 10 May 2020 Update in May, and many people are eager to get their hands on it -- but not everyone is being offered it straight away.

For most people, a simple check of Windows Update will give them access to the update, but this is a staged rollout so it might take a while to appear for you. It is possible, however, to force your computer to download the Windows 10 May 2020 Update. Here's how to do it.

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Microsoft began the rollout of the Windows 10 May 2020 Update yesterday, although it won’t be available to all for a while as there are still a number of known issues to be aware of.

Today the software giant releases a new test build for Insiders on the Fast ring.

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Microsoft had previously warned that the latest feature update for Windows 10 would be released with one known issue, but it turns out it has a lot more than that.

The Windows 10 May 2020 Update, also known as Windows 10 version 2004, started rolling out to users yesterday, being first made available to users running Windows 10 version 1903 or 1909.

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As predicted earlier today, Microsoft has now released Windows 10 May 2020 Update. This latest update has been available to developers for a little while, but the proposed general release that had been scheduled for the middle of this month had been postponed.

But now Microsoft has decided the update is ready for public consumption. Here's what you need to know, and how you can get hold of it.

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The Windows 10 May 2020 update, aka Windows 10 version 2004, is due to begin rolling out to users shortly.

As normal, it will be a phased rollout so not everyone will be offered it straightaway -- it could be months before it reaches your machine. But if previous major updates are anything to go by, you should avoid installing it for a while anyway as these releases typically come with issues and it could be more hassle than it’s worth.

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There has been speculation about just when Microsoft would release Windows 10 May 2020 Update / Windows 10 version 2004 / Windows 10 20H1 after a bug delayed the launch earlier this month.

Rumors generally agreed that the release date would be somewhere between May 26 and May 28, and it seems the correct date is actually smack in the middle -- May 27. While the update is, at time of writing, yet to start rolling out, an update to the Windows lifecycle page of the Microsoft site appears to reveal that today is the big day.

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Earlier this month Microsoft released KB4556799, an update for Windows 10 that brought important changes to the operating system. But, as has become increasingly common of late, the update has also caused a range of problems for users, including breaking internet connections.

Microsoft has acknowledged that there have been reports of "various issues", and while the company says it has "not seen widespread issues reflected in telemetry", an investigation is underway, and a fix for connectivity problems will be released soon.

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Hyper-V is Windows’ built-in virtualization technology, hard-wired into Windows 10 Professional to allow you to easily run multiple operating systems on a single PC. You can use it to resurrect old programs and hardware no longer compatible with Windows 10, explore alternative operating systems such as Ubuntu or use it as a test environment.

"But I can do all this for free with VirtualBox!" you’ll say. And you’d be correct -- to a degree. There’s one critical reason why Hyper-V is a better option than VirtualBox, and that’s raw performance. VirtualBox is a software emulator, which means that it sits on top of Windows and can never match native performance, whatever tweaks you perform.

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