Windows

If you have an iPhone, you're stuck with running iOS apps; if you have an Android phone, you're stuck with Android apps. At least that used to be the case. For desktop platforms such as OS X and Linux, tools and emulators exist that make it possible to run software designed for a different platform. CodeWeavers produce CrossOver which enables PC games and applications to run on non-PC platforms.

At the moment, CrossOver is available for Mac and Linux, but there are plans to bring the tool to Android. This means that, ultimately, it should be possible to run Windows software on an Android phone or tablet.

If you’ve finished with some Windows application then you’ll probably get rid of it by pressing Alt+F+X, clicking the top-right Close button, or following some other documented route.

This is generally the safest approach, too, as it gives the program an opportunity to close down properly, save important data, delete temporary files and generally clean up. But if the application won’t close, or you’re looking to do something more advanced -- close several processes in one operation, maybe -- then there are other options you might want to try.

If you’re a Windows 7 user, you might want to check carefully which updates you install. Users on Windows forums, Reddit and Twitter are concerned about a new "important" update that looks more than a little suspicious.

The update appears to be a language pack, but the details that accompany it are far from the usual information you’d expect to see, leaving many to wonder if Microsoft's update servers could have been compromised.

Xiaomi, which has earned a name selling insanely cheap-priced smartphones, smart TVs, a smart band, and a range of other smart products, is indeed making a laptop. Inventec, one of the company’s manufacturing partners  has confirmed.

In an interview with Taipei Times, Inventec Corp chairman Richard Lee said that Xiaomi Inc’s first notebook computer product not only exists but it is set for shipments in the first half of 2016.

Taking notes and making lists is something almost everyone does, and lists can become almost compulsive. For the task you need a good tool. Preferably one that works everywhere -- yes, paper covers that, but this is the technology era.

Evernote is one of the most popular alternatives to paper, as it runs on just about any platform, be it a computer or mobile device. While it all works well together -- create a shopping list on your PC, have it appear on your phone while you're in the store -- the company wanted to clean things up and modernize a bit. It has been working on an update and it's now ready for beta testing by Windows and Mac users.

You might think it would be hard to get overly excited about a keyboard. I understand, I felt the same. But then I tried out the iClever Portable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard and my opinion changed. I've used various portable/mini keyboards before and they have been -- almost without exception -- utterly awful.

The iClever Portable Foldable Bluetooth Keyboard gets off to a great start; it has a lot of things in its favor. The metal construction gives it a solid, robust feel and a great semi-industrial look. The aluminum has neatly curved edges, but at the same time it feels wonderfully brutalist. The real killer feature, however, is the foldability of the peripheral which means beautifully sizable keys are available for typing on.

More and more devices now either connect through, or are powered by, USB connections which means you can easily find yourself running out of ports. This is especially true of the latest slimline ultrabook type systems.

Adding a USB hub is an easy way of expanding your number of ports and these latest offerings from Inateck give you a choice of solutions as well as a handy way of accessing wired networks.

Malware writers may feel as though they've hit the jackpot after a slip-up by D-Link. The networking company released open source firmware that revealed the private keys used to sign D-Link software.

It was discovered that the firmware for a D-Link DCS-5020L security camera included D-Link's private keys as well as the passphrases needed to sign software. Windows users could have been at risk as malicious software could have been signed allowing for the installation without alerting security software.

Just last week Microsoft managed to piss off a lot of people by secretly downloading the Windows 10 installation files to their computers without permission. The comments from BetaNews readers were plentiful, but divided. Some didn't see the problem, while others thought it to be invasive and presumptive.

But there was one question that popped up again and again -- just what the hell was Microsoft thinking? I decided to try to find out but found that the company was somewhat cagey with what it wanted to say on the matter. This is not on. People are more than a little annoyed, and they are demanding answers. They deserve them.

If you are interested in buying a Windows PC or tablet or accessories for one, now is the time to take a look at what Microsoft Store has to offer. Part of its One Day Only Sale, the software giant offers major discounts on top-notch devices, slashing up to hundreds of dollars off the price of premium devices, like its own Surface Pro 3.

Surface Pro 3 has already seen some pretty big discounts this year, but as it is most likely to be replaced soon Microsoft is taking the axe to the price tags once again. You can save up to $200, and also get a free sleeve included in the box.

Microsoft has reportedly been downloading Windows 10 installation files on to computers running Windows 7 and 8.x, regardless of whether the users plan to upgrade to the new OS or not.

If you’re thinking of making the switch, and have requested an upgrade, that is fair enough. But if you’re more than happy to stick with your older OS for now, you might not be too happy about Microsoft cluttering up your hard drive with junk install files you don’t want. Fortunately, removing these files is easy enough.

At the very top of the Acer range are the Aspire V Nitro gaming laptops. Slotting in below those, the workaday Aspire V models deliver decent performance and smart design at a price that’s more attractive to business and home users who want a fast machine without needing, or wanting to spend a lot of money on, a premium gaming rig.

The latest release is part of the V15 range, meaning it has a 15-inch screen, though rather confusingly it’s called a V3 -- V3-574G-51ZI to give it its full official title -- so what does it have to offer?

Download a large dataset from just about anywhere and there’s a good chance it’ll available as a CSV file, which you can then open in just about any spreadsheet or database.

And if you don’t have access to any heavy-duty data processing packages right now, you could always try CSVed, a tiny free Windows tool for browsing, editing and generally processing CSV files.

Windows 10 may have restored the Start menu, but its Windows 8-style redesign isn’t to everyone’s taste.

If you’re not happy with the new look then Stardock’s Start10 gives you some stylish and configurable alternatives.

It's been roughly a month since the release of Windows 10, Microsoft's newest desktop operating system. It packs in several enticing features including the digital assistant Cortana. But despite all the interesting offerings, Windows 10 isn't sitting well with many. Privacy advocates have criticized Microsoft for introducing several features that are seemingly concerning to those who care about their privacy. To make things worse, the company has now rolled out some of these annoying features to Windows 7 and Windows 8.

First spotted by Ghacks, some of the recent updates that Microsoft rolled out to Windows 8 and Windows 7 set a computer to regularly send reports of a machine's activities to Microsoft. The update dubbed 3068708, for instance, introduces the Diagnostics and Telemetry tracking service on the computers it is installed on. "By applying this service, you can add benefits from the latest version of Windows to systems that have not yet upgraded. The update also supports applications that are subscribed to Visual Studio Application Insights", Microsoft describes the purpose of the update.