Articles about Windows 10

Since the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft has -- for want of a better way of putting it -- pissed off a tremendous number of people for the way it has tried to force the latest version of the operating system onto people. Some people found set up files were automatically downloaded, others were forcibly upgraded practically against their will, but plenty of people have been irritated by constant nagging about the availability of an upgrade they’re simply not interested in. Never 10 is a new tool that should mean the end of this pestering.

Various tools and techniques have been spawned as a result of things, providing fans of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 with ways to avoid Windows 10 and Microsoft's adverts for it. Maybe you're holding out for more feature-complete builds from the Redstone branch, or perhaps you just don’t like change. You would think that Microsoft would understand that 'no' means 'no' but there have been countless stories of people who have declined the Windows 10 upgrade finding themselves subjected to continued nagging. A registry hack can be used to block nags and upgrades, but Never 10 is a free portable app that does the hard work for you.

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With Live Tiles, Microsoft has promised much but delivered little. This could be about to change. We're just days away from Build 2016, and there's a great deal of excitement about what could be revealed. Live Tiles, it seems, could be about to evolve into something useful.

The schedule for the developer conference has been posted online, and it sees Microsoft is entering full-on tease mode.  At a session called 'What's New for Tiles and Toast Notifications', Microsoft promises a couple of surprises. Build is aimed at developers so it's hard to predict exactly what's in store, but Microsoft's description of the session is certainly titillating.

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When a product is announced, but then never released, it is often referred to as vaporware. This can be both hardware and software. While some of this perceived vaporware fades into the annals of tech history, sometimes it becomes an actual product, thus shaking its "vaporware" moniker.

Microsoft's Surface Hub was beginning to enter into the vaporware category, and for a while, I feared it would never see release. After delays and price-hikes, Microsoft's product is finally shipping to business clients. This is particularly great news, as it is one of the company's most exciting products in years.

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If you are going to use Windows, you might as well use Windows 10 -- why not? If you use Windows 10, and you are fairly tech-savvy, enrolling in Microsoft's Insider program can be quite rewarding. It allows you to get early access to beta builds for the newest version of the operating system.

While being an unpaid beta tester for a billion dollar company is not an attractive prospect for everyone, many people find value in trying new features before the general public. Today -- the same day Canonical releases a new beta of Ubuntu -- Microsoft announces Build 14295 for PC and Mobile. Unfortunately, it is quite the boring release, mostly featuring bug fixes. Yawn.

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Smart PC Utilities has shipped Game Fire 5, the latest edition of its PC gaming performance booster.

This release brings official support for Windows 10 -- both 32 and 64-bit editions -- but finally sees Windows XP support dropped.
A new optimization engine can examine and tweak even more components, including services, processes, scheduled tasks and Registry settings (only some of these are available in the free build).

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Last week Microsoft finally revealed extensions for its Edge web browser for Windows 10. It began with just a handful of add-ons, but more are on the way. We previously told you how to install them, including the translator, but now Microsoft is adding a bit more information.

The new Edge extensions are currently considered previews and are only available to Windows 10 Insiders, and you'll need Build 14291 to use them.

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How do you check to see what apps you have installed on your Windows 10 computer? Your first port of call might be the Start menu. While this might seem logical -- there's an All Apps entry, after all! -- it's not necessarily the best option.

If you've spent any time working in File Explorer, you'll know that there are various views to choose from; different views suit different tasks. What you might not know is that there's a secret Apps View which is great for not only showing you what you have installed, but also makes it easy to perform actions such as Start menu pinning with multiple apps.

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After something of a delay, Microsoft finally released a version of its newest browser -- Microsoft Edge -- that supports extensions. We've already seen the first extensions appear in the Windows Store, but there are some big names that people are waiting for.

Included on this list is Adblock Plus, and its fans are clamoring for a version they can use in Edge. The good news is that one is in the works -- the only thing standing in the way now is Microsoft.

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Microsoft has been keen to consigne Internet Explorer to the history books, but for a long time there has been a glaring issue with its successor, Microsoft Edge: a lack of extensions. With the release of Windows 10 Redstone build 14291 this finally changed.

While Microsoft Edge may now have extensions, it's still very early days and it's likely you'll find that most of your favorites are yet to make an appearance. But Microsoft has a plan. To make developers' lives as easy as possible, the company is working on a tool that will make it possible to port Chrome extensions to Edge.

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When companies allow staff to use their own systems to access corporate data, the devices used can often be outside of IT department control.

But how much of a security and privacy hazard is presented by a new off-the-shelf laptop? Security company Duo Labs set out to discover the risks by buying a number of OEM Windows 10 machines in the US, Canada and the UK and testing them for vulnerabilities.

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Even though TweetDeck is one of the most powerful and beloved Twitter clients for Windows, the social network has announced that it will soon drop support for the program, leaving fans with just the web app at their disposal. However, the Mac version of TweetDeck is not affected, remaining in the lineup for the foreseeable future.

Twitter has not exactly provided a reason why it is pulling TweetDeck for Windows, only saying that this is being done "to better focus on enhancing [users'] TweetDeck experience". However, the fact that it just launched a new version of Twitter for Windows 10 likely plays a role in its decision.

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Starting in Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14291, Microsoft has introduced a selection of extensions for its Edge browser.

While the software giant promises that popular add-ons like AdBlock, Adblock Plus, Amazon, LastPass, and Evernote are on their way, it’s launched the feature with three rather less-exciting offerings -- Mouse Gestures, Microsoft Translator and an early version of Reddit Enhancement Suite.

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Microsoft is having a very busy Thursday. As well as beginning the long-awaited rollout of Windows 10 Mobile, the software giant has also pushed the button on a new PC build for Insiders on the Fast ring.

Fast ring updates sometimes offer new features, but other times it’s just tweaks to the core and bug fixes. Windows 10 Insider Build 14291 is one the more noteworthy updates, finally delivering the long awaited extensions in Microsoft Edge, as well as pinned tabs and other Edge enhancements. There’s also an updated Maps app, and a wealth of other changes, including the introduction of a new Feedback Hub.

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Windows 10 for PCs and tablets launched way back in July last year. The mobile version of the new OS was expected to arrive a few months after, but instead what we got were numerous delays. When Microsoft introduced the Lumia 950 and 950 XL in November, both running the new OS, it seemed as if the wait was nearly over, but that turned out not to be the case.

If you have been desperately awaiting the arrival of the mobile OS, the good news is the rumors were true, and today Microsoft officially begins the roll-out to select Windows Phone 8.1 devices.

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While it is widely expected that Windows 10 Mobile will launch today, it is the desktop version of the operating system that still attracts the most attention. The first major update to Windows 10 -- dubbed Redstone -- has already been rolled out to Insiders in the form of an early preview build, but there are some big changes on the way.

The first time we'll get to see what Microsoft has been working on is likely to be at Build at the end of the month, but the company's PR machine has already kicked into action. Product managers at Microsoft already have access to new and exciting features which it is promised will 'change everything' and cause users to 'freak out'.

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