If you’ve treated yourself to a shiny new computer then the excitement might be tempered somewhat by the thought of having to shift all your files and programs over to the new machine. With the right tools and know-how though, this doesn’t have to be a chore—here’s how to get it done quickly.
You probably spend more time than you realize copying, moving, renaming, and otherwise organizing files on your Windows hard drive—so knowing how to do all of this faster and smarter can claw back a serious amount of time. Here are 20 of our favorite hacks and tricks for mastering File Explorer and file management in…
Cortana, like all digital assistants, is supposed to make life easier by organizing your data and presenting you with helpful information when you need it. Unfortunately, that inclination to be useful can also pose a security risk, as McAfee found when it discovered a bug in Windows 10 that let hackers use Cortana to…
In early 2018, the first Windows 10 laptops sporting Qualcomm CPUs hit the market, and with it, Qualcomm brought a more smartphone-like experience to the PC world. That was thanks to superior battery life and always-on LTE connectivity. Unfortunately, because these Windows on Snapdragon devices were stuck using the…
At Google I/O 2018, Google announced that its digital assistant was getting upgraded with more natural-sounding speech in addition to six new alternate voices. Then, Google promptly scared the hell out of everyone by using the Google Assistant’s new skills to mimic a real voice so well, people on the other end of a…
Today, Microsoft announced the Surface Hub 2, and like many of the company’s previous Surface products, it offers a tantalizing view into a future filled with glorious touchscreen devices and effortless workplace collaboration. It looks totally sweet, and I’d love to have one on my wall at home right now. But after…
Computer, tablet, or phone not starting, or seemingly frozen in time? Before you take it down to the local repair shop, or send it off to the professionals, here are the cheat codes to use to try and get your device back on its feet—it might be you can save yourself a hefty repair bill by fixing the issue yourself.
Bad apps are draining your battery life, sucking up your local storage, and causing your devices to crash more often than they should—and the worst part is, you might not realize who the worst offenders are. Here’s how to track down badly behaving apps on the major desktop and mobile platforms, and kick them to the…
It’s a little later than expected, due to a last minute bug that needed fixing, but Microsoft has finally launched the Windows 10 April 2018 Update. The title is dry, but the updates are good, especially if you’re coming from Google’s Chrome OS or Apple’s macOS. In those cases you might notice some, uh, familiar…
California man Eric Lundgren, an electronic waste entrepreneur who produced tens of thousands of Windows restore disks intended to extend the lifespan of aging computers, lost a federal appeals court case in Miami after it ruled “he had infringed Microsoft’s products to the tune of $700,000,” the Washington Post reported
If you’ve got something you want to hide away, then you’ve got plenty of options on Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS—options that we’ll run through here. Even if the kids or a stranger should get access to your devices somehow, these files will stay hidden from view and locked away.
Your Dock or Start menu is your way into macOS and Windows, respectively, as well as everything running on top of them. So it makes sense to have these launch systems configured in exactly the way you need them to be. We’ve got a bunch of essential tips on streamlining your Dock or Start menu, and powering through…
You’re at work, or on the other side of the world, or both, and you need something from your computer at home—in years gone by, you would need an IT degree and an expensive software package to connect up to your home computer remotely, but now a number of apps will do the job, simply and free. Here are three of our…
After 21 years leading the server, Exchange, and most recently the Windows and Devices teams, longtime vice president Terry Myerson is leaving Microsoft as the company pursues a major restructuring of its entire business.
Installing updates on Windows has always been a pain in the ass. Not only does Microsoft seem hellbent on forcing users to update their machines whether they want to or not—including in prior versions of Windows 10 a nightmare “feature” that forcibly seized control of users’ systems to start the installation…
It’s time for a look at the latest Insider Preview build of Windows 10. There are some small but welcome improvements, like the addition of HEIF (high efficiency file format) that lets you more easily save and view photos and videos from across the web, along with a safer removal process for people using external…
You might love Wolfenstein, but I’m not one who can stomach much violence, even when it’s in service of destroying Nazis in all their forms. As a result, I’ve never played more than a few minutes of any Wolfenstein game. That’s why Return to Castle Woofenstein (aka Woof3d), a mod that turns every enemy Nazi into a…
When Microsoft introduced Windows 10S last year, I was deeply concerned. If you didn’t think too hard about it, it kind of sounded like a good idea: a lightweight version of regular Windows 10, designed for systems without a ton horsepower, and a potentially competitive alternative to affordable Chromebooks, which…
In October, Microsoft admitted that its Windows Phone line was pretty much totally dead after failing to attract app developers and its market share plummeted from 0.8 percent to 0.1 percent by t 2017, with even corporate vice president for Windows Joe Belfiore saying that he had switched to Android. Instead, the…
Where does all the time go? When it comes to the time you spend on your phone, your computer, and the web, this doesn’t have to be a vague and rhetorical question—plenty of tools out there will track and monitor your time automatically, telling you exactly which apps and sites are sucking up most of your precious…
