Windows

Lenovo LaVie Z 360 Review: The Ultimate Adventure Travel Computer?

The LaVie Z is the newest ultrabook from Lenovo. At just 2 lbs, it’s the lightest in its class. Does that make it the perfect adventure-travel companion? We’ve been carrying it everywhere to find out. Update: As multiple readers have pointed out, Lenovo has a huge problem with spyware right now. Consider that before you…

Microsoft May Use Cortana to Control Its Windows-in-the-Car System

Last year, Microsoft unveiled Windows-in-the-car concept. At the time, it shied away from explaining how people would interact with the system — but now it’s revealed that it could be powered by its smart assistant, Cortana. At a Microsoft event being held in Taiwan today, the chief operating officer Samuel Shen of Microsoft Asia-Pacific Research…

Good news for early Microsoft Surface adopters and other RT lovers: an update for the Windows RT 8.1 brings a Windows 10-like Start menu to the OS. It’s not an overhaul, but it breathes a little fresh air into the orphaned software.

Windows 10 is Being Auto-Downloaded to Windows 7 and 8.1 Users

The files needed to install Windows 10 are being automatically downloaded to Windows 7 and 8.1 users by Windows Update—even if users have no intention of upgrading. According to The Register, the upgrade files are being downloaded even by users who have not opted to digitally “reserve” a copy of Windows 10 in Microsoft’s app.…

It would probably be a good idea to go update your Windows computer: today’s Patch Tuesday, and this month’s round of updates nixes some critical security bugs, including inInternet Explorer(surprise!) and Office. [Krebs on Security]

You’ll be able to watch Apple’s September 9th event on a Windows 10 PC. Traditionally, Apple has limited the livestream to its own Safari browser on iOS and OS X operating systems—barring workarounds—but this time you can officially watch it in the new Microsoft Edge browser.

Windows 10 Is Doing Pretty OK Actually

Windows 8 wasn’t exactly a beloved operating system, but it sure seems like its successor is off to a pretty good start! Today, Windows VP Yusuf Mehdi tweeted that more than 75 million devices are running the updated Windows 10 operating system. Keep in mind, Windows 10 has only been out for about a month…

Tell Us Your Memories of Windows 95, the Most Charming OS Microsoft Ever Made

Want to feel old? The iPhone turns 20 today. Just KIDDING. Windows 95 is celebrating its 20th birthday though. Microsoft’s once-ubiquitous operating system launched in 1995 with an expensive (and wildly successful) marketing campaign. It looks laughably outdated now, but at the time, Windows 95 was a hit, selling 7 million copies in the first…

Hardcore Pirates Are Reportedly Banning Windows 10

There’s casual Pirate Bay piracy, and then there’s private torrent trackers: members-only clubs that share the best movie and TV rips among themselves. As you’d expect, they tend to be pretty hardcore about privacy, enough so that some groups are banning members from using Windows 10. As TorrentFreak reports, groups like iTS and FSC have…

Apple has a new version of BootCamp,actually designedto work with Windows 10. If you’re already running it, look for the update in your Windows partition; otherwise, the update should be available soon. You’ll need an Intel-powered Mac running OS X Yosemite to take advantage. [MacRumors] Contact the author at [email protected].

The Worst Bugs in Windows 10 and How to Fix Them

If you dived in the Windows 10 deep end, you might not have a smooth and seamless experience. Nowadays every piece of software seems to be a work-in-progress, and Microsoft’s newest operating system is no different. That’s not to say Windows 10 has been a total disaster—plenty of people have upgraded with no problems at…

Everyone’s a Winner With These Windows 3.0 Cards by Susan Kare

Practically everyone who used a computer in the 90s passed the hours playing Solitaire on Windows 3.0 at one point or another. Now, you can enjoy the game in real life with this deck of cards modeled after Susan Kare’s timeless, pixelated design. Even the box brings back memories. Susan Kare is probably best known…

Don’t Buy The $15 DVD Player App For Windows 10

Windows 10 doesn’t ship with the software to play DVDs. If you want to make that happen, Microsoft thinks you should spend $15 on a Microsoft DVD-playing app from the App Store. Don’t do that. It’s kind of a shame that there’s no built-in software to play DVDs on Windows 10 — one more thing…

Don’t Fall For This Windows 10 Email Scam

Windows 10 is good, sure, but don’t be in such a rush to upgrade that you get suckered in by this (fairly obvious) email scam. As spotted by Cisco, some scammers are taking advantage of the reservation system for Windows 10 to send out malware-ridden emails, posing as Microsoft. The email pretends to contain the…

I’m Playing Xbox On Windows 10, And You Can Too

Yesterday, my wife wanted to play some Kingdom Hearts. I was in the mood for Titanfall. We only have one TV. So I pulled out a Surface 3 tablet, plugged in an Xbox One controller, and started streaming the game from my Xbox to my portable PC. It’s a new Windows 10 feature. How well…

Windows 10, On a Mac

Tentatively wondering whether it’s worth setting up Windows 10 as an alternate boot option on your Mac? I’ve taken the plunge for you—here’s what I found. To give you an idea of where I’m coming from and how easy or otherwise this is, I’m an occasional Mac OS X user and a first-time Boot Camp…

Download Offline Maps on Windows 10 and Never Be Lost Again

Windows 10 comes with a Maps app built in. It uses Nokia’s nifty (and good!) Here Maps, and Microsoft even lets you download regions for offline perusal. https://gizmodo.com/windows-10-the-gizmodo-review-1720872266 To download offline maps, just head to Settings—>System—>Offline Maps, or go to the Settings in the Maps app. (Or just search Offline Maps in the system-wide Search.)…

Windows 10 Battery Life Is Better—Except When It’s Worse

I’ve had a devil of a time trying to figure out whether Windows 10 is helping or hurting when it comes to battery life. The answer: It’s complicated. This entire week, we’ve been measuring battery life across four different Windows laptops: two versions of the superlative Dell XPS 13, one excellent HP Spectre x360, and…

If You Want Microsoft Solitaire Ad-Free It’ll Cost You $10/Year

Procrastinators everywhere rejoiced when it was discovered that Windows 10 was bringing back everyone’s favorite time waster. But unlike the last time you played Microsoft Solitaire on your PC, this time you’ll have to pay a subscription fee just to get rid of the ads. If you’ve already loaded up Windows 10 you’ve experienced it…

PSA: Windows 10 Isn’t a Risk-Free Upgrade

Reviewers agree that Windows 10 is awesome. Reviewers also agree that you should probably wait till bugs get fixed. But maybe you’ve heard that you can simply revert to Windows 8.1 if you don’t like it? Well… I just tried it, and it’s not quite that simple. There definitely is such an option. You can…