Windows

The latest preview build of Windows 10 for PCs comes complete with a version of Microsoft’s new Edge web browser so you can try it out before the official launch on July 29th.

Man the New Windows 10 Background Is Annoying

We’re just a month away from the release of Windows 10, and to celebrate this momentous occasion for desktop software, Microsoft has released a video showing the ‘hero image’ that will grace your desktop backgrounds for years to come. I kind of hate it already. Microsoft went to great pains—a two-minute behind-the-scenes YouTube video—to explain…

How to Disable Notifications By App or Time in Windows 8.1

We’re a month away from Windows 10, but while you wait for Microsoft’s newest OS to come down the pipe there are still plenty of tricks to learn for Windows 8.1 (and they’ll stand you in good stead once the next version does appear). Here’s how to take more control over system notifications. As is…

Lenovo’s Ideacenter Stick 300 Is a Windows PC on a Stick for $140

The computer-on-a-stick is not a new—nor always terribly successful—idea. But that hasn’t stopped Lenovo, which has announced its own stab at the concept: the Ideacenter Stick 300. The new device comes in several spec levels, featuring an Intel Baytrail CPU, up to 2GB of RAM, up to 32GB of storage, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0,…

Samsung Disables Windows Updates to Favor Its Own Crappy Bloatware

Windows updates are simultaneously very boring and incredibly important: they have a habit of shutting down your computer at the wrong moment, but also patch critical security flaws with alarming regularity. So if a manufacturer decided to disable Windows Update to favor its own crappy bloatware, that would be incredibly fucked. Oh hey there, Samsung!…

Microsoft Finally Decides, No Free Windows 10 For Beta Testers

In a masterpiece of confusion and deception worthy of a Russian dictator making holiday plans, Microsoft spent the weekend thoroughly confusing users of the Windows 10 beta over whether they’d get a free copy of the final version. But in the latest (and hopefully final) post on the matter, Microsoft has settled matters: no freebies.…

Microsoft Can’t Decide If It’s Giving Away Windows 10 For Free

In an announcement on Friday, Microsoft dropped the unusually generous news that it is giving away free copies of Windows 10 to anyone who participates in the beta Insider Program for Redmond’s latest OS. Sound a little too good to be true? You bet. As noted by Ars Technica, Microsoft has since sneakily updated its…

The Best Transforming Windows Laptop Under $500

People always ask me which laptop to buy. They want it all—a powerful processor, long battery life, lots of storage, and yes, a fancy way to transform into a touchscreen tablet. And they want it for $400. Usually, I convince them to buy an $800 laptop instead. But what if you’re truly strapped for cash?…

Here Are The Features Microsoft Is Cutting From Windows 10

Windows 10 is fast approaching and while there’s no immediate need to upgrade from 8.1, or even 7, odds are you’ll want to make the jump eventually. Before you do, you’d best check out the Windows 10 “feature deprecation section”, to make sure your favourite features aren’t being cut from the latest release. It’s to…

Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 Review: Just Ignore The Word “Pro”

You want a laptop that looks nice. Asus understands that. That’s why the company has tried so hard to build a better MacBook. The ZenBook line has given birth to many beautiful, powerful, desirable machines that offer PC people a chance to preen—even when they’re surrounded by MacBooks at their local cafe. The newest addition…

How Android Is Becoming the New Windows

It’s more nuanced than you think. Last week at Google I/O, one of the striking themes of the keynote was Sundar Pichai’s focus on Android as the future of Google. Android isn’t just the core of Google’s booming smartphone and tablet business; it’s also core to the company’s next phase, as they move into what…

Why Yes, That Creepy Icon Is Your Free Copy of Windows 10

All around the world, Windows users are discovering a new icon in their notification trays—an offer to reserve a free copy of Windows 10. Sounds too good to be true, yes? Except Windows 10 actually is a free upgrade, and this really does appear to be the way you’ll get it. Click on that icon,…

Windows 10 Is Coming July 29th

It’s official. It’s free. (But not for pirates.) This is how you get it. This is what it’s all about: And here’s everything else we know. Windows 10. It’s coming. Get ready. [Microsoft] Contact the author at [email protected].

Asus Zenbook UX305 Review: A Great Laptop for Just $700

The new MacBook is way too thin. The Dell XPS 13 is the Windows laptop to beat. But say you’re looking for a slightly cheaper razor-thin machine? For just $700, the new Asus UX305 is a pretty damn good deal. What Is It? A 13.3-inch MacBook Air-styled laptop running Windows 8.1 instead. Thinner and lighter…

Put Windows on Auto Pilot With Task Scheduler

Windows 10 is set to mark a sea change in the way Microsoft’s OS works, but even the modern-looking Windows 8.1 carries a bunch of legacy tools and apps that you may not know about. One of those is the Task Scheduler, a built-in utility enabling you to automate a multitude of tasks with no…

Hope You Weren’t Expecting a Single Version of Windows 10

Microsoft announced Windows 10 as one big, free operating system that ran on everything: tablets, phones, PCs, televisions, game consoles and more. The fine print betrayed that marketing line, though: it would only be a free upgrade for non-enterprise customers, which meant there would still be Home, Pro and Enterprise versions of Windows 10. Now…

Windows 10 Will Spell The End Of Patch Tuesday

Since Windows 98, the second Tuesday of every month has seen Microsoft issue a slew of updates to eager users. With Windows 10, those days are going to come to an end: Microsoft will become a 24/7 update machine. Once (or sometimes twice) monthly updates make a lot of sense: make it easy for users…

The Detail That Goes Into Making Orion’s Windows Is Incredible

Given how high-tech spacecraft tend to be, I was surprised to learn that existing space vehicles tend to use good old-fashioned glass (albeit a rather expensive kind). But for the next-gen Orion spacecraft, NASA has been working overtime to find something stronger, lighter, and just a little less fragile. The historical preference for glass is…

The Next Cortana Won’t Just be a Sexy Lady—You Can Also Choose a Dude

Why are our digital assistants submissive human women?It’s more than a little sexist, no? But soon, Microsoft’s Cortana will let you change her gender. There will be a male version too. At Microsoft’s Build 2015 developer conference, Cortana director of engineering Michael Calcagano told me that the team had decided to give users more personality…

Windows 10 Will Be the Software Brains Behind DIY Arduino Projects

Both Start Menu-lovin’ Microsoft maniacs and amateur engineers should froth over this news: Arduino and Microsoft are teaming up to make Windows 10 the first Arduino-certified operating system. Microsoft says customers can combine Arduino’s hardware-driving powers with Windows software in a synergy that’ll let makers build a smorgasbord of cool, cheap smart objects—Arduino projects that…