Microsoft

Microsoft is releasing a new "buy it once" version of Office. It's a surprise follow-up to Office 2019 and is an alternative to the ongoing subscription of Office 365. Right now very little is known about the new product as it's only come to light ... through a single line in a blog post that's otherwise about business tools Microsoft Exchange. That line reads: "Microsoft Office will also see a new perpetual release for both Windows and Mac, in the second half of 2021." (Source: microsoft.com ) A perpetual release is another way of saying that users only have to pay once to purchase the software ... (view more)

Microsoft is testing a fix for a bug that could theoretically shorten the lifespan of some hard drives. The bug means Windows 10 was mistakenly running the defrag tool more frequently than designed. Defragging has long been available as a way to ... make hard drives run more efficiently. It deals with the problem that when a computer deletes a file, it leaves empty physical space behind on the drive. The next time it writes a new file it will look for the first available suitable sized space. Over time this can lead to wasted gaps on the physical drive. In turn, this means traditional hard drives ... (view more)

Microsoft is reportedly planning to only have one major update to Windows 10 next year. It could be a permanent switch and appears inspired by requests to have Microsoft spend more time testing updates before releasing it to the public. The idea ... with Windows 10, sometimes dubbed 'Software as a Service', was to ditch the old model of releasing a totally new version of Windows every few years. Instead, Microsoft has based updates around a mix of security updates (either monthly or as needed for the most serious problems), monthly tweaks and fixes, and then two major updates each year. New ... (view more)

Users who regularly cut and paste in Windows may appreciate a forthcoming improvement. Windows 10 is getting an enhanced clipboard that makes it easier to find items other than text. The clipboard feature isn't widely publicized, but is already ... useful before the update. While pressing CTRL + V pastes text, pressing the Windows key + V opens the clipboard. This lets users quickly access the last 25 things they pasted, something that's particularly useful when working on multiple documents or heavily editing. However, the clipboard only stores items once the user switches on permission for it ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed there will be no option to uninstall the Edge browser once the new version is on a Windows 10 computer. There is a workaround, but it's not worth the trouble for most users. The two versions of Edge are known by Microsoft as ... the "legacy version" and the "new version." The legacy version ran on Microsoft's own code, while the new version is based on Chromium, which is open source software that is also the basis of Google's Chrome browser. One big reason for the switch is to make it easier for both website and browser extension developers to make something that works ... (view more)

Microsoft wants to hear from users whose computers slowed down after a recent Windows 10 update. It was a particularly unfortunate issue, as the update cannot be uninstalled. You may remember we reported on the problem in late June. It was with an ... update titled KB4559309 that was designed to replace the original version of the built-in Edge browser with a new version that used similar code to Google Chrome. It still isn't clear what caused the problem, but some users reported a host of slowdowns affecting general computer use, web page loading and gaming. The problem didn't seem ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled the latest batch of changes coming to Windows 10. Most are usability improvements, though fans of the Control Panel might be concerned. The changes come in the latest release in the Windows Insider Dev Channel. That's ... recommend only for the most technically confident users and is the first place that new features and changes are tested by people outside of Microsoft itself. One change had already leaked, namely the appearance of the tiles in the Start menu. They will now be partially transparent and will reflect the user's choice of a light or dark theme, the idea being ... (view more)

Microsoft has delayed the latest major Windows 10 Update for some users. The various workarounds aren't ideal, so affected users will probably need to be patient. The problem affects the May 2020 Update, taking Windows 10 to version 2004. It's the ... first of this year's scheduled two major updates that includes new features. Microsoft has previously blocked updates for some specific computers where it knows there will be a significant compatibility problem with hardware. This particular block appears more generic, with the affected users seeing an error message reading: This PC can ... (view more)

Current news floating around the Internet suggests that Windows 10 has developed a couple of bugs likely linked to recent updates, namely: slowed performance and confusing security scan messages. The good news is both problems can be solved to some ... extent. One problem is with update KB4559309 , which replaces the original version of Microsoft's Edge browser with a new version based on the same code behind Google Chrome. Details are still hazy, but some users have reported general slowdowns after the update regardless of whether they use Edge. This can affect apps, games and web pages. The ... (view more)

Microsoft has released a tool for recovering deleted or corrupted files. However, it may be too technical for many casual users. Windows File Recovery only works with Windows 10 version 2004, which is the latest branch of Windows 10 released on May, ... 2020. The Windows File Recovery is only available through the dedicated Microsoft Store, rather than users being able to download and install it from a website. (Source: microsoft.com ) It might therefore seem natural that the tool would be in an easy-to-use format aimed at a mass audience. Instead, it runs on the command line, meaning users can ... (view more)