Microsoft

Microsoft contractors listen to some Skype calls to check the accuracy of translations, a whistleblower has revealed. Although Microsoft says it meets privacy laws, critics say its terms and conditions don't clearly warn users about this. The human ... listening takes place on some calls that use Skype's "automatic" real-time translation service. Until now, most users have assumed that the translation is done entirely by a combination of speech recognition and artificial intelligence to work out the context of a sentence and find the correct translations. While that's largely the case, a ... (view more)

Microsoft may be ending the need to have a physical disk to reinstall Windows 10. A 'Cloud Download' option could save time and hassle. At the moment, the main way to reinstall Windows is to use a recovery disk (or a copy of the relevant files kept ... on a hard drive or USB device.) That's got a few limitations, most notably that not everyone who gets a recovery disk with a new computer will be able to find it. Other problems are that recovery disks don't always have the drivers necessary to make sure Windows 10 works smoothly with a specific PC, and that the disks don't usually work well for ... (view more)

Microsoft is to remove all electronic books sold through its official store. Users will get a refund while those who have made virtual notes on the book will get a bonus payment. Unlike most rival electronic book services, Microsoft had no dedicated ... electronic reading device and did not even offer an e-reader app. Instead, people who bought books through the Microsoft Store had to read them through a web browser. It's probably not a surprise that Microsoft has pulled the plug and will no longer be hosting the books online, most likely as it is ending the relevant licensing with publishers ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned the latest Windows 10 update could produce a completely black screen for some users. It's easily fixable and shouldn't be a permanent problem. Microsoft hasn't given any details of why the problem occurs, or if it affects people ... with a particular piece of hardware or software in place. It's only saying that a "small number of devices" appear to be affected. The problem is listed as being with Windows 10 version 1809 and 1803. Those are the two major updated versions of Windows 10 which were released last year. Version 1803 was released in April, 2018, while 1809 was ... (view more)

Microsoft says it is working on a "modern operating system" for the computers of the future. It avoided using the term "Windows" and the features and characteristics it describes share a lot with Google's Chrome operating system. The details came in ... a talk by Microsoft executives at Computex, a conference in Taipei. They demonstrated some of the latest laptops that run Windows, but then discussed how future PCs will have continually evolving requirements. The company's write-up of the talk says Microsoft is investing in "modern OS" experiences and uses that term eight times in a single ... (view more)

The latest Windows 10 update, which is rolling out now, has thrown up at least three highly reported problems for users. The most significant is that some computers are losing WiFi access. The Windows 10 May 2019 update affects some computers which ... have a Qualcomm WiFi adaptor and don't yet have the latest driver for it. A driver is a small piece of software that helps a hardware device or component interact with an operating system. Some users in this situation have suffered what Microsoft is calling an "intermittent loss of WiFi connectivity." It's responded by blocking the update from ... (view more)

Microsoft has ditched Windows 10 "Sets," a feature planned as a major rethink of how Windows 10 works. In simple terms, it would have replaced traditional windows (such as File Explorer or a MS Word) with browser-like tabs. The feature was first ... revealed by Microsoft in late 2017 and later went out to some users in the Windows 10 test panel. The concept was simple: to offer an alternative to the current methods of switching between open applications such as using Alt-Tab to cycle between them, or clicking on icons in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. Browser-Like Experience ... (view more)

Microsoft has warned that having a USB device or memory card in a computer could block a major Windows 10 update. It's a simple problem that's made far worse by a resulting error message, which is incredibly confusing. The issue is likely to do with ... the new policy that no longer requires users to 'eject' a USB device before removing it from the system . The problem is with computers trying to install the latest Windows 10 May 2019 Update. It's the first of the two major updates this year (and every year after) that introduces new features rather than simply fixing bugs. The "May 2019 update" ... (view more)

Microsoft is changing a default setting in Windows 10 that means it's now OK to remove a USB device without properly "ejecting" it from the operating system. It's an acknowledgement that many users simply don't use the "eject" feature. The fact is, ... using the "Safely remove hardware and eject media" on the Windows task bar (near the clock) is the correct way to eject USB media. This method is necessary because of read and write buffers to the device are constantly active. If the buffers are not flushed before the device is properly ejected, it could mean ... (view more)

Microsoft is going back to its old policy of letting users choose what Windows updates they get and when they get them, albeit with some restrictions. It's also going to put updates through more testing before rolling them out. One of the biggest ... change (and perhaps most controversial) with Windows 10 was the abandonment of the old policy by which users could take a case-by-case approach to downloading updates . The default in Windows 10 for home users has been that everything downloads and installs automatically, though exactly when this happens varies from device to device. That's partly ... (view more)