Microsoft

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)

Microsoft will soon "reserve" seven gigabytes of hard drive space to make sure Windows 10 works reliably. But the setup may not work as planned. The change is scheduled for the next major twice-yearly update, expected in April, 2019. It's called ... "reserved storage" and involves earmarking part of the PC's hard drive as a place to store "updates, apps, temporary files, and system caches." These files are separate to the permanent ones used for Windows itself. (Source: microsoft.com ) 7GB Figure Could Increase According to Microsoft, the move will have two benefits. The first is to make sure the ... (view more)

Microsoft may have to pay more than a thousand dollars to a user whose PC was upgraded to Windows 10 without permission. The money covers damage after allegedly breaking the computer. The case is in Finland where the Finnish Consumer Disputes Panel ... ruled on a complaint by a user. Local media reports say that companies usually pay up in such cases. (Source: mspoweruser.com ) The claim followed an unwanted update from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 in March 2016. That's when Microsoft was using the Windows Update service to download the Windows 10 files and then automatically install it on a restart ... (view more)

Microsoft has revealed a few of the changes coming in future Windows 10 updates. They are mostly tweaks rather than new features, though that will likely reduce the chances of performance bugs. The changes have been unveiled as part of the "Fast ... Ring" of the Windows 10 Insiders Program. That means they're going out to the people in Microsoft's test program who've signed up to try out changes before anyone else, knowing it carries the biggest risk of new features not working well or even having bugs that affect Windows and other applications. New Windows 10 Changes Go Public April ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed Edge will now use the same code as Chrome . It's also said it plans to support Chrome extensions on Edge. The news bears out previous reports, though notably it appears Microsoft will stick with the Edge name for the revamped ... browser. That may be because it put so much effort into branding Edge as the replacement of Internet Explorer. It's all to do with rendering engines, the part of a web browser that actually turns the code of a web page into what the users sees on screen. Microsoft is ditching its own EdgeHTML and adopting "Chromium," an open source ... (view more)