Microsoft

A credit-card sized PC costing just $35 will be able to run a dedicated version of Windows 10. It's by no means a practical choice for most users, but is a sign that Microsoft is continuing to make its flagship operating system sleeker and more ... efficient. The computer in question is the Raspberry Pi 2. It's the latest in a series of devices originally designed to make computers cheap enough that schools can buy them in bulk in order to teach children coding and programming skills. In terms of hardware specifications, there's nothing glamorous about the Raspberry Pi. It doesn't ... (view more)

With Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 now available, tech-heads are noticing a common theme: it seems to be a compromise between the 'traditional' format seen in Windows 7 and earlier, and the radical revamp that came with Windows 8. Start Menu ... Returns With a Difference Perhaps the most widely talked about feature -- still -- is the new Start menu. It displays the traditional view of programs on the left, while displaying live tile icons on the right. Users can control how much space the live tiles take up and can even resize it to full-screen mode, effectively replicating the main ... (view more)

It's official: Microsoft says that Windows 10 will be free of charge -- but the offer comes with limitations and caveats. The free upgrade offer is part of what could be the biggest change to the Windows business model, ever. Microsoft's comments at ... a launch event this week have been interpreted by some analysts as meaning Windows 10 may also be the last major release of the operating system. Instead, Windows may receive more frequent, but less substantial updates in the future. The Windows 10 free upgrade deal will only apply to consumer versions of Windows 7 (Service Pack 1) and Windows ... (view more)

Early last year, Microsoft released a free version of Windows for manufacturers that produced tablet computers with screen sizes smaller than nine inches. Known as "Windows 8.1 with Bing," the forecast was to make a big difference to the economics ... for manufacturers weighing up which operating system to use on its devices. Analysts are now speculating whether Microsoft will do the same with Windows 10 and, if so, whether the offer will apply on traditional PCs. It also raises the possibility that Microsoft could face accusations of unfair behavior in promoting its search engine . ... (view more)

As expected and according to Microsoft's Windows lifecycle page, Windows 7 mainstream support officially ended on January 13, 2015. It means there will be no more significant updates to the Windows 7 operating system, other than security updates. ... The end of mainstream support is in line with Microsoft's general policy of offering support for its operating systems five years after being released, followed by extended support for a further five years. The only exception to this policy was Windows XP, where the total support period lasted for 13 years. That was largely because the system ... (view more)

HP has unveiled a Windows 8.1 mini desktop computer that's only two inches tall and costs under $200. It's part of an ongoing campaign to battle Google by producing cheap Windows computers. The Stream Mini Desktop is just under six inches square and ... weighs only 1.6 pounds. It's a small, self-contained box with two USB ports, video outputs for HDMI and DisplayPort, an audio socket, an SD card reader, and an Ethernet port for connecting to a network. At the time of writing, it does not appear to have a wireless (Wi-Fi) connection, though one could easily add a USB Wi-Fi dongle to ... (view more)

Unconfirmed rumors suggest Windows 10 may be free of charge for people already on Windows 8.1. An announcement may be coming later this month to clarify the pricing structure. Meanwhile, Microsoft has confirmed that only people on Windows 7 or later ... will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 directly, while those users running Windows XP or Vista will need to carry out a fresh install. The pricing rumors stem from a report by the Softpedia website. It's generally considered credible, but is only citing its source on the pricing structure as "some people close to the matter." ... (view more)

Reports suggest Microsoft is working on a new web browser as an alternative to Internet Explorer. Both the scope and timescale of any changes have not yet been confirmed, but it's suggested the launch will coincide with the release of Windows 10. ... Most rumors reference two codenames for the project: Trident and Spartan. The two names refer to the same strategy: to make Microsoft's web browser better and easier to use on modern websites, while still being able to run web pages designed for legacy systems. Trident is the web browser engine which already exists and is part of Internet ... (view more)

Microsoft has released a Windows 10 Preparation Tool designed to integrate Windows 7 and 8 computers for testing Windows 10 more easily. The tool also coincides with a big update to Windows 10 Technical Preview which is due January next year, and ... will include many features that are most important to home computer users. (Source: winbeta.org ) Currently, Windows 10 is in its Technical Preview stage. That means many features are new and being tested by thousands of people, and the operating system itself is not fully functional. In all likelihood, the Technical Preview is full of bugs and has ... (view more)

The first consumer features of Windows 10 -- albeit very much still in test mode -- may be just a few weeks away from public unveiling. Recent leaks suggest that the virtual assistant Cortana may be extremely prominent in the new system. Cortana is ... a voice recognition feature already present in Windows Phones and works somewhat similar to Apple's Siri and Google Now. The Windows 10 Consumer Edition Preview is expected to officially roll out to public testers in late January, 2015; some analysts suggest it will likely be on January 21st, as that is the date of Microsoft's next press event. ( ... (view more)