windows 10

Microsoft has released the next set of updates for Windows 10, including improvements for Skype and Cortana. It's also fixed a problem that was stopping some users from activating their copy as being legitimate. The new set of changes are known as ... Build 10565 and are now available to people in on the Fast Ring setting of the Insider Program - in other words, those who have signed up to be the first to test any new features or fixes in Windows 10. Assuming the feedback is positive, the changes will likely be rolled out to the general public some time next month. Product Keys Can Now Be ... (view more)

Newly-released figures show most 'ordinary' users of Windows 10 seem to have little interest in Microsoft's new Edge browser. Meanwhile the system itself is gradually gaining an audience but doesn't seem to be getting much of a boost from being free ... to install. Previous figures relating to the usage of the Edge browser had been inconclusive at best because they were taken from records of website visitors from all computing systems. With Windows 10, users are still very much a minority, which left too much of a margin of error to draw any firm conclusions. Just One-In-Eight ... (view more)

Some users of Windows 10 with high-resolution monitors have experienced blurry fonts. For the moment the best solution appears to be a third-party fix, with the obvious caveats about using 'unofficial' software. The problem involves DPI (dots per ... inch) scaling, which is the way in which Windows adjusts text, icons, and even the mouse cursor for higher-resolution screens. Because text and items are often set by their application to be made up of a certain number of pixels, anything appearing on the screen with a high resolution monitor would be impossible to read, unless scaling was ... (view more)

Microsoft has insisted that all Windows 10 data collection is for the benefit of users. Representatives also stress that any data collected is encrypted before transmitted to Microsoft servers. The company has been under attack ever since Windows ... 10's release, and as it became increasingly clear regarding information the system collects and transmits back to Microsoft. While users have control over much of this data collection, it's often switched on by default and finding the relevant settings to switch it off can be confusing. At one stage Microsoft had to defend itself against ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Vince C. writes: " Dear Dennis, Every time I try to upgrade to Windows 10, I receive an error message stating that 'We couldn't update the system reserved partition'. My Windows 7 is on an SSD (solid state hard drive) with 62.2 GB ... free space. According to the 'Disk Management' utility, my System Reserved partition is 99.9 mb with what looks to be 65 mb free space. How can I increase the size of the System Reserved partition so that I can upgrade to Windows 10? " My response: You can use a partition editing tool to increase the size of the System Reserved partition. That ... (view more)

Microsoft is offering a half-price deal for its Office 365 subscription package. However, some tight restrictions mean the offer will only be available to a specific group of users. Office 365 is a way of using MS Office applications (Word, Excel, ... etc) without having to pay the full purchase price outright; instead customers pay a monthly fee. The subscription covers access to the latest editions of all the applications, meaning Office 365 subscribers will be able to use all the features in the latest edition of MS Office without having to pay for an upgrade if and when it becomes available. ... (view more)

Microsoft has unveiled a batch of new features and fixes for Windows 10. However, it's not confirmed when they will be available for the average users. The changes revealed by Microsoft's Gabe Aul are currently only available to members of the ... Windows Insider Preview program with the "Fast Ring" option selected. Those are the people who have effectively chosen to act as guinea pigs by being the first to test new features in a real world situation. If all goes well, the features and fixes will eventually make it into Microsoft's new general public update system. That' ... (view more)

Microsoft Office 2016 goes on sale today (September 22, 2015). Here is what's new and how it fits into the new Windows 10 setup, with cloud and collaboration the key focus. How much does Office 2016 cost? When it comes to cost, there are two options ... for Office 2016. The first is as an outright purchase, which is $149 for the "Home & Student" edition and $229 for the "Home & Business" edition. In this scenario, MS Office is installed on the computer as with past editions. The only updates are security fixes to the program. (Source: venturebeat.com ) The second ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Gail N. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have two HP laptops: one that came with Windows 7 and the other with Windows 8. I have already upgraded both laptops to Windows 10 using the 'get Windows 10 app' via the desktop. My question is: ... what happens if Windows 10 fails and I need to factory restore my laptop? Will I get back Windows 10 or will it reload the original operating system (Windows 7 or 8)? I ask because both my HP laptops have a 'factory restore' partition which I can access by pressing F11 on my keyboard during bootup. Also, is there any way to fix my laptop without ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Tim C. writes: " Dear Dennis, I recently upgraded to Windows 10 and have a rather perplexing issue. A few days ago I opened my laptop and Windows 10 presented me with a window, asking me if I was using a public or private network. ... I clicked the public network button, not thinking much of it - however, ever since then I cannot connect to my laptop using Remote Desktop (from the PC), nor can I use TightVNC, which is an alternative to Remote Desktop. Also, when I launch some programs (for example, Kodi to play movies), the Windows firewall tells me that the program I just ... (view more)