microsoft

Microsoft has confirmed Windows 10 will be available July 29, 2015. It's also advising those who wish to take the plunge to Windows 10 do some prep work before installing the new operating system. The date is a minor surprise as, more often than ... not, previous Windows editions came out in the fall. Fall release dates are usually meant to target people buying new PCs for the new academic year, or for the Christmas shopping season. That may be less relevant, however, as Windows 10 is a free upgrade. Windows 10 Upgrade Paths The upgrade process should be relatively simple, starting with the ... (view more)

Microsoft is to crack down on what it considers low-quality apps. It's likely an attempt to get its house in order before Windows 10 is officially released to consumers. The decision affects applications that can be downloaded and installed directly ... from the Windows Store. It doesn't affect applications which users get elsewhere and install manually, in the same way with all software in Windows 7 and earlier. Instead, Windows Store apps are displayed prominently in the Windows 8 and 10 user interface, and on Windows mobile devices. According to Microsoft, the crackdown isn't so ... (view more)

Candy Crush Saga will come pre-installed for Windows 10. It's not yet clear how in-game purchases will work in the Windows edition. The game will be one of four pre-installed games in Windows 10, alongside long-time classics Solitaire Hearts, and ... Minesweeper. Those three were all made optional downloads in Windows 8 after years of shipping as part of Windows systems, but have now returned as part of the main package. Candy Crush Saga was already a hit online through Facebook and in Apple and Android apps, with a reported 500 million downloads, before being added to Windows Phone last year ... (view more)

Microsoft has confirmed Windows 10 will be the last ever version of Windows. But it says that by no means is it the end for the system. The company plans to completely ditch the idea of releasing a new version of Windows every two or three years. ... Instead it's going to issue more frequent updates to Windows 10 . At the moment, the updates to Windows are relatively minor. Besides the important security fixes, most updates tend to be minor fixes for usability, with very occasional new features and improvements. Any major rethinks are generally saved for a new version. In the future, ... (view more)

Microsoft has made the announcement that Windows 10 will be able to run many iPhone, iPad and Android applications natively. That's just one of several revelations made about the new system this week, including the new name for Internet Explorer's ... successor. The announcements came at Microsoft's annual Build conference for software developers, which shows off new ways that the upcoming operating system will work with software. The real shocker, however, is the fact that rival operating systems will be supported in Windows 10. Microsoft is releasing toolkits for developers that ... (view more)

A key PC hardware firm has let slip that Windows 10 will be ready at the end of July. That may not be the date the public will get its hands on the new system, but suggests that Microsoft has taken additional steps towards the final launch date. The ... timeline revelation came in an investor conference call from AMD, one of the leading makers of computer processors. Chief executive officer and president Lisa Su made reference to the company's forecasts - particularly, when it will need to supply processors to computer makers with respect to Windows 10 launch date. "What we also are ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Fred J. writes: " Dear Dennis, I had to reinstall Windows 8 on my machine, and I wanted to download the Windows 8.1 update afterward. But when I try, that I'm told I must have all the current Windows 8 updates installed. So, I ... looked at the updates for Windows 8 and there are over 150 of them. I requested that they all be downloaded and installed, and they did. However, when the installation and configuration starts, I get the message that there was a ' Failure Configuring Windows Updates; Reverting changes ', and then Windows Update fails. Now I'm ... (view more)

Last week Microsoft confirmed it will give users running pirated copies of Windows 7 and 8.1 a free upgrade to Windows 10 . Now it's revealed that offer has a big restriction, one that may undermine the entire purpose of the move. Windows 10 Upgrade ... For All Applies Worldwide The initial announcement appeared as if the piracy offer would only apply to users in China. Since then, however, Microsoft has made some clarified two main points. One is that the offer will apply worldwide, and not just in China. The move was controversial enough in piracy-ridden China, and even more so in countries ... (view more)

Microsoft is offering Chinese users of pirated Windows software a free upgrade to Windows 10. It appears to be a case of profit over principle that may also have security benefits. Virtually all users of Windows 7 and 8.1 around the world will ... already qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 10 when it's released, something Microsoft now says will be "this summer." However, in most places that only applies to legitimate users. Things are very different in China, however, which has a combination of an increasingly wealthy tech-loving population and loose government policing of ... (view more)

Microsoft has signed up to an international standard for protecting customer privacy with online data. Among other measures, Microsoft promises to tell customers when the government demands access to their data. The company has followed ISO standard ... number 27018, which are guidelines set forth by the International Organization for Standardization. It's an attempt to set internationally recognized rules and regulations for the way "personally identifiable information" is handled in cloud services, and where data is stored or processed online rather than on the user's own computer ... (view more)