Ocean Computerz

How to Change or Edit the Microsoft email address (@live.com, @hotmail.com, @outlook.com)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 16:32:00 +0000

1: Add a new alias.

Sign in to your Microsoft account.
Select Your Info.
Select Manage your sign-in email or phone number.
Because of the sensitive nature of changing your alias, you'll be prompted to enter the code that we send to the email or phone number you listed in your account as security information. This lets us know the request is coming from you.
Select Add email alias.

If you don't already have an email address, select Create a new email address and add it as an alias. Follow the instructions.

2.Set the new email address as the primary alias.

After you set the new email address as your primary alias, that email address will be displayed as your Microsoft account alias when you sign in to all devices and services. Here's how to make this change:

Under Account alias, select aliases.
Click or tap Make primary under the alias that you want as primary.

3: Remove the old email address you no longer want to use.

Select Remove next to the alias you want to remove. Follow the instructions provided.

Note It can take up to 48 hours for the change to your email address to be implemented on all Microsoft services.

You can use any email address or phone number you have listed as an alias to sign in. To make it harder for someone to break in to your account, change your sign-in preferences to turn off any alias you don't want used to sign in.

Download Windows 10

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:26:00 +0000

If you need to install or reinstall Windows 10, you can use the tools on this page to create your own installation media using either a USB flash drive or a DVD.

Before you begin

Make sure you have:
- An internet connection (internet service provider fees may apply).
- Sufficient data storage available on a computer, USB or external drive for the download.
- A blank USB or DVD (and DVD burner) with at least 4 GB of space if you want to create media. We recommend using a blank USB or blank DVD, because any content on it will be deleted.
Read the System Requirements.
If you will be installing the operating system for the first time, you will need your Windows product key (xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx). For more information about product keys and when they are required, visit the FAQ page.
For Enterprise editions please visit the Volume Licensing Service Center.

Use the media creation tool to download Windows. This tool provides the best download experience for customers running Windows 7, 8.1 and 10. To learn how to use the tool, go to the Installing Windows 10 using the media creation tool page. Tool includes:

File formats optimized for download speed.
Built in media creation options for USBs and DVDs.
Optional conversion to ISO file format.

Download Tool Now (32-bit version)

Download Tool Now (64-bit version)

Source : Microsoft

MILLIONS of FREE Microsoft eBooks Download

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 03:30:00 +0000

I’m giving away MILLIONS of FREE Microsoft eBooks again! Including: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7, Office 2013, Office 365, SharePoint 2013, Dynamics CRM, PowerShell, Exchange Server, Lync 2013, System Center, Azure, Cloud, SQL Server, and

Eric Ligman

7 Jul 2015 8:19 AM

Who’s ready for even more FREE Microsoft eBooks??? If you are, then I’m happy to let you know that once again, I am putting up my collection of FREE Microsoft eBooks, User Guides, Deployment Guides, Step-By-Steps, etc. and more here on the blog for all of you to take advantage of and download for FREE! As you may know, over the past few years I have been posting collections of FREE Microsoft eBooks (close to 500 total so far) on my blog for people around the world to use and these have been a HUGE success. In fact, two years ago, there were over 3.5 MILLION free eBooks downloaded throughout the year. Then last year, we gave away over 1 MILLION FREE eBooks in just 2 days, and over 2 MILLION in less than a week! That was phenomenal! So how many MILLIONS of FREE Microsoft eBooks are you going to download this year?
Below is the collection I am posting this year (which includes a ton of new eBooks & resources, as well as some of the favorites from last year), but be sure to take a look at my previous collections as well to see if you want any of those as well:

And don’t forget, if you don’t want to miss any of the FREE resources posts I share here on my blog or through my Twitter account, be sure to download my Microsoft Info Partner Mobile App for Windows Phone. It also includes HUNDREDS of other Microsoft resource feeds besides just mine. Just click the link above or scan the code to the right to get it.

To Download E-Books : Source Page

Office 2016 Public Preview announced at Microsoft Ignite

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 May 2015 11:16:00 +0000

Today Microsoft kicked off their inaugural Ignite Conference in Chicago, Illinois with the event’s one and only keynote for the over 23,000 people in attendance.

Ignite replaces Microsoft's TechEd and several other professional conferences the company used to host and ties them into one package.

Unlike Build 2015 last week in San Francisco, which had two separate keynotes, there is only one keynote at Ignite but the news and info was abundant.

One of those announcements was the availability of the Office 2016 Public Preview.

This preview of Microsoft’s next version of Office has been available since the middle of March in a limited pre-release program and was targeted towards IT Pros and Developers. Today’s announcement opens up the audience for this preview and expands to pretty much anyone who wants to try Office 2016 including those same IT Pros, developers, and any users at home, work and school.

Office 2013 Tip - Connect and Sync all

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 May 2015 11:09:00 +0000

Looked at from a high-level, the single biggest change in Office 2013 when compared with previous versions is its deep connectivity with online services. This connectivity takes a number of forms, including the syncing of settings through SkyDrive and the ongoing updates that occur to subscription-based versions of the suite. But one of the more interesting ways in which you can customize and improve Office is to connect it to the services you use every day.

This capability starts, of course, with your Microsoft account or, in the case of business-oriented Office installs, with your domain or Office 365 account. Most Office 2013 users will sign-in with such an account, because it makes Office better by syncing all of your Office settings to each PC you use. I discussed doing so in Office 2013 Tip: Personalize the Office Applications.

When you sign in to Office, that Microsoft (or organizational) account is automatically added as a connected service in the Account view in the Office Backstage. (You can see this by selecting the File menu and then Account.)

This provides you with instant access to the underlying document storage capabilities of the connected service. With a Microsoft account, this will be your SkyDrive storage and with Office 365 or a related organizational account, it will be SkyDrive Pro (formerly MySite) in SharePoint. This means you can open and save documents to this cloud-based storage service automatically. So, for example, when you select Save As from the File menu in Word, your cloud-based storage will appear in the list of locations alongside your PC-based file locations.

Office 2013 lets you add many other services, including both cloud storage services—SkyDrive and SharePoint-based—and online photo and video sharing services that require a Microsoft account.

You can add multiple storage services to Office 2013, and can even add multiple SkyDrive and SharePoint services if you’d like. So if you have, say, two SkyDrive accounts and three SharePoint accounts (or locations), you can add them all to Office. To do so, Select add a service and then Storage from the Accounts view in Backstage, and then pick the appropriate storage type.

What you can’t do is rename or re-order these services. In Office 2013, all of the SharePoint locations are listed before the SkyDrive locations. And the individual locations are sorted alphabetically. (Unfortunately, my own SkyDrive accounts are all named “Paul Thurrott’s SkyDrive” making it hard to differentiate between them. I’ve experimented with renaming them in the Registry, which works but only temporarily. Over time, the names revert back to the originals.)

If you do sign-in with a Microsoft account, you can also configure various photo and video sharing services, including Facebook, Flickr, LinkedIn Twitter, and YouTube. Connecting to these services facilitates a new feature in Office 2013 that lets you easily insert online photos and videos into documents. I wrote about this in Office 2013 Feature Focus: Online Photos and Videos, but if you select the Online Pictures command in Word, for example, you’ll see the appropriate connected services appear in the Insert Pictures window alongside Office.com Clip Art and Bing Image Search.

The best part about this connectedness perhaps, is that it syncs across all your PCs as long as you’re signing with the same account on each. So you only need to configure these services once and they’ll always be available.

Project Spartan’s name is finally revealed: "Microsoft Edge"

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 05:38:00 +0000

We knew that Internet Explorer was dead.

We knew a successor was coming.

We just didn’t know the official name, beyond the “Project Spartan” placeholder.

Now we do: Microsoft’s new browser is called Microsoft Edge.

Just announced at the company’s build conference, Edge will be the primary/default browser built into Windows 10.

Details are still light on of what’s unique to Edge, but here’s what we know:

It has built-in Cortana support.
It has built-in reader, note-taking and sharing features.
The design focuses on simplicity and minimalism.
The rendering engine is called EdgeHTML.

While no full-size screenshots have been released yet, here’s what we could grab from the demo screen as it debuted:

5 Awesome Windows 10 Announcements

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 05:24:00 +0000

At their long, developer-focused Build conference this morning, Microsoft announced a plethora of new things regarding Windows 10 and its new identity as a service-based company. Windows 10 is the company’s new attempt at recapturing the interest of longtime Windows 7 users, after a fairly limited turnout for Windows 8.
In case you haven’t heard, yes—Microsoft skipped “Windows 9” and went straight to Windows 10. The good news is that the OS looks to be a pretty balanced and powerful system that takes the best of Windows 7 and Windows 8 and finds a happy medium in between the two. There were a number of surprising things Microsoft announced, including mostly notably how cross-platform the company is hoping to be.
So here it is: our list of the five awesome things Microsoft announced this morning.
1. StaffPen, an App for Notating Music

Okay so this one doesn’t actually relate to Windows 10 much at all—it’s just a really cool app that was made specifically for the Surface and its stylus support. Considering the options for notational software are so limited that many composers still use good ‘ol pen and paper, it’s great to see an app as functional and accurate finally coming out.
Not only can you write directly into StaffPen, it can also accurately translate written notation into digital form. This is Microsoft finally showing why a stylus can actually set the Surface apart from its counterparts.
2. Office as a Platform

One of the biggest pieces of news from Build 2015 was the announcement that Office is now a full-fledged platform. That means we’ll be seeing all sorts of “add-ins”, as Microsoft calls them, that flesh out the software and let third-party developers integrate their apps directly into things like Outlook and Word.
At one point, they scheduled an appointment with Uber right in Outlook. One thing is clear: Microsoft is finally seeing itself as a service business now. It might be a little late, but it’s good to see them finally stepping into this identity as a company.
3. Android and iOS Apps in Windows 10

Microsoft’s big message in its app strategy was that it was going full cross-platform. Essentially, Microsoft has made it very easy for developers to bring Android and iOS apps to the Microsoft Store without having to completely re-work them for Windows. In an interview with The Verge, Terry Myerson from Microsoft mentioned that the SDK kits will be leveraged in the same way that Amazon has done it with Android apps.
We still don’t know how quickly developers will jump onboard for something like this, but it’s a promising way forward for Windows’ plagued third-place app store in Windows 10.
4. Microsoft Edge

Microsoft finally gave its Project Spartan a proper name and it’s Microsoft Edge. This new browser takes the place of the old browser Internet Explorer, which somehow became not much more than the butt of a big internet joke. Outside of the name, there isn’t a lot new about Edge to talk about: it’s clean, minimalist, and fast—all the things you want in a modern web browser.
The most interesting thing about Edge is that it supports code from Chrome and Firefox extensions in the same way that Windows 10 now supports code from Android and iOS. We don’t know all the details, but it seems to be another part of Microsoft’s plan find its identity as a cross-platform service company.
5. Continuum Can Turn Smartphones into PCs

This one is just crazy. We already knew about Continuum, Microsoft’s name for making the transition between PCs and tablets a bit more fluid. But today, Microsoft docked a smartphone and we watched it turn into a full-fledged PC. The idea is that when you plug your smartphone into something like a large monitor or Bluetooth keyboard, it can function pretty much like a Windows 10 PC, with the guts of the smartphone powering everything.
This will, of course, require new Windows Phone devices, but it’s one step closer to bridging the wide gap between traditional computing and mobile devices and really quite impressive if it works as seamlessly as in the simulation this morning.

Source : pastemagazine

Microsoft will soon add more ‘gesture controls’ in the Gestures Beta app for Lumia Windows Phones

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 11:33:00 +0000

We have already seen the gestures beta app for Lumia Windows Phone devices which lets you answer incoming calls, mute them and/or switch to loud speaker by performing specific gestures on your Windows Phone. Now, it seems Microsoft is thinking to add more gestures to this very useful app.

The app named Gestures beta was released by Microsoft last year which proved to be very useful for people who want to perform specific actions without using their hands on touch screen.

Now, the user voice page of Gesture Beta app seems to have got a reply from Microsoft representative that more features might be coming to the app in future.

The features like music control with shake of device, vibrate of phone on answer of call and alarm controls to mute alarms etc have been suggested on the user voice page.

The above features will be very useful for people who want to get the most out of their Windows Phone devices without even turning on the screen of phone to use it.

The above features are just suggestions by the users and Microsoft might not implement them in the app but, the response from Microsoft team member that more features are being considered is a good news.

So, which gestures do you want on your Lumia Windows Phone?

Via: Neowin

Source: Gestures Beta user voice

Windows 10 to reportedly launch at the end of July

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 04:47:00 +0000

Last year, Microsoft introduced Windows 10. The operating system is currently under development and it’s being tested by millions of Windows Insiders. As it isn’t a beta testing, there’re a handful of rough edges on the OS and it isn’t quite ready for the public. However, Microsoft stated that the company will release Windows 10 RTM to the public in summer – which means the company could release the OS on Septemeber as well.

Now, AMD’s CEO has stated that Windows 10 will be available at the end of July – to ship with devices just in time for back to school promotions. The CEO of AMD revealed the info at a recent financial conference call. Of course, this doesn’t confirm if Microsoft will indeed release Windows 10 RTM on July. So, take this with a grain of salt.

Do you think Microsoft should release Windows 10 RTM on July? Discuss in the comment section below!

Via: Neowin – AMD

Skype For Business - Rolling Out

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Apr 2015 12:16:00 +0000

Its revolutionary day!!! The General availability of Skype for Business. Microsoft promised organization currently using Lync 2013 will be updated to Skype for business and Lync Online service will be automatically updated to SfB Online.

Client will be rolling out as part of the April monthly update for Office 2013 while SfB Online is rolling out to office 365 customers worldwide. Basically Office 365 customers using Lync online will get the new SfB for experience within next weeks.

And this is a good news to future customers who willing to move to UC Platforms and it’s a gate opener to very big user base with same experience with additional features.

Vision - Skype for Business will offer phone numbers to Office 365 user, available in preview soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=76&v=I4iS_NDczoI

Skype for Business Preview - Download

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-skype-for-business

Extract and you will find following ,

How it look like !!! try to have test run with Lync right away

Enjoy!!!

First Look : Skype for Business

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 10:40:00 +0000

With April’s Office update, Lync will become Skype for Business, with a new user interface (UI) in the Windows desktop application. On today’s show, we take a look the new Skype for Business desktop application for Windows. BJ Haberkorn joins Jeremy Chapman to demonstrate what’s new and explain what’s coming. With April’s update from Lync to Skype for Business around the corner, Jeremy also demonstrates how you can control what your users will see.

On March 16th we announced how you can get ready for Skype for Business and get started with the Skype for Business technical preview. The updated experience will be familiar to both Lync and Skype users, with notable requested updates to improve discoverability of the dial pad, easier access to controls and device selection interfaces. The new Skype for Business also integrates people search with the entire Skype network.

Skype for Business will roll out as an update to Lync on April 14th as part of Office monthly updates. If you are using Lync Online today with Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 Business Premium or Office 2013, the updated Skype for Business client—inspired by the look and feel of Skype—will be the default user experience and replace the Lync user experience. If you are using Lync Servertoday, the Lync UI will be the default experience.

The good news is that regardless of whether you are using Lync Online or Lync Server, you have the ability to control when the updated experience is rolled out to your users. There are two ways to do this. First, Office 365 ProPlus and Office 2013 allow you to control when monthly updates are delivered to your users. Second, both the online service and the server now have policy settings to control the user experience using PowerShell. While the settings are slightly different for online and server customers, both are straightforward, and allow you to manage the UI centrally.

Controlling the UI in Lync Online and Skype for Business Online

We demonstrate how this is performed for the online service on the show; once you’re logged into the online service via PowerShell, you can use Grant-CsClientPolicy Cmdlet as shown below, to control the experience:

Disable Skype user interface (UI) for all users:

Grant-CsClientPolicy -PolicyName ClientPolicyDisableSkypeU

Enable Skype UI for all users:

Grant-CsClientPolicy -PolicyName ClientPolicyEnableSkypeUI

These Cmdlets will control the UI presented to all users in your Office 365 or Lync Online tenant. There are more options for controlling the experience at an individual user or group level on TechNet.

Controlling the UI in Lync Server and Skype for Business Server

If you’re running Lync Server and want to roll out the updated Skype for Business UI to your organization, you can use the Set-CsClientPolicy Cmdlet:

Enable Skype UI for all users:

Set-CsClientPolicy -Identity Global -EnableSkypeUI $true

Disable Skype user interface (UI) for all users:

Set-CsClientPolicy -Identity Global -EnableSkypeUI $false

In addition to the options above for selecting between the Skype for Business UI and the Lync UI, we’ve created a number of resources to help with awareness, readiness and adoption. These resources, along with the ability to switch the UI between the two interfaces, will give users the resources they need to be prepared for this change.

What’s next?

In the show we also discuss changes coming to the online experience for users and administrators, upcoming Skype for Business Servers, planned support for enterprise voice and calling in Office 365, new hardware from Polycom and Surface Hub, plus updates coming from Azure ExpressRoute to enhance Skype for Business even further. Watch the show to see Skype for Business in action and hear all the news about what’s coming for administrators.

Microsoft Spartan v0.1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 03:59:00 +0000

Microsoft first announced its new Spartan browser at a Windows 10 event earlier this year, with promises of greater speed, lighter resource usage, and a couple of nifty features like a reading mode and drawing on webpages. With Project Spartan, a very early pre-release version (v.0.1, actually) Microsoft is finally giving up on its Internet Explorer browser brand. The last few versions of IE made impressive strides in speed, new standards compatibility, and trim interface design. But the despised software just couldn't shake off the rep earned by its proprietary predecessors, especially the problematic IE6. Nonetheless, Internet Explorer is still the most widely used desktop Web browser, according to new U.S. government numbers.

Let's also not forget that the modern Web, with all its application-like capabilities, owes its existence to IE's pioneering of technologies such as Dynamic HTML and Ajax. And the browser was also the only one with a really effective privacy tool—Tracking Protection. But that's all in the past now. With Project Spartan, Web developers working on new services (such as Twitter's Periscope) will feel even less inclined to make sure their Web apps work in Internet Explorer.

Starting UpTo get Spartan (which is currently only available in Windows 10 for desktops), you'll need to register as a Windows Insider with the Fast updates setting, and update Windows 10 to build number 10049. This will occur automatically if you've turned on automatic updates. Keep in mind that if you can wait, you may be better off using the more-stable Slow update track, since the fast track breaks some features; in this case, for example, you can't run Hyper-V virtual machines. I installed the new OS version on a Microsoft Surface Pro 3$1,147.50 at Amazon and a nice big all-in-one PC, the 27-inch Lenovo Horizon 2e$749.99 at Amazon.

The new browser's very flat earth icon appears in the taskbar when you start up the new OS version, but so does good old Internet Explorer's more-familiar button, so you can still run IE if you run into problems with a particular site.

InterfaceTrue to Microsoft's claims, the Spartan interface is very lean and trim. In fact it's so discreet that you may not even find the address/search bar at first. The browser sports eight controls along the top (not counting the reporting smiley button): back and forward arrows, Refresh, Reading Mode, Add Favorite, Favorite Folders, Web Note, and Overflow Menu (…).

The tabs extend all the way to the top edge of the browser window, so you can only drag it around from the area between the rightmost tab and the minimize button. This could take some getting used to. The Favorites bar is off by default, for a cleaner appearance. On both machines I tested, the flat globe icons overlapped the top of the webpage below. Most sites showed the generic globe icon in the Favorites bar; of the sites I tried, only ExtremeTech.com and Facebook showed their own favicons.

The Star button is different from that found in the last few versions of IE, where it opened a three-tab panel for Favorites, History, and Feeds (who uses those anymore?). It now works more like the star in other browsers, so you can actually add to your favorites (a.k.a bookmarks) or reading list. The next button with the star-on-a-folder icon does offer a tabbed panel, with four tabs for Favorites, Reading List, History, and Downloads. The last two weren't built out at the time of this preview, so they're just placeholders at the moment. Reading List shows a nice thumbnail view of the sites you've saved as well as the pages' titles.

Typing into the combined search/address bar drops down suggestions from your history and search suggestions, as has become standard in browsers. The Find on page tool looks nice and clear like the rest of the browser, but in testing, it didn't find text that was clearly on the page I was searching.

Pop-ups are blocked by default, but interestingly, Do Not Track is notenabled by default as it was in IE11. IE's more-effective privacy tool, Tracking Protection, is MIA, as are any extensions or customizations at all. Microsoft has stated that the browser will get extension capability later. There's also no useful new-tab page as yet, like the most useful one in Internet Explorer 11, which not only shows search and recent sites tiles, but also lets you reopen recently closed tabs.

One hidden benefit of Spartan is that there will only be one browser, rather than the confusing two Internet Explorers—the modern full screen ("Metro" if you will) version and the standard desktop browser. Spartan will fulfill both roles without the jarring differences, and its larger, touchable controls that are nevertheless easy to use with a mouse should make the single browser interface work.

One nitpick about the browser window interface is that you can't resize to fill the screen height while maintaining the window's width, as you've been able to do in any Windows program since Win 7. Another interface trend the browser bucks: It doesn't shut down when you close the last tab—something I approve of. You can set Firefox to behave this way, but exiting is the default behavior.

New Features
Reading Mode. Safari introduced this browser feature way back in 2010, and it's shown up elsewhere, especially in specialized mobile Web browsers. The Spartan implementation wakes up in the form of an open book icon that's enabled when you're on a site for which the mode makes sense, such as a tech blog. Reading mode uses an off-yellow background with a pleasant font that recalls an actual paper book. The mode preserves inline images and links, so you're not completely restricted to reading. In Settings you can change the Reading view to have a lighter or darker appearance.

Web Notes. This is a pretty cool tool that lets you mark up and comment on webpages, and then save or share them with others. The pen-and-paper icon takes you to the feature, which displays a purple toolbar (OneNote purple, in fact) across the top of the browser. It lets you draw, highlight, add text boxes, and select rectangles to crop into portions of the page. Once you've marked up and annotated to your taste, you can save your creation to your reading list or favorites or share it to any other app that accepts images. I was surprised that share targets didn't include mail or messaging apps, but it's early days for the browser.

Cortana Integration. Microsoft put Cortana integration first in its list of what's great about Spartan, but I didn't really notice it much in my testing. I did notice that if you highlight text and right-click, you see an "Ask Cortana" option. This pops a sidebar on the right with any info she can find about the selected text. You can also simply type Weather in the address bar, and you'll see your local forecast. Highlighting an address failed to bring up a Bing map for me.

Compatibility In random site testing, I couldn't find a major site that didn't work in Spartan—PCMag, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Yahoo, Tumblr, Twitter, and several others worked fine. And I was stunned to see that Periscope, Twitter's new live-video-streaming service, played in Spartan, since trying to load the site in IE11 yields a "Please use a modern browser" message.

A key to this may be found in Spartan's User Agent string. This is the text sent to websites so they know what browser they're dealing with. Spartan reports that it's Mozilla 5.0, Apple WebKit 537, Chrome 39, Safari, and Edge 12—no Internet Explorer user agent mentioned in there. (Edge is the name of Spartan's new underlying page-rendering engine.) This could mean that Microsoft is committing to being compatible with those browsers, and that users will no longer see any "Your browser isn't compatible" messages.

Chrome now has some company as a browser with Adobe Flash rendering built in. Spartan lets you turn its integrated Flash Player on and off if you prefer. In-browser PDF viewing is also a perk of Spartan compared with IE, though Firefox and Chrome have had this for many versions.

On the oft-cited HTML5Test.com site, which measures how many new standard features a browser recognizes, Spartan earns a score of 375, well ahead of IE11's 348, but also well behind Firefox's 449 and Chrome's 523. Do take into account that Google builds a lot of these "standards," which are more experimental and not widely used, and also that Spartan is in its very early stages, so it has time before release for support to be implemented. It already does support WebGL graphics, which should make gamers happy. But WebRTC, for things like real-time audio/video calls, isn't yet supported.

PerformanceSpartan is underpinned by a new Edge HTML rendering engine, replacing IE's venerable Triton engine. The browser is still very much beta software, with the occasional glitches that entails. Sometimes it would not respond to clicks until several seconds after, and sometimes I couldn't type into text boxes. But outside those instances, browsing felt snappy. Even pinching and zooming Bing and Google Maps on the Surface Pro was smooth and delay-free.

I tested on a Surface Pro 3 with a Core i5 CPU and 8GB RAM. I ran two JavaScript benchmarks, SunSpider and Google's Octane, as well as Microsoft's Lite Brite benchmark from ietestdrive.com, which measures hardware acceleration.

Those who think IE is slower than Chrome should note that that was only the case on Google's own benchmark, Octane. It's interesting to note that Spartan improves on IE on that benchmark but in everything else—SunSpider, IETestdrive Lite Brite, and startup time—the new browser has quite a bit of catching up to do with its predecessor. On a side note, I found it interesting that Firefox nearly matches Chrome on Octane, and bests it in SunSpider.

Not Bad for a Version 0.1In fact, pretty darned good for such an early bit of software code. The trim design, better site compatibility, and performance improvements over IE are feathers in its cap. And the simple fact of Windows 10 having just one browser appearance, as opposed to Windows 8's modern and desktop versions of IE, is a plus. But the budding browser needs a lot of work before it's ready to play with the likes of Chrome and Firefox (PCMag's current Editors' Choice Web browser), in design, performance, and stability.

Source : pcmag

How to Install the Windows Phone 10 Technical Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:18:00 +0000

Microsoft today released the first technical preview of Windows 10 for phones, and you can get in on the action. Here’s a look at what you need, which phones are supported, and how to install it.

Note: before you get started, you should know that if something does go wrong with your install of the preview, you can recover your phone back to it’s Windows Phone 8.1 glory with the Windows Phone Recovery Tool — here’s the direct link.

Windows Phone 10 Preview

The first thing you will need is a qualifying Lumia Windows Phone which, at the time of this writing, are the Lumia 630, Lumia 635, Lumia 636, Lumia 638, Lumia 730, and Lumia 830.

Provided you have one of those qualifying Lumia phones, you will need to sign up for theWindows Insider program, which is similar to the insider program for Windows 10 Technical Preview for the PC.

Then download the Windows Insider app on your phone and launch it. From the first screen select Get preview builds and then decide with build track you want to be on. These are pretty self-explanatory.

With Insider Fast you will get new updates more quickly, but they can be more buggy too. Insider Slow will give you builds after Fast users get theirs, but they’ll be less buggy.

After confirming the build track you want to be on, you phone will reboot. Then when you come back, go to Settings > Phone Update > Check for Updates and tap the Download button after it finds it.

Now simply kick back and wait while the update downloads, and after it has you just need to kick off the installation. You phone will reboot a few times while everything is installed, and data is migrated.

I updated the Lumia 635 and it took about a half hour from beginning to end. It’s worth noting that you will need to be connected to Wi-Fi and have your phone charger plugged in during the process.

After everything is complete you can start enjoying the new features included in Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones. Why Microsoft just doesn’t call it Windows Phone 10 preview orWindows 10 mobile preview I have no idea, then Microsoft has never been known for coming up with good names for its products.

But I digress…here is a look at a couple of screenshots of how Microsoft’s new mobile OS will look and what you can expect. The tiles on the home screen and their icons are larger and have a flatter design. Also, the Action Center contains even more quick actions with up to three rows.

I just got started with this today as it was released, and will be digging into it a lot more in the coming days.

Are you using the Windows Phone 10 preview? What are you favorite features, or things you’re not happy with? Leave a comment and tell us about them.

Source : groovypost

Windows 10 Kills Charms Bar, Adds New Way to Share Files

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:09:00 +0000

The Charms bar in Windows 8, which includes the Share button, is dead in Windows 10. Sharing files in Windows 8 is a convoluted and clunky process. It has been streamlined a bit in the new OS, and it still allows you to share files via online services, email, and other universal apps you have installed.

Windows 8 Share Feature

We showed you how to use the Windows 8 share feature, but the process is anything but intuitive. While Share feature is similar in the way it works, the Share button in Windows 10 has been moved to File Explorer. However, currently there are still remnants of the Windows 8 way of doing things that crop up.

Sharing Files in Windows 10

Instead of dealing with that annoying and annoying charms bar to share items, the feature is now built into File Explorer.

Just select the file(s) you want to share, and then click the Share tab and then the Share icon – which has the same design as the one on the charms bar.

There will be different options depending on the file type you’ve selected. For example, if you select a folder, the Share button will be grayed out, but the Zip button is available. After zipping a file, then you can share it. Also included on the Share tab is the ability to burn, print or fax files, as well as manage network sharing options.

After that the Share sidebar comes up (which is similar to the one in Windows 8.1) it displays a lists of apps that you can share you file with. This also depends on the type of file you want to share. If an app isn’t compatible with sharing the file, it won’t show up.

Once you select the app, it will open in the same sidebar, just a bit larger like in Windows 8. As an example, in the shot below I am sharing a picture in Facebook.

One annoyance in the Windows 10 way, and that exists in Windows 8 too, is once you close the share sidebar, all of your data is lost, and you can’t return to it. So, if you were to write a long post on Facebook, for example, and want to add another image, you have to start over.

You can also share data from Universal apps as well. With a universal app open, below I have the Weather app open, click the hamburger menu on the upper left corner and then Share.

You can change the share options by going to Settings > System > Share and there you can turn the apps you want to share with on or off, and the order of how the apps show up on the list.

Of course, this is how it all looks and works in Windows 10 build 9926 and in my opinion it needs to be improved. The more annoying part is that the share bar that pops up on the right with the list of apps.

I would like to see that designed differently, maybe have a pop up menu of apps when you click the Share button instead. Another problem is you can’t share a web page as you can in Windows 8 by clicking the Share charm. So on one hand, not having the Charms bar is great, but on the other, it’s still a rather clunky way of sharing.

What is your take on how the sharing feature works in Windows 10? If you’re not a fan of how it works, make sure to leave feedback for Microsoft during these technical preview days.

How to Use Virtual Desktops in Windows 10

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:08:00 +0000

Windows 10 includes several new features, including long awaited ones like Virtual Desktops. While the feature is still relatively limited at this point, it’s definitely welcomed, and here’s a look at how to use them in the recent technical preview build 9926.

Add a Virtual Desktop in Windows 10

Adding another desktop is easy. You can do it by clicking the Task View button on the taskbar which is next to the Search and Start menu, or use the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + Taband select Add a Desktop as shown below. Or you can add one without pulling up the Task View pane by using Windows Key + Ctrl + D.

Switch Between Desktops

There’s a couple of ways to switch between multiple desktops. You can either use the keyboard shortcut Windows Key + Ctrl and the Left or Right arrow key depending on where you want to go. Or with you mouse by clicking the Task View button and then which desktop you want to use.

Move Windows Between Desktops

When working between multiple desktops, sometimes you’ll want to move open windows from one to another, and it’s easy to do. Use the Task View pane to display each desktop you created, and then hover the mouse over the desktop with the screen you want to move. Then right-click the window you want to move, and in the menu that pops up, select Move to and then the desktop you want to move it to.

For example, in the shot below, I am moving the News app from my first virtual desktop to the third.

Close a Desktop

Closing a virtual desktop is straight-forward. Just bring up the Task View pane and then close the one you don’t need anymore. You can also close the current desktop you’re working in without pulling up the Task View pane by hitting Windows Key + Ctrl + F4. But it’s worth noting that I was only able to get that key combo to work on one of my Windows 10 computers – remember we’re still in beta folks.

Also note that if you do close a desktop that has open apps on it, they will be transferred over to the desktop to the left of the one you close.

I would assume that more features will be added in upcoming tech preview builds, so it’s more of a robust feature like in Linux. For instance, features I’d like to see are the ability to drag programs between desktops, change wallpapers for each desktop, or jump to a specific desktop without having to cycle through them all.

It’s nice to see that Microsoft finally added virtual desktops. With separate desktops it’s easier to manage different projects without having your screen cluttered with open apps – especially if you’re not using a multiple monitor set up.

Remember that we’ll be covering new features as they’re added to Windows 10, and if you want to discuss the the latest Windows 10 happenings, check out our Windows 10 Forum.

Microsoft Updates Lync for Mac 2011 KB3037358

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:04:00 +0000

Corporate Mac users just got an update for Lync for Mac 2011 with KB3037358, updating it to Version 14.0.11 (150304). According to the KB article, the update includes many updates and bug fixes including those listed below:

KB 3037357 Lync for Mac 2011 cannot use the .PAC file appropriately
KB 3037356 The “Calendar” button and the “Schedule a Meeting…” menu item are unavailable in Lync for Mac 2011
KB 3037354 Cannot receive an audio warning for an incoming call or IM when you set presence status to “Busy” in Lync for Mac 2011
KB 3037352 Cannot dial a DTMF-based number when you use a Polycom CX300 telephone that is connected to Lync for Mac 2011
KB 3037351 Audio status icon is slow to update in a conference roster in Lync for Mac 2011
KB 3037350 The “DisableSavingIM” client policy does not work in Lync for Mac 2011

Although the update hit Microsoft’s download site yesterday 3/17, the AutoUpdate tool Mac isn’t picking it up so you will need to manually download and run the update using the following link — Lync for Mac 2011 – March Update KB3037358.

Although the list of “published” bug fixes and enhancements is fairly short, you can be sure this update is packed full so you will want to grab it and upgrade quickly. Hopefully it will add some stability to the client while we wait for Microsoft to release Skype for Business on the Mac platform.

Display Different Wallpapers on Different Monitors in Windows 8

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 05:00:00 +0000

Windows 8 users who have a multi-monitor setup might want to have a different wallpaper on each one. Prior to Windows 8, you needed to to use a third-party utility such as DisplayFusionwhich we have covered previously.

But in Windows 8.x, the feature basic feature is already built-in, sans some the extra features a third-party utility will give you. Here’s a look at how to use it.

Different Wallpapers on Each Monitor in Windows 8

Having a different wallpaper on each monitor is easy to set up in Windows 8. In this example I am setting up a different background for a dual-monitor configuration.

Right-click an empty are on the desktop and select Personalize.

On the next screen click on the Desktop Background link toward that bottom.

Now simply browse to the location of the wallpaper you want to use. Right-click one and select which monitor you want it set as the background. Then for select another picture and set it for the other monitor.

That’s all there is to it! The image below is an example of my dual-monitor set up with each monitor having a different background.

What’s your take? Do you have a dual or multi-monitor setup and like to have a different background on each one? If so, do you use the built-in Windows 8 feature, or do you use third-party apps instead for the extra functionality. Leave a comment below and tell us about it.

Source : groovypost

How to Disable Startup Programs in Windows 10

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:48:00 +0000

Windows 10 is a fast and responsive operating system, but if you have a lot of apps set to start while starting up your computer, it can bog down the process substantially.

This is especially true if your computer has a traditional hard drive, but it’s even noticeable if your system has an SSD. Here’s a look at how to disable startup programs and make the boot process faster.

Disable Startup Programs in Windows 10

The process in Windows 10 virtually identical to how it’s done in Windows 8.1, but if you skipped that version, here’s how to configure startup programs step-by-step.

1. Right-click on an empty area on the Taskbar and select Task Manager.

2. When Task Manager comes up, click the Startup tab and look through the list of programs that are enabled to run during startup. Then to stop them from running, right-click the program and select Disable.

Notice in this version, you have other options to help you get a better idea of what each app does before disabling it.

After time, we end up installing so many programs that we forget what they’re for. But it allows you to open an app’s file location, properties, or if that doesn’t help, you can search for it online.

Another cool thing in Windows 10 is the Startup impact column where you can see how much or little a program is affecting the startup time.

What I always do after setting up a new computer, and installing all of my favorite freewareusing Ninite, is disable all but the few programs I want to be able to access quickly.

Another thing to remember is that when you install new software, go to its options and set it to not run during startup. Or just check this from time to time and disable software – especially that which has a high startup impact rating.

I often get the question: “Which programs have to be enabled?” and the answer is simple: none! They can all be disabled and Windows will start up with no problems. However, some things you might want at the ready, won’t be, and you’ll need to start them up manually.

Source : groovypost

Windows 10 Build 10041 Update Fixes Sign-in Issue

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:44:00 +0000

Microsoft released three updates for the Windows 10 tech preview earlier this week when it made build 10041 ISOs available. Today the company released another update that addresses an issue with the user name and password box not appearing on the sign-in screen, and the company has released KB3050653 to fix it.

Windows 10 Tech Preview Update KB3050653

If you’re running the latest Windows 10 build, the update is available via Windows Update.Gabe Aul sent out the tweet this after noon which you can see below.

One more update for 10041 today: The user name and password box might not appear on the sign-in screen (KB3050653) http://t.co/M3dr4lQ59A

— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) March 26, 2015

Although I haven’t seen this problem with any of my Windows 10 test installs apparently it is a problem for enough users out there that Microsoft released this patch today.

Source : groovypost

How to Create a Local Account In Windows 10

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:42:00 +0000

When you downloaded the Windows 10 tech preview as a Windows Insider, you agree that all information of you actions is sent to Microsoft. You might want to create a local account instead, and keep what you’re doing to yourself.

Or, you might need to create an account for someone in the household who just doesn’t have a Microsoft account. Whatever, the case, here’s a look at setting one up in Windows 10.

Create a Local Windows 10 Account

While logged in with your Windows Account, go to Settings > Accounts > Other Users and Then click Add a user.

On the next screen, click the Sign in without a Microsoft account (not recommended) link located at the bottom of the screen.

The next screen will explain the difference between a Microsoft and local account. Click theLocal account button.

Now enter in the user’s name, password, and password hint.

After that, the new local user account has been created on your Windows 10 system. If this is an account for your kid, you might want to check the box that will turn on the Family Safety feature.

When creating a new user account, they will be a Standard user by default, which is better for security, but you can change it to Administrator if you’re creating the local account for yourself.

When it’s time to delete the account, go into Settings and that account and then the Remove button. Then you’ll see the following verification message, and if you’re sure you want to get rid of it, click Delete account and data.

That’s all there is to it. There are several reasons why you’d want to create a Local account, but keep in mind, the user won’t be able to sync their setting across computers – that includes Mail, Xbox Music, or data stored in OneDrive.

Source : groovypost

Microsoft Launches Music and Video Preview Apps for Windows 10

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 04:37:00 +0000

Microsoft this week announced new preview app for Music and Video for Windows Insiders. These are a couple of the new Windows apps we’ll be seeing when the final version of Windows 10 is released later this year.

Don’t expect a whole lot of new features in these yet, as they are preview apps. Microsoft wanted to get these out in the wild for Windows Insiders so it can start receiving feedback.

We still have a lot of work to do to get these preview apps to a place where they can replace the existing Music and Video apps on the PC – we just couldn’t wait any longer to get them onto your PCs and get your feedback.

If you’re part of the Windows Insider program and testing out Windows 10, you can grab these apps and start testing them out by downloading them from the Windows Store beta – not the regular Windows Store. And, you can run these preview apps side-by-side with the current versions of the Music and Video apps.

Music Preview App

Here’s a look at the Music Preview app:

One of the cool new menu options in this version of the Music app is the ability to find music you’ve uploaded to OneDrive easier with a filter feature.

Here’s a list of some other features:

Browse and manage your personal music collection
Create and edit playlists of your favorite songs. Even import the ones you’ve already made in iTunes
Put your music on OneDrive and browse and play it on Xbox, or Windows 8.1/10 devices.*
Get a Music Pass to stream millions of tracks, listen to artist radio, and download on multiple devices*
* Not available in all regions. To see which features are available in your region, go to the feature list at http://support.xbox.com/apps/windows-8/xbox-on-windows-features

Video Preview App

The Video Preview App is pretty basic right now, and has a more streamlined interface. Of course you can now play MKV files in Windows 10, and this version supports it just the same as Windows Media Player.

Here’s a look at a few of the things Microsoft wants you to test out:

Browse and play video files (including MKV!) on your device: Try out filtering and sorting your collection and adding a folder of videos to include in your collection.
Browse and play movies & TV shows you’ve purchased from any Xbox Video device: Try starting a purchased video on one Xbox Video device and pick up playback right where you left off on another device.

I expect there will be some major changes in the design and amount of features for both apps as we move forward, and they’ll hopefully be less clunky and easier to use than the versions in Windows 8.1.

How about you? What do you think of these new preview apps? Leave a comment below, or join the Windows 10 Forum for more conversation of this continuing Windows 10 journey.

Source : groovypost

First Look: Windows 10 preview with 'Spartan' browser

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 03:43:00 +0000

Microsoft is making available to its Windows Insiders testers the first Windows 10 Desktop test build that includes its new 'Project Spartan' browser.

Microsoft released to those in the "Fast Ring" Build 10049, the first with Spartan, on March 30.

Today's Windows 10 Desktop preview is the second Microsoft has made available to testers in March, and the fourth Windows 10 Desktop build the company has released as of October 1, 2014.

Like Windows 10 Desktop -- which runs on PCs, laptops and tablets -- Spartan is still not feature-complete at this point. The first Spartan preview does, however, include most of the functionality that Microsoft execs showed off on January 21 during an early demo of Spartan as part of a Windows 10 press event.

Specifically, the integration between Spartan and Cortana, Microsoft's personal digital assistant, is in today's Windows 10 release, as is the "Ask Cortana" user assistance technology. The ability to annotate Web pages with a pen or mouse is included in today's Spartan build. Users can share annotated Web pages using this new "Web Note" technology and view the annotated pages in a variety of browsers.

The new Reading View, which allows users to view content with fewer distractions and/or save it for later, also is in Spartan in today's new test build. (The ability to read saved content offline is not yet enabled in today's test build.)

Today's Windows 10 Desktop build includes the browsing rendering engine changes Microsoft officials outlined last week.

The Spartan browser, which will be pinned to the Windows 10 Desktop task bar, includes only the new "Edge" rendering engine. At the same time, IE 11, which also is bundled with the Windows 10 Desktop, includes only the "Trident" (MSHTML) rendering engine -- not both the Edge and Trident ones -- and is there for backwards compatibility. IE 11 is not pinned to the task bar in Windows 10 Desktop, but it is still meant to be readily discoverable and usable (and pinnable, if users want to do so).

There are a few bug fixes in today's new Windows 10 Desktop build but no other noteworthy new features beyond Spartan.

Microsoft officials said over the weekend that the company is working on the next test release of Windows 10 Mobile, which is on track to support the majority of Lumia Windows Phones. Gabe Aul, the head of the Windows Insiders program, said on March 27 that Microsoft probably had at least one more week's worth of engineering/testing work to do on what will be the second public test build of Windows 10 Mobile before releasing it to testers.

Source : zdnet

Microsoft releases mystery Windows patch KB 3035583

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 16:19:00 +0000

Out-of-band optional patch to Windows Update notifications gives no clue what new 'additional capabilities' are available

If you noticed a new patch released via Automatic Update on Friday and can't figure out what it's for, you aren't alone. A quick poll among my usually knowledgeable experts reveals they are mystified as well.

KB 3035583, entitled "Update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications in Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1," is an optional patch. So unless you've opted to automatically install optional patches (a decidedly risky proposition), you'll have to check the box next to the patch in the Optional list, before it will install on your system.

Which is all for the best.

Here's the only information I can find about the patch. The KB article says:

This update enables additional capabilities for Windows Update notifications when new updates are available to the user. It applies to a computer that is running Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

If you're able to parse those sentences, you're a better sleuth than I. Nary a hint as to what "additional capabilities" are involved. Windows Update notifications are pretty straightforward -- in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 they pop up as balloons on the lower right corner of the desktop. I haven't a clue how they could have "additional capabilities."

Conjecture at this point: It's somehow related to the ability to upgrade directly from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10. But, of course, the official documentation doesn't say anything of the sort.

I'll post more info, if it becomes available.

Source : @JanakaRangama on Twitter

Windows 10 Technical Preview Download

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 09:25:00 +0000

Last week, Microsoft released Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10041 to Windows Insiders. Microsoft didn’t release any ISOs for Windows 10 Build 10041 at that time. Microsoft then announced that it will release ISOs when they release the build for Slow Ring users. Today, Microsoft is rolling Windows 10 Build 10041 for slow ring users and ISOs are available for download from Microsoft.

Find download links and product key below.

Editions	Link to download	SHA-1 hash value
Windows 10 Technical Preview(x64) – Build 10041	Download (3.4 GB)	C535BC08C862467A19DBBC3A320D7E718834255B
Windows 10 Technical Preview(x86) – Build 10041	Download (2.53 GB)	2A9213F2774C5D323A6231EAB25CC23F99B4B6F

Other languages can find the links here to download.

Microsoft reveals next set of phones to receive Windows 10

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 08:41:00 +0000

Last month, Microsoft announced a li mited set of handsets that would receive Windows 10. To put it mildly, a majority of the 'Windows Insider' community were not pleased with the devices on the list. Luckily, Microsoft has expanded the list this month and revealed the next set of devices that will receive Windows 10.

According to a post by Gabe Aul, Microsoft is in the midst of testing Windows 10 on a variety of different Lumia handsets. While there isn't an exact date for release, there is still more than likely a week of testing that needs to be performed in order to insure a successful build can be pushed to the expanded list. Although this is not final, Aul and the team intend to push out the Windows 10 build to the devices listed below.

Lumia 1020
Lumia 1320
Lumia 1520
Lumia 520
Lumia 525
Lumia 526
Lumia 530
Lumia 530 Dual Sim
Lumia 535
Lumia 620
Lumia 625
Lumia 630
Lumia 630 Dual Sim
Lumia 635
Lumia 636
Lumia 638
Lumia 720
Lumia 730
Lumia 730 Dual SIM
Lumia 735
Lumia 810
Lumia 820
Lumia 822
Lumia 830
Lumia 920
Lumia 925
Lumia 928
Lumia ICON
Microsoft Lumia 430
Microsoft Lumia 435
Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM
Microsoft Lumia 435 Dual SIM DTV
Microsoft Lumia 532
Microsoft Lumia 532 Dual SIM
Microsoft Lumia 640 Dual SIM
Microsoft Lumia 535 Dual SIM

Naturally, Aul has cautioned that the list above is preliminary and could changed depending on what kinds of bugs might arise out of the testing session. For those who have yet to experience Windows 10 on mobile, be sure to check out our first impressions.

Source: Microsoft