Innehållsförteckning för Sep-15 från PCWorld

MICROSOFT DESIGNED WINDOWS 8 with a mind toward tablets and desktops alike. Because Windows 10 is designed to function primarily in a desktop mode, it needs its own answer for tablets: Continuum. When a tablet like a Surface (I used a Surface Pro 2 for testing) is undocked, Windows 10 by default will ask whether you want to put the system into tablet mode. The Start menu suddenly looks more like its Windows 8 ancestor: The live tiles increase in size, and Windows buries the text-based left-hand menu behind a “hamburger” menu icon on the upper right. If you happen to be within the Desktop, your app shortcuts will disappear, leaving only the Cortana icon, the Task View icon, and what looks like a back-arrow (and is). It’s a bit…

WINDOWS 10’S XBOX app is made for gamers, and it’s the portal to Microsoft’s entertainment offerings—or most of them, anyway. Surprisingly, the Xbox app supports both Windows 8 and Windows 10 PC games that were connected to Microsoft’s Live services, as well as games you might have owned and played on either the Xbox 360 or Microsoft’s latest console, the Xbox One. If you own or have played games on any of these platforms, chances are you’ll see a list of those games when you first log in, as well as any achievements you may have completed. Unlike the similar home screen under your account on Xbox.com, the Xbox app is more like a traditional social network, with a social timeline that dominates the app. Here you can chat with…

WINDOWS 10 IS HERE! Windows 10 is here! Now what? By now, you’ve seen our review of Windows 10. It’s one of the best operating systems Microsoft has ever produced, and it’s worth the download. But if you’re new to Windows 10, it can feel a bit daunting. Actually, it’s more familiar than you think. And we can help walk you through your first 30 minutes with Windows 10. PRELOADING AND INSTALLATION If you purchased a new Windows 10 PC, you have the easiest road. You can skip this section. But for most of us, Windows 10 came via an upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. And if you’re in the camp, read on. Assuming you reserved Windows 10, you should have Windows 10 by now. If you don’t,…

FOLLOW THE NINJACAT TO THE BEST FEATURES Windows 10 has officially been unleashed upon the world, but Insiders have lived with the operating system for months and know things the newbies don't. Insiders have even created their own mascot, a ninjacat with a variety of trusty steeds, to symbolize their pioneering, adventuresome spirit. We've been playing with Windows 10 for awhile now. Let's follow the ninjacat deep within the bowels of Windows 10, where narwhal guides are eager to point out tasty bacon features you might otherwise miss. We think these ten are some of the most useful, productive, hidden gems you're going to find. Well, except for number five. You're probably going to think that one's a bug. PUT THE WEB (AND DESKTOP) IN YOUR TOOLBAR You can make…

After blasting Microsoft’s attempts to set Edge as the default browser (go.pcworld.com/default) in Windows 10, Mozilla is enjoying some sweet revenge by steering Firefox users away from Bing. With the newly released Firefox 40 (go.pcworld.com/ff4), users no longer have to use Bing for web searches from Cortana on the Windows 10 taskbar. Instead, Firefox will show results from whatever search engine the user has chosen as the default. Using Firefox isn’t the only way to replace Cortana’s Bing searches with Google or another search engine. But Firefox is currently the only browser that does so without the need for third-party extensions. (It wouldn’t be surprising, however, if Google follows suit.) The story behind the story: Mozilla may be responding to Microsoft’s own attack on third-party browsers in Windows 10, as…

WINDOWS 10’S NEW WI-FI SENSE feature is a powerful tool that takes the headache out of managing Wi-Fi connections on the run. With Wi-Fi Sense enabled, Windows 10 will automatically sign you into open Wi-Fi networks, as well as private networks that your Outlook.com, Skype, and Facebook contacts have logged into—so you won’t have to manually sign in to the network when you visit your buddy’s house. As convenient as Wi-Fi Sense is, however, not everyone’s thrilled with it (go.pcworld.com/win10wifi). Windows 10 enables Wi-Fi Sense by default, but you can disable it. Here’s how. How to disable Wi-Fi Sense in Windows 10 First, open the Start menu and head to Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi → Manage Wi-Fi Settings. In here, you basically want to disable every option…

How to build, maintain, and fix your tech gear. YOU’VE HAD Windows 10 for more a bit now, but try as you might the new operating system’s just not working out for you. Maybe a mission-critical program doesn’t work properly, maybe you hate the new Start menu, or maybe Cortana is giving you the creeps. If that sounds like you, it might be time to downgrade to your past operating system and try again later. To make life easier on Windows 7 and 8.1 converts, Microsoft will allow you to roll back your Windows 10 installation to the previous operating system within 30 days post-upgrade. Don’t worry—if you want to come back later, you can still take advantage of the free Windows 10 upgrade for the next year. Keep in…

A video showcase of the latest trends Watch the video at go.pcworld.com/ringdoorbellvid The Ring Video Doorbell links to your smartphone so you can “answer the door” from wherever you are (assuming you have Wi-Fi). You get a video view of whoever’s on your doorstep and can talk to them through your phone. The app could be more responsive and it doesn’t offer an ongoing surveillance feature, but it’s a useful way to track who visits your home.…

MICROSOFT BEGAN INSISTING on a login password with Windows 8, as an additional safeguard against losing your data. With Windows 10, Microsoft is raising the bar. During the installation process, you’ll be asked for your Microsoft username and password, the key that unlocks your data within Microsoft’s ecosystem. But instead of using that password to log in every session, Microsoft will encourage you to use a 4-digit PIN—treating your PC, essentially, as a credit card. You’ll still have the option of using a password, but a PIN is a much simpler option. A second option, Microsoft Hello, is both simpler and more secure. Using biometric security—either a fingerprint or your face—Hello will log you in, automatically. Fingerprint readers are fairly rare outside corporate machines, but the depth cameras needed for…

WORKING WITH WINDOWS 10’s virtual desktop mode or Task View takes some work. It’s a bit intimidating in the sense that the Windows 8 Start screen was: It’s an unfamiliar interface, and it requires some effort to use efficiently. In the end, though, it pays off. You’re probably used to opening up as many apps as will fit in a window, with the remainder either unopened or minimized to a desktop. If you want to work with more apps at the same time, you invest in another monitor. Task View doesn’t necessarily minimize those unused apps; it just hides that entire screen of apps, keeping everything the way it was. This has two practical advantages. Say you have a nicely ordered screen of apps: a spreadsheet in one corner, email…

COMPARED TO THE Android and iOS app stores, the Windows app store (known as the Store) feels rather meager. Microsoft splashes a few key apps at the top of the screen (Flipboard, Watch ESPN, Line, among others), although the enormous hero images given to each one ensure that other, equally worthy apps are somewhat buried down below. A few “leaderboards” of the most popular apps across a variety of genres help separate the wheat from the chaff. There’s no indication as to which apps are so-called Universal apps, ready to run across Windows 10 desktop PCs and phones. A few key details are omitted, including the number of downloads. There’s also a small catch: Each app can be loaded on only ten Windows 10 devices. You’d think Microsoft would heavily…

MICROSOFT’S CUSTOMERS HAVE grown used to floating lazily from one Windows release to the next…Windows 95, 98, XP…rousing as they bumped through the rapids of Windows Vista, then relaxing again as Windows 7 flowed gently ahead for several years. Then— SPLASH!—as Windows 8 landed, customers sputtered and swore. Some jumped ship. Since then, everything that Microsoft has done has been designed to lure customers back into that comfortable, productive world that Windows established. For me, that’s been achieved. Windows 10 feels like Windows; I made the mental shift from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 during the weeks I’ve spent with it as a Windows Insider. That was a very clever tactic, by the way, to encourage users to overcome their unfamiliarity with the OS as beta testers. I don’t like…

THE BEST OF WHAT’S NEW LET’S NOT BEAT AROUND THE BUSH: Windows 10 is wonderful. It’s head-and-shoulders better than Windows 8.1, at least for traditional PC users. The fact that it banishes full-screen apps and the Metro Start screen to the ether, focusing instead on the tried-and-true desktop, should be reason enough to make PC purists smile. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, though. If you’re fresh to Windows 10, these are the cool new features you’ll want to check out first. THE START MENU Windows 10 atones for one of Windows 8’s greatest sins by returning the Start menu to its rightful spot in the lower left-hand corner of the desktop. But rather than focusing on desktop apps alone, the Windows 10 Start Menu mixes in a dash…

The wait is over. Microsoft started rolling out Windows 10 upgrades to Insider members, followed by users who’ve made a reservation, and then the general public. If you’ve got a Windows 7 or 8.1 PC, you’re eligible for a free upgrade, and there’s a lot to love about Windows 10, from new features to under-the-hood tweaks to a much-needed interface revamp. Before you upgrade, however, there some things you can do to make your migration to the next chapter in Windows history as seamless as possible. BACK IT UP! Yes, it’s boring and predictable, but backing up your data also happens to be the most important step you can take before upgrading to Windows 10. Even if you have all your data in OneDrive or another cloud storage service, having…

NETFLIX CHARGES YOU $7.99 per month for thousands of streaming movies and TV shows. Spotify, Slacker, Rdio, and others charge about $10 per month for unlimited music. And Microsoft? They want you to pay $1.50 per month to remove ads from Solitaire. Deep within Windows 10 is one of the odder things you’ll ever find inside a Microsoft product: Microsoft Solitaire Collection Premium Edition. No, you don’t need it to play Solitaire. But launch the Microsoft Solitaire Collection app within Windows 10 and you’ll see a splash screen that asks you to “upgrade to Premium.” To be fair, Microsoft made the same offer for Solitaire Premium Edition within Windows 8.1. There, however, the app was found within the Microsoft Store (at least on the PCs I’ve owned). On Windows 10,…

MICROSOFT DIDN’T DO CORD CUTTERS any favors with Windows 10. As revealed a few months ago, the free upgrade for Windows 7 and higher wipes out Windows Media Center, a decade-old program that provides a TV-friendly interface for multimedia files. While most people won’t notice WMC’s absence—Microsoft says the software is barely used for anything other than DVD playback these days—for some users it’s the backbone of their entire living room setup, thanks to its ability to play and record live TV. Excited as I am about Windows 10 in general, I’ve been torn about whether to upgrade my own desktop PC, as I like the ability to record shows from free over-the-air channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. So before upgrading, I searched for a Windows Media Center…

WINDOWS 10 ALSO introduces Microsoft Edge, a browser that Microsoft has touted as the answer to the demands of the modern Web. When I initially wrote our review, I had very mixed feelings about Edge, both aesthetically and functionally. Still do. Part of the issue, for me, is that Edge doesn’t feel finished. And it’s not, clearly, as support for Firefox-style extensions won’t arrive until later this fall. That means Edge has some breathing room, though, as Microsoft can either tweak its functionality or let third-party developers step in. To begin with, Edge’s UI looks spartan even compared to Chrome’s. When you start Edge or load a new tab, you have a choice of loading a bare search bar, or a bar accompanied by a few icons of frequently accessed…

WHILE MICROSOFT NOW shies away from using the term “Xbox” in conjunction with its Music application, the Music app remains virtually unchanged from Windows 8. It first asks you to sign in, if you haven’t already, then loads your existing music catalog in a snap—far quicker than it did on Windows 8, incidentally. If you’ve uploaded any music into the Music folder in OneDrive it will add those songs, too, complete with metadata and album art that it can cull from the Internet. Ideally, of course, you’ll already own an Xbox (sorry, Groove) Music pass, and can stream as much as you’d like. Unfortunately, Music suffers from the same plain aesthetic noted elsewhere in this review: while the Artist and Songs index pages includes artist snapshots, the actual page where…

WINDOWS 10 IS finally here, and Microsoft’s latest, greatest operating system is chock full of tricks and tweaks that can enhance your experience—and tailor Windows to your personal needs. Here’s a look at five of the most useful. MAKE CORTANA MORE USEFUL The Cortana digital assistant is one of Windows 10’s highlight new features, but she truly shines if you take the time to tell her your interests. Open Cortana and select the Notebook icon in her left-hand pane. From there, browse each section to tailor your preferences for specific news topics, alerts, and even the types of restaurants you like. You’ll be glad you did. TAP INTO CORTANA’S SMARTS WHILE YOU’RE BROWSING Did you know Cortana’s built into Windows 10’s new Edge browser, too? You may have missed it,…

You’ve read the review, pored through the tips and how-tos, and have waited breathlessly for the day that you can download Windows 10. So how do you do it, exactly? We've got you covered. Before you do anything, however, we’re going to give your our standard advice: back up your data. Microsoft will give you the option of wiping your files at various stages during the process. Whether you go that route or not, make sure you’ve backed up key documents and other data to OneDrive, a USB key, or something else—just in case. There are three primary ways to obtain Windows 10: either buy a new PC with Windows 10 preloaded, buy a license key to Windows 10 online, or upgrade an existing Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 PC.…

Make smart purchases, stay safe online. BACK IN JANUARY, Microsoft first stated that Windows 10 would be free for the “supported lifetime of the device” you install it on. That wording caused some confusion: What the heck is a device’s “supported lifetime,” anyway? But we’re now getting a better idea of what you can expect in terms of Windows 10 support. According to an updated support document (go.pcworld.com/ winupdate) published to Microsoft’s site, the company will offer “mainstream support” for Windows 10 through October 13, 2020, and “extended support” (that is, how long you can expect Microsoft to issue Windows 10 security fixes) through October 14, 2025. For those keeping score at home, the five-year mainstream support and ten-year extended support periods are more or less in line with the…

I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I didn’t realize how much I’d missed the Start menu until I moved from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 (stop looking so smug Start8 users). It’s a fantastic feeling to have it back, and I really like the live tiles addition. One thing I can’t stand is how Microsoft uses the left side of the Start menu in Windows 10. It’s filled up with the “most used” apps that are anything but, and I really don’t need that Recently Added section for newly installed apps and programs. If you feel the same way, you can turn all that off, and fill it up with items you actually might use. Dump Most Used and Recently Added Get started by hitting Start and opening the…

PATRICIA HARDYworries that some of her programs may not work in Windows 10. Chances are that if a program runs successfully in Windows 7 or 8.1, it will run just fine in Windows 10. And if it doesn’t, the developers will fix the problem as soon as possible. But really, we can’t be sure before the official release. And frankly, we can’t even be sure immediately after the release. It will take time for bugs and incompatibilities to surface. (For more details, read Mark Hachman’s article on how to upgrade on page 107.) Microsoft can tell you now, with what I suspect is reasonable accuracy, whether your hardware or software is compatible. If your Windows 7 or 8.1 PC is up to date, you should have the Get Windows…