The Latest On Windows 10

Windows 10 Preview

There is a lot of hype surrounding the upcoming Windows 10 release next year, and people now have a chance to try it out. Microsoft put out a Technical Preview of the latest Windows version as a free download a couple of weeks ago. This version barely scratches the surface though, as far as insights into the new Metro UI are concerned.

There has been a rumor going around that Microsoft’s latest will be a free upgrade, if you are already using Windows 8 or Windows 8.1. Another says that Microsoft will somehow convince XP laggards to upgrade en masse. However, Microsoft is looking to makes heaps of money just from the licensing of the new product, so I heavily doubt there is going to be much ‘free’ going around. Besides, there have been no announcements to this effect, so the best you should look for are a few convenient discounts, that too in special cases.

Windows 9 is all but forgotten; the company no longer speaks of it. Even the staging site for their latest Technical Preview release neglects to mention the aborted operating system version. Speaking of the latter, it is still not enough to give us a good feel for what the final launch will have in store.

It is conceivable that the Technical Preview was meant only for mouse and keyboard users, and that Microsoft is separately developing a different version for mobile devices. That would explain rumors that the company is working towards a proper merging of Windows Phone and Windows RT. The current release can be installed either as a web upgrade program, or downloaded as an ISO file, with a serial number for every Microsoft account.

Windows 10 OS

Windows 10 is intended for use on a wide range of devices, providing a single platform to go with every screen size from 4 to 80 inches. They are going all in with the ‘universal app’ concept, which when perfected, would let users find, buy, and manage all of their applications form a single place. The common platform would also allow developers to write apps that are supported on all Windows devices.

Another question you hear a lot is why Microsoft skipped the number 9 while naming, and went with 10 instead. The company remains vague on this, having said only that their new product clearly warrants its name. Many claim this is a shout-out to rival Apple’s Mac OS, which bears the same version number, where others say that this denotes the end to ‘numbering’ Windows operating systems.

How To Install The Windows 10 Technical Preview For Smartphones

Windows 10 For Phones

Microsoft has started rolling out the first Windows 10 Preview build for smartphones with compatible hardware configurations. The preview version will be available for users who have signed up for the Windows Insider program. Before installing, know that this is a beta version of the upcoming OS, and especially because it is the first build for smartphones, it is bound to have a number of bugs and errors.

As you are testing the various apps and features in the new OS build, you will come across a number of issues, big and small. Moreover, reports from experts who have already tested the build highlight that this specific first preview build is extremely buggy, to the point that even the most basic features do not work properly. Since most of the apps in the new Preview were developed for the Windows 8.1 version, they are likely to crash or not respond at all. If you are still excited to try out the new beta version, read on for a comprehensive guide.

Become a Windows Insider

To be able to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview build, you should sign up for the Windows Insider app first. Microsoft expects users to send suggestions and feedback through this app. You can report bugs and crashes as and when you come across them. In addition, you can suggest ideas on how the features and user interface can be improved for better appearance and performance. Be respectful to the other users' feedback and comments, and especially to app developers. If an app fails to meet your quality standards, suggest improvements; but do not thrash it in the comments section or give one-star reviews.

Register your device

Windows Insider Program 

You need to register your device with your specific Microsoft Account in the Windows Insider app to be able to get over-the-air updates. When an update or a new build becomes available, you will be notified regarding the same. Then, you can install the available builds over WiFi or your mobile carrier's data connection. Now, you will be the first to get access to new features and apps in the Windows 10 OS development process.

When the final Windows OS version comes out, you will have access to a number of new and advanced features like Cortana, Continuum, MixView etc. In addition, there are rumors that the latest web browser Spartan will replace the traditional Internet Explorer in this OS. 

Parallels Offers Direct Windows 10 Preview Download

Windows 10 On Mac

Ever since Windows 10 came out, there has been a consistent wave of testers trying to see how good the thing is. And it’s not just Windows users that want a sampling of the new OS, Mac computer owners are almost as eager to check this out, if only out of curiosity born from the hype surrounding the preview. This version has racked up over 2 million public testers to date, and the momentum doesn’t look like it is about to diminish.

Meanwhile for Mac users, Win 10 is now part of the offering on the new VM engine, Parallels 10. This also lets you run other operating systems including Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Linux, and Chrome OS, on a machine running Mac. This lets users check out features such as the Start menu, and the Cortana voice support app, without stepping outside the Mac environment. Also available for free download from Parallels, is the preview of Windows 10 Office, which they can download straight from the desktop.

Testers have the option to give their feedback to the Windows Insider Program, similar to what those using direct booting are doing at present. When you are running Win 10, it is essentially a VM that shows up inside a separate window on the screen, and works next to Mac OS Yosemite, Mavericks, or Mountain Lion. You would need a relatively updated version of Parallels to be able to set this up though, no older than version 10.1.4, that is.

The latest Parallels version comes with Windows integration you can avail on the Mac machine. One of the things you can do is run Microsoft Office VM mode and save documents on cloud storage like Dropbox, Google Drive, or iCloud. Also, app access carries over into the Mac, so that anything you install in Windows can be called up directly.

Windows 10 On Parallels

For most users though, cost might be an issue here. There’s a two-week trial you can have for free, after which you are set back $79.99 for the standard version, although students would have to pay only $39.99. Existing owners of version Parallels 8 or 9 can update to the latest version for $49.99.

Once you are on Parallels 10, you also get a three-month subscription to Parallels Access, which allows you to remotely access up to five Macs and PCs, not to mention devices running iOS and Android. Still, this might not be enough to offset the feeling of being fleeced.

What We Know About Windows 10

Subscription Based Windows 10

There’s very little Microsoft has let out about the sales of their upcoming Windows 10 OS. The only thing we know is that there will possibly be a marked change from how the other Windows wares were sold on the market. Also, there’s enough reason to believe that the prices will be lower as well.

We’ve been getting information from two fronts: WZOR, and Mary Jo Foley. The former is well known as a Russian group/individual that leaks the latest information about upcoming tech releases; while Mary Jo Foley – a journalist and Microsoft expert – is a more respectable source. According to WZOR, the base OS is a free offering, with extras costing more as you go. Under this, you’d have the enterprise features as the additional part, much like in the Office 365 software suite.

But Foley says that even though the base OS will be free, this will be without the desktop. This projection is in keeping with the current policy Microsoft has, which says that beyond a certain size, products are automatically let off the licensing fee hook. But it remains to be seen what the company will charge for the desktop, and how it would do this.

There’s the chance of a Windows 365 service offering, going by the leaked documents from Microsoft. Along that direction, it looks like the OS is bound for a subscription-based outlook. And there’s also been no conclusive word on the Windows 10 price yet. You hear rumors aplenty that Microsoft is setting to offer it for free to all Windows 8 customers. If so, this is one thing which that demographic can be genuinely happy about.

Windows 10 Operating System

Meanwhile, it’s been announced that January will see an event for press and developers, where the latest in the new OS will be unveiled. It’s set to happen right after the Consumer Electronics Show in LA, and being who they are, the company is probably planning to siphon all the excitement from CES.

Last month’s presentation from the tech giant still left a lot conspicuously uncovered, and although the tech preview is something to go by, there’s no saying that most of it will figure in the final product. It’s a staging device for what’s coming next, and the only thing we can be reasonably sure of is the cross platform “Continuum” feature, because that has been at the centre of Microsoft’s one-OS mantra.

Steps To Enable The F8 Key To Start Safe Mode In Windows 8

Windows 8 issues

Most of you who have upgraded your computers to Windows 8, are facing issues with booting and rebooting your systems. Some users complained that their Windows 8 systems take a lot of time to startup. Hence, Microsoft has introduced a new boot loader for Windows 8, which would bring down said time to a tolerable level. However, Microsoft has also removed the ability to access the Advanced Boot Options screen, which was available earlier when the user pressed the F8 key during startup. This has deprived Windows users of the facility to access Safe Mode easily. Now, a user would have to restart Windows 8 in the Safe Mode rather than having the option during the initial startup.

According to the Windows tech support, this means that the user would need to start Windows 8, and then tell it to restart in the safe mode, or ask the Windows to reboot in safe mode if it fails to start. If you’re looking for a way around this, the following instructions tell of how to re-enable the F8 key function so you don’t have to restart Windows 8 needlessly.

·       In the first step, you would need to open the elevated command prompt. Once you do, you’ll be at the C:\Windows\System32> prompt. Now, you need to enter the following, and then press the Enter key.

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy legacy

·       Now, press the Enter key again. You would get a message from Windows saying The operation completed successfully, if you have entered the correct prompt. Now, restart Windows 8 and press the key F8 while the booting happens. This would help you to access Safe Mode and other Advanced Boot options.

·       You can also disable the F8 key in Windows 8. For this, go back to the original Windows 8 setting, and open an elevated command prompt to type in the following command:

Windows 8 updates

bcdedit /set {default} bootmenupolicy standard

·       As earlier, press Enter and you would see the same message from Windows: The operation completed successfully if you have entered the command correctly. Now, you can go ahead and restart Windows 8.

These steps would help you to enable and disable the F8 key functionality in your Windows 8 computer. Feel free to contact our technical support team to know more about the features of the Safe mode option.

Remove Windows Support System Virus

Windows Help

Windows Support System is a malware that is promoted through misleading campaigns and is generally performed by fake Microsoft company safety Essentials Alert. Even though it looks like a skilled plan that is suggested by Microsoft, in fact, it is a standard rogue anti-spyware that foolishly seeks to market fake licensed versions. Trojans that bombard users with Microsoft company safety Essentials Alert make a misleading impression that the program has safety issues that should be eliminated. The users will be asked to neutralize the infection and for this, they will be asked to setup a no cost trial edition of the fake Windows Support System.

Most of the computer users who have currently been advised to setup a no cost edition of it may not have a clue how this Microsoft company safety Essentials Alert Trojan infected their computer. In reality, all this can be done through safety vulnerabilities that are discovered during the scan. When on board, these misleading campaign starts with bogus safety messages that provide the users with completely misleading data. This will not be a good option to eliminate these viruses. The only sensible solution that you can perform is to eliminate the Trojan out of your computer. An additional suggestion would be to disregard all the messages that are given by this fake antivirus program.

If you have bought any antivirus from these fake antivirus providers, you can get in touch with your credit card company to dispute these charges. You can also contact the Windows support number to get rid of this infection. The steps to remove Windows Support System are explained below in this article. You may follow these steps religiously to get rid of the system from your PC.

Instructions

Windows Help

• Restart the computer and stop the Rogue Virus processes.
• Remove HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows NTCurrentVersion \ Winlogon "Shell" = '%UserProfile%Application Data[random].exe. These are the Rogue Virus Registry entries.
• Move to the directory of the rogue virus and remove %UserProfile%\Application Data\[random].exe.
• After deleting the registry entries of the rogue viruses, you can download an automatic virus removal tool or some antivirus program and then run a full system scan to ensure that your computer is safe.

These are the steps to remove the bogus antivirus program from your computer. If you have doubts in any of the steps that are discussed below, you can contact the Windows support number for further assistance on the virus removal process.

Steps To Transfer Files From Windows 7 To Windows 8

Features Of Windows 8

The mainstream support for Windows 7 operating system ends next year. Even though Microsoft will still provide updates for the operating system after that, it is always better to go for a Windows 8 transfer, and move on to the latest OS.

Many people do not prefer a Windows 8 transfer because they fear that all the files in their old operating system would be lost in the transition. However, this is not correct. You can take your Windows 7 files to Windows 8 after the upgrade easily, and we have a lot of tutorials guiding how to do the same on the internet.

But, what will you do if you are planning to buy a new PC? How will you transfer the files to a new Windows 8 system? There are different techniques to achieve this as well. So, let us see how to transfer files from your old Windows 7 PC to the new Windows 8 computer.

Using Todo PCTrans

Todo PCTrans is a free software application that allows you to transfer files from your Windows 7 computer to Windows 8. Let us find out how to use this software.

·        Browse to the official website of Todo PCTrans, go to the download section and install the program on both Windows 8 and Windows 7 computers. Once the installation completes, open the program in both the machines.

·        In the program, the transfer destination computer should be selected as Windows 8. In the section for transfer direction, choose Windows 7 to Windows 8.

·        The Todo PCTrans program will show the list of all programs in the Windows 7 computer. Click on the Edit button and select the programs that you wish to move to Windows 8 computer. You can also choose the files in the operating system to migrate.

Windows 8 Installation

·        Click on the Transfer button to start the move, and all the chosen data will be easily shifted from Windows 7 to Windows 8.

You can also use an external hard disk or USB flash drive to transfer files from Windows 7 to Windows 8. For this, simply plug in the device in Windows 7 PC and transfer all the files to it. Plug this device in Windows 8 PC and move the files. The disadvantage of using an external drive for Windows 8 transfer of files is that you can transfer only files from Windows 7 and not programs, and even so, the process is too tiresome

12 Computer (PC) Tricks You Should Try Right Now

Computers have simplified our life to a great extent. Things that were impossible earlier can now be completed instantly thanks to computers. However, this does not mean that a PC is all work and no play.

Here are some of the best tricks you can try out on your Windows based computer.

1. Have fun with Notepad
   If you think that Notepad is just a basic text editor, then, you will be amazed by its capabilities. You can use Notepad to create everything from personalized logs to harmless viruses that are incredibly annoying. Go see this post to know just how useful Notepad is.
2. Command Prompt too has some tricks up its sleeves
   If you think that the Command prompt is a boring old program that no one uses, you are making a huge mistake. It can be used for everything from watching ASCII Star Wars to making folders that you cannot delete. See this post to know about all the cool stuff you can do with the Windows Command Prompt.
3. Use Keyboard Shortcuts to get work done in no time
   If you are tired of having to alternate between your mouse and keyboard to operate your Windows computer, you would love to know these really useful keyboard shortcuts which greatly increase your speed and efficiency. See this post for details.
4. Make your computer speak what you type
   You can use your PC's built in features and some VBScript magic to create a simple program that will make your computer speak whatever you input to it. Enter the right words and you could imitate a real conversation. Head over to this post to talk with your PC.
5. Make your computer greet you every time you start Windows
   A simple modification in the previous trick will make your computer welcome you in its own mechanical voice every time you log onto Windows. This is achieved by placing the VBS script responsible for making your computer talk in the Start up folder. Read this post to have a computer said welcome.
6. Find your computer's gender
   Want to know if your PC is a male or a female? Simple. Try the previous trick to know if your computer is a 'he' or a 'she'. On a serious note, this depends upon the voice you have selected in Microsoft Text to Speech options.
7. Lock Folders with password
   If you have important personal files that you do not want other people to see, you can hide them in a password protected folder to prevent unwanted users from seeing them. Go see this post to hide your personal files effectively.
8. Change your Processor's name
   
   
   If you are bored of your old processor and want a new one with a staggering name, you will definitely want to see this trick which allows you to change its name to something extraordinary to make your PC special.
9. Make a Keyboard Disco
   You can use some VBScript coding to create a live disco on your keyboard by making the LED lights flash alternately. See this post to know how your keyboard can turn into a disco.
10. Recover permanently deleted files in Windows
    If you have ever deleted a file in Windows that you did not want to and now want to recover it, you would definitely want to know about some free tools to recover your deleted files easily.
11. Use your Keyboard as Mouse
    You know you can use your mouse as keyboard using the On-screen keyboard utility. What if I tell you that it is also possible to do the reverse? Just read this post to see how.
12. Disable USB ports to prevent others from taking your data
    Ever wanted to disable your USB ports to prevent others from using their flash drives on your PC? This post explains how to do just that with a simple registry trick. Do note that disabling USB ports will also disable your USB connected peripheral devices.

Instructions For Downloading The WOW Trial On A Slow Computer

World of Warcraft refers to a multi-player adventure game that was introduced by Blizzard Entertainment. The game includes an impressive population of gamers from every nook and corner of the world. On a daily basis, millions of people choose to log on to the WOW website for building characters as well as to interact with other players on a global level. Those interested in playing this game will have to download it. You can download and play either the trial or the complete versions of this game.

‘World of Warcraft’ takes players into the lands of Azeroth as they attempt to battle mighty foes and team up with other heroes in order to have some multi-player action. The system requirements for this game are comparatively low. A fast processor or a video card is not needed in order to run it. Blizzard Entertainment allows you to download the game in two different ways. If your computer is fast, it is best that you opt for the trial download. Else, you will need to follow the instructions mentioned below.

Instructions for downloading WOW on a slow computer

1.                Start off with these instructions by signing in using the current Battle.net or World of Warcraft username as well as password at the ‘Download World of Warcraft’ page.

2.                Following which, you have to click the PC or Mac buttons for downloading the files for the operating system of the computer. PC files would work in a Windows environment. The Mac version is for computers run on the Apple Operating systems.

3.                Finally, you need to double-click on the downloaded InstallWow.exe file when the download is complete. That is when the process of installation begins. To use this universal setup rather than the trial version will prevent the continuous streaming, which will bog down and disrupt the play in a slow computer.

Being a massively multiplayer online role-playing Game, the gamers from all over the world log into this online game and create their very own fantasy characters straight from the medieval era and wage a war with the opposing factions.

Things to note

A paid account needs to be created for playing World of Warcraft after the trial period.

Also note that to download the trial or complete version of the game by means of the client software takes much longer than choosing to download from the retail CD.