Microsoft released the Windows 8 upgrade options to a few insiders which I’ve detailed below. Like all Microsoft OS’s, there are several versions of Windows 8 so you might want to pull up our post which reviews the various versions of Windows 8 as you read the details below. Windows 8 Upgrade Options Non-Supported Windows 8 Upgrade Options Overall, the upgrade path to Windows 8 looks pretty nice, especially considering a new upgrade offer for Windows 7 users....

Windows 10 19H1 Preview Build 18312 This build includes Microsoft’s changes to managing disk space through “reserved storage,” for a smoother upgrade process. The company says, “Through reserved storage, some disk space will be set aside to be used by updates, apps, temporary files, and system caches. Our goal is to improve the day-to-day function of your PC by ensuring critical OS functions always have access to disk space.” To learn more about the technical details, make sure to read the company’s article on Technet about Windows 10 and Reserved Storage....

Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.282 Here is the list of improvements and fixes contained in today’s new build: We fixed an L3 caching issue that might affect performance in some applications on devices that have AMD Ryzen processors after upgrading to Windows 11 (original release).We fixed an issue for a small number of users that prevents the Start menu from working and prevents you from seeing the updated taskbar design after upgrading to Windows 11 (original release)....

Update: Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows RT Surface devices or the Windows RT OS. But if you happen to still have one, these instructions still work. Copy and Paste on Microsoft Surface Via Touch or Keyboard Tap and hold the first word of text you want to copy until you see a circle icon, then move your finger to highlight the text you want. Or, if you’re using the keyboard, highlight the text as you normally would....

The company made improvements to the legacy Edge browser over the years. And eventually, it added support for a handful of extensions. But it never really took off. And because it was so deeply tied into the OS, it could only be updated via Windows Update. So, new features weren’t added as quickly as you’d expect from other browsers like Chrome or Firefox. The New Edge Microsoft started over and has built a new version of Edge based on Chromium....

Xbox Music Updates Currently Microsoft’s Xbox Music service is confusing to say the least. Hopefully with these new app updates, it will allow users to take control of their music collections, and subscribe to streaming music offered via Xbox Music Pass. Some of the more notable features are importing iTunes Playlists, changing music volume within the app, and easier search. From the Microsoft Release Notes: Another notable update to point out with Xbox Music is Music Matching is much easier....

Miranda IM has a simple interface, but it can be customized with skins and themes. Here’s a look at the default skim. It’s basic and straight forward. Information on how to skin and theme Miranda IM can be found here. By default, Miranda IM offers basic chat support for: AIM (AOL Instant Messenger)FacebookGoogle TalkGadu-GaduIAX (Inter-Asterisk Exchange)ICQIRC (Internet Relay Chat)JabberMSNNetsendTlenYahooAnd more… Facebook, Google Talk, and others are accessed via the Jabber protocol....

Scrolling horizontally through each category to find what you want to watch can take a lot of time. This allows you to see more of the shows and movies in each category at once. Use Netflix God Mode To start, head over and grab the Netflix God Mode bookmarklet and drag it to your browser. Currently it works with Firefox, Safari, and Chrome – no IE or Opera love yet....

Top 10 Reasons To Upgrade To Microsoft Office 2010 1. Overall new features and improvements Office 2010 comes packed with small upgrades that, put together, make it stand out head and shoulders over the old Office 2007 suite AND its competitors. Here are just a few examples: Real-Time Co-authoring of documents allows for quick collaboration.Improved Outlook conversation and calendar management tools.Outlook 2010 Social connector will be useful for networking online once more plug-ins are available....

Outlook Attachment Reminder The setting should be enabled by default, but to double-check launch Outlook on your PC and click on File. Now from the File pane scroll down and click on Options. Now, from the menu panel on the left click on Mail. Then under the Send Messages section, verify that “Warn me when I send a message that may be missing an attachment” is checked. Here’s the typical scenario: You compose an email letting the recipient know you’ve attached a file, but forget to actually include it and hit Send....

For our third and last part of this series on background removal, here’s two two expert techniques for background removal in Photoshop. Take your time on these – they are not that easy to use! To help you out, I’ve created these two videos that demonstrate how to do it professionally step-by-step: The Photoshop Pen Tool The Pen Tool – a name that sounds quite simple for something that can be quite complicated and can take days to get used to....

If you’re a developer or enthusiast, you’ve probably been using it for the past year since the Developer Preview was released. After a year of testing and tweaking, the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version was made available in August to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. Since then, the new OS has seen several systems and built-in app updates. Running Windows 8 on a production computer I recently made the switch from Windows 8 on my main production system that has a dual monitor set up....

The Carousel is at the top of your Kindle Fire home screen. There you can scroll through recently used items with a cover flow-like experience. To remove an item, tap and hold the item’s icon until the dialog appears. Then tap Remove from Home. You can also scroll over to the “For You” section, tap and hold an item, and tap Remove from Home” to get rid of it....

Remove Unwanted Control Panel Items For this example I am removing the Flash Player Control Panel icon since I never use it anyway. Click Start and type: C:\windows\system32 into the Search box and hit Enter. In the System32 folder do a search for .cpl files. This lets you find the Control Panel items easier. Then right-click the item you want gone and click Delete. In this case I ‘m deleting FlashPlayerCPLApp....

Microsoft Windows Features Over the past 10 years, Microsoft has refined Windows to resist attacks that were notorious during the Windows XP era. Some of these improvements include User Account Control, Patch Guard, Device Driver Signing, Secure Boot, and Address Space Randomization Layout. Unfortunately, older applications tend not to be receptive to these changes. As a result, Windows 10 itself breaks a lot from the past, but there is more to this problem....

RIM shares went up 10 percent following the report, but Samsung spokesman James Chung said for Reuters that the company has not considered buying RIM and it has not been approached by the BlackBerry maker concerning a takeover. Since Samsung’s denial of the initial report, the price of RIM stock went down 5 percent in pre-market trading on January 18, according to e-week. Even so, investors are not giving up on Research In Motion, as the company definitely still has a lot to offer....

Google Nexus 7 with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Lock Screen To set up a secure lock screen, swipe from the top of the screen down and tap the Settings icon. Scroll down under Personal tap Security. Next under Screen Security tap Screen Lock. Now you can choose the type of screen lock you want to use. You can select the traditional PIN or Password, but also some new types of security features like Pattern or Face Unlock....

The artist art from Groove Music isn’t the same as album art, but a series of images from the musicians. You can view the now playing artist art by clicking the album thumbnail in the lower-left corner when a song is playing. Then you’ll see other band and artist images rotate as the music is playing. Make Music Artist Art Desktop or Lock Screen Wallpaper To set the artist art as the desktop or lock screen background, open Groove Music app and click on Settings (gear icon) in the lower left panel....

Here’s how to remove the Skype icon from the Windows Taskbar. Open Skype and navigate to the Tools » Options. In the option window, click on Advanced Settings in the left panel. Then in the right-column uncheck Keep Skype in the Taskbar While I’m Signed In. Click Save to apply changes and exit this window. Skype will completely disappear from view when you click the X icon. It still remains running in background in case you receive a message....

Slack Launches Video Conferencing for Mac and Windows The new camera button is available in the Slack App, which users can click to start a video call. Users can initiate a call to either individual users or to an entire channel for a group voice or video call. Although the group calling is maxed out at 15 participants and requires a paid account, I can vouch for its simplicity and quality....