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You can browse this site for information, tips & troubleshooting information about Microsoft Windows Operating Systems.

If you have a question you want to ask, you should post a message on our WindowsBBS support forum.

    Microsoft prices Windows 8.1

September 19, 2013 - 10:00 GMT

Last Tuesday, in a blog post on Microsoft's Windows.com website, Senior Marketing Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc announced Microsoft's Pricing and Packaging for Windows 8.1.

    Windows 8.1 Review - Small improvements fix some annoyances

August 10, 2013 - 23:50 GMT

In this two page article I look at the preview of Windows 8.1 and look at what Microsoft decided to update or change in comparison to the current Windows 8.

    Download and Install Windows 8.1 Preview

June 26, 2013 - 20:15 GMT

Today at the Build 2013 in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the availability of the Windows 8.1 Preview.

    Disable Windows Automatic Maintenance

June 14, 2013 - 15:00 GMT

Windows 8 includes an automatic maintenance routine designed to run in the background with limited user interaction and minimal impact to performance and energy efficiency. If you want to disable the automatic maintenance (for example if you are running Windows 8 in a virtual environment) you'll have to change some file permissions to be able to do so successfully.

    Check Your Mobile Device's Battery Health

May 29, 2013 - 11:45 GMT

Like Windows 7, Windows 8 includes a command that let you view details on your computers power usage including details on your computer's battery. The Windows 8 command will show you even more details if you are running on newer hardware.

    Microsoft Confirms Windows 8.1 Update Free for Existing Windows 8 Customers

May 13, 2013 - 15:25 GMT

Today at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston, Windows division CFO Tami Reller shared with the audience that the update previously referred to as 'Windows Blue' will be called Windows 8.1 and will be a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store.

    A First Look at Windows 8 "Blue"

April 10, 2013 - 15:30 GMT

In this two page article I take a look at the leaked 9364 Build of Windows 8 "Blue" and note some of the small improvements Microsoft seems to be making (mainly to the new 'Modern UI' interface).

    Managing Windows 8 Networking

March 29, 2013 - 17:30 GMT

In this two page article I look at Windows 8 networking an sharing options including managing Wireless networks.

    Optimize Windows 8 for use with a Solid State Drive (SSD)

January 30, 2013 - 14:00 GMT

Microsoft got most things right with Windows 8 and Solid State Drive's (SSD drives have been around for a few years now). So while you don't have to employ all kinds of 'tricks' to get the most out of your SSD drive, you may still benefit from some tips, especially when it comes to saving some disk space (which can come in handy on smaller size SSD drives).

    Missing the Start Menu in Windows 8? Updated February 20, 2013 Feb. 20, 2013

January 7, 2013 - 09:30 GMT

In the Windows 8 Developer Preview, Microsoft had a registry setting that allowed you to switch off Windows 8 'Metro' Start screen. This would also enable the 'classic' Windows 7 Start menu. Microsoft took this option away in the Consumer Preview and has not added that simple trick back to the release version of Windows 8, so what do we do now?

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Windows® Headlines - Microsoft news you can use

Police hold 11 over ransomware scam 'affecting thousands'

A complex cybercrime network spreading ransomware designed to extort money has been shut down, police have said. Spanish authorities, working with the European Union's law enforcement agency, Europol, arrested 11 people, from Russia, Georgia and Ukraine. Software planted on targeted machines accused the user of having viewed illegal content, such..

Amazon Beats Out Apple For The Best Reputation Among U.S. Consumers

Apple and Google join Amazon in top five as companies that have transcended tech. The Walt Disney Company, Johnson & Johnson, and The Coca-Cola Company complete list of companies with great reputations according to the 2013 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient. While the overall perception of corporate America remains relatively grim, there were mixed ..

Microsoft’s Next-Gen Xbox May Require You To Use A Kinect

The war for your living room rages on, and Microsoft has no intention of yielding any hard-fought ground to its gaming rivals. Rumors of a new Xbox have been flying around for months now, but Kotaku has put together the mother of all next-gen Xbox (a.k.a. Xbox 720, a.k.a. Durango) posts thanks to a secretive-but-chatty source known as SuperDaE --if..

Microsoft blows Surface Pro launch

I am not sure if Microsoft was not confident about the Surface Pro or what, but they didn't provide inventory needed to meet demand at their online store or in retail stores. The retail representatives were fantastic though and I was encouraged by their efforts to help out. I was all excited to go and buy a Microsoft Surface Pro this morning at Be..

Half of China's computers infected by malware, study finds

China often gets blamed as the world's biggest hacker, but it may also be the world's biggest victim of cybercrime. Nearly 55 percent of Windows PCs in China were infected with malware in 2012, said Spanish anti-virus software maker Panda Labs in its annual security report. However, that conflicts with a Microsoft study that said Chinese infection..

EU proposes new cybercrime reporting rules

Over 40,000 firms, including energy providers, banks and hospitals could be required to report cyber-break-ins under new rules proposed by the EU. It is part of a move to intensify global efforts to fight cybercrime. Digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes said that Europe needed to improve how it dealt with cybersecurity. But firms are concern..

Microsoft's Surface Pro: More security blanket than tablet

When Microsoft unveiled the Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets last summer, the former was treated as a curious experiment, while the latter was envisioned as something that could be a true laptop/tablet hybrid. But the Surface Pro doesn't quite deliver. First, the good news. It's every bit as well built as its counterpart. Every aspect of the S..

Microsoft launches 'Don't get Scroogled' campaign against Google

Negative advertising campaigns conducted by any firm or party are always classy, and Microsoft's latest offering certainly amuses. Microsoft began a new national campaign today which encourages users to leave Google's Gmail service in favor of joining Microsoft's Outlook email facilities, hooking into privacy concerns to relay the message. The ca..

Why 4G may lead to bigger smartphone bills

Thinking about upgrading to a 4G phone? Prepare to pay more. Before you know it, those 2-gigabyte data caps your carrier put in place just aren't going to cut it. The average American will use 6.2 GB of data on their mobile devices each month in 2017, according to the latest annual Visual Networking Index released by Cisco. To put that into contex..

U.K. spy agencies plan to install Web snooping 'black boxes'

U.K. intelligence agencies are planning to install surveillance 'black boxes' on phone networks and ISP servers that utilize deep packet inspection to monitor Web traffic -including Facebook, Twitter, and Skype, among others. According to lawmakers in the country's capital, these devices will rely on deep packet inspection --a technique that has b..

Why Microsoft 'loaned' Dell $2 billion

There weren't too many surprises in Dell Inc.'s announcement that it has agreed to be taken private for $24.4 billion. Except for one: Microsoft's $2 billion investment will come as a loan, instead of as equity. A source familiar with the situation tells me that the software giant was worried about other customers thinking that Microsoft had incen..

Death of the mouse! 6 new ways to control your PC

Call it a "disappearing user interface," or "perceptual computing." Whichever clunky name you use, you'll soon be controlling your PC with gestures, voice commands and eye movements. See ya, mouse! Leap Motion is more than gesture control: It tracks even the eeniest wiggle of a digit. The company's highly sophisticated system can track the moveme..

US phone unlocking deadline expires

Americans now have to get permission to "unlock" their smartphone so it runs on more than one mobile network. A 90-day time limit that made it legal to unlock phones without permission has now expired. Many Americans unlocked their phones to avoid running up big bills when travelling outside the US. An online petition has been started asking for..