Note: Here I’m using iTunes 11 for Windows, but the steps are the same with the OS X version and newer versions of iTunes. The menus may vary slightly. Change iTunes Imported CD Track Quality Open iTunes and go to Edit > Preferences. Then under General Preferences click the Import Settings button. Since you’ll probably want the album to play on any of your devices or desktop software players. Change Import Using to MP3 Encoder from the dropdown menu....

Use Parental Controls to Manage Kids Computer Usage and Activities on Your Windows 10 Device Before you configure your kid’s screen time and start generating reports, review our previous article on how to set up Family Safety. Once you have that setup, open Start > Settings > Accounts > Family & other people. Click the link Manage family settings online (you can also sign in from here). This will open the dedicated Family settings web page in your browser....

We dropped a few Marvel Pinball screenshots of the tables available via in-app purchase. These include the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Venom, and many more Marvel heroes and villains from Marvel and Zen Studios. If you have Pinball Fever, Marvell Pinball is a mighty Cure! From Marvel: Feel free to check out the Marvel site for more info on the game. Overall, it’s pretty straightforward for Pinball fans out there....

When Ballmer introduced the new Windows Phone 7 operating system I was just thinking “great, another boring bald guy named Steve trying to sell me a phone.” But, at the same time I saw the new commercial Microsoft did to market their mobile OS and it was much more entertaining. Check it out! Really: New Windows Phone Ad With this new ad, Microsoft is subliminally claiming that their phones are: While this may be true in some cases, I think most people are stuck staring at their phones all day because they are playing games, addicted to Facebook, or texting maniacs....

Last night I opened up my copy of Microsoft Money only to be alerted by Microsoft that they will be ending future development on the product. About ten years ago I got a free copy of Microsoft Money from a friend at Microsoft, so I made the switch from Intuit Quicken… oops. Intuit is apparently trying to cash in on the deal by advertising what appears to be a discount on their main page for existing MS Money customers....

Windows Insider MVP Program for Windows 10 The new award program places emphasis on Windows 10. Recognizing the best Windows Insiders who volunteer their knowledge of Microsoft’s flagship operating system in a number of areas such as forums, blogs, public speaking and authors. Users awarded as Consumer Security, Windows Phones, Surface, and Windows Experience MVPs are now Windows Insider MVPs. As part of the new program, Windows Insider MVPs will be recognized with a new award plaque and complimentary benefits....

Microsoft Office Online 2015 Today Microsoft is rolling out new updates that improve file management, Reading View, and editing capabilities. Here’s a few videos showing the new features in action. Enhanced Reading Experience Office Online Save As feature Add files to OneDrive from the toolbar Over the past few weeks Microsoft has already shown us some enhancements to Office such as the following: Microsoft Web Apps for Windows 10 previewNew Outlook for iOS and AndroidTouch-First Office Apps Demo...

Windows 10 1803 Cumulative Update KB4458469 There are no new features in this update but there is a healthy amount of improvements and fixes. Here is the list of changes in today’s update: Addresses an issue that causes the prompt “You’ll need a new app to open” to appear. This occurs when reloading a website on a non-standard port by pressing Enter .Addresses an issue that causes downloads to fail because Mark of the Web (MOTW) isn’t supported at the download location....

With the release of Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft announced that their new FREE phone back-up/sync service called “My Phone” has graduated out of Beta! With all the features Microsoft packed into My Phone, the software package/service is MUCH MORE than just a Backup or Sync utility. Once installed, Windows Mobile 6+ phones can easily backup their contacts, photos, calendar events, and other data directly to a secure Microsoft site. According to the MyPhone Website, once you sync your data to the site you can easily manage, access, and transfer data to and from your phone (or any other Windows Mobile 6+ phones) through the Microsoft My Phone Website using easy to use menus and search functions....

Windows 10 May 2020 Update This new version of Windows 10 comes with a bunch of new incremental improvements and updates. Some of the new features include a new Cortana app, Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL 2), Windows Search improvements, renaming virtual desktops, Accessibility improvements, Notepad improvements, new Settings options, and more. The new Windows 10 May 2020 Update is available in the usual ways including via the Media Creation tool, Update Assistant, and through Windows Update....

Windows 10 20H1 Build 19018 Quick searches now show up in your Search Home. Four quick web searches have been added including Weather, Top news, Today in history, and New movies. Also, there are minor tweaks and updates to the UI for web preview search results. In addition to the features above here is the list of other changes and fixes included in today’s build: For Insiders that did not take the Cumulative Update to Build 19013, just a note that this build, vvnmcflr (like that update), also includes the fix for the issue resulting in black screens and disconnects over remote desktop in the last couple of flights....

Windows 10 Build 20226 Today’s build contains storage health monitoring improvements. “This feature is designed to detect hardware abnormalities for NVMe SSDs and notify users with enough time to act.” There are also improvements to Your Phone settings where there is a new Settings page. In addition to the features listed above here is the list of changes and improvements for this build: We’re starting to roll out a change that will turn off theme syncing....

Windows 10 Build 21301 Microsoft is testing out some improvements to the touch keyboard design in this build. The changes include: When undocking the keyboard, it now switches to the Small keyboard layout, and you can easily move the keyboard around using the gripper region at the top of the keyboard.Small and split layouts will now feature an updated symbol’s view based on the default layout.The settings menu now has a nested structure for improved clarity and less clutter....

Windows 10 Build 21387 There are no major new features to report with this release but it does contain the following changes and improvements: The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application is now retired as of this Insider Preview build. For additional details see https://aka.ms/IEmodeblog.We are turning off the “Eco mode” feature in Task Manager in order to refine the experience and address several issues thanks to Windows Insider feedback. And this is the list of fixes you can expect that are contained in this build:...

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19587 Here is a list of general changes and improvements in this latest preview build: Based on feedback, when you have muted your volume, the volume will now not unmute when using the hardware keyboard volume keys until you raise the volume (or manually unmute).We made a couple of improvements to Narrator and how it works with some of the controls in Windows:Narrator now uses a more friendly string to describe the audio output in the Select playback device dropdown menu in the volume flyout....

As we mentioned last week, Insiders shouldn’t expect any new features in any releases moving forward. “We are now at the point of the development cycle for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update where our focus is now on stabilization for release to the world. This means that we intend to release new builds to Insiders more quickly and that these builds will include mostly bug fixes.” Dona Sarkar writes in today’s article announcing this build....

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16294 As is usually the case with build leading up to the final release, there are no new features. This build includes mostly bug fixes and general under-the-hood improvements. Here is a list of the fixes you can expect in this most recent build according to Dona Sarkar’s announcement: This build has the fix for the bug that was causing some Surface Pro 3 devices to end up in a “unbootable” state where the Windows OS will not load and it appears to be stuck on a “spinning dots” screen....

Windows 10 Redstone 5 Preview Build 17730 Microsoft introduced the Your Phone app in its build three days ago, but today the company is officially announcing it is available for testing. “Android phone users, you can finally stop emailing yourself photos. Drag and drop that photo from your phone onto your PC. Copy, edit, or ink on that photo, right from your PC. With Your Phone app, live today for Windows Insiders, you get instant access to your Android’s most recent photos on your PC,” Microsoft execs Dona Sarkar and Brandon LeBlanc write....

It allows annotations using e-ink and your voice. Here’s our first look at Microsoft Snip Preview and what it can do. Download Microsoft Snip Microsoft Garage If you’d like to try Snip for yourself, simply click this link or the screenshot below. Snip Interface and Features Launching Snip reveals an elegant menu that appears with a smooth animation, similar to the Xbox gaming menu in Windows 10. The first button lets you take a screenshot a specified region....

There is a Microsoft Store icon on the taskbar by default—just a click opens it up. However, if the Microsoft Store isn’t working on Windows 11 when you click it, or if it crashes or doesn’t open, you’ll need to investigate further. If you’re having a problem with the Microsoft Store, you can fix it by trying one of the troubleshooting steps below. Restart Your PC There are several reasons why the Microsoft Store might stop working on your Windows 11 PC....