There was a lot of speculation regarding what the price would be. Unfortunately, it’s not the previously rumored cost of $199. Instead, it’s more comparable to Apple’s iPad. Coming in at $499 for the 32GB version for the basic tablet only model (no keyboard cover). The 32GB model with the attachable keyboard cover will cost you an additional $100 at the official price of $599. And the 64GB model with keyboard comes in at $699....

Microsoft Launches New Windows Insider Program for Business Users Previously, Microsoft’s engagement with IT pros for feedback was exclusive to large organizations participating in the company’s Windows Technology Adoption Program (TAP). Opening up Windows 10 feedback to a much broader audience of technology professionals empowers organizations and individuals to gain insights and also have an impact on the direction of the product. Getting early access to enterprise technologies slated for upcoming Windows releases also lets IT pros identify and work out any bugs or compatibility issues ahead of time....

Unlike the Playstation 3, the Xbox 360 requires an Xbox Live package in order to use most applications. To further promote these packages, Microsoft is offering a free 4-day weekend of Xbox Live apps. This is comes into effect from Thursday April 19th to Monday April 23rd of 2012. Application sign-up will work just like it would with a normal paid Xbox Live package. Apps that normally require a subscription like Netflix will still require a separate Netflix account in order to use....

Microsoft Office on Android When Microsoft first invited users to test Office on their Android devices back in November, it was relegated to ARM-based tablets running KitKat. Now the company has added Lollipop to testing and has also opened it to the public since the program received an overwhelming response. Yes, your device has to be a tablet – smartphones will have to wait for now. The apps are the same Office core apps available on iPad – Word, Excel, and PowerPoint....

Windows 10 Build 16299.214 for Fall Creators Update The update includes bug fixes and quality improvements for Fall Creators Update, but no new features, as is usually the case with cumulative updates. Here is a look at what’s included in this latest build. Note that there are a few known issues with this build, too. You can get a full rundown at Microsoft’s Support Page: Addresses a compatibility issue where colors are distorted when the system is connected to displays that support wide color gamut....

Windows 10 KB4494441 for Windows 10 1809 October 2018 Update This latest update will bump your build to 17763.503 and includes the following list of fixes and improvements: Enables “Retpoline” by default if Spectre Variant 2 (CVE-2017-5715) is enabled. Make sure previous OS protections against the Spectre Variant 2 vulnerability are enabled using the registry settings described in the Windows Client and Windows Server articles. (These registry settings are enabled by default for Windows Client OS editions, but disabled by default for Windows Server OS editions)....

Windows 10 19H1 Preview Build 18290 Microsoft continues to improve the overall Fluent design in Windows 10 and in this build adds some improved cosmetic changes to the Start menu. There is a new option in the Date & Time Settings in this build that allows you to manually sync your clock with the time server. This has been a highly requested feature, mainly from admins who need to make sure systems are synced correctly....

Windows 10 20H1 Preview Build 18980 This build is making the new Cortana app — introduced in build 18945 – available to all insiders worldwide. Currently, the updated Cortana app supports English (U.S.) only. However, the company notes that “In a future Cortana app update, customers will have the option to use Cortana if they speak a supported language, regardless of their OS display language.” This release has also added WSL2 support for ARM64 devices....

Windows 10 20H1 Preview Build 19008 Here is the list of fixes, changes, and improvements included in this latest Insider release: For Insiders that were experiencing their PCs getting stuck on restart and shutdown on Builds 18999-19002: A fix for this was included with the update to Build 19002.1002, but in case you didn’t see it, including a note here too. If you didn’t install Build 19002.1002, you may need to use the workaround in order to upgrade to this build....

Once you download the update from here your MVS 2005 Host will be upgraded to Version 1.1.629.0: The update also updates your Virtual Machine Additions to Version 13.820 so be prepared to begin getting warnings about all your VMs once you upgrade your HOST. Looking at the VM Additions, it seems like they updated the seven core files/drivers. PER the KB article, the main changes are probably to just add support for Server 2008 and the latest Service Packs for Vista and XP:...

eBook Store And it wasn’t rolled it out well, either. If you purchased an eBook from Microsoft the only place you could read it was on Windows 10 in Microsoft Edge. Not to mention the library was smaller than competitors and it lacked features like book preview and a lending library. Microsoft killed its eBook store on April 2nd, 2019. And customers who did purchase books were no longer available to read....

Windows Live SkyDrive has 25 GB of free online storage space. To make great use of that space, you need an easy way to access it. Using a free application called Gladinet, you can easily map SkyDrive to a drive letter on your computer to allow you to browse it as if it was physically attached. The free utility is available for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7, XP, and Vista....

The design is sleeker and easier on the eyes, and the overall experience is now fully integrated with the Windows Live service including the ability to manage your contacts and message them from the same page. Honestly, it’s a complete re-write, so I figured it deserved a closer review. Message Your Contacts From Your Browser Login to people.live.com and sign in to messenger using the Messenger button above your contacts list....

Top of the news, for me, anyway, was Minecraft. It’s now available from the Android Market. To find it, search “minecraft pocket” or just click this link. Minecraft Pocket sports the groovy little 3D grass square we all know and love, made by original Minecraft developer Mojang.Surprisingly, the app is nice and compact at just 2MB. That’ll work fine on even 3G connections. Stellar. And on last thing on Minecraft....

With services such as WordPress offering easy-to-use online editors and integration with desktop word processors such as Microsoft Word, Windows Live Writer continues to lack the development and updates that made it the go-to tool for preparing elegantly prepared blog posts featuring rich tools for adding media and layout of text. Thankfully, a group of third-party volunteers saw the benefits of Writer and decided to pick up where Microsoft left off....

It will be interesting to see if it will bring more users to the browser, especially since there have been talks about Facebook being interested in buying the company. Since Opera doesn’t have the habit of releasing a lot of new versions in a short period of time, the new release is filled with new features. One of the most striking visual features is Themes. You can customize the browser with a variety of looks, and it’s done in a couple of clicks....

If you have music loaded on the local drive on your computer or device, right click a favorite song or album and select Pin to Start. You can also pin music or video from a network drive to your Windows 8 Start screen. Then you’ll find the folder on the Start screen and you can organize the folder tiles under categories or where you want them. If you want a more exciting icon than the plain vanilla folder, just customize the folder icon for it on the desktop....

According to a post on its Tumblr account, the company said that if you want to keep your current Yahoo ID, you just need to log in before the middle of next month: If you haven’t checked out Yahoo Mail in quite a while, the company has recently revamped it’s service and mobile apps. If you still care about your Yahoo account, or want a new one, this is a good time to see if you can get the ID you want....

I love to read, and these days, I primarily read just eBooks. It took me a little time to get comfortable with reading from a tablet vs. paper. However, the convenience just can’t be beaten not to mention the decade of improvements to reading apps for tablets and phones. I can carry thousands of eBooks around with me on my iPhone and iPad and never need to worry about losing a book a new and expensive book in a hotel room while traveling (can you tell I’m still upset about that…)....

Photo Credit: Kitchen Dreams Developed by Travis Krumsick the freeware program KeyTweak provides a graphical user interface for remapping every key on most keyboards. Behind the scenes, all the program does is edit the Windows registry as we did in our Disabling the Caps Lock Key tutorial. What took us several steps and 5 minutes to accomplish, KeyTweak can do in only two mouse clicks. KeyTweak isn’t just for disabling keys though....