The first Samsung Galaxy Note has been quite successful – over 5 million units had been sold since late spring, contradicting those saying that it was difficult to operate with one hand. It has solid specs and a large battery, as well as a huge 5.3 inch size screen with 1280 x 800 resolution. Samsung is planning to release the second Galaxy Note in an event taking place on August 29 in Berlin, Germany, according to Reuters quoting a Samsung spokesperson....

Although several sites have been talking about the release since yesterday, I just noticed on microsoftpost.com (sorry for the shameless plug) that Service Pack 2 “BETA” for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 hit the Microsoft Download Center today. I’m out on vacation this week so I can’t test this out BUT, below are the various links if you want to go ahead and get it installed. I also included some reference links which cover a How-To for system admins as well as the WHAT does SP2 BETA include?...

Create a VM Using Windows 10 Hyper-V Let’s take a look at setting up a Virtual Machine using the built-in Hyper-V technology. The benefits include the ability to run multiple operating systems at the same time as long as you have enough hardware resources. Personally, I decided to do this because I need to do some compatibility testing. Hyper-V is also an excellent way to try and test apps before using them in your primary production environment....

Update: Story Remix is no longer part of the Photos app on Windows 10. There is still a Video Editor, however. It works much in the same way that Windows Live Movie Maker worked but with easier-to-use controls. Story Remix for Windows 10 To start, launch the Photos app, and right away, you’ll notice a new look at the interface overhauled with the Microsoft Fluent Design System (formerly codenamed Project NEON)....

Sync IE 11 Tabs in Windows 8.1 Update: Support for Windows 8.1 from Microsoft is coming to an end: Update 2: Microsoft is ending support for Internet Explorer 11 next year. It will be removed from Windows 10 and Windows 11. From the Start screen, just type: sync settings and select Sync Settings under the results. On the next screen, select Sync Settings again. Now make sure “Sync Settings on this PC” is turned on....

Today Microsoft announced Office for iPhone is available if you’re an Office 365 subscriber. Apple announced OS X Mavericks, iOS 7, and a crazy new Mac Pro at WWDC. Josh is running the iOS 7 beta on his iPhone 4 and he gives us his first impressions of the new mobile OS. Did Apple make the right design choice for its new Mac Pro? Who is going to buy it anyway?...

UPDATE: Two things: Cassette tapes have made a major comeback among hipster indie bands and Microsoft no longer offers the Microsoft Works 6-9 File Converter for download. Microsoft Word 2016 has some built-in MS Works .wps conversion capabilities, so I suggest getting a copy of Word 2016 (free trial of Office 365‘s a good idea) and trying to open your .wps file in that. Barring that, you can still download the Microsoft Works 6-9 File Converter from some semi-shady file hosting sites....

Some of that has to do with privacy and fear. A common comment I hear is, “who knows what the service will do with the photos? I don’t want to see them on a billboard somewhere.” This is a slightly valid concern as there have been a few documented cases of this. But nothing that should keep you up at night wondering if you are modeling tank tops without your knowledge....

What Is It? Unless you’re interested in becoming a hairstylist, this app is just for the kids. After the player picks a model, the styling can begin. From there, the character can get a complete makeover. First, the player starts with the haircut and then moves on to styling and color. Eventually, the character gets some fun accessories like glasses and a hat. When the model is ready to go, the app lets you take a snapshot to show off your creation....

I already showed you an article on how to initiate the Split Keyboard on an iPad running iOS 5. You wouldn’t know it by look at the split keyboard, but there are hidden keys. Launch the split screen keyboard, then type the blank area next to the T on the left keyboard and it’ll type a Y. Type any area to the left or right of the last key and it will type the one that comes next if the keyboard wasn’t split....

Does Your Plan Support It? While your iPhone and iOS may support the feature, your carrier and plan determine if the feature is turned on or not. You’ll need to check with your carrier to see if it’s supported. You might have to change plans. For example, those on the original AT&T iPhone unlimited plan can’t tether. That’s one of the reasons I switched off that plan a few years ago....

When the company first released Windows 10 in 2015, there was a lot of unwarranted criticism from privacy advocates when they learned of the telemetry data it collected. Telemetry data is mostly anonymized and trivial, though. Microsoft uses the data to help improve the Windows experience. Telemetry isn’t unique to Microsoft and is a software industry trend that collects and analyzes even data to make future improvements. It mainly consists of error reporting, device configuration, uptime, installed apps, and drivers....

But the good news is that VLC is now available for all Windows Phone users in the Windows Phone store. It works with Windows Phone 8.1, which everyone should have by now. If you don’t have it for some odd reason, make sure to read our article on how to get it and other updates early by joining the Preview for Developers program. VLC for Windows Phone 8.1 is lightweight and, just like other platforms, will play all video and audio compression formats for files you have stored on the phone or phone’s SD card....

VLC 2.0 from the Video LAN Organization is available for Windows too, but the most notable new interface features are on the Mac version. You’ll need an Intel Mac running OS X 10.5 or higher or a PowerPC Mac for VLC 2.0 to work. That’s quite an improvement over the previous Mac version. The new version has been rewritten and has enhanced video playback for multicore systems. It has been enhanced for better GPU acceleration performance for HD and 10bit codecs....

Did Mark Zuckerberg really admit to having stolen data from billions of people? Did Barack Obama call Donald Trump “a complete dipshit?” Each of these videos links is an example of a deepfake, a dangerous form of artificial technology that makes it possible to put words in someone’s mouth or a different face on another person’s body. There are also “voice skins” and “voice clones,” which allow pranksters to mimic the voice....

There’s one small problem: the Chromebook Recovery Utility is kind of a pain in the neck. It took me multiple tries on multiple computers with multiple USB drives and SD cards to get it to work. In this walkthrough, I’ll try to guide you around some of the stumbling blocks I encountered. Note: Previously, you could make Chromebook recovery disks by using chrome://imageburner. The Chromebook Recovery Utility replaces this. How the Chromebook Recovery Utility Works (Sometimes) The process for creating a Chromebook Recovery Utility is supposed to be foolproof....

Should You Upgrade? Maybe. Your PC has been working fine under Windows 7 or 8, so why rock the boat? Andre makes some excellent points about keeping your PC just the way it is. Clients I work with tell me horror stories about upgrading to Windows 10. Since I do computer repair for a living, I usually only hear about the problems. If you’re upgrading from Windows 8, I never see problems....

Windows 10 Build 10041 While this build isn’t giving us as many new features as the last one, build 9926, there is plenty of interesting tweaks to the interface, and new things like Cortana for testers in the UK and China. Do note that this build is a rather buggy. It’s actually more buggy that the last one, but these are the irritations we face as testers of pre-release software....

The short video below shows what happened during the live broadcast. Personally, I think the meteorologist did an excellent job of dealing with the situation, but tech geeks it’s humorous situation. The Windows 10 Upgrade Nag Isn’t Always Funny While the video above makes for a nice live news blooper, it’s not funny to a lot of people still running Windows 7 and always getting this update nag screen. Microsoft has been quite aggressive with its push to get everyone on Windows 10 as soon as possible....

Use ModernMix But I digress, back to the desktop and modern apps. One way to make the metro-style UI and apps more useful in Windows 8.1 is to spend $4.99 on Stardock’s ModernMix. It’s a handy utility that allow you to run the modern apps in a traditional desktop style window. If you’ve followed any of my writing, you know that I’m a big fan of Xbox Music, and using ModernMix is a must for getting the most out of it from a traditional PC or laptop....