Microsoft is leaving students no excuse for not learning how to use their products. Free Learning clinics are available for any user type, whether advanced or just beginning. The clinics are online-based courses and lessons (CBT) which simulate being taught by a pro. For people like me, they are a great alternative to opening up a book and reading about the software as the interactive courses keep you interested (to a point) while you learn....

Tired of waiting on hold and listening to static-filled Hallmark music? One of the most frustrating parts of calling any company is their “Your call is valuable to us, please wait for the next available customer service representative” message. LucyPhone can save you from the wait and horrible music. LucyPhone works similar to Google Voice. Type in their number, type in your number, and Click Start. LucyPhone will then connect you, and the phone call will proceed like normal....

Install the iTunes Movie Trailers app on your iPad if it isn’t already. Then tap Settings and under Apps scroll down and tap Trailers. Under Resolution Settings tap Trailer Playback Quality. Now select High Definition and close out of Settings. Enjoy watching your favorite movie trailers in the highest quality possible! This is the perfect setting for viewing new trailers if you have the new iPad. Comment Name * Email *...

Marvel Studio’s Hawkeye Official Trailer The trailer features a whimsical look at the Christmastime adventures of Clint Barton played by Jeremy Renner. And he’s also getting a new sidekick Kate Bishop played by Hailee Steinfeld. The show takes place following the events of Avengers: Endgame which saw him turn into a chaotic vigilante named Ronin after his family was dusted out of existence due to Thanos’ snap. Clint is seemly just wanting to enjoy his family again during the Christmas season, but a vigilante looking a lot like Barton’s Ronin suit starts showing up in NYC....

Windows XP – it’s amazing how many people are still using this old-timer, especially since its release was back on August 24, 2001. In nine years, XP is still one of the most famous and popular operating systems of all time. However, I think most will agree it’s time to say a few kind words and put our old friend to sleep for good. Well, if you’re one of those who fear change and still just aren’t ready to say goodbye, Microsoft has your back with continued support for Windows XP Service Pack 3....

I brought up this issue early when the company started releasing cumulative updates for Windows 10 in my article: Windows 10 Gets New Cumulative Update KB3081455, Should We Know What’s in These? At that time, in response to a Twitter user, Gabe Aul stated: “We don’t do full change lists, it is too tough to manage and doesn’t really add any value.” That response certainly didn’t win over any fans, especially those who control a networked environment....

New Standalone Version of Microsoft Office Coming in 2018 This week at its Ignite business conference, Microsoft announced the non-subscription version of Office will be receiving an upgrade later in 2018, called Office 2019. Microsoft released the last perpetual version of the productivity suite in fall 2016, which has become quite dated considering the numerous improvements added to Office 365 since. The new version of Office, which includes Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, will also be accompanied by new on-premise versions of Exchange, SharePoint and Skype for Business....

Currently there are questions regarding Microsoft licensing terms for the Windows Desktop included with OnLive Desktop. While the two companies figure it out, if all you want is the ability to work on MS Office Documents, give CloudOn a try. Unlike OnLive Desktop, which provides you with a Windows desktop, CloudOn just provides Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The office apps live in the cloud so you need to be connected to WiFi while using them....

According to the article, they were made aware of it being built back in November and they just confirmed they managed to get their hands on it for a little test spin. Groovy! As expected, the interface looks a lot like OneNote which was released earlier for the iPhone and the iPad. Apparently Office however will also have a look and feel based on the new Metro UI, used on Windows Phone and Windows 8 (which makes sense, since the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is coming in a few days)....

Eye Control and Accessibility. Eye Control features more improvements to mouse options including drag and drop, Switch support for input devices, and Eye Control settings. There are also improvements to Narrator which will automatically start reading webpages and emails. Also, the Magnifier UI works with the Windows 10 Dark Theme. Notifications. Microsoft is refining notifications settings with this build. Currently, you can enable the Focus Assist feature. But with this build, the company is making it easier to use....

Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.160 Microsoft has been updating some of its built-in apps recently like the Snipping Tool, Calculator, and Mail & Calendar. And today the company is starting to roll out a new version of the Clock App. The new app has new visuals that blend well with the Windows 11 polish as well as new features. In addition to the new Clock app, today’s build contains the following changes and improvements:...

Microsoft August Update It’s nothing impressive, mainly a lot of security and bug fixes for the OS, Office, and firmware updates for Surface tablets. Earlier it was speculated that this update would include a new Start menu that combines aspects of the new Modern UI and the traditional Start menu, but Microsoft decided to scrap that, and it will presumably be available in the next version of Windows, codenamed “Threshold” which is said to be launched early next year....

Windows 10 Redstone 4 Preview Build 17040 As Microsoft continues to move items from its classic control panel to the Settings app and one of the new improvements is the ability to adjust brightness for standard definition content color on a system in HDR mode. You will find the slider in Settings > System >Display. There are also improvements to the touch keyboard including support for shape-writing for the wide full-screen keyboard....

Previously Microsoft has been known to wait for a service pack release to unload patches as big as this one. With Windows 8, the company is doing things differently. Steven Sinofsky explains that “During the final months of Windows 8 we challenged ourselves to create the tools and processes to be able to deliver these “post-RTM” updates sooner than a service pack. By developing better test automation and test coverage tools we are happy to say that Windows 8 will be totally up to date for all customers starting at General Availability....

A lot of similarities – but Microsoft is stealing from Apple way to late. This is a must watch for any geek who follows the Microsoft versus Apple Rivalry. via Read Write Web What is your take? It’s very interesting to see the similarities and Microsoft ripping off Apple’s terminology. http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/06/21/padd-tablet-ipad-surface_imgur_610x269.jpg MS created the tablet market from what I remember and Jobs got the idea for the ipad form an MS employee that told him about the courier project....

Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB3163018 Build 10586.420 According to the Windows 10 Update History page: This update includes quality improvements and security fixes. No new operating system features are being introduced in this update. Key changes include: Improved reliability of Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge, Cortana, audio playback, audio playback in Groove Music app, Maps app, Miracast, and Windows Explorer.Fixed issue with balloon tip notifications always appearing in the upper left side of the screen....

OCR Online supports JPG, TIFF, PNG, GIF and PDF formats. The best thing about this service is that it can detect over 150 different languages and extract text accordingly with maximum accuracy. This service also allows users to get five pages for free on registration, after that there’s a fee per page.To get started, you must first register for a free account on OCR Online. To register, open OCR Online homepage (Link Below) and click the Sign Up now button....

You check out eBay, and, ouch, the only Klipsch systems you can find are in an ad like the one here where the Buy It Now prices are as high as $477–out of your budget. But maybe you could buy a “Klipsche” system for less. Rerun your search, only this time deliberate misspell Klipsch by adding an unneeded “e.” Sure enough, check out the second screen shot, where one seller didn’t know how to spell Klipsch....

Opera Max – Data Savings The good folks at Opera, the same ones responsible for the Opera Browser, have created an app which helps you make the most out of your data plan. Basically, all of your traffic gets routed through the company’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) to their servers, then comes back to your phone compressed, thus saving you data. The developers claim that this could help you to use up to 50% more data on your current plan and it works on most apps....

Open your RSS Reader folder. Click any of the feeds then use [Ctrl][A] to select them all. Or hold down the Shift key and highlight each story you want to mark as read or unread. Then right click and here I’m selecting Mark as Read. Each story will no longer be in bold. Or to mark them as Unread, use the same highlighting process, right click and select Mark as Unread....