Xbox Achievements are coming to the Nintendo Switch

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The official list of Achievements for the Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft has been discovered, seemingly confirming that players on Nintendo’s console would be able to earn Xbox Achievements when the new version of the Minecraft video game launches sometime this year.

It’s been known for a while that Nintendo Switch owners would need to use an Xbox Live/Microsoft account for online play and cloud saves but the addition of Xbox Achievements was unknown.

In an interview with Giantbomb in 2017, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer said of the inclusion of Xbox Achievements in the Nintendo Switch version of Minecraft, “I don’t know yet. I’m guessing no. And this is a collaborative relationship between Nintendo and I. They don’t have Xbox Achievements on their platform. If they want us to, I would love to be able to do it. The relationship with Nintendo is incredibly strong.”

The Nintendo Switch actually won’t be the first non-Microsoft platform to support Xbox Achievements. A variety of iPhone and Android video games such as Age of Empires: Castle Siege are already powered by Xbox Live and have enabled crossplay between devices and the unlocking of Xbox Achievements for a while now. This will be the first time Xbox Achievements have appeared on a rival gaming console though.

In 2017, the Minecraft video game updated on Windows 10, Windows phone, Xbox One, iOS, and Android to enable crossplay between players on different hardware. This update was referred to as the Better Together update. This update has been expected to come to the Nintendo Switch since it was first announced however the upgrade has taken longer than expected for unspecified reasons. With the reveal of these Achievements though, it looks like it’s almost ready.

Are you a Nintendo Switch owner and are you excited for the Better Together update? Let us know in the comments below and make sure to follow us on Pinterest for more video game content.

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Microsoft working to fix Bing maps and Windows Map App delays

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft Maps is not always 100% correct, especially where mapping companies such as HERE’s maps data are in use. In case you forgot, Microsoft teamed up with a few mapping companies including HERE, Esri and TomTom to create a next-generation world graph.

These partnerships came at a time when location is exceptionally important for understanding the world, and it definitely has a growing potential in evolving industries, cities and transforming our lives.

Microsoft Maps should be as precise as possible

Lots of Windows applications currently use Microsoft Maps via the Maps API, and it’s a very significant feature that should be 99.99% right for the various apps across Windows 10 to work flawlessly.

Now, Microsoft is finally admitting that there are some flaws involving the maps and promised that they’re being fixed as soon as possible.

Occasional delays when bringing map data from HERE to Bing maps

fix maps windows 10

Loren E. Hillberg, Partner, Group Program Manager on the Bing Maps team, acknowledged that Microsoft encounters an occasional delay when it brings map data from HERE to Bing maps and the Windows Map App experiences.

This can sometimes result in some users seeing mapping errors but it looks like Microsoft is aware of this and it’s currently working on a fix to enhance map data and kill such delays.

A hotfix should be ready by summer 2018

Hillberg said that the company is speeding up data processing and an update should be available during the summer and it should make users forget they have ever experienced such delays with the mapping data.

Anyway, it’s great that Microsoft decided to address the issue and started working on a fix. Everyone who’s using Microsoft Maps is definitely looking forward to getting an update that patched things out.

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FIX: ”hosted network couldn’t be started” error in Windows 10, 7

Posted on by Matthew Adams

With a mobile hotspot, you can share a Windows laptop’s or desktop’s Wi-Fi connection with phones and tablets. However, some users can’t set up a mobile hotspot when the “hosted network couldn’t be started” error occurs.

The Command Prompt returns that error message for some users who try to set up mobile hotspots in Windows with the command-line utility, as covered in this article.

That means the hosted network isn’t working, which is often a network adapter configuration or Wi-Fi driver issue. These are a few resolutions that might fix the “hosted network couldn’t be started” error in Windows 10/8.1/7.

How to fix hosted network issues in Windows 10

  1. Check Your PC Supports Sharing
  2. Open the Network Adapter Troubleshooter
  3. Update the Driver for Your Wireless Network Adapter
  4. Check the Sharing Settings
  5. Check the Power Management Settings
  6. Reset Your Wi-Fi Network
  7. Enable the Microsoft Hosted Network Virtual Adapter via Device Manager
  8. Set Up a Mobile Hotspot With Third-Party Software

1. Check Your PC Supports Sharing

You can’t set up a mobile hotspot if your PC doesn’t support hosted network sharing. To check that, open the DOS command-line utility by pressing the Windows key + X hotkey and selecting Command Prompt (Admin).

Windows 7 users can open the Prompt by entering ‘cmd‘ in Run. Input ‘NETSH WLAN show drivers’ in the Command Prompt’s window, and press the Return key. That tells you if your laptop or desktop supports sharing with the Hosted network supported detail shown directly below.

You can get a USB Wi-Fi adapter for a laptop or desktop that doesn’t support hosted networks. Those are Wi-Fi adapters that you can insert into USB slots. This post provides further details for USB Wi-Fi adapters.

2. Open the Network Adapter Troubleshooter

  • The Network Adapter troubleshooter might provide some resolutions for the “hosted network couldn’t be started” issue. To utilize that troubleshooter in Windows 10, press the Cortana button on the taskbar.
  • Input ‘troubleshoot’ in the search box and select troubleshoot to open the Settings app.
  • Select Network Adapter and click Run the troubleshooter to open the troubleshooter’s window.
  • The troubleshooter then presents a choice of network adapters to fix. Select either the All network adapters or WiFi option.

3. Update the Driver for Your Wireless Network Adapter

The “hosted network couldn’t be started” error might also be due to an incompatible or corrupted Wi-Fi driver. So updating a network adapter’s Wi-Fi driver is another potential resolution. You can update drivers with third-party software, Device Manager’s Search automatically for updated driver software option or manually. This is how you can manually update a network adapter driver.

  • First, open the Device Manager window from the Win + X menu or by entering ‘devmgmt.msc’ in Run.
  • Then double-click Network adapters, and note down the title of your listed Wi-Fi network adapter.
  • Now open your Wi-Fi network adapter manufacturer’s website in a browser.
  • Go to the driver download section on the manufacturer’s site.
  • Then search for your Wi-Fi network adapter’s drivers with the site’s search tools. There might be a search box for you to enter the network adapter’s title in, or you can select it from drop-down menus.
  • Select to download the most update and compatible driver for you network adapter from its download page. Make sure that you download a 32-bit driver for 32-bit system or a 64-bit one for a 64-bit Windows platform.
  • After downloading the driver, return to Device Manager, right-click your Wi-Fi network adapter and select Properties.
  • Select the Driver tab below.
  • Click the Uninstall Device button.
  • Press the OK button to provided further confirmation.
  • Double-click the new driver’s setup exe to install it.
  • If the driver is packaged in a ZIP, open the ZIP file in File Explorer, press the Extract all button and choose a folder to extract it to.
  • Open the driver’s setup wizard from the extracted folder.
  • Restart Windows after installing network adapter driver.

On the other hand, you can save a lot of time by updating the network drivers correctly using third-party update driver software suggested below.

⇒ Get Fortect Driver Updater

4. Check the Sharing Settings

  • The required sharing settings might not be selected in Windows. To check those settings, press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut.
  • Input ‘ncpa.cpl’ in Run’s text box, and press the OK button.
  • Right-click your connection on the window directly above and select Properties.
  • Click the Sharing tab shown in the snapshot below.
  • Now select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection setting if that’s not checked.
  • Also select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempt to connect the internet option, which Windows 8’s Sharing tab includes.
  • Press the OK button to confirm the settings.

5. Check the Power Management Settings

  • In addition to network sharing settings, check the required options are selected on the Power Management tab. To do that, press the Windows key + X hotkey.
  • Select Device Manager to open the devices window shown directly below.
device manager
  • Double-click Network adapters to expand the adapter list as below.
  • Right-click your Wi-Fi network adapter and select Properties from its context menu.
  • Select the Power Management tab on the window shown directly below.
  • Select the Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power option if it’s not already selected.
  • Then click the OK button, and restart Windows.

6. Reset Your Wi-Fi Network

Resetting your Wi-Fi might fix the network adapter error. To do that, enter ‘ncpa.cpl’ in Run’s text box and click OK. Right-click your Wi-Fi connection and select Disable. Wait a minute or two, and then select the Enable option on the Wi-Fi connection’s context menu.

7. Enable the Microsoft Hosted Network Virtual Adapter via Device Manager

  • Windows has a Microsoft Hosted Network Virtual Adapter that needs to be enabled. To enable that adapter, open Run with the Windows key + R hotkey.
  • Input ‘devmgmt.msc’ in Run’s text box, and click the OK button.
  • Now click View on the Device Manager window.
  • Select the Show hidden devices option.
  • Double-click Network adapters, which will now include the Microsoft Hosted Network Virtual Adapter.
  • Right-click Microsoft Hosted Network Virtual Adapter and select the Enable device option.

8. Set Up a Mobile Hotspot With Third-Party Software

Instead of setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot via Command Prompt, you can utilize third-party software. Wi-Fi hotspot software provides all the tools required to establish mobile hotspots. Maryfi, Connectify and Free Wi-Fi Hotspot are freeware programs you can set up mobile hotspots with.

Connectify is compatible with Windows 10/8.1/8/7 and boasts a user base eclipsing 150 million. You can add that to your PC by clicking Download on this webpage. Check out this article that includes further details for utilizing Connectify.

So there are various potential fixes for the “hosted network couldn’t be started” issue. Remember that you can also set up a mobile hotspot in Windows 10 with its Mobile hotspot option in the Settings app. As such, it’s not essential to establish a hotspot in Windows 10 via the Command Prompt.

Windows 10 features a new Screen Capture API for devs

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Windows 10 Spring Creators Update began rolling out to Insiders a few days ago. The update brings a series of new features that come in really handy.

For instance, the update comes with a new Screen Capture API that developers can use to record frames from a display or app window to create snapshots or video streams. The new feature will help developers create more interactive and collaborative experiences for users.

New screen capture API supports both display and window modes

Microsoft’s “Most Valuable Potato (MVP)” as he calls himself or simply Rafael Rivera made this announcement on his Twitter account. “New screen capture API in action needs “graphicsCapture” cap. Supports both display and window modes!” he posted.

So, the API invokes a secure system user interface targeting end users who can pick the display or app window that they want to capture. A yellow notification border will be drawn by the system around the actively captured item.

If there are multiple simultaneous capture sessions, a yellow border will be drawn around every one of the elements that are being captured. End users will have to provide explicit permission in order for the screen to be captured.

User feedback

After reading the announcement tweeted by Microsoft’s Rafael Rivera users seemed pleased that the Skype team’s requests had been taken into consideration. Other users also found the zoom in feature to be really useful here saying that “Sometimes turning on Magnifier at 100% zoom can help here, since it will drop the cursor back to software rendering.”

If you’re wondering whether the new feature will need recorders, or if the streaming apps need to be rewritten to UWP in order to utilize this new API, the answer is pretty straightforward. As this is a UWP API, it should go without saying.

You can read more about this new feature on the Windows Dev Center page.

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Nvidia discontinues support for 32-bit Windows platforms

Posted on by Matthew Adams

Nvidia has supported 32-bit system architecture for its graphics cards for more than a decade. However, the company announced toward the end of last year that it intended to move away from 32-bit system support in 2018. Now Nvidia has provided clear details on how its ending support for 32-bit Windows platforms as of April 2018.

The announcement on Nvidia’s website states that the company will now launch Game Ready Driver upgrades exclusively for 64-bit Windows versions. Consequently, there will be no further upgrades for 32-bit Windows 10, 8.1 and 7. The GPU giant is also curtailing support for 32-bit Linux and FREE BSD platforms.

Nvidia has confirmed there will still be critical updates for 32-bit systems for the rest of this year. However, the company will terminate those updates in January 2019.

Nvidia has also announced that its discontinuing support for Fermi architecture. As such, the company is shelving the GeForce graphics cards based on Fermi architecture. You can check out this page for a full list of Fermi GPUs.

That Nvidia has discontinued 32-bit Windows support is not a great surprise. Perhaps the only surprise is how long the company has maintained support for 32-bit platforms. The 32-bit Windows versions are restricted to four GB RAM, which is seldom sufficient for the latest games. Furthermore, Valve’s survey data highlights that just 0.28% of Steam user base’s connected platforms are 32-bit Windows 10 versions.

If your current Windows platform is a 32-bit version, you can probably still upgrade it to ensure you get further Nvidia graphics card upgrades. It depends on whether the system architecture is 64-bit or not. A 64-bit Windows version will run on a 64-bit system. However, you cannot upgrade 32-bit Windows versions on 32-bit systems.

If you are not sure about your 64 or 32-bit system details, you can check that specification in Windows 10. Press the Cortana button, and enter the keyword ‘system’ in the search box. Then select About this PC to open the window shown below, which includes the System type specification.

Nvidia discontinuing 32-bit Windows support further highlights that 32-bit platforms are becoming increasingly obsolete. Without Nvidia Game Ready Driver upgrades, gaming on 32-bit operating systems will now decline all the more.

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Microsoft releases Windows 10 Build 17643 for Skip Ahead, includes Sets in Office, improvements for Edge

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Late this afternoon Microsoft released Windows 10 Build 17643 for Windows Insiders who have opted to Skip Ahead. After a round of improvements last week, this build is fairly significant since it introduces the Sets functionality to Microsoft Office and brings some improvements to Microsoft Edge. Other changes in this build are some enhancements for Data Sense and Windows magnifier, so you might not want to skip out this download!

We’ll have all the details on the new Skip Ahead build in a bit, so fire up those PCs and get your download ready! We’d also like to remind you that a new Redstone 4 build might be coming soon, so there are definitely some exciting times ahead! Get downloading now via Windows Update and do feel free to let us know your experience with this build by dropping us a comment below.

Microsoft launches Windows Admin Center (formerly Project Honolulu), a web based Windows management tool

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Back at Ignite 2017, Microsoft announced a preview of Project Honolulu, which was designed to give developers and IT admins one central place to remotely manage Windows Server and Windows 10. A little over half a year later, the company followed up today to rename Project Honolulu and generally make it available it as “Windows Admin Center.”

The browser-based Windows Admin Center brings together many consoles together in one modernized, simplified, integrated, and secure remote management experience. This means IT Admins no longer have to separately open Event Viewer, Device Manager, Disk Management, Task Manager, and Server Manager. Windows Admin Center comes with the following benefits.

  • Simple and modern management experience: Windows Admin Center is a lightweight, browser-based GUI platform and toolset for IT admins to remotely manage Windows Server and Windows 10 machines.
  • Hybrid capabilities: Windows Admin Center can manage Windows Server and Windows 10 instances anywhere including physical systems, virtual machines on any hypervisor, or running in any cloud. Connect to the cloud with optional value-added features like integration with Azure Site Recovery for protecting your virtual machines, and support for Azure Active Directory to control access with multi-factor authentication.
  • Integrated toolset: Rather than switching between several different tools and contexts, with Windows Admin Center you get a holistic overview of your resources and the ability to dig into granular details. In addition to server and client machines, it allows you to manage failover clusters and hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) deployments.
  • Designed for extensibility: We’ve been working with early-adopter partners to refine the extension development experience in a private preview of our SDK. That means soon you’ll be able to extend Windows Admin Center’s capabilities to 3rd-party solutions. For example, you’ll start to see 3rd party hardware vendors use Windows Admin Center to provide management of their own hardware.

Microsoft says Project Honolulu was downloaded a total of 50,000 times, with over 25,000 + customer deployments, and 250,000+ unique connection instances.  Windows Admin Center is now ready for use in production environments and supports both Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2012, at no additional cost beyond Windows licenses. You can download it by checking here.

Unofficial third-party YouTube & Uber “PWAs” appear in Microsoft Store

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Progressive Web App may very well be the next big thing for Microsoft, and several PWAs have already been indexed and published by the company. After the appearance of official PWAs for Skyscanner, ASOS and more last week, third-party YouTube and Uber “PWAs” have recently appeared in the Microsoft Store (via Windows Central.)

The two apps are published by a developer going by the name of “Pladoo Interactive,” meaning they are definitely not officially sanctioned by either YouTube or Uber. The two also don’t seem to be high quality and they’re just web wrappers similar to what you see when you open Uber in either YouTube in Edge.

That said, the app descriptions say that they are part of a “Windows Revival Project” which is aiming to “bring apps to Windows 10 Mobile using PWA-based apps or even native apps.” This may be an undertaking from the developer, especially because Edge on Windows 10 Mobile doesn’t support service workers which push out web notifications.

Given how things have gone in the past, it will be interesting to see if we get an official YouTube or Uber PWA anytime soon. Uber actually ended support for their Windows 10 app a few months ago, and Google has never supported the Microsoft Store (except for that Chrome installer which was removed.) Anyway, there’s no telling how long these two apps will last, especially because they’re both unofficial, and Uber or Youtube may try and get them removed.

YouTube PWA
YouTube PWA
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YouTube PWA
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Uber PWA
Uber PWA
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Uber PWA
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Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice comes to Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

After a successful launch on Sony’s PlayStation 4 consoles, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice has finally made it to Microsoft’s Xbox One.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a supernatural action and adventure video game which has been equally praised for its stunning visuals and intelligent exploration of mental illness. The game is enhanced for the Xbox One X and will play in 4K HDR on that console. Here’s the game’s official game description and trailer.

From the makers of Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DmC: Devil May Cry, comes a warrior’s brutal journey into myth and madness. Set in the Viking age, a broken Celtic warrior embarks on a haunting vision quest into Viking Hell to fight for the soul of her dead lover. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and people who experience psychosis, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will pull you deep into Senua’s mind.

Have you had a chance to play Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice on your Xbox One console yet? Let us know if you liked it in the comments below and make sure to follow us on Pinterest for more Xbox One video game content.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
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Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Developer:
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Big changes coming to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) on Xbox One

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The developers behind the popular PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) video game have just released some details on what fans can expect in the coming months in regards to content and under-the-hood updates.

The much-anticipated Miramar desert map is expected to launch on the test servers this month and will roll out to the general userbase in May. The update that will bring the Miramar map will also see the addition of new weapons and vehicles.

Optimizations are also expected within the same update that will improve in-game textures, the character movement system, performance and stability for when large amount of players are within the same area, and a new menu design. Low framerates and crashes will be addressed as well.

“Improving crashes is our highest priority,” the announcement reinforces. “Simply put, stability is the most basic element that determines gameplay quality, so we’re taking it seriously and focusing on it with every patch. All of these changes will hit the test server first so we can make sure the above-mentioned optimizations run well before pushing them to live.”

PUBG’s performance on Xbox One consoles has been often criticised particularly by those playing on first generation Xbox One hardware. The title is still in Game Preview though (essentially open beta) and improvements on issues such as this are expected.

Are you an Xbox One PUBG player and are you excited for this future update? Let us know in the comments below and make sure to follow us on Twitter for more Xbox One video game news.

Windows 10 Spring Creators Update possibly delayed for a few weeks

Posted on by Madalina Dinita

Folks, we’ve got some bad news for all of you out there who can’t wait to download and install the Spring Creators Update: Microsoft delayed the release of the new OS.

The Redmond giant tool this surprising decision after Dona Sarkar’s team found a severe bug in the operating system’s code. As a result, Microsoft preferred to play on the safe side and postponed the update in order to buy more time to fix the problem.

This was actually a wise decision. Rolling out a buggy update would have triggered a lot of discontentment and anger among users. New Windows 10 OS versions are notorious for the bevy of issues they trigger shortly after release, and Microsoft wants to reduce these problems.

Windows 10 Spring Creators Update’s release date

The next question is: When will Microsoft roll out the SCU? Obviously, the answer depends on how fast its engineers manage to fix the broken code and we’re pretty sure this will take more than a couple of days. We’re talking more about a few weeks here.

Microsoft needs to first solve this problem and then roll out the new OS version to Insiders for testing. In this manner, the company will make sure that the hotfix really works and it’s safe to push Windows 10 version 1803 to the general public.

Most likely, build 17133 will remain the RTM build. Microsoft doesn’t need to change the build code that much and won’t add any new features to the table either. There’s no reason to actually change the build name as the next version won’t bring any major changes — just a fix for the problem that delayed the initial release.

Microsoft already rolled out the first ever cumulative update for the Spring Creators Update. However, KB4100375’s release notes don’t mention anything about fixing a major code bug. Instead, judging by user reports, this patch causes more issues than it brings fixes.

So, what do you think about Microsoft’s decision to delay the Spring Creators Update release? Let us know in the comments below.

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Windows 10 KB4093112 install fails, USB ports won’t work, and more

Posted on by Madalina Dinita

Windows 10 Fall Creators update received an important update on Patch Tuesday but not all the users have been able to install it. The download process often fails or the install phase suddenly stops due to various errors codes.

Users also reported that Windows Update often keeps on downloading KB4093112 in a loop without actually finalizing the process.

my windows 10 64-bit version 1709 updating this KB4093112 updates in a loop, that is initializing, downloading (no download stream since the 2nd loop), installing (counting from 0% to 100%), after that, the installation restarting as a loop, what is wrong with that? I tried restart my PC but nothing help

This update issue usually keeps CPUs working at 60% of their capacity, while the HDD works at 40-50% and sometimes even spikes to 100% usage before restart. RAM usage remains usually high as well.

Other Windows 10 users can’t install update KB4093112 due to error 0x800f081f. We’ve got a dedicated troubleshooting guide on how to fix error 0x800f081f, so do follow the instructions listed there and perhaps one of the respective solutions will help you solve the problem.

More KB4093112 issues

Windows 10 users who managed to install this update encountered other issues. Many couldn’t find their hard drives in Explorer.

KB4093112 installs, reboot, few seconds to load, notice hard drives are missing from explorer, check disk management, minus 1 drive of the 6 in the system, reboot again takes like 5 min to load to the login screen
3 are internel, 3 are external and all show up in the bios but not in windows, they all worked before this update.
[…] some drives are totaly missing where others were somehow reassinged to a “difrent connection” when none have been physicaly moved. […] Another fine mess MS.

Other users had to switch to another browser because Microsoft Edge closes shortly after users launch it.

Installed cumulative update KB4093112 (OS Build 16299.371 yesterday. Since then Microsoft Edge has not successfully opened. […]  Tried also to clear browsing data but won’t stay open enough to do even that.

We do have a troubleshooting guide that you can use if Edge closes immediately after launch. Hopefully some of the workarounds listed there will help you fix the problem.

Surface owners also complained about USB issues. It appears that this update breaks USB ports and devices fail to recognized any connected peripherals.

How do I reinstall the Hub and get the USB back functioning. This is on a Surface Book with Win 10 v 1709 installed. KB4093112 was applied just before the USB failed.

Well, the good news is that KB4093112 doesn’t trigger severe issues such as random crashes, freezes, restarts or BSOD errors.

We hope that Microsoft will fix all the bugs reported by users as soon as possible.

How has your KB4093112 update experience been so far? Let us know in the comments below.

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Here’s how to hide Microsoft Edge’s UI buttons

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft is having a new feature tested these days, and it involves a bit of change in Edge’s user interface. This new feature that we are bringing up is not quite an entirely new feature in fact. The company is currently checking how a new functionality for Microsoft Edge is working.

The feature allows users to hide some parts of the browser’s user interface which are located next to the address bar. These include the share and the Windows Ink buttons.

The feature was already there, but now its functionality is extended

When you are right-clicking on these, you’ll be surprised to see that a new “show next to address bar” option pops up. After you choose to deselect the option, the button will be moved into the overflow menu.

This is not a brand-new feature but it is the first time Microsoft extended it to native elements from the user interface of Edge.

The feature will turn out useful for both users and developers

Thurrot’s author Brad Sams posted on Twitter the news regarding this somehow new feature, saying that:

Didn’t know this was an A/B test but soon (hopefully) everyone will be able to hide these buttons. Can’t hide the star button though.

Microsoft is testing the feature for now, and this means that not all users will get access to it right away. People are hoping that the company rolls it out shortly because it’s advantageous for allowing a not so cluttered user interface in Edge especially if you prefer minimalist designs.

Users noticed that this extended functionality of the feature might turn out especially useful for developers more than anything.

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Avast launches new private web browser that’s 400% faster than the rest

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

Czech-based antivirus giant, Avast, has a new version of its web browser, called Avast Secure Browser that’s built to do what users expect a browser to do.

The digital security company has a good reputation when it comes to Internet privacy, what with its antivirus software that has both detected and prevented ransomware and malware attacks around the globe.

If you’ll recall, last year saw one of the largest ransomware attacks by the WannaCry threat, and Avast’s security software prevented about a quarter of one million such attacks across the world.

Avast Secure Browser protects your online privacy

install avast secure browser

This and other comprehensive features makes Avast a promising option for security and privacy among users who fear for their data, even in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Among the laundry list of features that Avast Secure Browser offers include a built-in password manager, banking mode, stealth mode, anti-phishing, extension guard, and HTTPS encryption. You also won’t need to download extra software or install anything because its privacy features are turned on by default.

avast secure browser

Besides offering a more secure browser than its competitors, Avast’s browser – the company claims – is 400 percent faster than other major browsers, in addition to faster load times on web pages.

But, while this may be true in some cases, there is a tendency by browser makers to pick out tests that suit them, so these claims aren’t independently verified yet.

Additionally, no browser can claim to be completely invincible. Remember the Avastium browser, which apparently was vulnerable to an exploit that could not only bypass security checks, but could also access cookies and email.

This new browser, which is the successor of Avast SafeZone Browser, has a raft of handy features such as the built-in adblocker, a VPN, and easy video downloader for YouTube and Vimeo, which will make it attractive to users.

Download Avast Secure Browser

Do you think this new browser is a game-changer? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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Windows 7 KB4093108, KB4093118 fix memory issues and stop errors

Posted on by Madalina Dinita

April’s Patch Tuesday brought two new updates to Windows 7 users. Security update KB4093108 and Monthly Rollup KB4093118 include a series of bug fixes that make the OS more stable and also add some security improvements to various Windows components.

As expected, these two updates don’t bring any new features. It is worth mentioning that the Windows Update service will install these updates on all computers, whether computers have the HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionQualityCompatcadca5fe-87d3-4b96-b7fb-a231484277cc registry setting or not.

Without further ado, let’s dive in and see what’s new in these patches.

Windows 7 KB4093108 changelog

  • Improves kernel reliability
  • Fixed the issue that caused apps to have unexpected memory contents on multi-processor systems.
  • The update fixes a stop error that occurred when applying previous updates to a 32-bit (x86) computer with a Physical Address Extension (PAE) mode disabled.
  • Security updates to Internet Explorer, Microsoft scripting engine, Microsoft graphics component, Windows Server, Windows datacenter networking, Windows virtualization and kernel, and Windows app platform and frameworks.

Windows 7 KB4093118 changelog

Update KB4093118 features all the improvements and fixes brought by KB4093108, as well as the following three bug fixes:

  • The issue with printing content generated by ActiveX in Internet Explorer has been fixed.
  • Access violation on certain pages in IE when rendering SVGs under high load should no longer occur.
  • Internet Explorer can now identify all custom controls.

— RELATED: 3 of the best software to fix Windows 7 errors for good

KB4093108, KB4093118 known bugs

Unfortunately, these two updates also bring two issue of their own. The good news is that Microsoft is aware of these problem and its engineers are working on a resolution that will be deployed in an upcoming release.

So, keep in mind that SMB servers may leak memory after you install this update. Also, if you install the latest Windows 7 updates on computers that don’t support Streaming Single Instructions Multiple Data Extensions 2, you may experience stop errors.

If you already installed the latest Windows 7 patches on your computer, use the comments below to tell us more about your experience.

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Download the first Progressive Web Apps from the Microsoft Store

Posted on by Matthew Adams

Progressive Web Apps are revolutionizing apps for Windows and other platforms. They are a new kind of app based on the latest web technologies. PWAs are websites and web apps that you can open in separate taskbar windows outside browsers much the same as native Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps. With the Redstone 4 update rolling out, the first Microsoft PWAs have gone live in the MS Store.

Microsoft had already stated that it intended to release the first PWAs in the MS Store to coincide with the Redstone 4 update (otherwise Spring Creators Update). Thus, it is not a big surprise that 14 new Progressive Web Apps are out now. These are the first PWAs in the MS Store:

Microsoft intends to bring PWAs to more than 500 million Windows 10 devices, and the Bing crawler will automatically index them on the MS Store. To ensure that Windows 10 fully supports Progressive Web Apps, Redstone 4 updates Edge’s rendering engine with EdgeHTML 17.

This will give the platform all the latest web technologies, such as Push notifications, required for PWAs. After the update, the PWAs can fully utilize the WinRT API suite just the same as UWP apps.

However, you do not need to wait for the Spring Creators Update to run the new PWAs. The Progressive Web Apps run on Windows 10 version 10240.0 or later.

You can utilize the PWAs on PC, hub, Hololens and mobile devices. Below is a snapshot of the Oyster PWA open in Windows 10, which opens the Oyster site in its own separate app window.

Despite the numerous advantages of PWAs, Microsoft insists they are not replacing UWPs. A post on Microsoft’s Windows Blogs states, “For developers who are building a fully-tailored UWP experience, building from the ground up with native technologies may make the most sense.”

Yet, most software publishers would probably prefer to develop PWAs that can run on all platforms instead of UWP apps restricted to Windows 10 devices.

Progressive Web Apps will greatly expand the number of apps on the MS Store, which would address its shortfall of apps.

We also have a great guide on how to download apps and install from Office 365, so don’t miss it.

With the likes of Google fully committed to Progressive Web Apps, it might not be that long before the first PWAs for Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive arrive on the MS Store.

Twitter PWA adds Windows 10 Share Dialog targeting

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

A few weeks ago, Twitter became the first developer to update their standard Windows 10 UWP app to a Progressive Web App on Redstone 4 and Redstone 5 devices. There have since been a couple of updates for the Twitter PWA, one of which now allows it to integrate directly with the Windows 10 Share Dialog.

Spotted by Microsoft watcher Richard Hay, the integration shows that the Twitter PWA is catching up to what’s available in the UWP. You can now summon the share menu from any Windows 10 app and share open content directly with the Twitter PWA. It is a pretty cool feature and one that can end up saving time and helping you skip the trip to the web to share such content.

The Twitter PWA is reportedly looking to pick up tile support and the ability to upload video in the coming weeks. We’re looking forward to more new features soon, especially if they keep coming at this fast rate.

Report: Microsoft moves to end development on stock Windows 10 apps, moving devs to Edge team

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

According to a report from Thurrott.com, Microsoft is looking to end development on some stock Windows 10 apps and is moving devs to the Edge team. This perhaps sheds some light on the future of Windows 10, coming about two weeks after the company announced a major shakeup within their Windows division.

Though this latest news can be seen by many as the shuttering of more consumer products, it is likely that Microsoft is instead doing this to cut down on the first party competition, a move to allow developers and third parties to further adopt Progressive Web Applications in Windows 10. In fact, many of Microsoft’s own apps already have fully capable web versions, including Outlook.com.

The company heavily updated Microsoft Edge in the upcoming Redstone 4 release to support Service Workers which allows websites to send notifications in the background when Edge is not in use. Groundwork for a Windows 10 overhaul is clearly present, and Microsoft even said that they would be making PWAs “first-class citizens.” Things are bound to get interesting this year, and there is now even more reason for the web and Edge likely being the next big thing for the company.

Public rollout of Windows 10 version 1803 reportedly delayed due to blocking bug

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Following the roll out of Windows 10 version 1803 to Release Preview Insiders last week, there was a high probability for Microsoft to announce the public release of the major update this week. Previous reports suggested that the global rollout could start yesterday on “Patch Tuesday,” but that didn’t happen, and the company instead released the build 17133.73 to Windows Insiders in the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings.

While the Windows Insider team didn’t say when we could expect Windows 10 version 1803 to start rolling out globally, the release of a new cumulative update yesterday suggests that Microsoft still has some bug fixing to do. Today, Zac Bowden from Windows Central is reporting that Microsoft had to delay the release after discovering a critical bug in build 17133. “According to my sources, over the weekend Microsoft found a blocking bug that, while apparently rather rare, is impactful enough to hold the release until the issue is fixed,” he said.

Again, the Windows Insider team didn’t comment on critical bugs yesterday, and the company may well have other reasons to delay the release of Windows 10 version 1803. It’s also worth noting that Microsoft has yet to give this update an official name, as it seems like “Spring Creators Update” won’t be it after all.

We’ll let you know as soon as we get more information about the company’s plans, but in the meantime all Windows Insiders are invited to report last-minute bugs in the build 17133.73.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection coming to Microsoft’s Xbox One consoles in July

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2 have both just been announced for a July release on Microsoft’s family of Xbox One consoles.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 will feature the classic Mega Man X, Mega Man X2, Mega Man X3, and Mega Man X4 video games while Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 will contain Mega Man X5 through 8. Both collections will sell digitally on July 24th for $19.99 however a retail bundle containing both will also be available in stores for $39.99.

Each Mega Man X in these collections will be completely playable in a range of aspect ratios and visual styles and each collection will come with the The Day of Σ Mega Man X anime plus a host of image galleries and bonus videos.

Mega Man X Legacy Collection 1 and 2 are follow-ups to the first and second Mega Man Legacy Collection which contained re-releases of the classic Mega Man video games. Both of these are already available on the Xbox One with the first collection currently being playable for free as part of Xbox Game Pass.

Are you a Mega Man fan and will you be grabbing these Mega Man X re-releases? Let us know in the comments and make sure to like us on Facebook for more Xbox One video game news.

Windows 10 Mobile won’t get the full benefits of PWAs

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Progressive Web Apps or PWAs is a new, fantastic way to give users a better experience on the web. They are reliable, user friendly, engaging, and fast and work on the Windows 10 mobile platform.

Microsoft just published their own 14 PWAs. This is the first batch of what is speculated to be hundreds of websites modified to the PWA format.

Here are some of the PWAs currently available: Daytrip, Travelzoo, MyCARFAX, Airfarewatchdog, ASOS, Skyscanner, Student Doctor Network, The Penny Hoarder, OfferFinder.net, Twitter, Ziprecruiter, Space, Men’s Wearhouse.

Microsoft PWAs not fully functional

Despite being officially released, these progressive web apps will not be completely functional on the Windows 10 Mobile. This is due mainly to the Microsoft Edge engine lacking certain parts.

windows 10 mobile pwa issues

What is Microsoft Edge lacking to make true PWAs?

For one, the mobile version of Microsoft Edge does not support caching offline. This means that the PWAs will only work if you have access to the internet.

In addition, Windows 10 Microsoft Edge Mobile doesn’t have service workers. This means that PWAs won’t be able to send notifications to your action center like a regular application.

There are also other issues, such as the lack of a progress indicator when users click on hyperlinks, among other things.

Flags for desktop users only

Microsoft does have flags for Mobile Edge, but they were only enabled in the upcoming RS4 and the true Windows 10 RS3 Creators Update. This means desktop users can access them, while mobile users can’t.

The bottom line

PWAs is a very exciting technology that could save the application shortage on Windows Mobile . However, these recent events indicates that Windows simply does not seem to think it is worth the trouble.

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Red Dead Redemption, Gears of War 2, four more Xbox 360 titles are now Xbox One X Enhanced

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Today during the Inside Xbox webcast, Microsoft announced that Gears of War 2, Portal 2, Darksiders, Red Dead Redemption, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Sonic Generations (just added to the Backward Compatibility List) are now enhanced for the Xbox One X. These six titles are now designed to take advantage of the most powerful Xbox console ever released, and should now include amazing detail, higher performance, and steadier framerates.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Forza Horizon, Fable Anniversary and Crackdown were the last Xbox 360 titles to get the Xbox One X Enhanced treatment. The titles joining today are also some all-time favorite titles, so many gamers are likely to enjoy them in new beauty on their Xbox One X systems. “They all look unbelievable, Red Dead looks amazing, and Sonic Generations really pops,” said Bill Stillwell from the Xbox Back Compatability Team during today’s webcast.

As always, you can keep track of the titles included in the Xbox One X Enhanced Catalog by checking here. Let us know in the comments which of these games you’re planning to revisit on your Xbox One X.

Microsoft Garage’s Project Road Runner looks to solve autonomous driving problems

Posted on by Kareem Anderson

How do you teach a car to drive? Throw pictures at it, apparently.

Perhaps, that was a crude way to describe Microsoft’s foray into developing autonomous driving algorithms for a future where driverless cars roam the streets in mass.

Recently, the Microsoft Garage team released a post on its self-titled blog detailing a new deep learning project by the name of Project Road Runner in which the team is using photo-realistic simulations to help train driverless cars.

As with most of the company’s Garage efforts, the team wasn’t officially backed by the Redmond based software giant and had to seek resources outside of the multi-billion dollar treasure chest of Microsoft. That resulting innovation spawned from the creative testing methods of the Garage team resulted in the team seeking simulations versus using actual vehicles encased in expensive hardware and sensors.

Furthermore, the Garage team sought an open-sourced simulation platform AirSim, that, at the time, was being used for drone simulation, to help them conduct their shoestring budgeted research. Aside from its cast landscape footage, AirSim is also credited with particularly useful photo-realistic environments built atop the Unreal gaming engine. The net result of this usage by the Garage team helped spur a symbiotic partnership that birthed AirSim’s autonomous driving expansion in November 2017. Now, the software to help train autonomous vehicles is free to anyone outside of Microsoft.

I’m sure both Google and Uber have already figured out the limitations Project Roadrunner’s approach, but it suffices to say that, with simulation driving, the Garage team was free to gather weekly Petabytes worth of data on reinforced learning by allowing their vehicles to freely crash into things, without fear of accidental death or lawsuits.

“This is pretty big. With reinforcement learning, you eliminate the need for collecting and storing petabytes of data every week. You can let your car crash into things and learn on its own. Reinforcement Learning has a lot of potential in the AD space, and of course it is impossible to do it in the real world, which is just another reason why I think simulation is going to be the backbone of the AD industry going forward. With our latest tutorial, you can start doing this at scale by distributing the learning job across multiple VMs on the cloud.”

Despite not having a fully promoted play in the war for infotainment unit space or a well a well-publicized footprint in autonomous vehicles, Microsoft has slowly been crafting a narrative as being the connective tissue that binds software to hardware via the cloud and Project Roadrunner is an exemplary showcase of that idealism. Using open source software to bypass current hardware limitations and powered by the vast opportunities presented with cloud computing, Microsoft employees could be creating the foundation for autonomous vehicles. A drivers ed of sorts for driverless cars that could be implemented by car manufacturers for years to come.

Microsoft’s smart mat ‘Zanzibar’ could be its bridge to augmented reality adoption

Posted on by Kareem Anderson

According to a report from ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft is set to unveil the ultimate tabletop gamers fantasy piece of equipment with its Project Zanzibar, as well as what could be seen as a bridging tool for more robust augmented reality experiences with its HoloLens technology.

Project Zanzibar is a rollable mat with the ability to recognize tactile objects placed on it. Microsoft’s more detailed description of Zanzibar includes, “Zanzibar is a flexible and portable mat that can locate, uniquely identify and communicate with objects placed on its surface, as well as sense a user’s touch and hover hand gestures.”

Through the use of near field communication (NFC) technology, anything placed on the mat can be tracked as well as extend its location and object sensing beyond the physical limitations of the mat to most NFC enabled items.

As for my earlier reference about tabletop gameplay, Microsoft described a couple of use cases for the device, one of which included toys that were placed on the mat being ‘brought to life’ through an NFC connection to other hardware. For example, if a person were to place a figurine on the mat, the connection could enable additional sound effects or voice recordings to tell the figurine’s story or if paired with a HoloLens, an entire digital dreamscape could accompany that particular item.

Zanzibar, if fully produced, could open up a more affordable world with more immersive interactive elements for child lesson planning or games like Dungeons & Dragons, Heroclix, Dicemasters, Yugioh. Mary Jo Foley points out that Zanzibar could be the culmination or offshoot of Microsoft’s earlier efforts to actualize context focused tabletop interactions with the Surface Table (aka Play Table) or its unrelated but aptly named Xbox and Windows 10 initiative,“Play Anywhere.”

While Zanzibar is scheduled to be shown off at the ACM CHI Conference in Montreal this month, it’s noted as a Microsoft Garage project and with that comes the real possibility that it may never see the light of day as a fully realized consumer product.

However, there is hope as the recently updated Microsoft Launcher for Android started off as a Garage Project and is now viable Android experience found in the Google Play Store.

The makers of Myst reach Kickstarter goal, to bring “Myst 25th Anniversary Collection” to Windows 10

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Myst, the popular series of adventure video games will celebrate its 25th birthday this September. On this occasion, developer Cyan has launched a Kickstarter campaign to acquire the rights to all seven games and re-release them as the Myst 25th Anniversary Collection later this year (via Ars Technica).

“With the help of our friends at GOG.com, the games have been upgraded to run on Windows 10,” the developer explained. “This Kickstarter will provide the entire collection in a special exclusive package, but the updated versions of the games will also make their way to digital download services, starting with GOG.com, as automatic updates.”

Only eight hours after the launch of the Kickstarter campaign, the project has already reached its $247K goal with more than $394K pledged by more than 2K backers. “Instead of waiting for a few weeks to get started with tooling and manufacturing ramp up, we have already given the go ahead,” the team wrote in an update today. If you do want the exclusive artifacts (book, pen and inkwell) that will come with this 25th Anniversary Collection, you can still pledge $99 or more before the Kickstarter campaign officially ends.

Microsoft Launcher Beta version 4.76 improves Cortana, adds in support for more device settings

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

A few weeks after the last beta release, Microsoft Launcher 4.76 has now started to roll out to beta testers. The latest version of the Android Launcher addresses the usual bugs, improves Cortana, and adds in support for more Android device settings such as WiFi and Flight Mode

The Microsoft Launcher team shared the following changelog on the dedicated Google+ community:

  • Support app sorting for Korean/Japanese/Russian languages in app drawer
  • New first time experience for mobile connected users from Windows setting
  • Cortana integration improvements
  • Improve app launch experience
  • Supports more device settings like WiFi, flight mode, etc
  • Support navigation query
  • Bug fixing, code clean up, crash fix and perf tuning.

You can get this update right now by signing up for the beta in the Google Play Store. Standard Microsoft Launcher users will get the update later and once beta testing is done, so be sure to keep tuned for more in the days ahead.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind coming to Xbox One backwards compatibility

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The next round of original (OG) Xbox video games joining the Xbox One library of backwards compatible titles is expected to be announced in a few hours during a live stream of the second episode of Inside Xbox.

One of the yet-to-be-revealed OG Xbox video games already appears to have been added to the digital Xbox Marketplace though; Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. The game can’t be purchased yet but its sudden appearance within the store and its mention of today’s date as its release date is a pretty good indication that it will be mentioned during the broadcast.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Game of the Year Edition includes Morrowind plus all of the content from the Bloodmoon and Tribunal expansions. An epic, open-ended single-player RPG, Morrowind allows you to create and play any kind of character imaginable. You can choose to follow the main storyline and find the source of the evil blight that plagues the land, or set off on your own to explore strange locations and develop your character based on their actions throughout the game. Featuring stunning 3D graphics, open-ended gameplay, and an incredible level of detail and interactivity, Morrowind offers a gameplay experience like no other.

Are you excited to play Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on your Xbox One console and what other OG Xbox games would you like to see given backwards compatibility? Let us know in the comments and make sure to follow us on Twitter for all the latest Xbox gaming news.

 

Xbox One Preview Alpha Build (1804.180407-1335) fixes audio & app bugs

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Xbox One Preview Build 1804.180407-1335 has begun to roll out to Alpha Xbox Insiders and it’s expected to expand to Omega and Delta users within the next 24 hours.

This latest Preview Build fixes loads of bugs associated with Xbox One system volume, Game Hubs, the Activity Feed, and App stability in addition to a variety of Settings and game glitches. Here’s the release notes.

Fixes:

  • Activity Feed: Fixed an issue in which users would receive a “Something went wrong” error message when sharing game clips and captures through Twitter.
  • App Stability: Fixed an issue in which a user would be using an app such as Netflix or Hulu would logout then unable to launch the app again until they power cycled.
  • Audio: Fixed an issue in which some users would experience loss of system sounds on Home.
  • Game Hub: Fixed an issue in which users some users with High Contrast enabled could not see active Club counts and Looking For Group (LFG) post counts.

Game Installation:

  • Resolved an issue which prevented some users from installing certain Games (Minecraft and Fallout Shelter), and received no notifications of the installation failure.
  • Loss of Home Navigation playing Guitar Hero
  • Fixed an issue in which users some users playing Guitar Hero with a Guitar Hero controller would return to Home and be unable to perform any navigation with their controller.
  • Mixer Crowd Control: Fixed an issue when a user used the co-pilot for extended sessions the feature would stop working.
  • My Games and Apps Collection: You should no longer encounter an issue with My Games and Apps appearing empty or non-functional when launched.
  • Settings – Privacy: Fixed an issue in which some users could not view or change Privacy Settings.
  • System Reliability: Resolved a system stability issue that could result in apps crashing when multiple games or apps are running.
  • Video Playback: Fixed issues with the UHD version of Disney’s latest BD-disc “Thor:Ragnarok” disc in which playback would hang towards the end of the movie.

Known Issues

  • Pi-hole: Pi-hole users may encounter issues signing in, creating, or recovering accounts upon downloading the 1804 update. This is due to a new configuration file which is downloaded from a URL Pi-hole blocks by default. Workaround: Add clientconfig.passport.net to the Pi-hole allowed IP address list.
  • Profile Color: Sometimes users may encounter an incorrect Profile color when powering on the console.
  • Audio: Hulu app volume is lower than expected—the Hulu team is working on an app update.

Audio Issues Help Needed: We need your help if you are experiencing any audio issues on the console! If you experience any loss of audio on Home or in games and apps please use Report a problem and provide as much detail as possible please including:

  • TV make and model
  • Audio receiver or headset make and model
  • Duration and frequency of the issue (How long did the issue occur? How often?)
  • A video of the issue including audio if possible – please post a link to the video in your bug or we can direct message you for it.

Xbox Insiders are Xbox One owners who have opted-in to test early builds of the console’s operating system before they’re rolled out to the general public. Within Xbox One Insiders are several groups, such as Alpha and Omega, which are given builds at different times or asked to test different features than the other groups.

Are you an Xbox Insider? Let us know what you think of this latest build in the comments below and make sure to like us on Facebook for more Xbox One news.

Surface Book 2 is Not Turning on: 3 Ways to Fix it

Posted on by Milan Stanojevic

The Surface Book 2 device is one of a kind, but sadly, many users reported that Surface Book 2 is not turning on.

This isn’t the only issue, and Surface Book 2 CPU throttle is a well-known problem many have encountered.

In today’s guide, we will show you the best methods you can use if Surface Book 2 won’t turn on, so let’s get started.

Why is my Microsoft Surface Book 2 not turning on?

  • Issues with the device – Sometimes, there might be a problem with the device, adapter, connectors, or battery that prevents the Surface from starting.
  • Improper waking – You should wake up your device carefully. If you don’t do so, you may turn off your device by accident.
  • Missing updates – In some rare instances, a missing update can cause this problem to appear.

What can I do if Surface Book 2 is not turning on?

Before we tackle this issue, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

  • Properly wake up the device – The device takes some time to wake up, so while waking it up, press the Power button just once.
  • Clean the connectors – Detach the keyboard and clean the connectors with a pencil eraser and rubbing alcohol. Once the connectors are dry, connect your keyboard.
  • Force a restart – Hold the Power button for about 10 seconds to turn off the device. Now press it again to boot the device.

1. General troubleshooting

  1. Switch to the Surface power connector. If your Surface has a USB-C port and you use it to charge the device, switch to the Surface power connector that came with your Surface to help it charge faster.
  2. Check the power connector light, if the LED light on the power connector is turned on or not. If the light is off you may need to replace your power supply. In case the light is flashing, remove the power connector from your Surface and check again for damage or debris that could cause a bad connection. If the light continues to flash, replace the power supply.

2. Wake your Surface with hotkeys

  1. If you have a keyboard connected, simultaneously press the Windows + Ctrl+Shift+B.
  2. In tablet mode, simultaneously press both the Volume up and Volume down buttons three times in quick succession (within two seconds).
  3. After that, your device should start.

You should hear a short beep while Windows tries to refresh the screen. If your Surface still won’t turn on, try the next solution.

You can also press and hold down the Power button until your Surface restarts, and you see the Windows logo screen (this takes about 20 seconds), then release the Power button, to make sure your Surface completely turns off.

In case your Surface turns on after you force a shutdown and restart: Charge the battery until it has at least a 40 percent charge, then install the latest Surface and Windows updates.

If your Surface Book 2 screen won’t turn on, it may need service. Start a service request by going to Device service and repair on Microsoft support site.

3. Install updates

  1. Plug your Surface into a working power outlet before installing updates. Don’t unplug or turn off your Surface while it’s updating.
  2. Ensure your Surface is charged to at least 40 percent before beginning to install updates.
  3. If you have a Surface Typing Cover or Surface docking station, make sure they’re attached before you turn on your Surface so they get the latest updates, too.
  4. If you use mobile broadband to connect to the Internet, your connection is automatically set to metered. Windows updates may not download over a metered connection, so it’s best to connect to Wi-Fi to make sure you get all updates.
  5. If you have no other connection options or have an unlimited data plan, you can change turn off the Set as metered connection. When this setting is off, all updates are over your mobile broadband connection.

Update the Surface Book 2 and Windows and ensure all updates are completely installed.

Note icon NOTE
When a Surface firmware update is available, you’ll see a notification on your Surface. Follow the instructions to update your Surface Book 2 using Windows Updates.

You can download and install updates manually if you have an internet connection. You can also use another computer with internet access if you are having trouble connecting your Surface to WiFi by downloading the .msi file to a USB driver and then transferring it to your Surface Book 2.

If you still have the problem, you can always check our Surface Book 2 keyboard not working guide for more solutions.

Did any of these solutions help? Let us know by leaving your comment in the section below. You can also share other quick fixes you’ve used that worked to resolve the Surface Book 2 not turning on problem.

Windows 10 on ARM to get partial 64-bit support shortly

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Many people believe that ARM PCs are getting trashed in most reviews and on PC enthusiast sites. Microsoft should really make an effort to change these first impressions as they could limit the number of potential ARM customers.

The new ARM 64-bit SDK will reportedly support desktop .exe for instance. Users believe that this should have been present from the beginning, but it’s unlikely to make a difference because, due to lack of incentives, Windows software developers won’t bother compiling for ARM x64.

Users think that the solution would have been to announce a desktop version with a universal .exe that would support 64-bit ARM/c68 so that you would only have to download one .exe or an installer. Such an action is believed to have gotten the attention and some momentum behind it.

Compatibility issues with Windows 10 for ARM

Current lack of support for 64-bit apps results in some compatibility issues with Windows 10 for ARM. Windows 10 for ARM emulates x86 processors by repurposing 64-bit Windows 10’s support for x86 32 bit Win32 apps. Other problems stem from the lack of a 64-bit SDK for ARM apps.

Microsoft’s native applications already are 64-bit ARM code. Microsoft plans to resolve this part of the issue by releasing an SDK for ARM64 apps at the next BUILD conference.

Developers will be able to compile 64-bit apps for PCs on ARM

If Microsoft successfully finishes its plan, developers will get the chance to natively compile 64-bit apps for PCs on ARM. In other words, more applications should gain compatibility. On the other hand, this change alone will not resolve the 64-bit x86 app problem. This means that higher power applications on Windows will still remain restricted for an unknown period of time.

Anyway, users received the news with some excitement, being pleased that Microsoft has at least something in the works for the platform.

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With Windows 10 1803, Cortana will search the web, whether you want her to or not

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Cortana is one of the core areas of Windows 10, and it can be used to search for your files, apps, and the web. Unfortunately, not everyone likes Cortana searching the web, and up until now system administrators could tinker with group policies and disable the search the web functionality entirely. Well, it looks as though Microsoft is backing away, and in Windows 10 version 1803 Cortana will search the web if you want her to or not (via Reddit.)

According to the Reddit posting, users running Windows 10 Pro version 1803 (Redstone 4) can no longer enable the additional “Do not allow web search” and “Don’t search the web or display web results in Search” policies. This essentially means there is now no “safe” and “official” way for Windows 10 Pro version 1803 users to prevent Cortana from doing web searches, though they can still “hack” the registry to block it.

This may or may not be a bug, but many users in the Reddit thread are upset by the news. “Frustrating and infuriating behavior from MS. If I didn’t play games I would have switched to mac years ago,” complained one user. And, “I absolutely can’t tolerate Windows if Cortana and integrated Bing web search can’t be disabled. So sad about this,” said another user.

Windows 10 Education and Windows 10 Enterprise users running version 1803 are not impacted and their administrators still use these policies to block web searches in Cortana. These are both much more expensive versions of Windows, which may not be a good option for small businesses who value privacy and won’t want Cortana to search the web.

Anyway, there is currently a Feedback Hub thread for the subject, and it will be interesting to see if Microsoft has an official reaction. We’ll be keeping an eye on the news, so best keep tuned for more in the days ahead.

Microsoft Teams tip: chat from hover card

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft Teams is already a great way to communicate with both coworkers and friends across your company or school, but there’s now an even easier way to stay in touch with them. Noted by a trusted contributor on the Microsoft TechNet Community, you can now chat directly from the hover card on Microsoft Teams.

Quite obviously, to use this feature, all you need to do is hover over anyone’s picture in Teams to bring up the hover card. Then, at the bottom of the card you’ll notice a “Send Message” box, where you can quickly send a message to someone without having to click on the chat button. Though typing in this box won’t open a chat window, it is still a quick way to send a message to someone and save some time in a busy day.

The Hover Box

In other Microsoft Teams news, it was announced last week that Skype for Business interoperability is coming soon to Teams. Roughly one year after its initial release, Microsoft is clearly working to make Teams the go-to communication service for Office 365. Do you use Microsoft Teams in your organization? Let us know your thoughts below.

Microsoft To-Do adds supports for subtasks with new “Steps” feature

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

Microsoft has updated its To-Do task managing app today with to add support for subtasks, which has been the top-requested feature from users. Microsoft is calling this new feature “Steps,” and we’re seeing it today on all platforms except the Android app

When you create a new task in To-Do, you’ll now see a new “Add Step” button below the title. You can create many subtasks if you want to, though It’s worth noting that marking all the subtasks as completed won’t mark the main task as such, and vice versa (as seen below.)

Microsoft is still working on many more user-requested features for To-Do such as integration with Cortana and the ability to share lists between users. If you’re interested, you can track Microsoft’s progress on these new additions and help the company prioritize new features on the dedicated UserVoice website.

Microsoft To Do: Lists, Tasks & Reminders
Microsoft To Do: Lists, Tasks & Reminders
Download
QR-Code

Microsoft To Do: Lists, Tasks & Reminders
Developer:
Microsoft Corporation
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Microsoft To Do: Lists & Tasks
Microsoft To Do: Lists & Tasks
Download
QR-Code

Microsoft To Do: Lists & Tasks
Developer:
Microsoft Corporation
Price:
Free


‎Microsoft To Do
‎Microsoft To Do
Download
QR-Code

‎Microsoft To Do
Developer:
Microsoft Corporation
Price:
Free

Microsoft releases source code for Windows 3.0 File Manager, and it still works great on Windows 10

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

The release of the Spring Creators Update may be coming up soon, but if you’re up for some Windows nostalgia while waiting, you can now download the Windows 3.0 File Manager on your Windows 10 PC. Long-time Microsoft employee Craig Wittenberg has recently published the source code on GitHub, which was originally copied from Windows NT back in 2007.

As you can see below, the Windows 3.0 File Manager is fully functional on Windows 10 and is a real throwback to the early 1990’s when copying, moving, deleting, and searching for files became easier in Windows thanks to this core app. It all works via the MDI interface, which allowed users to see more than one folder in one window.

The File Manager is not only a throwback but a true proof of how backward compatible windows can be despite the test of time. Feel free to download it now for your own throwback to classic computing, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Microsoft reaches natural conversation level with AI chatbots

Posted on by Radu Tyrsina

There are already a lot of existing chatbots that let you have a conversation with them. But you have to be extremely clear and straightforward so that the chatbot is able to correctly understand what you’re telling it.

Microsoft recently announced that it created the first tech breakthrough that will allow us to have more natural conversations with them. The company says that we’ll be able to speak to them just like we talk to one other.

Xiaolce makes breakthrough in natural conversation

Microsoft’s chatbot, Xiaolce, just got some new updates that make it a lot smarter. The company will use the same technology to other chatbots and this includes Zo in the US.

The latest update implemented in Xiaolce is called “full duplex voice sense” and it works by expanding the chatbot’s ability to predict what the person she’s talking to will say next.

This would help her make better decisions about both how and when she is supposed to respond to a person who is talking to her. This set of skills is obviously quite natural for people, but it’s not common for chatbots. At least, it wasn’t until now.

The newest technology reduces lag time

This new tech that is implemented in Xialoce will reduce the lag time responsible for the unnatural and awkward conversations with chatbots. This will also resolve another annoying thing related to chatbot conversations, and we are referring to the “wake word.” You won’t have to use a wake word anymore. For instance, you will not have to say ‘Hey, Cortana’ every time you respond to the chatbot during a conversation.

Cortana won’t be enjoying these improvements soon

The AI assistant won’t be seeing these improvements soon because they are only targeted at Microsoft’s AI-powered social chatbots such as Zo, Xiaolce, Rinna, and Ruuh. These are designed to have more extended conversations, unlike Cortana who is considered by Microsoft nothing more than a productivity-focused sidekick.

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Power BI Desktop gets new Q&A feature and interactive element buttons

Posted on by Kareem Anderson

Seems as though Microsoft has been putting more umph! behind its data visualization solution, Power BI, relatively speaking. Over the past two years, those of us who have only been tangentially paying attention to the developments of Power BI have seen the team deliver feature updates as regularly as Windows 10 been pushing Insider builds. 

The monthly updates fall in line with Microsoft’s approach to evolving most of its products into platforms for services and this month’s batch of features brings customers Q&A Explorer.

Q&A Explorer is yet another way for customers to view and arrange datasets within Power BI by allowing the assigned users to ask questions about the displayed data and enabling additional interactive elements to reports.

Furthermore, owners of the docs can assign dialog to an image, shape or button by using Q&A Explorer in its current preview form that can then be interacted with by the assigned user/viewer.

While you are in edit mode, you can also add suggested questions. Any suggested questions you add will be available in the dialog for consumers to view. To add suggested questions, just type in the question you have and click the add button. This will add the question to the left suggested questions pane. If you decide later you want to remove a question, just click the “X” next to the question you want to remove.

The new Q&A Explorer feature is just the tip of the iceberg for updates coming down the pike for customers in the month of April. Other features and fixes for this month include:

Reporting

  • Q&A Explorer (preview)
  • Buttons to trigger actions
  • Combo chart line styles
  • Improved default sort for visuals
  • Numeric Slicer now generally available

Analytics

  • Update your linguistic schema
  • New DAX function: COMBINEVALUES()

Custom visuals

  • Organizational visuals now generally available
  • Overview by CloudScope
  • Icon Map by Altius
  • Hexbin Scatterplot

Data connectivity

  • Adobe Analytics connector now generally available
  • SAP HANA connector improvement: Port selection
  • Dynamics 365 Business Central connector

For anyone interested in more details about each new updated setting or additional feature for April, visit the Microsoft  Power BI blog, or get your hands on them now by downloading the Power BI desktop tool here.