A new video has leaked onto the web today demonstrating how the new Start Menu in Windows Threshold works on the desktop. The video comes from build 9834, which screenshots had leaked from earlier in the day. It appears in this build it is possible to use both Start Screen and Start Menu with the desktop, something which is said to be changing in the future.

The video comes from WinFuture.de, who were the source of the original leaks. The video demonstrates use of the new Start Menu, and the ability to re-enable the Start Screen. WinBeta understands that the ability to re-enable the Start Screen isn’t permanent, and could be removed from the operating system before RTM. If users give feedback asking to keep the Start Screen however, Microsoft may opt to keep this option intact.

You can check out the video below:

What are your thoughts about the new Start Menu? Are you a fan or would you much rather stick with the Start Screen? Leave us your comments below and let us know!

Update: Recent video leaked of this particular build reveals it’s possible to re-enable the Start Screen on the desktop. WinBeta understands that this feature may not stay, Microsoft is actively working on a way to make sure the Start Screen isn’t accessible from the desktop. But for now, it appears the Start Screen is available for those who wish to use that instead. Original article follows:

With the recent leak of a number of new screenshots from a build 9834 of Windows 9 (Threshold), a number of claims which I and a number of other people have made are starting to be confirmed visually. One of the most controversial changes coming in Windows 9 is the inability to use both the Start Screen and desktop, and today’s screenshots confirm this inability.

Settings within the operating system which would allow you to use the Start Screen have been grayed out on desktops which do not need it, as seen in the screenshot above. The user is unable to un-select the option which boots to the desktop by default, simply because Microsoft isn’t allowing the Start Screen to co-exist with the desktop. The user is also unable to use a background on the Start Screen, most likely because the Start Screen isn’t accessible.

The idea is that devices that require the Start Screen will have the Start Screen and not the desktop, whereas devices that require the desktop will have the desktop and not the Start Screen. It’s still not clear where hybrid devices sit, or whether Microsoft will continue with the ability to resize the Start Menu. Microsoft will talk more about this at it’s September 30th event, or at a later date when they launch the Windows RT preview.

Of course, Microsoft may listen to user feedback regarding this upcoming change, and if enough people complain about the inability to use the Start Screen on the desktop, Microsoft may allow the option again.

So, what are your thoughts on this upcoming change to Windows Threshold? Are you happy about this upcoming change, or would you much rather allow Microsoft to let the user decide what they wish to use? Leave us your comments below and let us know what you think.

Microsoft is no stranger to legal battles, most notably with an anti-trust suit in the US and ongoing problems with the EU. But the company recently stood up to a court attempting to strong-arm user data which happens to be stored on foreign soil — Ireland in this particular case. This obviously brings about implications that many would wish were not present. Mainly that the US court system can exert control over foreign locations. 

The case has been to court, and Microsoft so far has not fared well in the hearings. The company is continuing its fight and persisting with its refusal to hand over the data, which the US technically may have no legal right to, as the company claims. 

Things have now grown worse, as the software giant has been held in contempt of court over this issue. According to a report from Naked Security, a site operated by trusted firm Sophos, “Microsoft and the US government have agreed that the company will be held in contempt for its refusal to hand over email stored in the cloud at its Dublin data center but won’t be fined or punished, giving it a chance to appeal a court order to cough up a customer’s communications”. 

The company lost the case a week ago and, on August 29th, it officially refused to hand over the data. Much of this stems from the recent leaks by Edward Snowden regarding NSA activity, which resulted in many tech companies being implicated in the mess. 

Now Microsoft wishes to make good, attempting to prove that it stands up for its users. In this case it’s making a real stand. Sophos concludes with a simple question, which sums things up — “Is this a misuse of the Fourth Amendment, or do we simply have to suck it up and deal with the fact that all bets are off — not only with regards to security/privacy, but also when it comes to the US court system?” It makes you wonder. 

Microsoft has announced three new tiers for their SQL Database-as-a-service: Basic, Standard, and Premium. This new tier system allows you to significantly increase the databases managed from a single administrator.

These tiers provide predictable performance from light, to heavy weight transactional applications. They also ensure that performance isn’t hindered by the workload of other customers.

Further, they provide an upgrade of uptime SLA from 99.9% to 99.99%, point-in-time-restore, active geo-replication, standard geo-replication, increase of database sizes from 150 GB to 500 GB, and auditing. Microsoft also changed policies such as hourly billing for the new tiers. You can read the full details here.

These tiers, generally available now, are a mere part of a larger expanding portfolio that includes DocumentDB — a non-relational database service, Azure Search, Azure Machine Learning and more.

The database market, relational and non-relational, is a competitive place with rival offerings from companies like Amazon and Oracle. What are your experiences and preferences with SQL Databases, and what do you think of Microsoft’s service?

Microsoft is looking to revolutionize the classroom experience with a service called Office Mix. Office Mix is an excellent tool for schools, allowing instructors to distribute presentations to all their students via the web. Instructors can check student progress online and see who actually watched the presentation.

Microsoft has improved Office Mix with several new features, revealed to WinBeta today. For example, Microsoft now adds easy contest integration into your Mix Details. What exactly does this mean? Well, now you can easily submit your mixes with the click of a button to whatever contest is taking place — in this case, the current contest is the Lessons to Life contest, which students can win up to 15 Surface Pro 3 devices for their favorite school.

Other improvements to Office Mix include the ability to export analytics to Excel. Simply log into OfficeMix.com, open up My Mixes and head to Uploaded Mixes. You can then choose the mix you want to analyze and download the analytics as an Excel file.

If you feel like sharing your mixes to Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, or Google+, you can do just that. Just click Share and choose your desired destination. If you want to embed your mix, just hit the embed function!

For those of you who have yet to try out Office Mix, we highly recommend you do so. Head over here to check out Office Mix.

Microsoft is at it again and this time the company slams Siri in a creative and funny advertisement for Cotana. In the video, we are introduced to a group of people who are in a group therapy session talking about their relationship issues — with Siri.

In the video, the group therapy members are venting about how Apple’s Siri digital assistant doesn’t understand them. One person even says, “I guess I was expecting too much.” Clearly, Microsoft is looking to downplay Siri’s features by touting how she was advertised to be able to do so much, but can only do so little in reality.

Towards the end of the video, one member touts Cortana as a digital assistant that grows with you. Just recently, Microsoft rolled out a video showcasing how Cortana was better than Siri. These video advertisements are reminiscent of Microsoft’s Scroogled campaign, highlighting the negative of a rival’s product and promoting how Microsoft’s product is the better option.

We’ve embedded the video below for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Microsoft has rolled out Office Delve, previously codenamed Oslo, for Office 365. Delve taps into Microsoft’s Office Graph machine learning database to display your most relevant documents, in an attempt to have information find you rather than you having to find information.

“Office Delve is a new way to discover relevant information and connections from across your work life. Delve displays information that is most relevant for each person based on the work they are doing and the people with whom they are engaging.  With Delve, information finds you versus you having to find information,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.

Information is presented in a beautiful, card-based design that is easy to understand. Delve also showcases intuitive ways to view content and only enabled you to view content you have access and permission to.

“Delve knows what’s relevant to you based on insights delivered through Office Graph, which uses sophisticated machine learning techniques to map the relationships between people, content, and activity that occurs across Office 365. Delve is the first of many experiences we will release, tapping into the connections and insights from Office Graph,” Microsoft added.

Office Graph, working hand-in-hand with Office Delve, is set to receive new integration signals and content sources such as email attachments, OneNote, and Lync. Currently, Office Graph can pull content from OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, and Yammer. With Office Delve, you can let information come to you, instead of having to dig though emails or search for items.

Take a look below at how Office Graph works behind the scenes.

One of the next hottest titles to make their way onto the Xbox One entertainment console is Destiny from Bungie. Destiny is an intriguing-looking title which has stirred up a great deal of interest. From the same stables as Halo, this is a cinematic, action-packed adventure with a variety of gameplay modes.

Destiny is set to launch tonight and Microsoft Stores across the nation are hosting a midnight launch party, offering up free swag for those of you who attend early enough. “Join us on Monday, September 8th at 10 pm for the Destiny Midnight Launch party at your local Microsoft Store. There will be gift bags, giveaways, snacks and in-store game play! Plus you can get your copy of Destiny when the game launches at midnight on 9/9,” Microsoft stated.

All Microsoft Stores, except the ones in Garden State Plaza, Rockingham Mall, Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, Westroads Mall, and Roosevelt Field, will be featuring this midnight party. Eager gamers can play Destiny in store starting at 10PM and score snacks and awesome prizes too. Gamers can snag their copy of the game at midnight.

The first 100 people to pick up their copy of the game will get the free gift bag featuring an Xbox branded t-shirt, a Microsoft branded water bottle, a Destiny poster, and a Destiny wristband.

The launch party takes place tonight from 10PM to 2AM, and the line opens up at 9PM. Will you be attending?

On September 4th, it was revealed that Getty Images had filed a lawsuit against Microsoft in U.S. District Court targeting the newly released Bing Image Widget. Getty wanted the Bing Image Widget to be blocked, claiming that Microsoft had turned digital images into a free ‘clip art’ collection.

In light of these allegations, Microsoft has taken down the Beta version of the Bing Image Widget. “We have temporarily removed the Bing Image Widget beta so we can take time to talk with Getty Images and better understand its concerns,” a Microsoft spokesman told Recode.

For those that did not know, the Bing Image Widget allows websites to embed galleries and slideshows into websites. These images are supplied by Bing. Getty claims that these images are not from a licensed or purchased collection of images, effectively turning “the entirety of the world’s online images into little more than a vast, unlicensed ‘clip art’ collection for the benefit of those website publishers who implement the Bing Image Widget, all without seeking permission from the owners of copyrights in those images.”

If you head over to the Bing Image Widget website, you will now see an error that says “We have temporarily removed the beta.” Microsoft will keep the tool offline until it can resolve the issue with Getty Images.

Getty, for those who did not know, is a company that produces and provides media, and has a product similar to the Bing Image Widget. However, Getty’s tool is only used on non-commercial websites and includes photographer attribution. 

It’s been another busy week here at WinBeta, with more Windows 9 (Threshold) news breaking through all the time. This week, we learned about a few new things regarding Windows 9 and its upcoming technical preview, and speculation began regarding a unified Windows brand across phone, tablet and PC.

Starting off with the most juicy news of the week, it was revealed that the Notifcation Center in Windows 9 will be coming to the desktop too. WinBeta exclusively revealed not too long beforehand that a Notification Center would be coming to the Modern UI side of Windows 9, this new report detailed its existence on the desktop and how it will work. Right now, it’s a simple window in the bottom right hand corner and is accessed from the system tray. WinBeta can confirm that more features such as an Action Center is said to be coming to the Notification Center in Windows 9 in the future, but it will not be present upon launch of the Preview.

Next up is feedback. As expected, the Windows 9 Technical Preview will focus heavily on feedback. It wasn’t too clear how eager Microsoft were about this feedback, until multiple reports earlier this week began explaining Microsoft’s plans. Feedback will drive this preview more than any preview Microsoft has ever conducted in its history, so much so that the feedback you submit could alter your version of Windows with a distinct set of features, different from those who submit different feedback.

Finally, speculation began this week regarding the actual product name of Windows 9. We all know that the upcoming version of Windows is codenamed Threshold with a rumored final name of Windows 9, but what if it isn’t? What if Microsoft is planning to name it just “Windows”? If you look at the adverts for many different Windows Phone and PC devices, Microsoft has already begun adapting this way of marketing, using just “Windows” instead of “Windows Phone” if it was a phone or “Windows 8” if it was a laptop.

This month is Threshold month, meaning you can expect a whole lot more Windows Threshold news to pop up over the coming weeks. Microsoft is rumored to be holding a press event on September 30th which will see the company openly talk about its plans for Threshold for the first time, and perhaps even release a preview for the public.

Today, Microsoft has helped LV Prasad Eye Institution (LVPEI), a non-profit eye-health organization, open a center for computer training to the visually-impaired. Microsoft India Development Center (MSIDC) employees were instrumental to the creation of the center by donating generously during the Giving Campaign. This center is part of the general aim to provide education and employment for visually-impaired individuals.

The center will support 128 students in the first year, and teach them how to use Microsoft’s Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Skype. They will also be taught how to navigate the internet, including social networking websites. Besides these basic utilities, the students will have opportunities to learn programming languages including C, C++, Java, HTML, SQL, and accounting packages including Tally and Focus. Spoken English and other useful skills are also being integrated.

The center will accomplish this through assistive software such as JAWS, MAGic, NVDA and Window-Eyes screen readers. Dr. Bealu Christy, head of the LVPEI Rehabilitation Unit, thinks this center’s success will be judged in the future by the amount of students it can help get jobs and expand education.

“This program has the potential to impact the lives of many children by improving their scholastic achievement and enhancing their career opportunities and growth. In addition, this could also act as a model for other institutions in the developing world to replicate,” says Dr. Gullapalli N. Rao, founder and chairman of LVPEI.

Head over to the VIA link below to read more about this venture.

Microsoft has rolled out a major refresh to the Office Store, along with the launch of new international markets and increased visibility of third-party apps. Microsoft wants to make it easier for customers to find relevant apps faster.

“In a year filled with big plans for the Office Store, we’re excited to make a trio of announcements today: a major refresh of the Store experience; the launch of multiple new international markets; and increased visibility of third-party Store apps to both customers and Office sales and deployment partners,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.

We haven’t really heard much about the Office Store, as the focus has been on the Windows Store and Windows Phone Store. But that has now changed, as Microsoft has improved the developer experience for the Office Store. It now features faster onboarding of new apps to join the 1,000 apps already available, along with more interactive and frequently updated analytics tools. 

The Office Store lets customers find relevant apps faster with its new home page design, along with improvements to the free-text search tool. Repeat visitors to the site will see the best and latest apps near the top of the home page, all due to the new robust ranking service that showcases a unique set of apps every day.

Microsoft has also added support for apps in three new languages, which include Dutch, Italian, and Russian. Microsoft plans to add support for Portuguese (Brazil) and two versions of Chinese (traditional and simplified) next month. “With these new languages, we’ll gain fully localized apps and storefronts for Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and Russia, with localized apps and storefronts for Brazil, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong SAR to follow soon after. Full rollout will give us apps in 10 languages and 31 localized storefronts in all! In the coming months we’ll add localized storefronts for many other markets where Office is sold,” Microsoft added.

Microsoft has lot planned for the Office Store over the next few months, including new developer APIs, better visibility of apps inside Office products, and much more. 

Microsoft has just announced the Lumia 730, Lumia 735, and the Lumia 830 at the tradeshow IFA event in Berlin. In addition, the company has also announced a wireless charging plate named DT-903, which works with Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1.1 (Update 1) and Bluetooth 4.0. Microsoft is touting it to be the “next generation” of wireless charging plates.

The DT-903 comes with a LED notification that glows when a handset is placed on it, and blinks in an event of missed call, text or other notifications. Users can configure the settings in accordance with their needs through the new ‘accessory apps’ that comes with Windows Phone 8.1.1.

The DT-903 also supports NFC, and comes in three colors: white, orange and green. It has been priced at $59 (59 euro) and goes on sale in October. What do you think about the latest DT-903 wireless charging plates? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft has been known in the past to tease about upcoming things, and today seems to be no different. In a tweet from the company, Microsoft teased that “Big things are happening to the world of Windows. Stay tuned.” The tweet was accompanied by the hashtag #IFA2014, meaning Microsoft may be about to unveil some pretty big Windows news.

We’re not too sure what Microsoft could be planning to announce at IFA 2014 during their announcement set to take place in just a few hours, other than new Lumia devices. Considering this tweet has no mention of Lumia, we’re pretty certain that the company is teasing about the Windows software, not hardware. Perhaps Microsoft is planning to talk about Windows Threshold earlier than expected?

Do remember, the rumors claim that Microsoft will talk about Windows Threshold at the end of the month. However, Microsoft may have opted to talk about the Windows Phone side of Threshold earlier than expected. This is all speculation right now, bare that in mind.

Big things are happening in the world of #Windows. Stay tuned. #IFA2014 pic.twitter.com/KiNWfivTxG

— Windows (@Windows) September 3, 2014

What do you think? Will Microsoft announce something big or are they just teasing all the new devices running Windows? Let us know your thoughts below.

Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Perceptive Pixel in 2012 and the introduction of the first 55 and 82-inch versions, the devices haven’t exactly been readily available – although that might be about to change.

Former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, who is now Executive Vice President of Devices at Microsoft has reportedly mentioned that the company was preparing to mass produce the gigantic touch displays, which would hopefully drive their price points down. The devices are currently marketed by Microsoft as productivity and collaboration tools that will change the way we interact with technology in office spaces, however, it wouldn’t be too hard to imagine their applicability in other environments, such as homes and schools.

We should know more about pricing and availability as the devices start flowing down the assembly line. In the meantime, check out the video below to see how Microsoft currently uses the large-screen displays in their offices. 

It’s Threshold month! We’re less than a month away from an official announcement from Microsoft regarding the next version of Windows, currently codenamed Threshold and rumored to be called Windows 9. Over the past few months, many sources have uncovered new features coming in the next iteration of Windows, but what has you most excited?

If you’ve forgotten or unaware of the potential features coming in the Windows Threshold Preview (also known as the Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise), then let us remind you. In the preview, you can expect to see a Start Menu, windowed Modern UI apps, Virtaul Desktops, the removal of the Charms Bar, and maybe Cortana (depending on whether she’s ready).

With all that considered, what features are you most excited for? We understand that the Start Menu is one of Windows 8.x users most requested feature, along with windowed apps. We want to know what you personally are excited most for, could it be Cortana? Virtual Desktops? Let us know.

Do remember that the preview won’t be representative of the final product, things like improved UI and even more cool features won’t be included in the preview upon initial launch.

Microsoft has long been active in the education industry; showcasing new technology to be used in classrooms and offering numerous discounts for students. Their Surface tablet has been especially well accepted in educational institutions due to its hybrid nature of being all of a desktop, laptop and tablet in one package.

Microsoft is taking advantage of the tablets popularity in education by offering you a chance to win 15 of its latest Surface Pro 3’s that will be donated directly to a school of your choosing. All you have to do is build a lesson in the Arts, Language Arts, Math, Science, or Social Studies fields using PowerPoint 2013, then use Microsoft’s Office Mix tool to transform it into something more engaging, and that’s it!

Microsoft will then select 15 finalists based on the creativity and originality of the Mixes and how applicable they to be used in a learning environment. The grand prize will result in 15 Surface Pro 3’s donated to your chosen K-12 school. Additionally, 5 first prize winners will also get one SP3 each to donate to their favorite schools.

The contest is open to US-only residents. So if you’re in the US, then here’s your chance to give back to the school you grew up in. If you weren’t one of the “cool kids” back in the day, this should earn you some massive hallway cred, even though you’ve graduated already. So head over to the source link below for the fine print on what’s required. Good luck!

Time Warner Cable has taken it to Twitter to provide customers with reassurance that they are looking into an issue that is causing difficulties when accessing a Microsoft website. This announcement comes days after the cable giant reported a service outage. 

“We’re currently looking into difficulties accessing Microsoft sites. Unfortunately, we do not have additional details presently,” the tweet stated. No word on exactly what is causing the issue, but customers are complaining that they were not able to access Office 365 servers, or download any Windows Updates. Connecting to Xbox Live was also an issue for some users.

This issue is likely resolved by now, but if you are a Time Warner Cable customer and are still having connectivity issues when trying to connect to Xbox Live or Office 365, we suggest sending a tweet to the @TWC_Help account. Time Warner Cable has yet to disclose what caused the issue, as the cable giant is currently investigating the outage. Let us know in the comments below if you were affected by this issue.

We’re currently looking into difficulties accessing Microsoft sites. Unfortunately, we do not have additional details presently. ^BP

— TWC Help (@TWC_Help) August 28, 2014

Before I wrote about Microsoft and the ecosystem surrounding it – I sold it at a Fortune 500 company, where I worked as a sales associate and computer repair technician; every day I interacted with people looking to purchase brand new computers and everyday people repeated the two biggest errors you can make when purchasing a new PC. First, they decided to get the cheapest piece of hardware they could spot – open box return unit, single core CPU with 2 GB of RAM, and an all-plastic body design – SOLD! Second, they passed on a security suite for their computer – who needs to spend money, when you can grab a free solution, right?

Owning a computer with the Windows operating system comes with a collection of wonderful benefits over other alternatives, including the ultimate in software compatibility and the best touch screen compatibility to date. That being said, the biggest issue plaguing Windows machines is seedy malware. The good news is that I can be easily prevented. The bad news is that many people out there, believe that a free solution can stand up to the protection offered by paid security suites. In addition, a mythical mindset that paid security suites slow down your PC continues to circulate.

Let us talk about malware.

Before we dive into why that free security option is not as good as a paid alternative, let us talk about the word “malware”. You’ve probably heard a collective of the terms we are about to mention, but we want to make sure you are fully informed in your battle against malicious software – which is exactly what “malware” is in short hand.

In general, there are two types of infectious malware, and you have probably heard of them both – viruses and worms. A virus is simply a term for a piece of malicious software that attempts to hide itself within another innocent program and activates when you run it. On the other hand, a worm is a piece of malicious software that is stand-alone and not imbedded into innocent software (no need to hide); instead of activating when you click a piece of software, a worm is more advanced than a virus and is able to burrow and transmit itself automatically within your network to infect other machines.

There are a few versions of concealment for viruses, so that they can attempt to avoid attention, these include Trojan horses, rootkits, and backdoors. Each method is unique in its own right, but we are going to point out the rootkit virus, which can actually modify your computer’s operating system in order to avoid detection as a running process in the background. Keep these in mind as we talk about various security solutions (free and paid).

Free simply lacks what paid software provides.

Now that you are all malware experts, let us talk about a couple of the most popular free antivirus solutions available for the PC – Avast Free, AVG Free, and Avira Free. As of today, AVG Free still ranks amongst the most popular selections, while Avast Free and Avira Free are still frequently mentioned.

AVG, Avira, and Avast free solutions provide basic coverage, but fails to provide the full well-rounded solution that the average consumer should seek. A common feature many free solutions lack is the ability to scan a piece of software before it is downloaded to your PC. Imagine letting a complete stranger into your house, then asking for their identification – it is a more secure idea to reverse that order. In addition, many free antivirus solutions will allow malicious scripts to load within your browser, before issuing a warning against them. Also, remember those rootkits we spoke about before? Companies such as Symantec provide special tools to remove them – free software just does not.

The weaker level of protection of viruses is not the only offense made by many free solutions; most do not include protection against spam and spyware. We are all familiar with spam we receive in our inboxes; with most paid solutions these spam emails are scanned and ruled out before you can even get to them. When it comes to spyware, bits of software that attempt to steal your personal data without you knowing, free antivirus solutions will not snag that either. If you are interested in preventing spyware, you have to download an additional piece of software to do so, such as Spybot for Windows.

Lastly, let us not forget about a firewall that protects hackers from gaining access to our PC’s traffic and content. As you can guess from the name, antivirus solutions do not provide protection against such malicious hackers – that would be another different piece of software.

Now, I know what some of you might be saying – “Well, then I will just download three pieces of software. I will grab a free antivirus program, free spyware program, and free firewall,” This idea is not the worst idea (it actually may provide as a decent solution for many), as you can mull through and pick what you feel is best, but you will still lack advanced firewall features, advanced anti-spyware features, and the more active real time antivirus protection we mentioned above. In addition, different security software will sometimes conflict with each other causing issues.

In the end, free security will usually recommend that you upgrade to the premium version of software that they offer. In fact, AVG, Avira, and Avast, all have premium versions of their free software that act as a complete security suite. Free security suites are usually offered for one of two reasons – 1) they attempt to real consumers into the premium versions, or 2) they serve as an extension of the company’s resources to keep an eye out for new viruses and spyware.

Here are our recommendations to stay safe.

So what is a consumer to do? Instead of downloading a collection of free software or/and leaving your PC partially exposed, we recommend downloading a paid security suite. When downloading these suites, it is important to choose one that bundles great antivirus protection with equally great spyware protection and an active firewall. For example, AVG’s premium security suite provides excellent antivirus protection, but the firewall could be improved.

Our top personal recommendation is downloading Symantec Norton’s Internet Security Suite, which can be picked up on Amazon at $19.99 for a 1-year subscription. We do not recommend buying security software from the developer’s site, as they tend to charge the full price at most times ($79.99 in this example). We know that Norton received criticism in the past for slowing down PCs, but that is no longer an issue today. Do not want to believe us and think Norton is the devil? You can download a free trial and see that we are not lying. Our friends over at PC Mag agree with us – Norton’s Internet Security suite received an Editor’s Choice for 2014.

If you still have a bad taste from Norton (and are not willing to believe our claim), you can also check out Bitdefender Total Security and Kaspersky Internet Security as alternative options. We strongly advise against downloading MacAfee software, it continues to act as a terrible slow down – stay away.

Go out there with your new knowledge and protect your PC! We are not being paid for any of the above recommendations, and we truly want to deliver the best experience for your Windows PC.

UPDATE: Quite a few readers brought up Microsoft’s Security Essentials as an excellent solution for free antivirus, but unfortunately the software is nowhere up to par with other free solutions such as AVG and AVAST, less close to Norton or Kaspersky paid editions. Our friends at PC Mag, whom use in-house and third party labs had this to say about the software:

“Unusually slow scan. Failed to run on one test system. Low detection rate in malware cleanup test. Failed to thoroughly clean up threats it did detect. Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 does a decent job protecting a clean PC, but in testing its cleanup of already-infested systems wasn’t thorough. You can get better protection for the same price (FREE).”

Due to these facts, and the additional reminder that Microsoft Security Essentials does not provide ample coverage against Spyware – it remains as non-recommended solution from your friends here at WinBeta.

Microsoft has made a lot of noise about Gmail scanning messages for ads, though the truth is that every email service scans messages, as it’s how spam filtering works. But these days, in the wake of the Edward Snowden revelations, more people are worried about privacy. With that in mind, Microsoft has issued a statement on email privacy. 

The announcement, titled “Your email belongs to you, not us” covers the company’s privacy policies. According to Brendon Lynch, chief privacy officer at Microsoft, the company “is committed to delivering meaningful privacy protections that build trust with our customers, and we know how much you value the contents of your email.  We believe your email belongs to you, not us, and that it should receive the same privacy protection as paper letters sent by mail–no matter where it is stored”. 

This announcement is being made in response to a warrant issued by the US government, which is attempting to seize user data that is stored on foreign soil. It’s a thin line to walk, given everyone wishes to remain safe. But we also don’t want to think that the government can simply take our data — especially when it happens to be stored somewhere else, in this case Ireland. 

The case is, so far, not going well for Microsoft. Courts have sided with the US government. The implications are ominous, as it means other countries could also demand data, regardless of its location. The company points out that this is already happening — “In fact, earlier this month the British government passed a law asserting its right to require tech companies to produce emails stored anywhere in the world”. 

The case is not done, as Microsoft continues to argue its point, though the outcome is headed in the wrong direction for US citizens.  We’ll keep you updated on it. 

Back in early June, we wrote a story shedding light to the numerous scam apps available in the Windows Store. The issue was brought to our attention by one of our loyal readers, Steve, who was fed up with Microsoft’s reporting process and Microsoft’s lack of response to app reports he would make when discovering a misleading app.

But it wasn’t just one or two apps he was discovering to be misleading — nope, there were numerous apps that were straight up scandalous. These paid apps had official titles such as “Temple Run” but hidden in the app description was a secret message saying “My app will provide you the best way to finish”. In other words, consumers would purchase this app thinking it was Temple Run, but in actuality they were being mislead into wasting their money.

Microsoft’s response to our question as to why the Windows Store isn’t policed like it should be raised more questions than it answered. “We may identify policy issues through our own mechanisms, but the involvement of users and developers is encouraged. The [email protected] email address can be used to report problematic apps, or to voice concern about copyright infringement. The developer of the complained-about app has the right to reply. Users are encouraged to make use of the ‘report concern to Microsoft’ links in the Store. Microsoft also insists that “other times we may identify policy issues through our own mechanisms,” Microsoft had told us.

This issue was once again raised just last week when consumers were becoming upset that there were so many fake and misleading VLC apps in the Windows Store, tricking consumers into purchasing an app that wasn’t real. On top of that, nothing was being done about it and the apps remained in the Store.

A call to action

Fast forward to August 27th, Microsoft has written up a blog post on the official Windows blog indicating that some changes are indeed being made. In fact, Microsoft admits that sometimes the line between improving customer experience and developer opportunity can be blurred. Microsoft admits that some recalibration of the Windows Store is needed.

“Every app store finds its own balance between app quality and choice, which in turn opens the door to people trying to game the system with misleading titles or descriptions. Our approach has long been to create and enforce strong but transparent policies to govern our certification and store experience. Earlier this year we heard loud and clear that people were finding it more difficult to find the apps they were searching for; often having to sort through lists of apps with confusing or misleading titles. We took the feedback seriously and modified the Windows Store app certification requirements as a first step toward better ensuring that apps are named and described in a way that doesn’t misrepresent their purpose,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.

From now on, apps that are submitted to the Windows Store need to be clearly named and accurately reflect the functionality of the app. The submitted app must also be categorized according to the app function and purpose, and the app must also be differentiated to avoid being mistaken with others.

Microsoft has already contacted app developers who appear to have good intentions but fail to comply with the new rules listed above. Some app developers have not been cooperative and over 1,500 apps have already been removed from the Windows Store. Taking things a step further, Microsoft will “gladly” refund the cost of an app that is downloaded as a result of a misleading title or description.

“The Store review is ongoing and we recognize that we have more work to do, but we’re on it. We’re applying additional resources to speed up the review process and identify more problem apps faster. No approach is perfect, so we encourage people to report any issues they may encounter with Windows Store,” Microsoft adds.

So there you have it. Microsoft is now waking up and taking the necessary measures to ensure consumers are not cheated by misleading apps. Have you accidentally downloaded a misleading app? Do you believe Microsoft is doing enough to combat this issue? Sound off in the comments below.

Originally developed as a gaming peripheral, the Kinect has seen lots of success in other industries. The medical devices industry is a perfect place for a high tech gadget to be put to use. Now, Microsoft thinks the Kinect would be the perfect tool for telemedicine.

Telemedicine is a form of home care where doctors use medical devices to give patients medical care in their home. Currently, doctors can use expensive machines to track the vitals of their patients, but maybe much more can be done using new technology. The Kinect may be at the forefront of telemedicine allowing doctors to communicate with patients and walk though therapy sessions using the Kinect.

Specifically, Microsoft has developed a test program where people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease can preform tests and therapy from their homes. Fine motor tests such as tapping fingers, tapping feet, and rapid movement of the hands can be performed and analyzed using the Kinect sensor. Since the Kinect also has a camera, patients could have video conferences with specialists from around the world without leaving their home.

The Kinect has a couple of advantages. First of all, it is much cheaper than most telemedicine devices because it was developed for the consumer gaming market where price is a huge factor. Also, the Kinect can be connected into a standard Windows PC to be used, and many patients may already have a capable computer. Finally, the Kinect is a consumer electronic so having one in plain sight does not suggest there is a health issue. Hopefully soon the same device used by children to play games can be used by the sick to get well.

What do you think of using a Kinect to preform telemedicine? Would you trust a doctor over Skype or would you prefer to go into the doctor’s office? Let us know in the comments below!

There’s a piece of good news for Surface fans across the globe. The 12-inch Microsoft Surface Pro 3 will hit 25 additional markets in the next 24 hours — bringing the total count to 28 markets across the globe. The sale of the i3, i5 and i7 Surface Pro 3 will kick off in New Zealand as we speak, and more markets will get it in the next 24 hours. 

The list of markets where the Surface Pro 3 is available includes, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Those of you who already pre-order the Surface Pro 3 should get it today, while others will be able to grab the tablet from popular retailers and resellers in their region, along with the accessories — except the dock which will ship on September 12th. To find out which retailers are selling the Surface Pro 3 in your region, head over to Surface website and find one near your location.

Here’s a summary of what the tablet has to offer:

• 12-inch display with a resolution of 2160 x 1440 pixels
• Inter Core i3, i5, i7 processor
• Up to 8GB of RAM
• Up to 512GB of SSD storage
• 292.10 x 201.42 x 9.14 mm
• 0.79kg
• 5MP front-facing and rear camera
• Windows 8.1 Pro
• Surface Pen

As for the pricing, you have to check at your local retailer or reseller who is selling the Surface Pro 3. Do you plan on getting yourself the Surface Pro 3? If yes, then which model?

Microsoft has stopped updating Windows XP, but that hasn’t stopped developers from updating it. A developer from Greece named harkaz has been working on “Service Pack 4” since September 2013. This service pack is obviously not supported or condoned by Microsoft in any way. Users who are interested in applying this service pack need to understand this work is being done by an independent third party.

Service Pack 4 can be installed on any XP system running at least SP1, or SP4 could be integrated into an installation media to quickly and easily bring new installs up to date. Developer harkaz says this, “It includes updates for most Windows XP components, including MCE and Tablet PC. Request-only hotfixes have been included. Currently, Microsoft .NET Frameworks 4.0, 3.5, 1.1 and 1.0 (Tablet PC only) are included in the Windows XP SP4 package. You can also scan for POSReady updates, because the POSReady trick has been included. In addition, all post-eol updates for .NET Framework 1.1, 3.5 and 4.0 until May 2014 have been included.”

Essentially, this unofficial SP4 includes all of the updates for XP rolled up into a single package. Currently a beta build is available for testing before the unofficial SP4 is released for x86 systems. This update package is not unique. Other developers have attempted to roll-up all of the post SP3 updates into a single package for easy updating.

There are still a large amount of XP users in the world. With recent estimates around 25% of computers still running the 13 year old operating system. Lots of business still run XP because they are using software which was developed in-house years ago and now no one knows how to maintain the software. Most consumers who use common software such as web browsers and desktop publishing software should have no issues upgrading to Windows 7 or 8, but if their system works, why change it?

Are you still running XP? Would you try out the Unofficial Service Pack 4 on your system or not? Let us know in the comments below!

Windows Phone app developers are well aware of Nokia’s program called DVLUP, which aims to help Windows Phone app developers become successful. Microsoft has its own similar program, called Dev Center Benefits. 

Windows Phone and Windows 8.1 app developers are already familiar with the Dev Center. In fact, Microsoft announced a single Windows Dev Center website back in July, making it easier for app developers to learn and create apps for both platforms. This is yet another step towards the company’s journey to a single unified Windows platform.

Now, to take things a step further, Microsoft has a Dev Center Benefits program, a global initiative that helps both Windows and Windows Phone developers of all experience levels. Developers can receive technical support, design, publishing, and marketing offers to help build and promote their app.

All Windows and Windows Phone app developers are eligible to enroll in the Dev Center Benefits program, with offer packages available in the program. All members of the program are eligible for the Explorer benefits, but can qualify for the Expert or Master level if they already have an existing quality app on Windows, iOS, or Android. Microsoft can also reward you with the higher status by reviewing certain criteria of your app — including app performance, market relevance, and customer feedback.

There are a bunch of perks for being in this program — one of them include early access to pre-release SDK. “Microsoft provides early access to prerelease Windows platform SDK for a limited number of developers. Master members in Dev Center Benefits will be given priority consideration for the program. If selected for the program, you will be able to update your app for the next version of Windows before everyone else,” Microsoft explains. Other perks include store merchandising, promotions, priority publisher support, Windows Store gift cards, and more.

This sounds great and all, but how it this program different from DVLUP? While DVLUP is a loyalty program designed by Nokia for the Windows Phone platform, the Dev Center Benefits program is geared towards both Windows Phone and Windows developers, offering three distinct offer packages based on the quality of your work on Windows, as well as iOS and Android.

You can check out details of the program by heading over to the VIA link below. You can register with a new Microsoft account, or enroll in the program with your current Microsoft account details.

Thanks for the tip, anon!

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of 64-bit software titles that are available, but there have been a few notable exceptions. One late-comer to the 64-bit party is Chrome, but the wait is now over. Having launched 64-bit versions of its browser in the developer and experimental Canary channels, and official, stable release is now coming to Windows.

As with other 64-bit titles, the advantages of this particular version of Chrome are increased stability, better performance, and enhanced security. Google’s own tests show that the 32-bit version of Chrome renders web content at around half the speed of the 64-bit version — which should translate into a very noticeable improvement in use. There are improvements when decoding YouTube videos.

The new release is not entirely without problems. There is no 32-bit NPAPI plugin support, and some users have complained about fuzzy fonts — a Chrome issue found on high DPI devices that had been fixed recently. The 32-bit version of Chrome remains available, and there are no plans to stop supporting it any time soon.

If you’re interested in checking it out, you’ll need to manually download the installer as there is no upgrade path from the 32-bit version. Hit the link below to grab it!

Microsoft has announced the latest in price cuts for its Azure service. With these new cuts customers, who use the standard and premium tiers will be able to see 50% savings. There will also be a new standard tier, S0. This new tier will allow customers to test some of the features of the standard tier at a lower price point. In addition to these changes, Microsoft is also increasing their Service-Level-Agreement from 99.90% to 99.99% availability.

Microsoft has been continually improving and upgrading Azure to stay competitive in the cloud industry. Azure has seen increases in speed, storage, and decreases in price. This highlights the strengths of using a cloud service over an on-premise solution. Companies using Azure can be sure their applications are running on advanced and secure data centers.

The major concern of cloud services is up-time. What do IT professionals do when their cloud services go down and all of their customers blame them? Well with this latest round of improvements to Azure, Microsoft has increased the SLA from 99.90% to 99.99% availability. That means Microsoft expects Azure to only have downtime of less than an hour a year.

Microsoft has detailed the plans on their website for further review, hit the VIA link to check them out. The new lower prices is a welcome change. It is also nice to see Microsoft staying competitive in the cloud space. Users can expect to see the new plan in September, and lower prices in November.

Do you think Microsoft is doing a good job of being competitive in the cloud space? Where does Microsoft still need to do some work on their Azure platform? Let us know in the comments below!

A new report has surfaced today claiming that the upcoming preview for Windows Threshold will be named “Windows Technical Preview for Enterprise”. Now obviously, the naming of this preview pretty much confirms that the preview expected at the end of September will be focused on businesses, most likely trying to convince them that Windows is still a viable option for their businesses. There will also be a public preview of Windows Threshold too, which is rumored to land September 30th.

The public preview and Enterprise preview are said to be identical, however that’s not 100% confirmed. According to Neowin, the public preview may be slightly different to the Enterprise preview. This may not be the case however, so do keep that in mind. Of course, since this is a ‘technical preview’ new user-interface elements won’t be present in these early builds.

The updated UI is coming later, more closely to RTM sometime in 2015. Microsoft is expected to open up about it’s plans with Threshold very shortly too, as they are preparing to begin shipping pre-release builds to OEM’s and other partners. Once the builds reach people outside of Microsoft, they never stay unleaked for too long.

So, will you be downloading the Windows Technical Preview or will you be waiting for a more stable release? What ever you do, stick around at WinBeta for all the Threshold coverage as we’ll definitely have a hands-on tour of the operating system!

The Start Screen is a feature available in Windows 8.x and is loved by many. Admittedly, it had a rough start when it first entered the market thanks to Microsoft and its idea that the Start Screen was suitable for devices that didn’t support touch. The Start Screen and Modern UI has come a long way since it’s original debut with Windows 8.0, and it’s about to get a lot better with Threshold.

WinBeta can reveal that Windows Threshold will include an updated Modern UI when it launches in 2015. The new Modern UI is set to include a whole bunch of new features which is aimed to align it with competing tablet operating systems like iOS and Android. The Modern UI (being the Start Screen and related apps) will be front and center with tablets, and will remove the desktop for tablets devices which do not need it.

There is no middle ground between devices that have the Modern UI and devices that have the desktop. You either have the desktop or you have the Modern UI, you cannot have both. As reported around a month ago, the Start Menu for desktop users in Windows Threshold can ‘act’ like a full screen Start Menu however, meaning if you want that functionality you can have it on the desktop. This will be helpful for devices like the Surface Pro 3.

The removal of the desktop has been talked about about in the past, and will be mostly apparent with Windows RT devices. Current Win32 applications are being replaced with Modern UI alternatives which means the desktop will have no real use. Of course, the removal of the desktop isn’t for all devices, so don’t be alarmed fellow desktop users.

The idea with Threshold on tablets is to make it an immersive experience. The inclusion of the Desktop with Windows RT was a huge mistake for Microsoft. It’s a jarring transition between both environments and consumers never really knew which one they wanted to use. With Threshold, Microsoft wants to make sure that devices which run the Modern UI and devices which run the desktop and distinctly different, and the way they’re doing this is simple.

Consumers shouldn’t be able to tell that it’s Windows underlying the UI. This means no registry, desktop icons, close buttons, win32 applications or windows. The Modern UI is front and center and the only thing users should have to deal with.

The Start Screen in Windows Threshold sports a few new features. The first being interactive live tiles. Microsoft demoed an early version of this functionality before, and in Threshold this feature allows users to interact with live tiles without needing to open the app. Not all apps support this feature right now, and not all of them have to, but we expect the main ones will. Developers will need to update their apps to support the new interactive live tiles too. The interactive tiles aren’t as ‘feature rich’ as seen in the Microsoft Research project, meaning you can’t tap your phone on them and stuff, at least not yet.

The next notable feature with the Modern UI is the inclusion of a notification center. Details are still scarce regarding this feature in it’s entirety, but we do know it’s in the works. It’s likely that it will act very similar to the Windows Phone 8.1 version, as both Windows Phone and Windows RT are set to be merged with Threshold.

Of course, considering Windows Phone 8.1 Update 1 includes live folders, Windows Threshold must have them too right? We understand that the feature is being worked on for tablets, however we’re not sure whether this feature will make the final cut. Considering the Start Screen allows for ‘groups’ already with Windows 8.1, Microsoft may opt to keep that strategy instead.

Cortana will have her own live tile on the Start Screen too. The Cortana app is similar to the Windows Phone version, which means there’s a search box at the bottom of the app and the Cortana circle is in the middle and bouncing around. We’re currently unsure whether Cortana will be accessible via a hardware command such as holding the Start button, we’ll have to wait and see.

We’ve already spoken about the removal of the Charms bar. The removal of said feature means developers are required to update their apps to include Charm functionality. Although the Charms bar has been removed, the ‘contracts’ are still there meaning developers can still utilize things such as Play To and Share.

Rather obviously there will be more customization options too, which will allow you to further make your Start Screen personal.

Not all of these features may make the final cut for RTM however, some of them may end up appearing in updates post-RTM of Windows Threshold, and others may not ever make it, so bare that in mind.

Now since the Modern UI and desktop is separated with Windows Threshold, we’re not entirely sure if the upcoming technical preview of Threshold will allow us to see any of these updates. Microsoft most likely will not release a technical preview of Windows RT Threshold, however you never know. Microsoft could opt to talk about Windows RT and Windows Phone Threshold this September too, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Current internal builds of Windows Threshold are no longer branded as ‘Windows 8’, which means things are beginning to change marketing wise. Windows 8 is in the rear-view mirror for Microsoft, and Threshold is the next big thing that Microsoft wishes to focus on. The most recent internal builds of Threshold are also much more stable than they were previously, which is evidence towards Microsoft preparing a technical preview, and is rumored to be hitting the public at the end of September.

We know a fair bit about Windows Threshold now, and Microsoft is yet to even comment on its existence. We’re always on step ahead of Microsoft when it comes to the PR of their own products, and so far the tech industry has uncovered a whole load of information and features that Threshold will include when it launches in 2015. One thing that isn’t so clear however is what Windows Threshold will be called, the majority believe Windows Threshold would be called Windows 9, however we do have a few people who believe it won’t be called that.

WinBeta has been in contact with some of its sources, and the mindset currently is that Threshold will ultimately be called Windows 9. Windows 9 hasn’t always been the name in plan for Threshold however, do keep in mind that Threshold was originally (and still technically is) another update for Windows 8. Windows Blue and Windows Threshold are very similar development wise, and if Windows 8.1 sold well and was popular amongst consumers, Windows Threshold would have ultimately been called Windows 8.2 or 8.5.

Now, the idea that Threshold will be called Windows 9 has stemmed from the repeated failure of Windows 8.x. With every update, the operating systems market share has stalled. Windows 8.x is considered by many as Vista 2.0, not because it isn’t stable, but because it has gained that reputation of being awful. Go and ask your average Joe about Windows 8, and I can guarantee you they’ll say something negative about it. You and I both know Windows 8.x isn’t a bad operating system, but because of what consumers have heard, they don’t want Windows 8.x.

As Windows Threshold is an update like Windows 8.1 was for Windows 8 and not an upgrade like Windows 8 was to Windows 7, what happened to the ‘real’ major version of Windows after Threshold? The next major version of Windows after Threshold could be called Windows 10, perhaps Windows X, or maybe even Windows 365. We’ll be talking about Windows after Threshold somewhat soon, so stay tuned for that.

So, if you’ve been confused as to what you’ve been hearing regarding Windows Threshold and it’s name, be confused no more. Windows Threshold will most likely launch as Windows 9 (or at the very least anything other than Windows 8.x). We’re currently unsure whether or not the upcoming preview of Threshold will include the new name, or perhaps it will stick to the more conventional “Windows Developer Preview” or “Windows Technical Preview”.

Considering Windows Threshold is a big change from what Windows 8.1 is, it’d be stupid for Microsoft to name Threshold “Windows 8.2”. Windows 9 is the most logical and sensible name for this specific release of Windows.

Sony has largely overshadowed Microsoft when it comes to cloud gaming. PlayStation Now, their cloud streaming service, is meant to provide backwards compatibility for the PS4 and to be a major differentiator from the Xbox One.

However, Microsoft has been working on its own cloud gaming services, and demoed it last year on a Lumia device. The DeLorean study is a big step forward in Microsoft’s cloud computing future.

The premise of cloud gaming is very simple. Instead of the device you own doing the heavy lifting, it is done on a remote server. Your device sends your interactions to the server, and it displays output frames from the server. This allows you to play games on a variety of devices, and is what allowed Sony to promise backwards compatibility even though the PS4 does not support it itself.

Aside from backwards compatibility, there are many other possibilities. To use cloud computing you would not need as powerful a machine, basically a glorified streaming device. Devices less powerful than the Xbox One, such tablets and phones could allow you to play games that they by themselves could not handle.

The problem with cloud based gaming is basically latency. Since you are communicating with a server, how do you make the experience seamless and smooth?

This paper by Microsoft Research may hold the answer. The DeLorean project aims to account for up to 250ms of network latency by delivering rendered frames up to one round-trip time (RTT, also called Ping), the time for a packet to be sent by your computer and acknowledged by the server. It aims to do this by future input prediction, state space subsampling and time shifting, misprediction compensation, and bandwidth compression.

They have tested the system with Doom 3 and Fable 3, and found that DeLorean “successfully mimics playing across a low-latency network”. The future of this is very exciting, as it could expand the gaming experience between all Windows devices – phones, tablets, consoles, and PCs.

What are you hoping cloud gaming will bring to your gaming experience? What devices do you want to see it on the most: a similar experience as PlayStation Now, or on lower powered mobile devices?

Like many companies and government agencies, Chile has been using Microsoft services, and paying a significant licensing fee for them, 36 billion pesos (roughly $27 million US Dollars). This is a significant amount of money, especially in a country such as Chile.

Congressman Vlado Mirosevic wrote a bill that would make the government prioritize free software, over that of proprietary software. In this bill, a government department would have to submit a written request with justifications before it would be allowed to buy a license.

The Controversy

This proposal was ultimately passed, with 64 votes for and 12 votes against. Before this vote, Alex Pessó, the manager of legal and corporate affairs, had made an argument against the bill, citing various studies and arguments.

After the bill was passed, in 24 hours, another congressman, Farcas, had submitted a bill that practically nullified the Mirosevic’s bill that had just been passed. Farcas’s bill was passed with 39 votes in favor, 66 votes against, 5 members that abstained.

Now, just from that, something seems fishy. It gets worse as 5 members that were listed as supporters (their version of sponsoring a bill, I believe), who had voted in favor of Mirosevic’s bill. Further, Farcas had cited arguments identical to Microsoft’s before the passing of the first bill. Mirosevic claims that this is a sign of Microsoft lobbying.

The one thing against the evidence is that when the first bill passed, Mirosevic says that half of the representatives didn’t understand the debate. So it is plausible that it wasn’t money that convinced them to change their votes, but a further understanding of the subject.

But an understanding of the matter in 24 hours does not seem too convincing. Additionally, Fasca’s new bill not only does not promote free software, it gives incentives in the form of tax breaks for companies that use proprietary software.

Thoughts

Those are facts, as best as I have managed to compile. This compounded by accusations of tampering in Munich and other countries does not look good.

Aside, a lot of people forget that free software isn’t really free. The companies that make the most used enterprise free software, Canonical which makes Ubuntu and Red Hat which makes Red Hat Linux, stay afloat because of paid support. They make sure that bugs are fixed on time and shipped, etc. Even with software from organizations that don’t charge such as LibreOffice or CentOS, you have to fund an IT department to make sure everything works smoothly. 

So the debate isn’t going from paying Microsoft to not paying anything at all. It is about finding different solutions that fit best, and get the most value for their money. Some companies chose open software/free software, others chose proprietary software.

But you should be allowed to choose. Incentivizing proprietary software through subsidizes isn’t a fair level field. These accusations of lobbying to retain customers is not healthy for Microsoft’s image, and if true, is not an ethical strategy.

Mirosevic, a new member of Chile’s congress, says he finally got his first taste of lobbying in politics. Unsurprisingly, he is furious, and says that he “lost his innocence,” and that “Microsoft violated us. And worse, it was a rape that ended in pregnancy.” If his accusations are true, the heat, however, seems to be justified.

Take all this with a hint of salt, there doesn’t seem to be many sources, and on matters like this I really do like different viewpoints. Additionally, all the primary sources are in Spanish, which make it harder to understand the details. 

Much like any other app portal, the Windows Store also shelters home to several fake apps. If you’re not careful enough, you could end up downloading – and more often than not, paying for – a fake counterpart of the app you’re looking for. Microsoft has until now maintained silence on this matter, but the company today has finally acknowledged this concerning issue.

Many of you may have found several entries for the popular VLC app for Windows 8. However, if you are under the impression that VLC is the only app which has several dozens of its fake counterparts available on the Store, then you’re seriously mistaken. How-to-Geek investigated on this matter, and found that there are several more such apps polluting the ecosystem.

How-to Geek was able to find fake paid versions of WhatsApp, uTorrent, IMDB, Candy Crush, Adobe Flash Player, Spotify, Google Hangouts, Picasa, Clash of Clans, Pandora, and Firefox – among several others. Editor’s note: The first app I literally looked for was the popular game title Flappy Bird. As you can see pictured above, there are plenty of knock-offs available on the Windows Store. Interestingly enough, the app hasn’t even been released for Windows 8!

Microsoft said this in a recent statement.

We strive to make the Windows Store a high-quality experience for customers and also accessible to the broadest audience of developers. Based on customer and developer feedback, we recently took actions to help users discover the specific app titles they’re searching for and improve the overall Store experience. Those updates provide clear guidance to developers and also improve our ability to identify, audit and remove problematic apps. We recognize that there is more work to do and will continue to re-evaluate our policies to strike a balance between the opportunity for developers and the app quality that our customers expect.

Back in June of this year, we investigated the same subject, in a piece we titled, “Dealing with fake, misleading and copyright infringing apps: Microsoft responds.” We learned that Microsoft encourages users and app developers alike to be more involved in reporting fake or scam apps. Microsoft may have their own measures in place, but it is far from foolproof.

Have you ever accidentally downloaded the knock-off version of an application? 

If you’re planning to buy a new Windows laptop and happen to live in the UK, you should check this slick deal. Currys, a UK electronics retailer, is offering £100 cashback on any Windows-powered laptops, as well as Apple MacBooks, worth £599 or above.

The catalog includes several high-end top notch laptops, including HP ENVY 17-J184na, ASUS Transformer Book TP550,  LENOVO Yoga 2 13.3″ Touchscreen 2 in 1, TOSHIBA Satellite S50-B-12Z 15.6″ among several others.

According to the website, a consumer has to claim the cashback offer between 21 and 60 days after purchase. The deal will be running until September 24, so you don’t have to rush. Go through the store, test these laptops and see what interests you the most.