As 2015 comes to an end, Windows 10 surpasses 200 million installs

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Microsoft announced back in October that Windows 10 had surpassed 110 million installations worldwide, which for October was an impressive achievement. But that was over 3 months ago, and since 2015 is coming to a close, we thought now was probably a good time to check in on that install count. Last time I checked, 120 million was the number.
According to my contacts, Windows 10 has now been installed on over 200 million devices worldwide.
Windows 10 was released to the public exactly 5 months ago today, meaning the operating system has averaged around 40 million new installs a month. That’s pretty impressive, but when you factor in Microsoft pushing Windows 10 for free straight from the desktops of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users, it’s not all too surprising.
So with 2015 at a close, Microsoft has 200 million installations in the bag. 200 million thanks to people upgrading for free, Windows Insiders testing new builds, and holiday buyers purchasing new PCs and tablets for their loved ones. Still, the company is a fair way away from their goal of 1 billion devices in three years, but I’m pretty hopeful that they will reach their goal.

Source: http://www.winbeta.org/news/as-2015-comes-to-a-close-windows-10-surpasses-200-million-installs

Microsoft makes several changes to family safety features in Windows

Microsoft makes several changes to family safety features in Windows

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Microsoft Windows had family safety features for years now. Recently, Microsoft made changes to Family Safety features to offer better experiences to its users. Read about them below,
Windows 10:
Screen time extensions: When your kids ask for more screen time on a Windows 10 PC, you can extend it through email and the website.
Safer settings for younger kids: When adults create new child accounts, only kids under 8 years old will have settings automatically turned on. For kids 8 and up, adults need to turn on the settings they want when they make new accounts.
Simplified web experience: account.microsoft.com/family is now the one place to manage family settings for Windows Phone and PCs.
Web browsing limits now only on Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer: On Windows 10 PCs, and now on Windows 10 Mobile, web browsing limits will only apply to Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. If you decide to prevent your kids from using other browsers, you can choose to block other browsers that are not supported. Learn more about this change.
When your child sets up their Windows 10 Mobile phone with their Microsoft account, the family settings you previously set up for them will automatically apply:
Recent activity to see their activity from Windows 10 PC and Windows 10 mobile devices.
Web browsing limits to block inappropriate content.
Set Apps, games & media limits according to their age and content ratings.
Find your child lets you locate your child’s device on a map.
Kids can buy the stuff they want, but you know they’ll stay within the spending and content limits you set.
Add money to your kid’s account without giving them your credit card.
Kid-friendly Store browsing limited to the app, game, and media limits you set.
Review your child’s recent purchases on their Purchase & spending page.
Read more about it here.

Microsoft starts rolling out Cortana for iOS

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Microsoft starts rolling out Cortana for iOS

Recently, Microsoft unveiled Cortana for iOS. The company asked users in the United States to sign-up for Cortana for iOS beta, and as it seems like, Microsft has finally started rolling out Cortana for iOS to beta testers. The company is rolling out Cortana for iOS via Apple’s TestFlight. Cortana on iOS looks just like it does on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile and Android. The personal assistant is able to tell you the weather, keep you updated with the latest news based on your interests, track your packages, flights, keep you updated with sports scores and do some other basic tasks.

HP will be offering up to 50% Off storewide for their Black Friday sale!

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From Microsoft to HP, most tech companies are expected to offer pretty huge sales for their products. Ahead of the official announcement, HP’s Black Friday sales have been revealed. The tech giant will be offering up to 50% sale storewide in this year’s Black Friday. The company will be offering sales for its Windows 10 laptops, all-in-ones and even computer accessories.
HP Home & Home Office is the online portal through which personal or business technology consumers can find popular HP products like laptops, desktop PCs, printers, ink and toner. Find coupon codes and hot deals on HP products right here all year round, and watch for Black Friday sale announcements for even lower prices on the products you need. HP will be offering up to 50% Off storewide for their Black Friday sale!
Check out the company’s Black Friday sales on this website.

Microsoft’s CEO says that Cortana and personal assistants to replace the browser

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Microsoft’s CEO says that Cortana and personal assistants to replace the browser

By Greg Jordan as written on Microsoft-news.com
Cortana is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Siri and Android’s Google Now, both great virtual assistants in their own right, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella believes that soon assistants like these will replace our web browsers in the future.
At the O’Reilly Next: Economy summit, Nadella spoke on the possibility of users browsing the web through a voice assistant.
“To me, AI is going to happen,” says Nadella during his keynote. “It’s technology that’s inevitable.”
The idea isn’t for the browser to disappear completely, only the way that we interact with it. Instead of using a keyboard and mouse to navigate a webpage, our voice assistants will search the web for us and present that information in a natural way.
Nadella says that it will be perfectly normal to see people walking down the street, talking to their personal assistants.
“‘Hey Cortana’ is in my vocabulary. Having that become more pervasive is my pursuit,” Nadella told the summit.
With Cortana on various Windows devices, and now in beta on iOS and Android, this definitely seems possible.
What do our readers think, can you imagine a future where your only access to the world wide web is your voice assistant, let us know in the comments. Check out the video below to see what Cortana is capable of:

Microsoft to discontinue Windows 7 and 8.1 next November

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As written by Lance Whitney on Cnet.com
After October 31 next year, the only version of the software that will come on new devices will be Windows 10.
Still want to buy a PC that comes with Windows 7 or 8.1 from the get-go? You've got less than a year.
Updated late October, Microsoft's "Windows lifecycle fact sheet" shows October 31, 2016, as the "end of sales for PCs with Windows preinstalled" for both Windows 7 Professional and Windows 8.1, a change spotted by CNET sister site ZDNet. After that date, the only choice for consumers will be to purchase new computers with Windows 10 installed. The lone exception will be businesses with license agreements that entitle them to choose which version of Windows they want preinstalled.
The deadline puts pressure on consumers who have grown comfortable with Windows 7 and are reluctant to upgrade their operating system if they buy a new PC. For Microsoft, it's a necessary step toward its goal of having Windows 10 power 1 billion devices, which underscores the company's message that the new software can tie together PCs, tablets and mobile phones with apps that can run on any of them.
Windows 7 users may not realize it, but they actually caught a break. Microsoft typically sets the end-of-sales date for each version of Windows two years after the release of a new version. That means Windows 7's cutoff date should have been in October 2014, two years after the launch of Windows 8. The lack of consumer demand for Windows 8 prompted Microsoft to keep Windows 7 alive longer than expected.
Users who want to continue running Windows 7 on their existing PCs need not worry. Extended technical support will be available until January 14, 2020, when you'll still be able to get security patches, bug fixes and other updates. The same type of support for Windows 8 will run until January 10, 2023.
Despite the extended deadline for Windows 7 and 8.1, Microsoft is heavily pushing Windows 10.
The new operating system, which launched at the end of July, is available as a free upgrade to Windows 7 and 8.1 users for the first year. Microsoft has been using frequent pop-up notices to remind those who reserved a copy to install the new operating system. The company has also classified Windows 10 as an "optional update" and early next year expects to change that to a "recommended update," Windows and Devices Group executive vice president Terry Myerson said last week.

Twitter For Windows 10 Updated With Inline Video Playback Support And More

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Twitter For Windows 10 Updated With Inline Video Playback Support And More

Recently, Twitter updated their official app for Windows 10 devices. It includes some new features such as support for inline video playback, conversation support and more.

Cortana to let you send texts from your PC via Windows 10 Mobile

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In an upcoming Windows 10 update, Microsoft is giving Cortana the ability to send text messages from your PC via your Windows 10 Mobile device. The digital assistant will also be able to inform you of missed calls on your desktop.
This functionality is baked into the latest Windows 10 Mobile preview (build 10572), which is rolling out now to Windows Insiders, Microsoft announced on the Windows Blog. Users will also need to be running Windows 10 build 10565 or above.
If you have access to these two platforms — and you’re signed into the same Microsoft Account on both — then Cortana will begin to notify you of any calls you’ve missed on your Windows 10 Mobile device. You can then ignore the notification, or send a reply by SMS.
You can also send an SMS from your PC at any time by speaking or typing “text” into Cortana, as you would on your smartphone. Cortana will send the message via your smartphone, so it will appear no different to a regular message when it’s seen by the recipient.
If you have multiple Windows 10 PCs and you don’t want to receive missed call notifications on all of them, you’ll be pleased to know you can disable the feature on individual machines from within Cortana’s settings menu.
The latest Windows 10 Mobile build also brings deeper Skype integration through Messaging, Phone, and Skype video apps. The Messaging app also supports animated GIFs and now has a useful search function. You can also search contacts in your call history in Phone.
Microsoft has also made improvements to Cortana, the Photo app, and storage settings — and added the ability to save offline maps. The full list of changes can be found on the Windows Blog.

Source: http://www.technobuffalo.com