Windows 11 adoption has been way slower than Microsoft would like, no doubt, and part of the reason for that is that some PCs (particularly older models) can’t upgrade due to system requirements – and if you fall into that boat, the software giant has some simple advice for you: buy a new PC.

Neowin noticed that Microsoft has updated a help document about what it means if you’re using an unsupported version of Windows (spoiler alert: if you’re online at all, it’s a huge security risk), which currently means PCs running Windows 8.1 (or 8) and Windows 7, or earlier.

It’s worth noting, however, that this will also be the case for Windows 10 devices in a year’s time if their owners don’t take any action, as the end of support rolls around for that OS in October 2025.

Microsoft’s article takes the form of a short discussion followed by a FAQ, and the main update applied to the document pertains to the options for staying supported with Windows, with a new choice added here: ‘Recommended: New PC with Windows 11.’

So, this is Microsoft’s primary recommendation if your unsupported PC isn’t up to scratch, hardware-wise, for Windows 11 – get a new computer.

Microsoft elaborates: “Windows 11 is the most current version of Windows. If you have an older PC, we recommend you move to Windows 11 by buying a new PC. Hardware and software have improved a lot, and today’s computers are faster, more powerful, and more secure.”

Then there’s a link to ‘view Windows 11 PCs’ which takes you to Microsoft’s hub which showcases new devices from itself and partners.

Analysis: That enormous landfill blot looming on the horizon

That first (‘recommended’) choice of buying a new PC is not the only option covered in the FAQ, of course. Microsoft also lists a couple of other possibilities, including upgrading your old computer to Windows 11 – maybe via Windows 10 first – but this may not be possible with older PCs. Indeed, a PC running Windows 8 (from pre-2015, when Windows 10 started arriving on new hardware) will very likely not meet the needed system specs for Windows 11 (the CPU will probably be too old, and TPM security requirement may not be met either).

And, in fairness to Microsoft, an upgrade of such an ailing PC to Windows 11 may indeed be relatively impractical (as you’ll likely have to replace a bunch of components – the CPU, the motherboard to get a socket that fits the new CPU, and probably memory too, and maybe more besides). By the time you reach the end of the component shopping list, you may as well be buying a new PC (with a new warranty to boot), and of course some PC owners won’t want to take on such an upgrade, or have the technical knowhow to do so.

So, in this case, Microsoft’s foremost recommendation to get a new PC makes at least some sense – to those with rapidly aging PCs, as frankly, in some scenarios they might not have much choice, particularly if they’re not tech-savvy, or they have a laptop (or all-in-one PC) which can’t be got inside and upgraded anyway.

However, it’s equally true that some folks (perhaps quite a few) could upgrade to Windows 10 (with its lighter system requirements) if not Windows 11, a possibility Microsoft touches on – while simultaneously observing that support runs out in a year for Windows 10, a fairly sizeable caveat. And indeed, therein lies the rub – we must bear in mind that this article’s advice will apply to Windows 10 PC owners next year, when they find themselves in the unsupported boat.

Given that, it’d be nice to see Microsoft working towards a solution in respect of somewhat newer PCs, which goes somewhere down the path of tackling some of the alarming stats we’ve heard about the number of Windows 10 machines heading to landfill in the future. This is a potential environmental disaster that could see hundreds of millions of PCs lumped unceremoniously on the scrapheap.

And ever since those concerns have been raised, we haven’t heard anything from Microsoft as to how they might be mitigated. What Windows 10 users (who can’t, or won’t, upgrade) can do is pay for extended support beyond October 2025 – but that could turn out to be an expensive way to go, particularly beyond the first year if Microsoft’s previous pricing in these schemes is anything to go by.

Logically, then, Microsoft needs to be looking at a way of keeping Windows 10 alive – for those totally blocked by Windows 11’s more demanding requirements on the security front and elsewhere – which works out to be way more cost-friendly for users, in an effort to save what might be a much heavier price to pay for the planet. In short, ‘buy a new PC’ will soon not be the answer we need frontloaded here, and pushing folks to make a purchase of a new computer is already a very dubious first port of call given what we’re facing down the road.

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Alright, I know that headline is a bold statement. Windows 8 was one of the most widely reviled iterations of Microsoft’s flagship OS - released at a time when everyone was still yearning for the functional simplicity of Windows XP, and sporting a weird tile-based UI designed to benefit the Surface tablet line, a product series that Microsoft has never seemed fully able to commit to.

I won't lie, I was riding the Windows 8 hate train at the time; hell, I was the damn conductor, and I owned a Surface. The biggest failing of the OS, to my mind, was that it also included the option to swap to a conventional (and frankly, better) Windows desktop interface, but not by default - adding an annoying extra step to getting to my desktop every time I fired up my device. 

To make matters worse, the Surface didn't need a tablet-style UI. Part of the appeal was that it was a tablet with the functionality of the best Windows laptops, so I simply didn't want a different UI - I wanted a laptop. But what if that tile screen was actually good - just ahead of its time?

Surface tablets are still a feeble competitor to the Apple iPad, if market share is anything to go off, but there's a new breed of Windows device in town: gaming handhelds. After the success of Valve’s Steam Deck, we've seen a handful of Windows-powered imitators: the Asus ROG Ally, the Lenovo Legion Go, and the upcoming MSI Claw, just to name a few.

I have a ROG Ally and genuinely love it - the freedom to play my favorite PC games on the go (or in bed) is just great. Most recently, I've been enjoying the rather excellent 2017 Prey reboot, which runs shockingly well on Asus’s handheld.

The hardware is impressive: the Ally is a solidly designed device from Asus, and the AMD Z1 Extreme chip powering it is nothing short of incredible. The Ally’s key problem, however - much like other PC gaming handhelds - is that it runs Windows 11.

The weakness of Windows

At the end of the day, Windows 11 is designed to be used with a mouse and keyboard. That's not really a failure on Microsoft's part; it's an OS primarily used on laptops on desktop PCs, after all. But it's poorly suited for use on a device with a tiny screen and not even a touchpad for mouse control.

Windows 8, on the other hand, was built with touch controls in mind, which was a tad redundant when I could (and did) simply connect a wireless mouse to my Surface when I was using it in laptop mode. Sure, I could hook up a mouse to my Ally, but that would defeat the purpose of using it rather than making my life easier.

The tile layout of Windows 8 was synonymous with Windows Phone OS, which I still maintain was a well-designed mobile UI that only failed due to the weakness of the Microsoft Store compared to Apple and Google’s rival offerings. It was highly customizable, easy to navigate, and aesthetically pleasing. I imagine how fantastic a similar UI could be on the ROG Ally, and I weep for Asus and AMD - all their hard work partially undone by Microsoft’s refusal to make a proper ‘handheld mode’ for Windows.

Square solutions

As more similar devices hit the market (I'm sitting on a train, on my way to demo MSI’s new Claw handheld as I write this very article), Microsoft has the perfect opportunity to capitalize on this trend.

Part of the Steam Deck’s appeal is its simple but effective SteamOS interface; the ROG Ally has pre-installed Asus Armory Crate software that acts as a nice, easy-to-use base from which to browse and launch your games, but you still have to navigate through Windows 11 to get there. It's an irritating obstacle that - quite ironically - echoes my frustrations with using Windows 8 back in the day. So I'm asking politely, Microsoft: sort out a better version of your OS for these handhelds.

The best part? You barely even need to do any new design work, guys! The Windows 8 tile layout looked fine, and I'd be more than happy to see a similar desktop UI implemented for future gaming handhelds. It could also eliminate the need for wonky third-party software in one fell swoop, securing your OS dominance in the handheld market. With Windows 12 on the horizon, now's the time to strike. Pretty please, Microsoft?

The Epic Games Store has followed in the footsteps of Steam in dropping support for Microsoft’s desktop operating systems which are older than Windows 10 – although this hasn’t happened quite yet.

Epic gave notice in an announcement that support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 (or 8.1) will cease from June 2024, so just over two months’ time. Note that Windows 10 32-bit will also be dropped, but not the 64-bit version of the OS that the vast majority of folks run. There's no 32-bit version of Windows 11, of course.

So, support from June will be limited to Windows 10 64-bit and Windows 11 - and for macOS, version 10.13 or newer of Apple’s OS.

As mentioned, Epic is a bit later than Valve in closing down support for these older operating systems, because Steam enacted this measure at the start of 2024. As you might expect, there weren’t many PC gamers that were affected, going by Valve’s stats – fewer than 1% of Steam users had Windows 7/8 installed at the time. And the same is likely true for the Epic Games Store.

Analysis: Time to upgrade?

For the small niche of gamers who will be hit by this move, this will obviously be somewhat disappointing. Mind you, when June rolls around, this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to use the Epic Games Store at all. It’ll still work, it just won’t get any updates going forward, or be supported in any way. This means that after a while, bits of functionality might fail and the launcher will eventually probably start to misfire or stop working entirely.

Naturally, without updates, you’ll also be open to any vulnerabilities in Epic’s client, but then if you’re still running Windows 7 or 8, that’ll be the least of your worries – the exploits open to leverage in those systems will be far more worrying in nature, of course.

And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t be running Windows 7 or 8 any longer, anyway. It’s time to upgrade, one way or another – by which we mean make the move to Windows 10 (or Windows 11, if your PC spec is up to it), or take the obvious alternate route, a Linux distro (there are some solid Windows-like choices out there, after all).

What about Windows 10 32-bit users? Well, Microsoft does still support them, but there are very few of these folks out there now (certainly in the gaming world – Steam’s hardware survey doesn’t even list Windows 10 32-bit anymore, and hasn’t for a long time).

Via Neowin

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PC gamers, it’s time to bring in the new year by finally retiring that old Windows OS. Valve announced in an official blog post that Steam would no longer support Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 after January 1, 2024.

According to the official Steam blog post, after that date current Steam Client installations on those named operating systems will no longer be receiving any updates, including security updates. Steam will also no longer offer technical support or be able to guarantee Steam functionality after that date.

According to the latest Steam hardware survey, only about 0.89% of Steam users still have Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 installed, which is around the same amount as those with Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics cards. Not an insignificant amount considering that there are 31 million online Steam users, but it’s still a rather small population so the dropped support makes sense on that front.

Valve recommended users update their OS as “core features in Steam rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome” and that “future versions of Steam will require Windows feature and security updates only present in Windows 10 and above.” The post also cites general security risks involved in keeping these operating systems installed without proper security updates to address them. This is sound advice considering that Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 in 2020 and Windows 8.1 in 2023.

Microsoft ending OS support could spell disaster

Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 aren’t the only ones that have gotten the boot from Microsoft, as the tech giant is planning on ending support for Windows 10 in 2025.

Not only is this putting a significant amount of users out of an unsupported OS but, as analyst firm Canalys puts it, could cause an environmental disaster. This is due to the current laptops running Windows 10 that don’t fit the hardware requirements for Windows 11, which means that those laptops would most likely not be recycled. That’s an estimated 240 million PCs becoming e-waste.

Users will have the option to pay for prolonged support, like with Windows 7 before it, but that only extended the lifespan by three years and each year saw rising costs for paying users.

It remains to be seen how Microsoft will handle this potential catastrophe, especially since in recent years the corporation has seemed to become more proactive in terms of sustainable and easily repaired hardware, as well as other environmental issues.

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Microsoft recently closed a loophole that allowed people to continue to access the free upgrade to Windows 10 (and then Windows 11), from Windows 7 or 8, but it appears there’s been an unwelcome side-effect here.

Namely that those who have previously taken the free upgrade offer in years past have reportedly found that their license key is suddenly deactivated.

Let’s outline a quick example to make the situation clearer. Say you owned a PC with Windows 7 way back when, then took the free upgrade to Windows 10 when it emerged. And down the road, you further upgraded to Windows 11.

So, you’ve been happily carrying on with your Windows 11 PC, but last week – since the mentioned loophole was closed – you decided to upgrade your graphics card.

After that upgrade, you found that Windows 11 is telling you that your license key isn’t valid – so you have to buy a new one.

That’s what has happened to The Verge, and some of its readers, and other folks who have been complaining about the situation on Reddit and other online platforms.

Okay, so it’s not clear how many Windows 11 and 10 users this is happening to, but it’s certainly occurring in some circumstances. It may arise without a hardware component upgrade, The Verge suggests, and the deactivation of the license could even take place due to a simple BIOS update.

Reader Daniel Mittelman tells a story of having his activation blocked after upgrading some hardware in his PC, and he contacted Microsoft customer support about the problem.

Mittelman observes: “They told me because my Windows 10 license had been upgraded from Windows 7, and that they had discontinued support for Windows 7 product keys, that they could not continue my license for Windows 10 Pro after the hardware change.

“They also acknowledged that changing the hardware is not a violation of the Windows license so there is no reason my Windows 10 license should be revoked or altered in any way.”

Analysis: Microsoft is investigating, thankfully

That’s the key point here, of course. While you can’t get an entirely new PC and use a Windows license from your existing computer – it’s tied to one machine – upgrading components should not mess with your license (it’s still the same PC, just with a bit of it swapped out, or maybe several bits).

So, this shouldn’t be happening, and as theorized it may be something to do with Microsoft squashing the upgrade path from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10/11. That free offer officially expired a year after the launch of Windows 10, but remained an unofficial route until just recently when Microsoft finally did away with it.

Microsoft is looking into this issue, you’ll be glad to hear.

Principal product manager of Windows at Microsoft, Bill Babonas, told The Verge: “Microsoft is aware of these customers reports and is investigating. Customers who are experiencing technical difficulties should contact customer support.”

You can use Windows without activating the OS, it should be noted, but there are a sizeable number of limitations including not being able to customize the operating system, and indeed not getting updates (except critical security patches). There are other annoyances such as a watermark and pop-ups nagging to activate Windows, too. In short, it’s far from ideal to be limping along in this manner…

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Microsoft just implemented something we never thought we’d see the software giant do – namely closing the loophole allowing for Windows 7 and 8 users to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 at no cost.

We need to rewind time considerably to return to the start of this particular story, all the way back to when Windows 10 was first launched, and Windows 7 and 8 users were allowed a free upgrade to the new OS.

That freebie offer only lasted for a year after the launch of Windows 10, officially, but even after the deadline expired, it actually remained in place.

In short, anyone with a valid Windows 7 or 8 key could still upgrade their PC to Windows 10 just fine (and by extension, Windows 11 too, when that emerged – assuming the various additional system requirements were met including TPM).

Essentially, this was a loophole Microsoft never bothered to close – until now, because as Windows Central spotted, the company just made an official announcement that this unofficial upgrade path is now blocked (with a caveat).

The software giant said: “Microsoft’s free upgrade offer for Windows 10 / 11 ended July 29, 2016. The installation path to obtain the Windows 7 / 8 free upgrade is now removed as well. Upgrades to Windows 11 from Windows 10 are still free.”

However, as Windows Central points out, it’s important to note that technically, an upgrade is still possible as we write this. This change has just been applied with Windows 11 preview builds for now, but it will come through to the release version of the OS before long, no doubt.

So, if you do want to avail yourself of a free upgrade from Windows 7 or 8, you better move sharpish. It may even no longer be possible by the time you read this.

Analysis: An unexpected development

This is something we didn’t believe would ever happen, frankly, simply because the free upgrade has remained in place, on the sly, for so long. As Microsoft points out, the offer officially expired in mid-2016, over seven years ago – yes, seven years.

So, we just figured, like many others, that Microsoft was happy enough to let Windows 7 and 8 users continue to upgrade at no expense. Our presumption was that bolstered adoption figures for newer versions of Windows were to be welcomed. Apparently, this is no longer a concern for Microsoft (if it ever was – but we can’t imagine why the loophole remained open if it wasn’t).

Anyhow, as we observed above, act quickly if you have been holding off an upgrade, but intend to make the move. You may not have long at all left to pull the trigger.

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Mozilla has announced details of its latest Firefox release, version 115.0, and alongside a handful of new features and under-the-hood tweaks, the developers also issued a stark warning to Windows 7 and 8 users.

Referring to Microsoft dropping support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 in January 2023, Mozilla confirmed that Firefox 115 would be the final browser version to support the deprecated operating systems.

At the same time, Mac users were faced with a similar warning about macOS 10.12, 10.13, and 10.14, otherwise known as Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave.

Firefox kills off support for old OSs

Instead, users running the previous versions of the popular browser will be migrated over to the Extended Support Release (ESR) version, which will still provide security updates.

Fortunately, the Windows 7 market share has dropped substantially since the beginning of the year, when it was hovering around 10%. Now, it accounts for around 3% of Windows instances, according to Statcounter.

The famously unpopular Windows 8 represents just 1% of all Windows downloads, so together, fewer than one in 20 Windows users will be affected. Moreover, Firefox accounts for around 6% of all desktop browser sessions.

To use Firefox 116 to its fullest, users will now need to use Windows 10 or 11, or macOS Catalina or newer. 

Google already issued the same warning to Chrome users, when in October 2022, it announced that Chrome 110 (which launched in February 2023) would drop support for the legacy OSs.

Moving forward, Firefox 115 which launched on July 4 has added improvements to migrating payment methods from other Chrome-based browsers to Firefox, tweaked the Tab Manager, and made changes to video decoding.

The full release notes and details of operating systems set to be dropped with Firefox 116 are available on the Mozilla website.

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It just might be time to finally make that upgrade from Windows 8 and 8.1, as the Google Drive app will no longer support them as of August 2023. 

The news comes from a Google support page, reported by Android Police. The tech giant will be ending support for both the 8 and 8.1 OS, as well as Windows 10 32-bit version. After August, users will not be able to use the cloud storage app to sync or upload files through the app and will need to upgrade to a newer OS to continue to use those features.

The good news is that you can still use Google Drive through your browser if you’re using an older OS. But the bad news, according to The Verge, is that browser support is ending for Windows 8 and 8.1 with Microsoft Edge ending support in January 2023, Google Chrome releasing the first version that doesn’t support them in February 2023, and Mozilla Firefox planning to end security support for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 next year.

Not to mention the issue of auto-syncing files, which is a feature only available through the Drive app. For that only you’ll need to make the jump to either Windows 10 64-bit version or Windows 11.

Google Drive has been pushing out solid updates

Google Drive has been improving its services in 2023, making the application much easier to use and navigate. This is on top of its new Material You redesign, which cleaned up its UI and completely changed the aesthetics.

In May 2023, Google redesigned the Drive homepage, making it easier to find files. In the ‘Home’ view, two view buttons at the top of the page allow users to alternate between a ‘Suggested’ and ‘Activity’ view. Earlier that same month, Google added a new Spam folder. Moving a file there unsubscribes you from activity notifications and removes the file from all other Drive locations.

February 2023 brought along two updates. The first one introduced a new toolbar for multi-selecting files that made it clearer and easier to make bulk changes, while the second one added new search parameters to help users narrow down their results.

There was the brief file limit update that Google rolled out to a small number of Drive users, before removing it in response to negative publicity. The limit of 5 million items is a large one that most people won’t hit, but the sudden error message with no advanced warning of the rollout was probably quite alarming to see anyway.

If you've got an old gaming PC that you've been using to do some casual to moderate gaming on, I hate to break it to you, but Valve needs you to change. 

Specifically, Valve needs you to drop Windows 7 and Windows 8 and upgrade to at least Windows 10 if you want to keep using Steam as your one-stop gaming shop after this year.

According to a new Steam Support update, "Steam will officially stop supporting the Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 operating systems," effective January 1, 2024. "After that date, the Steam Client will no longer run on those versions of Windows. In order to continue running Steam and any games or other products purchased through Steam, users will need to update to a more recent version of Windows."

The issue is that new features in the Steam frontend rely on an embedded Google Chrome instance, and since Google Chrome has sunset its technical and security support for those operating systems, Valve will have to ditch those OS versions as well.

As for how many gamers this will affect, Steam Hardware Survey reports that only 1.86% of all Steam users use Windows 7 or Windows 8. There are more Mac Gamers than there are Windows 7 and 8 gamers, so this really isn't going to be that big of a blow to the user base, but for those who are affected, you do at least have til the end of the year to migrate to Windows 10 or later.

You really, really need to stop using anything older than Windows 10

So there is inevitably some frustration with a software-hardware lifecycle when the product you are using works just fine, thank you very much, and then someone comes along and makes you buy an upgrade that you don't really think you want or need.

In the case of Windows 7 and Windows 8, this isn't a matter of trying to upsell you on a new OS, it's really a matter of safety. Microsoft has discontinued its own security and technical support for these operating systems except for rare instances of long-term support contracts, which really don't have much time left in them either.

Microsoft doesn't have the resources to keep these older OS versions updated against the latest security threats, so using these operating systems puts you, as the user, at considerable risk. It might suck that Valve is threatening to cut you off from the games you paid for, but with less than 2% of users still on those versions of Windows, it doesn't make sense for Valve to do otherwise. 

It's time, folks. It's time.

Despite Microsoft killing off Windows 7 and Windows 8, quite a large number of people have stuck with the older operating systems – but Google may finally get people to upgrade, as it has announced it will no longer update its Chrome web browser for those operating systems.

This is big news, as Chrome is the most popular web browser in the world – and by quite a large margin, so Google’s decision will likely impact a lot of users on the older version of Windows.

Google’s decision to stop updating Chrome has serious implications, as it means that any security vulnerabilities may not be fixed, nor will there be any protection from emerging threats, such as new malware.

This could lead to people using an outdated version of Chrome being at serious risk when browsing the internet, especially when Microsoft is no longer updating Windows 7 or Windows 8 either.

Sorry Windows 7 fans, time to move on

While not many people will mourn the death of Windows 8, its predecessor, Windows 7, remains incredibly popular. Despite Windows 7 reaching its end of life (the point when Microsoft no longer supports or updates the OS) on January 14. 2020, millions of people are still using it. According to Statcounter, 9.62% of Windows users are still on Windows 7, compared to 18.13% using Windows 11.

While I certainly have sympathy for people who want to stick with an operating system they are familiar with, I can’t emphasize enough the risks of using an outdated or unpatched web browser or OS.

So, for Windows 7 users who rely on Chrome, what should you do? You could move to another web browser that still supports Windows 7, such as Firefox. However, Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, may soon announce it's ending support for older versions of Windows, which means this may be just a temporary move. It would also leave you still using an old OS that no longer gets updates, which isn’t ideal.

The best thing you can do is bite the bullet and upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11. Both operating systems are reasonably solid these days, and you won’t experience a massive culture shock if you switch – they are still Windows, after all, and there are plenty of tweaks you can try to make Windows 10 and Windows 11 look and work like Windows 7.

If your laptop or PC can’t run a newer version of Windows, and you can’t afford or don’t want to buy a newer device, then you could consider another operating system, such as Linux. This open-source operating system comes in various different versions (known as distributions, or distros for short), and many of them are designed to work on older hardware with ease, and Chrome is supported on most.

While moving from Windows 7 to a Linux distro is more of a culture shock, there are some that are very user-friendly, such as Ubuntu, and others, like Linux Mint, have a very similar user interface to Windows 7, which makes getting used to it a lot easier.

As always, you should also make sure you’re running the best anti-virus software you can afford for complete protection online.

Despite the official life span of Windows 7 ending earlier this week, reports have claimed that the software may still live on for a bit longer.

Microsoft has apparently added UEFI and Secure Boot to Windows 7, potentially extending the life of machines still utilizing the platform without the worries of being hit by a cyberattack.

Secure Boot allows a computer to check that the software and firmware drivers it uses at boot are signed off by the manufacturer. Its late addition to Windows 7 could be a further nod to the fact that the platform remains a firm favorite for many business users who rely on the OS to run certain office software.

Windows 7 Secure Boot

While official support for Windows 7 ended in 2020, in recognition that many enterprise and education users were still using the OS that first debuted in 2009, Microsoft opened up an Extended Security Updates program in an effort to keep bugs at bay in its hit operating system.

Fast forward three years, and Microsoft has now ended that program, as of 10 January 2023, which leaves many users now wondering what to do, and whether they should bite the bullet and upgrade to a newer version of the Windows operating system.

According to figures by Statcounter, Windows 7 accounted for 11.2% of all Windows installations at the end of 2022, making it less popular than Windows 11 which accounted for a touch under 17% of all installs, though the figures suggest that Windows 11 only passed Windows 7 in terms of popularity in August 2022.

Heading up the charts, according to Statcounter, is Windows 10, occupying more than two-thirds of the Windows market, while Windows 8 and 8.1 take up just 3.26% combined.

Joining Windows 7 in its end of life is Windows 8.1, which never gained as much traction as its predecessor, leaving computer users who want regular security patches to pick between Windows 10 and Windows 11.

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Via Tom’s Hardware

After years of anticipation, today officially marks the end of Windows 7 and 8/8.1, Microsoft has confirmed.

The aged operating systems will no longer receive Microsoft security updates from today, January 10, 2023, marking the end of their official lifespan.

Anyone using the software will now be at risk of cyberattacks from criminals exploiting current and future security flaws and vulnerabilities, and is urged to update to newer Windows versions - particularly Windows 11 - immediately in order to stay safe.

Adieu Windows 7 and 8

"Microsoft 365 is governed by the Modern Lifecycle Policy which requires customers to stay current as per the servicing and system requirements for the product or service including using Microsoft 365 on a Windows operating system that is currently in support," the company wrote in a recently-updated Windows 7 support document.

"Using Microsoft 365 on older, unsupported operating systems may cause performance and reliability issues over time. As a valuable Microsoft 365 subscriber, we want to continue to provide a stable Microsoft 365 experience. Therefore, if you're using Microsoft 365 on a computer running Windows 7 we strongly recommend you move to Windows 10."

Following a lengthy warning period, Microsoft's extended support for Windows 7 was dropped in January 2020 as the company transitioned to its three-year extended security update (ESU) period. Windows 8.1 has also reached the end of its support period, and will not see the launch of an ESU program, marking the end of its life.

"As a reminder, Windows 8.1 will reach end of support on January 10, 2023, at which point technical assistance and software updates will no longer be provided", Microsoft wrote in a separate support document concerning the newer software. 

"If you have devices running Windows 8.1, we recommend upgrading them to a more current, in-service, and supported Windows release. If devices do not meet the technical requirements to run a more current release of Windows, we recommend that you replace the device with one that supports Windows 11."

Microsoft added that it will not be offering an Extended Security Update (ESU) program for Windows 8.1, and that continuing to use the software after its official end of life, "may increase an organization’s exposure to security risks or impact its ability to meet compliance obligations."

However the issues may not be solved so simply, as recent figures claim that Microsoft is also having issues in making sure users switch to its latest Windows builds. 

Recent data from Statcounter found Windows 11 only accounts for 15.44% of all Windows systems - but over 70% of users are still running Windows 10, with Windows 7 still maintaining a dedicated user base of just under 10% of devices despite its lack of support.

The final death knell for Windows 7 and 8.1 came several weeks ago after the company's own browser, Microsoft Edge, ended its support.

The world's most popular browser also recently ended support for Windows 7 and 8.1 after Google Chrome announced in October 2022 that it will be dropping the software in early 2023 as it looks to streamline its focus on Windows 10 and above.

Google Chrome 110, which is currently expected to launch on February 7, 2023, will be the last version to support the older software.

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Windows 7 and 8/8.1 just got another nail in their coffins with the news that another vital app won't receive future updates for the operating systems in future updates.

Microsoft has announced its Edge browser will end support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 within the next few weeks, coinciding with the company's scheduled end of regular security support on January 10, 2023.

"Microsoft Edge browser version 109 and WebView2 Runtime version 109 will be the last respective versions to support these operating systems," the company noted in a blog post.

Another one bites the dust

"We also encourage developers to end support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1," Microsoft added. "We acknowledge that this may not be easy for some developers to do, however ending support for these operating systems will help keep end users safe from potential security threats and risks as both operating systems go out of support on January 10th, 2023."

The move also follows the news that the world's most popular browser is ending support for Windows 7 and 8.1. Google Chrome announced in October 2022 that it will be dropping the software in early 2023 as it looks to streamline its focus on Windows 10 and above.

Google Chrome 110, which is currently expected to launch on February 7, 2023, will be the last version to support the older software.

Following a lengthy warning period, Microsoft's extended support for Windows 7 was dropped in January 2020 as the company transitioned to its three-year extended security update (ESU) period. Windows 8.1 also reaches the end of its support period in January 2023, and will not see the launch of an ESU program, marking the end of its life.

However the issues may not be solved so simply, as recent figures claim that Microsoft is also having issues in making sure users switch to its latest Windows builds. 

Data from Statcounter found Windows 11 only accounts for 15.44% of all Windows systems - but over 70% of users are still running Windows 10, with Windows 7 still maintaining a dedicated user base of just under 10% of devices despite its lack of support.

• Here are our picks of the best alternative operating systems

Via Ars Technica

Windows 8.1 is set to reach end of life on January 10 2023, and the company is beginning to ramp up its operation to switch users over to its latest OS, Windows 11.

Now, when logging into the operating system, Windows 8.1 will display a full-screen alert to notify users that security updates will cease at the beginning of next year.

The notification reads: “January 10, 2023 is the last day Microsoft will offer security updates and technical support for PCs that run Windows 8.1. We are reaching out now to thank you for your loyalty and help you prepare for what's next.”

Windows 8.1 End of Service

A ‘Learn More’ link directs users to the Microsoft website, but users can delay the notification for 35 days by clicking ‘Remind me later,’ or until January 2023 with the ‘Remind me after the end of support date’ button.

The update was introduced on July 12, 2022 as part of the KB5015874 cumulative update. The popup runs with the newly introduced EOSnotify.exe program which appears at each login, and a secondary EOSnotify2 program set to notify users once daily. 

Business users running Pro and Enterprise devices will not receive the notification.

All Windows 8.1 users can also stop the popup by configuring a DiscontinueEOS value, however the warnings are designed to be obstructive by default because running a dated OS with no security updates can be risky. 

This news follows the company confirming that it will end security patches for Microsoft 365 on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 devices, as well as blocking any new installations of the Office apps on old systems. Windows 8 was launched late in 2012, with the 8.1 major update following one year later, meaning the OS will have run for around a decade before it gets axed entirely. 

• Fed up of Windows? Check out our choice of the best alternative operating systems

Microsoft has confirmed that Microsoft 365 patches will end on January 10 2023 for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users as the company continues to push them towards Windows 11.

For most people, support for Windows 7 - which launched in 2009 - ended in 2020. In recognition that many companies preferred to run Windows 7, Microsoft offered Extended Security Updates, a paid service that would continue to offer security patches for the dated OS. 

Early 2023 will see the end-of-life as security updates end for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Microsoft 365 apps. “New installations of Microsoft 365 Apps will [also] be blocked on Windows 8.1 devices,” according to the company.

Microsoft ends support for old products

A recent survey found nearly 5% of all PCs surveyed were running Windows 7. Around 2% were running a version of Windows 8, while more than four in five had Windows 10 installed. Less than 1.5% were using Windows 11, however that was in April just a few months after general availability of the operating system. 

Part of the reason that business users are reluctant to upgrade to the latest OS could be that Windows has historically been subject to vulnerabilities, requiring frequent patches and updates. 

Ending support will inevitably push many users towards a newer version of Windows, but many companies will be left feeling unheard as they are forced away from a comfortable environment that works with their productivity needs.

This news comes one month after the company killed off Internet Explorer after 26 years in service, as Microsoft continues to steer users towards the latest versions of its products by ending support for those of old.

• Read our full Windows 11 review 

Via The Register

Update: Microsoft's big 'Build' developers conference is taking place on May 23, and we could be seeing some information about the next big update to Windows 11. If you'd like to watch the event, you can do that right here - we'll update this page if anything major gets revealed, so stay tuned...

Windows 11 is out and available as a free upgrade for those still on Windows 10. But, before you go grabbing that download, find out all the important information about this brand-new OS. We’ve covered all the important questions, such as the operating system’s best features, how to download it, and its price.

If you want to make the leap already, here’s how to download and install Windows 11 on your PC or Windows laptop. Since it's passed its first birthday recently, there are some kinks that still need working out, so take a look at how to fix common Windows 11 problems if you come across any issues.

Make sure to also take a look at our Windows 11 review, where we cover all the improvements the new OS has made, from offering an updated, attractive design, to new ways to grab apps as well as better security features.

While there is still some room for improvement, Windows 11 is turning out to be a very promising update. And, if you’re currently using Windows 10, it’s free to upgrade to 11, as long as your computer meets certain strict minimum system requirements required for the sake of the operating system’s security.

Just bear in mind that there's still some confusion as to what these system requirements are due to a component called TPM (Trusted Platform Module). Right now, it looks like Microsoft isn't going to budge on its requirement that your device is equipped with a TPM 2.0 in order to run a fully supported version of the new OS.

With an October event announcing new Surface tablets and the arrival of Apple Music heading to Windows in 2023, it's a good time to upgrade your tablet,

Now that Windows 11's 2022 update has been released, let’s take a look at what the operating system has to offer, from its updated features to the benefits it has for users over Windows 10.

Windows 11: Cut to the chase

• What is it? Windows 11 is the successor to Windows 10
• When did it come out? October 5
• How much does it cost? Free (if you already have Windows 10)

Windows 11 release date 

Microsoft launched Windows 11 on October 5 as a free upgrade, though some people were able to install it a day early on October 4.

Microsoft will be rolling out the update to eligible devices over the coming months, with users being notified when the update is available for them.

However, you can also download Windows 11 right now from the Windows 11 download page.

Many laptop and PC makers have also confirmed that many of their new products will come with Windows 11 preinstalled. This includes Microsoft's new Surface Pro 8, Surface Go 3 and Surface Laptop Studio devices, which were launched to coincide with Windows 11's release date.

There is also going to be a yearly update of the new operating system, similar to Apple's efforts with macOS.

While Microsoft released a tool that allowed you to see if your desktop PC or laptop will be able to run Windows 11, it was confirmed to be buggy, giving erroneous results for machines that would have no problem in running the update.

However, another tool has been released which gives you much clearer detail for how eligible for PC is.

Windows 11 system requirements

There's been a lot of discussion as to which devices are eligible for Windows 11. Regardless of the TPM requirement, others are simply wondering if they need to look to upgrade their PC or laptop soon.

Microsoft has published the requirements for the update which you view below:

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with at least two cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or SoC
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB
• System Firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
• TPM: Trusted Platform Module 2.0
• Graphics Card: DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
• Display: 720p, 8-bit per color channel, at least 9-inch diagonal
• Internet Connection and Microsoft Account: Windows 11 Home requires an active internet connection and a Microsoft Account to complete initial, first-use setup of the operating system, or when switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S-mode.

How to download Windows 11

We have a handy guide on how to download Windows 11, which gives you all the information you need now that the final version has been released.

It's a relatively simple process, as long as your PC meets Windows 11's minimum system requirements.

There's also an option to downgrade to Windows 10 if you are experiencing issues with Windows 11. This is available in the current Insider builds, but you can only do it within 10 days of upgrading your machine, otherwise a clean install has to be done in order to go to Windows 10.

How to download Windows 11 ISO for a clean install

If you'd like to perform a fresh install of Windows 11, rather than upgrading from Windows 10 (or earlier), then you'll need to download the Windows 11 ISO file.

Doing a clean install takes a bit more time, and you'll need to reinstall all of your apps and restore your files if you've backed them up (which you should do before you start), but there are many benefits of doing a clean install of Windows 11.

For a start, you'll get a much better performing PC, and if you were encountering any issues with Windows 10, a clean install can help fix some of these. Over the years your PC's hard drive may become filled with unwanted apps and files, so a clean install can get rid of all of that.

If that's the way you want to install the operating system, then check out our guide on how to download the Windows 11 ISO for more advice.

How to upgrade to Windows 11 without TPM 2.0

Some people have found that they are unable to install Windows 11 due to the requirement for PCs to have TPM 2.0 support.

This is a relatively little known security feature, but it's caused some people a fair bit of frustration as they've found they've been unable to install Windows 11.

We do have a guide to enable TPM 2.0 if needed, but you may be out of luck if your PC doesn't support it.

However, there is a way to upgrade to Windows 11 without TPM 2.0, but this should only be done by people who are really desperate to run Windows 11 despite not meeting the system requirements.

How to downgrade from Windows 11 to Windows 10

There may be an occasion however, where you may need to revert back to Windows 10. This could be due to an app not being compatible as yet, or Windows 11 doesn't take kindly to a component in your PC.

Fortunately we have a guide ready that can take you through this, step by step.

Windows 11 price

Windows 11 is a free update for existing Windows users – you'll need to be online to download, install and activate Home versions, and you'll need to have a Microsoft account when installing it on or upgrading your PC or tablet.

Windows 11 will also come pre-installed for free on new PCs and laptops as well, though you should check before you buy to make sure. In some cases, new laptops and PCs may still be sold with Windows 10, and you'll have to upgrade for free yourself.

Windows 11 product keys for fresh installs will likely go on sale in 2022, but we don't know how much it'll cost.

It could cost as much as Windows 10 licences originally sold for: Windows 10 Home cost £119.99/$139 and Windows 10 Pro sold for £219.99/$199.99, so we could see similar prices for Windows 11.

So far Microsoft has released the hardware requirements for Windows 11, but there's confusion over TPM (Trusted Platform Module) and whether the company are pushing hard over the minimum threshold for which devices are eligible to be updated to the new version.

While we've got a handy explainer for you that goes into TPM, hardware vendors can still offer new machines with Windows 11 that won't need this requirement, albeit with good reason to.

Should you upgrade to Windows 11?

Now that Windows 11 is out, and it's a free upgrade, many people will be keen to download it and try it out. But should you upgrade to Windows 11?

In our opinion, for many people it'll be worth not upgrading to Windows 11 just yet. This is because it's still early days, and there are several problems that need fixing first. For example, some people are reporting that Windows 11 is slowing down their internet connections.

Microsoft is aware of most of these issues and is working on fixes. That means by holding off from installing Windows 11 for a while, you'll give Microsoft a chance to release updates to fix those problems. Then, when you do finally install Windows 11 in a few week's or month's time, things should run much smoother.

We also spoke to several industry experts, and they all agree that people - and businesses - shouldn't rush to install Windows 11 just yet.

How to run Windows 11 in macOS Monterey

You may want to have the best of both worlds sometime, especially if your day job involves running both operating systems.

Thankfully we've put together a guide to show you how to do exactly that.

Windows 11 features

There are improvements across the board in Windows 11, with Microsoft promising that updates will be 40% smaller, and touting Windows 11 as "the most secure release yet".

The taskbar is optimized for touch as well as mouse peripherals, and is now renamed the dock.

New multitasking features are also on offer thanks to a feature called Snap Layouts, which enables you to arrange multiple windows across the screen, not just side by side, but in columns, sections and more.

Windows 11 checker

There's now a much-improved health check app found in Settings, where Windows 11 will recommend you to turn down the brightness for example, change the power saving mode of the battery and much more.

Another feature is Snap Groups, where you can go back to previously snapped windows from the dock, so for example you can go to your email app, Edge browser windows or anything else without having to snap them back to the previous view again.

There's also improved multi-monitor support, so when you reconnect an external monitor, Windows 11 remembers the previous positions of the windows that were on that monitor.

There's even an estimated installation time for Windows Update, so you can see whether you need to hold off from updating your PC until later in the day.

Teams is also integrated to the dock, so you can easily join in with meetings and family calls. This looks like the first inkling of Skype disappearing from Windows, especially with the Skype sounds being heard in the demo when a call was incoming.

The Microsoft Store is finally seeing a redesign, with better-curated content, and a better options for managing your purchased shows, such as mirroring them to your television. Apps such as Disney+, Adobe Creative Cloud, Pinterest and more are already in this redesigned store for Windows 11, ready to go.

WPA, EWP and Win32 apps are now all in the Microsoft Store, ready to go. If a developer has a commerce engine, they can keep 100% of the revenue brought from the Microsoft Store.

Android apps are also ready for Windows 11, discoverable from the Microsoft Store, via the Amazon App Store, so you can download TikTok and more, ready to use on your PC or tablet.

We suspect that the reason why Amazon are allowing their version of the store instead of Google, may be to do with the .APK filename being replaced from August.

The new store opens up possibilities for other applications to arrive in Windows 11, even Apple's iMessage, which could follow iTunes and Safari.

Windows 11 Home vs Windows 11 Pro

Depending on what you currently use your system for, you may need to consider if you will be upgrading to standard Home version of Windows 11, or if you need to bump up to Windows 11 Pro, Microsoft's enterprise version of the operating system. Regardless of what your preference may be, both have the same minimum system requirements so you'll need to meet those standards regardless of what version you side with.

There are numerous benefits to Windows 11 Pro, though mostly security related to protect businesses and organizations to keep data safe, with features like Windows Information Protection (abbreviated to WIP).

Another difference you'll see between Windows 11 Home and Pro is when you’re setting it up for the first time, as with the Home version you'll need to set it up with an internet connection and a Microsoft account. 

Windows 11 doesn't have either of these restrictions, which may tempt some non-enterprise users into buying the Pro version of the operating system to avoid using a Microsoft account. Windows 11 Home PCs also can’t be joined to Active Directory, which are often used on business devices to control access to certain applications and resources.

You can find a full list of the differences between Windows 11 Home and Windows 11 Pro over on the official Microsoft comparison page.

A new look for Windows 11

Fluent Design is the new name for the look of Windows 11. Across the board everything looks more modern and fresh, with rounded windows and apps such as Snipping Tool seeing huge improvements in years.

One of the biggest changes users will notice is that the Start menu has been moved to the center of the screen – and it's now "cloud powered", so it dynamically changes depending on the time of day, and the content you're working with.

If you're using the Insider Build, there's already ways of customizing the taskbar and the start menu, including moving the icons back to the left.

Light Mode and Dark Mode are here too, with a unified design across the operating system, with colorful wallpapers to choose from as well.

Windows Widgets are back in Windows 11, accessible via the dock, with Microsoft touting AI-powered dynamic features that enable widgets, as with the Start menu, to change depending on the apps you're using and the time of day. On the touchscreen, you can slide from the left on the desktop to have widgets appear.

There are plenty to choose from, such as the weather, Bing maps, news, and more.

These will be available for third-parties as well, so you may see as many widgets available to pick as there are on Apple's iOS and iPadOS operating systems.

Many apps are being redesigned for Windows 11, such as the Photos, Snipping Tool and Paint apps, bringing them in line with the Fluent Design language.

Gaming on Windows 11

Gaming will be a much bigger focus in Windows 11, with the sluggish and frustrating-to-use Windows 10 Xbox app replaced by a new Game Pass app that enables you to buy, manage and remove games, making it easier for you to access and download games, from Doom Eternal to – soon – Halo Infinite.

HDR will also be supported on compatible machines, offering improved lighting and contrast for gaming and viewing media. Direct Storage is also here, with the main game assets able to be downloaded and installed, enabling you to play your games even faster than before.

Improved Wi-Fi in Windows 11

It looks like Windows 11 could come with a decent upgrade to your device's Wi-Fi capabilities, as Qualcomm announced it has worked with Microsoft, along with other laptop makers and even Valve, to bring Wi-Fi Dual Station with Qualcomm 4-stream DBS technology to compatible machines.

We explain more about how this will boost Wi-Fi in Windows 11, but it looks like it will be particularly useful for gamers, as it will use multiple Wi-Fi bands at once to help reduce latency. This could be a killer feature for Windows 11.

Windows 11 Touch improvements

Tablet mode has been one of Windows' weaker points ever since Windows 8, and the new tablet features that Microsoft showed off for Windows 11 could be key to the operating system's fortunes, especially with future Surface products in the pipeline from Microsoft – to have a new, numbered operating system for its upcoming tablets could be a big selling point for new users.

At the event, Microsoft touted bigger touch targets and easier ways to move windows around, and better rotate optimizations, for example in how windows are rearranged, so you don't lose track of the applications you were using.

Gestures used with the trackpad of the Surface models are also coming to the touchscreen, bringing in some familiarity here. Haptics is also coming to Windows 11 when you use a stylus for better feedback when drawing or sketching.

The touch keyboard has also been redesigned, with a smaller keyboard just for your thumb, and emojis ready to be used. Microsoft says dictation will also be improved, alongside voice commands, with 'delete that' options and more. 

Add a personalized touch to Windows 11

Microsoft has certainly given Windows 11 a more modern look than what we saw in Windows 10, but there's always the risk that it might not be to your taste. No need to worry though, as it takes very little time and effort – and, pleasingly, no money! – to inject some personality into Windows 11, customizing the look of the operating system in various ways to make it your own.

Perhaps the easiest way to completely change the look of Windows 11 is to apply a new theme, and there are a good handful of options already available for you to try out, but if the ones that come with the OS don't suit you, you can download more from the Microsoft Store.

There are also familiar customizations such as setting a personal desktop background as either a static image or a slideshow, and you can tweak system color options – including dark mode. You can even make adjustments to the taskbar if you like, so your finalized Windows 11 doesn't need to look anything like the out-of-box version of the OS.

Are there issues with Windows 11?

No new operating system will have a completely flawless launch, so despite being in beta through the Windows Insider Program, a few issues have already popped up. Thankfully the ones discovered so far are nothing serious and some of them are only appearing for a few users so if you wanted to start downloading the OS on launch day, don't let this stop you.

The biggest problem on Microsoft’s status page for Windows 11 listing known issues is compatibility problems with Intel Killer network drivers which is causing websites and video streams to be slow and sluggish. A memory leak issue has also been reported on Reddit, with at least some folks are finding that when they close an instance of File Explorer, it isn’t releasing the RAM it used.

We have a run-through of most of the currently known issues with Windows 11 and we will be keeping this up to date as more reports come in with any new Windows 11 problems and how you can fix them, but nothing system-breaking has appeared so far.

What devices are shipping with Windows 11?

If you tuned into Microsoft's Surface event on September 22 then you might already have seen that Windows 11 will be pre-installed onto the Surface Pro 8, Surface Go 3, and the Surface Laptop Studio. This isn't surprising as all these products have been released on the same date that Windows 11 became available for public download so Microsoft will want to push its latest operating system.

If the Microsoft Surface family of products isn't your style though, other brands like Dell, Asus and HP have all released pages online that specify what devices are Windows 11 ready. Note that many won't come with the new operating system installed, but as they all meet the minimum system requirements, you can simply buy the laptop or 2-in-1 as normal and then update it yourself. 

Microsoft claims Windows 11 is a "new era for the PC"

It's worth remembering that Windows 11 is the first major upgrade to the software platform since the launch of Windows 10 back in July 2015, and so marks a crucial point for Microsoft.

Heralding its new offering as "an exciting milestone in the history of Windows", Panos Panay, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer for Windows and Devices noted that, "a new era for the PC begins today".

In a company blog post, Panay added that "there's never been a better time to buy a PC", and that, "whether it’s to work, create, connect, learn or play, the PC will continue to play a relevant and lasting role in our lives. No other ecosystem has the breadth and scale that the Windows ecosystem does to meet the needs of people whether they’re creators, developers, students and educators, business and gamers at every price point and in every form factor."

Should you install Windows 11?

As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. While it may be tempting to give Windows 11 a try straight away, we recommend holding on a few days, or even weeks, before you grab the new operating system.

Why? After all, our Windows 11 review is pretty glowing, and it brings plenty of new features that many people will be keen to try out.

However, every major operating system launch comes with its fair share of issues, as we've mentioned above, so getting the very best experience might require letting other people do the early testing for you. Microsoft will be working hard to identify and fix problems as they occur, which is why it’s a good idea to hold fire for a few days or weeks. Let other people encounter those problems first, then in a few weeks, download Windows 11 safe in the knowledge that most problems will be fixed.

This is especially important if you were planning to install it onto a PC that you use daily, such as for work or study. If it’s working fine with Windows 10, it’s best to hold off for the moment. Otherwise, you may find that Windows 11 has messed a few things up, and you’re stuck with a PC that’s not working correctly.

How to spot fake Windows 11 downloads

Windows 11 is out now, and it's relatively easy to download and install it, but this does mean that you should be vigilant about where you download Windows 11 from, as there are fake downloads out there that could catch you out.

To make sure you're only installing the official release, only download Windows 11 from Microsoft itself.

You should also check out our guide on how to spot fake Windows 11 downloads for more information on keeping yourself protected.

Issues with Cloud Gaming on Windows 11

Cloud gaming platform Shadow has told its users that they shouldn’t try to install the Windows 11 upgrade for Windows 10 just yet – advice that could be well heeded by all PC gamers, who should at least have caution at the forefront of their minds.

With Windows 11 being previously available to the public as a beta via the Windows Insider Program,  It's possible that bugs have been detected as Shadow asserts that it isn’t ready for cloud PC installations in an email to subscribers.

The email states: “Today, Microsoft will officially launch Windows 11. Its release will be gradual, with potential bugs and issues early on. With this in mind, we will monitor the initial performances of Windows 11 before taking any action.

“This will allow us to guarantee strong performances and an overall high quality of service when we do make the eventual transition to Windows 11. Please do not update your Shadow to Windows 11 until further notice.”

The email concludes by letting subscribers know that they’ll be told when Windows 11 is ready to go on their cloud PC installation, and in the meantime, the Shadow team will continue to run tests on the OS to ensure suitability and that the service is “fully optimized” for Windows 11.

This is only a single provider, but if you use Cloud Gaming services then you may need to ask around for other experiences using Windows 11 before you give it a try yourself.

How to manage notifications in Windows 11

You almost certainly have a selection of apps installed on your computer, and many of these use notifications to let you know about things. A news app can alert you to the latest headlines, an email app will let you know when you have new mail, and your chat app will inform you of new messages that need your attention. 

Thankfully, you can set all this up in Windows 11 with relative ease, or turn them off completely if you don't like the interruption. If you're happy with the current Windows 10 experience (in which notifications are displayed in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, just above the clock in the Taskbar) then great news – you won't have to do any configuration as this is the default for Microsoft's latest OS.

Fort everything else though, there are plenty of ways for you to adjust your notifications in Windows 11 to best suit your needs.

How to manage power options in Windows 11

Microsoft has always given Windows users a good deal of control over how their computer uses power, and this is something that continues with Windows 11. 

While managing power consumption may be something that you most readily associate with laptops and a desire to maximize battery life, power options can also play an important role for desktop users.

Desktop user may not have to worry about how long a battery is going to last, but Windows 11's power option remains important. Thankfully, Windows 11 has made it easier than ever to keep track of power consumption, Sleep Mode and detecting what apps are draining your device's battery life.

How to us Focus Assist in Windows 11

Do you ever get distracted when you should be doing something important? Your computer is supposed to be a tool to help you get things done. This might mean getting on with work, playing games, watching movies, writing emails, or just browsing the web, but there are all manner of distractions that can pull you away from what you're trying to do. 

If you're sick of being pestered by notifications when you're trying to do something else, you could benefit from Windows 11's Focus assist feature. This is a simple but powerful function of Windows 11 that enables you to configure rules that determine when notifications about new emails, messages and so on are muted.

There are many customization options that let you do things like set a schedule, create priority lists and you can even optimize for different monitors if you use multiple displays. 

How to use virtual desktops in Windows 11

Windows 11 offers excellent support for virtual desktops, which allow you to use several desktops, and switch between them easily. This allows you to keep organised  by having separate desktops for work and pleasure, for example.

It's a great way to have some of the productivity benefits of multiple monitors, but with a single screen, so check out our guide on how to use virtual desktops in Windows 11 for an in-depth look into this feature.

• Find out where to buy Windows 10

Millions of Windows users could lose access to their online cloud storage within weeks as Microsoft looks to encourage upgrading to the latest software.

The tech giant has warned that the OneDrive app will stop syncing with Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 on March 1, 2022, meaning users only have a few weeks to upgrade to a newer version or possibly lose access to their files.

Despite Windows 7 and 8 being initially released nearly a decade ago, the two operating systems still see millions of users, meaning many will need to get updating soon.

OneDrive for Windows support

"In order to focus resources on new technologies and operating systems, and to provide users with the most up-to-date and secure experience, beginning January 1, 2022, updates will no longer be provided for the OneDrive desktop application on your personal Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 devices," Microsoft's Ankita Kirti wrote in a blog post announcing the news.

"Personal OneDrive desktop applications running on these operating systems will stop syncing to the cloud on March 1, 2022."

The closure does not affect business users in the same way, with Microsoft saying that starting January 1, 2022, support for the OneDrive desktop application for business will be aligned with the Windows support lifecycle. 

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are in extended support until January 10, 2023, however Windows 8 reached end of support on January 12, 2016, meaning it no longer receives vital security updates that keep devices safe from the latest cyber threats.

Microsoft says it advises upgrading your operating system to either Windows 10 or Windows 11 "to avoid disruption" - although it does note that many devices currently running Windows 7 or 8 may not fit the hardware system requirements for the latest software.

To see if your PC is compatible with Windows 11 system requirements, you can check out our guide above.

Looking to move your files to the cloud? Check out our roundup of the best cloud backup

Security researchers have found a flaw in Microsoft’s implementation of the Microsoft Windows Platform Binary Table (WPBT) mechanism, which can be exploited to compromise computers running Windows 8 and Windows 10 operating systems.

Microsoft describes WPBT as a fixed firmware Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) table that was introduced with Windows 8 to enable OEMs and vendors to execute programs every time the Windows device boots up.

“The Eclypsium research team has identified a weakness in Microsoft’s WPBT capability that can allow an attacker to run malicious code with kernel privileges when a device boots up,” note the researchers.

• Protect your devices with these best antivirus software
• Here's our choice of the best malware removal software on the market
• These are the best ransomware protection tools

The researchers backed their claims with a video demonstrating the attacks on a secured-core PC running the latest boot protections.

OEM rootkit

The researchers claim that while WPBT has been adopted by popular vendors including Lenovo, ASUS, and several others, security researcher and co-author of Windows Internals, Alex Ionescu has flagged the dangers of WPBT as a rootkit as early as 2012.

Eclypsium found the vulnerability in WPBT while working on the BIOSDisconnect vulnerabilities it reported earlier this year in June, which exposed Dell devices to remote execution attacks. 

The WPBT issue stems from the fact that while Microsoft requires a WPBT binary to be signed, it will accept an expired or revoked certificate, giving attackers the opportunity to sign malicious binaries with “any readily available expired certificate.”

“This weakness can be potentially exploited via multiple vectors (e.g. physical access, remote, and supply chain) and by multiple techniques (e.g. malicious bootloader, DMA, etc),” the researchers reason.

• These are the best endpoint protection tools

In a new Insider Build update for Windows 11, Microsoft has unveiled another new Fluent Design focus for the Photos app, matching it with the other apps that have also seen the same refresh in appearance.

There’s a good chance that you’ve used the Photos app in Windows to either view an image, or to quickly crop and resize one to send in an email or to upload to a newsletter. While the app has its uses, it’s been light on updates in recent years, but that’s about to change in Windows 11.

With Microsoft pushing a major new look for Windows 11 to make it more modern across the operating system, this is now being applied to Photos, while making sure that it’s also touch-friendly for swiping between images and albums.

• Keep track of Apple’s event with our live blog
• Find out where to buy Windows 10
• How to download Windows 11 right now

What does it look like?

Chief Product Officer at Microsoft Pinos Panay first announced the redesign in a tweet, showcasing the new look and feel of the app in Windows 11.

Every menu and icon looks as though it has a gradient, giving off a pop-out visual feel compared to the flat design that’s been present in the app since its first showing in Windows 8.

But the big feature here is that you can edit a photo and crop it by highlighting an image and selecting the desired icon, without having to select the Edit and Create dropdown menu. Every option is now at the top, including the Save a Copy feature once you finish editing, so there’s more space for the altered photo to display in the app.

There’s also a new Info button, so you can discover the metadata of an image, from the date it was taken, to the device that the image was captured on.

With Windows 11 releasing on October 5, it looks like it’s only a matter of time before we see this new look for Photos to appear in the other Insider channels soon.

Analysis: an app that’s needed a visual update the most 

While Paint and the Snipping Tool are welcome additions to see a redesign for Windows 11, it’s the Photos app that’s needed the biggest priority for an update, mainly due to the growing needs of users to manage and edit our images on the fly, without using a more powerful suite from companies such as Adobe.

But its user interface barely changed since its debut in Windows 8, with its font and icons being updated for the Windows 10 appearance. However, it’s a promising start for Photos in Windows 11, making it even easier for the most casual user to edit a batch of images at once.

Photos has always been a simple but reliable app, regardless of its outdated appearance. With this new look, it could make it even more accessible to new users who just want to manage their folders of Simpsons memes with even more ease, once Windows 11 arrives later this year.

• Here are our picks of the best laptops in 2021

Microsoft has released Windows 11 for Beta Channel users in the Insider Build, which also brings refinements to the redesigned Microsoft Store.

The store has been a big talking point since it was announced back in June, with Microsoft positioning it as a one-stop store of apps not just for Windows, but also for Amazon Android apps too.

There’s already been apps from the likes of Zoom and OBS Studio already appearing on the store before Windows 11 is out, but the store is already a welcome improvement from the Windows Store we’ve had ever since it appeared on Windows 8.

With Insider builds being released almost every fortnight with small improvements here and there, the Microsoft Store is also being refined to make sure it can cater to many users once its doors officially open.

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What’s been improved?

Version 22107.1401.6.0 is now rolling out to Insider users on the Dev Channel, which brings a new interface for when you want to leave a star rating and a more detailed review, alongside a better notification when installing an app from the store, and various performance improvements.

Principal Architect of the Microsoft Store, Rudy Huyn made sure to highlight these updates on Twitter:

There’s most likely going to be more refinements and improvements as we head into the official release of Windows 11, especially with Android apps from Amazon yet to make their appearance in the Insider Builds.

Analysis: A shopping mall in the making

We get the impression that Microsoft are all too aware that its first try at a Windows Store could have been better, which is why this new Microsoft Store looks to solve past issues while making it appealing to a wide range of users once Windows 11 arrives.

Nowadays when you set up a device, whether that’s a tablet or a laptop, there’s most likely a link to where you can download software right away. From the App Store to the Google Play store, there’s always a market to access in a few clicks.

This is where there’s a big opportunity for Microsoft to make it even easier for casual PC users to download and update their apps without having to search for them in a web browser. Developers can earn a share through the store, while new users can be given confidence that they’re downloading apps through a store that’s designed and approved by Microsoft, without worrying about the security implications.

These improvements in recent Windows 11 builds, however small, make a big difference to how the casual user will judge the new Store, and whether it will be a permanent shortcut on their desktop. At present though, it’s on a positive trajectory, and it will be an interesting time to see how Android apps will fare on Windows 11 once they’re made available.

• How to download Windows 11 right now

Via Windows Latest

Microsoft is ramping up the different ways for users to update their old machines to Windows 11, even before we’ve seen an official release date.

There’s been plenty of discussion about what the latest update to Windows is bringing, such as new icons, a new start menu, widgets and lots more. However, as we approach the latter half of 2021, questions are growing about how users will be able to update their machine to Windows 11.

Previously, those who were on Windows 7 or 8 were eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 for a certain period of time. But with Windows 11 moving to a yearly update cycle, users are unsure if this free upgrade method will see a return.

However, a support document from Lenovo seems to have somewhat cleared some confusion about this.

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• Windows 10 is still on schedule to see an update soon

How can I update to Windows 11?

From what Lenovo has explained, you can update from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 11 free of charge, but only with a clean install or a reinstall on your PC. This may frustrate some, but if you have more than one hard drive installed, with one solely for Windows, it may not be much of a frustration. However, if you store everything on a single storage device, it may be a long weekend ahead of installing Windows 11, and restoring your data.

One other thing to note is Lenovo stating that while it will be a free upgrade, it may only last a year. “The free upgrade offer does not have a specific end date for eligible systems. However, Microsoft reserves the right to eventually end support for the free offer. This end date will be no sooner than one year from general availability.”

With the Insider build being tested by many users, it’s only a matter of time before Microsoft details the release schedule for Windows 11 and what the upgrade eligibility will be. However, with Lenovo seemingly jumping the gun on this, it may alleviate some users’ worries if their PC is eligible, as long as they meet the minimum requirements.

• These are the best laptops for running Windows on

Via Windows Latest

Nvidia is ceasing support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 with its graphics drivers in October 2021.

This means that the company’s Game Ready Driver will only support Windows 10 from then on when it comes to new features and work on the performance front, as well as bug fixes.

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However, Nvidia isn’t completely abandoning these users with its drivers yet, as vital security patches will still be applied – but only these and no other cures for bugs. Major security fixes will continue to be implemented for Windows 7 and 8/8.1 until September 2024.

The interesting point here is that while Windows 7 and Windows 8 are no longer supported by Microsoft – so you shouldn’t be using them anyway – that’s not the case with Windows 8.1. The latter OS still has a year and a half of road to run with support from Microsoft, so Nvidia is calling things early in that respect.

Nvidia says: “Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, with Windows 8.1 nearing the end of its lifecycle as well. The vast majority of our GeForce customers have migrated to Windows 10 OS.

“In order to ensure GeForce owners experience the best possible security, support, and functionality, Nvidia will now focus on Windows 10 operating system.”

In other words, whatever resources were focused on keeping Windows 8.1 afloat can now be redirected elsewhere.

Windows 8.1 diehards

There are still some folks on Windows 8.1, mind, even though you can still upgrade to Windows 10 for free (that freebie upgrade never actually went away). Admittedly, it’s a tiny amount of users – looking at the latest Steam hardware survey, it’s 1% of gamers on that platform (with more using Macs). But folks might be sticking with Windows 8.1 perhaps because of legacy software, or maybe due to a distrust of Windows 10 fostered by all the earlier controversy around privacy (although much of that has been mitigated by Microsoft in more recent times).

If you’re a gamer with an Nvidia graphics card, then, this could be another prod and reason to move on and grab that free Windows 10 upgrade (perhaps before Microsoft shuts it down, which could happen eventually – after all, we are seemingly on the cusp of Windows 11, or something similar). Plus don’t forget, there are an increasing amount of games which are Windows 10-only, anyway.

The final Game Ready Driver that supports Windows 7/8/8.1 will arrive on August 31, with the new R495 driver that drops support arriving on October 4.

That R495 driver will also ditch support (again, except for vital security fixes) for Kepler GPUs, meaning GeForce GTX 600 and 700 series graphics cards. These are old GPUs, of course, but note that some 700 range offerings are Maxwell (like the GTX 750 and 750 Ti).

• Find the best Nvidia GPU for you

Via Neowin

The move from Windows 7's Start Menu to Live Tiles, first introduced in Windows 8, took many by surprise and while Windows 10 now allows you to access the Start Menu from the desktop, many users still prefer the look and fell of the traditional Start Menu.

Thankfully, the open source software Open Shell (originally known as Classic Shell) has you covered as it allows you to replace the Start Menu in Windows 8 and 10 with one that more closely resembles Windows 7's Start Menu.

If you're still running Windows 8, Open Shell also allows you to bypass the full-screen Start Menu and boot directly to the desktop.

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Add a Windows 7 style Start Menu to Windows 10

To get started using Open Shell to change the look and feel of Windows 10's Start Menu, you'll first need to head to Github's website and download the program.

Once downloaded, double click on the executable to begin installing the software on your system. It's worth noting that if you only want to change the appearance of your Start Menu, you should uncheck the Classic Explorer and Classic IE options during installation. If you leave these options checked, you will also change the way that File Explorer and Internet Explorer appear on your system.

Open Shell allows you to choose from three different styles of Start Menu: Classic style, Classic with two columns and Windows 7 style. Classic style only shows your recently used apps and all apps list while Classic with two columns shows your recently used apps and settings and finally Windows 7 style recreates the Start Menu UI from Windows 7.

If you want to tinker with Open Shell further, you can do so by opening the “Basic settings” menu which will allow you to configure the open source software's advanced settings.

• We've also highlighted the best Windows 10 VPN

Via BleepingComputer

Cyberpunk 2077 will be DX12-only on PC, it has emerged, meaning that you’ll need to run Windows 10 to play it – and although those still (unwisely) running Windows 7 will also be catered for, folks on Windows 8 will be left out in the cold.

This info emerged in an interview conducted by German site PC Games Hardware, in which Marcin Gollent, Lead Graphics Programmer from developer CD Projekt Red, clarified the situation with DX12.

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Gollent noted: “We opted to go with DX12 for two main reasons. Firstly, it is the standard API for the Xbox platforms, and with the game also coming to Xbox One, we naturally wanted to have it implemented as soon as possible.

“Secondly, it is the birthplace of DXR [DirectX Raytracing], and given we had plans to invest in DXR very early on, that made the choice to go with DX12 a pretty straightforward one.”

Gollent further notes that thanks to DX12 support being brought to Windows 7 SP1 last year, Cyberpunk 2077 will be playable by gamers remaining on that platform – although considering the OS is well out of support by Microsoft at this point, with no security updates being provided, you really should be looking at upgrading to Windows 10 anyway.

Gollent stated: “We do, and will continue to, test Cyberpunk 2077 on Windows 7 in an attempt to iron out any edge-cases that might arise. Unfortunately, Windows 8 didn’t receive its variant of DX12 libraries.”

Windows 8 still has a couple of years of support road to run, but because it hasn’t been given the same attention in terms of DX12 that Windows 7 benefited from, you simply won’t be able to run Cyberpunk 2077 on this platform.

Broader concerns

There have been some broader concerns aired online, too, in terms of the accusation of DX12 games proving buggy upon launch in some cases, and Cyberpunk 2077 having no fallback option of running DX11 rather than DX12 – or indeed no low-level API alternative in terms of support for Vulkan.

That said, despite some well-documented DX12 hiccups with certain games in the past, there’s no reason why DX12 can’t be implemented slickly – that’s really down to the developer, and if CD Projekt has been working from the ground up with DX12 in Cyberpunk 2077, and fully focused on that API, then theoretically there should be nothing at all to worry about.

Still, Windows 8 users who have stuck with the operating system for whatever reason, and like to do a bit of gaming and were hoping to play Cyberpunk 2077, will doubtless feel aggrieved.

Indeed, Linux gamers aren’t too chuffed about the lack of Vulkan support either, as this means that they’ll have to rely on Vkd3d (Wine’s Direct3D 12 to Vulkan solution, and that will have to be implemented before the game’s launch, which seems rather doubtful at this point). Perhaps compounding the aggravation here is the fact that CD Projekt Red has had to implement Vulkan support for Cyberpunk 2077 on Google Stadia.

As a final note, remember that those with older hardware may run into issues with DX12 compatibility too, or indeed sluggish performance, although you’ll have to own a pretty old graphics card to suffer on that front.

• These are the best graphics cards of 2020

Via Tom’s Hardware

Despite the fact that running an unsupported or near end-of-life operating system increases security risks, new research from Kaspersky has revealed that many businesses and consumers are still using Windows 7 and some have yet to upgrade past Windows XP.

Researchers from the cybersecurity firm analyzed data collected from Kaspersky Security Network users regarding what operating system they use and the results show that 41 percent of consumers still use obsolete systems including extremely old ones like Windows XP and Vista.

At the same time, 40 percent of very small businesses (VSBs) and 48 percent of SMBs and enterprises still rely on these outdated systems. 

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When it comes to specific versions of outdated operating systems used, two percent of consumers and one percent of workstations used by VSBs run Windows XP even though it hasn't been supported for over 10 years. 

Less than half a percent of consumers (0.3 percent) and VSBs (0.2 percent) still prefer Windows Vista for which mainstream support ended seven rears ago. Surprisingly, a small number of consumers (1 percent) and businesses (0.6 percent of VSBs and 0.4 percent of SMBs and enterprises) missed their chance to upgrade to Windows 8.1 for free and continue to use Windows 8 although it has not been supported by Microsoft since January 2016.

Outdated operating systems

Windows 7 remains a popular choice for both consumers and businesses even while the operating systems' End of Life is coming at the end of January 2020.  Over a third (38 percent) of consumers and VSBs and 47 percent of SMBs and enterprises still run this version of Windows despite the known risks in doing so.

Enterprise solutions manager at Kaspersky, Alexey Pankratov explained in a blog post that the cost of upgrading may be high for some users but in the long run it will be cheaper than dealing with a security incident later on, saying:

“Statistics show that a significant share of users, both businesses and individuals, still use workstations running an outdated or approaching end of lifecycle OS. The widespread use of Windows 7 is concerning, as there is less than six months to go until this version becomes unsupported. The reasons behind this lag vary depending on the software in place, which may be unable to run on the newest OS versions, to economic reasons and even just down to habit. Nonetheless, an old unpatched OS is a cybersecurity risk – the cost of an incident may be substantially higher than the cost of upgrading. This is why we recommend that customers migrate to supported versions and ensure that additional security tools are in place during the transition period.” 

If you've yet to do so, it is highly recommended that you upgrade to the latest version of Windows to avoid putting your sensitive files and data at risk.

• Don't want to update to the latest version of Windows? Check out the best alternative operating systems instead

Microsoft has issued patches for a pair of critical vulnerabilities which are ‘wormable’ and present in all recent versions of Windows, with the software giant advising that you should download these as soon as possible due to the risk involved here.

The vulnerabilities in Remote Desktop Services, which allow for remote code execution – meaning the attacker can pretty much pull off anything, such as installing malware or plundering your data – are codenamed CVE-2019-1181 and CVE-2019-1182.

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They affect Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, and all supported versions of Windows 10 (as well as Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012/R2, and Windows 10 server versions).

The fact that they are wormable means that malware built to exploit these security flaws could spread from computer to computer without any user interaction, assuming those PCs are vulnerable of course. And naturally, that’s the most worrying kind of malware, where you don’t have to be tricked into clicking some dodgy link or downloading something with a payload inside.

Microsoft stressed: “It is important that affected systems are patched as quickly as possible because of the elevated risks associated with wormable vulnerabilities like these.”

You can check here to download the security patches manually, but if you have automatic updates switched on, your OS will grab the relevant fixes for you (or you could head to Windows Update, and check for new updates).

Remotely dangerous

If all this is ringing a bell or three, that’s probably because we recently witnessed BlueKeep emerging, another wormable vulnerability in Remote Desktop Services, although that particular flaw didn’t affect Windows 8 or Windows 10.

This time around, all versions of Windows are under threat – except for Windows XP – so you should patch up pronto (and if you’re still on XP, well, that’s a far more worrying state of security affairs in itself).

Microsoft does observe, however, that there is no evidence the vulnerabilities were known to any third-parties before this announcement.

Of course, hackers may have previously found the flaws without Microsoft realizing, and at any rate, now the vulnerabilities have been publicly detailed, there’s an obvious danger of a weaponized exploit turning up – and possibly in quite a rapid timeframe.

• Here are all the best laptops of 2019

Chromium-based Edge has received some further useful additions, including the introduction of dark mode for users on Windows 7 and 8.1.

As you may recall, back in June when the revamped Edge was first launched for Windows 7 and 8.1 users, it didn’t have a dark mode, but Microsoft promised that the feature was coming soon.

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And dark mode has now arrived in the Dev channel (build 77.0.218.4), along with a considerable amount of bug squashing which includes fixes for crashing when opening PDF files, and crashing on the Extensions page. An issue where Edge stopped the Windows shutdown process has also been cured.

As ever when testing preview versions of software, plenty of bugs are to be expected.

Mac users also got a little fix in this build, so the copy and paste keyboard shortcuts should now work correctly for those using macOS. These developments were spotted by Windows Central.

Media control

As we’ve seen recently, the work Google is doing on Chromium also benefits Microsoft’s new Edge (because it has switched to the Chromium engine), and a fresh benefit is arriving in this vein.

This is Global Media Control for Chrome, which is now in the Canary (early testing) version of Google’s browser – but can also be enabled in Microsoft Edge Canary and Dev preview builds.

This gives you a toolbar button to access a fly-out panel that lets you adjust the controls for videos – YouTube content, for example – without having to go to the tab where the media is actually playing. It’s a convenient extra touch featuring controls to let you pause, play or skip a track without actually having to leave the tab you’re currently working in, plus you get a thumbnail of the video in the overlay panel, too.

To enable this feature in the Edge preview, however, you’ll need to do a little tweaking. As Windows Latest explains, you’ll first need to create an Edge shortcut on your Windows desktop. Then edit this shortcut by right clicking it, and selecting Properties.

Go to the Shortcut tab, and in the window labelled 'Target', add the following command on the end of the EXE (remembering to leave a space between the EXE and the below text):

--enable-features=GlobalMediaControls

Click 'OK' to apply the change. Start Edge again using this shortcut, and you should see the Global Media Control icon in the browser’s toolbar.

Remember that this is still a feature in testing, and as such may be a bit wobbly. Also, there’s no guarantee it will make the cut for Edge (or indeed Chrome), although the aforementioned dark mode most certainly will (as Microsoft previously promised this was definitely coming for Windows 7/8.1 Edge users).

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Chromium-based Edge is now available in preview form for Windows 7 and 8.1 users, so if you wanted to try Microsoft’s revamped browser in one of these older operating systems, now’s your chance.

Part of the big plan with the new Edge is to make it available across multiple platforms – whereas the old Edge was tried strictly to Windows 10 – and Microsoft has already released the Chromium-based spin for macOS back in May.

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To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise that it arrived on the Mac before earlier versions of Windows, but there you go. Windows 7 users clearly represent a large slab of a potential testing base, but at least they (and those on Windows 8/8.1) aren’t being kept out of the preview loop any longer.

Canary capers

You can download the browser for Windows 7 or 8.1 by heading to the Microsoft Edge Insider website, although note that only the Canary Channel version is available right now. That’s the earliest preview version (updated on a daily basis so it gets new features first), but also the least stable.

The more reliable Dev Channel and most stable Beta Channel versions aren’t yet downloadable, but Microsoft notes that the former is coming soon (and indeed the beta is also marked as coming soon, at least on the download website, but presumably not quite as soon as the developer build).

By all accounts Chromium-based Edge for these earlier versions of Windows works pretty much identically to the Windows 10 incarnation, which is good news.

Microsoft observes: “You will find the experience and feature set on previous versions of Windows to be largely the same as on Windows 10, including forthcoming support for Internet Explorer mode for our enterprise customers.”

As ever with preview versions of software, there are some known issues, including no support for dark mode, because that’s an OS system-wide setting on Windows 10 and macOS, with no equivalent in the older versions of Windows. However, Microsoft says it is planning to introduce an in-browser dark mode for Windows 7 and 8.1, so don’t worry, you won’t be left out in the cold (although you may be left in the dark).

Chromium-based Edge landing on Windows 7/8.1 represents the final piece of the puzzle in terms of the initial platforms Microsoft promised to make the browser available on.

There has been plenty of chatter about the browser coming to Linux as well, though, and it certainly seems that’s a distinct possibility. Plus it definitely makes sense in terms of Microsoft’s whole new philosophy of embracing open source, too.

• Surf the web on one of our best laptops of 2019

Microsoft’s latest round of patches for the month of April have been causing serious issues, either slowing down or freezing up Windows PCs.

This is apparently due to a conflict with some antivirus apps, and is primarily affecting Windows 10 and Windows 7 systems, it would seem (but also potentially some folks running Windows 8.1).

Security software from Sophos, Avast, and Avira have compatibility issues with these latest patches, although it’s seemingly just business software which is hit with the former two: Sophos Endpoint Security and Control, along with Avast for Business and Avast CloudCare.

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However, in the case of Avira, the affected software includes the widely used Avira Free Antivirus and the firm’s free security suite, as well as the paid products, Avira Antivirus Pro and Avira Prime.

If you’re running any of the aforementioned programs, Avira is recommending that Windows 10 users uninstall cumulative update KB4493509, and that Windows 7 users get rid of KB4493472 and KB4493448 (see the instructions here).

As mentioned on the Answers.com forum, Avira is apparently in discussions with Microsoft to find a solution to the problem, and says that the “fix will be delivered automatically as soon as possible with the next product update”.

Avast has also provided advice, and while Avira has reported slowdowns with users’ machines, Avast is saying that PCs are freezing up on startup at the login screen, a much nastier problem – and one apparently affecting Windows 7 users in particular.

Avast says that these problems are ‘most likely’ related to the following updates: KB4462223, KB4493472, KB4493448, KB4464520, KB4462230 and KB4493435 (and as you can see, two of these are the same updates that Avira pointed the finger at on Windows 7 – KB4493472 and KB4493448).

Troubleshooting tips

Avast has further troubleshooting details here, and the current solution is essentially the same as Avira – uninstall the updates. Avast also adds that it’s continuing to work to pin down the problem and provide a permanent solution.

Of course, if you haven’t yet installed said Windows updates and you are running any of the above security applications, it goes without saying that you should steer clear of picking them up for the time being, until these gremlins are resolved.

Kaspersky recently commented that you should always install security patches quickly, pointing out zero-day vulnerabilities (under active exploitation) that it has been recently finding in Windows as a reason to move fast.

The problem with that is the issues described in this article are exactly the reasons why many more cautious users don’t install even security updates immediately, in case they end up with a locked up PC and potentially a whole world of hurt (particularly for businesses deploying patches across many machines).

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Via Windows Latest

Microsoft’s latest round of security patches contains a huge range of fixes for 74 vulnerabilities, and includes the resolution of a pair of zero-day flaws in Windows 10 which are currently being actively exploited.

That pair of worrying security holes (codenamed CVE-2019-0803 and CVE-2019-0859) are elevation of privilege vulnerabilities that pertain to Windows 7, 8, and 10, meaning that an attacker can potentially use them to do all sorts of nasty things to a victim’s PC.

As ZDNet reports, the problem revolves around the Win32k component improperly handling objects in memory, and when leveraged, this could allow a malicious party to view or delete data on the computer, or indeed install programs (such as malware) or create a new account with full user privileges.

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That said, Microsoft also observes: “To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and take control of an affected system.”

Targeted malware

In other words, the attacker does need access to the PC in the first place, although that could potentially be gained by a targeted malware attack. Given that antivirus maker Kaspersky discovered CVE-2019-0859, it seems a fair assumption that malware-watching is how it was spotted, and indeed Kaspersky has found a number of zero-day vulnerabilities in recent times which have seemingly been concocted by nation-state hacking organizations.

For example, in March, Kaspersky uncovered CVE-2019-0797, which the company noted was the fourth privilege escalation exploit recently detected by its systems. The security firm observed at the time that there were several known targeted attacks that made use of this exploit, which was patched by Microsoft in the same month of its discovery (and again, this one allowed the attacker to gain control over the PC).

Kaspersky also underlined that folks shouldn’t hang around when installing security updates such as these which are being actively exploited (it’s not uncommon to wait and see whether early adopters run into issues with security patches, or indeed any update, after all).

Other holes which are patched up in the bundle of 74 fixes include a trio of Microsoft Office Access Connectivity bugs – and a number of other Office flaws – along with a security update for Adobe Flash Player (surprise, surprise), as well as Microsoft’s Edge browser.

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With all the commotion around privacy and security these days, you can never do too much to protect your data online. That’s where VPNs come in: short for Virtual Private Network, a VPN is an app that creates a secure tunnel between your device and every site you visit.

By giving you the option to connect to a virtual location in a different city, state, or even country, you’re able to hide your physical location as you essentially assume the identity of a network in another area.

More than that, VPNs offer an extra layer of anonymity by encrypting your entire network, which is a great feature to have if you’re browsing in public or connecting to an unsecured network.

Because everything you do online is related to your IP (internet protocol) address, a VPN offers a safe and easy way to browse anonymously.

Why you should use a VPN with Windows

One of the best things about VPNs is how compatible they are: they literally have dedicated apps for nearly every device today (including that old BlackBerry of yours).

By downloading and installing a dedicated VPN app on your Windows desktop, laptop, or tablet, you’re instantly able to secure that device while simultaneously opening up a whole new world of browsing possibilities.

While most VPN providers offer apps which are dead easy to use – all you have to do is download the software and follow the simple installation process – we’re going to focus solely on how to set up a dedicated VPN connection manually through Microsoft’s own built-in VPN client.

How to set up a VPN in Windows 10

Note that Microsoft’s built-in VPN client doesn’t actually mean the OS comes with its own VPN. Instead, it’s an easy way to help install and configure a VPN service you already have.

Once you have the VPN configurations downloaded, you can go in and manually add them to your Windows device. Here’s how to setup a VPN on Windows 10.

Begin by clicking the Start button, and then going to Settings.

From there, click on Network & Internet, navigate to the VPN icon, and click Add a VPN connection.

Now you’ll be prompted to enter your VPN’s details. This information is usually found on your download page, though it can vary depending on your service.

Start by clicking on the VPN Provider box and selecting Windows (built-in). Under Connection Name, enter the name of your VPN (this can be any name) and enter your VPN’s Address (which depends on the VPN you’re using).

For VPN Type, you’ll need to check which types of VPN connections your app uses. Most VPN providers offer one or all of the following connections: PPTP, OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, or SSTP. If you don’t know which one to enter, you can try each one until your account is confirmed.

Next, under the Type of sign-in info section, enter your VPN account’s username and password, which can usually be found in your sign-up confirmation. Once that’s done, click Save and exit the Settings window.

If configured correctly, you should be able to go to your VPN connection under the Network & Internet settings panel.

How to set up a VPN in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

Start by opening the Network and Sharing Center and clicking on Set up a new connection.

Under the Set up a Connection or Network window, click Connect to a workplace. Next, choose the Use my Internet Connection (VPN) option and enter one of your VPN’s IP addresses in the box provided. Note that you can usually find this information on your VPN’s website.

Now, decide whether you want your network to remember these settings and click Create. Your new VPN connection should now automatically populate under the Connections tab.

How to set up a VPN in Windows 7

Click on Control Panel and open the Networks and Sharing Center icon. Under Network Settings, click Set up a new connection or Network.

Next, click Connect to a workplace and click on the Use my Internet connection (VPN) icon. Under the Internet address field, type your VPN’s IP address (this can often be found on your VPN’s website.)

Under Destination name, enter the name of your VPN. Remember to check the Don’t connect now; just set it up so I can connect later option and hit Next.

Now you’ll be prompted to enter your VPN account’s username and password. This information should be readily available in your sign-up confirmation page.

Once you’ve correctly entered your login information, click Create. You should now be given the option to connect to your VPN now or connect later. You should also be able to see your new VPN connection under the Connect to a network screen.

Bonus: How to choose a VPN

Now that you know how to set up your own VPN, let’s take a few minutes to highlight what separates a good VPN from a bad one. There are a lot of fly-by-night VPN providers popping up, and it’s important that you do your due diligence when choosing which service to go with.

After all, a VPN is only as good as the privacy protocols behind it.

First off, make sure the provider you’re using offers servers in the locations you want to use. Secondly, look for a VPN that has an overall high rating in terms of reviews and user feedback, and comes with various protocol settings. OpenVPN is the most common VPN protocol today – it’s incredibly secure and is great for streaming.

That said, it’s also worth looking into whether the VPN service in question keeps detailed logs or not. If you care about or value your privacy, you’re probably better off paying for a more secure and anonymous VPN service. These types of VPNs also tend to offer simultaneous connections, so you could actually connect your phone, desktop, and laptop under a single subscription.

We’ve tested a number of different VPNs and have found that ExpressVPN offers the best overall value for the service it provides. If you’re looking for a secure, easy-to-use VPN with great customer support, we suggest starting there.

We've also highlighted the best VPN services of 2019  

Some Windows 7 users have found that Windows Update has fallen over on their systems, meaning that they can’t receive any security patches or other OS updates.

So what’s happening here? Apparently, patches fail to download and affected users simply receive an error message when running Windows Update on their PCs. They are informed that an ‘unknown error’ has been encountered (helpfully) while checking for new updates, with the error code ‘80248015’.

It’s not clear how many folks have been hit with this particular gremlin, but seemingly it's a fair few. According to some users on the lengthy Microsoft support forum thread regarding this issue (and also some tech sites, such as Ghacks), the root of the problem is an expired Windows file (in the AuthCabs directory) which went out of date on December 3.

Needless to say, Microsoft shouldn’t have let that happen, but the date-related aspect means that there is an easy fudge to get around the problem: simply wind your system date back to before December 3. Windows 7 will then see the file as valid again, and the update process will work happily.

That said, the latest posts (in the last few hours) on the aforementioned Microsoft forum claim that the problem has been resolved by the software giant, with the expired file getting refreshed when checking for updates, and the process now working successfully.

There’s been no official announcement or acknowledgement from Microsoft yet, though, so your mileage could vary – but we’d certainly hope that a fix would have been quickly implemented.

If you’ve been having problems with Windows Update on your Windows 7 PC, we’d suggest you run it again now, and keep your fingers crossed that the error has indeed disappeared.

Windows pain

This certainly seems like an odd thing for Microsoft to have missed, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the company is taking its eye off the ball where its older (but still officially supported) operating systems are concerned.

Not only have we had this Windows 7 glitch, but a few months back, Windows 8 was also hit by a nasty bug which prevented some users from logging onto their PC with a Microsoft account.

All of which could make for a good argument to upgrade to Windows 10. And indeed the OS conspiracy theorists out there are (naturally) convinced that Microsoft is purposely letting things slip with Windows 7/8, in order to cajole folks into upgrading to its newest platform.

While clearly that isn’t the case, these incidents do demonstrate a worrying lack of attention to detail from Microsoft. Let’s not forget that Windows 7 is still the most-used desktop operating system out there.

Via: Neowin

• Some of our best laptops run Windows 10

The HP Envy 15 x360 (model 15-u000na) is a thin and light device that flips between laptop and tablet modes with a hinge that rotates through 360 degrees, and its 15.6-inch screen makes it one of the biggest hybrids we had seen when it first released.

That was quite a while ago now, and since then, there have been a number of larger and better convertible laptops, yet the HP Envy 15 x360 remains an excellent buy, even today. 

One reason for that is that a number of price cuts have been applied over its lifetime, making it an even more affordable device. The release of Windows 10 is another reason why the HP Envy 15 x360 is still going strong. This new operating system does everything Windows 8 did, but a lot better, and it's still designed for touchscreen devices. Install that, and you have a great little device with plenty of modern features despite its age.

Turning heads

The Envy's 5.3 pound weight (2.4kg) and 0.94-inch thickness (about 24mm) are more akin to laptops than tablets, and that stands up when the HP is compared to its rivals: the Lenovo Flex 2 15 is another 15.6-inch hybrid, but it's thinner and lighter. The HP's nearest laptop competitor, the Dell Inspiron 15 7000, is only a little bigger.

The dimensions, and the 15.6-inch screen diagonal, mean the HP is far more comfortable when used as a laptop. With the screen flipped back to tablet mode the Envy is too large to use in one hand, which means that its use is restricted – it needs to be rested on a table or a lap to be used comfortably with two hands.

The price of £649 (around $1,015, AU$1,175) puts this machine firmly in the mid-range, but it looks like a premium device. Most of the visible surfaces are clad in smart brushed metal, with a glossy black bezel surrounding the screen. Build quality is inconsistent: pushing the underside saw the keyboard flex, and the screen was little better – only a light tap on the rear saw the desktop disfigure. A solid wrist-rest is little consolation.

Control Zone moans

The HP's trackpad is augmented with two Control Zone pads. These sit on either side of the trackpad, and they're designed to add touchscreen-style functionality. Taps and swipes on the left-hand pad select and switch between apps, and swiping the right-hand Control Zone opens the Charm menu.

In reality, it's a mixed bag. Opening the Charm menu from the right-hand pad worked flawlessly, but the left-hand pad required too much force for its gestures to function. That inconsistency renders the Control Zone somewhat pointless, especially given that the touchscreen isn't exactly difficult to reach. The trackpad doesn't make up for the disappointing Control Zone – its coating has too much resistance, so using the pad requires more effort than we like.

The keyboard is similarly disappointing. The layout is fine, but the typing action isn't: the keys feel cheap, there's not enough travel, and our presses occasionally failed to register. It's fine for brief typing, but no good for work.

On the inside

The HP's specification ticks the right boxes, but there are no surprises. The Envy is built around a Core i5-4210U processor – an ultra-low-power part that's clocked to 1.7GHz and uses Intel's latest silicon designs.

The processor is paired with a modest integrated graphics core, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard disk – all standard stuff.

Connectivity is disappointing. The inclusion of a single-band 802.11n Wi-Fi chip means this machine can't connect to dual-band networks or faster 802.11ac routers, so don't expect great speeds. Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 4.0 are standard inclusions that don't make up for the poor wireless connectivity.

• PCMark 8 Home: 2,322
• PCMark 8 Home battery life balanced 50% screen: 3 hrs 53 mins
• PCMark 8 Home battery life power saver 25% screen: 5 hrs 4 mins
• PC Mark 8 Home High Performance 100% screen battery life: 2 hrs 46 mins
• 3DMark: Ice Storm: 37374; Cloud Gate: 4054; Fire Strike: 504
• Cinebench R11.5: CPU: 2.57; Graphics: 15.35fps
• Cinebench R15: CPU: 237; Graphics: 19.85fps

The HP scored 2,322 points in the PCMark 8 Home benchmark. That's a tad faster than the Lenovo Flex 2 15 which scored lower despite a Core i7 processor, but it's not able to match the Dell, which also had a Core i7 chip. In Cinebench 15, the HP's processor score of 237cb was reasonable: seven points ahead of the Flex, but behind the Dell Inspiron 15 7000, which scored 255cb.

That mid-range result translated to decent real-world performance – the HP loaded applications without much of a delay and, when booted, software ran smoothly. Only high-end work applications will cause the HP to struggle.

Game for a laugh?

The news isn't as good in our gaming tests. In 3D Mark's Ice Storm benchmark the HP scored 37,374, which is behind both of its rivals. None of these laptops are high-end gaming systems, but the HP's particularly poor score means it's only suitable for light gaming – casual, retro or indie titles, rather than the latest blockbusters.

The screen isn't much cop, either. The 1,366 x 768 resolution is the bare minimum, and quality isn't up to scratch. The 211cd/m2 brightness is just about acceptable, but the black level of 0.63cd/m2 is too high. It means that contrast is poor, colours lack bite, and inky blacks look grey – so dingy scenes in movies and games won't have the same impact.

Colour accuracy is disappointing thanks to a Delta E of 9.15, and this panel can only handle 62.6% of the sRGB colour gamut. Forget any serious image work – the poor gamut coverage, accuracy and contrast mean that this panel is only good enough for surfing the web and other basic tasks.

It's also a shame that the screen can't handle 1080p footage, as the HP's Beats Audio speakers are surprisingly good. They're a little bass heavy, but the meaty sound is offset well by a solid, snappy high-end.

Battery chops

There's one area where the HP bests its rivals, and that's battery life. In our standard PCMark 8 longevity test the HP's near four-hour lifespan was noticeably better than the competition, and we hit five hours by using Power Saver mode and dropping the screen brightness. It's not an all-day system, but it's a step ahead of other machines.

The Envy is hampered by its software. It's loaded with apps from McAfee, CyberLink and WildTangent games alongside numerous tools from HP. Your mileage may vary with this software, but we found little of it useful, and were irritated by unwanted pop-ups and prompts.

The HP is a good-looking, sturdy machine that's got enough power to cope with the demands of daily computing – all factors that make it a good laptop. As a hybrid, though, it misses the mark: it's too heavy and bulky to be used in one hand and, even in two, it's not the most intuitive machine.

This mid-range machine foregoes excellence in individual form factors for mediocrity in two. Unless you need a hybrid, you'd be better off buying a dedicated tablet or a proper laptop.

We liked

There's no denying the HP's metallic good looks, and it's got the goods on the inside, too: the Core i5 processor has ample power, and the chip is augmented by decent battery life and surprisingly good speakers.

Its dimensions aren't too bad, either, for a mid-range laptop – the HP is both thinner and lighter than its similarly priced rival from Dell.

We disliked

The HP's hybrid mechanism is this system's biggest problem – it's just too bulky to be used as a comfortable tablet, especially when other hybrids are thinner and lighter.

The screen doesn't impress, the trackpad and keyboard aren't particularly comfortable, and its rivals are faster in games. The single-band 802.11n wireless chip puts paid to any good networking prospects.

Final verdict

This smart looking machine is hampered by its size and weight – while both figures are fine when it comes to laptops, they're just too big to make a comfortable tablet in all but a handful of circumstances. Processing performance and battery life are good, but they're held back by a poor screen and dodgy ergonomics. Unless you really need a hybrid, you'd be better off buying a dedicated tablet or laptop.

You might also want to check out our HP Envy 15 (2020) review.

Way back before Windows 10 debuted, Microsoft engaged in all manner of controversial tactics in order to push free upgrades onto Windows 7/8 users, and one major annoyance was the pre-fetching the installation files without any consent. 

Today Microsoft has promised it’s a practice that won’t be employed ever again.

This comes off the back of a legal action launched by a consumer protection organization over in Germany (Verbraucherschutz Baden-Württemberg), which sought retribution for the grievances of Windows 7/8 users who had approximately 6GB of Windows 10 installation files downloaded onto their PC.

The German watchdog argued that users didn't agree to the free upgrade offer, and the pre-installation files were part of a ‘forced download’ hidden in the background.

The good news is that after a lengthy legal battle lasting over a year and a half, Microsoft has agreed to stop this kind of stealthy pre-loading of OS installation files.

As MS Power User reports, the company has stated: “Microsoft will not download install files for new operating systems to a user system’s hard disk without a user’s consent.”

Clearly that’s good news, although the practice should never have happened in the first place, of course.

What about updates?

Not just Microsoft but other software companies will likely take note of this judgment, and another interesting point is whether this could pertain to pre-loading the twice-yearly major updates for Windows 10 – which can be pretty hefty things themselves.

In case you’ve forgotten, Microsoft’s dubious practices in pushing Windows 10 upgrades prior to the release of the operating system included the likes of persistent nagging pop-ups that couldn’t be removed (and subsequently got more in your face), confusingly worded prompts, and even accusations of unsolicited installations.

Incidentally, the free upgrade to Windows 10 is still an offer you can take up, even though it officially ended over a year ago now.

• Have you seen the best monitors? How about the best Windows tablet?

Officially, the free upgrade to Windows 10 for Windows 7/8 users expired at the close of last July, but it seems that, a year later, there are still two routes by which you can make the leap to Microsoft’s newest operating system.

As Techspot highlighted, both these routes have remained open since the free upgrade expired.

The first method is to get an upgrade because you use assistive technologies with the desktop OS. Note that Microsoft doesn’t ask for any verification that you will use assistive tech, which is why in the past we’ve labelled this a morally dubious method for getting a free upgrade, although Techspot does point out that there's a potentially wide umbrella of qualifiers for those who use accessibility features.

Microsoft says: “If you use assistive technology on Windows, you are eligible for the upgrade offer.” The company uses the terms assistive and accessibility rather interchangeably, and accessibility features include elements like Windows 10’s Speech Recognition, or even Cortana or keyboard shortcuts.

Clearly, this is still something of a grey area though, although not one Microsoft has ever policed, presumably because it’s simply happy to have folks upgrading to Windows 10 – which would seem to be the main reason these methods have continued to remain available.

The product key option

The other loophole which is still active is to simply use your Windows 7 or Windows 8 product key to fire up a Windows 10 upgrade – it will still work just fine. We're quite surprised that this particular avenue hasn’t been shut off yet, but as mentioned, it would appear that Microsoft just wants to beef up Windows 10 user numbers and stats.

How long this will remain the case is anyone’s guess, but if you do wish to upgrade it’s probably best to do so sooner rather than later. It won’t be forever, that’s for sure, as Microsoft has previously said it will announce when the assistive technologies upgrade scheme is coming to a close. 

The company hasn’t said anything official about the other product key route, simply because this (theoretically) shouldn’t exist at all. It’s an elephant in the corner of the desktop, for want of a better phrase.

Talking more broadly about accessibility matters for Windows 10, Microsoft is promising some big steps forward on this front with the incoming Fall Creators Update, including a really nifty-looking eye-tracking feature.

• These are the best PC games you can play with Windows 10

Just as we're all recovering from the spread of WannaCry, another security problem shows up on the internet - in this case a special line of web code that can send Windows 7 and Windows 8 into a serious slowdown.

As Ars Technica reports, Russian security experts have shown how a rogue file call to the Windows Master File Table on an NTFS disk can soak up system resources and end up leaving your computer pretty much unusable, eventually leading to a crash.

All that it takes is a visit to a page showing an image coded in a certain way, and your woes begin. Your machine isn't actually hacked or exposed, but it's an annoying little bug that Microsoft will no doubt be scrambling to fix.

Turn it on and off again

Windows 7 and Windows 8 (and 8.1) are the OSes affected, along with Windows Vista which is no longer supported by Microsoft. If you're using any browser in Windows 10, or Google Chrome on any OS, you should be safe.

While the bug has been reported to Microsoft, we haven't heard any official acknowledgement of the problem or any timescale on when a fix might be pushed out through the usual channels.

As always, keep your browser and your operating system right up to date to minimize the risk of getting hit by these sort of issues. No one seems to have tried to use the trick yet out in the wild, but if you do notice problems, a simple reboot should fix it.

• Windows Defender just had to defend itself from a seriously nasty bug

Security experts have found a glaring bug in Microsoft’s antivirus engine that powers Windows Defender, which can be used to remotely compromise a PC; it's been described as a ‘crazy bad’ vulnerability by one researcher – although a patch for the flaw has now been deployed.

Tavis Ormandy of Google’s Project Zero (who found the bug, working with Natalie Silvanovich) described how the critical vulnerability could be leveraged against Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 PCs with a default installation, and triggered with no action taken by the user.

All that has to happen is for the malware protection engine to scan a specially crafted file sent by an attacker, at which point it will inadvertently trigger the malware, allowing said attacker to remotely gain control of the system – and then carry out whatever nastiness they desire.

So, for example, you could get a malware-laden email and not even read it (let alone go near an attachment), and still be hit by the exploit because the malware protection engine will automatically scan it and trigger it – all in the background while you remain blissfully unaware.

Of course, the irony is that Windows Defender (and Microsoft’s other security products that run its malware protection engine, such as Security Essentials) is supposed to protect your PC, but in this case it’s working against it.

• Windows 10 or not, the Dell XPS 13 is still the best laptop, hands-down

Patched pronto

As this is a very serious bug Microsoft has been quick to respond, and has already issued an update for Windows Defender – it (and other software using Microsoft’s antivirus engine) should update itself automatically within 48 hours of the patch being released, Microsoft said yesterday.

As Engadget reports, you can check if the issue is fixed on your PC simply by looking at the engine version number of Windows Defender: it should be version 1.1.13704.0 or higher.

On Windows 10, you can check this simply by typing ‘Windows Defender’ into the search box on the taskbar (next to the Start button) to bring the app up, and then click on Settings.

Of course, you needn’t worry if you’ve switched off Windows Defender and are using an alternative third-party antivirus solution.

This vulnerability could also potentially hit business users, as it affects Windows Server 2012 and enterprise security products like Microsoft Endpoint Protection. To see the full list of affected products check out Microsoft’s security advisory on the problem.

Google’s Tavis Ormandy is a big presence in the security world these days, often finding vulnerabilities in major pieces of antivirus software – and he certainly isn’t afraid of criticising these products.

Microsoft, however, has at least earned some brownie points here in terms of the speed of its response. But obviously, in an ideal world this sort of gaping hole – which can be exploited without any user interaction – shouldn’t exist in the first place.

• The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 is said to be competitive for the next five years

Windows 8.1 has been long superseded by Windows 10, and it is now the freely downloadable default for the second-most-recent Microsoft operating system (OS).

So did Windows 8.1 fix what was wrong with Windows 8? Mostly, yes, but it wouldn't be until Windows 10 that the most fundamental problems with the OS were rectified once and for all.

Still not satisfied with Windows 8.1?

• Read our Windows 10 review to see whether the free upgrade is for you
• Don't want to upgrade? Here's how to get Windows 10 features on Windows 8.1

Original review follows...

From Facebook to the full-featured Mail app and modern Outlook, a "peek" bar in the modern version of Internet Explorer 11 and the new Windows Scan app, you get all of the Windows 8.1 extras that were teased in early 2013.

We are still waiting for the proper touch versions of the Office apps but that's the way things work in Microsoft's new 'continuous development' world. And of course, you get the interface changes and SkyDrive integration we saw in the Windows 8.1 Preview.

The Start button is back and you can use the same image for your Start screen as your desktop background.

SkyDrive is built in to sync files - on both Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT - as well as settings and the layout for your Start screen and desktop taskbar.

But Microsoft's second bite at the convergence of PCs and tablets doesn't back away from what we still want to call Metro; in fact, there are more built-in modern apps than in Windows 8, more settings you can change without jumping to the desktop and more options for how you position modern apps on screen.

The question is how well these two platforms sit together, and how much of an improvement - if any - Microsoft has been able to deliver in a year.

Installing Windows 8.1

If you already have Windows 8, upgrading to Windows 8.1 is very simple. It will be the first app you see every time you open the Windows Store and the installation happens very quickly.

You don't have to reinstall your desktop applications or your Windows Store apps, and all your files are still there (as are libraries and the icons pinned to your taskbar).

If you sign in with a Microsoft account you haven't used before, you might have to use a code that Microsoft emails or texts to you (if you've set that up in the past) to confirm it's you; that works like trusting a PC in Windows 8 but you don't have to do it as a separate step.

If you have Windows 7 (or earlier versions), you have to install Windows 8 (the same process as when Windows 8 first came out) and then upgrade to Windows 8.1.

If you've been trying the Windows 8.1 Preview, you can't upgrade directly to the RTM version (which Microsoft warned people about all along).

If you can't revert to Windows 8, you still do the update from the Windows Store and your files will stay on the system, but you'll have to reinstall your desktop programs.

• 15 Windows 8.1 annoyances fixed

If you've already upgraded another PC using the same Microsoft account, you'll see tiles for the Windows Store apps you have installed on that other PC (marked with a little download icon); tap on them to install the apps.

Joe Osborne also contributed to this review

Microsoft is still convinced that Windows can scale from an 8-inch tablet all the way up to the 27-inch twin screens on your desk at work. It works better on Windows 8.1, with changes to the Start screen and new ways of laying out multiple apps side by side on screen.

Almost all the configuration options from the control panel make it into PC Settings, except for new options like boot to desktop and controlling whether you see the tiles you pin to the Start screen or a simple list of apps. For some reason, these stay on the desktop (right-click on the taskbar to get them).

The Lock screen turns into a photo gallery, powered by the same Microsoft Research tech behind the screensavers in Windows Media Center and the Windows 8 Photos app, picking related and timely photos automatically.

You can unlock the camera or answer a Skype call quickly without needing to fiddle with a password. If small 8-inch tablets get popular, that will be useful and Windows 8.1 is generally better suited to a mini tablet.

It has built-in support for Bluetooth LE, the wireless protocol wearables like the Fitbit Flex use to communicate with phones. In addition, more and more apps like Facebook and Flipboard (and the built-in Camera app) share a similar design with their smartphone counterparts.

A new Start

The Start screen gets new large tile sizes so you can see more information at once. Apps have to be specially built to use this, but many of Microsoft's own apps are. That means you can read the three most recent emails or see full details or your next couple of meetings.

You can pick from far more colors to customize the Start screen backgrounds - some of which animate subtly as you scroll sideways - or you can use your desktop background, in which case your tiles scroll but your background is fixed.

The Start screen backgrounds don't include all the designs from Windows 8; some of our favorites are gone and the new designs don't always work well in different color schemes. In this case, the more restrictive options might have worked better.

If you're used to the small swipe you use on the Windows 8 start screen to select a tile, forget about it. That now swipes you down to the Apps screen instead (although the small swipe still works inside apps like the Windows Store, at least in this version).

To select a tile, press and hold on it. You can still select multiple tiles and now you can do useful things to all the tiles you have selected at once.

You can also select multiple tiles on the Apps screen and pin them to Start as a group. As this is the only place you get tiles for newly installed apps, it's a useful option.

Sorting the Apps screen by how often you use apps gives you a quick list of frequent apps you haven't pinned yet. And once you've done all that work, your Start screen syncs across all the PCs you use the same Microsoft account with so you don't have to do it again.

If you want to skip the Start menu entirely, being able to set Windows 8.1 to boot into the desktop is a big change (although you'll still use the Start menu to launch any programs you haven't pinned to the taskbar).

The other big new interface changes are the new smart search and the way Windows 8.1 handles multiple modern app windows on screen - especially on large monitors. When you use the Search charm - which you get to with the Windows-S keyboard shortcut that once launched the snipping tool as well as from the charms bar - you get a list of matching apps to launch, settings to open and other searches you might be interested in.

But now, those all show up in the Search pane itself, rather than in a distracting full-screen list of results.

And both apps and settings show up in the same list rather than in separate lists that can fool you into thinking Windows doesn't have any way to change settings. The suggestions come from Bing (although you can turn that off) as well as from apps like People.

What you don't get is the ability to run the search in different apps if the results you want aren't in the list.

Microsoft has told us in the past that mail messages will show up in results, although that hasn't started happening yet - but if the results you want are only visible when you search from an app, you have to launch that app first and use its own search tool. Again, this is a small step back for power users but a simpler approach for most people.

You can still see search results in a full-screen view (by pressing Enter after you type or search or tapping the icon in the search field) but what you get is no longer just a boring list of tiles and titles.

Bing combines results from your PC and SkyDrive, from the content inside your apps and from the web. If you have documents and pictures or music that match your search, they show up first

If you're searching for a person, you see their details from the People app; not just their picture but also options to send them an email, Skype them, talk to them on Facebook or twitter or find their address in Maps.

But Bing will also try to find a person, place, band, album or other entity that matches what you're looking for and build an instant "smart search" that's like a mini app full of content.

Searching smart

What you get depends on what you're searching for. If it's a person, you get Wikipedia information (other apps will be able to suggest content like this but Wikipedia is the first) and photos. If it's a place, you get directions, reviews, opening hours and links to book on OpenTable or call them with Skype. For a band or album, you get videos and music tracks - that you can play from Xbox Music.

You can swipe through the search view to see the full overview, pinch to get a semantic zoom view that shows the categories of results or tap to get more details (like a bigger map) without launching a different app.

This is useful when you have a lot of information to look through as well as an appealing presentation for more "fun" information. And if you don't want a big-screen experience to browse through, remember you can get at individual results quickly from the search pane.

Windows 8.1 search provides with a good indication of how Windows is moving towards the tablet form factor. If you just want to find a file, stick to Explorer (which has all the Windows 8 features, as long as you go in and put Libraries back in the navigation pane).

If you want to see results from your documents and the web side by side, in an interface that beckons you to explore further and brings you potentially useful Bing features you might not know about, then try the full screen search.

When you do open Windows Store apps, you're no longer restricted to snapping them into one large and one small window. On a small screen like a 10-inch Surface RT or Surface Pro, you can make a window a third, half or two thirds of the screen - but we could still only get two apps on screen at once on a 10-inch screen.

Larger screens let you drop three or more apps side by side, dragging them to any other multiple of 50 pixels to fit in the screen resolution. If one of the Windows is the desktop you can still snap two windows side by side on the desktop as well.

Having two apps take up half the screen makes it easier to do real work in both of them at once. It also means you can have a desktop program and a Store app open side by side, instead of having the desktop turn into thumbnails as soon as you make a Store app large enough to use.

Some windows pick their own size - opening an attachment from the Mail app uses two thirds of the screen for an image or half the screen for a web page.

Open another app once you already have two windows open and the icon waits on screen for you to drag it into the window you want it to use.

If you don't drag it into a window straight away, the icon hangs there on screen, twitching slightly to remind you to pick where you want it. That means you don't get the new app straightaway, but it also means it doesn't replace something you were looking at without giving you a choice.

On a larger screen, you can have three apps open side by side, or even four (and again you can choose whether to have each window take up a third of the screen or have two wide windows and one skinny one or any other way of filling the screen).

And if you have two screens, you can put multiple Store apps on both of them, so with the right screens you can have seven or eight apps at once.

Whether you see three or four apps on a screen depends not just on the screen size and the resolution but also the PPI (pixel per inch) and scaling ratio of the screen.

At that point, the only sane way to find out how many apps you'll be able to have side by side on a screen is to keep opening them until you can't fit another app in.

The return of the Start button to the desktop is the most obvious change in the Windows 8.1 desktop (and no, you can't just turn it off again). There are other subtle differences though.

You can turn off the trigger in the top right corner that shows the charms bar when you use your mouse and the one in the top left corner that shows a thumbnail of the next app running in the background.

When you use the Search charm on the desktop, it opens the Search pane beside what you're doing, rather than throwing you out to the Start screen and if you pick your result from the Search pane instead of opening the full search view, you don't have to leave the desktop.

Hidden libraries

Libraries no longer show up in Explorer automatically, even though they're still the way you put media into the Xbox Music and Video apps and the first place Mail looks when you add attachments. They're right there in the File Picker when you use Windows Store apps - but you have to add them back to Explorer, which is downright confusing.

When you right-click on folders in Explorer the option to add them to a library is still on the context menu, but if you want to find and work with them in Explorer, you have to turn them back on in the navigation pane.

Instead you see "This PC" where you're used to seeing "Computer", along with SkyDrive which is installed as part of Windows (in both 8.1 and RT 8.1). By default, Windows 8.1 saves your new files on SkyDrive, so they're available on every PC you use, and syncs some of your files from the cloud automatically.

To avoid filling all the storage on a tablet with a small disk drive, all you get by default is the Documents and Pictures folders from your SkyDrive. You can see your other folders and the names of all the files in them, and when you click on a file Windows 8.1 automatically pulls it down from SkyDrive and caches it offline and syncs changes to it.

You can also select files in the modern SkyDrive app to use offline, but there's no longer a separate desktop interface for picking folders to sync. And the SkyDrive app is where you go to see sync progress, if you want to know whether files have uploaded or downloaded yet.

Internet Explorer 11 continues Microsoft's evolution to a fast modern, standards-compliant browser - at least for the standards Microsoft believes are ready.

The first thing you'll notice is how fast it is. Even with multiple tabs set as your home page, on a Surface Pro the browser opens and starts loading pages almost faster than you can time.

It's also impressively fast at rendering complicated content like WebGL - faster than the latest Chrome and Firefox, in fact. That's thanks to the fully hardware accelerated rendering engine that's also the reason IE 11 isn't available on anything before Windows 7.

IE 11 feels a little faster in the desktop version because you can see that your tabs are loading, but the immersive full-screen IE is actually equally speedy. It's also rather more powerful than the full-screen IE in Windows 8.

Instead of just 10 tabs, you can have up to 100 tabs open at once (so opening more tabs no longer closes the ones you had open), and you can open a second copy of the browser and have another 100 tabs in there as well.

Switching between different tabs is extremely fast but it also didn't make our test machine use a lot of CPU or memory to keep the tabs open.

Swiping back to a page you've already looked at is far faster than in IE 10 - you don't have to wait for it reload, it's just there pretty much as soon as you swipe.

Browse fast

Another thing that speeds up performance, especially with the Flip Ahead option from IE 10 that works out what the next page in a multi-page story is going to be, is the way IE can preload up to two pages so they're already there when you swipe forwards.

IE 11 makes more use of the app bar. A tiny slice of the bottom of the browser has three dots, equivalent to a "More" button in Windows 8 and Windows Phone (you'll also find that in other apps like Mail).

When you tap that, or swipe to open the app bar, both the address bar and the different tabs show up at the bottom of the screen.

If you're on a large screen, you can pin the app bar open all the time, with the address bar and small versions of the tab button.

One change takes some time to get used to because it's not the same in the desktop browser. When you press and hold on a link, instead of a context menu over the web page, you get the app bar at the bottom giving you the choice of seeing it in a new tab or a new window - which is a quick way of opening a second browser.

You can see and manage a lot more information in the modern version of IE, too. You can see the folders you've organized favorites into, and you can move favorites into the right folder there, as well.

You can also see which sites you've saved passwords for (which will sync between all the PCs you use your Microsoft account with) and remove them if you don't want the password saved any more.

If you were looking at a site on a different PC, you don't have to search for it or try and remember the URL, you can see the list of tabs from your other PCs and open the site you want.

You even get the "back stack" so you can browse back through the pages you were on before you clicked the link to load the most recent page in that tap, even if that was on another computer, on the proviso that you were signed in.

If you know you'll want to refer to a page later you can share it to the new Reading List but this requires less planning ahead.

And there are a couple of improvements that just make life easier, especially on tablets with no keyboard or trackpad.

Web sites that have hover menus and drag and drop work reliably with touch instead of you having to press, tap and fiddle to tap in exactly the right place - or have the menu activate and send you to a link on the hover menu when you only wanted to look at it.

And when you hit an email address field or a phone number field in a web page that's been coded for it, you'll get the special keyboard layout for email or numbers in the onscreen keyboard.

That's the kind of convenience we're used to on a smartphone but even if you don't want your Windows PC to feel like a phone, IE 11 is a worthy update.

Even if you don't use a single new feature in the browser, you'll love the improved performance. And the session restore - where IE offers to re-open tabs you had open the last time you were using Windows - no longer cripples the desktop browser by trying to open dozens of copies of your home tabs.

The one problem you'll run into is sites that don't treat IE as a modern browser. Microsoft has tackled this by changing the way IE 11 identifies itself to web sites: it doesn't call itself Internet Explorer any more, so you won't get old, limited versions of sites intended for old, limited versions of IE.

But websites that only code their features for Webkit-based browsers like Chrome and Safari, instead of using the HTML5 standards that do the same thing, won't always work correctly in IE 11. That's not a problem with IE 11, but it is a problem for IE 11 users.

The built-in apps in Windows 8 ranged from beautiful (the Travel and News apps) to disappointing (the Mail and Calendar apps) and downright frustrating (Xbox Music). Windows 8.1 sees improvements for all of them. For one thing, they're all significantly faster and there are some useful new apps included too.

Windows RT users don't need it as much now that they get the desktop Outlook as default, but the Mail app in Windows 8.1 is a huge improvement.

In fact, it has so many neat new features (many of them drawn from Outlook.com) that most users may not need Outlook.

If you found that messages weren't downloaded in the background (a random bug in the old Mail app), that's fixed on every system we tested. Attachments even download in the background as long as you're plugged in. And you can drag and drop messages into folders.

Mail builds filters that show your most frequent correspondents on the folder list as favorites so you can see immediately when they send you mail (and other people you talk to a lot are on a similar list that appears when you choose the People button). You can also favorite specific folders to add them here.

If you use Outloook.com, Mail automatically sweeps newsletters and updates from social networks into their own folders, and you can setup your own "sweeps" to deal with specific types of mail.

If you get coupons and special offers, getting Mail to delete any older than ten days keeps your inbox uncluttered. You can also set automatic replies, like Outlook's out of office messages.

Everything in order

Xbox Music still has the clever playlists and ways to explore all the music on the Xbox service, but it also catalogues the music you have on your PC and shows that to you first.

It also has a clever feature: when you're looking at a page that mentioned several songs in the modern version of IE, you can use the Share charm to send the page to Xbox Music and get a playlist of those sounds from the free Xbox Music streaming service.

It can be slow to find songs, and it certainly didn't work on every web page with a list of tracks that we tried, but when it does work, it really adds something to a web page.

We liked the Reading List that lets you collect interesting links from IE and Windows Store apps to come back to later (perhaps on another PC as they sync) and the Alarms app has a clean, fresh look that's quirky and reminiscent of Windows Phone.

The Camera app now has Photosynth panoramas built in. Tap the panorama button and start moving your tablet around (this would be awkward on a notebook but easy on a tablet) to stitch together images into a scene that can cover as much of 360 degrees as you have patience for.

The stitching is good - especially if you don't move too fast - and both faster and more accurate than in the preview.

The new Scan app doesn't work with every scanner we tried, but it's a nice, simple way to do scanning.

The Photos app is very different from its former self with Flickr integration gone and many of the features app moved to the Lock screen. It now has a very basic interface for viewing - but it also has far more editing options beyond rotating and cropping. The vignettes and filters are the kind of thing you find on smartphone apps but the Color Enhance options are impressive.

Drag the marker onto a color in the image and move the slider around the circular control to saturate or fade out that color throughout the image. Drag it to another color and choose a different level.

You can use this to make an image more vibrant or give it a muted effect. You can also change the color temperature, tint and color saturation by using similar circular controls. It's impressive, if something of a niche feature compared to the auto-fix options.

That's even truer of some of the other apps that you have to wonder about Microsoft spending time on. Health & Fitness is a very decent dashboard for Microsoft's Health Vault service, but that continues to have few features (and uses) outside the U.S.

And the Food & Drink app is a nice demo of waving your hand in front of a webcam to scroll through pages when you have cake batter on your hands, but it's hard to see it competing with the dozens of other food apps on the market.

However, the Windows Store app is also much improved so it's easy to find the new apps that are starting to arrive for Windows now.

During the company's Build 2014 conference in San Francisco in April 2014, Microsoft announced and released a free update to Windows 8.1 known simply as Update 1. The refresh introduces gobs of new features, from slapping the Windows 8 taskbar on Modern UI (and better mouse support therein) to the option to boot to the desktop and much more.

This series of updates and tweaks is almost entirely geared at desktop Windows users, and rightfully so. Many users' issues with Windows 8 have largely rested in how much it ignores that experience in favor of tablets and hybrid devices.

While tablet users aren't directly served through Windows 8.1 Update 1, there are a few subtle improvements for those users. What matters here, though, is that the OG Microsoft customer – so to speak – is being treated with the dedication he or she deserves.

Update 1 takes Windows 8.1 to task

The updated taskbar in this new version of Windows 8.1 doesn't appear much different than before. That's because it isn't all that different, really, at least in appearance. What's changed here is far more subtle.

For one, the taskbar will now appear across all Modern UI apps, but in a hidden state. To pull up the taskbar, now all you need to do is move your mouse to the bottom edge of the screen. Then, the same taskbar from Windows 8.1 desktop UI will rise and shine.

What else is interesting about the refreshed taskbar is now it will display both desktop and Modern UI apps together. Better yet, you can pin apps from both sides of Windows 8 to this new taskbar, making the transition between the two kinds of app layouts a bit more seamless.

Naturally, Microsoft now pins the Windows Store to the taskbar. The hope here is that the Store will gain some much needed visibility. Thankfully, you can unpin the Store just like any other app.

Microsoft makes room for the mouse

Finally, desktop users can better control Modern UI app layout and organization from the Windows 8 Start screen. Right-clicking any Live Tile will produce a contextual menu similar to that found through right-clicking anything in desktop mode.

This action produces options like unpinning apps from the screen, pinning them to the taskbar, resizing Tiles and even uninstalling apps entirely. ("That was easy," said the Staples button.) Pressing the Alt key and then right-clicking allows users to select multiple tiles for mass actions, too.

Of course, your mileage using this input method largely depends on the hardware you're stuck with – in short, it may vary. As TechRadar News Editor Michelle Fitzsimmons puts it, "this isn't so much the software's fault as it is a hardware issue, but it means folks using Update 1 on different machines may have vastly different experiences."

Bootstrapping the desktop

Again, finally: manufacturers now have the option to set Windows 8 devices to boot directly to the desktop interface. If vendors neglect to make a decision, then Windows 8.1 will now adhere to a set of rules, based on the device you're using, to decide whether it boots to desktop directly.

This will come as a much welcome change for desktop users, and should they not like it – which, let's face it, is highly unlikely – it's easily disabled. Plus, you can toggle this mode from within desktop mode, meaning you may never have to look at Modern UI again.

This is telling of Microsoft's eagerness to please its desktop users after arguably pulling a 180 of sorts on them with the release of Windows 8. With changes like these, it will be even more interesting to see how the company handles a post-Windows 8 era with the release of Windows 9.

Best of the rest

The folks in Redmond made some more subtle changes with Windows 8.1 Update 1, like adding a power button and search charm in the upper right-hand corner of the Start screen. Being exclusive to desktop users, these two changes are simply to make access to these Windows features easier for mouse users. Sensing a pattern yet?

Better yet, all Modern UI applications, at least on desktop machines, come touting a new title bar that allows users to close or minimize the app. It disappears within a few seconds of launching an app, but is accessible in the same way that the auto-hiding taskbar is.

What it all means

Update 1 brings plenty of oft-requested changes and tweaks to Windows 8.1, making it a much more tolerable experience for desktop and laptop users without touchscreens. It stands to make Windows 8 users more productive, and that's important for home and business users alike.

This update brings back some of what desktop-bound Windows 8 users miss about Windows 7, and frankly, every iteration of the OS before it since Windows 95. Sure, there's plenty of work to be done here. But take solace in that Microsoft has recognized that it attempted to fix something that was never broken in the first place, and that Windows 8's wrongs can be made right again.

Contributed by Joe Osborne

Windows 8.1 isn't a whole new operating system: it isn't the same leap as Windows 7 to 8. But it's more than a service pack as well. It has a great new version of Internet Explorer, some user interface tweaks that almost everyone will prefer, and the built-in SkyDrive sync is very welcome - in particular, it transforms Windows RT 8.1 into a better solution.

It's also another step towards making cloud native, where your files and favourites and useful information follows you from device to device (as long as you stick with Microsoft devices, services or both). For now, it's just fantastically convenient and brings Microsoft on par with Apple and Google.

We liked

Windows 8.1 has improvements large and small. Performance feels generally faster, even for simple things like zipping up files - that and the new version of Internet Explorer with tab sync are worth upgrading for alone.

The new Start screen tile sizes give you far better options for getting a Start screen layout you like; and once you've got it, it will turn up on all your PCs along with settings and Wi-Fi passwords and other useful things.

The new combined search looks gorgeous, but it's also useful because you see a whole range of files and online resources that are more likely to get you what you're looking for. Generally the interface feels more consistent and easier to learn.

We love the new on-screen keyboard where you can swipe up on the top row of keys to type numbers or swipe across the space bar to select between text predictions. And the expanded PC Settings gives the mass of control panel options a clean, simple interface that Windows has needed for years.

We disliked

Most of the complaints we have about Windows 8.1 are where it has given up a little too much on the bold approach of Windows 8.

Some things, like customizing tiles on the Start screen, feel a little more long-winded. Searching multiple apps from the Search charm was a little complex but also very powerful; again, Microsoft has chosen simplicity over power.

You can choose whether or not to boot to the desktop, but if you don't need a Windows key on screen as well as on your keyboard and on the bezel of your tablet, you can't remove it.

Libraries are front and centre in modern apps and hidden in Explorer and things Windows users have been used to for years, like the keyboard shortcut for the Snipping tool (and OneNote's vastly superior replacement) are marginalized in favor of new features like Search that not everyone will find as useful.

SkyDrive integration is almost too seamless: you have to turn to the modern app where you used to look in the SkyDrive control panel. In short, whether you're a fan of Windows XP, 7 or 8, there will be something in Windows 8.1 that you'll have to get used to doing differently.

Final verdict

If you were expecting a wholesale reworking of Windows, or a full return to the desktop only approach, you don't get that in Windows 8.1 - and you won't ever get the desktop only version of Windows back, so stick to Windows 7 or hack your operating system.

If you're open to change, you want to use touch, or you already like Windows 8, Windows 8.1 is a no-brainer. You'll want to upgrade for the many improvements.

Performance is excellent and 8.1 has been rock solid throughout the preview and in the release version.

You might have hoped for more new features, but in eight months (and four months of polishing), Microsoft has given a very clear direction to where Windows is going.

There are improvements you'll want, tweaks to make things work better where experiments have been unsuccessful but not so many changes that it's hard to cope with.

This is definitely evolution, and - despite the fixes that make big-screen mouse and keyboard users happier - evolution towards the touch and tablet future. What Windows 8.1 really needs are the new PCs to make it shine.

You might be aware that older versions of Internet Explorer will no longer be supported as of today – meaning you should upgrade to Internet Explorer 11, a drum we've been banging for a while now – but Microsoft is also ending updates for Windows 8 as of today.

What now, you say? Shouldn't Windows 8 be kept updated for a long time yet? After all, it only emerged a few years back.

The thing is, as ZDNet reports, Microsoft considers Windows 8.1 as a service pack for Windows 8 – and while it wasn't mandatory to install it, and make the leap to Windows 8.1, it has service pack rules applied. Namely that support lapses after two years for those who haven't installed the service pack – and that two-year period is now up for Windows 8.

The long and short of it is that if you're still on Windows 8, as of today you need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 (or indeed Windows 10) or you'll get no further security updates (or updates full-stop).

Windows 8.1, on the other hand, will be supported until 2023 (or at least that's the deadline for extended support).

If you're still on Windows 8, you really should have upgraded to Windows 8.1 anyway, of course. Indeed, you wouldn't think many people were still languishing on Windows 8, but according to Netmarketshare, as of December 2015, 2.76% of desktop users were running the OS. That's quite a number of PCs…

Those users obviously need to take action pretty sharpish. The same is true for those still running Internet Explorer 8, 9 or 10, which as we mentioned has also hit its end-of-life today. Those who haven't upgraded to IE 11 and are running Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 should be seeing a nag screen popping up as of this week.

Via: IGN

• Should you upgrade to Windows 10?

Microsoft has finally admitted that Windows 10 has been trying to install itself on some Windows 7 and Windows 8 PCs without the knowledge of the owners of said machines.

This has been widely reported for some time now, so it's about time Redmond came forward with some clarification on the issue.

As Forbes reports, Microsoft explained that the problem was due to an apparent bug with an automatic update that was rolled out to Windows 7 and 8 users starting back in August – triggering multiple unauthorised attempted installations in some cases.

Indeed, one reader sent Forbes a screenshot of his system's update history showing no less than 31 failed attempts to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro – basically the OS was trying to upgrade itself every single day.

Some users were afflicted by these failed attempts happening in the background and likely completely unnoticed – until they checked their update history – whereas others who were unluckier actually had the Windows 10 installation process fire up when they rebooted their machine following a round of updates.

All fixed

So, this was a very messy bug, and frankly we'd have been extremely displeased (to say the least) if the latter scenario had happened to us. The good news, though, is that Microsoft says the glitch has now been fixed, a fact confirmed by some users who were previously plagued by multiple failed attempts to upgrade.

Microsoft, of course, wants to push Windows 10 hard and see adoption figures soar to extinguish the sour memory of Windows 8 – but this incident, and the fact that the bug continued to persist for so long, is hardly likely to help persuade fence sitters to upgrade.

Redmond has just rolled out Windows 10's first big upgrade, which includes performance boosts – apparently the OS now boots 30% faster than Windows 7 – along with stability tweaks, new features for the Edge browser, and business features to make it easier for IT admins to deploy the operating system across an organisation's machines.

Let's hope that no new glitches are introduced on the scale of this update faux pas…

• How to control updates on Windows 10

Windows 10 isn't far off now, yet there are many users who still haven't moved on from Windows 7 to the current version, Windows 8.1, due to a plethora of different reasons. Microsoft took a different approach when it designed Windows 8 compared to all of the firm's previous operating systems. Instead of designing for a desktop or laptop – predominantly controlled by a mouse – Windows 8 was designed for a touchscreen, creating big 'tappable' tiles in place of small, fiddly buttons.

While this approach was fine on a tablet, it grated a fair amount with desktop and laptop users who were used to the Windows 7 experience. Users clamoured for the Start menu – a staple feature of Windows – to return, and Microsoft answered with Windows 8.1, and an ensuing update to that version.

Legacy apps

If you are deciding whether or not to upgrade to Windows 8.1 from Windows 7, you need to consider various things. The first point to bear in mind pertains to you if you're running a business and are installing Windows 8.1 onto multiple computers, all of which will need legacy apps and services.

If this is the case, Windows 8.1 may not be an advisable choice unless absolutely necessary. While Microsoft has implemented some more mouse-friendly features, the operating system remains predominately designed for a tablet with an awkward transition to the Desktop mode when legacy apps are called upon.

Businesses still rely on some legacy software, no matter which sphere they operate in. For example, Microsoft is still yet to produce a proper, dedicated Windows 8.1-ready version of Microsoft Office, one of the core suites of apps used around the world. When the Office tile is tapped, the whole OS switches to Desktop mode, a jarring process that can be confusing and is in no way smooth.

While legacy apps are still compatible, the process of using them is confusing and feels, above all else, unpolished.

Market share matters

Windows 7 still owns well over 50% of the operating system market share as of May 2015 thus making it far and away the weapon of choice for PC users across the globe. This is in part thanks to Microsoft's lack of a clear update mechanism and additionally because of the pig's ear that it made of things when Windows 8 was released.

Indeed the newest version (Windows 8.1) owns just 12.88% – which is only enough for it to secure third place behind Windows 7 and XP (the latter is on 14.6%). Microsoft will remedy this with a brand spanking new update process when Windows 10 is released, but whether or not it comes close to the Apple Mac App Store's slick and easy OS X update process remains to be seen.

The day when Windows 8.1 garners a majority market share of the Microsoft ecosystem has already failed to materialise and its days are numbered thanks to the imminent arrival of Windows 10, which will be a free upgrade for all Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 users for 12 months.

It's an even worse story for Windows 8.1 in the enterprise where companies have given it such a wide berth that, in some cases, they are risking ruin by continuing to run Windows XP, or just choosing to stay loyal to Windows 7. This comes from a lack of apps made specially for Windows 8.1 and the fact that hardware – laptops and desktops without touchscreens and sporting older internals – are not geared towards running Windows 8.1. Consumers, on the other hand, have a much tougher choice to make.

Consumer considerations

If, like me, you prefer to keep your software up to date, then upgrading to Windows 8.1 seems like the next logical step, as everything moving forward will become exclusively compatible with Windows 8.1 and eventually Windows 10. If you've already invested in the Windows ecosystem – through Windows Phone, for example – then Windows 8.1 will make a lot of sense, both aesthetically and functionally, as the two sync well and the user experience is almost identical, bar desktop apps.

Windows 8.1 does come with some app advantages, however. If you're willing to put up with the awkward transition from the tile interface to the desktop one, then you are opening yourself up to a lot more apps. Microsoft is encouraging developers to create apps that work in full-screen in a similar fashion to how apps work on a Surface or iPad, meaning that tablet-style apps are possible on your desktop. This has obvious advantages, with casual games becoming a reality just as they are on tablets.

Microsoft is working on getting as many developers on board as they can, with some big name apps already appearing on the Store. Developers are receiving an even bigger incentive from Microsoft's "One Windows" strategy, by which developers can write one universal app for Windows and have it run on Windows Phone, Xbox and Windows 8.1.

This has now morphed into Windows Apps, which are universal apps that will work across all devices in the Windows 10 ecosystem. All of this helps increase the amount of games available massively – especially indie titles made by developers who don't have the resources of a big studio – as Xbox has been brought into the fray.

Mac attack

The debate about which operating system to choose is, however, never complete without comparing Windows to its biggest rival, Apple's Mac OS X. Over recent years, the Mac ecosystem – both hardware and software – has come on leaps and bounds, introducing features that surpass Microsoft's own.

The "Back to Mac" strategy unveiled by Apple means that features found on iOS are becoming available on the Mac, creating a synergy between the two platforms. While the concept may sound similar to Microsoft's strategy with Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone, the two operating systems remain distinctly different: different code bases, no touchscreen input for OS X, and no app sharing (beyond namesakes). Even though this will all change once Windows 10 is out, the attitude towards the differences between Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone could remain raw for some time.

In enterprise, Microsoft's offering beats Apple's hands-down. While the Office suite is available on Mac, there are a host of apps that many businesses rely upon to get the job done that are not available for OS X and likely never will be.

The refusal to license OS X onto machines not manufactured by Apple dealt them a deadly blow in the enterprise space, where companies are more comfortable buying one thousand Dell PCs and putting Microsoft's OS on them. Apple is increasingly moving into the enterprise space, however, with many businesses investing in the iPad or providing employees with an iPhone. This has been further bolstered by Apple's agreement with IBM to develop enterprise apps exclusively for iOS devices. Whether this means a greater uptake in Mac sales in the enterprise remains to be seen, but right now Microsoft still rules the roost.

Redmond gets creative

With Windows 8.1, something even more unexpected happened than Apple moving into the enterprise space: Microsoft became a (minority) player in the creative sphere, where Apple has traditionally had an almost total monopoly.

While it's unlikely that Apple will lose its large creative client bases who have invested hundreds of thousands in Macs and niche software for recording, editing or drawing, Microsoft has stepped up its efforts in the home video making and audio editing space. This predominantly stems from the fact that the new Windows Store is so much friendlier to those kind of apps, so a spotlight can be placed on them. When the majority of apps were found on the web, or via "Top 10 Apps" lists, building and executing creative apps was a much tougher process.

Whether you require Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 is predominately determined by what you use the operating system for. If, for example, you are in need of a new PC and are wondering whether to try and find a machine still running Windows 7, the answer is probably no, you can live with Windows 8.1.

The majority of tasks are very similar – if not better, due to full-screen apps – on Windows 8.1 compared to 7, and the opportunity to pick up a touchscreen PC, or even a tablet, increases the experience tenfold. The jarring shift to desktop apps is annoying, but time will fix this as more and more developers move to create apps specifically for Windows 8.1 and eventually Windows 10.

Enterprise advice

When it comes to the enterprise world, the answer is rather more confusing. Visually, Windows 8.1 is far nicer than Windows 7 and is far more future-proof, but also comes with many more headaches. While core spec requirements for Windows 8.1 are the same as Windows 7, running an operating system that needs a touchscreen on a five year old desktop PC grates somewhat.

Microsoft is moving to make the experience more pleasurable, but it will never truly match that of Windows 7. Phil Tyler, Head of Global Programme Delivery at Gazprom, says that he implements a "year on, year off" strategy, meaning that you ignore one update from the company. With this strategy, he went from Windows XP to 7 (bypassing Vista) and will update to Windows 10 upon release, bypassing Windows 8.1.

This strategy seems sensible – Vista was a terrible operating system according to many, and Windows 8.1 is a large leap in philosophy which will be compensated for by Windows 10 to some degree – and it saves a company thousands of pounds from the headache of upgrading its array of PCs.

• Windows 10 release date, price, news and features

Introduction

Windows 10 may well be on the horizon but there are still a sizeable number of users that either won't bother or remember to upgrade from the current incarnation that owns a sizeable chunk of the active users.

The return of the start menu isn't the sole reason to get hold of a copy of Windows 8.1 and the lineup of apps available makes it a more than viable proposition for anyone looking to move up from Windows 7 before the arrival of Window 10. That in mind we've devised of list of eight must-have apps that should be at the top of the download list of anyone with a new Windows 8.1 PC or even an existing system.

1. Facebook

Social networking is made easier by the Windows 8.1 interface and even though there are plenty of beneficiaries of this move, Facebook is top of the pile. The whole experience mimics what you'd expect to find on a mobile device except on a larger screen. Everything from the toolbar on the left that brings up all options including groups, events, pages, photos and friends to the chat bar down the right and icons along the top are all present and correct. It all means you can Facebook-stalk your friends (or foes) to your heart's content!

2. Microsoft Solitaire Collection

Solitaire has been part of the fabric of the Windows OS ever since the early days and the next level of that popular game is this extensive reproduction. There are in fact five different card games that make up the Microsoft Solitaire Collection including Klondike (the traditional Solitaire you're used to), Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid and TriPeaks with every one taxing in its own right. Achievements can be automatically added to your Microsoft gamertag meaning that by playing Solitaire whilst at your work-desk you can then show off to your friends on the Xbox 360 or Xbox One when you log on to your console.

3. TVCatchup

Whilst it may suggest otherwise, TVCatchup is much more than a place to catch-up on TV shows and offers completely live TV free of charge to UK citizens. You can watch any of the five terrestrial channels as well as a handful digital-only offerings such as Al-Jazeera, BBC Alba and Viva with the exact same service you'd expect from a Freeview TV or set-top box, except that you don't need to leave Windows 8.1. It'll mean the next time you're finishing off that piece of work and don't want to miss the next episode of EastEnders then you can just take a quick break without leaving your PC.

4. Skype

It remains one of the best free voice and video chat utilities out there and now that it's under the Microsoft umbrella there's no need to even go to the effort to download Skype as it'll be there for you from the off. Skype in Windows 8.1 differs to what you would see on a Mac or even a mobile device with a clean and very easy to use interface that gives you a list of recent contacts expressed in nice big icons. This is in addition to the even bigger icons for any recent chats you have been involved in. Initiating a chat or call with a contact can be done by picking out a name from your friends and then typing in words or clicking the phone icon. All things told, the Skype app for Windows 8.1 makes it easier than ever to call and chat to friends at any time of the day.

5. Netflix

Watched the third series of House of Cards yet? Good news because one of the richest app experiences on Windows 8.1 is the only place you can watch Francis Underwood strut his stuff: Netflix. The app presents each title in the form of a DVD-box sized icon with the titles going from left to right instead of down the screen like they do in the browser, on other mobile devices and games consoles. Basically nyone that has used Netflix in the past knows the drill and the experience inside the app is so similar that you'll never be visiting the site from within a browser ever again.

6. Danger Road

Solitaire has the ability to get rather boring after a while and thankfully the Xbox link means there are plenty of games to get your teeth stuck in to. One such title is Danger Road's attempts to bring the retro action from Frogger onto Windows 8.1 and the developers do so in some style. At its bare bones the object of the game is to guide a small animal from the bottom of the screen to the top and dodge cars, trains, water and anything else that gets in your way. Even the first level is fiendishly hard and will have you posing the questions: why did I download this in the first place and why does it keep drawing me in for more?

7. uTube

Having to enter a browser every time you want to use YouTube is a thing of the past in Windows 8.1 thanks to the unimaginatively titled uTube. You can use uTube to watch any videos from the Google-owned video service and even sign into your account to see the same level of personalisation present when you usually sign in to YouTube via a web browser. There are also some added extras such as the ability to download and save any videos you like the look of, a real plus for anyone sick of the browser plug-ins that seem to be perennially slow at downloading the content. You can even choose the quality that it should be downloaded in and once uTube is on your PC, there's no way you'll ever bother with the web version again.

8. Kindle

Much as Windows is a byword for PC operating systems, Kindle is the go-to brand for eBooks and its app for Windows 8.1 means you now don't need a separate device to enjoy a good read. It's exactly the same as any of the mobile apps that have come to define the eBook genre and can be setup to sync with other devices so that you're always starting off from the point you finished at. The app plugs in to the Kindle Store so that you can make new purchases straight from Windows and avid readers will be warmed by its presence in the Windows Store.

Think back to 20 years ago and you'll remember Microsoft being the sole contender in the personal computing software market. In contrast to today, back then Apple was a boutique offering and others played second fiddle. But since the likes of Apple dazzled consumers with personal devices and the internet boom created strong rivals such as Google, Microsoft has needed to do more to keep competitive.

Each new edition of Windows has represented a play for competitiveness, but until now progress has been somewhat directionless. The unsuccessful attempt at a breakthrough with Windows 8 became more of a setback, so with Windows 10 the market is expecting a vast revamp that really takes into account what both consumers and businesses want.

Three central pillars

It seems that with Windows 10 Microsoft has spent time getting to know the needs of the user, with the big themes for me being personalisation, collaboration and convergence, whether the use is for work or pleasure.

Looking at personalisation, the biggest problem with Windows 8 was that it represented a huge change in the way the user interacted with Windows, but with a lack of choice. The Windows start menu option that we were all so familiar with disappeared and we were instead given a whole new concept to deal with. While some were fond of this change, myself included, many struggled or refused to adapt.

With Windows 10, Microsoft seems to have learned from its mistake of pigeonholing users, by making the OS more configurable and allowing users to choose how they interact with the software.

Also on the personalisation front, Cortana seems to be evolving into Siri's smarter twin – able to be integrated with other services, understand user context and recommend things personal or local to the user. I can see this being taken further and being used across all Windows devices in the future.

On the collaboration front it's good to see the likes of the Microsoft HoloLens, which progresses the videoconferencing concept to a near virtual reality experience. With the use of holographic lenses, users can see and hear holograms. Ideal for the corporate world, a full boardroom can communicate digitally just as they would in each other's presence.

Most of all, convergence is the key thing I'm hoping for with Windows 10. Microsoft's long-term vision is to allow for a single software platform to be available on an increasing array of hardware and devices. It's time Microsoft got rid of all the platform confusion with Windows, Windows RT, Windows Phone and so on. As a Windows-based product developer I see this as critical to Microsoft's viability as an enterprise platform in the future. It'll make app development and utilisation far simpler.

True mobile synchronisation is also vital as part of this. To date Apple has beaten Microsoft to this level of unification, for example, Cupertino recently launched the ability for iPhone users to send SMS messages from a Mac, and the use of iMessage has become prolific across the Apple device landscape.

• Hands on: Windows 10 review

Enterprise champion?

Enterprises can easily implement Windows 10, as there is limited need to upgrade hardware to run it. This puts Microsoft on an equal footing with Apple on this front, which has traditionally not mandated a hardware upgrade with its new operating systems. Enterprise customers can enjoy the benefit of not having to buy a whole new set of PCs.

Even with Microsoft facing competition in the market, there won't be a single person reading this who hasn't been a user of its hardware or software at some time. At Wax Digital, we developed our software on Microsoft's platform.

It's good to see that Windows is moving forward with what users and businesses want and has learnt from the hiccups made with Windows 8. The gimmicks are bound to draw in many of us but need to be well applied to deliver value. By optimising Windows as an enterprise platform, Windows 10 can hopefully secure its long future in the corporate environment.

It's been well-known for some time that Microsoft has been keen to go down the single platform approach with a view to migrating away from legacy desktop applications. This is sorely needed to break the ties to the rapidly declining x86-based PC desktop environment that was once its stronghold, and to keep up with or even speed past Apple and Google in the mobile market.

Can Microsoft do it? It tried very hard with windows 8 and 8.1 but was knocked back by consumers. The hope with Windows 10 is, while it may be more focused on getting the basics right, it gives Microsoft new foundations to wean people off desktop apps and into the new 'Modern' user interface focused world.

• Peter Kinder is CTO of Wax Digital

Over the years, like most technology professionals, I've used a lot of Microsoft products, including every version of the core Windows operating system.

With Windows 10 on the horizon, and a new build (possibly the Consumer Preview) to be shown off later this month by Microsoft, I was inspired to write down a couple of thoughts about the last two iterations of the OS and what they taught us and Microsoft about the future of enterprise computing.

Windows 7: two core architectural issues

Windows 7 was, in my mind, the last complete version of 'traditional' Windows.

Adoption was very strong and end users in general liked it a lot. But Windows 7 had the same two core architectural issues that birthed an entire generation of security problems: an unprotected file system and an unprotected kernel.

This made apps a complicated undertaking to develop and manage. Any app developed by one user had the potential to damage data in apps written by others. To make it worse, apps could go on to unpredictably tamper with various OS processes in different ways, creating a range of security headaches. The installation and uninstallation of these Win32 apps impacted the stability and predictability of the system, and "DLL hell" continued to be a regular part of any Windows system administrator's lexicon.

Such architectural issues created the need, long ago, for restrictive security solutions which tried to counter potential threats through the enforcement of a Windows system image and by deploying agent-after-agent of security software on the device.

These solutions led to battery drain and performance slowdown which compromised the user experience. Users didn't love this outcome but had learned to live with it through the history of Windows. Was Windows 7 better than its predecessors? Absolutely. But it still shared their genetic flaws.

Windows 8: low adoption

Unlike Windows 7, Windows 8 suffered from low adoption rates. There was confusion in the market around the different flavours and new interface. Plus many organisations had only just completed the Windows 7 transition and did not have a catalyst to move to Windows 8.

Windows 8 did, however, reflect the overall shift to mobility among business users. It hinted at, but was not yet ready to deliver, integration across Windows Phone, RT, and Pro.

The launch of Windows 8 did, however, mark the start of the next generation for Windows, and it established a framework for Windows 10. Windows 8 marked the first time that the architecture promoted the development of 'modern' sandboxed apps with isolated storage and memory. It was the beginning of the end for Win32 apps because it promised a world where the OS itself would be much more secure, and the capabilities of apps much greater.

All companies have rough patches. The key is learning from them, as Microsoft did with Windows 8. Windows 8 was the step that needed to happen to get us to Windows 10.

Windows 10: great expectations

I have high hopes for Windows 10. With its sandboxed security model, Windows 10 can dramatically reduce the management and helpdesk costs of Windows. I hope Microsoft simplifies the Windows portfolio and unifies Windows Phone, RT, and Pro under one framework, offering a powerful unified computing experience to the end user. Windows still has the hearts and minds of IT, but Windows 10 now offers a great opportunity for Microsoft to recapture the heart of the end user.

• Hands on: Windows 10 review

My central hope for Windows 10, however, revolves around the application developer. Microsoft could make this the release where we can finally do away with Win32 apps. Developers need great tools to build modern Windows apps with rich user experiences. The easier Microsoft makes it to migrate from Win32 apps, the faster Windows can stake its claim in the new generation of user-centric computing.

Windows 10 will establish modern apps as the primary application method on Windows. It represents the shift of Windows to a consistent, sandboxed architecture across form factors. With Windows 10 as the catalyst, now is the time for every organisation to get serious about apps modernisation.

• Ojas Rege is VP of Strategy at MobileIron

Since Jeff Bezos has built Amazon up from an online book retailer in the late 90s to the behemoth it is today, he probably knows a few things about taking calculated gambles.

"If you're going to take bold bets, they are going to be experiements and if they're experiments you don't know ahead of time if they're going to work," the Amazon CEO told Business Insider in a recent interview.

Bezos went on to explain that he would never have an all-or-nothing play to make a particular product or service the saviour of the business: "I don't believe in 'bet the company' bets. That's when you're desperate. That's the last thing you can do," he states at the end of the interview.

Steve Ballmer famously referred to Windows 8 as a 'bet the company' moment for Microsoft when it was released in 2012. The revamped OS was Microsoft's gamble to stake a claim in the mobile market dominated by Apple and Google. One look at the customer feedback for Windows 8 shows that many weren't convinced by Ballmer's bet.

Fire's not out

Is Bezos having a dig at the original tech giant? It seems that way if you read between the lines. But Amazon hasn't had 2014 all its own way, especially given the spectacular flop of the Amazon Fire Phone.

The Amazon boss explains in the interview that his job was to run the company in such a way that the successes could pay for the failures. He argued products like the Kindle ereaders and Amazon Prime subscription service have covered bombs such as the ill-advised pets.com.

Although Bezos doesn't specifically mention the Amazon Fire Phone, the writing's on the wall. The handset was the company's first smartphone venture and, although it didn't go down well, Bezos hasn't faltered. He's previously stated that there will be more Amazon Fire phones on the way.

• However, the Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 is really rather good.

In a move that absolutely, definitely has nothing to do with Apple already being on version 10 of its Mac operating system (Microsoft just hates the number 9, didn't you know?) we're jumping straight from version 8 to version 10 of Windows. What we've seen so far (the technical preview) is only meant to be a tiny glimpse of what the full release will offer, but I like it.

It's been available for download for a month or so now, so I've had plenty of time to get to grips with it. Even as an early version, it's essentially the version of Windows that I wanted Windows 8 to be. It's got the cool tile-based Start screen, which is the default when you're on a tablet, but keeps something sensible in reserve for desktop users - a desktop, Start button and Start menu, which appears when you're using a keyboard, or a traditional desktop PC. Great! This one simple change alone means Microsoft has got a hit on its hands.

At the launch event Microsoft was keen to emphasise that this release was for the enterprise users, and that the consumer (for that read "eye candy") features would be absent. Actually, Microsoft, this stripped back version is probably what most people, including me, actually want in the final release. So, can I just put in a little request now, before it all goes too far? How about you just stop there. There's no need to add all the bells and whistles that so marred Windows 8 - sometimes, less is more.

Simplicity is beautiful

There's another Microsoft Windows event rumoured for the end of January, where the covers come off the new consumer features. But rather than focusing on this, what Microsoft should be shouting from the rooftops is: "Hey, the Start menu is back! All you businesses who are still using Windows 7 - you can upgrade in safety now!" Maybe that won't do much for the share price, or the Google and Facebook-obsessed investors, but it's what people really want to hear.

There's something else that Microsoft does that's unnecessary too, and it bugs me no end. The launch of Windows 10 was marred by constant references to its web-first, cloud-first strategy, and how it could run on every different type of device under the sun, from your toaster to your phone. That's all great, but I'd be a lot happier if Microsoft just focussed on the amazing things Windows 10 will help me actually do.

Again, it's great that Microsoft knows where the industry is going, and is committed to being ahead of the curve, but is a "cloud first strategy" at the top of your shopping list when you're looking to buy your next PC or next version of Windows? When I hear talk of how people are consuming content through multiple streams over multiple devices using cloud-first, web-first strategies, I don't feel inspired to make a purchase, I feel like taking a nap.

The age of investor speak

Too many tech companies are doing too much of this kind of talk at the moment. Can't we all just forget this marketing-speak and get back to talking about doing things with our tech? I think a media focused too much on video bloggers, Instagram posters and social networks has made the tech industry lose its focus on the end user. And that's dangerous. By appealing to the digital elite, who make up 5% of the market, we alienate the 95% of us who don't want to tweet their breakfast, be the Mayor of the local Starbucks, or get 100k likes for a photo of their cat.

Even Apple, once master of the art of selling, has lost its way recently. Is the new Apple Watch more of a fashion item than something practical? Of course, it looks gorgeous, and if somebody gave me one I wouldn't refuse it, but what will it add to my life? In contrast, the iPod had a simple message - "a thousand songs in your pocket".

When PCs and later tablets first appeared, the emphasis was on what they could do, not necessarily how they did it. I liked that, because I could understand it. I could connect with it. Now it seems to be all about how many different ways there are to do something, not the thing itself, and it's leaving me cold.

Before all the cool new social media sharing features get added into Windows 10, how about we just remember that all we really want for Christmas is our Start menu back.

• Graham Barlow is the Editor-in-Chief for Windows Help & Advice, your essential guide to Windows PCs with advice, reviews and features packed with social commentary. They can post issues direct to your door or fire them digitally through the air straight into your device - they're that good! Why not subscribe today?

*Update* The Microsoft Surface Mini was pulled from the Microsoft website and it would seem there are no longer any plans to release it. This page will remain live with all the information that was circling the time of its announcement, but if you want to check out a spiritual successor, please read our Microsoft Surface Duo review.

Does Microsoft have a Surface Mini in the works? If so, it's certainly living up to its name as after all the hype, rumors and guesswork, the company's elusive smaller slate is still nowhere to be found.

That said, we wouldn't bet against one rearing its head soon. According to Microsoft's latest financial report, the company's Surface revenue increased more than 50 per cent during the first quarter of 2014. More than half a year has passed since then, and it would make sense to build on the Surface Pro 3's momentum by launching a smaller Surface before the momentum completely fades.

• Why a 2014 Surface Mini would be a major Microsoft mistake

But no new Surface is guaranteed success: Microsoft is still sore from writing off $900 million of unmoved Surface RT stock back in 2012, and new CEO Satya Nadella will be keen to avoid repeating Ballmer's missteps.

One area where a Surface Mini could excel that's been central to the product line's appeal is productivity. From the start, all Surface tablets have come with excellent keyboard accessories, a chunk of free OneDrive cloud storage and a free copy of Office Home & 2013, giving any new product a solid base to build on.

No small task

But let's not get carried away: even with the Surface Pro 3 let loose into the wild, Microsoft still has its work cut out - and then some. A need to diversify the Surface product line to include devices smaller than the 10.6-inch category is still important for the company to remain competitive.

Apple has enjoyed a lengthy head start with its iPad mini, iPad mini 2 with Retina and iPad mini 3 tablets, which now run Microsoft's capable Office for iPad suite. Even Microsoft's own hardware partners including Acer, Toshiba and Dell and Lenovo have been putting out 8-inch devices running full-fat Windows 8 for almost a year at a price that by far undercut even the cheapest Surface on the market.

The question is: what areas will Microsoft focus the Surface Mini's strengths? Will it go down the predicted productivity route, or could it throw a curveball by outing a miniature rottweiler of a gaming and entertainment machine?

Surface Mini release date

Update: The latest report from China pegs the Surface Mini for a late 2014 launch, a claim we're taking with a pinch of salt. That's because the same article reckons the device will launch with a 8- or 10.1-inch display and will run Windows 10, which isn't scheduled for a consumer release until mid-late 2015.

Microsoft invited guests to a "small gathering" back in May, prompting many to think that the Surface Mini was about to land. It was, in fact, something of a curveball, as the event was used to unveil the Surface Pro 3.

So what happened to it? When Microsoft released its financials for the second quarter of 2014, it offered an admission that it axed the Surface Mini. "Current year cost of revenue included Surface inventory adjustments resulting from our transition to newer generation devices and a decision to not ship a new form factor," read the illuminating item under a section titled "Computer and Gaming Hardware."

Other rumours paint a brighter future for the device that nearly was. A source that spoke to Neowin claims that Microsoft is waiting for a touch-enabled version of Office (codenamed Gemini) to arrive, which some say is expected to launch in late 2014.

It's more than likely that Microsoft has a Surface Mini and it's waiting for the best time to let it loose upon the world. Neowin journalist Brad Sams even claims that he's seen the Surface Mini, which he says unsurprisingly looks just like a Surface Pro 3 - only smaller.

Microsoft's more powerful Surface tablet, the Surface Pro 2, is a little thicker than the Surface 2 due to housing higher-powered Intel Core-series chips, so it would take some feat of engineering to pack similar power into an even smaller, more portable Surface.

As such, it's more likely that the Surface Mini will pack an less powerful Intel Bay Trail CPU, which would allow it to run full-fat Windows 8.1 without being a bloater. That's a likely possibility in the view of Chinese website WPDang, which reckons an ARM-based version running Windows RT may also be in the works.

Surface head Panos Panay kept us guessing by saying that the division is working on devices with "multiple aspect ratios and sizes".

Until the Surface Pro 3 rocked the boat with its 3:2 aspect ratio, previous Surface devices came with 16:9, so it's possible that a Surface Mini could follow suit. Neowin, on the other hand, reckons that it'll feature a 7-inch, 1440 x 1080 pixel-resolution display toting the 4:3 aspect ratio that's found on Apple's iPads.

Surface Mini software

In term of software, will the Surface Mini run full-fat Windows 8, or its much-maligned cousin, Windows RT? Many will be hoping for the former, but we're not brave enough to completely rule out a return of the operating system that seemingly refuses to die. (Hey there, Nokia Lumia 2520.)

It's possible that the Surface Mini could feature the same digital pen technology as the Surface Pro 3, which uses technology by N-Trig and is as close to drawing on paper as you wiil experience on glass, according to Microsoft. It can also launch the OneNote Metro app within a second of touching the display, a feature that would make even more sense on a smaller Surface due to its portability.

On the other hand, it may take advantage of the Xbox's Kinect motion capture tech. Sure, Windows 8's Charms and touch-sensitive commands work better on smaller devices, but they're no substitute for a keyboard and mouse, and the ability to control the OS using your limbs may go some way to helping out.

According to WPDang, the Suface Mini will track face and hand movements using gesture-based controls similar to those found on the Samsung Galaxy S4, which will let you swipe through screens using your hand movements and dims the screen when not being looked at.

Surface Mini price

It would make sense for Microsoft to follow Apple's lead by pricing the Surface Mini at a lower cost than its larger Surface models, much as the Cupertino-based company did with the iPad Mini.

Eight-inch tablets running Windows 8 initially hovered around the £340 mark but have dropped considerably in the past year. Acer's Iconia W4 now costs in the region of £240, and Dell's Venue 8 Pro starts at £249, and Lenovo's Miix 2 starts at the same.

The good news is that even if Microsoft does load Windows 8 onto the Surface Mini, it won't likely be doing so at a premium (compared with Windows RT). The company announced in April that it'll be offering Windows 8.1 with devices under nine inches for free, which means you won't be paying a premium to experience full-fat Windows.

Cheaper seems to be the way Microsoft is leaning with Windows devices anyway (Surface Pro 3 aside). In early June, during Computex 2014, Microsoft Vice President of OEM Partners Nick Parker told the Wall Street Journal consumers should prepare for the firm to "reach price points there are very industry competitive" for 7-, 8- and 10-inch devices. Though Parker was certainly speaking to Microsoft's OEM partners, we wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft's next device is a truly affordable Surface Mini.

Acer has introduced a new addition to its flagship notebook family with the TravelMate B115.

As the name suggests, the TravelMate B115 was designed with portability in mind, and its sub-1-inch thickness and 3-pound heft make it a good choice for students and commuters.

The notebook has an 11.6-inch 1366 x 768 10-point multi-touch screen, perfect for Windows 8.1's tile-based user interface, and a "ComfyView" display that makes it easier to use outside.

And Acer says it has up to 10 hours of battery life, with an Intel Celeron N2940 processor, 500GB of storage and 4GB of memory, expandable to 8GB.

The business side

On the business side the Acer TravelMate B115 has security and management features for educators and IT managers.

And the best part may be its price, at $380 (about £240, AU$440).

Currently the Acer TravelMate B115 is only available in the US and Canada.

• Windows 10 shows that Microsoft's getting back on track

Windows XP (and Windows Vista) might finally be on its way out according to Statcounter and NetApplications, two online analytics companies.

The former lists Windows XP as having slipped to 13.22% of the global desktop OS market compared to 16.86 for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

What's interesting is that over the past 12 months, Windows 7 market share remained remarkably stable (between 54.32 and 55.67%) while the combined marketshare of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 doubled over the same period.

• Check our our hands-on of Windows 10

Shares of Windows 8 have understandably fallen compared to last year as compulsory migration to Windows 8.1 takes place.

NetAppliacations' NetMarketshare also shows a similar trend with Windows XP now accounting for 17.18% in October 2014, not far ahead of Windows 8/8.1's 16.80%.

There was a significant slump for Microsoft's antiquated OS over that month with a drop of more than 28%, one probably due to the back-to-school season in the US and Europe.

Microsoft stopped supplying Windows 7 and Windows 8 licenses to OEM PC vendors on Friday 31st October which means that sooner rather than later, there will be no new devices based on these two OSes on the market.

The Redmond-based company is gearing up to its next big launch, Windows 10, next year, one which is likely to accelerate the Windows XP exodus even more.

Via Netmarketshare and Statcounter

Today is when retail sales of consumer editions of Windows 7 and Windows 8 stops. From today, original equipment manufacturers will no longer be able to bundle Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate editions as well as Windows 8 with PCs.

You will still find computers on sale in the channel running these OSes but they are likely to be clearance or end-of-line stock. Windows 7 Pro however will still be available from OEMs for at least another year, targeting mostly businesses rather than consumers.

The law of demand and supply means that some Windows 7 devices are likely to go up in price over the next few months even as Microsoft prepares for the launch of Windows 10.

Businesses will still be able to get a downgrade path to Windows 7 Pro when they buy Windows 8.1 Pro for a foreseeable future. After all, the last thing Microsoft wants to do is alienate enterprise and business buyers.

Windows 7 still accounts for the biggest share of the global desktop operating system market with the 13-year old Windows XP a distant second with Windows 8/8.1 being third.

It is also very likely that you will find a big market for genuine Windows 7 licenses on auction sites but we advise caution as Microsoft's EULA (end user license agreement) could make any second hand purchases null and void.

• Check our review of Windows 8.1, Microsoft's current commercial flagship.