If you’re not sure how to get your data over from your XP machine to Windows 7, I recommend taking Microsoft up on its offer. The program will also work with Windows 8.1, but if this is your main PC running XP, and you haven’t learned the nuances of the Modern Interface, you should definitely go with Windows 7. It will be much easier to grasp and not a jarring experience....

Microsoft Streamlining its Phone Business According to a statement from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: In breaking down the numbers, Microsoft says the restructuring will result in a reduction of up to 1,350 jobs at Microsoft Mobile Oy in Finland and an additional 500 jobs globally. As Mary Jo Foley reports “the impairment and restructuring charge” will be at approximately $950 million, with around 200 million of that amount related to severance payments....

Microsoft Apps on Apple Watch Microsoft already has some of its best productivity apps available on Android and iOS. Things like Microsoft Office, OneNote, and OneDrive are already on both phone and tablet platforms. So, it seems logical it would want its services on wearables as well for full market penetration. Although primarily focused on notifications, the new apps will allow users to also do various interactions, such as replying to messages, adding new reminders and yes — translating on-the-fly from your watch, which could be rather convenient....

Windows 10 20H1 Build 18990 Automatic restart for UWP apps is being introduced. Microsoft explains: “To reduce sign-in time, UWP apps are restarted minimized, in a suspended state, giving Windows and other apps more resources to get started.” Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) improvements include the following: Improved the performance for directory listings in \wsl$[WSL2] Injected additional boot entropy [Github Issue 4461][WSL2] Fixed Windows interop when using su / sudo commands [Github issue 4465]...

Windows 10 Insider Build 20211 A new search box is being added to the default apps page in Settings. “After making some updates to help improve performance, this change to enable searching the lists of file types, protocols, and apps when setting a default is now rolling out to all Insiders in the Dev Channel,” writes Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc. Here’s the list of what’s fixed in today’s build: Fixed an issue where certain 32-bit applications running on a 64-bit OS do not get properly promoted to the discrete GPU for hybrid configurations....

Windows 11 Build 22454 for Dev Channel Note: As the Microsoft team notes, “Builds released to the Dev Channel no longer match the Windows 11 experience that will be released to customers on October 5th.” These builds will include the latest features that will be tested for future feature updates. Keep in mind that Dev Channel builds will be far less stable than builds released to the Beta Channels. Here is the list of changes and improvements in this release:...

Note: With all major upgrades, be sure to backup your system and possibly take a system image prior to updating your system. Although rare, I’ve had issues in the past with Service Pack upgrades. Here’s a few notes from Microsoft on the new SP1 Release. To read about all the updates however, feel free to take a look at KB976932 Here’s the download link : Windows 7 SP1 Download Link Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will help you:...

You should get the update automatically within the next couple of days, but if you want to stay on top of the situation head to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. Or, if you don’t want to go through Windows Update you can download the KB4041676 update and install it manually. Note that a restart will be required to complete the installation. After the update has completed hit the Windows key and type: winver and hit Enter....

Good ole’ Notch from Mojang has decided that Minecraft has been confined to a PC for far too long. Minecraft is now available as an app from the Android Market. Here’s our groovy first look. To find it in the Android Market, search “minecraft pocket” or just click on this link. Minecraft Pocket sports the groovy little 3D grass square that we all know and love, and is made by the original Minecraft developer, Mojang....

Using Advanced Search Features in Windows 10 Update: Windows Search was decoupled from Cortana and is now its own field (or button) on the taskbar. You can use similar functions to the ones shown below with Windows Search. One of the first places you can start searching for files in Windows 10 is the Search box on the taskbar. We’ve already covered some of the power search features in Windows 10....

First of all, you need to know that you needn’t be worried. Skype will continue to work on your computer just as it did before. It’s just the Firefox add-on that gets soft blocked (meaning it’s blocked, but you have the option to re-enable it). The Firefox extension is used by Skype to turn phone numbers in websites into buttons that offer the possibility to make a Skype call. The extension has been responsible for roughly 40,000 Firefox crashes last week, so Mozilla felt the need to do something about it....

Long story short: it works. While it’s not quite as slick as I imagine NeatReceipts to be, it’s got two big advantages: Here’s how the entire NeatReceipts free alternative Google Docs OCR digital receipt filing system works: (Note: As a reminder, OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition and essentially means that Google Docs can read text from a PDF or image and put it into editable and searchable format in Google Docs....

New Netflix Navigation Sidebar Today’s update incorporates a new sidebar on the left side of the screen that makes it easier for you to get to the content you want. The new sidebar features shortcuts to things like “Movies” and “TV” to filter through its enormous catalog by films and shows. It also includes “Search” and “My List” as well as a “New” button to see what’s been added. Instead of endlessly scrolling up and down to find movies, TV shows, and other options like Search and Settings, you can get there directly from the sidebar....

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier The all-new two-minute trailer for the series provides a more in-depth look into what we can expect. Disney says: “Marvel Studios’ “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” stars Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson aka The Falcon, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier. The pair, who came together in the final moments of “Avengers: Endgame,” team up on a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience....

*Photo via apple.com The new iPhone is made entirely out of glass and aluminum and looks just like it did in the leaked photos. No real surprise there. The iPhone 5 is essentially the same width as the iPhone 4S, but taller. It’s 7.6 mm thick, which means it’s 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S and weighs 112 grams. It comes in two colors, White and Black with an aluminum and anodized back....

Nokia CEO Steven Elop announced bringing its HERE maps to iOS pending Apple approval earlier this month. The app includes what you’d expect including search, map view, live traffic, public transportation and satellite view. You can share places with a tap, including location, how to get there via SMS or social networks. Another unique feature is voice-guided step by step walking navigations through parks and other pedestrian routes. Until Google gets its map app on iOS, this might be a good alternative....

OhLife.com Screenshot Tour Like all great ideas, OhLife is elegantly simple. Every day, OhLife will send you an email that asks: How did your day go? (They change it up for your first OhLife entry, but the concept is the same.) All you have to do is reply and it’ll be recorded as a private journal entry. To view old entries, just log in to OhLife.com. Or, every now and then, OhLife will reminisce with you by including a random journal entry form the past in its daily email....

PDFelement 8 brings you useful new features, functional improvements, and performance enhancements you’ll appreciate. You can create and edit, annotate and comment, and sign and secure your PDF documents using this all-inclusive application. Let’s walk through all that’s new with PDFelement 8. PDFelement 8 Features Before we delve into what’s new in the latest version, let’s dive into the basics of what you can do with PDFelement. Create PDFs and Forms With PDFelement 8, you can create a PDF from an existing file, a scanned document, or a blank PDF....

Free Ad-Supported Movies and TV Shows on Plex In addition to using Plex to view your local media collection, this partnership increases the amount of free digital content that Plex delivers. You can use Plex to subscribe to your favorite podcasts, and the service includes Plex Web shows that feature free and on-demand streaming videos on topics including sports, news, music, cooking, and more. “Our mission is to tame the growing chaos in the media landscape,” said Keith Valory, CEO of Plex....

Set Up Quiet Hours in Windows 8.1 Bring up the Charms bar and select Settings > Change PC Settings. Then click Search and Apps from the left menu then Notifications. Then scroll down to Quiet Hours and turn the switch on. Then select the hours of the day when you don’t want app notifications bothering you during the day. To have even more control over app notifications, scroll further down and turn individual app notification on or off....