Microsoft Support & Discussions

Last week, it seemed like you couldn't open the internet without tripping over an opinion piece telling Apple to slow down its pace and shore up its foundation. This week, new opinion pieces are telling Apple to — wait for it — hurry up and innovate faster. If this all sounds familiar, it's probably because it's what happens every year, though the change between the two refrains isn't always this whiplash-inducingly sudden. So what's going on? Back at WWDC 2014, Apple presented iOS 8, OS X Yosemite, and Swift as a love letter to developers. Many things developers had wanted for so long all hit so fast that the community was caught up in collective euphoria. And t…

Find My iPhone and iCloud work together so you can keep track of all your iPhones, iPads, and Macs, all in one place. If you're upgrading to a new device, trading in your existing one, or even selling it, however you'll want to make sure you completely remove it from Find my iPhone before letting it out of your possession. This ensures the new owner can't access your data and that they'll be able to link the device in question to their own iCloud account. How to remove an iPhone, iPad, or Mac from Find My iPhone and iCloud with iCloud.com Put your iPhone or iPad into AirPlane mode or turn it off completely. For the Mac, turn Wi-Fi **off*, disconnect ethernet, or tu…

It's time to bring you up-to-speed on the latest goings on at Android Central, Connectedly, CrackBerry, iMore, and Windows Central in the first Community Update of 2015. Continue reading...

Whether you're on an airplane, in the middle of traffic, or halfway through your housework, playlists are a great way to make sure that when your current podcast finishes playing there's another one queued up and ready to go. Sometimes, however, you want more control than a preset playlist provides. Some podcast apps include an "up next" feature that lets you override the playlist and fast track an alternative episode. Overcast for iPhone and iPad, however, simply lets you grab a show and drag it to the top, or to manually reorder it any way you like. Best of all, it's easy to do! Note: If you don't have Overcast installed already, you can download it from the App Stor…

Square Enix is continuing its march of porting old-school role-playing games to iPhone and iPad with the release of Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. Controls have been optimized for mobile, while maintaining the original's distinct graphics. Inside you'll find a classic tale of power, love, and freedom spanning many years. The pricetag, as always, is on the premium side, but nostalgic gamers will have a hard time resisting. Here's what else you can expect. Make Friends with Mighty Monsters! The fearsome monsters you face in battle can now become your friends, giving you access to unique spells and abilities—and a whole host of strategic possibilities! …

T-Mobile will begin a new program starting on January 25 it calls Smartphone Equality. The effort will give customers of the wireless carrier their best deals on its smartphones and tablets, regardless of their credit score, if they have paid their bills for at least 12 straight months. T-Mobile CEO John Legere said that the company was making this change because he claims other wireless carriers offer their best deals to customers with good credit scores. He stated: This new approach puts the relationships we've built with loyal customers above their credit scores. It's a simpler, saner way to evaluate credit − our history with you. And it's more effective. Be…

The iPhone 6 Plus spring clip holster keeps your device clipped in tight, no matter the hustle and bustle. Just snap it to your belt, pants or bag and pop in your device! The top spring clip is extremely tough and ensures the safety of your device while providing quick-release access when you need to answer a call, text or email. [/url] Continue reading...

I am looking for the viewpoint of our Security Moderators here. Last night on Paltalk, Dan , a self proclaimed Networking expert said that Server Operating Systems are immune to Crypto Locker type virus. He also said that in order for a file or folder on a server to be encrypted by the Crypto Locker Virus and its variants, the file has to be a shared file. This couuld be an important breakthrough because it would mean that files on a server that are not shared, would be protected so that doing a backup on the Server and not sharing the results would be a backup that could be on but is still safe. This could also mean that a file backup on a Nas drive could be on as lon…

Yesterday, we announced a new chapter for Windows, where we’ll be delivering a More Personal Computing Experience for end-users and a truly Universal Platform for developers. For users, Windows 10 will be even more of the Windows Experience they know and love. For developers, Windows 10 is transformative – with so much new capability on offer, it’s time to go deep with developers on Windows 10 – registration for Build is officially open. Build will be the first major developer event where we will go deep on Windows 10, so make sure to be there! As a primer, Windows 10 will offer developers the power, potential and reach of a truly unified platform. What this means: …

Some of the most productive work happens when you can harness the collective knowledge and skills of a group. When you bring the right backgrounds and experience together, suddenly the most challenging problems feel like they can be solved. We want every meeting to be great, where things just click. Where ideas flow and work gets done. The problem is, technology hasn’t been designed for the way we want to work together. That all changes, starting today. Helping People Create their Best Work Together Leveraging our core strengths in productivity from our Office and Skype divisions, we set out to create a new Windows 10 experience that would re-imagine meeting…

Lots of people still use their iPhones and iPads with Windows PCs, and lots of Mac owners still run Windows via Virtual Machine or through Bootcamp. So, we figure whatever it is Microsoft is getting ready to announce today for Windows 10 is probably going be of interest. Luckily, our friends over at Windows Central are on the ground in Redmond right now, ready to cover the stuffing out of it. Here's how you can follow along: Liveblog: Windows 10 — The next chapter (noon EST) Everything you need to know about Windows 10 And if anything iPhone, iPad, or Mac related comes up, we'll let you know all about it as well! Continue reading...

Who says there are no games for Mac? There are plenty, including a few releases that have just come out worth keeping your eye on. Here's a roundup of some of the more noteworthy titles I've come across in my travels. We've got a heavy focus on strategy and role playing games this week. Anoxemia {.slideshow) Dr. Bailey and his operations drone find themselves marooned at the bottom of the ocean with a dwindling oxygen and power supply on a quest to collect samples of contaminated sea life. You must avoid obstacles like mines and other dangers — including some you can't see. It's a side-scrolling action game with some clever mechanics and some very eerie graphics. …

The transparent design of the Naked Tough Case gives your iPhone 6 Plus clear protection that lets the original look of your device shine though! This clear case comes in a variety of colors that include a shock absorbing bumper that fits inside the shell for extra protection against drops. Continue reading...

A few weeks ago, I received a panicked call from my sister. "My Favorites are gone! I don't know where they went and I don't know how to get them back." The favorites in question weren't Instagram likes or Twitter stars — no, her new work Mac had come with its Bookmarks favorites bar disabled. It's not uncommon to see this in new OS X Yosemite Macs; Safari's default view sports as few buttons and switches as possible, so as to immerse yourself in the Web browsing experience. But it's an easy fix to reenable the Favorites bar and even edit it. How to turn on and edit the Bookmarks bar in Safari Turning the Bookmarks or Favorites bar on is a relatively simple pro…

FiftyThree's Pencil, a Bluetooth stylus originally developed to go along with their popular Paper drawing app, is now available directly from Apple. The accessory is available both on the Apple Online Store and in Apple Retail Stores, with a price of $49.95 for the graphite model, and $59.95 for the walnut. Pencil is currently available in retail stores in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and E.U., and it will soon have a wider rollout across the world, according to FiftyThree: It's been quite a ride bringing Pencil to creators around the globe; first online and now in Apple US, Canada, UK and EU, with worldwide availability coming soon. While Pencil originally launched…

Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s executive vice president, Operating Systems, at the Windows 10 media event Jan. 21, 2015. On Wednesday, Microsoft shared more about Windows 10 experiences and how it will “inspire new scenarios across the broadest range of devices, from big screens to small screens to no screens at all,” writes Terry Myerson, executive vice president, Operating Systems, in a blog post. Windows 10, he says, “is the first step to an era of more personal computing. This vision framed our work on Windows 10, where we are moving Windows from its heritage of enabling a single device – the PC – to a world that is more mobile, natural and grounded in trust.” …

The BBC has today announced a major overhaul of both the Android and iOS News apps will be rolled out at some point this week. The broadcaster will offer a more personalized news experience for readers, allowing them to select from a choice of specialized feeds, which include apps, technology, genetics and even Taylor Swift. Robin Pembrooke, general manager of news products at BBC Future Media, commented on today's announcement and shared some of the upcoming changes: "But we also know that a number of users express frustration at things they can't do - there's no local news, it's not the full range of stories, and there's little ability to personalise. It will…

Prior to September 2014, you couldn't so much as glance at the web without seeing someone calling for Apple to release iPhones with larger screens. Now that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have shipped, with 4.7- and 5.5-inch displays respectively, it's just as likely you'll see someone calling for Apple to go back to 4-inches. The argument for bigger screens is that they're larger windows into the internet and apps. The argument for smaller screens is that they're easier to use one-handed, especially for people with smaller hands. But is the latter really an argument for smaller screens... or for smaller phones? I use an iPhone 6 Plus most days. It's gotten to the poin…

Apple has made yet another interesting acquisition to really open 2015. The company has purchased London-based start-up Semetric for an unknown amount, absorbing the music analytics service Musicmetric. Musicmetric enables those in the music industry to track social and sales analytics, including streaming and even piracy. The process of changing address took place on January 12, but Semetric also filed details of a new director, as The Guardian reports: "Semetric filed details of the appointment a new director: Gene Daniel Levoff of 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California – Apple's global headquarters. Levoff is vice president of corporate law at Apple, as well…

Literally every time I work in the computer store, we'll get a customer whose Mac is plagued with problems they don't understand: Their Mac is acting slow. It crashes. And more. And in more cases than not, we find that they've installed a program called MacKeeper. Removing MacKeeper fixes the problem. So what is MacKeeper and why should you avoid it? Read on for details MacKeeper was originally developed by a company called Zeobit and was sold a couple of years ago to another firm called Kromtech. The software purports to be a suite of more than a dozen individual utilities that are actually supposed to improve the performance and stability of your Mac — antivirus so…

According to Counterpoint Research, Apple saw a heavy increase in iPhone sales after the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in key Asian markets, including South Korea, China and Japan. The Cupertino giant managed to claim one-third of smartphone sales in South Korea in November 2014, which is a first for any foreign brand, as stated by Counterpoint's research director based in Korea, Tom Kang: No foreign brand has gone beyond the 20% market share mark in the history of Korea's smartphone industry. It has always been dominated by the global smartphone leader, Samsung. But iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have made a difference here, denting the competition's phablet s…