Earlier this week we heard the news that Microsoft is working on a new version of Windows dubbed "Windows Cloud." While very few details are known about this variant of the operating system, a pair of the first screenshots have already surfaced on the web. Surprisingly, it looks almost identical to the standard version of Windows 10, with no discernible differences.
According to an email sent by Wileyfox this week, their first smartphone will be updated away from CyanogenMod this week. Despite this - somehow - Wileyfox Account Executive Michelle Johal suggests that "all user's experience will remain unchanged." Johal went on to say, "This was expected and we are confident with the smooth transition planned in an upcoming over-the-air update for the entire Wileyfox product range that will migrate away from Cyanogen’s refocus strategy, and on to a purer Android experience – enhanced."
Throughout a significant portion of 2016, Windows 10 was making headlines, but not necessarily for reasons Microsoft wanted. Microsoft gave away free copies of Windows 10 to everyone running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 for the first year it was available, and it tried to get as many people as possible to upgrade during this time. In that push, Microsoft resorted to some annoying tactics, from alerts positioned in the system tray to full-blown pop-up ads appearing on desktops.
Every upcoming new year has been predicted, or wished rather, to be the year when the Linux operating system in its desktop form would finally explode into the mainstream. That has actually become a thorny subject among Linux advocates and sometimes even a running joke among both believers and skeptics alike. After so many tries, dating back to even before the popular Ubuntu was released, is there still hope for the Linux desktop? Or perhaps the question is whether it still matters at all.
The Creators Update for Windows 10 is still a ways off from its spring 2017 release, but Microsoft continues to share what's in development and what users can look forward to. The latest blog post from the company details some of the accessibility features that will be included with the update, allowing the Windows 10 OS to be just as easy to use for those with disabilities.
Things have been a little rough so far this year for Jolla, the Finnish startup behind the open-source Sailfish OS. First its tablet device was confirmed dead after a mere 540 units were shipped, and then it found itself in financial trouble before securing $12 million in funding. But now there's some good news for the future of Sailfish, which is that Russia has certified the OS for official use in both governments and corporations.
Days before the Google Pixel finally broke cover, there was a lot of talk about the possibility of a certain Andromeda OS being revealed as well. Andromeda was an intriguing though highly debatable idea, a true unification of Google’s two operating systems, Android and Chrome. In the end, of course, it didn’t come to pass. But what Google did was not only not announce any such Android and Chrome OS merger, it actually revealed something that, in the long run, would make both of those irrelevant, or at least invisible, to the user, in a future where everyone has their own, personal, Google Assistant.
Microsoft is celebrating a fairly significant milestone for Windows 10, announcing today that the operating system is installed on more than 400 million active devices. That means Windows 10 has added 100 million active devices since the last time Microsoft announced install numbers, which was back at the beginning of May.
When it comes to creating its own platforms, Google like to keep busy. There's Android, Chrome OS, Chromecast, and several more. But yet another open source operating system from the company has been discovered, this one dubbed "Fuchsia." Now, this is far from a finalized product, mind you, it's just a new project that's appeared on GitHub with the description "Pink + Purple == Fuchsia (a new Operating System)."
The last week has been a big one for Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system. The OS officially turned one year old, bringing an end to the free upgrade period for Windows 7 and 8 users, and shortly after Microsoft began rolling out the highly anticipated Anniversary Update, which introduces a number of new features and cross compatibility with the Xbox One. However, it seems Microsoft also quietly mentioned that it already has planned for two large updates to see release in 2017.
Just a friendly reminder that today is the final day that folks with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 can upgrade to Windows 10 for free. The free upgrade promotion - which has been running for nearly a year now - will come to a close at midnight, so if you've been procrastinating but planned to upgrade, now is definitely the time. Of course, many of you are probably well aware that the promotion has been going on for a year, given the rather annoying desktop pop-ups that urge you to upgrade. Those should (presumably) be ending too, so cheers all around.
It may be an understatement to say that Microsoft has been aggressive in its efforts to get Windows 7 and 8 users to upgrade to Windows 10. First came the promise that Windows 10 would be a free upgrade for PC users on an older version, and then came the rather nagging desktop popups prompting users to take advantage of the offer. If you were down to receive a free upgrade to Windows 10 from the start, these popups probably never got to the point of annoyance, but for those who are hesitant to jump to Windows 10, they've become a considerable nuisance.
