2016 was a very good year for Microsoft in terms of decision making. Here is a  list of five things the company got right.

Since its inception way back in the ancient epoch known as the 1970s, Microsoft has often been ridiculed for making mistakes. Whether it was for bad business strategies, poor products, or unscrupulous practices, Microsoft seemed to bring out the passionate ire in many people.

But what often gets overlooked is what Microsoft does right each year. And by just about any measurement, 2016 was a remarkable year for the company. Under the leadership of Satya Nadella, Microsoft has changed its business strategy to reflect what it describes as a mobile-first, cloud-first business world. And in 2016, that strategy began show results.

Here, in no particular order, are five things Microsoft got right in 2016.

1. Windows 10 Anniversary Update

To mark the one-year anniversary of Windows 10, Microsoft released a large patch it dubbed the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Okay, so Microsoft is not very clever in naming things. But the patch itself was well received. It included new security measures, new program features, Microsoft Edge browser extensions, and advanced support for digital pens, among many other enhancements. If you were already using Windows 10, the Anniversary Update was a must.

2. Surface Studio

While not its primary business, Microsoft has been developing some noteworthy pieces of hardware the past few years and in 2016, the company generated a large amount of buzz with the release of the Surface Studio. This elegant computer combines the best of the desktop, laptop, and tablet to create a unique and innovative platform perfect for artists, designers, and other creative people. With data visualization becoming ever more important, Microsoft may have invented the perfect tool for the big data generation.

3. Microsoft Office 365

I have been wondering aloud if it is a bit too much, but there can be no doubt that with the dozens of program and feature updates released in 2016, Microsoft Office 365 is the alpha and omega of productivity software. Rather than trying to name all of the new features, it would be best to concentrate on the underlying theme: collaboration. Whether it is Yammer, Skype for Business, or the intelligent cloud, Microsoft is concentrating on features necessary for success in a collaborative environment.

4. LinkedIn

In 2016, Microsoft made several acquisitions of both companies and their technologies. Perhaps the most high-profile of these acquisitions was LinkedIn. Despite all of its efforts to create a collaboration platform with Office 365, the one thing Microsoft needed was a social networking component. LinkedIn gives the company a jump start toward establishing a social networking presence that can compete with the likes of Twitter and Facebook. It will be interesting to see what Microsoft does with this acquisition.

5. IoT, AI, and machine learning

While we may live in a mobile-first, cloud-first world right now, the future may very well revolve around the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and machine learning. To its credit, Microsoft sees the potential of these technologies and has taken steps to get ahead of the curve. In terms of recent history, getting ahead of the curve is not something Microsoft has done very well, so it is difficult to know where the research will lead, but it should prove to be worth watching closely.

Despite what some people may tell you, Microsoft does do some things right. In fact, for the most part, the company does more things right than it does wrong. In 2016, Microsoft did many things right and consumers and businesses have been the beneficiaries. Let’s hope Microsoft can continue the trend in 2017.

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As more consumers grow disenchanted with Apple, Microsoft has taken the opportunity to cash in on the growing popularity of Surface devices.

Microsoft claims that more people are switching to Surface devices from Macs than ever before. That’s a concept that would have been hard to picture when Microsoft first released the Microsoft Surface RT and Surface Pro in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The Surface RT suffered from a watered-down version of the new — and generally disliked — Windows 8 operating system and, while the Surface Pro featured the full desktop version, it came with hardware limitations and a high price tag.

In a sea of clam shell notebooks, all vying to be thinner and lighter than the last, the Surface clumsily debuted as a confusing mashup of a tablet and a laptop. And people didn’t like it. RT users complained of the limited functionality and never-ending bugs, while Surface Pro users were forced to pay a high price just to avoid Windows RT. In fact, the Surface RT did so poorly that Microsoft had to take a $900 million dollar write-down after drastically cutting the price of the device.

The backlash even made some question whether or not we were witnessing the end of Microsoft. It might seem dramatic now in 2016, but in 2013, people really missed the Start menu. Instead, Microsoft listened to consumers’ complaints to find a balance between the company’s vision and what consumers wanted. And it worked — Microsoft has regained credibility and popularity by creating new products that didn’t simply mimic or improve upon what was already out there.

Apple’s identity crisis

For a company once targeting modern, creative professionals, it’s hard to tell who Apple makes products for anymore. Apple’s devices now feel tailored to a low-tech crowd, or people who like new tech, but just aren’t that interested in specs. They want a reliable, easy-to-use device that just works. But where does that leave the original fan base of creative workers who need high-performance and cutting edge features? Apple hasn’t left this industry with many options — and at this point, you can get more for your money in graphics and performance on a Surface Book than a Macbook Pro. Plus, with the newly announced Microsoft Studio, there is finally a strong alternative to the iMac — with a touch display, no less.

Apple’s compromise is the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, which features a dynamic touch bar replacing the row of function keys on the keyboard. The display changes depending on settings and the app you’re using; it’s a cool feature, and certainly useful, but it’s a confusing message. If the iPad Pro is competing with hybrid notebooks like the Surface Pro 4, but Apple doesn’t think people want touch-displays on a notebook, then does that make the iPad Pro a giant iPad?

Microsoft is focused on touch-based input — in fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find even a mid-ranged PC that doesn’t at least offer the option of an upgrade to a touch display. The two companies have taken different stances, but in siding with touch, Microsoft has more to offer in each of its devices. If you want a notebook that can sometimes be a tablet, or a tablet that can sometimes be a notebook, you can purchase just one device instead of two.

Microsoft has focused on developing a family of Surface devices that can suit a wide range of users. It starts with the lower-end Surface 3, which is a great device for anyone who just wants a computer to surf the web and use basic apps. The Surface Pro 4 acts as a step up in size and hardware, with configurations for anyone from light users to those who need more performance. And now, with the Surface Book and Surface Studio, even those who need the highest end configurations for heavy-duty video or image editing have an option.

The Surface in pop culture

Remember when Windows users were the boring, out of touch, suit-wearing nerds in commercials, and a Mac user was the hipster CEO of a startup — that guy in 2006 who wore hoodies and scootered to all his meetings? That landscape has changed a lot since then, and now Microsoft is the one calling out Apple on selling outdated hardware and falling behind the curve.

Microsoft has clearly made a push to get the Surface in front of consumers anyway possible — CNN commentators used the devices in this year’s debates, but it was later discovered they were using them to hide their iPads. Hulu’s The Mindy Project also features Mindy Kaling’s character using a Surface Book, with one very obvious instance of product marketing, where she very purposefully ejects the display from the keyboard. And what New Englander can forget when the Surface Pro 4 made headlines after Patriot’s coach, Bill Belichick, became so frustrated with the technology that he spiked it onto the field.

These might not be the most positive representations of the brand, but the visibility of the device seems to be working. In places where it used to be a sea of aluminum notebooks, featuring the familiar, backlit Apple logo, we’re starting to see some diversity.

Just as it wasn’t the end of Microsoft in 2013, it’s now Apple’s chance to step out of the spotlight and make some changes. But there’s nothing like a little healthy competition to help spark new, creative designs and that’s exactly what motivated Microsoft to step back, refocus and come back strong.

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Microsoft’s massive $26.2 billion acquisition of LinkedIn finally closed, and CEO Satya Nadella explained how the companies will begin working together.

Microsoft’s $26.2 billion purchase of professional networking site LinkedIn officially came to a close on Thursday, after the deal was approved by regulators. Following the close, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella penned a blog post on LinkedIn detailing how the website would begin integrating with Microsoft’s products.

For starters, LinkedIn identity and network capabilities will be coming to Microsoft Outlook, and to the Office suite in general, the post stated. Additionally, LinkedIn notifications will be available to users in the Windows action center as well.

Since LinkedIn is known as a digital CV of sorts, Microsoft will enable LinkedIn members who draft a résumé in Word to directly update their LinkedIn profile page, and more easily search for and apply to relevant job postings, the post said.

One of the potentially troubling integrations is “extending the reach of Sponsored Content across Microsoft properties,” as Nadella wrote on his blog. Whether that means that users will begin seeing ads in their Office apps remains to be seen, but it sets the stage for a potentially tricky user experience.

Enterprise LinkedIn Lookup will soon be powered by Active Directory and Office 365, which could make it easier for employees to connect with one another. Nadella’s blog post also noted that LinkedIn Learning will be made available across the Office 365 and Windows ecosystem, giving Microsoft shops access to new forms of training and continued learning that could prove valuable to their employees.

Additionally, Nadella wrote that the two companies would begin developing a business news desk across their existing ecosystem of content, and for MSN.com. Sales Navigator and Dynamics 365 will also be integrated in hopes of improving social selling capabilities.

Since the acquisition was first announced, it’s been fairly clear that data was the driving force behind the deal. The two companies had non-overlapping, complementary data graphs, and these integrations show just the first steps that Microsoft is taking to leverage LinkedIn’s data, along with its own, to build out a more holistic ecosystem of business technologies and services.

Current LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner will continue to lead the company after the acquisition, and theNew York Times reported that roughly 10,000 LinkedIn employees will join Microsoft.

The 3 big takeaways for readers

1. Microsoft closed its $26.2 billion acquisition of social networking site LinkedIn on Thursday, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella outlining how the two companies will merge.
2. LinkedIn features and services will be coming to Outlook, Office 365, Dynamics 365, and even MSN.com, with LinkedIn search getting a boost from Active Directory.
3. The deal has always been about data, and the integrations are just the start of how the two companies will merge their individual data graphs.

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A look at the most significant changes due to hit Microsoft’s evolving OS in the coming year.

Microsoft has made many promises about what Windows 10 will do, and while some have materialized, others still remain ambitions.

As a perpetual work-in-progress, Windows 10 continues to accrue new features, as Windows catches up with Microsoft’s vision of it being an OS that runs anywhere, syncs with the cloud and has an intelligent assistant at its core.

While Windows 10 will be buffed up by the arrival of the Windows 10 Creators Update early next year, 2017 as a whole will see the OS undergo significant changes, some of which are long-awaited. Here’s what to look out for.

Windows 10 phones edge closer to replacing desktop PCs

Microsoft has long pushed the idea that Windows 10 on phones will be so powerful, it’ll be akin to carrying a full PC in your pocket, courtesy of the OS’ Continuum feature.

“With Continuum for phones, we believe that any screen can be your PC,” Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s corporate VP of the operating systems group, told the Microsoft Build Developer Conference in 2015, going on to add:

“Imagine the effect this could have on mobile first countries, where individuals could be as effective with the phone that they’re buying.”

Today the reality of using Continuum on Windows 10 falls somewhat short of Belfiore’s future-gazing. While a select Windows 10 phones, such as the Lumia 950, can be hooked up to mouse, keyboard and monitor and used as a Windows desktop there are significant limitations. Only one fullscreen app can be used at a time, legacy Windows apps won’t run on existing handsets and even Universal Windows Platform apps need to explicitly support Continuum.

However, in addition to the possibility of legacy apps running on smartphones, see below, various improvements to Continuum are due to land with the Creators Update in early 2017.

These include support for more PC features, such as running multiple Windows side-by-side on the desktop, pinning apps to the Taskbar and hitting the Windows button to bring up the search box. Other improvements include the ability to keep your phone in your pocket and have it connect wirelessly to a docking station and to independently customize the Windows Start screen on the phone display and on a PC monitor.

Running classic Windows software on your phone

This one’s a rumor but based on solid foundations, and with the potential to transform Windows 10’s appeal on mobile if correct.

The big fly in the ointment when it comes to using Windows 10’s Continuum feature to run a phone as a PC is that Windows 10 phones only run Universal Windows Platform apps. This incompatibility means that widely-used Windows apps from desktop PCs can’t be used on handsets.

However, by sniffing around inside Windows 10’s code, users have uncovered signs that Microsoft is working on bringing these apps to Windows phones.

The code in question suggests that Microsoft is building an emulator that would allow desktop x86 apps to work on the ARM64-based handsets.

As reported by ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley last month, Twitter user WalkingCat found a reference to what he termed “Windows’s hybrid x86-on-ARM64 tech” in Windows’ codebase, which also referenced the term, “CHPE.”

The clue chimed with Foley, who said her sources had told her that Windows 10 will gain this x86 on ARM64 emulation capability, but not until Fall 2017.

Foley guesses that C stands for Cobalt, the codename for x86 emulation on ARM, and that HP relates to the tech giant HP, which has been working with Microsoft on its the HP Elite x3 Windows Phone, a Windows 10 handset that can serve as a desktop PC via Continuum.

Microsoft certainly has good reasons for wanting such emulation to work. If Windows 10 phones could run as Windows desktops with full support for legacy apps, without having to resort to remote desktop software, Windows 10 phones could suddenly be far more appealing to business.

Return of OneDrive placeholders

Since the launch of Windows 10, many users have been petitioning Microsoft to reintroduce placeholders to the OS’ built-in OneDrive cloud storage service.

In Windows 8.1, placeholders, also called smart files, let users see all of their files stored on OneDrive, whether those files were stored on the device or not.

This feature was removed from Windows 10 but is now due to be bought back in Windows 10 File Explorer when browsing OneDrive. The returning feature will work in a similar fashion to Windows 8.1’s placeholders, showing users files both stored locally and on OneDrive, allowing them to download files and folders to the device and keep them in sync with OneDrive.

Orchestrate Windows apps using Linux tools

Microsoft recently updated Windows 10 to let users run a range of Linux tools from inside the OSand seems committed to continuing to improve support for Linux command-line software in Windows.

In Windows 10, Ubuntu/Linux software runs on top of the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Users run Linux software and issue commands at the command line via the Bash shell.

Microsoft is working to increase the range of commands that can be run via the shell but perhaps the most significant change on the horizon is increased interoperability between the Bash and Windows environments. Effectively this will let developers call Windows applications from within Bash — allowing them to write a Bash script to automate a complex build that includes Windows applications — and to invoke Bash applications from Windows PowerShell.

These changes will be generally available in Windows 10 after the Creators Update early next year.

Easy communication with friends and family

Next year’s Creators Update will boost Windows 10’s social credentials, with a series of changes to make it simpler to stay in touch and share content with friends and family.

The Windows MyPeople feature will allow users to pin their favorite contacts to the right-hand side of Windows taskbar. Clicking on a pinned contact’s face brings up email or Skype messages from only that person and files can be dragged files to that person’s face for quick sharing. Informal check-ins also become easier, with the Shoulder Taps feature allowing pinned contacts to send friends animated emojis and other clipart, which pop up above that contact’s face on the taskbar.

Focusing Windows around virtual and augmented reality

Microsoft plans to put 3D and virtual reality at the heart of Windows 10, as it bets on the success of low-cost headsets due out next year.

Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo will release virtual reality head-mounted displays, with prices starting from $299.

Some of these headsets will be released in March, to coincide with the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update, which will include various tools to simplify the creation and sharing of 3D content, including a new version of Microsoft Paint.

In a demo earlier this year, Microsoft showed how Windows 10 could work on virtual reality headsets, demonstrating a mock-up of a virtual space with a large TV screen and virtual shelves stocked with apps and 3D models, and with the Edge browser appearing as a large window in the wearer’s view.

Another demo, this time using the far more expensive Microsoft HoloLens, showed Microsoft’s Edge browser as a window in the user’s vision, from which the demoer dropped actual-sized 3D models of stools from the furniture site Houzz around the room, in order to see what they looked like in real life.

Allowing Windows to function in this way is Windows Holographic, a variant of the Microsoft OS that provides a platform for virtual and augmented reality headsets to run Universal Windows Platform apps.

More detail on Microsoft’s VR and AR plans are expected this week at the WinHEC conference in China.

Better battery life

Windows 10 PCs and tablets should have better battery life after the Creators Update lands in March, thanks to changes to how the OS is patched.

The steady stream of updates isn’t going to slow down but they are going to suck up less bandwidth and reduce strain on phone and laptop batteries.

Download sizes for major updates will be cut by about 35 percent and battery life of Windows 10 mobile devices will improve, due to each device spending less time checking for updates.

The improvements will stem from Windows 10’s new Unified Update Platform, already used for Windows 10 on phones, which only updates each device with the files it needs, rather than delivering all updates to date, and doesn’t rely so heavily on the user’s device to process update data.

Windows Defender Application Guard

Coming to Windows 10 Enterprise users early next year, Windows Defender Application Guard is designed to help protect firms against online threats.

The new safeguard will add container-based isolation to Windows 10’s Edge browser.

Application Guard will ensure that when Edge accesses a website not designated as trusted, the browser will be launched inside a container, a virtualized environment isolated from the rest of the Windows OS.

If the site tries to download and run malicious code on the device, that code remains within the container, unable to permanently compromise the Windows device or the wider network, and disappears when the browser session shuts down.

Unlike the software-based sandboxes that are offered by other browsers, Microsoft says that Application Guard provides a hardware-based container that offers greater protection to the device.

Other enterprise-focused changes in the forthcoming Creators Update include improvements to Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection’s ability to detect and respond to network attacks, an upgrade to the Windows Analytics dashboard to display additional information about the composition of IT estates, a new tool for in-place UEFI conversion, and a mobile application management feature for protecting data on employees’ personal devices.

Home Hub

Rather than building hardware to challenge voice-controlled virtual assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, it seems as if Microsoft is working on transforming Windows 10 into what it calls a Home Hub.

Evidence of this shift comes from a Windows Central interview with unnamed sources. These sources claim that Home Hub will turn Windows into a shared computing environment for the home, allowing family members to more easily share calendars, apps and services.

A future-gazing Microsoft video from 2013, dug out by ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley, shows how this system might eventually work. In it, family members share access to photos, apps and calendars on a screen attached to a wall and interact with computers around the home, for example scanning carrots to find appropriate recipes. Adding credence to the Home Hub rumor are references to Home Hub being a shared family account in Windows 10, as discovered by Twitter user WalkingCat.

ZDNet’s Foley also references a recent Microsoft job posting for a software engineer in the Windows and Devices Group, which is seeking someone to expand Windows’ “family” credentials.

According to the ad, this engineer will play a critical role in helping families to “share pictures, videos, applications, games, and other purchases easily” and to “communicate freely and stay in touch” using Windows 10.

Blue light reduction

One more unconfirmed new feature appears to be aimed at helping Windows 10 users get a good night’s sleep.

Being exposed to blue light from computer screens late at night can supposedly disrupt the body’s sleep cycle.

To counter this disturbance, Windows 10 already has f.lux software that reduces blue light emitted by screens close to bedtime.

But it seems that Microsoft may be working on its own feature to address the issue.

Twitter user Core has discovered references to “BlueLightReduction” hidden within early builds of the OS being tested under the Windows Insider Program, a setting which appears as if would be toggled from Windows 10’s Action Center.

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Where do you draw the line on personal privacy? The right options are different for everyone. This guide shows the privacy settings that will help you to create the right balance of privacy and convenience in Windows 10.

Over the past year, We’ve read countless “privacy guides” for Windows 10. Most are well-intentioned, but they invariably take a simplistic approach to privacy: Just turn off every switch in the Privacy section of the Settings app.

If you do that, you’re not understanding the privacy landscape, which encompasses far more than just those settings. You’re also missing some important additional steps.

Windows 10 is a mix of software and services. With every session, a Windows 10 device exchanges a great deal of information with Microsoft’s servers. That’s neither unusual nor alarming. Microsoft’s chief rivals, Google and Apple, are also blending services into their software, with the goal of making your life easier and making that software more reliable.

So are other tech companies that you don’t think of as software companies: Amazon, with the Echo. Tesla, with its self-updating, software-driven cars. Your thermostat and your home security system.

There’s something profoundly satisfying about a service that anticipates your every move, reminding you when to leave for an appointment to arrive on time, or to pick up flowers for your anniversary tomorrow. Your digital personal assistant, whether it’s Siri or Cortana or Alexa or Google, needs to be able to see your calendar and contacts to make that magic happen.

But when that sort of personal attention goes too far, it “crosses the creepy line,” to use a phrase that Eric Schmidt probably regrets uttering when he was Google’s CEO.

The thing about that line is that it’s drawn in a different place for everyone. There are people who are thrilled at the idea that their PC or mobile device is so familiar with their actions that it can anticipate what they’ll do next. I know others who would like to build a virtual Faraday cage around their computing hardware so that none of their personal details can escape.

Both of those viewpoints, and everything in between, are perfectly valid. That’s why the software and services we use are loaded with switches and dials designed to help you take control of their potential privacy impact.

In this post, We’ll walk you through the big privacy questions for Windows 10, with enough context to help you decide which settings are right for you.

Note that this guide assumes you are using Windows 10 on a personal PC or one in your small business. If you are in an enterprise setting, or if you are in a regulated industry, you should seek professional assistance to ensure that you’re meeting proper standards.

Let’s start with the part of your PC that has the biggest impact on your personal privacy.

THE NETWORK

No one knows more about your online identity than your Internet service provider. Every packet you send or receive from anywhere online goes through their servers. When you travel and connect to Wi-Fi networks that are under the control of others, the owners of those networks can see every connection you make and can intercept their contents.

Regardless of the platform you use, that’s why it’s important you use encrypted connections for any kind of sensitive communications. Using a virtual private network whenever possible is an excellent best practice.

Windows 10 does offer one obscure option that can help protect third parties from tracking your movements based on your connections to Wi-Fi networks. (Note that this feature requires support from your Wi-Fi adapter, so if you don’t see this option, the most likely explanation is that your hardware doesn’t support it.) Under Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi, turn the Use random hardware addresses setting to On.

That step keeps third parties from matching your Wi-Fi adapter’s hardware address with your personal information, making it more difficult to track your location.

THE BROWSER

Countless third-party ad networks and analytics companies use cookies and other tracking technology to record your movements around the web and to correlate your online activities with your offline identity.

The result is a digital fingerprint that can be extraordinarily detailed and, unfortunately, outside of your ability to change.

To limit the amount of information that those ad and analytics companies know about you from your web browsing, consider third-party anti-tracking software such as Abine’s Blur, which is available for every web browser except Microsoft Edge. (That lack of solid support for add-ons is one reason I can’t yet recommend Edge as a full-time browser for most Windows 10 users.)

Another privacy product worth considering is Ghostery, although some are suspicious of this browser extension because of its uncomfortably close ties to the online advertising industry.

Ad-blocking software can also provide some privacy protection as a side-effect of performing its basic function. Here, too, watch out for close ties between some ad-blocking add-ins and the third-party trackers they supposedly protect you from.

Note that none of these steps is unique to Windows 10. Anti-tracking software is typically a browser add-in and works with most popular browsers.

THE OPERATING SYSTEM

With those two big, platform-independent factors out of the way, we can now turn to Windows 10 itself. When you use a Windows 10 device, it is capable of sharing the following types of information with Microsoft’s servers:

Your location

Windows 10 can determine your location to help with actions like automatically setting your current time zone. It can also record a location history on a per-device basis. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location to control the following:

• Location on/off?Use the master switch at the top of this page to disable all location features for all users of the current device.
• Location service on/off?If location is on for Windows, you can still turn it off for your user account here.
• General location?This allows you to set a city, zip code, or region so that apps can deliver relevant content.
• Default location?Click Set default to open the Maps app and specify the location you want Windows to use when a more precise location is not available.
• Location history?Click Clear to erase the saved history for a Windows 10 device.

If location is on, a list at the bottom of the Settings > Privacy > Location page allows you to disable access to that data on a per-app basis.

Your input

If you enable Cortana, Windows 10 uploads some info from your devices, such as your calendar, contacts, and location and browsing history, so that Cortana can make personalized recommendations. If you don’t want any accounts on your PC to use Cortana, follow the steps in this article to disable the feature completely: Turn off Cortana completely.

Windows 10 uses some feedback from the way you type, write, and speak to improve performance for you and as a way to improve the overall platform. This isn’t keystroke logging; rather, the operating system uses a very small amount of information. A separate feature uses your speech and writing history to make better suggestions in Windows and Cortana.

You can control this collection with two sets of controls:

Under Settings > Privacy > General, click Info about how I write and turn it off so that your typos aren’t used to improve things like the built-in spell checker.

Under Settings > Privacy > Speech, inking, & typing, under the Getting to know you heading, click Stop getting to know me to turn off personalization.

To clear previously saved information associated with your Microsoft account, click the first link under the Manage cloud info heading. That takes you to this Bing Personalization page, which includes this prominent button:

Click Clear to remove that saved information from the cloud.

Files and settings

When you sign in with a Microsoft account, you have the option to save files to the cloud using OneDrive. Windows 10 also syncs some settings to OneDrive, allowing you to have the same desktop background, saved passwords, and other personalized settings when you sign in with that account on multiple PCs.

If you use a local account, of course, none of your settings are synced. If you use a Microsoft account, you can turn off syncing completely or remove certain settings from the sync list by going to Settings > Accounts > Sync Your Settings.

OneDrive is an opt-in service. If you don’t sign in, it does nothing. You can’t save files to OneDrive accidentally, and no files are uploaded without your explicit permission, which you can revoke any time. To disable OneDrive for all users on your PC, follow these instructions: Shut down OneDrive completely.

Telemetry

Microsoft, like all modern software companies, uses feedback from its installed base to identify problems and improve performance. In Windows 10, this feedback mechanism produces diagnostics data (aka telemetry) that is uploaded to Microsoft at regular intervals. The data is anonymized and is not used to create a profile of you.

The default telemetry setting for all consumer and small business versions of Windows 10 is Full, which means that the uploaded data also includes details (also anonymized) about app usage. If you are concerned about possible inadvertent leakage of personal information, I recommend that you go to Settings > Privacy > Feedback & diagnostics and change the Diagnostic and usage data setting to Basic.

THE APPS

Although the number of subcategories under the Privacy heading in Settings seems daunting, most of them govern access to your information by Windows Store apps. That set of apps includes those that are preinstalled (Mail, Calendar, Groove Music, Photos, and so on) as well as those you acquire from the Store.

Most of the categories offer a single on-off switch at the top, which you can use to disable all access to that feature by all apps. If you leave the feature enabled, you can use a list of apps at the bottom of the page to enable or disable access on a per-app basis.

This capability works the same with the following categories: Camera, Microphone, Notifications, Account Info, Call History, and Radios. The Other Devices category lets apps automatically share and sync info with wireless devices that aren’t explicitly paired with your PC. Use the Background Apps category to specify which apps are allowed to work in the background.

If Location is enabled, you have the option to disable location access on a per-app basis and to disable Geofencing.

The Contacts, Calendar, Email, and Messaging categories allow you to control which apps can have access to these features. If you want to share content from an app using email or messaging, this option has to be on for that app. Note that Mail and Calendar, People, and Phone always have access to your contacts; Mail and Calendar are always allowed to access and send email and always have access to your calendar.

Finally, one horribly misunderstood setting is available under Settings > Privacy > General. Advertising ID controls whether Microsoft serves personalized ads to ad-supported apps. If you turn this option off, you still get ads, but they’re not personalized. In any case, your information is not shared with advertisers.

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Summary

Details

Update 8/16/16: The Windows 10 Anniversary Update has begun rolling out for Windows 10 Mobile. The Anniversary Update includes additional features and improvements for your Windows 10 phone. To manually check for the update, on Start, swipe over to the All apps list, then select Settings > Update & security > Phone update > Check for updates. Note that availability may vary by manufacturer, model, country or region, mobile operator or service provider, hardware limitations and other factors.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update has begun rolling out for customers around the world*. The Windows 10 Anniversary Update is full of new features and innovations that bring Windows Ink and Cortana** to life; a faster, more accessible and more power-efficient Microsoft Edge browser; advanced security features; new gaming experiences and more. The Windows 10 Anniversary Update will start rolling out to Windows 10 Mobile phones in the coming weeks.

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update is being rolled out to Windows 10 PCs across the world in phases starting with the newer machines first. You don’t have to do anything to get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, it will roll out automatically to you through Windows Update if you’ve chosen to have updates installed automatically on your device. However, if you don’t want to wait for the update to roll out to you, you can manually get the update yourself on your personal PC. If you’re using a Windows 10 PC at work, you will need to check with your IT administrator for details on your organization’s specific plans to update.

Here are a couple ways you can manually get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

Go to Settings > Updates & Security > Windows Update

1. In Windows Update simply click Check for Updates.

2. The Anniversary Update will appear as, Feature update to Windows 10, version 1607. Click update and the update will begin downloading and installing.

Another way to get the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will be by clicking “Learn more” just below the “Looking for info on the latest updates? In Windows Update.

From there you’ll be taken to a support page on Microsoft.com that will allow you to download the ISO file to your PC.

We hope you enjoy the Windows 10 Anniversary Update!

*Windows 10 Anniversary Update will be available in all countries where Windows 10 is available.
**Cortana available in select markets

Have questions?

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Everything you need to know about the Surface Studio, Microsoft’s new all-in-one PC designed to tempt professional artists and designers over to Windows.

The Surface Studio is an all-in-one PC with premium specs, designed to wow professional artists, designers, architects and other creatives.

While the $2,999 price tag will deter most consumers, Microsoft seems to be targeting the Studio at design professionals, who would otherwise be using Apple Macs alongside specialist devices like Wacom’s Cintiq drawing tablet.

The Studio is a machine with a lot to recommend it, but one that could still be a leap too far for creatives already heavily invested in alternative tech.

Executive summary

• What it is: The Surface Studio is a high-end, all-in-one PC aimed at being a drafting table and canvas for creatives.
• Why it matters: The machine marks Microsoft’s first venture into designing desktop PCs and may put pressure on Apple and other manufacturers to crank up specs on competing machines.
• Who it is for: Artists, designers, architects — creative professionals who want a machine that shows off their work at its best.
• Why you should get it: For its super sleek, razor-sharp display that lets users draw straight onto the screen.
• Why you shouldn’t get it: The price is too high or you’re a professional already heavily invested in alternative software and hardware.
• How to get it: Pre-order online, although stock is limited according to Microsoft

What it is

An all-in-one, Windows 10 PC designed to dazzle users with its superlative display.

The screen, a 28-inch touchscreen LCD monitor, is ‘the thinnest in the world’ according to Microsoft, and sits on a counterbalanced hinge that makes it easy to push down onto the desk, and start drawing on with a digital pen.

The monitor’s 4K+ resolution and ability to display more than one billion colors, as well as to show drawings and documents at 1:1 scale with their paper equivalents, is designed to give professionals the ability to see how their creations would look in the real world.

Sketching on the screen with the Surface Pen is made easier when the Studio is used with the newly released Surface Dial, a brushed silver knob that can be rotated to select a new color when drawing on the screen or to turn the image.

Why it matters

From the point of view of artists and designers, the Studio offers a high-end computer built around their creative needs, which does away with having to use a separate drawing tablet and computer.

Even if creatives ignore the Surface Studio, its release is good news, likely to prompt incumbents like Apple and Wacom to spec up and cut the prices of new machines — in particular for the iMac, which the Studio has been compared to many times, despite the iMac lacking a touchscreen.

By following up the immaculately designed Surface Book laptop with a striking machine like the Surface Studio, Microsoft also appears to be trying to establish itself as a competitor to Apple on the design front.

Who it is for

Broadly, the Studio seems to be aimed at anyone who draws or designs for a living.

In launch videos, the Studio was seen being used by artists, architects and product designers.

The multi-purpose nature of the Studio, a machine that combines a Windows desktop PC with the functionality of a separate digital drawing tablet, such as the Cintiq 27 QHD Touch, will likely make the $2,999 price tag easier to swallow among those in the creative industries.

Why you should get it

If you draw or design for a living there are plenty of reasons why you might want the Studio. For example, there’s the quality of the display and the ease with which the Surface Pen draws on the screen. Microsoft describes this experience as virtually as fluid as drawing on paper. Then there’s the Studio’s significant graphical processing power, the ability to view documents and drawings actual size on screen and the ease with which you can switch push down the monitor and begin drawing.

Why you shouldn’t get it

Despite the Studio’s looks, its high price makes it hard to recommend as a consumer purchase, particularly when an iMac with a higher resolution, and only very slightly smaller screen, will cost less money.

Even professional creators are unlikely to abandon their current expensive setup for a Studio, as Mikako Kitagawa, principal research analyst with Gartner, pointed out.

“An all-in-one device is not the most cost-effective device, as the users pay for both the computing unit and monitor at the same time,” she said.

“Creative professionals have already invested heavily in hardware and software. For instance, many professional illustrators use a high-end drawing tablet and high-resolution monitor at the same time.”

If those same professionals exclusively use macOS, as is the case in some creative outlets, then the high cost of switching to Windows will also be a deterrent, she said.

There is also Microsoft’s odd decision not to include the $99 Surface Dial with the Studio, despite the peripheral featuring so heavily in demos of the machine, and being particularly useful for tasks like changing colors while drawing with the Surface Pen.

How to get it

The Surface Studio is available to pre-order from Microsoft, with prices starting at $2,999 and shipping starting from 12 December. Microsoft has warned the machine will be available in limited quantities.

Tech specs:

$2,999: 1TB drive; Intel Core i5 CPU; 8GB RAM; 2GB GPU

$3,499: 1TB drive; Intel Core i7 CPU; 16GB RAM; 2GB GPU

$4,199: 2TB drive; Intel Core i7 CPU; 32GB RAM; 4GB GPU

Display: 28″ PixelSense Display; 4500 x 3000 resolution; 192 DPI; Color settings: Adobe sRGB, DCI-P3 and Vivid Color Profiles; Touch: 10-point multi-touch; Aspect ratio: 3:2 TB drive; Intel Core i5 CPU; 8GB RAM; 2GB GPU

Processor: Quad-core 6th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7

Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GPU GDDR5 memory or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4GB GPU GDDR5 memory

Storage: 1TB or 2TB ‘rapid hybrid drive’

Memory: 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB RAM

Wireless: 802.11ac Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 4.0; Xbox Wireless built-in3

Dimensions: Display: 25.09 x 17.27 x 0.44 in (637.35 x 438.90 x 11.4 mm); Base: 9.84 x 8.66 x 1.26 in (250.00 x 220.00 x 32.20 mm)

Weight: 21.07 lbs max (9.56 kg)

Connections: 4 USB 3.0; Full-size SD card reader (SDXC compatible); Mini Displayport; 3.5mm headset jack; Compatible with Surface Dial onscreen interaction

Cameras: 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video

Audio: Dual microphones; Stereo 2.1 speakers with Dolby Audio Premium

Buttons: Volume and power

Surface Pen

Surface Keyboard

Surface Mouse

Power cord with grip-release cable

Security: TPM chip for enterprise security; Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

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Microsoft announced a slew of new goodies at its Windows event in New York. Catch up on everything from the Surface Studio all-in-one to the Windows 10 Creators Update here.

Microsoft’s big event in New York on Tuesday included plenty of new Surface hardware, but nevertheless, it’s easy to see why the company called this a Windows event rather than a Surface shindig.

Windows and devices chief Terry Myerson kicked things off with a tantalizing glimpse of the features that will debut with the new Windows 10 Creators Update, scheduled to release in the spring. The rest of event was dedicated to new Surface gear designed specifically to marry powerful, thoughtful hardware with the best of those new software features. But don’t take my word for it! Here’s everything Microsoft announced at its October 26 Windows event.

 

Windows 10 Creators Update

As I said, the freshly revealed Windows 10 Creators Update, scheduled to arrive in early 2017, kicked off the show. The update’s built around three key pillars: the creation and manipulation of 3D content, sharing your Xbox Live gaming experiences, and easily communicating with others—hence the name.

 

Surface Studio

Microsoft’s first-ever desktop PC is the paragon for all those Windows ideals. The Surface Studio all-in-one mixes stunning physical design and impressive internal hardware, focused on creating the best experience possible for professionals and content creators. From an ultra-slim 4,500×3,000-resolution screen with “True Scale” 1:1 image recreation, to the ability to lay at a 20-degree angle for natural positioning while sketching, to the 6th-gen (Skylake) Core i7 CPU and Nvidia GPU powering it all, the Surface Studio is laser-focused on helping you get things done. (And showing off Windows in the best possible light, naturally.)

These tidbits are just the tip of the iceberg. If you like what you see, the Surface Studio starts at $3,000 and is available for preorder now.

 

Surface Dial

The Surface Studio’s content-friendly design and Windows 10’s new content creation tools are amplified by the Surface Dial, a radical puck that can control Microsoft’s new PC. It’s primarily designed to work in conjunction with Microsoft’s Surface Pen. Priced at $100, you can preorder it now.

The Surface Dial doesn’t have any buttons of its own. Instead, using it reveals an interface wheel customized for specific applications, with selections occurring as you twist the device back and forth. You may cycle through tool-tip brushes in an image editing app, for instance, or rewind and fast-forward through written notes in Office. A virtual version of the Dial appears even if you don’t place the puck directly onscreen, letting you zoom, scroll, and adjust various options like screen brightness and volume. Mark Hachman’s Surface Dial hands-on explains it all.

Support for the Surface Dial will be baked right into Windows 10, and the accessory will be compatible with the existing Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Book.

 

Surface Book i7

Handily enough, Microsoft also revealed a newer, more powerful version of the Surface Book, the aptly named Surface Book i7. The Surface Book i7 swaps in a sixth-gen Skylake Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GTX 965M GPU to deliver twice the power of the most potent original Surface Book, and (Microsoft claims) three times the power of the beefiest 13-inch MacBook Pro—though Apple’s expected to roll out new Macs tomorrow.

Microsoft also managed to up the Surface Book i7’s battery life to a claimed 15 hours, despite the additional firepower, thanks to a redesigned cooling system and, well, more batteries. The Surface Book i7 starts at $2,400 and is available to preorder now.

 

Paint 3D

Windows’ venerable Paint app is being dragged into the 21st century. The Windows 10 Creators Update adds Paint 3D, a Windows Store app designed from the ground up to create 3D images even out of 2D pictures.

Paint 3D includes numerous tools for editing three-dimensional images. It also integrates with a new Windows 10 3D-scanning app dubbed Windows Capture 3D, which allows you to digitize real-world objects. Microsoft plans to introduce a “community” hub on Remix3D.com for shared 3D images, plus it’ll let you drag your creations out of Minecraft. Microsoft Office applications will also support 3D images after the Windows 10 Creators Update rolls out.

You have to wonder how many non-professionals are interested in 3D image creation, but there’s no doubting that Paint 3D looks mighty nifty—and like a perfect match for the Surface Studio and Surface Dial’s capabilities.

 

Windows Holographic VR headsets

You’ll be able to view those 3D creations through Microsoft’s own HoloLens, or via an onslaught of Windows Holographic-compatible VR headsets apparently coming from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer.

“These headsets will be the first and only to ship with inside-out, six-degree-of-freedom sensors,” said Microsoft’s Terry Myerson. “Unlike every other VR headset on the market today, this means there will be zero need for a separate room. Zero need for a complicated setup.”

 

My People

Microsoft wants to make your friends the center of your Windows experience with My People, a feature that borrows from Android and iOS. In the Creators Update, five important contacts will appear as profile images in your taskbar. You’ll be able to drop files onto these contacts to immediately share items, or click the contact to interact in a specific app like Mail, Skype, SMS, or Xbox Live. Handy!

 

Live PC game streaming

Microsoft’s muscling in on Twitch. The Windows 10 Creators Update adds the ability to easily start broadcasting your Xbox Live games via the operating system’s Game DVR toolbar, sending notifications out to your pals and fellow club members to let them know when you’re online. Once they hop into your stream they’ll be able to chat with you, as with every other streaming service out there.

The service is powered by Microsoft’s recent Beam acquisition and looks dead-simple to use. It’s easy to envision Windows 10 Game DVR livestreaming becoming popular on consoles, but Microsoft faces an uphill battle on PCs, where Twitch and tools like Nvidia Shadowplay and OBS already enjoy massive, entrenched user bases.

 

Custom tournaments and fancy audio

Microsoft’s tying console and PC users closer together with custom tournaments powered by Xbox Live’s Arena platform. Next year, you’ll be able to create your own custom gaming tournaments, controlling everything from the games, to the rules, to the players, to the start times. Previously, Area tournaments were only created by Microsoft and its official partners.

The Xbox One S, which is itself powered by Windows 10, is adding support for bitstreaming Blu-ray audio pass-through and Dolby Atmos. Soon, those 4K videos and games will sound just as glorious as they look.

 

Surface Mouse and keyboards

The niche Surface Dial isn’t the only Studio peripheral Microsoft announced today, though none of the others made it onto the stage during the big event. Microsoft quietly launched a Surface Mouse and a pair of desktop Surface keyboards—one standard, the other ergonomic—to complement its premium all-in-one PC. All three match the gray aesthetic of Microsoft first-ever desktop PC. The Surface Studio includes a Surface Mouse and basic Surface Keyboard, however.

You can preorder all three on Microsoft’s Surface accessories page, with shipments scheduled for early November.

Have questions?

Get answers from Microsofts Cloud Solutions Partner!
Call us at: 856-745-9990 or visit: https://southjerseytechies.net/

South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

To read this article in its entirety click here.