Windows 10 Day 5: Using Windows store applications

In the last few days, I was merely talking about the overall experience of Windows 10 and in this week I will begin focusing on core aspects of the operating system that gives it that unique Windows 10 touch. Sure you have the new and improved Start Menu and Microsoft's personal assistant Cortana, living on your desktop but using Windows is all about being productive. And part of that productive workflow is using applications.

I am not going to bore you by talking about the standard Win32 applications like Chrome and Photoshop that we've been using for a long time. Specifically, I will be discussing about Windows Store applications which has been given a pretty solid upgrade in Windows 10. Unlike Windows Store apps that run in Windows 8/8.1, Microsoft has finally given these applications a window of it's own meaning that these applications will no longer take up your full monitor space when it is actively running.

Windows 10 Day 4: Talking to Cortana - Cortana is Microsoft's very own personal assistant and it has been brought over from Windows Phone and she will be heading to both iOS and Android by the years' end. Continue reading.

However, not all applications will have this characteristics as I have noticed that some games in particular (Age of Empires) still run in full screen and there's no option to resize it to my liking.

Windows 10 Day 4: Talking to Cortana

The thing about doing this daily Windows 10 blog entry articles is that I am able to share what I have discovered over the course of a day using Windows 10 to be productive. Often time when I am evaluating something over the course of a week, some important things will be left behind. Microsoft's new operating system has been out for 4 days now and is reportedly now on 67 million computers worldwide and it's time that I went in a little deeper into the operating system. In the upcoming week I will be looking into some of new productivity tools in Windows 10 and try to form a new workflow with the new features like Virtual Desktops and Task View.

Windows 10 review - Formerly called Project Spartan, the new Edge browser looks nothing like IE other than a few similar design cues. It looks somewhat like Firefox with a Windows 10 theme put over it. Continue reading. 

But to kick off this weekend edition of my Windows 10 blog entry, I think it is time to talk about the ins and outs of Cortana. In case you missed it, Cortana is Microsoft's very own personal assistant and it has been brought over from Windows Phone and she will be heading to both iOS and Android by the years' end. In Windows 10, Cortana lives in the integrated search bar on your taskbar.

Windows 10 Day 3: Using Windows 10 with a touchscreen

The Windows 10 hype isn't that strong today, while there are still quite a number of articles about it being good or bad, the initial hype about the launch is a bit calmer now. While most of us in the tech community has upgraded to Windows 10, some of the not-so tech savvy users have not claimed their upgrade and that should take place during the weekends as the process does take a hit on productive activities. Just remember that if you have not received the notification for your Windows 10 upgrade, you can try this trick to skip the line and get it now. 

Speaking of upgrading to Windows 10, Microsoft has announced today through their official blog that Windows 10 is now on 14 million computers worldwide. That equates to 162 upgrades every second, pretty impressive number. Additionally, Microsoft also highlighted the moments shared by Windows 10 fans on launch day through the #UpgradeYourWorld hashtag. 

Windows 10 Day 2: Configuring the operating system - Everything worked as is and I even managed to print a file on my printer, No errors, the drivers were supported on Windows 10. Continue reading. 

Alright, on to today's update which is all about the Surface Pro 3. Like I mentioned in Day 1, previously I was only using Windows 10 on an old laptop which is nothing compared to all the new hardware innovations on laptops today. Microsoft's Surface Pro 3 laptop hybrid is one of them as it comes with a high resolution 12" multi touch display. While Microsoft isn't directly marketing Windows 10 as an operating system made for touch devices like they did with Windows 8, the operating system itself has quite a bit of tricks up it's sleeve for laptops with touch displays. 

Windows 10 Day 2: Configuring the operating system

This is day 2 of running Windows 10 on my main computer and while yesterday was all about upgrading to Windows 10 itself as well as talk about some of the shortcomings after updating. Today's experience is better compared to yesterday but there are still some bug here and the with Windows 10. It is not exactly a perfect experience like it was with Windows 8.1 but that what you get for being an early adopter.

Windows 10 Day 1: The actual upgrade - Using Windows 10 on a big monitor is a relatively new experience for me. On the taskbar I can now fit more than 20 applications without splitting into a separate page. Continue reading.

It was a normal day for me and as usual, I was using the computer all day long and for the most part I was doing the usual things like looking through my Twitter stream, reading new articles, watching videos, and also doing a little social blogging on our social media sites. My workflow remained the same but I did started to use some Windows Store apps like Wunderlist and the Mail app.

But that's not all, I was also upgrading the Surface Pro 3 to Windows 10. Surprisingly, I actually have quite a bit to talk about the whole upgrade and initial setup process for the Surface Pro 3.

Windows 10 Day 1: The actual upgrade

After 9 months of trying out everything good and bad about Windows 10 through the Insider program, today (July 29), I will officially start using Windows 10 on my main computer. Previously, I was only using Windows 10 on a occasional basis which mostly happens when there is a brand new feature or there was something I needed to clarify. That Windows 10 experience was based on an old Dell laptop which initially ran Windows Vista and was powered by a Core 2 Duo processor.

Windows 10 Facts - Horizontal scrolling is dead on Windows 10, OneDrive is now a music streaming service and more. Continue reading

Technically speaking, that didn't affect my review of Windows 10, I was evaluating the software experience and not the hardware performance. But nonetheless, Windows 10 ran quite solidly on my old laptop. With that out of the way, now I have the opportunity to actually put Windows 10 through it's paces with real world tasks and for the next week or so, maybe more, depending on my initial findings I will be blogging about my experience of using Windows 10 as my daily driver.

Windows 10 review

Familiar is the name of the game

Windows 10 is designed to be familiar and has been built with what users want — Microsoft has reiterated that they want to get Windows users to genuinely love the product that they are using rather than loving it because it's their only choice. That is a tall order to ask from all 1.5 billion Windows users out there but as ambitious as it sounds, Microsoft might have just struck the right cord with Windows 10.

"  We aspire to move people from needing Windows to choosing Windows to loving Windows."  Satya Nadella

The highlight feature on Windows 10 is the return of the Start Menu which was absent in Windows 8 but that's not the only thing to focus in this new version of Windows. From the minute you boot up into Windows 10, you can start marveling at the changes made. Sure, Microsoft did re-introduce back the Start Menu but through the taskbar, you can start to notice the changes made like the new search bar right next to the Start button and also several new icons on the task bar like the Task View button.

But, has Microsoft broken away from the poor design choices they made with Windows 8 and after nearly a year of public developmental builds through the Windows Insider program, is Microsoft giving what users what they need in Windows 10? The short answer is yes, but it depends.

Remembering the days of the iPod, a lost world

Apple Music is taking over the iPod

Late to the party by two generations but the new lineup of iPods from Apple are finally here and like most products made by the guys over at Cupertino, this new refresh is simple and straight to the point. The three new 2015 iPod models take up the designs from their predecessors and besides some internal swaps, the exterior look and feel of these new iPods are identical to that of the models Apple released back in 2012.

Both the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle merely gained three new color options (gold, pink and blue) and that's about it. The iPod Touch in the other hand also comes in the three new color options but Apple also took the time to retro fit the new iOS device with a new logic board which includes the iPhone 6's A8 processor and M8 motion coprocessor. It's also worth noting that it still has a 4" Retina display and a new 8MP iSight camera.

Think of the new 2015 iPod Touch as a supercharged iPhone 5 without cellular connectivity, yeah Apple's trademark TouchID home button is not on the new iPod Touch. So, the question now is; should you invest your money on Apple's new iPods.

Saying goodbye to Windows 8 and all it's mistakes

Everyone is heading over to Windows 10

Ah, it's that time of the decade again, a new version of Windows is being released and this time around, quite a huge number of people will be upgrading to the latest version of Windows. This is because Microsoft is for the first time providing a free upgrade path for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 systems to get Windows 10 at no extra charges. Provided that you previously had a genuine copy of Windows. So, with the official arrival of Windows 10, it's time to bid farewell to Windows 8/8.1.

With a mere 13% market share worldwide, Windows 8 is definitely not Microsoft's most successful version but it's not the worst too. The numbers don't lie and not many have taken their time to upgrade to Windows 8 but if you've bought a new computer in the past few years, it would most likely come pre-loaded with it.

" Windows 7 still holds 60% of the market

Technically speaking, Windows users usually don't upgrade to the latest and greatest version because it seems that the core of idea Windows hasn't technically changed (much) moving forward. Just look at the market share Windows XP had, only in recent years that both Windows 7 and Windows 8 overtook the market share of the 13 year old operating system.

Bing desktop review, more than just a search engine

Why is there a fish on my desktop

When it comes to the stock desktop on Windows, it's usually just filled with icons depicting folders, app shortcut and files. Sure you could install a custom theme engine to get something artistic up on your desktop or you could also take advantage of the widgets which are only available in Windows 7 and Windows Vista. But moving forward to newer releases of Windows like Windows 8 and Windows 10, the desktop has seemingly become static already and all the rotating information is present only in the start menu/screen.

This should be something fairly new for everyone out there, you're probably somewhat familiar to the search engine called Bing by Microsoft but there's actually a desktop application which enables you to search directly through the desktop.

Personally, I am not so sure when did I even discover this application but for the past few years, it has been seemingly there on my desktop. Just to reiterate things, Bing desktop is an official program from Microsoft which supports systems running Windows XP and above. Microsoft doesn't actually pre-install this application onto Windows PCs nor do they even promote the program whatsoever.

Perfecting that pixel

A subtle change

I have to say, starting this blog has brought me to a lot of places and although i'm actually not used to expressing myself in person but this whole experience in the past three years have taught me a lot about expressing my feelings on the internet that is. My blog(s) might not be the most popular tech related one out there nor does it exceptionally stand out from the crowd but i've learnt not to mind too much about what others think about my work. 

Sharing what i know and think about has been my goal since day one and i'm not going to reiterate the whole story of how this blog came up, you can read it up at the 'about us' page through the tabs on top. Through writing these articles, i am practically brushing up on my grammar skills and tendency to expand the story based on the bullet point facts. 

Nothing that i've said or i'm about to say has to do with technology but it impacts the blog in the coming weeks and months ahead. As i said, when i first started this blog i just knew that i was going to share my knowledge of technology on the internet, i didn't know much about proper blogging ethics like paragraphing my articles and including imagery to express the content (true fact: you can look back at my articles from 2012). But in time, after reading material from other sites, the articles that i've pushed out are more refined now.

Freescale Xtrinsic Sensor Board unboxing and overview

Sensors on a PCB

Just a couple months back, I decided to get the Raspberry Pi 2 and since then I've invested quite some time to learn all about electronics and how code translates into physical activity. By no means am I an expert in either programming nor electronics but I've got to start somewhere. Up until today, I have been trying out simple electronic parts like LEDs, buzzers and some standalone sensors.

Today, I'll be doing a short unboxing and a very shallow overview of Freescale's Xtrinsic Sense Board which supports both the Raspberry Pi and also Freescale's KL25Z Kinetis board. The reason why I chose this board opposed to other popular HATs (Hardware Attached on Top) or Shields (add on boards that interface through the Pi's GPIO pins) is because there is a decent amount of documentation available and not much coverage about it on the internet.

• Setting up the Raspberry Pi 2 for the first time
• There is now an official Raspberry Pi 2 case that costs only $8
• The easy way to install Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview on your Raspberry Pi 2

That's a good thing because I won't be relying solely on online tutorials by others to explore the board's capabilities, in simple words, that'll be more hard days of exploring how to program the board.

The easy way to install Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview on your Raspberry Pi 2

Windows 10 is set to hit computers on July 29 which means Microsoft has a few weeks before the brand new desktop operating system hits prime time. But that's only for desktop users, other versions of Windows 10 are expected to gain some good speed after Windows 10 for the desktop launches late next month. In the past month, Microsoft has started focusing on Windows 10 builds for phones and the XBOX and now it seems that IoT devices are getting some love.

A new version of the Windows 10 IoT Core Insider Preview is now available for supported devices like the Raspberry Pi 2, MinnowBoard Max and Intel Galileo. The new 6/24 build includes a couple of new features like SSH support, audio output support for the Raspberry Pi 2 and also some bug fixes. Wi-Fi however is still not supported on any of the boards, so it's still up to the good ol' LAN cable.

Google Cardboard convinced me about Virtual Reality

Virtual reality made cheap

Google made a big deal when they announced a slightly modified version of Cardboard during Google I/O this year. Alongside that, they also introduced two pilot program (JUMP and Expeditions) which are designed to bring virtual reality to the masses. With that said, I got myself an unofficial Cardboard VR headset online for about $5 and somehow I started to believe in Virtual Reality.

From the start, I never quite understood why Virtual Reality was the future of computing/gaming. Basically, when it comes to VR, my knowledge of it is that Oculus is the best solution out there and it'll cost around $1500 to get a rig capable to power the pixels inside the headset. Companies like HTC and Samsung has started investing their time into creating VR headsets but my concern towards the platform is still there. I'll explain what I mean about this later on in the article.

The journey so far with Windows 10

We're nearly there!

Today's the day we've been waiting for ever since Microsoft announced the arrival of Windows 10 last October. Joe Belfiore went on Twitter to announce that July 29 will be the launch the date for Windows 10 and to get everyone ready, they're starting to push out reservation popups on compatible devices (Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 PCs). So, how did we get here? How did the name Windows Threshold become Windows 10?

July 29 is the date! Windows 10 for all! Tell friends & family: RESERVE YOUR COPY NOW to get it on day 1! http://t.co/jGSloJDZkM

— joebelfiore (@joebelfiore) June 1, 2015

Computex is no longer just for PC hardware

Give or take but product unveilings are the fun-er part of covering technology and trade shows are on top of everything. They're always filled up with basically anything and on the trade show floor, you can end up finding quite a lot of things. In the midst of all the developers conference from companies during the Summer, we have Computex which is notably the biggest electronics trade show in Asia. At it's 35th cycle this year, Computex is onto a whole new direction.

Like every other company, mobile computing is getting popular and that includes wearables and IoT devices which are meant to be placed just everywhere. That includes Computex which has seen a significant change in direction over the years and it's no longer just a show focused on unveiling new PC hardware but mobile devices like phones and wearables are also beginning to crop up each year.

What exactly happened during the Google I/O 2015 keynote

Google is betting big on Android

This morning, the main keynote for Google I/O was held and it was full of announcements ranging from new services to hardware that'll create stereoscopic videos. It was quite an intense session and unlike Microsoft's BUILD conference which was literally developer focused for the most part, Google's keynote was quite playful. You would have definitely heard about unlimited storage for photos and GoPro's crazy camera rig but overall, what exactly can we conclude from the nearly 3 hour keynote?

First off, I want to talk about the venue and stage for the keynote. Google thought of this well and the wraparound display across both sides of the hall showed some creativity and the "fun" and cheerful part of the company. Before the keynote actually started, there was an intense game of Pong across the ultra-wide wraparound display across the hall and ultimately the champion turned out to be an asian dude.

To kickstart the keynote this year, Google didn't show an inspiring video about their products but instead the massive display was used to send everyone on a journey in the Milky Way. Ultimately, the light show ended up in planet earth and Sundar Pichai, the man which oversees nearly every product family in Google took the stage to roll out some quick update in Google's network.

6 things to expect from Google I/O 2015

Android is coming to every screen

The ecosystem wars will resume this week during Google IO. Microsoft has already dished out quite a lot of new development updates towards Windows 10 and Apple is bound to show off new software during WWDC early next month. But before that happens, Google's annual developers conference will be taking place in San Francisco this Thursday and this year it's going to be big given that the competition is as strong as it gets.

" Moscone Center is where Microsoft, Google and Apple hold their developers conference

We're expecting a lot from Google this year, they've been subtly quiet for the past few months but numerous reports have been stating they'll be reiterating lots of new services during this year's conference. There is still a lot of unanswered question about the future of various Google products like will consumers be able to buy Google Glass this year or is Google going to make a Nexus branded Android Wear smartwatch? All will be answered during the 2.5 hour keynote on Thursday morning.

Microsoft Lumia turns blue, what happened to purple?

About a year ago this time, Microsoft completed the acquisition of Nokia's Mobile division and fresh out of the waters, the branch of Microsoft was called Microsoft Mobile or Microsoft Devices. Accordingly, the upcoming months featured new device launches which still bear the Nokia name like the Nokia Lumia 830 and Nokia Lumia 730. That didn't last long as Microsoft officially announced in October that they will be rebranding Nokia to Microsoft Lumia and the change is set to spread out onto social media accounts in the coming months ahead.

Seemingly enough, today we're quite familiar with the Microsoft Lumia branding and it does sound a little catchy but saying Microsoft Lumia 640 XL Dual SIM is a mouthful.

Visual guide to installing Windows 10 IoT Core on your Raspberry Pi 2

In a blink of an eye, we're already 8 months into testing windows 10. The unfinished pre-release software from Microsoft has come a long way and lots of things have changed since it was initially released last October. During the day 1 keynote at Build 2015, Microsoft laid out the future of Windows 10 development and besides focusing mainly on the Universal Windows Platform, they briefly mention Windows IoT.

Internet of things is a pretty hot concept these days and just everyone is hitching onto it, even Microsoft. Quoting what Terry Myerson said "with Windows 10, we are targeting the largest device span ever". From the likes of HoloLens all the way to the smallest of devices (IoT), Microsoft is genuinely interested in bringing Windows 10 these devices.

7 days with Samsung's premium android experience, the Galaxy S6

When you're talking about Android, the first thing that comes to mind is Samsung and I am sure everyone is familiar with Samsung's massive lineup of Galaxy devices. Over the years, Samsung has built up their name in the mobile space with their army of Android powered devices which literally come in every shape and size. But this year, Samsung is turning over the leaf and changing the way they manufacture their smartphones.

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge are one of the first smartphones Samsung announced this year. Unveiled at MWC 2015, Samsung took the limelight from basically everyone at the show. Reports say that Samsung designers went back to the drawing board with the Galaxy S6 and the results is a uniquely different Samsung phone, a smartphone which introduces a lot of firsts for the company.

Here's a quick look at Samsung's new earbuds

What's in the box, pretty much every gadget you buy comes with one and beyond the included cables, literature (warranty and safety information) and some instances of stickers to stick everywhere, that's about it for included accessories. So, the Galaxy S6 is now out and besides having a new 'fast charger' and a SIM removal too, it also features a brand new pair of Samsung earbuds.

April Fools 2015 review, from Pacman to miniature drones

We just concluded the years' most busy day which was full of innovative product announcements. Heck yeah, the amount of announcements being made on April 1st can be compared to that of a single day at CES or MWC. Whether you ended up feeling excited for the imaginary product or you saw through the trick, there's no harm in creating some laughs and hypes during this special day.

Sometimes I just think that if companies would be as innovative as they were on April 1st, the market will definitely be filled with creative products. Well, thankfully some of these 'inventions' do end up being a reality. Take for example the Gmail April fools prank last year about shelfies, Google still keeps that feature on till today am loving it.

• April Fools 2014
• April Fools 2013

This year there was no lack of new innovations being shown off to the world from tiny drones all the way to autonomous cars that'll save you from a parking ticket, here is the lowdown on what went down.

Setting up the Raspberry Pi 2 for the first time

Smartphones are all the rage and talk these days but there is another piece of tech which is on the rise in the recent years and that is the Internet of Things. The simple definition for IoT is it connects services or devices together and it's meant to replace the traditional way of executing tasks manually. It is so popular that Microsoft has announced that they'll be creating a dedicated version of Windows 10 for IoT devices.

In terms of the hardware, IoT is all about being small, compact and low power which enable it to run on just anywhere. Well, one of the more well known IoT board is the Raspberry Pi which was initially created to teach students how to code. The low price of the Raspberry Pi and it's expandability contributed to it's overall success in the market.

Well, just a few days ago i picked up the brand new Raspberry Pi 2 for about $40 (including taxes) today i'm going to run you through the setup process (this tutorial also applies to the Raspberry Pi).

Here's some glamour shots of the Raspberry Pi 2, stay tuned for some content in the coming days #RaspberryPi2 #RaspberryPi #Raspbian
Posted by The Technology Of Today International on Saturday, March 28, 2015

Windows 10 Technical Preview Build 10041 in pictures

The wait for a new preview build has evidently ended (for this week) and after two months since Microsoft started seeding Build 9926, today they are releasing Build 10041 which brings us closer to the final release of Windows 10 later this Summer. In this build, the Windows 10 team did not include the Project Spartan browser nor the new Cortana interface but there are several visual improvements which is enough to satisfy us Windows Insiders for the time being.

This is the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and it's awesome!

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge were both announced earlier this week at MWC 2015 and from the looks of it Samsung is finally changing their nasty habit. Well, that is what my first impressions of the two new handsets Samsung announced during the biggest mobile trade show of the year. Out is the gimmicky plastic and so called 'non premium' build quality and in is the new unibody design made of premium elements like glass and aluminum which wraps the device.

Guide to restoring back to Windows Phone 8.1 from Windows 10 Technical Preview

Enjoying Windows 10 for your phone, well the fun would most likely end if you're just trying out the update. As I mentioned in our hands on with the preview build of Windows 10, the software is just not ready for daily use and in most cases is just unbearable compared to the Windows Phone we know and love. If you followed our guide to installing the Windows 10 for phones preview, this is like the continuation of that. Microsoft was kind enough to allow users to try out unfinished software and with that they are also providing a program to restore your phone back to it's original state.

How to install Windows 10 Technical Preview on you Windows Phone

During the January event early last month, Microsoft showed off new inclusions to the window 10 family. Apart from unveiling the futuristic HoloLens headset, they also showed off for the very first time a version of Windows 10 made for small tablets and phones. Windows 10 for phones (or whatever it ends up being called) was destine to replace the Windows Phone name later this year. Today, Microsoft has released the first technical preview for existing Windows Phone device.

We're 3 years old today, here's to another great year ahead

The day has come again, it was about 3 years ago this day that I started my tech blogging journey. Since then I have learnt a lot of new things about this industry as well as met some interesting people. Year after year during this very day I usually talk about the happenings of the past year and a short post mortem of the outgoing year. But this year I really have nothing much to say about the past year, throughout the years we have been dropping the amount of posts being published and last year we only posted 20 articles compared to over 800 in the first year. That is a major difference in raw numbers and its mainly due to the focus shift from writing news articles to exclusively writing independently opinionated articles. The strategy so far has been solid as the numbers/readers are promising enough to continue on.