Installing Windows 10 Technical Preview

Click here to read my first impressions

'Undetectable' Peter Pan computer virus threatens UK businesses - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/11081602/Undetectable-Peter-Pan-computer-virus-threatens-UK-businesses.html

Microsoft now producing an Android phone...About time

In a nutshell I think it is very healthy of Microsoft to be offering more than just their own platform on a mobile device after all as their article below says, they can integrate their own services into it. Personally I use a Nokia Lumia 925 as my mobile phone and I am very happy with it but for a fuller mobile experience I use an Android tablet.

This offering from Microsoft may not be for everyone but if the build quality of my Lumia is anything to go by and combined with the expected price tag of Microsoft's Android phone it could be a leading choice.

Microsoft to offer an Android Phone

Windows 8.1 upgrade

Windows 8.1

My upgrade experience

Microsoft said it would be an easy upgrade and all programs and settings would be carried across. Well this was almost true but in my case it wasn’t so easy.

The upgrade is obtainable from the App store in Windows 8 and from there you can proceed to download a 3.36Gb file so it’s best to leave plenty of time and have a good broadband connection.

As the download gets on you will notice it starts displaying messages about doing a compatibility check before performing the upgrade. Once the upgrade is done your computer restarts, in my case twice and on the second restart I was left for a long time with a blank grey screen. At this point I decided to leave it alone and go out then upon my return a few hours later it was ready for me to create my account and this is where things got a little strange.

I was asked to sign in with or to create a Microsoft account, before this upgrade I had two accounts on the computer and one was a local account and one my Microsoft account so I was puzzled why it was asking me to create one as it was supposed to transfer my settings etc. I proceeded to log in with my existing Microsoft account and was then presented with the requirement to access via my recovery email address a one time code to tap into a window before I could proceed (Another reminder of the importance of keeping your email recovery options current), this done I put in the code and was then informed that the account was already in use on this machine and I should proceed to next and now there was a new button allowing me to proceed.

Once I was logged in the familiar desktop and all my things were there but not without changes. I had when I first moved to windows 8 purchased the Start8 menu from Stardock and was very happy with it, now I was aware that the upgrade gave you a start button but I wasn’t sure if it was mandatory or not, for me it was and when I clicked it I only got a blank square that covered a third of my screen. The problem here was that the Start8 menu was still there in operation and also the new windows 8 start button, to sort this out I had to uninstall the original third party menu I had been happily using, then I found the new start button worked fine albeit taking me back to the tiled interface of the Metro screen. This is at the moment something I am prepared to work with.

The next thing I noticed was my Avast Internet Security was missing so a quick visit to the Avast website and I downloaded my license and the product and reinstalled. I also took the opportunity to remove some programs I have not used in a long time.

Conclusion

The upgrade went quite well but should have been smoother as in previous versions of Windows. Also do make sure that if you are also doing this upgrade that you know the recovery options for your Microsoft account and how to access them, additionally if you were one of many people who installed a third party start menu then that too will change once the upgrade is complete.

iPad and iPhone printing

  I meet plenty of people who want to print from their iPad or iPhone but can't. Sure there are apps that promise to allow this function but at the end of the day I find what's wanted is just a simple solution, I have tried the some of the apps with limited or no success and in the end have just recommended the purchase of a new HP printer with e-print and "apple air print" technology. The advantage of this is that once you have set it up all you have to do is attempt to print from your iPhone or iPad and instead of the "no airprint printers found" as shown below you will find in the list your new printer.

These printers can be purchased from around £40 in their basic form and ink refills are as little as £19 for a set of colour and black. There is absolutely no software to install on your iPhone or iPad, it will simply print.

Windows 7 volume control

Here is a quick guide to the volume control in windows 7. Someone recently asked me how to get back the "Internet" volume control icon. The link below should help.
Windows 7 volume control guide

Free office software

If you want to grab some free office software then you can't go far wrong with these. Open Office has been around for many years and goes through a constant mode of development and importantly it is compatible with Microsoft file formats. Also Kingsoft office offers the same compatibility with a familiar office layout and what's more, Kingsoft office is available on Android too. The links are below:

Kingsoft Office : Small download and quick to install

Open Office : More comprehensive as it also includes a database component.