Tell a Tale

It’s hard to tell who is more frustrated at this point: Microsoft, which has been trying to simplify the upgrade process to Windows 10 as much as possible; or users, who don’t believe it could be that easy. On Friday, Microsoft’s Gabe Aul tried to explain that users would need a Microsoft account to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 preview builds, as well as the RTM version, which will be released on July 29. Implicit in that post was the assumption that users would upgrade from a genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8 PC to Windows 10  via the Windows Insider program . Some users apparently believe they might be able to upgrade a Windows XP or Windows Vista PC to Windows 10, however, simply by upgrading to Windows 10 from a Windows 10 ISO file before the Insider program expires. That is not true, Aul said. “Friday’s post was intended to clarify how the Windows Insider Program will proceed, and in attempting to do so created some unintended confusion,”  Aul wro...

Cortana will be one of the major features to come to Windows 10, and at least one PC vendor plans to treat her especially well. Toshiba's Windows 10 laptops will feature a dedicated Cortana button, for launching Microsoft's digital assistant from your keyboard. The Cortana key will be on all of Toshiba's Windows 10 PCs—“across the board, top to bottom,” according to Jeff Barney, the general manager and vice president in charge of Toshiba America’s PC business. The key will sit in the upper left area, near the function keys, he said. Triggering it will launch Cortana, Microsoft’s digital assistant. Cortana was first introduced as part of the Windows Phone platform as a way for users to interact with the operating system without using a keyboard. Tapping and holding the phone’s search key triggers the service, which can respond to oral questions, set reminders, navigate to nearby locations, and perform a number of other tasks when verbally requested. With Windows 10...

Microsoft released ISOs of the latest Windows 10 Preview build on Friday, but not all testers will be able to get the new build right away.  According to  Microsoft’s Gabe Aul,  the ISOs for Build 10130 are out now, but the company will not release the build to “Slow ring” testers just yet “due to several bugs we’re looking to fix.” For the uninitiated, Microsoft has two tracks for Windows 10 Preview testers: the Fast ring and the Slow ring. If you’re in the Fast ring, you get every Windows 10 Preview update through Windows Update as it becomes available. This means you’ll get the latest additions and changes to the Windows 10 Preview sooner, but it also means you’ll get more buggy builds. The Slow ring doesn’t receive new builds as frequently, the the builds it does get are generally more stable and less buggy. Microsoft’s Aul had previously stated that the company “would only release ISOs if we push a build to the Slow ring,” but Build 10130’s lingering bugs a...