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Windows 10, the operating system that barely anyone loved when it first came out, is supported until October 2025 by Microsoft. The operating system is still widely used with a commanding lead over Windows 11. Statcounter, for example, lists Windows 10’s usage share at about 68% and Windows 11’s at just 26% as of November…
Hundreds of million of Windows 10 devices will run out of support in 2025 with no option to upgrade to a new version of the operating system. Up until now, every version of Windows could be upgraded to a new version. All Windows versions reach end of support eventually. Microsoft stopped support for Windows 7…
Remember Cortana? Most may not remember the personal assistant that Microsoft baked into Windows. Even though it was rather mediocre, Cortana actually provided better Windows functionality than Microsoft’s new lovechild Windows Copilot. Included in Windows 10, Cortana was Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. It was a voice-activated tool designed to help users…
Optional Windows Updates fly under the radar on many Home systems. They come as different types. The most common is the monthly non-security preview update for Windows 10 and Windows 11. There are other optional updates, e.g., bug fixes, other non-security updates and also improvements. Up until recently, administrators had to search for optional updates…
O&O AppBuster is a free application by O&O Software GMBH. The program enables Windows 10 and 11 users to uninstall apps that Microsoft does not want users to remove from the system. While some apps are critical components of Windows, the same can’t be said for all locked apps. Apps like Photos, Phone Link, Game…
Environment Variables are an essential part of the Windows operating system. The variables are mostly useful for command line usage and also in scripts. As an example: when you type a program name on the command line, e.g., notepad.exe, Windows searches the variables to find the application. System environment variables determine locations for certain folders…
O&O ShutUp10++ is a free tool for Microsoft’s Windows operating system to improve privacy. Designed initially for Windows 10, the program is now also available for Windows 11. While its main focus is on blocking the operating system’s data hunger, it is also a helpful tool for managing other Windows settings. First, the basics. You…
Spacedrive is an open source cross-platform file explorer that is powered by a virtual distributed filesystem written in Rust. Note: the software is alpha at this point. It may contain bugs and issues, and its main purpose is testing at this stage. I experienced some hangs and issues during the test. All modern operating systems…
Microsoft developed a new app for Windows 10 and 11, called Windows Backup, which is rolling out to systems that install the latest updates for these operating systems. Previous backup options, such as File History, remain available for now. The backup application uses Microsoft OneDrive to save some data. While that sounds like a good…
Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system runs local and remote searches when users use the search functionality. A relative recent addition is the ability to find cloud files. Windows Search may return content from OneDrive, Outlook and other Microsoft services alongside local results. Some Windows users may find cloud search functionality useful, especially if they use…