A new Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 leak—build 10056—provides a more complete look at Microsoft’s next client OS. This build includes features many have been waiting for, like a resizable Start experience and a dark theme, plus some new apps and numerous user experience tweaks. Let’s take a quick look. Dark theme. Previous Windows 10…

15 years ago, Microsoft was working on the follow-up to Windows 2000, which was then code-named Whistler. But in a press release touting Bill Gates’ appearance at COMDEX, Microsoft inadvertently slipped out what appeared to be the final name of the product: Windows 2001. Gates’ COMDEX and CES appearances were usually a combination of touting…

One of the big questions I get about Surface 3 is whether the device secretly includes any hardware—a special webcam, for example—that makes it especially tuned for Windows 10. I don’t believe so, and it’s important to think of Surface 3 in terms of a lower-cost Surface Pro 3, which puts it firmly in the…

The big news—actually, the only real news—in Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 build 10049 is the long-awaited inclusion of “Project Spartan,” Microsoft’s new web browser. Having finally installed the new build in a marathon session that involved both physical and virtual machines, I spent part of last night tooling around in Spartan to see what…

Today, Microsoft is announcing Surface 3, the successor to its Windows RT-based Surface 2. Yes, Surface 3 fills a gap in its hardware lineup, but it’s not quite the device you’ve been led to expect. Forget the rumors, folks: Surface 3 is nothing less than a lower-cost Surface Pro 3. And that’s a good thing,…

Microsoft issued a minor update to its Xbox Music app for Windows Phone 8.1 that explains the recent OneDrive integration functionality and allows users to download playlists that include music from OneDrive. This isn’t quite “nothing to see here” territory, as I do appreciate it every time that Microsoft effectively communicates what it’s doing. But…

Microsoft announced today that major Android device makers such as Samsung, Dell and others will preinstall a wide range of its apps—including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype—on new devices coming to market in the near future. These deals will significantly increase the penetration of the software giant’s mobile apps and, hopefully, increase…

I’ve noticed a growing disturbance in the Force lately: Irked by my preference for non-Windows tablets, some readers are concerned that I’m ignoring Windows 10 on tablets and, worse, am downplaying its inefficiencies on such devices. And, fair enough, while I have installed Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 on a variety of devices, the truth…

With Surface Pro 3, we were introduced to the notion of a “precision trackpad,” which can be configured directly from within Windows. But with Windows 10, support for precision trackpads is improving, and the edge gestures we used in Windows 8.1 are being replaced by easier-to-use multi-finger gestures. What makes a trackpad a “precision trackpad”…

Almost two months after it issued the first Windows 10 Technical Preview 2 build, Microsoft today has announced that it will finally deliver its first update. The new build comes after the software giant had promised to be deliver updates more quickly, a pledge it reiterated this week. But this time it has a plan.…

UPDATE: Microsoft has responded, sort of, to criticism that it is not moving quickly enough to release new Windows 10 preview builds. Honestly, this post doesn’t say much, nor does it express the timing for a second build this calendar year. –Paul In January, Microsoft promised that it would deliver Windows 10 preview builds in 2015…

In the most recent episode of What the Tech, Andrew Zarian and I discuss Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the Samsung Galaxy S 6 and S 6 Edge, Google’s hybrid wireless network plans, and what Microsoft showed off at MWC. Running time: 52:00 Subscribe Audio: iTunes | RSS | Stitcher | TuneIn Video: iTunes (HD) |…

Much of my email traffic is from people looking for help, but regardless of that it’s full of mostly positive exchanges. Sometimes, however, I get truly ignorant feedback. This is one of those times. I don’t intend to normally share this kind of email, and I see the “Ask Paul” series as a way to…

Unlike Microsoft, Samsung went for the Apple jugular at Mobile World Congress this week, announcing its next flagship phones, the Galaxy S 6 and Galaxy S 6 Edge. Both are stunning in their own rights, and I’ll be writing more about them soon, and reviewing the Edge later this year. But a juicy rumor about…

Microsoft released a major update to OneDrive for Windows Phone, adding support for multiple personal accounts, a new photo albums view and optional PIN code security protection. This is a pretty serious update. New features include: Multiple personal account support. In previous versions of OneDrive for Windows Phone, you could configure multiple business accounts (OneDrive…

IDC this week is reporting that Android and iPhone combined to control 96.3 percent of the smart phone market in 2014, a stunning one-two punch that left little room for Windows Phone. Yes, Microsoft’s smart phone platform handily out-performed BlackBerry, Firefox, Sailfish and the rest, but it is at best now an also-ran in smart…