In OneDrive Tip: Map Your Cloud Storage as a Drive in File Explorer, I explained how you can use built-in functionality in Windows to access all of your OneDrive storage. But this approach has limitations. It can be slow and unreliable, and you have to be online to access your files. But another approach—albeit it…

If you’re freaking out—as I am—because Microsoft is removing the placeholder functionality from its OneDrive sync client in Windows 10, I may have a solution for you. It’s not perfect, and can result in some performance issues. But if your goal is to be able to access all of the files in your OneDrive cloud…

But …so what? The Hauppauge Digital TV Tuner for Xbox One is really just a decade-old Hauppauge tuner dongle with a new logo on it, not something new. But on the good news front, this “new” digital TV tuner is a bit cheaper, and Microsoft is selling it in a bundle with an antenna you’ll…

In the latest episode of What the Tech, Andrew Zarian and I discuss the current state of smartphones and the upcoming launch of Windows 10 Mobile for phones, how Microsoft might release updates to Windows Phone, bad Android UIs, and the bizarre number of inexpensive no name tablets. Running time: 1:02:25 Video Subscribe Audio: ITUNES | RSS…

Microsoft today shipped similar firmware updates for Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3, though some Windows Insiders running pre-release versions of Windows 10 might have received them last week. Curiously, there were no firmware updates for the recently-released Surface 3. Here’s what’s new. Surface Pro 3 The following updates will be listed as “System…

Filling in the final major missing piece of its strategy to deliver traditional Office apps on mobile, Microsoft on Tuesday shipped preview versions of its Office apps—Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—for Android phones.

With the Lumia 640, Microsoft is trying to have it both ways. This interesting device will be sold for just $130 off-contract here in the US, and yet it offers much of the same value of the more expensive Lumia 735 and 830, bringing high-end features even further down-market. Does this new handset hit a…

Microsoft’s Lumia 640 will finally arrive here in the United States on Friday for the first time: Cricket Wireless will sell the handset–which sports a 5-inch HD display and LTE capabilities–for just $130 off-contract. “Cricket Wireless and Microsoft make balancing your work life and personal life a whole lot easier with the Lumia 640, featuring 4G LTE technology,”…

In the latest episode of What the Tech, Andrew Zarian and I discuss rumors about Windows 10 being the final version of Windows and Verizon’s $4.4 billion acquisition of AOL. Running time: 55:14 Video Download Audio: ITUNES | RSS | STITCHER | TUNEIN Video: ITUNES (HD) | ITUNES (SD) | RSS (HD) | RSS (SD) Contribute…

Available in preview form since December 2014, Microsoft’s amazing Skype Translator app is now broadly available for anyone wishing to try it out. Skype Translator lets two people who speak different languages communicate in real time, a bit of computer science wizardry straight out of an Isaac Asimov book. “Skype’s mission is to bring people…

  Microsoft’s senior creative director for Surface provided a fascinating inside look at the design and development of the product line during a session at Ignite this week in Chicago. Here’s a summary of the talk. You can find a video of the session, Design Matters for Microsoft Surface on the Channel 9 web site.…

In the latest episode of What the Tech, Andrew Zarian and I get caught up on last week’s Build 2015 conference and discuss Microsoft’s plans for bringing Android and iOS apps to Windows 10, the schedule for new high-end Lumias, how HoloLens has changed, and a coming DVR for Xbox One. Running time: 1:03:32 Subscribe Audio:…

After two straights weeks of mammoth Microsoft conferences—the developer focused Build 2015 in San Francisco last week and the inaugural Ignite 2015 in Chicago this week—my mind is of course turning to the next big thing for the Redmond computing giant. And while there are certainly more trade shows—’tis the season, after all—and major software…

In a session at Ignite this week, Microsoft explained how and when it will merge the sync engines for OneDrive and OneDrive for Business and then improve both services going forward. As previously explained, these changes will come after Windows 10 is completed mid-year, and some new features will likely not be implemented until 2016.…

You may have seen recent rumors that Microsoft has killed off Windows Media Center, the ten-foot digital media interface that it first developed for a special version of Windows over 10 years. Well, it’s true: Microsoft’s Gabe Aul confirmed this week that Media Center will not move forward to Windows 10. “Due to decreased usage,…

At its Ignite conference today in Chicago, Microsoft announced a number of updates that it will provide for Skype for Business in the coming months. This summer, the product will be updated with new attachment and co-authoring features. And later in 2015, Skype for Business will be able to broadcast meetings to up to 10,000…