A little under a month ago, I wrote about my first impressions of the WD My Cloud EX2, a prosumer-grade network attached storage (NAS) device that I figured would be a great solution for families especially. But after testing this neat little appliance more extensively, I’m sold: I purchased a larger-capacity unit and will be…

With Microsoft finally offering a way for Xbox Music users to add their own music to a cloud-based music collection, it’s time to re-examine a golden oldie of sorts: What’s the best way to rip the music you already own on CD to a digital format you can then access from all your devices with…

Microsoft has been quickly advancing Windows Phone over the past year, a fact that gets lost in all the hand-wringing around the fate of the platform and the inability or reluctance of wireless carriers to deliver those updates to customers. So naturally there are questions about how or when Windows Phone users may get certain…

This week, Amazon unveiled new unlimited plans for its Cloud Drive personal cloud storage service. How do these new plans compare to other cloud services for individuals, especially OneDrive? On the surface, the Amazon Cloud Drive plans are certainly reasonable. There are two new choices: Unlimited Photos Plan. This lets you store “an infinite number…

While Microsoft generally ships Surface firmware updates on Patch Tuesday—as it did earlier this month—it also occasionally ships updates at other times. And it did so today with a new firmware update that appears aimed at corporate deployments. It’s a big update. On Tuesday, March 10, Microsoft delivered firmware updates for Surface Pro 3 and…

A few months back, I wrote about how you could convert an Office 365 Personal subscription—which comes free on many new Windows PCs and devices these days—into a more useful Office 365 Home subscription for just $9.99. This week, however, a reader is wondering whether that loophole has closed. To understand the question, be sure…

Before the rise of preternaturally thin and light Ultrabooks, Lenovo’s T-series laptops represented the state of the art in mobile computing. But is it possible we’ve lost something important in the move to ultra mobility? To find out, I’m evaluating the new Lenovo ThinkPad T450s, a blast from the computing past that may still very…

In the two months since we launched Thurrott.com, I’ve been somewhat consumed by the need to get the site up to speed, and stocked with new and relevant content. That job will never be done, of course, but I think it’s time for me to also give a bit of attention to the Field Guide…

Thanks to this week’s long-awaited addition of OneDrive integration with Xbox Music, it’s now possible to seamlessly use your own music with Microsoft’s music service across devices, and do so without a Music Pass subscription. Here’s how you can put your own music collection in OneDrive and then access it from (almost) any device. Note:…

Today, Microsoft announced its least-expensive Windows Phone smart phone yet, the Lumia 430. It will cost just $70 in dual-SIM form, but don’t let the US pricing fool you: It will only be made available in the APAC (Asia-Pacific) and IMEA (India, Middle East and Africa) markets, plus Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus starting next…

Since we’re practically swimming in low-cost Windows tablets right now, you might wonder how it’s possible that new models are arriving regularly. You might further wonder why you should throw even a couple of hundred dollars on such a device with Windows 10 on the horizon. These are fair questions. But a Finnish newcomer called…

So just one day after I express my love of Xbox Music, Microsoft has made the service even better by delivering on a long-promised music locker feature by which you can store your own music in OneDrive. That functionality is now live and doesn’t require a paid Xbox Music Pass subscription. “We’re happy to announce…

Xbox Music with Xbox Music Pass is perhaps the most unheralded Microsoft solution that I use regularly, and while it is decidedly unpopular—or perhaps just completely unknown—outside of Windows insider circles, it’s still my favorite music service. Here’s why. Long story short, Xbox Music with Xbox Music Pass provides exactly what I need from a…

Microsoft announced today that it has started to increase the availability of its Microsoft Band fitness wearable and is expanding the sale of the device to additional retailers in the United States. Additionally, the software giant will begin selling Band outside the US for the first time, with UK customers able to purchase the wearable…

File History is an intriguing but limited backup solution that backs up your documents and other important files as well as previous versions of those files so you can “go back in time” and recover an older file version when needed. This functionality is available in Windows 8 or newer. Note: Parts of this article…

After taking a few months off from updating its Surface tablets, Microsoft is issuing two firmware updates today, one for Surface Pro 3 and one for—wait for it—the original Surface RT. The software giant also renamed its Surface Hub app to Surface. As you may know, Microsoft typically times its Surface firmware updates to Patch…