Computers & Technology

Microsoft's Windows 10 Spring Creators Update – Interesting Facts about the latest Update Release Next month Microsoft Windows 10 Spring Creators Update will be released and these are some interesting facts about it. Avid Reg readers will be aware of what's forthcoming for the Redmond operating system. If you're just tuning in, well, see the aforementioned link, and strap in for these highlights. When the OS upgrade is released proper, we'll be on the scene with the full details. In the meantime, here's your need to know: Microsoft reckons the operating system will take, on average, 30 minutes to install, which is much shorter than usual The OS will feature a thing called Timeline, which presents a summary of what you've been up to over the past 30 days, with on-screen links to apps and documents You can share files with physically nearby devices using a wireless feature called Nearby Share Shell and other bits and pieces of the d...

CRYPTOCURRENCY INFO SOURCE 1 INFO SOURCE 2 A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional units, and to verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies are a type of digital currencies, alternative currencies and virtual currencies. Cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized electronic money and central banking systems. The decentralized control of each cryptocurrency works through a blockchain, which is a public transaction database, functioning as a distributed ledger. Bitcoin, created in 2009, was the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Since then, numerous other cryptocurrencies have been created. These are frequently called altcoins, as a blend of alternative coin. DEFINITION According to Jan Lansky, a cryptocurrency is a system that meets all of the following six conditions: •    The system does n...

LET'S TALK ABOUT... UEFI -> 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW 1: UEFI IS THE REPLACEMENT FOR BIOS The BIOS (basic input/output system) has been at the heart of the PC design for well over 30 years now. It is the piece of firmware that provides the operating system with a standard interface to the functionality of the computer. Unfortunately, its design is quite outdated, carrying a number of limitations that are not acceptable in the current age of computing. UEFI is the replacement for BIOS, and it brings with it a host of modern functionality to carry PCs through the next few decades. 2: IT ENABLES BETTER DISK SUPPORT UEFI finally breaks free of the old DOS-style master boot record (MBR) disks, taking us into the GUID partition table (GPT) future. While not all operating systems support booting from GPT disks (notably, 32-bit versions of Windows), GPT support at the firmware layer will allow disks of enormous size to be used, even for booting the operating system. 3: APPL...

HOW TO RID A NEW PC OF CRAPWARE A brand-new Windows computer should be pristine out of the box. They'll gum it up for you with "free" software you don't want. It goes by names like crapware, bloatware, or shovelware because computer makers shovel bloated digital crap by the barrelful onto new PCs. Retail PCs it's a whole other world of crap.  With many of the uninstall routines, the dialog boxes had giant buttons that would say "Uninstall and Get PC XXXXXX" or something similar. If we just wildly clicked where the button was, the uninstall might work-but something else got installed in its place. We had to carefully look for the fine print on the dialog boxes that read "Delete Only" or similar. Tricks and traps abounded. The problem is, even though these utilities may point out some bloatware, they may not automate removal. You may still have to go through the regular uninstall process, which-as we noted above-may be filled ...