Migrate Your Bookmarks, Passwords, History, and Cookies

Download Your Add-ons

Sync Your Firefox Browser Data Between Computers

Microsoft has released an over-the-cable Updater tool for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows Mobile 10.

About two weeks ago, Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore made it quite clear that Windows 10 Mobile isn’t the company’s focus anymore. However, he did promise that support for the platform, bug fixes and updates will continue to be released, and Microsoft is doing just that. To help Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows Mobile 10 users install future updates, Microsoft has released the over-the-cable (OTC) Updater tool, which moves updates from a PC to the phone. Very similar to how iTunes works for iOS updates.

In order to install the updater tool, users need to download the file OtcUpdaterZip.exe and run it on a PC. In what appears to be a hastily-written support note filled with spelling errors, Microsoft explains that the tool “updates eligible Windows phones to the latest version of WIndows [sic] 10 Mobile”.

Do note, there are certain requirements you need to meet to run the updates via the installer tool. They are:

• Your device must be able to connect to a PC via USB
• The device with PIN lock must be unlocked before using the OTC Updater
• The device must be in Airplane mode before using the OTC Updater
• PC must be running a supported Windows client OS with latest service pack installed
• PC must have a minimum of .NET 4.0 installed
• PC must have Internet connectivity and be able to connect to WU

   Like mentioned above, earlier this month, Microsoft effectively shut down its latest attempt at cracking the mobile market, announcing it would only focus on security updates and not new features. Belfiore revealed that Microsoft was facing a lot of difficulty in getting developers to write apps. He said that the company tried paying companies to produce apps, and they even wrote them when creators couldn’t or wouldn’t get involved, but the number of users was “too low for most companies to invest”. Why build an app for a relatively small bunch of Windows phone owners when there are many more Android and iOS users? Belfiore says that he himself switched to Android for the “app/[hardware] diversity”.

   {BGR}

Here’s how the feature works, and how you can enable it.

How many times have you sent an email to the wrong person, and then every cell in your body wished – what if you could just make it stop? I have been through this a few times, and it could have been worst blunders ever. And to save you from that blunder, two years ago, Google rolled out an ‘Undo send’ feature on Gmail.  As the name suggests, it lets you undo your blunder email. Though an old feature, a lot of people are still unaware of its existence, and some are unsure how to enable it. And so, in this article we will tell you how this feature really works, and take you through a step-by-step process of enabling it.

To begin with, it is important to understand that the undo feature, essentially gives a user a buffer time of 5-30 seconds (depending on the settings) to retrieve a sent email. Post the chosen time, the email cannot be undone or retrieved. If you are wondering why your Gmail does not show the feature, even when it has been around for two years, it’s because you need the enable it in Gmail settings. Here’s how to go about it.

To begin with, you need to sign in to your Gmail account. Now, on the top right corner, click on the ‘gear’ icon, and from the drop-down list choose ‘Settings’. 

From there, scroll down a little till you spot the ‘Undo Send’ option. Here, check the box next to it to enable the feature, and select the ‘Send cancellation period’, which is essentially the time bracket you have at hand to retrieve your email before it is permanently sent.

Scroll down a bit more and save your changes. And done! Your undo feature is now enabled.

After you have enabled the feature, each time you send an email, right on top of your inbox, you will see a pop-up notification, which will give you an option to either undo or view your message. The notification will show up for a few seconds, depending on the time chosen in the settings post which, the email will be sent permanently. Within that time, if you tap on unsend, the email will immediately be retrieved, and your compose box will reopen. 

Do note, when you enable the ‘undo send’ feature, the time taken for the email to be delivered will also be delayed by the amount of buffer time you choose. 

{BGR}

Windows Phone OS had potential, but only if Microsoft had played its cards right.

Even before Android and iOS made their debut, smartphones always existed, running on either Windows Mobile, BlackBerry OS, Palm’s webOS or Nokia’s Symbian OS. As Android and iOS started gaining dominance, the slow and steady fall of other operating systems started. Companies tried their level best to stay afloat, but somewhere lacked innovation, and trust of its loyal users. Microsoft did everything it could for the survival of Windows Phone, but the efforts didn’t do any good. Now, the company’s VP of the operating system, Joe Belfiore has put the final nail in Windows Phone’s coffin.

Those who have been following Microsoft events would know Belfiore as the face of Windows Phone. He was one of the important contributors in the platform’s development – having created Metro UI, Live Tiles, and also the company’s digital assistant, Cortana. A year ago, Belfiore took a 9-month leave of absence to travel the world, where he created uproar by using the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Apple iPhone. Currently, he owns a Samsung Galaxy S8 loaded with Microsoft software. In a series of tweets, Belfiore revealed why Windows Phone is officially dead, but before I talk more about it, let’s look at some key highlights.

The journey of Windows Phone

I’ve used Windows Phone since the early days, having tried my hands on Krome IQ700, HTC Touch Diamond and HTC Touch to name a few. Using the Krome IQ700 was an experience, it almost felt like using Windows XP on a smartphone. Microsoft made a switch from Windows Mobile platform (till version 6.5 Professional) to Windows Phone 7 with Metro UI. This was also the time when Microsoft partnered Nokia for Windows Phone 7-based smartphones.

A year later, Microsoft introduced Windows Phone 8, with more refined interface, new features, bug fixes along with a bunch of other improvements. It was also the time when Nokia introduced the Lumia 920 which brought the many firsts to smartphones – an 8-megapixel camera with aperture f/2.0, optical image stabilization (OIS) and wireless charging to name a few. 

Reviewers praised the Lumia 920 calling it – a camera disguised as a smartphone. Despite being five-year-old, the Lumia 920 camera still gives a tough fight to some of the mid-range smartphones of today. Nokia also introduced the Lumia 1020 with 41-megapixel camera, to lure customers towards Windows Phone. However, all those efforts didn’t help either.

Microsoft also went ahead to buy Nokia’s smartphone division, with an intension of making Microsoft-branded Windows phones. The Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL were the two flagship smartphones running Windows 10 Mobile OS, featuring top-of-the-line hardware and Windows Hello (IRIS scanner) for biometric authentication. Once again, critics praised the camera on the both the Lumia smartphones, but the wow factor was missing to excite people to buy a Windows Phone.

My personal experience with Windows Phone

Back in 2013, I was reviewing the Nokia Lumia 720, and I was fascinated with the camera prowess of the smartphone. Windows Phone 8 was just in its nascent stage, and it did seem promising. I, for once, enjoyed the no gimmick, pure OS and the Live Tile interface seemed something unique. I went ahead and bought the Lumia 920, where the first few months it felt nice.

I was impressed with the camera performance on the Lumia 920, and clicked a lot of photos, something that the competitor smartphones couldn’t. But slowly, I started feeling left out from the crowd. Yes, the app ecosystem on the Windows Phone OS is to be blamed for the same.

Look ma, no cool apps

The Windows Phone platform had popular apps, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare, the ones that I heavily relied on. Instagram, on the other hand, was in beta for over a year, with no major upgrades. In fact, most apps got new features a couple of months after arriving on Android and iOS. Take Facebook, for instance, while Android and iOS versions got the ability to check-in, the same arrived on Windows Phone after four months. Ditto with Instagram, after being in beta for a year, it then moved to stable build, with the ability to record and share videos.

But things don’t end there – it was the time when Snapchat started gaining prominence and I was eager to test it out. But I was disappointed to learn that that company had no plans to release Windows Phone version of the popular app. Snapchat is just one case, there have been many other apps that didn’t make their way to the Windows Phone platform. Reason? Number of users on the platform were too low for the company to invest time and resources for developing Windows Phone apps.

Android app support consideration

When Microsoft couldn’t get developers to build apps for Windows Phone platform, the company briefly considered adding Android app support to the platform. It would have allowed users to sideload APK files of their favorite Android apps and run on Windows Phone. It did create some uproar in the industry, with many calling it a failed move as it defeated the purpose of having Windows Phone OS in the first place. The company did work on it, and offered an early access to developers via preview versions, but the feature never made it to the public version.

BlackBerry, also went through the same phase with app gap problem, where it lost to rivals – Android and iOS. The company completely revived its operating system by introducing an all-touch BlackBerry 10 OS. It also introduced two smartphones – the top-end BlackBerry Z10 and the mid-range Z30. One of the interesting additions of the new OS was the support for Android apps.

While I reviewed the BlackBerry Z10, back in the day, I did give the feature a try. I copied some Android app APKs, such as Facebook, Temple Run and Subway Surfers, to name a few. But the experience wasn’t great. It was basically an app running inside an app, which not only used up resources, but also resulted in stuttering, thus ruining the overall experience.

Enough of past, back to the present

I’ve talked about the journey Microsoft Mobile OS, but it’s time to look into the present and future – where Windows Phone is officially dead! Replying to a few users on Twitter, Belfiore mentioned that existing Windows Phones will continue getting bug fixes and security patches, but the company is not planning to introduce any new features or new smartphones running on the OS.

Belfiore even admitted to the fact that Microsoft tried hard to pay the developers to write apps for Windows Phone platform, but the sheer volume of users was too low for companies to invest in having developers. Clearly, Windows Phone is no longer a focus for the software giant, and if you’re still clinging to one, it may be the time to move on.

The future for Microsoft

While Windows Phone OS was losing to Android and iOS, there was one thing that Microsoft did right. They say, if you can’t beat them, join them. And that’s exactly what Microsoft did by bringing popular apps such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint to Android and iOS platforms.

The move was a masterstroke, not only giving a big boost to the most used Office apps on rival platforms, but also eating a share from Google Docs and Apple iWork apps share. The basic version allows users with read-only privilege, whereas Office 365 users gain access to create and edit documents, as well as access their files from the cloud.

To put the above points into perspective, Microsoft had not only been struggling with the app ecosystem, but also with the Windows Phone marketshare which was less than one percent for over three years. The move to stop focusing on new Windows Phone OS and hardware is good for industry as we only have two major operating systems to look at. It’s also good from developer point of view, as they will only need to focus on building apps for Android and iOS that have good number of users. And considering all these points, it’s a good thing that Windows Phone is officially dead.

{Source:BGR}

Joe Belfiore also admits he switched to Android.

After struggling to sell Windows smartphones for quite some time as Google’s Android and Apple iOS Operating Systems (OS) surged ahead, Microsoft has finally admitted that the software giant will no longer develop new features or hardware for Windows 10 mobiles. In a series of tweets, Joe Belfiore, Corporate Vice President in the Operating Systems Group at Microsoft, revealed late on Sunday that the Windows operating system will only help with bug fixes and security updates for existing users.

“Of course we’ll continue to support the platform.. bug fixes, security updates. But building new features/hw [hardware] aren’t the focus,” Belfiore tweeted.

The devices that use Windows OS are HP Elite x3, Microsoft Lumia 950 XL, Microsoft Lumia 950 and Nokia Lumia 930, among others. Bill Gates has already stopped using Windows phone.  HP Inc is also halting production of its flagship Windows handset. HP Inc recently admitted it won’t add any new handset to its existing “Elite” Windows smartphone lineup.

We have tried VERY HARD to incent app devs. Paid money.. wrote apps 4 them.. but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest. ☹️ http://t.co/ePsySxR3LB

— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017

Belfiore also admitted that Microsoft will still support Windows 10 customers who want to use Android and iOS on their phones.  “We have tried very hard to incent app devs. Paid money. wrote apps 4 them.. but the volume of users is too low for most companies to invest,” Belfiore posted. 

According to market research firm Kantar, Windows phones account for just 1.3 percent of the market — from 2.4 percent last year — in the US. Even though Microsoft has reported a fall in Surface PC line and Windows phones revenues, the Redmond-based tech giant is reportedly aiming for new devices called “Surface Phones” and has made its patent public.

According to media reports, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that Microsoft will “make more phones, but they will not look like phones that are there today.” Microsoft is set to roll out the “Fall Creators” update for Windows 10 on October 17 which will include Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) support sans the mobile experience.

Have you ever thought to adjust your computer screen brightness based on any time of the day? If no then you need to think because using the computer on the regular basis is actually damaging your eyes. So here we have a solution that will automatically change the screen brightness according to the time of day and even according to the location too.

How To Adjust Computer Screen Brightness Automatically by Time of the Day

Features Of F.lux Software:-

• This tool makes you sleep better and protect your eyes from the bright screen.
• This app change screen brightness best according to the room light like in sun time screen brightness will be maximum, and at night, it will be reduced accordingly.
• In this app, you can setup settings according to your GPS location like in particular GPS location; the brightness level will set accordingly.
• You can also set up the color sensitive work environment on your PC screen.
• You can also control the transition of your screen brightness in the transition speed settings: fast or slow.

Steps To Configure The F.lux Application In Your PC

Using RedshiftGui

The new update will also have 'Timeline' feature that will let users "jump back in time to find what they were working on.

Microsoft announced that the ‘Fall Creators Update’ for Windows 10 will start rolling out on October 17 and it will include Virtual Reality (VR) and mixed reality support. Announcing the availability at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) industry show which is underway in Berlin, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President for Windows and Devices Terry Myerson said that the free update, originally announced in May, will also include a new photo app and many tweaks to the overall design and usability of Windows 10.

In the keynote, Myerson highlighted several new features, such as new inking tools for stylus users including the ability to draw directly on PDF files, new 3D features for the Photos app and a new gaming mode that limits background tasks for better game performance. Official support for Microsoft Mixed Reality headsets — such as the models coming from Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo — is also coming with the October 17 update, and those headsets are also expected to start shipping on or soon after October 17, Myerson added.

According to Microsoft website, the update will also have ‘Timeline’ feature that will let users “jump back in time to find what they were working on, whether it was two hours or two months ago”. The new Cortana notification will let users work on several devices.

{BGR}

The PC is said to be scheduled for a fourth quarter launch.

Months ago, Microsoft and Qualcomm had come together to announce that they will soon be launching an ARM-powered PC. While we didn’t get to see this PC at the ongoing IFA 2017, Qualcomm did announce at the event that a Snapdragon 835-powered PC will soon be hitting the market. The PC is said to be scheduled for a fourth quarter launch.

Until now, Windows 10 has worked only on x86 chips, but this is changing as Microsoft wants to stop Intel’s dominance. The Windows 10 Device with ARM is going to be thin-and-light. It will have features similar to what we see on smartphones, and considering the Snapdragon 835 was designed for smartphones, it will have a long battery life. Apparently, the device will always be connected to a cellular network. We should also expect the PC to have stylus support.

It was last year in December, when Microsoft and Qualcomm revealed their plans about the ARM chips PC. Back then, Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President, Windows and Devices Group, Microsoft said, “Bringing Windows 10 to life with a range of thin, light, power-efficient and always-connected devices, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform, is the next step in delivering the innovations our customers love.”

In May, at Computex 2017, Microsoft had also revealed that ASUS, Lenovo, and HP would be launching laptops which would be powered by Snapdragon 835.

While the PC Microsoft is working on with Qualcomm is not expected to be exactly cheap, but manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP, and ASUS are also believed to be working on a Snapdragon 835-powered computer, which are believed to be priced at a more affordable segment.

Cristiano Amon, Qualcomm’s Executive Vice President has also said, “With compatibility with the Windows 10 ecosystem, the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform is expected to support mobility to Cloud computing and redefine how people will use their compute devices.”

The update will bring support for virtual and mixed reality.

Microsoft on Thursday announced that the ‘Fall Creators Update’ for Windows 10will start rolling out on October 17 and it will include Virtual Reality (VR) and mixed reality support.

Announcing the availability at the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) industry show which is underway in Berlin, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President for Windows and Devices Terry Myerson said that the free update, originally announced in May, will also include a new photo app and many tweaks to the overall design and usability of Windows 10.

In the keynote, Myerson highlighted several new features, such as new inking tools for stylus users including the ability to draw directly on PDF files, new 3D features for the Photos app and a new gaming mode that limits background tasks for better game performance.

Official support for Microsoft Mixed Reality headsets — such as the models coming from Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo — is also coming with the October 17 update, and those headsets are also expected to start shipping on or soon after October 17, Myerson added.

According to Microsoft website, the update will also have ‘Timeline’ feature that will let users “jump back in time to find what they were working on, whether it was two hours or two months ago”.

The new Cortana notification will let users work on several devices.

“Log out of one device and Cortana asks if you want to continue working in your app, doc or website on your next device. You can also copy and paste between connected devices from your clipboard,” the website added.Also, users can save files on Microsoft Cloud and access them anywhere with ‘OneDrive Files On-Demand’.