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The name of the site may be Hot Hardware but you've got to have solid operating systems and apps to drive all that high tech gear. Whether you're a Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android or iOS user, here we'll cover the major updates, releases, patches and roll-outs for end user and enterprise IT types alike.
If you've been following the tech or security news for the past few days, then you no doubt know of a security vulnerability that reportedly affects all Intel processors. OS vendors have been working to mitigate the issue with kernel patches, but those software Band-Aids can come with some performance handicaps as a...
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Microsoft has gone to great lengths to foster adoption of its Windows 10 operating system, and for good reason. In addition to it likely being one of the best iterations of the Windows OS in a long time--with better security, support for DX12 and host of other features--it’s clearly also a platform for MSFT to better...
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Say goodbye to CodePlex. Microsoft just recently announced that it will be shutting down CodePlex, the eleven year-old open-source project hosting website. Microsoft has disabled the ability to create new projects and will officially shut the website down on December 15th, 2017.
CodePlex was initially launched in...
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The design of Windows Update in Microsoft's latest Windows 10 OS hasn't been the best-received solution the company has released over the product's life cycle thus far. The updated mechanics for WU is one of the major sticking-points for even wanting to upgrade to Redmond's latest platform (but thankfully, there...
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Mac users that prefer to browse the Internet with Google Chrome (instead of Safari) can now sleep more peacefully at night. Google’s “Safe Browsing” is working to increase its protection of computers running macOS.
Google is now focusing more on macOS-specific malware and unwanted software. The most common abuses...
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When it comes to operating systems of the past two decades, Windows XP had a remarkably long run thanks to its robust app and hardware support (and ubiquity). Microsoft hoped to build on these strengths with its successor, Windows Vista, but ultimately failed. So, when Windows 7 came around, it was seen as a breath of...
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Microsoft has often said that Windows 10 offers the best security features and malware protection of any Windows OS to date. In case anyone doubts that claim, the Redmond outfit explained how Windows 10 with the Anniversary Update installed was able to thwart a pair of potentially dangerous zero-day exploits months...
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We’ve stated on many occasions that Windows 10 is an excellent operating system, albeit one with a few rough edges that could be smoothed-out. However, Microsoft has angered some users over the past year or so, in its willingness to dance right up to the line of what customers feel is acceptable practice for promoting...
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There has been quite a bit of noise and plenty of confusion online lately, since news broke that Microsoft would only be fully supporting Intel’s and AMD’s next-generation processor microarchitectures – codenamed Kaby Lake and Zen, respectively – with Windows 10. Some publications and scores of readers pegged the...
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If you are like me, the Aero themes under the Personalize menu in Windows 7 and Windows 10's minimalist design language are just not enough to give your PC a unique look. You want more than a new wallpaper, some icons, and simple color changes. There are utilities out there, both free and commercial, that will give...
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Dell's Alienware Steam Machine is under the microscope today. In partnership with several leading PC makers, Valve has finally taken their often-talked about Steam Machine with custom SteamOS to market, promising the depth and precision of PC gaming driven by a purpose-built operating system, that offers a...
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Dual drive setups are becoming more and more common as Solid State Drive (SSD) prices plummet. Pairing a solid state boot drive with a multi-terabyte hard disk drive affords fantastic performance without paying a premium for your extra bulk storage requirements. However, SSDs are not on price parity with mechanical...
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A few botched updates from Microsoft this week have us questioning their forced update strategy with Windows 10. If you've had issues logging into your Windows 7 computer, if Outlook is crashing randomly, or if you are unable to open documents from Sharepoint, the fixes are below. The troublesome KB's in question...
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The Internet is an ever changing congruous mass of standards, design, and interoperability challenges. Keeping on top of it all can be a daunting task. It's a delicate balance between features, security and performance. If you're considering swapping out your web browser for something new and fresh, but are uncertain over the real world performance...
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Welcome to the Windows 10 desktop! This marks the end of the upgrade process right? Well, almost. If you are a privacy-minded type, you probably have a few settings to disable, but finalizing the upgrade does not end there either, if you value your storage space. Let's look at some strategies to tidy up the file bloat...
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Amid the privacy concerns and arguably invasive nature of Microsoft's Windows 10 regarding user information, it's no surprise that details on how to minimize the leaks as much as possible have been requested. To this end, we've put together a quick guide to help out.
If you are using Windows 10, or plan to upgrade...
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Windows 10 is finally here. The new OS has been spit-shined and primed for an official release. As advertised, Windows 8/8.1 users can upgrade to the new operating system, provided that current Win8 installs have been properly activated. Make sure you check our comprehensive Migration Guide for details on...
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The upgrade cycle begins, with Microsoft’s latest operating system--the highly anticipated Windows 10--rolling out over Windows Update for free, for users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. For those that are ready to take the plunge over the weekend, there are some things to note. While this guide is by no means exhaustive, there are some useful...
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Conventional wisdom in years past was that hackers didn’t bother to exploit Apple’s OS X operating system because its relatively insignificant market share didn’t warrant wasting resources to exploit it. The reasoning was, why bother with OS X when Windows was pushing over 90 percent of the worldwide OS...
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When Microsoft said on Wednesday that the next Windows 10 preview build would be available "within the week", I'm not sure anyone actually expected it to land before the weekend. But, it has, and I'd have to say that it's worth getting excited for. Why? Because it includes not only the feature-rich Cortana AI...
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Both Sony and Microsoft have been reportedly hacked today, with numerous disruptions to both Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Network. both services have been partially or totally offline all day, with Microsoft's official Twitter campaign chiming in to note that the service had been disrupted and that the company was...
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By this point, everyone and their dog should know that the oddly-named Windows 10 is en route. Months ago, Microsoft released a developer preview that anyone could download, and surprisingly enough, it happens to be very, very good. I've personally been running it on and off and have been quite pleased with it. The...
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