Microsoft announces list of best Microsoft Store apps and games in 2024
Similar to other app store platforms, Microsoft Store has its own evaluation criteria for apps on the platform by category.
Microsoft plans to end official support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, leaving consumers and business users with a few options: Either upgrade to Windows 11, pay for additional updates, or just continue using Windows 10 without any updates (the Extended Security Update program). In other words, after that date, Windows 10 users who don't pay will no longer receive any support services or important security updates from Microsoft.
Of course, Microsoft wants people to choose the first option, especially since Windows 11 has a fairly low market share compared to Windows 10. To achieve its goal, the Redmond company is heavily promoting Windows 11 in Windows 10.
According to new reports, Microsoft has dramatically increased the number of full-screen advertisements on Windows 10 systems to inform users about the OS's end-of-life roadmap. Interestingly, none of these banners mention the Extended Security Updates program, instead focusing on the various benefits of upgrading to Windows 11. The Extended Security Updates program allows regular customers to continue receiving security updates for another year for a small fee of $30 (business and education customers can use the program for up to three years).
For example, ARS spotted a full-screen ad promoting Windows 11's gaming features, but without any specific mention of them. Microsoft simply used vague descriptions like "technology that allows large worlds to load in less time," "higher frame rates," and "more vibrant colors." Of course, there's no obvious "No, thanks" button. Instead, users have to hit "Learn more" or ask for the ad to appear later.
Additionally, some users are seeing ads focused on Windows Backup and how it can help migrate files from Windows 10 to a new Windows 11 computer. There are also cases where ads are advertised for Copilot+ PC promotions. All of this makes it a bit frustrating for those who don't want to/can't afford to upgrade to Windows 11.
In addition to not mentioning the Extended Security Update program, these ads also say absolutely nothing about the hardware requirements that users must meet to be eligible for the Windows 11 update. So it seems like Microsoft's sole goal in this campaign is to force users to buy new computers, even though many people are perfectly fine with the experience they're having.
In fact, these ads are nothing new, and were first seen back in April of this year. The only change seems to be that Microsoft has increased the scope of the rollout.
While there's nothing wrong with letting users know that their operating system is nearing the end of its support period, could Microsoft, for the benefit of the user community as a whole, make those notifications less confusing and more transparent?
Similar to other app store platforms, Microsoft Store has its own evaluation criteria for apps on the platform by category.
In mid-2024, there were rumors that Microsoft was developing two new apps called People and File Search for Windows 11.
There are many reasons why Microsoft collects your data: From wanting to optimize the user experience, to customization, to selling it to third parties.
Modern versions of Windows still contain a lot of old code, and Microsoft generally tries to hide outdated parts, like the Control Panel, in favor of more modern components. However, there are some interesting exceptions.
Today, Microsoft officially launched another version of the Windows 11 operating system.
This will be the first price increase for Microsoft 365 Personal and Home subscriptions since Microsoft launched the Office 365 service 12 years ago.
After a long period of “living on the sidelines,” the Windows Mail, Calendar, and People apps are slowly approaching the end of their lifecycles. Microsoft recently updated its official documentation to clarify that the aforementioned apps will be completely retired on December 31, 2024.
Shortly after the official launch of Windows 11 version 24H2 last month, Microsoft acknowledged an unexpected issue with the Voicemeeter app.
Windows 11's only major update - version 24H2 - was released on October 1 and included quite a few new features.
If you can't get customers to choose your product voluntarily, make your product look almost like your competitors.
Microsoft is focusing on improving Copilot's referencing capabilities in Office documents. With the latest update, Word users can reference more data when creating, reviewing, and finalizing Word documents.
Microsoft today officially announced that the Xbox app is now available on select LG smart TVs.
After a long wait, the first major update of Windows 11 has officially been released.
Japanese investment giant Softbank is planning to invest between $15 billion and $25 billion in OpenAI. If the deal goes through, Softbank will become OpenAI’s largest investor, replacing Microsoft.
Recently, Microsoft has been continuously posting articles on the company's official blog urging users to upgrade to Windows 11 as the end of support for Windows 10 is approaching.
For many people, the autocorrect feature on Windows 10 is annoying and unnecessary. So how to remove this feature?
We can block Internet access for any application or software on the computer, while other programs can still access the network. The following article will guide readers on how to disable Internet access for software and applications on Windows.
Many Internet service providers provide their customers with a Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) connection. This article will show you how to configure Windows to connect to the Internet via PPPoE.
The Fn key on the keyboard acts as a hidden modifier, activating additional functions on the F1 - F12 keys.
Windows 10 operating system has newer features than previous operating systems. So have the operations on Touchpad on Windows 10 changed?
In mid-2024, there were rumors that Microsoft was developing two new apps called People and File Search for Windows 11.
Third-party brightness control apps can help you adjust screen brightness on Windows.
Many people have been using the revamped version of Classic Notepad since its release and it has become an indispensable tool for jotting down ideas, organizing notes, and keeping daily notebooks.
If you notice that your computer frequently crashes or has problems during startup... then the cause is most likely due to Windows system files being corrupted, lost, or even changed when you installed a program or software on your computer.
There are different types of Safe Modes and different ways to access them. If you need to diagnose your PC, here's how to boot into Safe Mode in Windows 11 on a computer that's acting up or won't start.
When you tell Windows to delete a file, you usually want it gone forever. However, some data recovery applications and services can restore those files even if you think they've been completely deleted.
You may encounter an issue where Windows tells you your PIN is incorrect even though you entered it correctly.
Back in July 2024, Mozilla expressed its desire to extend Firefox support to Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, while other browsers like Chrome and Edge have abandoned versions of Microsoft's outdated operating system.
Modern versions of Windows still contain a lot of old code, and Microsoft generally tries to hide outdated parts, like the Control Panel, in favor of more modern components. However, there are some interesting exceptions.
According to Microsoft, Copilot is the future of Windows. But what if you want to try it but can't find Copilot? The following article will show you some tricks if Copilot doesn't appear on your Windows 11.