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Productivity

What does it mean to use technology productively? Which apps and gadgets make your work easier? How to personalize the computers and other gadgets you’re using?

tutorial What were Windows Essentials and how can you install them today?

What were Windows Essentials and how can you install them today?

Windows Essentials, also known as Windows Live Essentials, used to be a suite of useful Windows programs that were developed by Microsoft. The suite was free and included apps for e-mail management, instant messaging, photo management and sharing, blogging, and parental controls. Although Windows Essentials have evolved a lot over the years, in the end, they suffered the same unfortunate fate as dinosaurs: they've

What is exFAT and why is it useful?

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
Did you hear about exFAT? It is the new kid in town when it comes to file systems that are used on flash drives and mobile devices. If you are both a Windows and a Mac OS user, you are probably familiar with exFAT, but if you are not, chances are you have never used this file system. Either way, if you want to know what it is, when and

Microsoft ships the new Surface Pro. 11 things you need to know!

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
As of June 15th, 2017, Microsoft ships the new Surface Pro, which everyone thought would be named Surface Pro 5. Microsoft has decided to quit numbering this device, and it offers a new version, without any number attached to its name, but with many improvements. If you want to see what is new about the Surface Pro and whether it fits your needs, read this article: [DC-SUMMARY-BREAK] First, the Surface

Kingston DataTraveler microDuo 3C - Dual memory stick with USB Type C and USB 3.0 connectivity

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
USB Type-C is getting a lot of traction, and it is used on many smartphones, tablets, and ultrabooks. Even gaming laptops now include a USB Type-C port. This new port is tiny, fast and it can also be used for charging your devices. However, it poses one challenge: you can't use traditional USB flash drives on computers and devices that have USB Type-C. To respond to this challenge, Kingston has

Which is the best startup manager for Windows?

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
Some of our readers asked us to recommend the best programs for managing the Windows startup. We listened to their request, and we did some thorough testing on the subject. Now we are ready to share our recommendations for the best startup managers we have found on the internet. If you have asked yourself: "Which startup manager should I use?", don't hesitate to read this analysis. By the end of

How to burn discs in Windows, using File Explorer or Windows Explorer

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
What desktop app do you use to burn your data to DVDs, CDs or Blu-Ray discs? If you are thinking Nero, Roxio, Power2Go or any other third party application for Windows, you might be interested to know that you also have a free option built right into your operating system. Both File Explorer and Windows Explorer have the ability to burn data to CD, DVD or Blu-ray discs. Stop downloading,
tutorial How to embed videos into your PowerPoint presentations

How to embed videos into your PowerPoint presentations

If you had to hold a presentation at work or school, you probably know how important is to make your presentation attractive to keep your audience's attention until the very end. When you need to make a point about something, a video might just do the trick. PowerPoint allows you to add videos to your presentations. For example, you can embed a local video

The 5 best free alternatives to Windows DVD Maker

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
Windows DVD Maker was a free DVD authoring tool that was included in some editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. Unfortunately, even though it was used by many people, Microsoft decided to stop including it in their operating systems, starting with Windows 8. If you use a computer running Windows 10 or Windows 8.1, you won't find it included. We thought it would be a good idea for us

Reviewing the Samsung 750 EVO - high-performance for moderate pricing

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
Solid state drives (SSD) are one of the best solutions for improving the performance and the speed of our computers. That's because they are always faster than traditional hard drives with spinning discs. One of the major SSD manufacturers today is Samsung, a company which is known by everyone, especially for their smartphones. These last few days, we tested their Samsung 750 EVO solid state drive: a device that promises

Reviewing the ASUS ZenBook Flip UX360UA - A convertible PC that doesn't sell itself short

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
ZenBook Flip UX360UA is one of the newest convertibles manufactured by ASUS. It's a device that can be used as a regular laptop, but which you can also use as a tablet, if you rotate its screen 360 degrees. The pictures we saw of it and the hardware specifications announced by ASUS got us excited about this device. We received one for testing and we immediately started to work, play
article What is Windows 10 Creators Update and why should you install it?

What is Windows 10 Creators Update and why should you install it?

When Windows 10 was released for the first time, Microsoft said that this would be their last operating system. And they have kept their promise up until now: they have developed no new operating systems. However, that doesn't mean that Windows 10 is stalling. Quite the contrary! Windows 10 is probably the most dynamic operating system created by Microsoft. Last year, Microsoft gave us

What version of Java do I have installed? 3 Ways to learn the answer

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
The Java runtime software for Windows computers and devices is responsible for allowing us to run programs and apps that were developed using Java. Because many apps still use Java, you probably already have it installed on your Windows PC. Either because you've installed it in the past, because some software asked you to, or because your PC's manufacturer pre-installed it for you, Java is probably there. Did you ask
tutorial 11 things you can do to fix webcam issues on Skype

11 things you can do to fix webcam issues on Skype

Are you having problems with your webcam while using Skype? You can hear the people to whom you speak, but they can't see you? Or maybe the only thing they can see are blurred lines or gray images? Whether you use an external webcam that's connected to a USB port on your computer, or you rely on the built-in webcam from your notebook, there

Reviewing ASUS VivoMini UN65U - A small PC with a big heart

  • review
  • Radu Tyrsina
Some people love a clean, tidy and clutter-free working space more than anything. If you're one of them and you do most of your work on the same desk every day, using a big desktop PC, you might want to consider the idea of buying an all-in-one or a mini PC to unclutter your space. The good news is that there are many options available on the market. One of

How to view and use PDF, XPS and TIFF files with the Reader app in Windows

  • tutorial
  • Radu Tyrsina
You've probably worked with a lot of PDF files. The format is user-friendly, easy to view and easy to print. The are a lot of apps capable of opening this type of file but few people know that there's an app developed by Microsoft for this purpose, called Reader, included in the standard Windows experience. The app was first introduced with the release of Windows 8.1 and it's also available
article What are the F1, F2, F3 to F12 keyboard keys used for?

What are the F1, F2, F3 to F12 keyboard keys used for?

If you have used a computer, then you have also used a computer keyboard. And if that's true, you surely saw and probably also used its function keys. They are the F1, F2 to F12 keys that are found on the top row of most keyboards. Although you're likely to know what a few of these keys do, there could be some F keys

Best free weather apps for Windows computers and devices

  • misc
  • Radu Tyrsina
Ever hear the old saying "Everyone complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it?" Today, although we still can't change the weather, we have many ways of checking the forecast so we can at least be prepared for what's coming. Every operating system offers a variety of weather apps to suit nearly anyone's needs. After checking out the offerings for Windows 8.1, iOS and Android over the years,
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