Long exposure to ultraviolet light can damage your skin and eyes that may result in health problems, weaken your immune system, and cause skin cancer. It can be prevented with proper use of sunscreen and clothing coverage. The Microsoft Band 2 can help by letting you know the current UV index. It is the measurement of the intensity of the UV radiation from the sun on a scale of one to 11, with one being low risk and 11 being an extreme risk.

How do you check the UV index on the Microsoft Band 2? We'll show you.

1. Enable the UV tile. On your phone, open the Microsoft Health app, tap the hamburger button, and tap Manage tiles. The UV tile is off by default. Use the slider to turn it on, and then hit the save button.

2. On your Microsoft Band 2, press the power button, and tap the UV tile.

3. Press the Action button to check the UV level.

4. Face the clasp of the Band towards the sky for a few seconds and then the UV Index will be displayed.

What can you do with this information? Use this table from Microsoft as a guide.

For even more protection, you can set UV exposure reminders. Tap the UV tile, swipe left and change the UV reminder option to On.

If your Microsoft Band 2 detects exposure to UV light, it alerts you if you continue to be exposed. You can choose a reminder cadence from 30 minutes to 120 minutes. Pick a longer cadence if you're sufficiently protected with sunblock and clothing, and a shorter cadence if you want to be reminded to get out of the sun.

Is UV monitoring important to you? Will you be using it on the Microsoft Band 2? Let us know in the comments!

Microsoft Band 2 Review

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

Microsoft is making it easier for Band 2 owners to add new tiles to their wearable. You can these tiles from the Tile Gallery. It's like a separate app store for the Microsoft Band 2. Getting there might not be very obvious for new users so we'll show you how to do it. There are not that many tiles available yet, but we expect to see more soon.

1. On your phone, open the Microsoft Health app.
2. Tap the hamburger menu and then select Manage tiles.
3. Scroll all the way down and tap Go to gallery
4. Check what's available and choose which tiles to download

Here are the apps that are currently listed:

Gold's Gym Inspirations– Get inspired. Check out motivating stories from Gold's Gym members. Here's a sample message:

Anette Anderson lost 17 lbs. and 5% body fat. "I can't believe the transformation my body has gone through. I'm so glad I stuck with it. It feels really good!"

AP News– Get the latest Associated Press top news headlines on your Band.

Xbox Wire– Get the latest and greatest Xbox One headlines on your band.

Subway Fresh Fit Menu– Check out the latest Subway Fresh Fit menu that packs in tons of flavor with very low fat content. It includes the calories and fat content for the menu items.

We look forward to seeing more tiles here, but we already see one major problem. There seems to be a limit of how many tiles can fit on the Microsoft Band 2. That number is currently 13. Trying to go over that limit gives you an error message. We wonder if Microsoft will lift that limit in the future.

How do you feel about these additional tiles for the Microsoft Band 2? What other tiles would you like to see in the gallery? Sound off in the comments!

• Microsoft Band 2 Review
• Download Microsoft Health app (Free)

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

The Microsoft Band 2 works on Windows 10 Mobile, iOS, and Android, but Windows users have a cool feature that is currently exclusive to them. It's Cortana, the personal assistant we've grown to love. How does it work with the Microsoft Band 2? Read on to find out.

In order for Cortana to work on your Microsoft Band 2, you need Cortana to be installed on your phone. Just press and hold the Action button on your Microsoft Band 2 for 2 seconds. You can use Cortana even when the display is off. You do not need to tap the Cortana tile. Just make sure your phone is nearby. Cortana uses the mic on your Microsoft Band 2 to listen when you speak. The mic is the tiny hole next to the power button.

After you speak, Cortana opens on your Windows phone and responds to your request. Depending on your request, it displays the response on the Band 2's display itself or lets you know if you need to view your phone to complete the request.

You can try these examples:

• Wake me up at 8 AM.
• Remind me to get milk when I leave the office.
• Tell me a joke.
• Create a note: Open the red door.
• How many calories in an egg?
• Text Dan: Want to play Halo?

If you have the Cortana tile pinned on your phone and the Cortana tile is active on your Microsoft Band 2, you will receive notifications such as news and sports to your band. You can disable this. Go to the Microsoft Health app on your phone and tap the hamburger button. Tap Manage tiles, tap Cortana, and then turn off notifications. You will still be able to bring up Cortana on your band by pressing and holding the action button.

How do you feel about Cortana on Microsoft Band 2? Let us know in the comments!

Download the Microsoft Health app

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

You can change the settings of some tiles on the Microsoft Band 2 including turning notifications on and off. You can't change the notification settings from the band itself, so you'll need to open the Microsoft Health app on your phone. It's really simple. We'll show you how to do it.

1. On your phone, open the Microsoft Health app and tap the hamburger button on the top left corner
2. Tap Manage Tiles
3. Tap the pencil next to the name of the tile you want to modify

You can turn on/off notifications for:

• Calendar
• Calls
• Mail
• Messaging
• Facebook
• Facebook Messenger
• Twitter
• Cortana
• Notification Center

This is helpful if you want certain tiles on your Microsoft Band 2, but don't want notifications from them. For example, I have the Mail tile enabled, but disabled all notifications from it. The reason for this is that I sometimes like to check my mail without taking out my phone.

Don't forget that other tiles have more options. Most people just see the on/off switch in the Manage Tiles section and don't realize they can also tap the pencil icon next to the Tile's name. I was guilty of that. For example, the Messaging tile lets you create or change quick responses that you can send from your Band. Also, the Run tile lets you choose three kinds of data to show on your Band during a run. You can also set to get notifications only from VIP in the Mail tile. There's more, so go ahead and tap those pencils!

What Microsoft Band 2 notifications are you disabling? Let us know in the comments!

• Download Microsoft Health app
• Microsoft Band 2 Review

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

OneDrive is still one of the most popular cloud storage services you can get, and thanks to its deep integration with Windows 10 and Office, it's also one of the best storage services you can use with the operating system on your computer, mobile device, and on the web.

If you're running Windows 10, there is no software to install, you simply configure the folders you want to sync, and a few other settings, and you're good to go. Also, OneDrive is fully integrated with Office desktop and online, so you know that you can seamlessly create an Office document, save it on the cloud, and pick up where you left off virtually on any device, including Windows, Apple, and Android devices.

However, Microsoft recently introduced significant changes to the service storage plans, which could negatively impact customers.

Microsoft used to offer unlimited cloud storage to Office 365 customers and 15GB for those who wanted to try the service for free. But everything has changed starting November 2, 2015, when the The OneDrive Blog announced they will no longer offer unlimited cloud storage for Office 365 Personal, Home, and University plans. The reason cited was excessive abuse by a few users, but we all know this was an accounting decision.

To make matters worse customers with the free 15GB plan will get their available storage reduced to only 5GB, and the 15GB camera roll bonus to store your priceless memories is also being discontinued.

Now, the unlimited cloud storage plan will change to a capped 1TB limit, which will be available for Office 365 customers. The standalone storage plans of 100GB and 200GB will no longer be offered. Instead, Microsoft is going to replace it with a 50GB plan at $1.99 a month.

According to the company, the new changes are to deliver "high-value productivity and collaboration experiences that benefit the majority of OneDrive users."

This change is obviously nothing loyal customers want to hear, but let's move past the bump on the road and try to focus moving forward. Today we'll be looking at some tips that can help you optimize your cloud storage needs.

Clean up

I know, it could be a tedious process, but deleting files you don't use, or you know are not essential has to be at the top of your to-do list. Honestly, when was the last time you sat down in front of your computer and cleaned up your OneDrive storage?

Apparently, Microsoft doesn't like when you upload a big number of backups, or you keep different versions of the same computer backup, movie collections, or DVR recordings.

As such, you can start by moving some or all those big files to an external hard drive. Simply, go to your OneDrive folder select those folders where you keep the big data, right-click, hold and drag the content either to your local Documents folder or an external drive, release the folder, and the context menu select Move Here.

We all like to take photos and record videos with our phones and most of the time we don't care when we take multiple shots of the same things, just because we want to get the right Kodak moment. However, at the end of the day we end up with a lot of copies of the same photos. Moreover depending on the resolution and quality of the pictures and videos we set on our devices, we can end up with wasted valuable space that we could use for other files.

Like I said, it's a tedious process, but now is the time to go through your OneDrive's Pictures and Camera Roll folders and begin deleting all those duplicated images, those three-second videos that you have taken accidentally, and pictures that were only useful once.

Here's an extra tip: Don't you know which files are using the most space on OneDrive?

1. Go to your OneDrive account on the web and navigate to Files.
2. Next, make sure you are viewing your content as a list, click the Sort button from the top-right corner, select Size and Descending.
3. Then you'll notice that unlike File Explorer, OneDrive shows sizes for files and folders. Now, navigate the folders to identify the files that are using the most space, and take action as needed.

Another thing you could do to reclaim more OneDrive space is to keep your device backups to the minimum. Every time, you install Windows 8.1 or Windows 10, while using your Microsoft Account, a backup of your device settings will be created on OneDrive.

As you reinstall the operating system, and you don't restore the settings from backup or you add a new device (e.g., desktop, tablet, or phone), these backups will keep piling up, as such you can delete those devices you don't own anymore or any duplicated device backup.

1. Simply go to OneDrive on the web and navigate to Device backups.
2. Identify the backups you can remove and click the Delete button.

.

Get organized

After you have deleted all the files you no longer need or that are too big to have on OneDrive, it's time to organize.

When possible, try to keep Files as the main root that doesn't contain any files, just logical folders, such as the default folders and a few other folders you may want to create to group content. This setup will help you to identify quickly where those files are that are using the most space. .

ZIP Compression

Do you have files stored in OneDrive that you rarely use, but you want to keep them in the cloud? One thing you could do is to group them logically and archive them using a Zip, RAR, or another compression container of your liking.

Also, you can create a small text file log listing the content of the archive. This trick will help you in the future to quickly identify what's inside the archive without having to spend time trying to open the compressed file.

Finally, create a folder with a descriptive name to store the archive and text log file. Then do the same with different content, but avoid trying to compress videos and music files, as you will waste a lot of time and you won't save any space.

You can use any software you like to do this, but I like to use 7-zip to compress files. This app is free software and you can download here.

Note: Remember to delete the files on OneDrive after you have created the compressed archive..

Disable Autosaves

It may not be a good idea to configure documents and pictures, or have your camera, phone or other devices to upload automatically to OneDrive. The same with some screenshot apps.

To take control of auto-saves do the following:

1. Open the OneDrive settings from the notification area and navigate to Auto Save.
2. Change Documents and Pictures settings to save files to This PC only.
3. Uncheck the Photos and videos and Screenshots options.
4. Click OK to complete.

Quick Tip: Make sure that when you're downloading content from the web, such as a piece of software, video, music, or anything else, you're not downloading them into the OneDrive folder, instead make sure you're downloading them into the Downloads folder on your local computer. (It could be obvious for many users, but you'll be surprised how many times this can happen.).

Reduce photo quality

If you like to take pictures using your phone or tablet and your planning to keep Camera Roll enabled, one thing you can do is revisit your camera's settings and make sure to lower the resolution and quality of photos and videos.

For example, if you have a phone with a 13-megapixel camera, try to lower the resolution to a setting below, such as 9.7-megapixel. If you have a phone that can capture 4K videos, try to record only at 1080p, or even at 720p. Remember to test the settings before you decide.

The settings and space you're going to save will vary from device to device if you're using Windows, Apple's iOS, and Android. However, the concept can be applied to all devices. Also, you're not only going to save space in the cloud but in your phone as well..

5GB of storage thru referrals

Microsoft may be reducing the available storage space, but it will continue rewarding you for bringing new customers.

If you want to get additional storage for free, Microsoft will continue to offer the "Referral bonus" program, which will reward you with 500-megabyte of storage for each person you get into OneDrive.

You can get up to ten people for a maximum of 5GB of extra storage. The best part is that those people who you bring will also get an extra 500-megabyte of storage. It doesn't seem like much, but now that space is drying out, you should get everything you can.

To get more storage for free just follow these steps:

1. Go to your OneDrive storage manager.
2. Under "Your additional storage", click the Get free storage.
3. Read the rules and send an email or post to a social network, and click Invite.

Once your friends jump into the offer, you will get your extra storage reward..

Purchase more storage

If you're in the free tier of OneDrive, and you're over your free 5GB, Microsoft will soon begin offering a 50GB plan for $1.99 per month, as the 100GB or 200GB plans are going away in early 2016.

The second option is to get an Office 365 subscription. You can get the Personal for $69.99, Home for $99, or University for four years for $79. Each of these subscription plans includes 1TB of OneDrive storage, which should give you enough space for (only) all of your "high-value productivity and collaboration" files..

Create your own cloud

Among other features, OneDrive has a feature called Fetch that allows users to access files stored on remote computers across the room or the continent -- that is, of course, as long the computer you're trying to access is powered on and connected to the internet.

Before the new changes, you would only use this feature if you were working on a project for work and the next morning during your meeting you realized that you forgot the file on your home computer. But now, you could use Fetch as an alternative to creating your own cloud storage when you need to access big files remotely.

You could do this by using available storage you already have in your local hard drive, or you can buy a cheap external USB hard drive with a few terabytes and use it exclusively to store your big files.

To make it all work follow the steps below:

1. Right-click the OneDrive icon and click Settings from the notification area.
2. Enable Let me use OneDrive to fetch any of my files on this PC.
3. Finally, click OK to finish.

Then you can test that everything works correctly by visiting your OneDrive account, and under PCs click the name of your computer. You should then be able to view all data stored in your remote computer. The feature should just work without any firewall or router configuration.

Although, remote accessing your files can be useful, there are a few limitations. For example, Fetch isn't supported on computers running Windows 8.1. You can use a Mac to fetch files that are on a computer running Windows, but you can't fetch files that are on a Mac. Also, remember that you can only remote access files through the web version of OneDrive..

Content you shouldn't upload

As we can see from the changes, OneDrive is no longer the "One place for everything in your life". So, avoid uploading all your devices backup, movie rips, DVR recordings, ISO files, and keep your Game DVR for Xbox One on the Upload service -- do not manually try to save them to OneDrive, if you want to save space.

If you're a music lover, and you also like to use OneDrive, perhaps a good option is to get a Groove Music Pass, which will get you an extra 100GB of storage to store your music collection. Keep in mind that you're currently limited to 50,000 songs on your OneDrive collection.

Use another service

If you like OneDrive, but you need the extra storage for bulk backups and to store another different type of files, you could try other cloud storage services. Currently you can get Amazon Cloud Drive to store unlimited photos for free if you're an Amazon Prime member. Or you could get "Unlimited Everything" for $59.99 per year on Amazon Cloud Drive.

Cheap Cloud Storage — which one saves you the most?

Of course, there are many other services you could use, we have previously published an article with more details on alternative cloud storage services (see above).

Wrapping things up

Today, we shared ten tips that should help most of OneDrive customers to optimize their cloud storage or at least it should give you an idea on the things you can do moving forward.

The strange part about Microsoft changing its business around OneDrive is that even if you're willing to pay a premium price for more storage, customers simply don't have the options. You can only get a max of 1TB. Perhaps the software giant will introduce more options in the future, but for now it seems that the company isn't in the business of bulk backups, simply productivity files that you use every day.

Finally, remember that if you don't take actions after going over your allowed quota with your Office 365 subscription, you will be notified to make changes in your account. On November 2, 2016, your account will become read-only, and after six more months if your account isn't below the 1TB threshold, your OneDrive account will be locked. After a year, if you have taken any actions, your content will be deleted.

Now, if you're in the free tier, and you went over your maximum allowed quota, you will be notified, and you'll have 90 days to take action before your account becomes read-only. Then, if you still didn't take action, you have nine months to make the corresponding changes. After the nine months, your account will be locked, you will then have one year to take action, but you won't be able to access your content, and then after the year, your content will be deleted..

"Free" Office 365 offer + 1TB?

Microsoft also slips this important note in their blog post regarding the upcoming changes:

"If you are using more than 5 GB of free storage, you will continue to have access to all files for at least 12 months after these changes go into effect in early 2016. In addition, you can redeem a free one-year Office 365 Personal subscription (credit card required), which includes 1 TB of OneDrive storage.."

Taking a free one-year Office 365 offer may be a valid choice, plus you gain 1TB of storage. Of course, this is Microsoft's plan in the long run to get more people on their paid subscription service. Just remember that you have a choice here.

If you have another tip to improve OneDrive let us know in the comments!

One of the cool features of the Microsoft Band 2 is the ability to use it for payments at Starbucks. You don't need to take out your wallet or phone to pay at the cashier. You'll just need to bring the Microsoft Band up to the barcode scanner when it's time to pay. We'll show you how to set it up.

How to add your Starbucks account to the Microsoft Band 2

Before you can start using the Microsoft Band 2 to pay at Starbucks, you'll need to add the Starbucks tile to the Band.

1. On your phone, open the Microsoft Health app.
2. Scroll all the way down and tap Add and managetiles
3. Swipe the Starbucks slider to On position and tap the pencil next to it.
4. Select Add Card
5. Enter the 16-digit code on the back of your Starbucks Card when prompted.
6. Tap Save to sync these changes to your band.

If you do not have the actual physical card with you but have a Starbucks account, here's how to get your card number:

1. Log in to Starbucks using a web browser and go to the Cards page (starbucks.com/account/card)
2. Tap Pay with this card
3. Take note of the 16-digit number and add that to the Starbucks tile using the steps above.

How to pay at Starbucks with the Microsoft Band 2

When it's time to pay at the cashier, press the power button on the Microsoft Band 2 and tap the Starbucks tile. A barcode will appear. Place your Band 2 in front of the cashier's scanner to make the purchase.

That's it! Are you planning to pay for for coffee with your Microsoft Band 2? Have you done it already? Let us know in the comments!

Download the Microsoft Health app

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

When it comes to mobile computing, there are usually three camps of people those who want (1) max battery (2) max performance (3) balanced between both. Today, we are going to focus on the second group, those who want to max out the Surface Book or Surface Pro 4.

The heart of this trick relies on increasing the integrated Intel HD 520 GPU from 'balanced' to 'max performance'. In real life terms, this means taking the HD 520 from 750 MHz to 1000 MHz and yes, it makes a difference. Here is our tutorial, which is also available in video format.

The problem

On all Surface devices, there is one unique drawback when compared to normal PCs. Under Power Options users only have one configured power plan option: Balanced. Other PC manufacturers often use the default settings of Max Performance, Balanced and Power Saver. These settings are preset for things like display brightness, max CPU speed, display off and the clocks speed of the integrated GPU.

What this means in the real world is even when plugged in the Surface Book, Surface Pro 4 (and even Surface Pro 3) never reach their max capability for graphics performance.

The reason for this is not too clear although there is a balance between battery life and thermal dissipation on the Surface series that limits the most extreme settings. Throttling at certain temperatures is not uncommon with the Surface due to its rather great thinness. Due to Skylake the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book so far have no exhibited throttling under normal conditions, an improvement over the Surface Pro 3's Haswell system.

In fact, doing this 'hack' (I use the term loosely) draws more power: 2.4W versus 4.0W when set to max performance. Luckily, you can configure this so that the Intel HD 520 is only used in max 1000 MHz when either plugged into an AC outlet or you purposefully choose the Max Performance preset.

Disable Connected Standby

The secret to getting the Intel HD 520 to hit max speeds is disabling Connected Standby (CS) in the Windows registry. Once disabled and the OS has rebooted the settings appear under Advanced Power Settings.

The key thing to remember is you will want to re-enable CS after creating a new power profile. Connected Standby – also called InstantGo – is what is most commonly known as 'Sleep'. That means while disabled, your Surface will never go into standby mode. That is not a good thing, so make sure you read through this how-to.

Luckily, there is nothing that we are doing here that can be classified as 'risky'.

1. Launch registry editor

Type in Regedit into the search window and answer yes to the User Account Control prompt

2. Find CsEnabled

Navigate to HKEY_Local_Machine\System\ControlSet001\Control\Power; Alternatively hit [Ctrol + F] and search for CsEnabled (this will take around 10-20 seconds)

3. Turn it off

Double-click CsEnabled and change Value data from 1 to 0 and click OK to save the changes

Do not reboot the PC just yet.

Create new power plan

Next you will want to create your power plan. This step lets you keep the Balanced default one with all its native settings.

1. Power settings

Type in Power Plan into the search window or right-click the battery icon and select Power Options

2. Create

Select Create a power plan from the left menu

3. Name it

You must use Balanced as the reference plan and give it a unique name e.g. Gaming mode or Max Graphics and hit Next to save

4. Reboot

Now you can reboot the PC with the registry changes and new power plan.

Edit new power plan

This section is where the changes take place. Up until now, all we have done is created a copy of the Balanced (default) power plan. Now we are going to edit the plan you created above to enable max performance of the Intel HD graphics.

There are a few ways to set this up depending on your preferences:

• Enable max graphics for both battery and when plugged into AC power
• Enable max graphics only for AC power but leaves battery on balanced mode or vice versa

If you opt for only AC power as you would expect the graphics will max out when you plug in the Surface Book or Surface Pro 4. On battery, it will remain the same. You could even just do this for the default Balanced power plan. The benefit with modifying the default Balanced plan is you do not have to switch modes when you plug in.

Alternatively, with a custom power plan you can throw max HD graphics on even when on battery. Think it through. Once you are ready, here is what to do next:

1. Power Options

Right-click on the battery icon and choose Power Options

2. Change

Select Change plan settings from the desired power plan (preferably your custom one)

3.Advanced settings

Select Change advanced power settings

4. Intel graphics

Navigate to Intel(R) Graphics Settings

4.Max it out

From the drop down on On battery and/or Plugged in choose Maximum Performance and hit OK to save the settings

You could alternatively also set your Balanced plan to Maximum Battery Life but only On battery. This setting, of course, limits the Intel HD GPU to around 300 MHz resulting in reduced performance. For simply web browsing and editing in Word, this should be fine.

Re-enable Connected Standby

Now that we have created our power plan and set graphics to max you will want to re-enable Connected Standby. If you do not complete this step, your Surface will never go to sleep. You could, of course, live with that and simply set the device to hibernate or just turn it off, but most people will prefer InstantGo and sleep mode. For this step, we are just retracing the steps above with one change:

1. Launch registry editor

Type in Regedit into the search window and answer yes to the User Account Control prompt

2. Find CsEnabled

Navigate to HKEY_Local_Machine\System\ControlSet001\Control\Power; Alternatively hit [Ctrol + F] and search for CsEnabled (this will take around 10-20 seconds)

3. Turn it off

Double-click CsEnabled and change Value data from 0 to 1 and click OK to save the changes

4. Reboot computer

You should notice that the additional power plan Max Performance has disappeared as well. Additionally, you no longer have the ability to modify the Intel HD Graphics Power Plan. If you would like to change or modify those settings, you need to disable CS again and go through the same steps.

The good news is that your custom settings will stick even after re-enabling Connected Standby, and that is all that matters here.

Now what?

Assuming you created a secondary power plan, all you need to do now is change between them whenever you want. To do this, just right-click on the battery icon and select Power Options. You should then see your two power plans:

• Balanced (default)
• Your custom plan created above (with max HD graphics)

Say you want to play a game you can switch to your max HD graphics settings by choosing your custom power profile. Doing this automatically shifts the GPU into its new setting. You do not need to reboot or do anything else. When you are done, simply set it back to Balanced and it is back to normal. It is a dynamic process and you do not need to restart the OS to enable the changes.

What is gained

In some 3D Mark Cloud Gate benchmarks run by one Reddit user there was a 12% boost in performance when using the 'max' setting for the Intel HD 520. In Ice Storm Extreme, there were increases across the board when compared to balanced mode: Score: +10%, Graphics: +12%, Physics: +4%.

Putting aside benchmarks and we have seen significant performance gains when gaming. One of my favorite time killers is Pinball FX2 for Windows 10. On the Surface Book when used in Notebook mode (disconnected from the keyboard, no Nvidia GPU) the pinball game played decently on balanced, but had much higher framerates when in max mode. This performance change is more evident if you compared 'max battery' (300 MHz) to the 'max performance' (1000 MHz).

While enabling max performance for the Intel HD 520 GPU will result in smoother games and more power for graphic intensive tasks, remember you are trading battery consumption for those gains. Creating a secondary custom profile at least gives you finer grain control over these tradeoffs making this modification a smart choice for those who need it.

Try this trick and let us know how it works out for you in comments!

More resources

Not sold on either device yet? Check out our Surface Pro 4 review and our Surface Book impressions or jump into our forums.

Microsoft Surface Tips and Tricks

Windows Central Surface Book forums

Windows Central Surface Pro 4 forums

The Microsoft Band 2 syncs with the Microsoft Health app on your phone, but it can also share activity data with other popular services. A new partnership that was mentioned when the Band 2 launched was Lose It! (loseit.com). It has more than 25 million members using the service to help them lose weight. Already a Lose It! member? Interested to try it out with your band? We'll show you how to connect them.

Before we continue, just keep in mind that there's currently no Windows app for Lose It!. You'll still be able to sync the Microsoft Band 2 with the service, but you'll be accessing their data and insight on your web browser. Android and iOS users have a Lose It! app on their phones. Let's hope they bring it to Windows 10 as well.

1. On your desktop browser, sign up or log in to loseit.com
2. Go to the Apps & Devices page
3. Look for Microsoft Health and click Connect to Microsoft Health
4. Enter your Microsoft username and password
5. Click Yes to give access to Lose It!

All basic and Premium Lose It! members can sync calories from steps tracked by the Microsoft Band. However, only premium members get:

• Steps goal updates
• Exercise minute goal updates
• Exercise calorie goal updates

It's hard to recommend Lose It! to Windows users with the Microsoft Band 2 right now because there's no app available yet. They also don't have a mobile-friendly site. In addition, you need to be a premium member to get other important updates like the exercise calorie goal. Lose It! Premium costs $39.99/yr.

Will you be trying to lose weight with Lose It! on the Microsoft Band 2? Let us know in the comments!

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

If you have a favorite NFL team, you can now add them as a tile on your Microsoft Band and Microsoft Band 2 thanks to the new additions by Microsoft in the Tiles Gallery. You'll be able to see the team's recent game score result and a prediction of the next game from your band. We'll show you how to set it up.

1. On your phone, open the Microsoft Health app
2. Scroll down and tap Add and Manage tiles
3. Scroll down and tap Go to Gallery
4. Choose your favorite NFL team, and then tap Download
5. Tap the check button at the bottom to confirm

That's it! Your Microsoft Band will be updated with the team's tile. Keep in mind that there's a limit of how many tiles can fit on the Microsoft Band. That number is currently 13. You'll get an error message if you go over the limit. In addition to the new NFL tiles for the band, there are other apps you can add from the Tile gallery.

To view the recent score on your Microsoft Band, tap the team's tile. You'll see the recent score along with the time and date of the game. Swipe left to see the more information about the upcoming game. It displays who the other team will be, the time and place, and the predicted game winner.

We're happy to see more apps in the Tile Gallery for the Microsoft Band 2. We'll keep our eyes open for more additions. Is there any specific tile or app you'd like to see in the list? Sound off in the comments!

Download Microsoft Health app

Thanks for the tip, jcrod73!

Just like the Microsoft Band, you can track your sleep with the Microsoft Band 2. It tracks the length and quality of your sleep using your heart rate and motion. There are two ways to track your sleep with the band. You can do it through the Sleep tile, or you can let it automatically detect your sleep. We'll show you how both methods work.

Using the Sleep tile

1. On your Microsoft Band 2, tap the Sleep tile (moon icon)
2. Swipe left and set an alarm if need
3. Swipe left again if you want to set it as a Smart Alarm (This feature is not available on the original Band)
4. Press the action button to start tracking
5. Go to sleep

When you wake up,

1. Press the power button.
2. When the Sleep screen appears, press the action button.
3. Tap Yes to stop sleep tracking.

Automatic sleep detection

You don't need to use the Sleep tile on your Microsoft Band 2 to track sleep because it can track automatically as well. Just simply go to sleep. Detection is motion based, so it'll count if you're inactive for at least two hours. We still recommend using the Sleep tile because notifications can still come through the band during automatic sleep detection. You probably don't want to be waken up by the vibrating alerts.

It's also important to know that automatic sleep detection does not provide Sleep Restoration analysis.  It lets you know if you had sufficient and high quality of sleep.

Analyzing sleep data

On your Microsoft Band 2, the Sleep tile provides data from the last recorded sleep. It shows:

• Date
• Length of sleep
• Time in bed
• Sleep efficiency
• How many times you woke up
• Calories burned while sleeping

On your phone, the Microsoft Health app displays even more stats about your sleep. There are also a couple of graphs showing the amount of light and restful sleep, and the resting heart rate.

If you want to go even deeper into your sleep data, we suggest opening the Microsoft Health dashboard (dashboard.microsofthealth.com) on your browser. It has more explanations about the numbers and what they mean. There's also an Observation tab, which displays sleep comparisons and averages for the month.

Sleeping better

Tracking my sleep with the Microsoft Band 2 makes me more aware of my poor sleeping habit. It encourages me to do something about it. Instead of watching another episode on Netflix, maybe I should go to bed already.

Have you tried sleep tracking with the Microsoft Band 2 or the older Microsoft Band? Are they helping you sleep better? Let us know in the comments!

• Microsoft Band 2 Review
• Download Microsoft Health app
• Go to the Microsoft Health dashboard

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

Microsoft is expected to roll out the retail version of Windows 10 Mobile very soon for Insiders (build 10586). For some people, they will want to jump out of the Insider program to stay on the stable public version. Likewise, if you are considering jumping into the Insider Program for Windows 10 Mobile you may want reassurance that you can leave at any time.

Much like the Insider program for PCs you can enroll and leave the program whenever you want without needing to reset or wipe your device. This ability means that you can sign up, grab the latest "stable" release, and then leave the program. Your phone stays on that build, and you do not have to risk getting unstable beta releases. Should there be any new firmware or stable release updates, you will get those too.

Today, we are going to show you easy it is to exit the Insider program for Windows 10 Mobile.

How to stop getting Insider builds for Windows Phone

1. Launch the app

From your Start menu launch the Windows Insider App. If you need to re-install it just use this link for the Store.

2. Disenroll

From the ellipsis menu near the bottom open the menu and choose Leave the program

3. Sign in

To confirm your account, you need to sign in again

4. Leave Program

On the Leave program screen select Continue to confirm

You are now disenrolled in the Windows Insider Programs for phones. You will not get any more OS updates through the service.

If you wish to change your mind at any point, just launch the Windows Insider App and re-enroll through the original steps.

Why you shouldn't worry if your phone is not on the official Windows 10 upgrade list

Microsoft has made it exceptionally simple to enroll and leave the Insider program. For those who's phone is not Windows 10 Mobile eligible through the official update, the Insider program is the way to do it. Once you get the final build later this year through the Insider program, you can leave the service and enjoy that build. The choice is yours!

Are you planning on leaving the Windows 10 Mobile Insider program once the retail version ships or are you sticking with it? Let us know in comments!

More Resources

Need more information about the Windows Insider Program for Phone? We have you covered:

How Insiders can stop receiving new PC builds after Windows 10 launches

Windows Insider for Phone – All you need to know

How to install Windows 10 Preview to your Lumia Windows Phone

Windows 10 preview builds for phone are 'roughly' every month

How to roll back from Windows 10 Mobile preview to Windows Phone 8.1

Inside the box, the Microsoft Band 2 comes with a USB charging cable. To charge the Microsoft Band 2, plug the USB end of the cable into a powered USB port (USB 2.0 or greater) and connect the magnetic charging connector on the USB charging cable to the charging port on the clasp of your Band. The battery on the Microsoft Band 2 can reach 80 percent after charging for just 20 minutes.

Finding powered USB ports isn't hard. You can connect the USB end of the charging cable to a USB port on your laptop or your phone's AC adapter. If I need to charge at the office, I connect my Microsoft Band 2's charging cable to the Anker PowerPort 6 USB Charging Hub.

How to check the Microsoft Band 2 battery status

There are several ways to check the battery status on your Microsoft Band 2. From your band, swipe right from the Me tile. You'll see the battery indicator on the lower left corner.

You can also see it on your phone from the Microsoft Health app. From the hamburger menu on the top left corner, select My Microsoft Band. The battery indicator is shown on top of the page.

If you want to see the battery percentage on the Microsoft Band 2, connect it to the charger and press the power button. You'll see the percentage of remaining battery power along with the time and date against a dark background.

Notes

Charging the Microsoft Band 2 is pretty straightforward, however, here are some helpful notes:

• Even though the battery may reach 80 percent after charging for 20 minutes, it can take two or more hours to charge it to 100 percent. This is normal for lithium-polymer batteries.
• Make sure the charging port on your Band and the magnetic charging connector on the USB charging cable are clean and dry.
• If you're having problems charging your Microsoft Band 2, try restarting it. Press and hold the power button and the action button on your Band at the same time until the screen flashes red and then your Band turns off. Press the power button again to restart

Also, make sure to read our Microsoft Band 2 battery tips to get more juice out of it. Did you get the Microsoft Band 2 yet? Are you still on the fence? Share your thoughts in the comments!

This won't be an issue for most people, but if you switch phones frequently, you'll also need to factory reset the Microsoft Band 2. The good news is that it's really simple. We'll show you how to do it.

1. On your phone, open the Microsoft Health app, tap the hamburger menu, and select My Microsoft Band.
2. Tap unregister your Band
3. On your Microsoft Band 2, press the power button and tap Settings (gear icon)
4. Tap the Power icon
5. Swipe left, and tap Reset device.
6. Tap Yes to erase all data

That's it! The Microsoft Band 2 should now be back to factory settings. You can follow the steps to pair the Microsoft Band 2 with Windows 10 Mobile if you need to connect the band again.

As a reminder, the Microsoft Band 2 also works with Android and iOS devices. However, Cortana only works on Windows Phone, and the keyboard for composing messaging replies only works for Windows Phone and Android, but not iOS.

Most users won't need to reset the Microsoft Band 2, but this will come in handy when you are switching phones, trying to solve a problem, or if you need to restart the setup process.

Microsoft Band 2 Review

Buy the Microsoft Band 2

On November 12th, Microsoft finally began rolling out the first major update for Windows 10. The Windows 10 November update includes a bunch of new features and changes that surely will improve the overall experience of the operating system.

The November update brings improvements to the Start menu to allow users to have a fourth column of tiles, updated context menus throughout the operating system, and Cortana gets smarter with handwriting recognition and missed call notifications. The Microsoft Edge browser also gets performance and security improvements and tab preview, and a lot more. (I'll recommend you read our previous roundup of features, improvements, and features new to the November update.)

Now, while the software giant expects the roll out to go smoothly, it's just a matter of time until we start seeing isolated issues. For example, there have been reports in the Microsoft Answer forums that there seems to be a bug that can prevent the Windows 10 November update from completing the installation.

The bug seems to be specific too: if you begin the installation process, the Windows 10 November update will stop responding at the 44% marker.

According to Microsoft, the company has been observing that "some devices" that have an "SD bus with an SD card inserted" may experience some issues trying to install the update.

While the software giant keeps investigating the issue and offers a permanent solution, it recommends users to remove the SD card from their computers, before proceeding with the install.

However, the update needs some available storage space to complete the upgrade. If you're using an SD card for the purpose of adding more storage, Microsoft recommends using a USB storage device instead to perform the install.

Additional tips

Before installing or making significant changes to the operating system, always make sure to make a full backup of your entire system whenever possible. You never know when things are not going to work the way it should and using a backup may just be the only way to recover.

• Here's how to make a full backup of Windows 10

Although, not everyone is expected to come across issues installing the November update, another tip is to disconnect every unessential peripheral from your computer. Only, leave connected the essentials, such as keyboard and mouse, monitor, and network connection. After the upgrade, you can reconnect everything back again.

If you need to make room on your hard drive to install the update, you can also use the Windows Cleanup tool. Below you will find the steps to help you with this task.

1- Open File Explorer and go to This PC.

2- Right-click the Windows drive (typically the C:/ drive), and click on Properties.

3- Click the Disk Cleanup button and then click the Clean up system files button.

4- Finally from the list check the files you want to delete, click OK and Delete Files.

How to avoid failure installing the November update if you're an Insider

If you're part of the Insider program, it has also been reported that the Windows 10 November update may fail during installation.

On Twitter, @Bdsams, has noted that after various attempts, he had to disable getting new preview builds from Settings > Update & security > Advanced Options to enable Windows 10 to get the November update.

During the short chat on Twitter, Microsoft's Gabriel Aul, mentions that the root of the problem seems to be a "timing issue," because of a preview "queued" that should have "sorted itself after a re-scan." As such, if you missed the chance to install Windows 10 build 10586 last week, you may want to stop getting new builds before trying to get the November update until the issue gets resolved.

If everything fails, remember that you can visit the Windows Central forums to seek help.

Other resources

If you want to see more how-to's for Windows 10, make sure you check these resources:

Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you need to know

Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks

As I'm sure many of you have heard, today is New Xbox One Experience (NXOE) day. The new Windows 10 update for Xbox One brings new features as well as changes to a few things. One of the most controversial changes are how and where your pins are displayed. So here's the rundown on how to pin your favorite games and apps as well as manage them.

How to create a pin

Creating a pin allows you to access your favorite game or app without having to travel deep within the Xbox One's UI.

1. Go to 'My games & apps.'

From the Home screen/tab scroll down to the bottom of the page or just simply press RT (right trigger) then select the 'My games & apps' tile.

2. Navigate to your apps

When you open 'My games & apps', you will notice that on the left-hand side you will notice three options; Games, Apps, and Queue. For the purposes of this demonstration, we're going to navigate to the apps and select one to pin.

3. Pin it!

Once you're hovering over the app that you'd like to pin, press the Menu button. A pop-up menu will appear and will give you a couple of options. Choose Pin to Home and this will do the job.

4. Access the pin

Press the Xbox button to take you back to the Home screen/tab. Now press RT (right trigger) to go directly to your pins. You should now see a tile of the app/game that you pinned. Hooray!

Congrats! You have successfully pinned your first app/game.

Protip: Whenever you want to get to your pins on the home screen, instead of scrolling down just press RT (right trigger)

How to manage your pins

1. Go to your pins

While on the Home screen/tab press RT (right trigger) to jump directly to your pins. From here you can choose which pins you want to manage.

Manage that Pin!

Choose the pin that you want to manage by hovering over it. Once it's highlighted press start and a pop-up menu should appear. From here you can choose whether to move a pin to the front of the list or get rid of the pin altogether.

These options allow you to customize your pins the way you want to. Unfortunately, we can't move them round as we please, but for the time being Move to front will suffice.

If you think this guide is helpful, we have many more posts like this in our Xbox help, tips, and tricks page.

Microsoft first released Windows 10 on July 29th, and yesterday November 12th, the Microsoft servers started delivering the first major update to all computers around the world. While the update is meant for everyone, not every computer is going to get the update at the same time -- the update will take a few days to reach everyone.

The Windows 10 November update represent a big milestone for the company. Microsoft says that not only it's improving the experience, but it feels that the operating system has "reached the point in the platform's maturity where [Microsoft] can confidently recommend Windows 10 deployment to whole organizations."

The update fixes a lot of issues, incorporates some tweaks in the UI, Cortana gets smarter, Microsoft Edge receives much-needed performance and security improvement, and the Settings app gets a significant number of changes.

If you have been part of the Windows Insider Program, you have been dealing with a lot of ups and downs since July. Every build Microsoft released for PCs and tablets brought something new to Windows 10, but you also had to put up with a lot known issues here and there.

As such, after installing the Windows 10 November update, perhaps you might want to stop receiving new builds for a while or permanently. Fortunately, Microsoft is making it super easy for Insiders to manage how users get new Insider Preview builds.

In case you decide the latest build of Windows 10 is good enough as your daily driver, you can use the following steps to stop receiving new builds.

How to stop receiving Windows 10 Insider Preview builds

1. All Settings

Open the Settings app

2. Navigate

Go to Update & security and Windows Update.

3.Advanced

On Windows Update, click the Advanced options link.

4. Stop

Inside the Advanced Options and scroll down to the "Get Insider Preview builds" section. Then click the Stop Insider Preview builds button, and on the dialog box you'll have the option to either pause receiving new builds for 1, 3, or 5 days.

Or you can click the Stop receiving Insider Preview builds and click the "Confirm" button to stop permanently getting new builds.

5. Restart

Finally, to complete the process, you'll need to restart your computer. Now, if you choose to pause receiving new builds for a few days, you won't need to restart your computer, and anytime you can come back and hit the Resume button.

If you stopped the getting builds permanently, you could also come back at any time. Click the Get started button, sign-in with you Microsoft Account, and restart your computer. Of course, if you computer doesn't have the latest build, it will automatically download and install.

It's important to point out that Microsoft is making it straightforward to opt-in or opt-out of the program without your computer having to reset to factory defaults. Also, you will still be able to keep your computer up to date with Windows Update.

Are you going to stop getting Insider builds for a while or you're already waiting for the next build? Tell us your plans in the comments below.

Related

How to stop getting Insider builds of Windows 10 Mobile

Although it seems most users are getting the big November update for Windows 10 that went out yesterday, some users are not. We have seen one of our Surfaces 'see' the update only to fail to get it and then never see the update again.

So what to do? The answer is super simple. Just use the Windows media creation tool.

Myth – But I don't want to wipe my drive and re-install my apps!

We hear the response a lot from users who would prefer just to use Windows Update. After all, why would you want to wipe your computer for an OS update?

However, this is just a misunderstanding. Although you could create an ISO from the media creation tool and you could wipe your PC and install Windows 10, that is not the default behavior. If you are running Windows 10 and you run the media installation tool, it assumes you want to upgrade your OS, which is exactly what we want.

1. Download

Grab the media creation tool from Microsoft: microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

2. Setup

Navigate to where you downloaded MediaCreationTool.exe and double-click it

3. Choose (or don't)

Once the installer has set up, you will be asked to either Upgrade this PC now or Create installation media for another PC. The default option is already upgrade so just hit Next. The app will download some files, process, check for updates and then check your PC. This process could take some time depending on your connection. Nothing has actually installed yet.

4. Accept

Choose Accept for the license terms. Or don't, it's your life.

5. More updates

The app really wants to make sure it is up to date so it will check again for the latest OS on Microsoft's servers. You can grab a coffee while it does its work.

6. Install

This screen is the one you all have been waiting for. As you can see, the installer is going to Keep personal files and apps and install Windows 10 Home (or Professional, it uses whatever is already installed).

To be clear, this is just updating your computer. Nothing is erased, and it looks exactly the same. Nothing is moved, your Start menu remains, etc. We use this tool all the time and can vouch for what it does.

From this point on, the app will just install the files, and you will have to reboot your PC. The computer will go through the setup (black screen) and the 'out of the box' experience with those nice fade in screens with various colors.

Afterward, you will boot back into your updated Windows 10, and that is it. You kept your PC as is and got the upgraded OS. Hopefully, you had no issues during this process, but overall, it is very similar to the Windows Update/OTA version.

Need more?

Check out our other articles for more info.

Windows 10 November Update - Features, changes, and improvements

How to prevent Windows 10 November update from getting stuck during installation

Windows 10 help, tips and tricks

Windows 10 Discussion Forums

The New Xbox One Experience (NXOE) is here, bringing a dramatically different interface to Microsoft's Xbox One console. If you've been with Xbox One for a while, the NXOE's many changes will require some adjustment. Nearly everything has been moved around, the main menu adds vertical scrolling on top of horizontal, and the new Guide menu dominates the experience.

The Xbox One featured a simplistic Guide before, accessed by double-tapping the Home button on the controller. It allowed users to snap apps and take screenshots, but not much else. The NXOE Guide, on the other hand, incorporates much of the Xbox 360's Guide menu functionality. This improved Guide lets users view their friends list, send messages, adjust settings, and more. It's a lot to take in, really, so we've written this guide to using the NXOE Guide – complete with helpful screenshots!

NXOE Guide at a glance

There are two ways to access the NXOE Guide menu on Xbox One:

• Double-tap the Home button at any time
• From the Home screen/dashboard, go the left-most screen and press left on either analog stick or d-pad.

Before we look at the NXOE Guide functions and sub-menus in detail, here's a quick list of the menu features:

• Sign in
• Friends
• Party
• Messages
• Notifications
• Settings
• Snap an app
• *Save screenshot and Record that

Pressing Left Trigger jumps straight to Sign in and pressing Right Trigger jumps down to Settings.

Sign in

You'll need to sign in to your Xbox Live account before you can do much of anything on Xbox One. We used to have to scroll up to the tiny user icon at the top of the Xbox One's Home menu to do that. The Sign In option would then bring up a horizontally-scrolling list filled with large, inefficient panels for each user profile.

Nowadays Sign In sits at the top of the Guide menu, making it easily accessible from anywhere. What's more, user accounts are now displayed vertically within the Guide menu rather than a massive horizontally-scrolling menu. Despite the reduced screen real estate, more accounts fit on-screen than before.

Simply scroll through your accounts and choose the one you'd like to sign in or out. At the bottom you can Add & manage accounts. Easy!

Friends

The Friends list used to be tucked away on the second screen of the Home menu. Choosing it would launch a full-screen app filled with clutter.

With the power of NXOE, users can now view their friends lists from right within the Guide. The new implementation much more closely matches the Xbox 360 Guide's functionality.

In the 'Friends' menu, you can see scroll vertically through your friends, starting with those who are online and ending with offline pals. Selecting Find someone at the top of the menu will allow you to search for specific Gamertags to add to your friends list. Choose the word Friends just above the friends list to switch between Friends , Recent players , and Favorites.

After selecting an individual friend from your list, you'll be able to Join in or Invite that person to multiplayer games, send a message , mute , block , or remove the friend, and more.

Party

Partying up on Xbox One long required users to snap and/or hide the Party app, and that made many people sad. At last they can feel cheerful once more because the NXOE Guide's Party menu doesn't need some silly app to get the party started. Once again, it works much more like the Xbox 360 Guide's Party function.

To create a party, hit Start a party. From here, you can Invite more participants to the party, Mute the party , Switch to game chat , toggle whether the party is Invite only , Show text chat (group chat), or Leave the party.

You can also join existing parties by pressing and holding the Home button when you receive an invite, or by selecting a party invite from the Notifications menu within the Guide.

Messages

Finding your messages on Xbox One used to be like navigating the possessed hedge maze at the end of The Shining. Reading and sending messages is so much easier now, it feels like escaping from a crazed Jack Nicholson – something I'm sure we've all had to do once or twice.

The new Messages menu packs messages from more people on-screen by making everyone's Gamerpics a bit smaller. You can select New message at the top of the menu to start a new conversation with someone, or scroll through existing messages to resume an existing conversation. From the existing conversation, you can Report user, Delete conversation, or View profile card.

You could use the on-screen keyboard or even SmartGlass to type out your messages. But Microsoft's official Chatpad and the third-party Nyko Type Pad accessories make text entry even more convenient.

Notifications

Your Notifications used to be tucked away where you'd hardly notice them, way up at the top corner of the Home screen. Most of us probably checked them about as often as Phil Spencer replies to my tweets. The cold shoulder hurts, Phil!

Notifications are actually convenient to access now, so more users will have the opportunity to become acquainted with them.

A few of the items you'll find under Notifications:

• When a game that is being installed is Ready to start
• Recently unlocked Achievements
• Social notifications (invites, etc.)
• When friends like items from your activity feed (Achievements, screenshots, etc.)

You can select individual notifications to clear them or choose Clear all at the top of the Notifications list.

Settings

Time was you'd have to visit the Home menu, press the Menu button, and select Settings to adjust your settings. Nowadays, that feels as dated as walking miles into town and paying someone to send a telegraph.

The NXOE Guide Settings screen provides quick access to several important settings, especially headset controls. These let you adjust Headset volume and more without the need for the Xbox One Stereo headset Adapter.

At the bottom of the Guide's Settings menu, you can Turn off or Restart the console – no need to press and hold the Home button anymore! Up at the top of the menu, hit All settings to launch the full Settings app.

Snap an app

Snapping apps like Achievements and Messages was always the primary purpose of the old Guide. The same tasks are slightly more convenient thanks to the Snap an app menu. Hey, that rhymes… Microsoft is a poet and didn't even know it.

After snapping an app, accessing the Snap an app menu again and then pressing right on the Left analog stick or D-pad allows you to Unsnap or toggle between the primary and snapped apps. You can also launch a different snapped app, which will close the currently snapped one.

On the downside, it technically takes more button presses to snap apps now that the Guide menu contains other options.

*Save screenshot and Record that

The NXOE Guide menu provides access to two more features that don't fall under sub-menus like the other features: screenshots and video recording.

Just as with the old Guide menu, you access these features via button presses. A prompt at the top-right of the Guide menu explains:

• Press Y to save screenshot
• Press X to record that

Note that you must have Allow broadcasts and game captures enabled in order to capture screenshots or recordings. To do this, launch All Settings , go to Preferences , and select Game DVR & Streaming.

Be sure to leave a comment and let us know if you found this guide useful!

The New Xbox One Experience (NXOE) is finally here, and the new OS has completely overhauled the way we use our favourite console.

Naturally, the sweeping redesign has resulted in features getting shifted from their usual places. In this article, we'll be looking at how to snap live TV and other apps using the New Xbox One Experience.

Without Kinect's voice commands, you snap live TV and other apps using the guide menu found in the NXOE. Windows Central's Paul Acevedo recently gave us a more in-depth look at the new Xbox One guide, so be sure to check that out to learn more about its features.

To snap live TV and other apps, however, these are the steps you need to take.

1. Snap with Kinect, or use the guide menu

The fastest way to snap apps is to use Kinect, saying "Xbox, snap TV" or the name of any other app you wish to use. Skip down to step 4 to look at how to switch and manage apps using Kinect.

If you don't have Kinect, open the new guide by double tapping the home button on your Xbox One controller.

2. Using the guide

Once there, navigate down to "Snap", listed at the bottom of the menu.

3. Snap it!

Select the app you wish to snap using the joystick and the A button. In the NXOE, live TV is accessed using the new OneGuide app.

4. Changing focus

Once snapped, you can select which app is in focus by saying "Xbox, switch", or specifically, "Xbox, switch to main" or "Xbox, switch to snap". If you don't have Kinect, you can select which app is currently in focus by opening up the guide again, and selecting the icon from the app you wish to use. You can also use this menu to unsnap.

5. Going full-screen and closing apps

Most apps allow you to switch to full-size using a menu item within their snapped view. If not, you can also manage this by pressing the home button, putting your cursor on the app you want to manage and hitting the menu button on your controller. It will then give you a context menu that allows you to quit apps or games, or set a snapped app in full-screen mode.

If you have a lot of apps installed, navigating the columnar list in the new guide can be a tad cumbersome. Hopefully, Microsoft will iterate on this, either allowing you to pin favourite apps to the top of the list or by providing a Windows Start Menu-like sorting system. The pins list at the bottom of the dashboard seems like a good candidate for a menu item that allows instant snapping. Ultimately, NXOE is a work in progress. It reorganises the system to support Microsoft's grand vision for Universal Windows Apps. While we wait for usability updates, Kinect's voice commands remain the fastest way to navigate the system - set to become even faster once Cortana's natural language joins the party.

If there's anything about the New Xbox One Experience you're unsure of, let us know in the comments, and we'll try to answer.

Some of our other NXOE coverage:

• How to use the New Xbox One Experience guide menu
• How to access and manage pins in the New Xbox One Experience
• Interview with Xbox engineering head Mike Ybarra about NXOE and the future
• NXOE review - change for the better?
• How to access Xbox 360 titles on the New Xbox One Experience with backwards compatibility

Windows 10 marks the departure from major releases of the operating system every several years and the end of Service Packs. Instead, Microsoft has moved to a new servicing model. A model that we now know as "Windows as a Service" (or WasS) and it means that the company will release smaller significant updates as soon as they are ready and not major releases (typically) every three years. Also, with this new servicing model, Windows will no longer be considered a complete product -- just an ongoing project that will only get better with time.

These new updates will include improvements, changes, and new features, and we already had the chance to see this new servicing model when the software giant released Windows 10 version 1511 in November.

The first major update for PCs and tablets delivers a many bug fixes, tweaks, and improvements, such as compression store feature in Windows Memory Manager. Windows 10 now allows users to run virtual machines in virtual machines, changes on activation for users upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, improvements on performance and security for Microsoft Edge, and the list goes on.

And for the first time Microsoft is also delivering some new features through Windows Update at no extra cost.

Today, we'll be diving into these new features, and list 10 of the most interesting features users should check out after installing the new update of Windows 10.

If you like to know every little new detail in version 1511, I encourage you to read my previous roundup of everything you need to know about the Windows 10 November update.

Features you must try on Windows 10 version 1511

1. Make your sign-in experience more beautiful

Since the software giant released its new operating system to the public on July 29th, users on Windows 10 Home had an extra feature called, "Windows Spotlight," which is the idea of having a fresh experience on the regular basis by automatically displaying a great wallpaper on your Lock screen. Starting in version 1511, Windows 10 Pro also includes this feature that can easily be enabled through the Settings app.

How to configure Windows Spotlight

1- Use the Windows Key + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings.

2- Navigate to Personalization, then go to Lock screen, and from the "Background" drop-down menu choose Windows Spotlight.

Quick Tip: You can teach Windows the kind images you like by voting whether you like to see more of the same image on the top-right corner of the Lock screen.

Alongside the new operating system, Microsoft also introduced its new default Windows logo background made out of light, which you'll see on the sign-in screen and desktop the first time you log into Windows 10. Even though, you cannot change it, if you don't like, or you simply got bored seeing the same image every day, you can disable the background on the sign-in screen and get a solid color background that matches your theme's accent color.

Here's how you do it: While in Settings > Lock screen, simply turn off the Show Windows background picture on the sign-in screen option (refer to the previous image).

2. Get more tiles on the Start menu

The Start menu has returned to the most popular operating system on the planet, and in version 1511, Microsoft continues to improve the overall experience by adding a few new tweaks to the Start menu.

After installing the November update, users can add a fourth column of tiles, this means that you can now have four medium-sized, two large- or two wide-sized tiles per row.

Follow the steps below to fill the Start menu with more tiles.

How to add more tiles to Start

1- Use the Windows Key + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings.

2- Navigate to Personalization, then go to Start, and turn on the Show more tiles options.

Adding extra space to fit more tiles is a welcome addition to the operating system, as some users have complained of a lot of waste space between groups of tiles while in Tablet mode and when the Start menu is in full screen. Also, it's worth pointing out that Windows 10 version 1511 ups the support of pinned tiles from 512 to 2048.

3. Manage missed calls from your desktop

While Cortana comes integrated within Windows 10, it's a feature powered by the cloud and it relies on Bing to make sense of things. Microsoft has been proactively improving its personal assistant day after day, but in during the Windows 10 November update the personal digital assistant gets some important improvements. In the November update, Cortana can now alert you to calls that you missed with the ability to reply using a text message.

The feature should be enabled by default, but you have to make sure the feature is enabled on both the device you want to get the notifications and on your Windows phone.

How to configure missed call notifications

1- On your Windows 10 PC, tablet, and phone, open Cortana's settings page by going launching the search box, clicking or tapping the Notebook icon, and then going to Settings.

2- Scroll down until you find Miss call notifications and make sure the feature is enabled.

Testing if everything works, it's as easy as telling someone to call you on your Windows phone, let the phone ring, miss the call, and see the notification pop-up on your desktop.

Keep in mind that if you want to reply with a text, Windows 10 will send your message to your phone, and then your phone will send the message.

4. Quickly create reminders with a stylus

Cortana also includes handwriting recognition to allow users to create quickly reminders using a digital pen, such as the Surface Pen. The process is very straight forward, simply follow the steps below:

How to use handwriting to create a reminder

1- Open Cortana on your desktop and click the reminder icon.

2- If your computer has a touch-enabled display with support for a stylus, you will see an annotation button, just click the button and you'll get a canvas to create your reminder.

3- Click the right-arrow from the top-right corner and complete setting up your reminder.

5. Increase your multitasking productivity

If there is one feature that I'm excited about from the Windows 10 November update is the new multitasking feature.

Snap view is an awesome option that allows users to snap up to four windows on the screen. Depending on the task, we only snap two apps side by side, but often we also need one of the apps to use more screen real-estate than the other. As such, Microsoft is adding a small tweak for snap to allow users to resize two snapped apps simultaneously, putting to an end having to waste extra time trying to resize each window individually.

How to enable multiple apps to resize

The feature should be enabled by default, but you can always check by doing the following:

1- Use the Windows Key + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings.

2- On System go to Multitasking, and make sure to enable the When I resize a snapped window, simultaneously resize any adjacent window option.

5. Get Chromecast-like functionality

Microsoft Edge is the new default web browser for Windows 10, and the software giant is not only adding much-needed performance and security improvements, but also a few new features.

Similar to the cast feature you can add to Chrome using an extension, Microsoft Edge now includes a cast feature as well that allows users to cast videos, music, and pictures to the big screen in the house using any DLNA or Miracast compatible device.

How to cast media to devices

If you want to cast something to a device, such as Xbox One, simply do the following:

1- Open Microsoft Edge and go to the site you want cast content (e.g., Facebook, Pandora, or YouTube).

2- Click the Edge menu from the top-right corner of the app, click the Cast media to device.

3- A pop-up will appear listing the available devices, pick one and start casting.

It's important to note that protected content, such as from Hulu or Netflix, are not supported by the feature.

6. Get settings synced across devices with Microsoft Edge

Another useful feature that Microsoft is enabling on its new web browser is the ability to sync passwords, bookmarks, and Reading List items between devices. Just remember that you need to have Sync already enabled in Settings > Accounts and you need to be using the same Microsoft Account on those devices you want to have synced content.

How to enable Microsoft Edge sync

1- Open Microsoft Edge, click the menu button on the top-right corner of the app, and click on Settings.

2- Scroll down and make sure to enable the Sync your content option.

While syncing is a welcome addition on Microsoft Edge, this is one of those things, the software giant should have added on day one. Oh, if you're wondering, you still cannot sync tabs between devices.

7. Allow Windows to take care of your default printer

There used to be the time where you needed to tell the operating system which printer you wanted as the default for all the print jobs. However, now by default, Windows 10 controls your default printer.

If you have multiple printers configured on your computer, you can test the new functionality very easily. Simply, try to send a print job to any printer, and then test again, perhaps using another app, and the print job should now go to the printer you use the first time.

Of course, Microsoft anticipated that not everyone will like this feature, as such you can always disable the feature by doing the following:

How to disable automatic default printer manager

1- Use the Windows Key + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings.

2- Navigate to Devices, then go to Printers & scanners, and disable the Let Windows manage my default printer.

8. Ensure you can always locate your device

Windows 10 is being developed as one operating system that run across devices, including computers, tablets, Xbox, and phones and moving forward we're going to see Microsoft try to unify the experience across all devices.

For example, "Find My Device" is a great feature that was first introduced on mobile devices to allow users locate their phone in the event it got stolen or lost by letting Microsoft periodically track the location of the device. Now the same feature is also available in Windows 10 desktop, and users can easily enable it through the Settings app.

How to configure Find My Device

1- Use the Windows Key + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings.

2- Navigate to Update & security, the go to Find My Device, and click Change and enable the Save my device's location periodically option.

Then if your computer ever gets misplaced, go to account.microsoft.com/devices. Browse for the device you're seeking, and click the Find my device link to get a more accurate location information and a Bing map to narrow things down.

9. Save space by installing new apps to external storage

Windows 10 has yet another surprise. Now users can install apps to external storage, such on a microSD, USB drive, or secondary hard drive. We have seen this option in the past, but the software maker wasn't ready to enable it until the November update.

While not everyone will make use of this feature, it's a welcome addition that users on low-end devices with limited storage can appreciate as they can now simply connect an external storage to enable them to get more apps without wasting the available local storage.

How to install new apps on a secondary drive

1- Connect your new mass storage to your computer.

2- Use the Windows Key + I keyboard shortcut to open Settings.

3- Navigate to System, then go to Storage, and under Save locations change the settings of New apps will save to to the new external storage.

That's all there is to it.

10. New communication apps powered by Skype

Windows 10 version 1511 also installs a few new apps, including Messaging, Phone, and Skype Video. These are now the new default communication apps users will be using in Windows 10. But don't get too excited as the apps are still in the early days, and they're very minimal, and there are a lot of things that don't work, but these are a few apps you will want to give them a try.

It's worth pointing out that Microsoft has released these apps through the Store before the release of the first major update, but now the operating system installs these by default, so they are new to version 1511.

Wrapping things up

Windows 10 version 1511 marks the first major milestone for Microsoft offering "Windows as a Service" and even though it's not perfect, the company is delivering on the promise of making the operating system better as time goes on. The November update not only brings new features and apps but a handful of improvements and changes that makes the overall experience better. Of course, there is always room for improvement.

Do you have any favorite feature from Windows 10 version 1511? Let us know in the comments below.

More resources

If you want to see about Windows 10, make sure you check these resources:

Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you need to know

Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks