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7 tips for customizing your taskbar in Windows 10

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7 tips for customizing your taskbar in Windows 10

How can I customize the taskbar in Windows 10 ?

While there's nothing wrong with the default look of the Windows 10 taskbar, there are ways you can make it work better for you. Check out our favorite taskbar customization tips below.

What is a taskbar and what does it do?

Windows 10 taskbar

The taskbar is an interactive object that by default sits on the bottom of your screen and lets you manage various tasks in Windows. It lets you see which apps you have open, the date and time, and lets you "pin" or stick apps that you use frequently to it so that you can access them quickly whenever you want.

Change the taskbar's location on your screen

By default, the Windows 10 taskbar is located at the bottom of your screen, but you can move it to the top or either side of the screen, if it pleases you.

  1. Right-click in an empty spot of the taskbar.
  2. Click on Properties in the pop-up menu that appears.
  3. Click into the taskbar location on screen drop-down menu.

    Click Properties, click taskbar location on screen drop-down menu

  4. Click the option of your choice to select it.
    • Bottom: The taskbar is located at the bottom of the screen (Default)
    • Left: The taskbar is located on the left side of the screen
    • Right: The taskbar is located on the right side of the screen
    • Top: The taskbar is located at the top of the screen
  5. Click OK to save your changes and close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

    Click an option, click OK

That's all there is to it. If you ever want to go back to the default spot, just follow these steps again and choose Bottom.

Taskbar on the leftTaskbar on the rightTaskbar on top

Pin an app to the taskbar

Windows lets you "pin" or stick apps to the taskbar so that they will always be handy when you need them.

  1. Click and hold the app you want to pin.
  2. Drag the app toward the taskbar.
  3. Release the app inside the taskbar.

    Click and hold the app you want to pin, drag the app toward taskbar, release the app in the taskbar

Now that app is pinned to your taskbar, and you can launch it quickly whenever you need it.

Unpin apps from the taskbar

If you don't regularly use the apps that Windows has pinned on the taskbar by default, you can quickly and easily unpin them to make room for apps that you do use.

  1. Right-click on the app you want to unpin.
  2. Click Unpin from taskbar.

    Right-click the app you want to unpin, click Unpin from Taskbar

That's it. The button disappears from your taskbar as if it were never there at all. Of course, you can always pin it back. This works for apps that you've pinned yourself, as well as default apps.

Make the taskbar buttons smaller

If you want to make more room on your screen, you can make the buttons on the taskbar smaller. Here's how:

  1. Right-click in an empty spot of the taskbar.
  2. Click on Properties in the pop-up menu that appears.
  3. Click the Use small taskbar buttons checkbox to select it.
  4. Click OK to save your changes and close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

    Click Properties, click Use small taskbar buttons, click OK

Now your taskbar takes up less space on your screen. If you ever want to go back to the default settings, simply follow these steps and deselect the checkbox.

Pin a folder or file to the taskbar for quick access

  1. Right-click in an empty spot of the taskbar.
  2. Hover your mouse pointer over Toolbars
  3. Click New toolbar.

    Hover over Toolbars, click New Toolbar

  4. Start typing the name of the folder or file that you want to create a toolbar for, or alternatively, choose it from the available files and folders shown in the New Toolbar window.
  5. Click Select Folder to confirm your choice and close the New Toolbar window.

    Type the name of the file or folder or choose it from the vailable iles and folders in the New Toolbar window, click Select Folder

Auto-hide the taskbar

You can set the taskbar to automatically disappear unless you hover your mouse over it. This is useful for maximizing screen real estate.

  1. Right-click in an empty spot of the taskbar.
  2. Click on Properties in the pop-up menu that appears.
  3. Click the Auto-hide the taskbar checkbox to select it.
  4. Click OK to save your changes and close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

    Click Properties, click the Auto-hide the taskbar, click OK

Abracadabra — the taskbar is gone. But don't worry: if you hover your mouse pointer over its location, it will appear. Any time you want to un-auto-hide the taskbar, simply follow these steps and deselect the checkbox.

How to lock the taskbar so that its proportions stay constant

If you want to constrain the proportions of the taskbar so that it stays relatively the same width, you can do this by locking it down. Here is how:

  1. Right-click in an empty spot of the taskbar.
  2. Click on Lock the taskbar in the pop-up menu that appears.

Right-click an empty space on the taskbar, click Lock Taskbar

That's it. Now your taskbar will stay looking the same, even if you add a million buttons. Well, ok, maybe not, but you get the point, right?

Change how many taskbar buttons are displayed

By default, Windows combines and hides buttons to free up real estate on the taskbar; however, you can change this setting so that all of the buttons on your taskbar are never combined or hidden, or only get combined or hidden when the taskbar is full.

  1. Right-click in an empty spot of the taskbar.
  2. Click on Properties in the pop-up menu that appears.
  3. Click into the taskbar buttons drop-down menu.

    Click Properties, click taskbar buttons drop-down menu

  4. Click the option of your choice to select it.
    • Always combine, hide labels: Buttons will always be combined and hidden (Default)
    • Combine when taskbar is full: Buttons will be combined and hidden when the taskbar is full
    • Never combine: Buttons will never be combined or hidden
  5. Click OK to save your changes and close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

    Click an option, click OK

Give us your tips for customizing the taskbar in Windows 10

We've shared our tips for making the taskbar in Windows 10 more you, but we want to hear from you. Share your tips in the comments below.


How to use Explore and Your Groove in Microsoft Groove

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Microsoft's music service, Groove, has picked up a few awesome features as part of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update wave.

The most prominent highlight is undoubtedly Your Groove, which automatically generates playlists based on your listening habits, collection content and more. The Explore tab also got a makeover delivering handmade playlists for all sorts of moods, activities and other categories.

Here's how to get the most out the new features in Groove on both PC and mobile!

Your Groove

When you load up the latest Windows 10 versions of Groove, you'll see a new tab at the top of the hamburger menu called Your Groove. Selecting this will bring you a library of curated playlists based on your preferences and the size of your collection. It appears to be powered by Gracenote and Rovi's music metadata recognition platforms, and Microsoft has leveraged it to produce a pretty impressive array of nuanced content lists.

I have 268 albums in my collection, and Your Groove produced 50 playlists based on all sorts of categorizations. When you select curated playlists which seem to have an average length of around one and a half hours each, it'll take you to the track list in a similar fashion to any album that currently exists in your music collection. From here you can set it to play by hitting "Play All" at the top.

If you want to queue up the tracks into your "Now Playing" playlist, click on the ellipses menu and select "Add to", then "Now Playing." You can also use this menu to add the playlist to existing playlists, or even set it to a new playlist of its own.

You can't set Your Groove playlists to play offline automatically. You'll first have to save the playlist by selecting "Save a Copy", and then using the "Available offline" toggle to download the tracks. If you sync your entire collection for offline play, you'll be able to skip this step.

At present, there doesn't seem to be a way to remove existing custom playlists in Your Groove, or generate new ones, but these features might come in future updates. Your Groove also replaces the "Recent Plays" tab on the live version of Groove while retaining the functionality.

Explore

The new Explore tab functions similarly to the previous one, advertising major new releases at the top in a slide show. Music Pass subscribers will now see editor-created playlists based on all sorts of categories beneath.

Beyond featured playlists, which are usually genre based, Groove also curates playlists for different activities and moods. At present, Groove has several playlists for the following Activities and Moods:

  • Focus - For studying, meditating or working.
  • Workout - For exercising sessions.
  • Party - For different types of celebratory occasions, based on musical tastes and events, like Halloween. There's no metal, though, sadly.
  • Celebration - Some of these overlap with the party section, but include things like romantic dates and Christmas.
  • Dinner Party - Popular songs to suit lots of occasions and tastes.
  • Driving - Popular songs based on different genres and artists.
  • Travel - Featuring musicians from various countries around the world.
  • Family Listening - Friendly pop songs for kids, mainly.
  • Wake Up - Motivational upbeat songs to help you start the day.
  • Happy - More motivational pop songs from easy going artists.
  • Chill - Relaxing tracks for different genres, features lots of Hip-Hop, EDM, Post-Rock, Downtempo, and Ambient. There's also a Netflix and Chill playlist for you 6Tin fans out there.
  • Throwback - Retro classics from decades gone by, plenty of cheese in here.
  • Energetic - Lots of energizing overlap with the Happy and Workout activity playlists above.
  • Romantic - Lovey-dovey playlists for couples.
  • Melancholy - Moody playlists for bad times, often rock music, with some break-up themed pop tracks for good measure.
  • Sleepy - Downtempo tracks designed to make you sleep, combined with energetic tracks designed to help wake you up.
  • Rage - Metal, rock and other aggressive tunes for angry moments.

When you click on any of the playlists, they function similarly to Your Groove, allowing you to export them into their own playlists in your app for offline listening or editing.

Beneath these new segments features the typical Explore functions we're used to on the previous versions. The top trending artists, albums, and tracks are still listed prominently, in addition to the latest albums added to Groove. Below that you can still easily access specific genres, and even drive down into sub-genres via filters at the top of the sections.

Groove availability by country

Grove Music Store is available in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Groove Music Pass is available in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Groovy future

Groove has come a long way since its post-Xbox Music relaunch. The UWP version of the app had a lot of kinks to work through, but now the team is diligently plowing ahead with new features and polish, having eliminated the vast majority of the bugs. Hopefully one day we'll see proper MP3 tagging and more social features filter down into the system, but until then, Groove remains one of the best music services available on the Windows 10 Store.

If you'd like to know more about Groove or pick up a Groove Music Pass (with a free trial), check out the links below. Purchasing a Groove Music Pass nets you 100GB of OneDrive storage so that you can stream your MP3 collection from the cloud, in addition to millions upon millions of tracks from artists both popular and obscure. We can only expect that Groove Music will also appear on Xbox One as a UWP in the near future, replacing the current Windows 8.1 version of the app for use with the console's upcoming background music feature.

Get a Groove Music Pass

Here's everything you need to know about Groove

See Groove on the Windows 10 Store

Do you use Groove? Do you prefer a competing service? Let us know why in the comments!

How to extract a stuck disc from your Xbox One

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Xbox One

It does happen, but hold on before you grab the screwdriver, there's an easier way.

Be it a game or a Blu-Ray movie you've put inside your Xbox One, it's not inconceivable that at some point in the lifetime of the console the disc may get stuck in the drive for some reason.

But before you grab the toolbox and think about opening up your console (which you probably don't want to do anyway) there's a simple method that should help that you might not be aware of.

Here's what you need to do:

  1. Turn off your console and remove the power cable from the rear.
  2. Find a large paper clip and straighten it, or locate something of similar thickness with at least an inch of length.
  3. On the left hand side of the console slightly above and to the right of the USB port, you should see an orange square.
  4. By the orange square is the eject hole, put the paper clip in it.
  5. You might need to angle it forwards at the same time but push the paper clip right in.

Your disc should now appear very slightly out of the drive slot on the front of the console. Not all the way but far enough to be able to grab hold and remove the offending item.

And that's all there is to it. Hopefully this solves a potentially hairy problem!

How to add and sync calendar events in the Windows 10 Calendar app

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 How to add and sync calendar events in Calendar on Windows 10

How do I add and sync calendar events in Calendar on Windows 10?

The Calendar app in Windows 10 is a powerful tool for keeping track of all your events, appointments, and social engagements. It's entirely possible you already use another type of connected calendar, and that's okay! Windows 10 can sync all your events over from few different services, so you don't have to start over from scratch.

How to add a calendar in the Calendar app on Windows 10

By default, your Calendar app should be located in your Start menu. If you have removed it from the Start menu, it's readily available through the File Explorer.

  1. Click on the Start menu button. It's the Windows icon in the bottom left corner of your screen.
  2. Click on the Calendar app.

    Click on the Start menu button and then click on the Calendar app.

  3. Click on the Settings button. It looks like a gear.
  4. Click on Manage Accounts.

    Click on the Settings button and then click on Manage Accounts.

  5. Click on the type of account you want to add. For this example, we will add an iCloud account.

    Click on Add account and then click on the type of account you want to add.

  6. Enter your account information.
  7. Click on the Sign in button.
  8. Click on the Done button.

    Enter your account information, click on the sign in button, and then click on the Done button.

How to add an event in the Calendar app on Windows 10

  1. Click on the Start menu button. It's the Windows icon in the bottom left corner of your screen.
  2. Click on the Calendar app.

    Click on the Start menu button and then clic on the Calendar app.

  3. Click on the date you want.

  4. Enter the event name.

    Click on the date you want and then enter the event name.

  5. Click on the check box beside All day. (Don't do this if you want the event to last all day in your Calendar.)
  6. Click on the start time.

    Uncheck the checkbox beside all day and then click on Start time.

  7. Enter your desired start time.
  8. Click on the end time.

    Enter your desired start time and then click on the end time.

  9. Enter your desired end time.
  10. Click on location. (You can skip this step if you want.)

    Emter your desired end time and then click on location.

  11. Enter your desired location. (You can skip this step if you want.)
  12. Click on the dropdown menu beside the calendar.
  13. Click on the calendar you want the event to be placed.

    Enter your desired location, click on the dropdown menu beside the calendar, and click on the calendar you want to add the event to.

  14. Click on the Done button.

    Click done.

How to fix syncing issues in the Calendar app in Windows 10

After adding a calendar, the Calendar app should sync your events automatically; however, if you are noticing that your events aren't showing up, try this quick trick to fix the problem.

  1. Click on the Start menu button. It's the Windows icon in the bottom left corner of your screen.
  2. Click on the Calendar app.

    Click on the Start menu button and then click on the Calendar app.

  3. Click on the Settings button. It looks like a gear.
  4. Click on Manage Accounts.

    Click on the Settings button and then click on Manage Accounts.

  5. Click on the account you want to fix.
  6. Click on Change mailbox sync settings.

    Click on the account you want to fix and then click on Change mailbox sync settings.

  7. Click on the switch located under the Calendar heading to turn it off.
  8. Click on the same switch to turn it on again.

    Click on the switch located under the calendar heading to turn it off and then click on the same switch to turn it on again.

  9. Click on the Done button.
  10. Click on the Save button.

    Click on the done button and then click on the save button.

Any other Calendar tips?

Do you have any tips to make the Calendar app even better? We want to know about them! Tells us your tips in the comment section below.

How to turn Cortana off and on for the Xbox One

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You made Cortana sad. :(

Cortana provides a wealth of useful capabilities on Xbox One. She can easily invite your friends to parties, she can give you information without interrupting your game; heck, she can even sing you a song!

Sometimes, though, you might want to toggle her off. Here's how to do that!

Note: This method works as of July 13th, 2016 on the most recent Xbox One Preview build. We'll update this article accordingly if the process changes once the Anniversary Update goes public on August 2, 2016.

Turning off Cortana will return your Xbox One to the default voice commands, which are triggered by saying "Xbox..." followed by your orders. Cortana specific commands such as "Cortana, what's the weather like?" or any of the natural language commands relating to Xbox Live will no longer work as a result of this. Additionally, you will no longer be able to use voice commands via a headset as Cortana will revert to her legacy, Kinect-only implementation.

Turn her off!

  • First, go to settings. You can do this by double tapping the Xbox logo button on your controller, navigating down to the cogwheel icon, pressing 'A', then selecting "All Settings." Alternatively, you can simply say "Hey Cortana, go to settings," using your Kinect or compatible headset microphone. You'll see a screen like the one above.
  • From here, navigate down to "System", then select "Cortana settings." Tapping on this with 'A' will snap Cortana to the right of the screen, like below.

  • Next, just select the toggle that appears after she has finished loading by navigating down a step. Tapping this with 'A' will switch Cortana off.
  • You'll then be warned that your Xbox will require a restart following this change. Select to reset your console, and your Xbox One will reboot with the legacy voice commands.

Turn her back on!

  • To re-enable Cortana, head back into her settings menu outlined in steps one and two, select Cortana settings, then follow the menu options to switch her back on.
  • You'll be prompted to reboot your Xbox Once more, after opting in to have telemetry data gathered by the service.

Cortana is an excellent addition to the Xbox One overall, but if you have no intentions of using her internet-connected features whatsoever, disabling her can offer a more responsive, more streamlined experience for utilizing basic features such as navigation, TV commands and media control.

To get the best out of Cortana and voice commands on your Kinect, make sure it's properly calibrated to receive voice commands. You can learn how to do that over here.

More Xbox Tips and Tricks

Do you use Cortana on Xbox One? How do you think she could be improved? Let us know in the comments below.

How to use Xbox One controller as a mouse to control your Windows 10 PC

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How to use Xbox One controller as a mouse to control your Windows 10 PC

How do I use my Xbox One controller as a mouse on my Windows 10 PC?

Windows 10 has built-in drivers that let you use an Xbox One controller within games, but what about using an Xbox One controller all the time? It's a great alternative to a mouse if you use your PC as an entertainment center in your living room, and while not as accurate, it does a good job.

There are several programs you can use that will give you the ability to use your Xbox One controller all the time, but we chose Gopher360. It's free, it's simple, and it's functional. Here's how to set it up.

How to use your Xbox One controller as a mouse on your Windows 10 PC

Gopher360 is a great app with a small footprint that lets you use your controller as a mouse.

  1. Plug your Xbox One controller into your PC using a USB cable.
  2. Press the Home button on your controller. It looks like the Xbox logo and is located in the center of your controller.
  3. Launch your web browser of choice from the desktop or taskbar.
  4. Navigate to the Gopher360 webpage.

    Launch your web browser. Navigate to the Gopher360 webpage.

  5. Click the Gopher360 link at the top of the page. It will contain the latest version.
  6. Scroll down.

    Click the Gopher360 link at the top of the page. Scroll down.

  7. Click the Gopher.exe download link. Gopher360 will download.
  8. Click Run when the download is finished.

    Click the Gopher.exe download link. Click Run when the download is finished.

Gopher360 will start automatically. You can now use your Xbox One controller as a mouse on your Windows 10 PC. Want to have Gopher360 start automatically each time you boot your PC? Add it to your PC's Startup folder!

How to add Gopher360 to your PC's Startup folder

These steps will make Gopher360 start each time your start your PC. That way you won't have to mess around with a mouse before using your controller.

  1. Launch File Explorer from your taskbar or desktop.
  2. Click Downloads.

    Launch File Explorer. Click Downloads.

  3. Right-click the Gopher360 file.
  4. Click Copy.

    Right-click the Gopher360 file. Click Copy.

  5. Hit Windows key and R simultaneously on your keyboard. The Run window will open.
  6. Type shell:startup.
  7. Click OK. The Startup folder will open.

    Type shell:startup. Click OK.

  8. Right-click on a blank area in the Startup folder.
  9. Click Paste shortcut.

    Right-click on a blank area in the Startup folder. Click Paste shortcut.

Gopher360 will now start up each time you turn on your computer. To stop Gopher360 from starting with Windows, just remove the shortcut from the Startup folder.

Gopher360 Xbox One controller button layout

The button layout is super simple and will take about a minute to get used to. Here's what it looks like:

Gopher360 Xbox One controller button layout

  • A is left click.
  • X is right click.
  • B is Enter.
  • Y hides the Gopher360 window.
  • Left analog stick is mouse movement.
  • Right analog stick is scroll wheel.
  • D-pad can also be used to scroll through windows.
  • Start is Windows key.
  • Left analog stick click is middle mouse button.

Your controller preferences

Do you use an Xbox One controller in lieu of a mouse with your Windows 10 PC? How do you like it? Let us know in the comments section below!

Enable TCP Fast Open in Microsoft Edge for quicker page load times

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One of the benefits of building a browser from the ground up is you get to put in all the best web technology and standards that are available while avoiding older deprecated ones. Microsoft Edge is slowly but surely becoming one of the most modern web browsers available without the bloat of competitors.

TCP Fast Open became available in some of the most recent builds of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update (Slow and Fast Ring) starting in mid-June (build 14352 and higher). Today I'll explain what it is and why you may want to turn it on in Windows 10 for PC and Mobile.

Get Modern

Microsoft Edge is like Opera, Chrome, and Firefox where users can turn on new features by using the about:flags settings. Users just type 'about:flags' in the address bar, and they are taken to a setup page.

By using about:flags developers and advanced users can 'turn on' new features that are still in testing. Some of these are 'beta' because the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is still solidifying the standard for everyone. Other times, it is because Microsoft is still developing the feature. Either way, you get a shot at tinkering today.

We already wrote on the majority of these features in 'Understanding the 'about:flags' settings page in Microsoft Edge for PC' and you should read that article for a deeper dive into the feature.

What is TCP Fast Open?

TCP Fast Open (TFO) is a new extension meant to replace the old T/TCP system from 1994. It is considered faster and includes some basic encryption (cryptographic cookie). According to Google, it can improve "page load time by 10% to 40%", which is the real benefit. The reason it can do that is by reducing traffic back and forth between the client and the server.

In computer networking, TCP Fast Open (TFO) is an extension to speed up the opening of successive Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections between two endpoints. It works by using a TFO cookie (a TCP option), which is a cryptographic cookie stored on the client side and set upon the initial connection with the server. When the client later reconnects, it sends the initial SYN packet along with the TFO cookie data to authenticate itself. If successful, the server may start sending data to the client even before the reception of the final ACK packet of the three-way handshake, skipping that way a round-trip delay and lowering the latency in the start of data transmission. – Wikipedia

Image via KeyCDN

In short, the less latency you can have between two far away systems that are trying to connect the faster the load times. By ditching the "three-way handshake" of the old TCP protocol TCP Fast Open can sometimes have dramatic effects on page load times.

Microsoft wrote a detailed blog on Edge, TCP Fast Open, TLS False Start and TLS 1.3 back in June and you should read it more in-depth coverage of these technologies.

Enable TCP Fast Open

Turning on TCP Fast Open in Microsoft Edge is very easy to do.

Note: You can enable this feature for Windows 10 on PC and Mobile

  1. Open Microsoft Edge
  2. Type about:flags in the address bar
  3. Scroll down until you see Networking
  4. Check Enable TCP Fast Open
  5. Restart Microsoft Edge (close and re-open)

Of course, like all experimental features, there could be some issues. Microsoft is collecting telemetry usage of the feature to help them improve it in the future, and they will likely enable TCP Fast Open by default by the Anniversary Update.

If you run into any problems, you can just turn it back off again by following the same above directions. In the worst case scenario just select Reset all flags to default in case you start tinkering with other options.

I'm using TCP Fast Open now in Edge full-time, and so far it is a great experience. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

How to use the new Games & Apps section on the Xbox One Anniversary Update

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The Xbox Anniversary Update is almost upon us, and today we're taking a look at the brand new Games and Apps section!

The Windows 10 Anniversary Update is hitting Xbox One, PCs and phones on August 2nd, bringing a broad range of changes and new features to each platform. For Xbox, it brings Cortana to the console, background music support, and lays the groundwork for Universal Windows Platform applications.

It also brings a much needed revamp to the way Games & Apps are cataloged on the system. Here's what you need to know.

Where is it?

The location of the Games & Apps section has moved slightly since its previous incarnation. In the previous builds, the Games & Apps section was located at the bottom of the home screen next to your pins. Microsoft has listened to feedback regarding its positioning, and the company has moved it up to the top right of the main dashboard, making your content the primary attraction.

This new segment of the home screen also displays handy information, such as recent downloads, updates, and it will also show countdown timers for the upcoming Arena feature, set to launch later in the year.

What's changed?

In the previous Games & Apps section, games were listed in two horizontal rows. As the Xbox catalogue has grown, coupled with the addition of backwards compatibility, this horizontal list view became increasingly unwieldy. If you had a lot of games installed, scrolling to the right side was needlessly cumbersome, and the 'Ready to Install' list added extra content to scroll through as well, combined with the main list.

Microsoft has finally added multiple ways to sort and catalog your purchased content, doing away with the annoying layout of the previous app.

  • Games are now sorted in a vertical list, and you can change the size of the thumbnails to get more columns. This way you see more content in a single space.
  • You can sort your content using various types of filters, such as alphabetically, storage device, or by date.
  • Games, apps, ready to install content, updates and the download queue now have their own tabs, with the familiar storage meter at the bottom of the sidebar.
  • Downloads now display the percentage in addition to the actual speed of the download, making life easier.

How to manage your games and apps

Here's a quick overview of how to manage your games and apps using the Windows 10 Anniversary Update version of the Xbox One, currently available in the Xbox preview program. These features will roll out more broadly on August 2nd, but here's a handy guide to help you prepare.

Games and Apps

The games and the apps tabs function similarly, giving you an overview of what content is currently installed and ready to run on your Xbox One.

  • Select the Games & Apps section from the top right-hand side of the main dashboard.
  • Initially, you'll be able to see all of your installed games in a horizontal list, beneath different sorting options.

  • Using the Xbox controller and pressing A, you can select games and apps, sort your collections alphabetically, by letter, by last used, last updated, or by size. You can also change the size of the thumbnails to get more on screen, or filter your collection by a storage device if you're connecting multiple drives.
  • Selecting a game or app with A will launch it as expected.
  • Selecting a game or app with the menu button on your controller will open the context menu, giving you additional controls. From here, you can pin them to your home screen, check out a title's game hub, manage the app or game, or uninstall them entirely.

  • You can also dive straight into the game or app management page by selecting a title with the view button on your controller, instead of the menu button.
  • The game management pages allow you to view easily all of a title's installed DLC, and ready to install DLC. Sometimes when you use freebies such as pre-order promotional codes, they won't always automatically download to the console. You'll always be able to find them on this screen.
  • From this screen, you can move and copy content to different storage devices, or uninstall them entirely.
  • You can also view the save data for each title, and remove that if you wish to start over fresh.

  • Press B to cycle backward through these screens.

Ready to install

The "Ready to Install" tab works similarly to the games and the apps tabs, and it's from here where you'll be able to reinstall titles you own, but have either previously uninstalled or haven't yet installed.

  • Selecting this tab might take a little while to load depending on how much content you have, as it pulls your licenses from the internet.
  • When the list has fully populated, you can filter them in similar ways to games and apps, with the addition of hiding either games or apps from view.
  • Selecting a tile with A generates an installation prompt, allowing you to download the game or app to your storage devices.
  • If you choose a title with the menu button, you can pin it, view it in the store, see its game hub, manage it, install it, or hide it completely from your ready to install list.
  • If you hide it from the list, you won't lose the license. You'll simply have to go and find it again in the store instead if you want to reinstall.

Updates

  • If your console is in instant-on mode, updates will download automatically while your console is on standby.
  • If you're currently using your Xbox One, it appears that potential updates get queued in this tab and wait until you either trigger the download manually by pressing A or for when you put the Xbox in standby mode.
  • When there's a download running, you can now see the speed and the amount of data being transferred for the first time.
  • The download percentage even appears on the home screen, under "My games & apps" on the top right.

Queue

  • Finally, the Queue tab shows the four most recent updates, and which updates, games, and apps are pending download and installation.

A huge leap forward!

The new Games & Apps section on the updated Xbox One dashboard makes for a far more pleasant experience than previous builds. Not only is it faster, but it's also more intuitive and responsive, putting your content at the forefront. It's not the flashiest interface ever made, but it's extremely functional and provides a solid basis for refinement as we head towards Project Scorpio in 2017.

How many games are in your Xbox One library? Let us know in the comments. I'm rocking 165 as of writing!


How to change your DNS Server settings for faster browsing on Windows 10

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One of the fun things about PCs and computers is tinkering around with settings to improve things. Today, I'm going to touch briefly upon the topic of changing your DNS Server to something other than what your internet service provider gives you to use.

There are a million ways to do this trick, but for now, we'll start with going the simple route and using a freeware app called DNS Jumper 2.0.

What is DNS?

When your computer's web browser connects to the internet, it goes through something called a DNS Server (Domain Name System).

The idea is simple: an IP address represents each website, server, computer, and any other device connected to the internet, but since we're human and not computers each website has a corresponding name e.g. www.windowscentral.com. When you type in www.windowscentral.com, the real address may be 199.83.131.30, but your computer does not know that so it hits up a DNS server and does a query to get the correct address. Assuming the DNS server has everything cached and up to date, it pings back with the right address and your computer then goes to the website.

In other words, you never actually go directly to a website. DNS servers stand in the way and like any other system added to a network they could slow down things, or even lose track of "where" a website is if it changed servers. Most internet users' DNS servers are set by their internet service provider (ISP), which is why you never touch it.

Finding a faster DNS server could shave a few milliseconds off each DNS query. That may not sound like much, but added up over time and assuming the new DNS server is consistent it could result in slightly faster browsing.

The description above is a simplification of things, but at least you get the gist of it. DNS servers are the atlases of the internet.

To find the fastest DNS Servers you need to use one of many third-party apps to do benchmarks. DNS Server speeds are dependent on many factors that are relative to your location and network. What is a fast DNS query for one person in New York can be downright slow for someone in Los Angeles. This is why we need to test and find out which is the fastest for you.

Warning: If you use a computer at work and connect to a corporate or work network it is not recommended you make this change to your PC. Doing so could break connectivity with domain controllers and servers thereby making your PC unable to access valuable information. If you have questions, you should contact your company IT department about implementing DNS forwarders.

DNS Jumper 2.0

DNS Jumper is a freeware app by Sordum.org that I find easy to use. The company makes some nifty networking tools that are free, ad-free, and don't use an installer. No installation is safe as you are never touching the OS, registry, or adding files to your system. You can even put this app on a USB drive to make it a portable file to use on other PCs.

While you can manually change DNS Servers on your PC, and then run a command to flush the old DNS on your computer DNS Jumper does it all for you. DNS Jumper also benchmarks DNS Servers based on your current connection and location. Here is how to use it:

  1. Download DNS Jumper 2.0 from Sordum.org

  2. Open the ZIP and copy the folder to your PC, USB Drive, etc. Then open the folder and run DNSJumper.exe.

  3. Choose Fastest DNS in the menu

  4. Enable Turbo Resolve

  5. Select Start DNS Test

  6. After the test is complete, the fastest DNS Server is presented at the top of the list and value boxes. Select Apply DNS Server to keep settings.

DNS Jumper should also automatically flush your PC's DNS data so it can begin using the new DNS server for new queries. If not, you can just hit the Flush DNS button to make it happen manually. (You can also just hit Win + R and type in ipconfig /flushdns and OK).

And that's it! There are also a few other options in the app including using only secure servers, or ones with parental controls. You can also have the app auto-start each time on your PC so that you can check for faster DNS servers whenever. Frankly, that is probably overkilling it as 1-3 millisecond differences will likely go unnoticed, but it is good to have options — especially if things are getting slow.

Speaking of, if you're looking for a free or paid DNS service, OpenDNS offers more control, including parental controls and blocking of phishing sites. They're also just a great resource if you want to read more about DNS settings, configurations, changing router info, etc.

Go to the next level: DNS on your router

I hesitate to jump into configuring routers as that opens a Pandora's Box of hardware and options. Changing DNS settings on a router is different for every router manufacturer and even model-to-model. Not to mention, you can easily nuke the internet at your home if you change something you are not supposed to change. Luckily, you can quickly restore to factory settings on most routers via a pinhole button or via 192.168.1.1 in your browser, which is how you configure your home router.

Assuming you know something about router configuration you may want to consider changing your DNS at the router level in your home or office.

The trick I detailed above applies to just one PC – the one where you changed the DNS Server. However, if you alter it at the router level, any device connected to it gets the benefits of a faster DNS Server— you Xbox One, your phones, other PCs, etc. It doesn't matter if it connects over Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the same DNS server settings applies.

For gamers, especially, this can make a big difference in using the Xbox One. Some people have reported faster app loading times (since they fetch data from the internet) and gaming functions as well. Your mileage may vary, but a lot of gamers do the manual DNS Server option either on the Xbox One itself or the router.

If you are interested in configuring your home router for custom DNS Server settings your best bet is to start with your router make and model to look up its user guide. From there, you can use 192.168.1.1 (but even that varies from router to router) to enter the router settings and hunt around until you find the DNS Server configuration. Usually, you can find them under My Network > Network Connections > Ethernet/Coax > Settings > DNS Server > Use the following DNS Server, but it will vary from device to device. The above sample image is from my Verizon Quantum FiOS router.

Wrap up

I do change my DNS Servers at the router level because I noticed better, more consistent connections with all of my devices including phones. The key to this, of course, is making sure you enter in fast and reliable DNS Servers. If they change or go off-line, well you lose DNS queries. That rarely happens and it is why you always enter in two addresses. That way, if one fails, the router just tries the next one on the list.

Also, for all you know your ISP does have the fastest DNS servers (although that is relatively rare).

Finally, for those curious, there does not seem to be a way directly to configure DNS server settings on your Windows 10 Mobile device. Unless you're connecting through a Wi-Fi router on which you've configured the DNS settings, you'll be stuck with the default for that ISP or your cellular carrier (which, technically speaking, is also an ISP).

Combined with enabling TCP Fast Open in Microsoft Edge and a faster DNS server you may just see a quicker and more reliable browsing experience on your phone and Windows 10 PCs.

Do you have your own tips and ideas on DNS Servers and best practices? Let me know in comments!

How to share to Twitter from the Xbox app on Windows 10

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Xbox app

Share your finest moments with your non-Xbox Live friends thanks to the latest addition to the Windows 10 app.

You're already able to tweet screenshots and Game DVR captures directly from the Xbox One, but the process is still fairly sluggish. The latest addition to the Xbox app for Windows 10— available in Xbox (beta) only at the time of writing — allows you to do this from your PC, tablet or Windows 10 phone.

After a short set up process you'll be able to share your proud moments with ease.

Here's how to do it:

  1. Head into Settings by hitting the cog-shaped icon in the sidebar.
  2. Under "Linked social accounts" you'll see an option now to link your Twitter account.
  3. Click on it and enter your login credentials in the window that appears.
  4. Once successfully authorised you'll see a message telling you you're now able to share your clips and screenshots to Twitter.

Xbox app

To share things is equally simple:

  1. Select "Game DVR" from the sidebar
  2. Select the clip either from your device or from Xbox Live (your Xbox One clips will be in the latter.)
  3. Hit "Share" and then "Twitter."
  4. Compose your tweet and hit "Share."

Now anyone who follows you on Twitter will be presented with a card and a link to view the content you've shared! That's all there is to it. If you want to try it right now go ahead and download the Xbox (beta) app for Windows 10 PC and Phone at the link below. Pretty soon it'll make its way over to the regular app for everyone to enjoy.

Download Xbox (beta) from the Windows Store

How to find and follow PC games in the Xbox app for Windows 10

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Xbox app

As promised, Microsoft is bringing PC games into the Xbox app on Windows 10. Here's where to find them.

Microsoft opening up some of the Xbox Live ecosystem to non-Windows 10 games is a pretty big deal, and while it's fairly limited right now, it's officially here in the latest build of the Xbox (beta) app.

Not a massive amount of games are supported at this time and it will take a while for the available content to fill out. Nevertheless, you can start finding and following your favorite, non-Windows 10 PC games right now.

Xbox app

Here's how to do it:

  1. Look in the sidebar for the new "Search for a game" option.
  2. Type your preferred title into the search box.
  3. If supported, you'll see it as being available on PC, as shown in the image above.
  4. Select the game and you'll be presented with a Game Hub as you would with Xbox One games.
  5. To keep up with all the future activity hit the "Follow" button on the "Info" tab.

Up to now we've seen support for this feature from Overwatch, Battlefield 4, Overwatch, Ark: Survival Evolved and Rainbow Six Siege, though there will likely be many others. It'll take some time for these to be filled out, but already we've seen some clips uploaded from the PC edition of Overwatch, and the experience is indistinguishable from someone who'd done the same on the Xbox One.

Just as it should be.

If you want to get a look in for yourselves, grab the latest version of Xbox (beta) from the Windows Store at the link below.

Download Xbox (beta) from the Windows Store

How to share your PC game clips with the Xbox app on Windows 10

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Share your PC gaming highlights to Xbox Live through the Xbox app for Windows 10.

PC gamers can now share video highlights of their gaming exploits to Xbox Live with the beta version of the Xbox app! The Xbox app now supports a wide range of PC games, including those purchased from third-party sources.

As of right now, a limited number of games are supported by the new Xbox app. It seems that Microsoft has targeted the most popular PC titles initially, with more to come as the update rolls out to a wider user base.

How to record PC game clips with the Xbox app for Windows 10

Before uploading footage to Xbox Live, a clip must be created using Windows 10's Game Bar.

  1. Launch a game of your choice.
  2. Press the Windows Key + G simultaneously to open the Windows 10 Game Bar.
  3. Use the on-screen controls to start recording a clip.

    For more information on using the Game Bar to record clips, make sure to check out our previous guide.

How to upload PC game clips to Xbox Live:

  1. Navigate to Game DVR using the app's sidebar. By default, your most recently recorded clips will be displayed at the top of the list.
  2. Select a clip from the list. A preview for the clip will appear on the right-hand side, alongside the options to trim and rename the clip before it's uploaded.
  3. When the clip is ready to be uploaded, click the Upload button below the preview.
  4. A menu will open asking for the name of the game featured in the clip. If the game is supported, it will appear under PC Games (pictured above) when entered into the search bar. If the game appears, click the game to select it.
  5. A final confirmation step will appear, to ensure the upload matches the title you've selected. Microsoft claims that game clips will be reviewed before appearing on Xbox Live, so a small delay can be expected during the review process.

Your clip will now begin to upload and can be tracked using the progress bar below the clip preview. While we're still discovering games that support the feature, we've successfully uploaded clips for Battlefield 4 and Overwatch.

If you want to give the new Game DVR a try, download the Xbox (beta) app from the Windows Store at the link below.

Download Xbox (beta) from the Windows Store

Microsoft Stream 101: How to share and manage videos for businesses

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A few days ago, Microsoft announced the free preview of Microsoft Stream, a new business video service that allows anyone with a business email address to sign up and upload, share, and tag videos in their organization.

Microsoft Stream is reflective of the company's new approach to business apps empowering everyone in an organization with better ways to get work done.

Microsoft Stream is to YouTube like Yammer was to Facebook. It enables organizations and their employees to communicate and collaborate with videos more efficiently by managing video storage and security. While there are several consumer platforms to upload and share videos - live or on-demand - Microsoft Stream will enable business users to harness the power of video to achieve more at work, and builds upon the learnings and success of Office 365 Video. Eventually, the two services will converge making Stream the de facto video experience in Office 365. 

Getting Started

It's easy to get started with Microsoft Stream with easy signup and no credit card requirements. It's web-only at the moment, with no mobile apps. The responsive website works quite well on mobile, though, making the service, device-agnostic.

Signup up for Microsoft Stream

Once you're signed in, the home page shows what your coworkers have uploaded, what's new, as well as what's trending.

Uploading Video

With easy drag and drop capabilities, uploading your videos and organizing them into channels is pretty seamless. You can upload a video from any page of the Stream portal with the ability to upload multiple videos at the same time.

While the video is being uploaded and processed, you can fill up the metadata for the same. The title is limited to 30 characters while the description is limited to 4000 characters. The suggested text recommends using hashtags in the description to aid the discoverability.

Microsoft Stream supports most common (and several uncommon) video formats including FLV (with H.264 and AAC codecs), MXF, GXF, MPEG2-PS, MPEG2-TS, 3GP, Windows Media Video (WMV)/ASF, AVI (Uncompressed 8bit/10bit), MP4/ISMV, Microsoft Digital Video Recording (DVR-MS), Matroska/WebM, WAVE/WAV, and QuickTime.

Like with other video streaming services, you can choose a thumbnail to be used as a poster frame for your video or upload a custom thumbnail. You can also upload captions in WebVTT format.

Privacy

Microsoft Stream offers secure video management fit for business needs. You can manage who views your video content by determining how widely to share within your organization, and to what channels. Secure application access is enabled by Azure Active Directory, the leading identity management system, to protect sensitive corporate content.

When uploading a video, the default privacy setting is set to My Org which makes the video available to everyone in your organization. There's a Custom setting that allows a custom list of people/groups. Currently, Stream only supports Active Directory (AD) users and security groups. The last setting is, of course, Only Me to mark a video as private. You can still share a video with others directly although private videos cannot be added to channels.

As the owner of a video, you can perform the following actions on your video: Add to watchlist, Add to channels, Edit (title, description, privacy settings, thumbnail, captions), Share, and Delete. As a viewer of a video, users and security group members can perform the following actions: Add to watchlist, Add to channel, and Share. Note that there is only one owner of a video. Owners can assign permissions to users or security groups to enable them as viewers of a video.

Discovery

Microsoft Stream offers enhanced content discovery through 'trending videos' powered by machine learning, as well as search by hashtag, most liked videos and other key search terms.

You can share videos via a link. The link shared requires you to be logged in and have appropriate access permissions. You can also embed videos to web pages within your organization.

Videos can be organized into channels dedicated to specific topics. Channels are designed for users to follow, so you can always go to the videos that are important to you. Or, choose to see a list of all popular channels in your organization. Adding a video to one or more channels aids discoverability.

Next Steps

Microsoft believes that video is a core content type across all solutions used at work today. They want to evolve Microsoft Stream to deliver corporate broadcasts seamlessly, offer intelligent video search by leveraging capabilities such as audio transcription and face detection, as well as making video part of your business apps like PowerApps, Microsoft Flow, SharePoint, et al. and workflows.

The service would also build additional IT management capabilities to manage access and settings like granting and assigning channel and video access, remove and monitor content, and manage what is viewable to specific groups in the organization.

Like always, Microsoft would expect the partners to take Microsoft Stream experiences to the next level by building a Microsoft Stream app ecosystem. By using Microsoft Stream APIs, partners will be able to create custom applications and make them available in AppSource, Microsoft's marketplace for business applications announced earlier this month.

How to fix taskbar search not working in Windows 10

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How to fix taskbar search not working in Windows 10

How do I fix my taskbar search in Windows 10?

Once in awhile, Windows 10 decides it doesn't want to search from the taskbar anymore. Why? Detective work is hard work. Or Cortana got stuck somewhere else. Or your PC's index became all kinds of mixed up. There are several solutions to this problem — the best idea is to start at the easiest and move down the list if the problem persists. Let's see if we can't fix your taskbar search in Windows 10.

Restart your computer

Before rushing to the comments section to explain how useless this step is, remember that even the most tech proficient sometimes — under the right conditions — forget this step. If your search problems persist following a restart, read on!

End Cortana's process

Ending Cortana's process in Task Manager might just do the trick. After ending the process, it will automatically restart almost immediately.

  1. Right-click the Start button.
  2. Click Task Manager.

    Right-click the Start button. Click Task Manager.

  3. Click Cortana. You might have to scroll down a bit to find it.
  4. Click End Task.

    Click Cortana. Click End Task.

Did restarting Cortana do the trick? If not, keep reading.

Restart Windows Explorer

Another quick fix attempt, restarting Windows Explorer might jump-start the taskbar search into working again.

  1. Right-click the Start button.
  2. Click Task Manager.

    Right-click the Start button. Click Task Manager.

  3. Click Windows Explorer. It's located near the bottom of the Task Manager menu.
  4. Click Restart.

    Click Windows Explorer. Click Restart.

Read on if you still can't search from your Windows 10 taskbar.

Use Windows troubleshooter to restore indexing services

The much maligned Windows troubleshooter might just do the trick here.

  1. Right-click the Start button.
  2. Click Control Panel.
  3. Click Category near the top right corner of the window.

    Click Control Panel. Click Category.

  4. Click Large icons.
  5. Click Troubleshooting.

    Click Large icons. Click Troubleshooting.

  6. Click System and Security.
  7. Right-click Search and Indexing.

    Click System and Security. Right-click Search and Indexing.

  8. Click Run as Administrator.
  9. Click Next. Troubleshooter will detect problems.

    Click Run as Administrator. Click Next.

  10. Click the checkbox next to any problems you're encountering. In this case we click Files don't appear in search results.
  11. Click Next. Troubleshooter will detect any problems.

    Click the checkbox next to any problems you're encountering. Click Next.

Troubleshooter may or may not detect any problems. If it does detect a problem, it will attempt to fix it. Search still not working? Keep reading!

Set startup options and restart Windows Search

Your PC might have been distracted during startup and forgot to start Windows Search. Going into Services and setting startup parameters and finally restarting Windows Search will hopefully get your taskbar search working again.

  1. Hit Windows key and R simultaneously on your keyboard to open the Run window.
  2. Type services.msc into the Run field.
  3. Click OK. The Services window will open.

    Type services.msc into the Run field. Click OK.

  4. Right-click Windows Search. It's located near the bottom of the list.
  5. Click Properties.

    Right-click Windows Search. Click Properties.

  6. Click the dropdown menu next to Startup type:.
  7. Click Automatic (Delayed Start) or Automatic depending on your preference.

    Click the dropdown menu next to Startup type. Click Automatic (Delayed Start) or Automatic.

  8. Click Apply.
  9. Click OK.

    Click Apply. Click OK.

  10. Right-click Windows Search again.
  11. Click Restart.

    Right-click Windows Search again. Click Restart.

Can we search now?

Did one of these steps help you get your taskbar search working again? Let us know in the comments section below!

How to sync notifications between Android and Windows 10 using Cortana

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Galaxy S7 Windows Notifications

Microsoft isn't forcing you to use a Windows Phone device if you want to see notifications from your phone on your Windows 10 PC. It's also possible with an Android phone, with the help of Cortana. We'll show you how it's done using the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge as an example.

  1. On Android, download and install the Cortana app from the Google Play store.

  2. Using the Cortana app on the Android phone, tap the hamburger menu on the top left corner and select Settings.

    Cortana on Android

  3. Tap Sync Notifications and enable the notifications you'd like to see on your Windows 10 PC.

    Cortana on Android

You can turn on all the notifications by selecting missed call notifications, incoming message notifications, low battery notifications, and app notifications.

If you enable app notifications sync, you can customize which apps to sync. This is useful in controlling the number of notifications you receive. For example, if you already have a Twitter app on your PC, you probably don't want to receive your phone's Twitter notifications on your PC. During setup, the Android device will ask permission to give notification access to Cortana.

Cortana on Android

The notifications show up on your Windows 10 PC with your phone's name in the header. Missed calls and incoming message notifications are also actionable. A default message that says "I'll get back to you soon," can be quickly sent from within Action Center, but you can also edit it to make it more personal. You can also reply to your incoming messages from your PC.

Adroid Windows 10 Notification

How do you like this feature? Will you be syncing notifications between a Windows 10 PC and an Android phone? Let us know in the comments!


The difference between laser and ink printers

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Difference between laser and ink printers

Is inkjet or laser better?

When it comes to buying a printer, the choice can be difficult. Ink. Laser. Ink. Laser. INK! LASER! Well, what's the difference? Is one better than the other? Is the cost of owning an inkjet printer really that expensive? Do I need to buy a new laser printer whenever my toner runs out?

Here's what you need to know when making your selection!

Ink printers

Most consumer printers are what's known as Drop-on-demand (DOD) printers and are divided into thermal DOD and piezoelectric DOD. From here, most home-use printers fall under the thermal DOD category, like those from Canon, HP, and Lexmark. At the end of the day, they're both inkjet printers.

Inkjet printers use hundreds of tiny guns to fire ink at the paper and every character they create is made up of dots. The dots are so tiny, you just can't see them. Thermal DOD printers and piezoelectric DOD printers have different mechanisms for firing the ink.

Thermal DOD printers

As the name might suggest, thermal DOD printers use heat to fire the ink at the paper. The print cartridges consists of a series of little chambers, which each contain a heater. An electric current is passed through the heating element, heating up each chamber, causing immediate vaporization of the ink and a pressure build-up so great that the ink fires toward the paper.

The force of the ink firing out of the chamber is so great that it pulls the next drop into the chamber, ready to fire again in rapid succession. Canon trademarks this process as Bubble Jet, since it's a bubble of ink that bursts onto the page.

Since there are no special materials involved in thermal DOD printers, the print heads are relatively inexpensive to manufacture compared to other inkjet technologies.

Piezoelectric DOD printers

Most commercial and industrial printers use the piezoelectric DOD method, though Epson and Brother consumer printers use this method as well. Instead of a heating element, there's a piezoelectric material inside each ink-filled chamber behind a nozzle.

Piezoelectricity is the electric charge stored within solid materials. When the material in the ink chambers gets charged up, it changes shape, causing an increase in pressure, forcing the ink out.

Since special piezoelectric materials (lead zirconium titanate) are required in the piezoelectric DOD printing process, the print heads are generally more expensive to manufacture.

Laser printers

Laser printing produces high-quality text and graphics through an electrostatic process where a laser beam is passed back and forth over a negatively charged drum, scanning the image and text directly across the printer's photoreceptor. This tells the drum to selectively collect powdered ink, also known as toner, which it then transfers to paper.

The paper is then heated to fuse the toner to it. This is known as a xerographic printing process, which means that no liquids were used.

Which is better?

Which type of printer is better for you will depend on your printing needs. Laser printers are generally more expensive, but they produce more sheets, per dollar, than inkjet printers do and they're less wasteful when compared to inkjet printers.

That being said, laser printers take time to warm up and can be considerably more expensive up front.

Let's take a look at the pros and cons of each:

Inkjet printers

An inkjet printer

Pros

  • Best for ink-heavy printing, like images and photographs
  • Does a better job of blending smooth colors than laser printers
  • Low starting cost and ink cartridges are cheaper than toner cartridges
  • Inkjet printers can print on all different types of paper, including glossy, and can even print on some fabrics
  • There's no real warm-up time needed
  • Inkjet printers are usually smaller than laser printers and are generally easier to maintain
  • Ink cartridges can be refilled and reused

Cons

  • They're not great if you plan on printing a lot
  • Generally slow compared to laser printing
  • Inkjet ink is water-based, so it's susceptible to fading and running
  • Automatic ink cartridge cleaning wastes a lot of ink

Laser printers

A laser printer

Pros

  • They're generally fast
  • Less expensive when printing in high volume
  • The black text they produce is sharp and near-perfect

Cons

  • Often more expensive to purchase upfront than an inkjet printer
  • They work faster but take a while to warm up
  • Cleaning toner leaks is frustrating and time-consuming
  • They can't print on any type of paper and anything sensitive to heat can't be used
  • Laser printers are usually bigger and heavier than inkjets

Which one is right for me?

At the end of the day, it's all going to come down to your needs. If you're the average home printer user who prints the odd document here and there and maybe an image now and again, go with an inkjet printer. It'll be cheaper up front and cheaper when you go to replace ink cartridges. You can even get them refilled or buy remanufactured cartridges.

If you're going to be printing a lot and need your prints fast, then go with a laser printer. Or, if you have the extra cash on-hand and are in need of incredibly crisp and perfect black text and high-quality graphics, go with laser. Your start-up cost will be more, but you'll stretch your dollar further.

I've heard remanufactured ink cartridges suck. Is that true?

For a while, it was thought that the remanufactured ink market was a shady place where good, honest, hard-working folk got fleeced. That's really not the case anymore.

Remanufactured printer cartridges are sent to manufacturers that restock the ink, fix any parts that aren't working optically, and perform a quality test. Recycled ink cartridges are generally less expensive, since sellers can set their own prices for the cartridges. And hey, you help the environment when you buy recycled products.

All that being said, do your research. Quality might not be consistent among manufacturers and there are probably a few duds in the mix. Double-check warranties, ask if their quality tests are certified and that their cartridges meet the original manufacturer standards. And remember: just because remanufactured cartridges are recycled doesn't mean they're going to damage your print head or cause other havoc for your printer.

Where do I find more ink?

Having trouble finding ink for your printer? Amazon and Staples have handy tools to help you find the ink or toner you need for your printer.

What do you use?

Are you a laser or inkjet printer user? Do you feel like you made the right choice? Sound off in the comments below!

How to setup and use Cortana on Windows 10 PC

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How to setup and use Cortana on Windows 10 PC

How do I use Cortana on Windows 10?

Cortana is Microsoft's digital assistant and if you want, she can always be at your fingertips, ready to help you find anything on your Windows 10 PC, give you the weather forecast, and make sure you don't miss any important dates.

By default, Cortana is not enabled on your Windows 10 PC, but it doesn't take long to get her up and running!

How to set up Cortana on Windows 10 PC

Cortana "lives" in the taskbar, but before you can get her into her home you have to launch her for the first time.

  1. Click on the Start Menu button. It's the Windows icon in the bottom left corner of your screen.
  2. Click All apps.

    Click on the Start menu button and then click on All apps.

  3. Click Cortana.
  4. Click on the Cortana button. It's the circle icon above the Windows icon.

    Click Cortana and then click the Cortana button.

  5. Click Use Cortana.
  6. Click Yes if you want speech, inking, and typing personalization turned on. This helps Cortana get to know you better and can help her complete various tasks. You can also choose No thanks if you don't want this feature turned on.

    Click Use Cortana and then click yes.

Now Cortana is all set up and ready for you to use. Simply type something into the search bar, and watch her do her magic.

How to pin Cortana to your taskbar on Windows 10 PC

Although Cortana "lives" in your taskbar, she might not appear there by default. If you don't feel like opening the Cortana app every time you need her, pinning her to your taskbar will save you a little extra time.

  1. Right-click on the taskbar
  2. Click on Cortana.

    Right click on the taskbar and then click on Cortana

  3. Click on the option you want:

    • Hidden: This will hide Cortana from your taskbar.
    • Show Cortana icon: This will show Cortana's circle icon in the taskbar.
    • Show Search box: This will enable Cortana's search bar in your taskbar.

      Click on the option you want.

How to turn on Hey Cortana on Windows 10 PC

  1. Press the Windows key + S simultaneously to open Cortana.
  2. Click the Notebook button. It's the little notebook icon underneath the house icon on the left side of your screen.
  3. Click on Settings.

    Press the Windows key + S, click on the notebook button, and then click on settings.

  4. Click on the On/Off switch underneath the Hey Cortana heading.

    Click the On/Off switch underneath the Hey Cortana heading.

Now anytime you want to search the web, know the weather forecast, or get the baseball scores from last night, all you have to do is say "Hey, Cortana," and ask your question.

How to train Cortana to respond to your voice only on Windows 10

You can train Cortana to only respond to your voice, that way not just anyone passing by can shout out Hey Cortana in passing and accidentally her (or maliciously) on. To do this you need to train Cortana to listen to your voice. Make sure you are in a quiet place before you start these steps.

  1. Press the Windows key + S together to open Cortana.
  2. Click the Notebook button. It's the little notebook icon underneath the house icon on the left side of your screen.
  3. Click on Settings.

    Press the Windows key + S, click on the notebook button, and then click on settings

  4. Click on Learn my voice.
  5. Click on Start.

    Click on Learn my voice and then click Start

From here, Cortana will instruct you say six sentences out loud, so make sure you say them loudly and clearly. Once you're done, Cortana will know your voice and respond only to your commands.

How to auto-hide the taskbar in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update

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Make the taskbar come and go as you desire with ease in the Anniversary Update to Windows 10.

The Windows 10 taskbar is a pretty useful tool, but it's also one you might not want to see on your screen all the time. Whatever the reason, you can make it come and go as you please in the Anniversary Update with a few simple steps.

Hidden taskbar

This works for both desktop PCs and tablets, the method is exactly the same. Here's what you need to do.

  1. Right-click on an empty area of the taskbar. If in tablet mode, hold your finger on the taskbar.
  2. Click on Settings.

    Taskbar settings

  3. Toggle Automatically hide the taskbar in desktop mode to on. You can also do the same for tablet mode.

Taskbar settings

That's all there is to it. The taskbar will now disappear unless you move the mouse to the appropriate area of the screen, when it'll magically just pop back up before your very eyes. On a tablet you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen at any time to make the taskbar re-appear.

There are a few other taskbar related goodies in here you can experiment with too, such as moving its position on the screen or making the icons much smaller. Many will be happy with the default look but there are some good options here to customize it to your own tastes.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update tips, tricks, and how-tos!

Five secret features in Windows 10

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Five secret features in Windows 10

What are some hidden features in Windows 10?

There are so many things you can do with Windows 10, it's almost impossible to keep track of all the features offered. So, we thought we would highlight some of the features you may not know about; they aren't secrets per se, but for one reason or another they're hidden away. It's time to unmask them!

1. Find my Device

Microsoft has joined the battle against loss and theft of your devices. It turns out that you can just log into your Microsoft account and track its last known location from there. But there's a catch: for reasons unknown, this feature is turned off by default and kind of buried, so you'll have to enable it in the Settings app: Settings> Update & Security> Find My Device.

Find my Device

2. Change the location of installed applications

By default, most Windows 10 PCs will automatically install new apps to the (C:) drive, and while this works for most people, there are some individuals who prefer to use different drives to install programs. If that's you, Microsoft has made it easy to change the place your new apps will be installed. Just go to Settings> Update & Security> Storage.

3. Start Menu customization options

Windows 10 has a plethora of ways you can alter the look and feel of your Start Menu – the color of it, the size of it, what's included in it – basically, if you can see it, you can change it. Check out our guide to customizing your Windows 10 Start Menu!

Start Menu customization options

4. Put a search bar in your taskbar

Did you know that you can search directly from the taskbar? You can — and with Cortana, no less! It's super helpful to be able to find all your files and search the web right from the comfort of your Desktop. Not to mention, if you have Cortana enabled, the search bar is where Cortana "lives", meaning you can have easy access to her "infinite" wisdom.

5. Automatic time zone changes

You may have noticed that if you travel anywhere that has a different time zone, the time on your PC will have to be manually set. In Windows 10 you can set up automatic time zone detection, so when you cross over that line your PC automatically moves changes its time to the local time — you'll love this if you do a lot of traveling — just head into your settings to turn this feature on: Settings> Time & Language> Set Time Zone Automatically

What are your favorite lesser-known Windows 10 features?

We want to hear your tricks and tips! Let us know all the features you think everyone should use in the comments section below!

How to find Internet Explorer in Windows 10 if you really need it

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Find Internet Explorer in Windows 10

If you're new to Windows 10 but need a slice of the old, Internet Explorer is still there for you.

You might not have been aware that Internet Explorer can still be used in Windows 10. In this beginners guide we'll show you how to find it and how you can easily get to it any time you want.

Article originally published August 2015, refreshed July 2016

Activate Cortana either by saying "Hey Cortana, open Internet Explorer," or by typing in the box if you're not using voice or have Cortana disabled. Internet Explorer will show up immediately to be opened for use. To avoid doing this every time you want to use Internet Explorer, follow these simple steps.

  1. Type Internet Explorer in the Cortana/Search box. Saying "Hey Cortana, open Internet Explorer" isn't useful here.
  2. Right click on Internet Explorer in the Cortana/Search window.
  3. To add Internet Explorer as a tile on your Start Menu click Pin to Start.
  4. To keep it on your taskbar simply click Pin to taskbar.

Now, every time you need to use Internet Explorer it's just a click away. If you don't want to add extra clutter to your taskbar, you can always now find Internet Explorer in the Start Menu under Windows Accessories in the Anniversary Update.

For more Windows 10 tips be sure to swing by our dedicated page.

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