Track your Fitbit progress wherever, whenever with the Fitbit app for Windows 10 Mobile.

No matter which Fitbit you decided to buy, you'll need to become familiar with the Fitbit app for your Windows Phone. It's how you'll add, replace and delete your Fitbit trackers, customize your experience down to every detail, and connect with all your friends rocking the Fitbit lifestyle. That way you can keep each other motivated with challenges, cheers, and taunts.

Once you're up and running, the Fitbit app also lets you control everything through the Dashboard. It not only lets you view your progress and daily goals for steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes, but also track trends over time. Wear your Fitbit to bed and wake up with a bevy of sleep data to see how often you toss and turn throughout the night. Use the built-in nutrition tracker to log your meals throughout the day to make sure you're meeting your calorie goals—even track your water intake to make sure you're keeping yourself well hydrated throughout the day.

Don't have a Fitbit yet?

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Get friendly with Fitbit

It's 5 a.m. and it's still dark outside. You and your best friend have set a goal for getting in a run first thing in the morning every day. You look out the window and you can see the frost glistening off the tree branches in the pale glow of the street lamps. You know you should get going, but the bitter cold morning has you reconsidering.

Just as you're about to dive back under the covers, your Fitbit buzzes. You quickly pull up the Fitbit app on your laptop and you can see that your friend has sent you a taunt followed by a snarky message. You sit down to lace up your running shoes. There's no way you're giving your friend ammunition to bug you all day. Let's take a look at how friends work in Fitbit for Windows 10.

• How to add friends in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to interact with your friends in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to delete a friend in Fitbit for Windows 10

How to add friends in Fitbit for Windows 10

Motivating and getting motivated by other people is one of the really awesome features of Fitbit. Getting feedback from others is great when you're getting close to your fitness goals—it can give you that extra push to get you over the line. It also feels really nice to have others to share not only your successes, but your struggles, too.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.
2. Click the Friends button.

3. Click Add Friend.

4. From here, click on any of the three following tabs:

   • Contacts: Browse through the contacts list on your computer, if you have one set up.
   • Facebook: Find out which of your Facebook friends is on Fitbit. You may have to log in to use this option.
   • Email: Searches Fitbit user database by email address.

5. Click the plus sign by the person's name to invite them to be Fitbit friends.

Now that you've added some friends, you can do fun stuff like invite them to challenges.

How to interact with your friends in Fitbit for Windows 10

There are a number of cute and fun ways to interact with your Fitbit friends. You can cheer them on when they near their goals, or heckle them when they're lagging behind. Of course, they can do the same to you.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. Click the Friends button.

3. Click on the friend with whom you want to interact.

4. You have the following three options for interacting with this friend:

   • Cheer: Looks like a little happy face. Sends a little happy-face emoticon to your friend.
   • Taunt: Looks like a little face with its tongue sticking out. Sends a heckling emoticon to your friend.
   • Chat: Looks like a little chat bubble with a plus in the center. Send a message to your friend.

That'll do it for interacting with friends. Now that you know how to do it, go ahead and motivate your friends to reach their fitness goals with some cheers and taunts. Hopefully, they will do the same with you!

How to delete a friend in Fitbit for Windows 10

Life happens and people get busy. Fitness is one of those aspects of life that often ends up in the back seat at the end of a long day. When that happens to a Fitbit friend, it's a real bummer. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is delete them and hope they become active again. Here's how you can do that.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.
2. Click the Friends button.

3. Click on the friend you want to delete

4. Click the See more button. It looks like three horizontal dots and is in the bottom right corner of the application window.

5. Click on delete friend.

That's all you have to do to delete a friend. Perhaps it will motivate them to get active again. If they do, you can always add them back, just like you did the first time.

All your Fitbit Challenges are belong to us.

You and your friends are sitting around one weekend, just playing around on your computers. You know you've been sitting around too much, and so have your friends. You have an idea to get everyone off the couch and outside and moving.

You open up your Fitbit app and issue your friends a challenge. Will they accept? The choice is theirs, but you throw on a pair of old sweats and some running shoes, strap on your Fitbit and you're out the door. You'll check on them when you get back. Here's how to work with Challenges in Fitbit.

• How to start a Challenge in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to quit a challenge in Fitbit for Windows 10

How to start a Challenge in Fitbit for Windows 10

Ah, the thrill of competition. There's nothing like a friendly challenge or two to keep you motivated toward achieving your fitness goals. Here's how you can start a Fitbit Challenge.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. Click Challenges.

3. Click on the Challenge you want to start. There are four to choose from:

   • Daily Showdown: Compete with your friends to see who takes the most steps in 24 hours.
   • Goal Day: Compete with your friends or yourself to reach your daily step goal.
   • Weekend Warrior: Compete with your friends to see who can take the most steps over the weekend.
   • Workweek Hustle: Compete with your friends to see who can take the most steps during the week.

4. Click on the plus sign next to the name(s) of the friend(s) you want to challenge.

That's all there is to starting a Challenge. Once your friend accepts the Challenge, you can keep track of their (and your own) progress. Have fun motivating each other!

How to quit a Challenge in Fitbit for Windows 10

Did you get swamped at work and can't finish that Work Week Hustle Challenge that you accepted yesterday? No problem. Fitbit makes it easy to quit a Challenge you no longer want to do.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. Click Challenges.

3. Click on the Challenge you want to quit.

4. Click the options button in the bottom middle of the application window. It looks like a little gear.

5. Click the quit button in the bottom middle of the application window. It looks like a rectangle with an arrow in the center pointing to the right.

6. Click Quit in the Quit Challenge dialog window.

Don't feel bad if you need to quit a challenge from time to time. Life happens to the best of us and sometimes, quitting is the best thing. Don't let that kill your motivation, though. Forget about it and keep moving forward toward your fitness goals.

Lost your Fitbit? No worries! Replacing, adding, or deleting a tracker is simple and easy!

Did you know that you can have more than one Fitbit synced to your Fitbit account? It's true- you can have a different tracker for each day of the week, if you want. It's simple to do, whether you want to add another Fitbit tracker, replace your old one, or delete it from your account completely. This guide will walk you through the process.

• How to add or replace a tracker in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to delete a tracker from your account in Fitbit for Windows 10

How to add or replace a tracker in Fitbit for Windows 10

You go to strap on your Fitbit tracker one morning, and you can't find it. You're running late for work, but you don't want to leave without it, so you look around, and oh, no! You see your new Weimaraner puppy has it broken in pieces between its oversized paws. It looks at you innocently with those big amber eyes, and you can't get too mad.

Don't worry, though, whether you're replacing or adding a new tracker to your Fitbit account, the procedure is quick and painless. Let's see how you can do that.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.
2. Click Account.

3. Click Set Up a New Fitbit Device

4. Click on the type of tracker you want to set up.

5. Pair your device with your account just as you did the first time.

There is one caveat to this process: Fitbit will only let you add one type of the same device to your account. So, if you're replacing your tracker, then you'll need to delete your old one first. Continue reading through the steps below to find out how to do that.

How to delete a tracker from your account in Fitbit for Windows 10

Do you need to get rid of a tracker on your account that you don't even have anymore? If you need to delete a tracker, for whatever reason, it's literally one button click. Seriously. Check it out:

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. Click Account.

3. Click your device in the upper left of the application window.

4. Click the Remove button. It's the garbage can in the bottom middle of the application window.

That's it for deleting trackers. Whether your dog ate it, you accidentally left it on when you went swimming, or you want to wear a different device every day, you can do it with just a few easy clicks of your mouse.

Use and change the Fitbit Dashboard to suit your personal style.

You've got your Fitbit and you're all set to begin your new and improved healthy lifestyle. Long gone are the late-night snack-fests of Doritos chased by a liter of Pepsi in front of the TV, watching sitcom reruns you've seen a million times before. You're changing it all. You're exercising every day, you're eating right, and you're getting to bed at a decent hour. Good for you!

Here's how you can use the Fitbit Dashboard to help you become stronger and healthier.

• How to navigate the Dashboard in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to hide Dashboard categories in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to show hidden Dashboard categories in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to rearrange Dashboard categories in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to log your exercise in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to log your water intake in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to log your weight in Fitbit for Windows 10
• How to manage the settings for your tracker in Fitbit for Windows 10

How to navigate the Dashboard in Fitbit for Windows 10

When you want to know how many steps you've taken today, and you want to know it now, you can take a look at your Dashboard and it'll tell you at a glance, without you having to search through a bunch of screens. Let's take a closer look at the information supplied there:

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. The following categories are shown by default in Dashboard. Click each one to get more information:

   • calories: This tells you how many calories you burned today.
   • active minutes: This shows how many active minutes you earned today.
   • miles: This shows how many miles you've gone today.
   • steps: This shows how many steps you've taken today.
   • exercising this week: This shows your logged exercise for the week.
   • weight: This shows your current weight.
   • drank today: This shows you how much water you drank today.

   • What have you eaten today?: This shows your food intake for the day.

Whether you want to see how many calories you've eaten or how many active minutes you've earned, the Dashboard is a good place to start. From there, you can delve deeper into each category to get more detailed information about each one.

How to hide Dashboard categories in Fitbit for Windows 10

Fitbit understands that there is no one-size-fits-all in fitness tracking. You can hide tracking categories that you have no interest in with the click of your mouse.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. Click the edit button. It looks like a pencil and is in the upper right corner of the application screen.

3. Click the hide button in the upper left corner of the category that you want to hide. It looks like a white x in the middle of black circle. It will turn into a white plus sign in the center of a pink circle.

4. Click the edit button again to return to the normal view of your Dashboard.

When you return to normal view, the category you hid is gone, like it never was. But don't worry. You can bring it back at any time. That's the subject of the next section of this guide.

How to show hidden Dashboard categories in Fitbit for Windows 10

If you want to bring back a category you previously hid, all you have to do is unhide it. Yes, unhide. That's un, as in the negation of, and hide, as in, well, hide. You get the picture.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.
2. Click the edit button. It looks like a pencil and is in the upper right corner of the application screen

3. Click the show button. It's a pink circle with a white plus sign in the center.

How to rearrange Dashboard categories in Fitbit for Windows 10

Go ahead and get personal with your Fitbit. You can rearrange the Dashboard categories to reflect what's most important to you about your fitness goals.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. Click the edit button. It looks like a pencil and is in the upper right menu of the application window.

3. Click and drag the category around the screen.

4. Release the category when it is positioned where you want it.

However you choose to arrange your Dashboard, you can change it on the fly. So, don't worry if your fitness priorities change; you can always go back and customize the Dashboard to suit.

How to log your exercise in Fitbit for Windows 10

Fitbit lets you keep track of your activity every day. The app includes a variety of activities you can log from Tai Chi and Karate to a gentle stroll about the neighborhood. Here's how you can input them.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.

2. Click the exercising this week category.

3. Click the log button. It's a plus sign in the upper right menu in between the edit goal button and the voice button.

4. Type the first letter of the activity name for a list of options.

5. Click the activity from the menu. You can also type to search to narrow down your activity choices.
6. Click in any of the following fields to edit them:
   • Start date: The date you started the activity. Defaults to today.
   • Start time: The time you started the activity. Defaults to the current time.
   • End date: The date you stopped the activity. Defaults to today.
   • End time: The time you stopped the activity. Defaults to 30 minutes after the current time.
   • Duration: How long the activity lasted. Defaults to 30 minutes.
   • Calories: The number of calories burned by the activity. Fitbit calculates this.

7. Click the log button at the bottom of the Log Exercise window.

How to log your water intake in Fitbit for Windows 10

Did you know that your body is composed of between 50 and 65 percent water? Let's see how Fitbit can help you stay hydrated every day.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.
2. Click the drank today category.

3. Click the Add button. It's the plus sign in the upper right menu of the application window.

4. Type the amount of water you want to log. Alternatively, click the Quick Add buttons.

5. Click the add Water button.

Carrying around a personal bottle of water may have gone out of style in the '90's, but maybe that's a fad that needs to come back? Whether or not you carry one, Fitbit is there to help keep your skin dewy and glowing.

How to log your weight in Fitbit for Windows 10

Whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain your weight, Fitbit can keep track of your progress. Here's how you can input your numbers.

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.
2. Click the Weight category. It's the one showing your current weight.

3. Click the add button. It's the plus sign in the upper right menu of the application window.

4. Click inside the Weight box in the Log Weight window.
5. Type your weight.
6. Type your body fat percentage in the percentage of Body Fat field.

7. Click the SAVE button. It's a checkmark in the bottom middle of the Log Weight window.

Whether you're one of those folks who weighs themselves every morning in only their underwear or someone who only steps on the scale during the Perseid meteor showers, it's easy to keep track of your weight in Fitbit.

How to manage the settings for your tracker in Fitbit for Windows 10

You can set your tracker to follow how many calories you burn instead of how many steps you take as its main trackable, if you like. Here's how you can do that and much more:

1. Launch the Fitbit application from your Desktop or the Start menu.
2. Click your Fitbit model name in the upper right menu of the application window. A device window will open up.

3. Click inside the device window to open up the device menu.

4. Click inside the the following boxes to edit their settings:
   • Main goal: This is the main statistic your device tracks. It defaults to steps, but your other options are Distance and Calories.
   • Wrist: This setting reflects the wrist on which you wear your device. It defaults to non-dominant.

5. Click the All-Day Sync button to turn it on or off. When it's on, it looks like a green oval with a white circle on the right side and when it's off, it's greyed out.

That's it for the Fitbit Dashboard. It's customizable, and just about every statistic that Fitbit tracks can be managed from here without any further digging. Less hassle is good, right?

View detailed info about your exercise progress, track your weight, log your meals, and more through Fitbit's dashboard

Your Windows 10 Mobile phone doesn't give you the same customization abilities in the Fitbit dashboard as you would get with other platforms (like showing and hiding certain activity categories). You will, however, still be able to track and add your fitness progress through the Fitbit dashboard, so even if you can't see the abs slicing their way through your stomach, or your biceps popping out of your arms, you will still be able to prove to naysayers that you are living an active lifestyle!

• How to view your progress in the Fitbit dashboard
• How to add information to the Fitbit dashboard
• How to edit an activity in the Fitbit dashboard
• How to change measurement units in the Fitbit dashboard
• How to perform tasks quickly in the Fitbit Fitbit dashboard

How to view your progress in the Fitbit dashboard on Windows 10 Mobile

Your Fitbit dashboard collects all of your synchronized and manually-inputted data into one main screen so you can quickly view your progress (or lack of) in one easy page. While each of these categories is a little different, you navigate through them basically the same way.

1. Launch Fitbit from your Applications List (or the start screen if you have it pinned).
2. The Fitbit app remembers which tab you last had opened, so if you open the app and don't see the dashboard tap the dashboard tab from the top menu.

3. Scroll up and down to view all the categories Fitbit can track including:

   • Steps: the number of steps you take in a day is automatically updated by your Fitbit.
   • Heart rate: the number of steps you take in a day is automatically updated by your Fitbit (only available on Fitbit models supporting heart rate tracking).
   • Distance: The total number of miles or kilometres you travel in a day is automatically updated by your Fitbit.
   • Calories: The number of calories you burn in a day is automatically updated by your Fitbit.
   • Floors: When climbing stairs, the number of floors you've climbed and descended is automatically updated by your Fitbit.
   • Active minutes: when you're exercising or doing a moderate activity–more than just walking — your Fitbit will track your total active minutes in a day.
   • Activity goals: Manually input activities like jogging or cycling.
   • Weight goals: Manually add your weight each day to track changes over time.
   • Sleep goals: Manually set your sleep goals and Fitbit will automatically track your sleep activity, though you can add or edit sleep activity.
   • Calories eaten: Manually add the amount of calories you've consumed.
   • Food plan: Manually track your daily meals and snacks.
   • Water intake: Manually track the amount of water you drink in a day.
   • Set weight goal and track with Aria: If you own the Aria Fitbit scale, you can view your weight changes over time from this button.

4. Tap on a category to view your stats (I tapped on steps).
5. Once inside of a category, scroll down to view your historical data to view your activity over time.

6. Tap on a specific day to view detailed information about your activity in that category on a particular date.

The process for viewing information in any of the Fitbit categories is basically the same. Some categories are automatically updated for you thanks to your Fitbit device (step count and calories for example), while others require you to input the information manually.

How to add information to the Fitbit dashboard on Windows 10 Mobile

The great thing about Fitbit is that it automatically tracks things like your step count and distance travelled. But sometimes you need to log more information. For example, you're walking 20,000 steps a day, but keep gaining weight (maybe it has something to do with the cheeseburger and milkshake you have for lunch each day)?

By manually inputting data that Fitbit doesn't track automatically, you can get a clearer picture of your overall health and fitness.

1. Launch Fitbit from your Applications List (or the start screen if you have it pinned).
2. The Fitbit app remembers which tab you last had opened, so if you open the app and don't see the dashboard tap the dashboard tab from the top menu. It's in the top left corner and looks like the Fitbit logo.

3. Scroll up and down to view all the categories you can monitor in Fitbit.

4. Tap on a category you want to manually update (I chose weight, but manually entering information into other categories is done pretty much the same way).

5. Tap on the add button (it looks like a +).

6. Enter the most recent information by tapping on a text field (in this case I can add my weight and body fat percentage).

7. Tap on save to record the information in your Fitbit dashboard.

While each category in the dashboard is different, their layout is similar and so is the process of manually inputting data. Remember to check your dashboard daily and add in any information that Fitbit doesn't automatically update so you have a complete picture of your current fitness routine.

How to edit an activity in the Fitbit dashboard on Windows 10 Mobile

You're in a state of post run euphoria and triumphantly punch your run time, distance, and calories into your Fitbit while you simultaneously punch the air in celebration!

With all this motion and mayhem you accidentally logged your run as a cycle and now your activity log is wrong! Oh no! What to do?

You can't edit information that Fitbit automatically adds (so no-go if you're trying to bump your daily step count up by a billion). However, it's quite easy to edit information you've manually added to your Fitbit.

1. Launch Fitbit from your Applications List (or the start screen if you have it pinned).
2. The Fitbit app remembers which tab you last had opened, so if you open the app and don't see the dashboard tap the dashboard tab from the top menu.

3. Tap on the activity category you would like to edit from your dashboard list (I chose activity goal, but you can edit any information you manually add in a similar way).

4. Tap on the entry you would like to edit (I chose a recent run).
5. Tap on the edit button at the bottom of the screen (looks like a pencil in this menu).

6. Tap on the text fields you wish to update (I chose time).

7. Update the field by navigating a scroll wheel, tapping on a list of options available, or typing in information, depending on the field you are editing (I'm editing the start time of my activity).
8. Tap on the check mark at the bottom of the pop-up menu to save your edit.

9. Once you've finished all your edits tap on the check mark at the bottom of the screen to log your edits.

Your activities will now be updated in your Fitbit dashboard. A reminder you can only update information you manually added to Fitbit and automatically synced settings (like heart rate, step count, and distance) cannot be manually edited.

How to change measurement units in Fitbit on Windows 10 Mobile

Do you measure your height in feet or centimeters? Distances in miles or kilometres? Do you track your coffee intake in ounces, or milliliters (or swimming pools on a busy week)?

Fitbit lets you measure weight, distance, and more in any combination of metric and imperial units you like!

1. Launch Fitbit from your Applications List (or the start screen if you have it pinned).
2. Tap on the settings tab on the far right at the top of the screen (looks like a rectangle with a circle in it and three horizontal lines).

3. Tap on advanced settings.

4. Tap on units.
5. Tap on the length menu to switch between feet and miles to centimeters and kilometers.

6. Tap on the weight menu to switch between pounds, kilograms, and stones.

7. Tap on the water menu to switch between fluid ounces and milliliters.

8. If you live in the United States or a country that only uses the imperial system, you can simply move the automatic slider to the right to automatically adjust all settings to imperial.

How to perform tasks quickly in Fitbit on Windows 10 Mobile

The Fitbit dashboard in Windows 10 Mobile displays a lot of information. If you need to simplify because you gotta log some info quickly you can use the quick actions button to log common tasks.

1. Launch Fitbit from your Applications List (or the start screen if you have it pinned).
2. The Fitbit app remembers which tab you last had opened, so if you open the app and don't see the dashboard tap the dashboard tab from the top menu.

3. Tap the quick actions button to navigate directly to a commonly-used category. It's the + symbol at the bottom of the screen.

   • Tap the log exercise button to manually input an exercise activity like running or cylcing.
   • Tap the log food button to track what you had for each meal including the calorie amount.
   • Tap the log water button to monitor or update your water intake.
   • Tap the log sleep button to monitor or update the amount of sleep you got.
   • Tap on the track exercise button if you're about to begin a walk, hike, or run and you would like to map your route and progress.
   • Tap on the scan barcode button if you want to add nutritional information about a food you're about to eat from its UPC label.
   • Tap on the log weight button to monitor and update your weight.
   • Tap on the set alarm button to add or adjust your Fitbit's alarm to use quiet vibrations to wake you up.

You can manage all of these things through the regular Fitbit dashboard, but when you're in fitness beast mode, you might need quick access to your stats. That's where the quick actions button comes in handy.

Xbox Live Clubs are coming, and here's how you can create your very own!

Clubs are a brand new way for Xbox gamers to connect across console and Windows 10. Using an Xbox Live Club, you can schedule group activities, have a shared feed for game clips and screenshots, make use of a group chat room and even showcase your Club's greatest content for all to see.

We will be running our very own Windows Central Club, allowing you guys to connect with us, receive giveaways and much more. If you want to join the Windows Central Club, drop your Gamertag in the forum post below and I will invite you as soon as I receive the update.

Join the Windows Central Xbox Club

Of course, if you would rather create your own Club, here are the steps you need to take!

1. Navigate to the Community Tab to the right of the main dashboard.
2. Select Clubs.
3. Select Create a Club.
4. Choose a Club Name. Note: Like Gamertags, Club names are unique and can only be used once.

5. Select your club's visibility:

   • Public Clubs can be viewed and joined by anyone.
   • Private Clubs are searchable, but their content is available to members only.
   • Hidden Clubs are only visible to those who have been invited.

6. Add additional information about the Club:

   • Description
   • Background image
   • Logo
   • Descriptive tags
7. You can also associate the Club with specific games. This is for the types of games your Club will play frequently. Your Club will appear in the associated title's Game Hubs.

You can edit the information at any time via the Club homepage by selecting Customize.

Xbox's new Clubs feature has huge potential to engage gamers from across the console / PC divide. It feeds into the company's Xbox Play Anywhere strategy, which sees more and more co-operative games become functional across platforms.

Clubs could also help limit pressure on developers to build these sorts of features directly into their games, many of which rely on third-party websites or tools as present. Clubs and Looking For Group should also drive up engagement for Game Hubs as well, which are a dedicated space for developers to communicate directly with their fans. Xbox Live is getting a whole lot more social.

Everything you need to know about Xbox Clubs and Looking For Group

Xbox Clubs are rolling out in waves to Xbox One Preview members, but will launch more broadly in the coming weeks to the various Xbox apps, as well as publically on Xbox One.

The Dell XPS 15 (9550) which has been my favorite "power" 15-inch laptop for professionals who need the most power, high build quality, and excellent performance. One of its most overlooked features is its easy upgradability. While many laptops don't let you touch many of the components, the XPS 15 (9550) has at least three useful areas that you can swap out: SSD, RAM, and Wi-Fi.

Why upgrade the Wi-Fi?

The XPS 15 (9550) ships with the Dell Wireless (Broadcom) 1830 3x3 802.11ac 2.4/5GHz + Bluetooth 4.1 (the base model ships with the lesser Dell Wireless 1820 2x2 Wi-Fi card). Some users have complained that the Wi-Fi signal interferes with Bluetooth connections, causing a wireless mouse to be inconsistent. Another complaint is the card stops seeing Wi-Fi connections due to a software issue with the 'power saving mode' that causes the Wi-Fi adapter to fail to wake up.

But whatever the reason you may have, changing out the Wi-Fi card on the XPS 15 is quite easy.

Your Options

There are a few different Wi-Fi cards available, but there could be some compromises. The most common one people use in the XPS 15 and most recommended is the Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260, which runs for a modest $25 or so. The Intel 8260 also includes Bluetooth 4.2 and is 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible up to 867 Mbps.

See Intel 8260 at Amazon

The downside with the Intel 8260 is it's a 2x2 antenna system and not the 3x3 found on the original Dell Wireless 1830. This is not a huge deal — it just means you will have an extra wire in the chassis when done. Intel is supposed to have a forthcoming Intel 9260 Wi-Fi card with a 3x3 setup, but it is not yet available.

Does it matter? While it is ideal to have a 3x3 system if you are already having issues with the Dell Wireless 1830 it is a moot point.

Some people have also used a Killer 1535 card that has MU-MIMO (Multiuser multiple input, multiple output). The Killer 1535 is more expensive at around $40, but isn't as easily found online. To take advantage of MU-MIMO you also need a router that supports it, which most do not. While MU-MIMO is helpful for homes with many devices connected it is not a clear-cut technology that will matter for most users.

Finally, another reason to consider the Intel 8260 is support. Intel is superb at updating their drivers for this Wi-Fi card and compared to Killer people have fewer bugs. In fact, people have very few problems with the Intel 8260, making it a more attractive option.

Difficulty Rating

If you have never worked on a laptop before you will want to know the difficulty level. Considering that this my first time too, I can vouch that this upgrade is quite simple.

The process is just taking off the bottom cover of the laptop, removing a single screw for the Wi-Fi card and unplugging the connectors for the antenna. You are looking at about a 20-minute job if you take your time.

What you need

You will need a few tools like hex and Philips screwdrivers and a small pry to help remove the bottom cover on the XPS 15.

Some of the tools you will need for this job

You may have your own tools, but since I plan on doing this more often, I picked up the E-Durable Pro Bit Driver Kit on Amazon. It was a mere $12 and includes every tool you will need to work on electronics like a laptop, and I recommend it if you don't have anything at the moment.

See E-Durable Pro Kit on Amazon

You will also want a clean and well-lit workspace and somewhere safe to put the screws from the bottom of the XPS 15. You may also want a pair of tweezers for snapping the antenna cables on and off.

Get the Driver

Before you begin surgery, make sure to grab the Intel 8260 driver.

Technically you won't need this as Windows 10 recognizes and configures the card automatically on first boot. However, just in case, it 's nice to have, and I recommend installing it after you boot up with the new Wi-Fi card. Intel provides a few tools and optimizations that may not be included with the generic driver.

Download Intel 8260 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Drivers

You will want to grab the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers. Make sure they are the latest and are built for Windows 10 64-bit.

Opening the XPS 15

To begin, shut down (not sleep or hibernate) your laptop and unplug it from the power adapter.

You should also use an Anti-Static Wrist Strap when touching the inner components.

See Anti-Static Strap at Amazon

To open the XPS 15 (9550), you will want to do the following.

All 12 of the screws holding the XPS 15 together

1. Place the XPS 15 bottom-up. I recommend on a cloth to prevent any scratches.
2. Remove the 10 Torx head screws from the bottom.
3. Remove the 2 Philips head screws from beneath the XPS label (lift the cover).
4. Pry the cover off gently using a pry tool.

The cover should just click and come off without much force once all 12 of the screws are removed.

The XPS 15 Wi-Fi card is boxed in red

With the display hinge at the top, you'll find the Wi-Fi module is in the upper left corner (near the back of the laptop). You can see it in the above photo.

Changing the Wi-Fi card

Changing the Wi-Fi card is very easy. You only need a single Philips Head screwdriver and optionally a pair of tweezer or small pliers to handle the antennas.

The Dell Wireless 1830 (L) next to Intel 8260 (R)

The seemingly tricky part is the antenna cables. They simply snap on like little buttons and are not soldered. You just pop them off and can push them down again to reconnect making the change out easy.

1. Remove the Philips head screw and put it to the side.

2. Pop off the three antenna cables with tweezers.

3. Gently lift and pull the old Wi-Fi card out at a 45-degree angle.
4. Replace with Intel 8260 (or whatever you bought) by sliding into the slot at a 45-degree angle.

5. Snap the Black and White antenna cables back to the new Wi-Fi card (note the matching arrows).

6. Tuck the gray wire to the side or put it just under the card.

7. Screw the holding plate back on from Step 1.

That's it!

Now just put the bottom cover back on and replace the screws. Start from the center (under the XPS label cover) then do the four corners and finally fill in the middle and side screws. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN as the Torx head screw are relatively soft and you can easily strip the heads. Tighten them gently just until they are not loose. It's much easier to buy a replacement screw then to drill out a stripped one!

Finally, after your system boots into Windows, it should configure the Wi-Fi adapter automatically. You may need to re-enter your network password. At this point, you can optionally install the Intel drivers downloaded earlier, or use them in case Windows does not recognize the card.

If you're using a local account, use this guide to link your Windows 10 product key to your Microsoft account for easier re-activation.

On the Anniversary Update for Windows 10, Microsoft introduced a lot of new changes and features for PC, including a way to make activation a little easier. Although activating Windows 10 was already a simple process, it wasn't easy to re-activate the operating system after a hardware change.

Starting with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, your product key is no longer only attached to your hardware — you can also link it to your Microsoft account. This new change allows you to re-activate Windows 10 without having to contact Microsoft when you make significant changes to the hardware on your PC, including replacing the motherboard, processor, or hard drive.

Associating a Windows 10 license to a Microsoft account is actually an automated process if you're signing into your PC with a Microsoft account. But if you're using a local user account, you'll need to link your product key with your Microsoft account manually.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to link your product key with a Microsoft account to simplify re-activation.

How to associate your Windows 10 license to a Microsoft account

To make sure that everything works, you need to make sure that Windows 10 is properly activated on your computer, you can easily do this with the following steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Update & security.
3. Click on Activation.

The Activation page should read "Windows is activated with a digital license" (or product key).

Once you know that your copy of Windows 10 is properly activated, you need to add a Microsoft account that you want to remember your product key. However, it's important to remember that this process will change your account type from local to a Microsoft account.

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Accounts.
3. Click on You info.

4. Click the Sign in with your Microsoft account instead link.

5. Complete your sign-in information.

6. Click Sign in.

7. Type your current password.

8. Click Next.

9. Click the Set a PIN button, or the Skip this step link to complete the process.

After you completed the steps mentioned above, you could remove the Microsoft account, but reverting the process will also remove the device from your account, which will undo the association.

You can verify that your digital license is linked to your Microsoft account by using these simple steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Click on Update & security.

3. Click on Activation.

The Activation page should now read "Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account". Additionally, you can sign-in to your Microsoft account using your web browser and navigating to the Devices section. If you find your computer listed, it means that the license is linked.

What do you think about the new activation approach to associate your Windows 10 license with your Microsoft account? Tell us in the comments below.

More Windows 10 resources

For more help articles, coverage, and answers on Windows 10, you can visit the following resources:

• Windows 10 on Windows Central – All you need to know
• Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
• Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

You've managed to survive your first few nights, maybe by the skin of your teeth. What's next?

Minecraft claims the throne for being one of the most open world survival experiences going right now, and staying alive the first couple of nights isn't usually too difficult provided you've crafted yourself the essential items.

Once you've got your tools (and perhaps some spares), and you've crafted yourself a rudimentary safe house just for the meantime, it's time to start thinking long term.

Here are some things to consider when you're in Minecraft for the long haul.

1. There's no place like bed

Seriously, once you're settling in and ready to start thinking about long term, one of the first things you're going to want to think about crafting is a bed. Beds can only be used by one person at a time, though you can have multiple beds in a game. Sleeping in a bed at night will skip to the morning, and this works with multiplayer, as long as you're all going to bed at the same time. If you die, you will respawn from the last bed you slept in -- let's just hope that your bed isn't too far from your point of death...

Materials required: 3 wool, 3 planks. Wool doesn't need to be the same color.

2. Building a home sustainably

Building a home-base in Minecraft is something of a must. It's a safe place for you to respawn from should you die and provided it is well lit, it can also be a sanctuary from monsters and mobs. The main and most abundant material available almost immediately is wood, so it stands to reason this would be a great material to build with. The variation of wood means you can have almost any kind of wood effect you like, and depending on which way you lay it, you could create some really cool looking buildings. But there are two problems.

Wood buildings catch fire. Easily. Even a wooden block being hit by lightning can set it alight, and once one block is burning, the others are sure to follow. This is also an age-old griefer trick, to join someone's game and burn down their painstakingly crafted creations.

The other problem is that inevitably, the wood will run out. The trees will start to become more sparse and you'll find yourself traveling further afield for your precious resource. So what to do about it?

When you remove the trunk of a tree in Minecraft, the leaves will eventually begin to wither away, and in doing so, it will drop a number of saplings. The saplings can be replanted, and they'll take a little time to grow. Once they're fully grown, you can chop them down and rinse and repeat with the saplings. Viola, a (near) endless supply of wood.

Cobblestone is a great material for building, it has high blast resistance making it much less damaging when a Creeper comes knocking, and it is found almost everywhere.

Materials required: Saplings, and lots of them; and cobblestone for the castle of your dreams.

3. Setting up a homestead

Where is the best place to lay some foundations and start hoarding like there is no tomorrow? Technically, anywhere is a good place, providing you have the sustainability to stay there. Some ideal places to consider would be grass biomes that connect to hills and or forest biomes. This way, the animal mobs will spawn regularly, you'll be close to a supply of wood (remember to plant the saplings for maximum wood potential), and the hills are usually a good source for coal which you can craft into torches. Alternatively, setting up near water means you could have a steady supply of fish, and potentially sand and clay.

4. Food and where to find it

Possibly the easiest way of gathering food is to attack any roaming animals you may see. With an abundance of cows and chickens roaming the lands, it doesn't take too long to pull out your sword and go ham on the free-range farmyard friends. Once you've collected a decent stack of raw meats, you can place them in the furnace to cook. An even easier way of getting cooked meat is to set fire to the animals. That's right, set fire to them.

Using a flint and steel, crafted with a flint and an iron ingot, you can set the area around an animal ablaze until it walks through it. The animal will rush around in a flaming frenzy momentarily, and Abracadabra, cooked meat at your feet.

You could also build a farm. Farms are generally only limited by your imagination, but there are a couple of rules to follow to make it work.

1. Use a Hoe to till the ground so it's ready for planting.
2. Make sure there is a water source beneath or next to the plot of land you have just tilled. When a plot of land is watered, the tilled plot will turn a darker shade of brown.
3. Sow seeds that you find in chests or create seeds within the crafting menu using the various pumpkin or watermelons you may stumble upon while on your journeys.
4. Certain additions can be made to the plot after sowing seeds. Bonemeal will act as fertilizer and speed the growth of a variety of crops such as mushrooms, pumkins, watermelons, wheat, saplings and tall grass.

It's generally a good plan to build a small fence or wall around your farm as animals are prone to raiding your crops.

5. Staying safe

Once you've got your tools in abundance, and you've collected enough ores, you can smelt them into ingots using a furnace. You can use these (and diamonds) to fashion into weapons and armor, and then should you want to be a total bad-ass, you can even enchant them.

Wearing armor will grant extra damage protetion, and the various enchantments will provide buffs.

Staying safe also means picking your battles well. You may feel pretty invincible with diamond armor with protection buffs and a sword with +5 attack, but what if you're surrounded by mobs and they all want to attack you at once? Pick your fights. Are you likely to take out a skeleton, a spider and a zombie all at the same time, or would it be wiser to take them out individually?

6. Know where you are

Back when Minecraft seeds were smaller, it wasn't too difficult to whip out your map and try to get the lay of the land. Now, with the possibility of infinite map sizes, maps come in parts and navigation using them is considerably harder. There are other ways you can keep track of your position however.

Early in the game you could build a tower with lights on the side, like a flaming totem pole of dirt. Later, after you've collected some pretty rare materials, you can build a beacon.

Beacons are small pyramid shaped monuments that when activated, shoot a beam of light into the sky. This is great for navigation as the beams can be seen at a considerable distance. Further to this, the beacon will also bestow buffs on any nearby players.

You could also lay a trail of light producing blocks so if you get lost at night, you have something to aim towards.

Materials required: Nether star, torches, anything that creates a light source.

Note: Right now, beacons are not currently available in Minecraft Windows 10 beta, but are coming in a future update.

How do I set up a new world in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta?

Newcomers to Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta might find themselves lost in this whole new world. Just what the heck are seeds, world types, and game modes, anyway? Here's everything you need to know about setting up a new world in Minecraft: W10EB.

• How to create a new world in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta
• How to convert an Old world to an Infinite world
• How to delete a world in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

How to create a new world in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

1. Launch Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta from your Start menu, desktop, or taskbar.
2. Click Play.

3. Click Create New World.

4. Click Advanced.

5. Click the Name field.

6. Type a name for your new world.

7. Click Done.

8. Click a World Type.

   • Old: Creates a finite world (256x256 blocks) that works much better on old or low-performance PCs. There is no Nether in this world type.

   • Infinite: Creates the standard Minecraft world that goes on forever. Everything you love about Minecraft, including the Nether, can be found here.

   • Flat: Creates a completely flat world, perfect for creative type games when you just want to build enormous structures without competing with natural landscape.

9. Click a Game Mode.

   • Survival: Creates a world where you must gather food and mine for resources. Don't forget to watch your back! The full list of enemies is waiting to ruin your day.

   • Creative: Creates a world where you have all resources at your disposal. Double-jumping enables a flying mode that helps with building enormous structures, and enemies will leave you alone.

10. Click the Seed field.

11. Type a seed or leave it blank to create a random world. Seeds can be found online or you can type a random series of numbers or letters. Try typing your name and seeing what world is created!

12. Click Done.

13. Click Create World!.

How to convert an Old world to an Infinite world

If you created an Old world in, say, Minecraft: Pocket Edition or on a low-end PC, but then want to convert it to an Infinite world to reap the benefits of a larger play area, follow these steps:

1. Launch Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta from your Start menu, desktop, or taskbar.

2. Click Play.

3. Click the Edit button next to the Old world you want to convert. The button looks like a pencil writing two lines.

4. Click Make Infinite!

You will now have a copy of the Old world that has been converted to an Infinite world. The original Old world will also still be there on your list of worlds.

How to delete a world in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

1. Launch Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta from your Start menu, desktop, or taskbar.
2. Click Play.

3. Click the Edit button next to the world you want to delete. The button looks like a pencil writing two lines.

4. Click Delete in the upper right corner.

5. Click Delete to confirm.

As is the Dell XPS 15 (9550) is an outstanding 15-inch laptop. Nonetheless, there are ways to make it even more of a beastly machine thanks to easy upgradeability of some of its hardware.

I recently showed you how to swap the internal Wi-Fi card and today I'll show you how to upgrade the RAM.

RAM – Faster or More?

Before going to the actual how-to let's talk about why you want to upgrade your RAM. There are a few ways to consider this depending on your needs, wants, and wallet:

• More RAM
• Faster RAM

More RAM is easy. If your XPS 15 has 8GB of RAM and you want 16GB, then we can easily drop in more memory. Personally, I feel 8GB of RAM is fine for most users, but some do need 16GB or even 32GB for heavy lifting like 4K video editing, 3D modelling, virtual machines, and the like. If you're just running a web browser and a few apps and the occasional game, 8GB or 16GB will be more than enough for you.

Is 32GB overkill in a laptop? Probably.

Faster RAM is trickier. The XPS 15 (9550) ships with 8GB or 16GB of DDR4-2133MHz. But you can run 2400MHz RAM on the XPS 15 without any issue. (You can install 2800MHz RAM, but the BIOS limits it to 2400MHz, so don't waste your money).

Are there any downsides to having too much RAM? Technically, more RAM uses more energy from the system, but it's such a negligible amount that you'll barely notice it. In fact, if you're maxing out your current RAM, you're using more power by putting the power-hungry SSD to work as overflow memory. Really, though, the only downside is cost versus actual value you get from the upgrade.

Finally, the Dell XPS 15 (9550) maxes out at 32GB of DDR4 RAM (a pair of 16GB sticks).

What to buy

When it comes to buying RAM, it will depend on those two factors mentioned above as well as your wallet.

For this article (and for science) I used G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) Ripjaws Series DDR4-2800MHz (which is how I discovered the 2400MHz limit).

Assuming Dell does not enable 2800MHz speeds for RAM here is what you should buy for the high-end:

See G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) Ripjaws

This RAM is the same as my extreme version just clocked at 2400MHz and cheaper by around $25. Kingston's HyperX Impact RAM is also impressive and may cost even less.

If you are upgrading from an 8GB XPS 15 to 16GB, you can find the same G.SKILL RAM with less memory at half the cost:

See G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8GB) Ripjaws

Either one of those will give you more memory at a slightly higher speed. You could, of course, find even cheaper RAM clocked at 2133MHz, but if you're opening your machine and replacing the RAM why not spend the few extra bucks to get a slight bump in performance?

Speaking of, let's be clear: any "speed" difference with RAM will likely make little impact on an actual day to day basis. We're talking maybe in the realm of 2-5% difference in throughput for things like the GPU under heavy load. Something like CAS Latency is also relevant. Yes, your XPS 15 will feel peppier after this upgrade, but it won't be a massive difference.

If you want to see a dramatic improvement in performance for everyday tasks, stay tuned for my SSD upgrade guide for the XPS 15.

Finally, remember it is always preferable to increase RAM amount over RAM speed. If you have to pick one, go for more RAM. I do not advise buying less RAM that is clocked faster. Another way of putting that is the XPS 15 (9550) already ships with fast RAM, so it is the amount we are looking to improve upon.

Difficulty Rating

This upgrade is very simple and even easier than changing the Wi-Fi card.

The process is just taking off the bottom cover of the laptop, pushing the latch pins for the RAM to the side and swapping it with the new RAM. You are looking at about a 20-minute job if you take your time.

What you need

You will need a few tools like hex and Philips screwdrivers and a small pry to help remove the bottom cover on the XPS 15.

Some of the tools you will need for this job

You may have your own tools, but since I plan on doing this more often, I picked up the E-Durable Pro Bit Driver Kit on Amazon. It was a mere $12 and includes every tool you will need to work on electronics like a laptop, and I recommend it if you don't have anything at the moment.

See E-Durable Pro Kit on Amazon

You will also want a clean and well-lit workspace and somewhere safe to put the screws from the bottom of the XPS 15.

Opening the XPS 15

To begin, shut down (not sleep or hibernate) your laptop and unplug it from the power adapter.

You should also use an Anti-Static Wrist Strap when touching the inner components.

See Anti-Static Strap at Amazon

To open the XPS 15 (9550), you will want to do the following.

All 12 of the screws holding the XPS 15 together

1. Place the XPS 15 bottom-up. I recommend on a cloth to prevent any scratches.
2. Remove the 10 Torx head screws from the bottom.
3. Remove the 2 Philips head screws from beneath the XPS label (lift the cover).
4. Pry the cover off gently using a pry tool.

The cover should just click and come off without much force once all 12 of the screws are removed.

Changing the RAM

The RAM is easily found on the opened XPS 15 (9550) as it is right in the middle of the machine and unobstructed. You can see the placement in the below image.

The RAM is very easy to access on the XPS 15 (9550)

The RAM is held down by clamps on each side of the chip. Using a small pry tool (or your fingers if you're nimble) just push the clamp to the side away from the RAM. Once you do this for each side, the chip should pop up at a 45-degree angle.

Here are all four clamps holding the RAM down on the XPS 15

1. Push clamps to the side for each RAM chip

2. When RAM is free from the clamps they should pop up slightly
3. Gently pull the chip away from the motherboard
4. Slide in the new RAM (label will likely be facing out)

5. Gently press downwards on the RAM until you hear the clamps click

6. Repeat for secondary RAM chip

That's it. Once the RAM is clicked into place, and the clamps are holding it you can reassemble the XPS 15. Start from the center (under the XPS label cover) then do the four corners and finally fill in the middle and side screws. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN as the Torx head screws are relatively soft and you can easily strip the heads. Tighten them gently just until they are not loose. It's much easier to buy a replacement screw then to drill out a stripped one!

G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) Ripjaws Series DDR4-2800MHz installed on the XPS 15

When you turn the XPS 15 on for the first time, you will likely see a BIOS-like screen informing you that the hardware changed. This behavior is normal, and you can select Continue to proceed to boot up Windows.

You should not have to change anything in the system BIOS or Windows as both will just recognize the new RAM. If you want to check that you have the correct speed and amount when the XPS 15 is booting

1. Hit F12 when you see the Dell logo
2. Go to BIOS settings

3. Navigate to General > System Information and check Memory Speed

You should see 2400MHz (even if you bought 2800MHz) and the amount of RAM listed under System Information.

The amount, speed, and other details of upgraded RAM in the XPS 15 using CPU-Z

Alternatively, you can use the free app CPU-Z to verify even more details about your system's configuration.

Let me know in comments if you need 32GB of RAM in your laptop and why!

Mobs. You can't live with them, and unfortunately, you can't live without them.

They're a great source of entertainment, whether you're killing things for food, fun or material farming. They're not so fun, however, when they're shooting projectiles at you, walking off with blocks from your painstakingly crafted monuments or blowing you up.

Which are the ones to worry about? There are a number of different types of mobs and enemies in the game.

Passive mobs

Passive mobs aren't bothered by your presence. They won't attack you on sight, and they probably won't even get aggressive if you hit them. These mobs are a good source for food and some give low amounts of XP, giving you a small head-start on developing some bad-ass enchantments.

• Bats: They spawn in underground caves, and fly around in low light conditions. They do not drop anything when they die.
• Sheep: Drop wool and/or mutton on death. Will get into your crops and have a munch if you're not careful. Can be bred. They drop 1 wool block on death, but if they are sheared you can get up to 3. Lambs can't be sheared for wool.
• Cows/Mooshrooms: Drop uncooked beef and/or leather on death. Mooshrooms will give you mushroom stew if you use a bowl on it. Can be bred. Shearing a Mooshroom will turn it into a regular cow.
• Horses: Can be tamed, and are mountable and rideable with a saddle. Can be bred. If you breed a horse with a donkey, you can get a mule.
• Chickens: Drops uncooked chicken and/or feathers on death. Can be bred. Regularly lays eggs, and eggs have a chance to spawn baby chickens when thrown.
• Rabbits: Their skin colors depend on the biome the spawn in. They will approach the player if they are holding a carrot or a dandelion. They drop raw rabbit and rabbit hide on death.
• Villagers: You can trade with villagers for precious items, or you can evict them and steal their houses, it's up to you. The color of their robe depicts their profession. They can breed with other villagers (as long as their houses have doors, even NPC's need privacy) and make even uglier human Squidward hybrids.
• Squid: They spawn in deep water in any biome. They drop ink sacs on death and are completely harmless even if you're finding their 8-armed dancing rather terrifying. The good news is they suffocate on land, the bad news is, you can't lure them there...
• Ocelot: Ocelots spawn on grass or leaves. Feeding them an uncooked fish has a 2/3 chance of taming them. They will follow the player when tame. They can sit on objects, so taming a pretty one could make a nice bed decoration. (Cats are friends, not furniture)
• Donkey: Donkeys spawn in the same conditions as horses, and will usually make a small percent of a horse herd. Donkey's can't wear horse armor, but they can be equipped with chests.

Neutral mobs

Neutral mobs will ignore you for a time, but some of them may attack you once a certain condition has been fulfilled.

• Polar bears: Polar bears are neutral, and their cubs are passive. Polar bears become hostile if you get too close to their cubs or the cub is attacked.
• Spider/Cave Spiders: Spiders are considered passive when there is a good enough light source. They will become hostile when night falls or if you're in a dark environment.
• Endermen: Endermen are passive and relatively rare. They spawn in small groups. They will remain passive unless attacked or you look them in the eyes. Endermen often take natural blocks and move them around. They don't like water or sunlight too much and will teleport away if it is raining.
• Wolves: Wolves spawn in forest and taiga biomes. If you have a bone (or ten), you can tame the wolf and he will follow you and attack anything that attacks the player. When the wolves are wild, they remain passive to the player unless attacked. When a wolf is attacked, its eyes turn red and any other wolves in the vicinity will join in the fight against you. If your tamed wolf takes damage, you can see its health by the level at which it holds its tail. You can feed it to heal it. Skeletons avoid wolves, so they're good to have around for protection.
• Zombie Pigmen: Zombie Pigmen live in the Nether. They are generally passive until you attack one, then all of the Zombie Pigmen in the vicinity will converge upon you. Squad goals.

Hostile mobs

Hostile mobs are the enemies you don't want to get ganged up on by. They will attack on sight, and do their damn best to kill you. The hostile mobs are often the ones that hold the best materials for potion making and crafting, so the benefits and the risks can cancel each other out.

• Blazes: Blazes are found in the Nether fortresses at low light levels. They shoot fireballs at the player, and if there are other Blazes nearby, it will alert them to your presence. They drop Blaze rods which can be used in potion-making. They're weak to water, and snowballs are effective against them as weapons. If it isn't already obvious, Blazes are immune to fire and lava.
• Chicken Jockeys: As the name suggests, Chicken Jockeys are tiny skeleton mobs that ride chickens. They are like Spider Jockeys on a much smaller scale.
• Creepers: Anyone who has ever played Minecraft has already come across these explosive green phalluses. Creepers are reasonably slow, but on sight will walk towards you hissing, until they blow up in your face. They will not only destroy anything they are near, but their destructive power can leave you with a lot to rebuild. Best to take them out from a distance before they get to the explodey stage.
• Elder guardians: resembling a square puffer fish, Elder Guardians spawn within ocean monuments. They shoot a laser at players and can track them underwater, doing huge damage and afflicting them with Mining Fatigue. They drop prismarine shards which can be used to create sea lanterns.
• Endermites: Endermites are spawned when an Ender Pearl is thrown. Endermen are hostile to them, and will attack them if a player is not around. Endermites behave like Silverfish and they're the smallest mob in Minecraft.
• Ghasts: Ghasts spawn in the Nether. They are flying enemies that will shoot ghast fireballs at you. These fireballs are incredibly damaging, so it is important to protect your Nether portal from the Nether side. Cobblestone can easily withstand the blast damage from a ghast fireball, making it an effective material for keeping your exit safe. Ghasts look like crying white octopi and will only ever attack the player by a line of sight and not other monsters.
• Guardians: These are very similar to Elder Guardians, in most ways except appearance and spawning particulars. They still spawn within ocean monuments, though are more likely to be inside them than with the open sea above them.
• Husks: Husks are similar to zombies. They behave in the same ways with a couple of subtle differences. If a zombie is spawned beneath the open sky, it has a high probability of being a Husk. However, they do not burn in the sunlight like zombies do, and they avoid water.
• Magma cubes: Magma cubes spawn anywhere in the Nether at any light level, but are more likely to spawn within the Nether Fortress. They behave like the other slimes, breaking into smaller pieces when they are attacked. They are immune to fire and lava, naturally; and their jump height is dependent on their size. There is also a possibility that on death, a Magma cream will be dropped.
• Shulkers: These mobs blend in with the purpur blocks on the islands in The End. An outer shell protects the monster within, and it will peep out every few second. Projectiles are a good way to take these blockheads out.
• Silverfish: Silverfish live within certain blocks found in strongholds and extreme hills biomes. They attack when their eggs within a block are broken, and will call to other nearby silverfish who will seek you out. It's easy to get swamped by them, so it's best to avoid engaging them at all if possible.
• Skeletons: Ahh the bane of my 'Craftin' life. Skeletons will shoot arrows at you on sight, relentlessly chase you and be a general pain in the backside. They spawn anywhere with low light levels, but the good news is they catch fire in sunlight. Take that, bone-man; here comes the dawn!
• Slimes: Gelatinous cubes that try to flop on you on sight. They break into smaller slimes as they take damage, eventually being small enough to kill outright. They spawn in very low light conditions, mostly underground and at night in swamps. They drop slime balls on death which can be used to make sticky pistons.
• Spider jockeys: There is a 1% chance of a spider spawning with a skeleton riding on its back. The AI follows the spider's lead, so the spider jockey will ignore you during the day, and attack you and chase you during the night. When killed the spider drops string and the skeleton may drop arrows or bones, as they would if killed independently.
• Strays: Strays are variants of skeletons. They spawn directly beneath the sky in icy biomes. They behave the same as skeletons, but their arrows inflict slowness. When they're killed they have a chance of dropping these slow-poison tipped arrows.
• Witches: Resembling villagers wearing pointy hats, Witches will approach you while their bodies are smoking with defensive magic. They attack using splash damage potions, and spawn in the Overworld in low light conditions. Witches can be made if a lightning bolt strikes within a small area of a villager, or they can be found in Witches huts that spawn on the map. They drop gunpowder when they die, which is great for making TNT.
• Wither skeletons: These dangerous mobs spawn within Nether fortresses in very low light levels. If they've not spotted you they'll walk along slowly, but once you're in their sights they'll sprint after you. They inflict Wither on the player if they get hit which turns your health bar black and eats at your hearts. These merchants of chaos are able to pick up and use dropped weapons and armor.
• Zombies: One of the most common mobs in the games, Zombies spawn in the Overworld during the night. They catch fire in the sun, and they drop rotten meat on death. They chase the player and do physical damage on contact. There are a few variations, such as Baby Zombies (who doesn't burn in sunlight) and Zombie villagers (who can be cured).

Boss Mobs

Boss mobs are incredibly powerful enemies, with high health and a high damage output. They spawn in very specific locations and can be re-fought.

• Ender Dragon: Ender Dragons spawn in The End, as soon as you exit the Portal. It is incredibly hostile, shooting Ender charges at the player. It has four modes of attack, where it circle the battlebround and then swoop in to shoot at you; it will charge at the player; or it will perch, during which time it is immune to arrow attacks. The Ender dragon's breath can be collected in an empty bottle.
• Wither: These hell-spawn can be created by placing soul sand in a T-shape and adding three wither skeleton skulls to the top (omg why would you?). When it activates, it grows larger and health bar doubles (seriously, you're crazy). It'll then explode, damaging you and everything around you. The wither is hostile to everything. It can regenerate health, and when it drops below half health, it becomes immune to arrows (crazy, I tell you).

What are the essential crafting recipes in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta?

Being dropped into a Minecraft world for the first time can be an overwhelming experience, especially when you don't know how to craft the essential tools to survive. We compiled some of the recipes you need to know to get off to a good start in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta.

• How to craft in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta
• How to craft utility tools in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta
• How to craft mining tools in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta
• How to craft weapons in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta
• How to craft armor in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

How to craft in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

The first thing you craft will probably be some wood planks, which can be accomplished without using a crafting table:

1. Click the raw wood in your inventory.

2. Click within the crafting field to place the raw wood.

3. Click the wood planks to craft them. You can click to create more wood planks until the raw wood runs out.

4. Click an inventory spot to place the wood planks in your inventory.

The next thing you'll probably craft is a crafting table, which allows you to craft more intricate recipes:

1. Click the wood planks in your inventory.

2. Right-click all four squares in your crafting field.

3. Click the crafting table to craft it.

4. Click an inventory spot to place the crafting table in your inventory.

Now that you have a crafting table, you can craft more intricate recipes. In this example, we'll craft a pickaxe using the crafting table that you've place on the ground:

1. Click the sticks in your inventory.

2. Right-click the appropriate spots in your crafting field.

3. Click an inventory spot to place the sticks back in your inventory.

4. Click the wood planks in your inventory.

5. Right-click the appropriate spots in your crafting field.

6. Click an inventory spot to place the wood planks back in your inventory.

7. Click the wooden pickaxe to craft it.

8. Click an inventory spot to place the wooden pickaxe in your inventory.

By now you have an idea of how to craft items in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta. You can apply the crafting methods above to all of the recipes listed below.

How to craft utility tools in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

Name		Resource(s) used:	Used primarily for:	Stackable?
Wood planks		Raw wood	Crafting table, Chest, Sticks	Up to 64
Crafting table		Wood planks	Crafting	No
Sticks		Wood planks	Torches, Tools	Up to 64
Torches		Coal, Sticks	Light	Up to 64
Furnace		Cobblestone	Cooking, Smelting	No
Chest		Wood planks	Storage	No
Bed		Wood planks, Wool	Sleeping	No
Bucket		Iron ingot	Collecting water and lava	No
Shears		Iron ingot	Collecting wool	No
Fishing rod		Sticks, String	Fishing	No
Flint		Iron ingot, Flint	Fire	No
Boat		Wood planks, Shovel	Sailing	No
Door		Wood planks or Iron ingots	Protection	Up to 64

How to craft mining tools in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

All of the following tools can be crafted with either wood planks, cobblestone, iron, gold, or diamond.

Name		Resource(s) used:	Used primarily for:	Stackable?
Shovel		Sticks, Wood planks (etc.)	Digging dirt	No
Axe		Sticks, Wood planks (etc.)	Chopping trees	No
Pickaxe		Sticks, Wood planks (etc.)	Mining stone	No
Hoe		Sticks, Wood planks (etc.)	Farming	No

How to craft weapons in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

Swords can be crafted from wood planks, cobblestone, iron, gold, or diamond. Bows and arrows can only be crafted using the materials listed below.

Name		Resource(s) used:	Used primarily for:	Stackable?
Sword		Stick, Wood planks (etc.)	Slashing	No
Bow		Sticks, String	Shooting	No
Arrows		Stick, Feather, Flint	Ammo	Up to 64

How to craft armor in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta

All armor can be crafted using either leather, iron, gold, or diamond.

Name		Resource(s) used:	Used primarily for:	Stackable?
Helmet		Iron ingots (etc.)	Protection	No
Chestplate		Iron ingots (etc.)	Protection	No
Leggings		Iron ingots (etc.)	Protection	No
Boots		Iron ingots (etc.)	Protection	No

Cortana can learn things about you automatically, but you can improve the experience when you properly configure the interest cards, and here we show you how.

Cortana on Windows 10 is really good on finding local files and settings, searching the web to answer your questions, and manage your schedules and reminders. Cortana can also learn your interests to keep you up to date with information on flights and packages, traffic conditions, and trending news tailor to your likings. In addition to recommendations on food & drink, events, and even show you reminders, so you don't miss any important appointment.

All the data Cortana collects is stored in its Notebook, and while the assistant can learn things about you automatically, you can get an even better experience by manually customizing your interests.

Here we'll explain and walk you through the steps to adjust the interest cards in the Notebook to allow Cortana to keep you up to date on the things you care the most.

How to configure interest cards on Cortana

Inside Cortana's Notebook, you'll find all the interests the assistant can track for you. Each of these items can be configured with a specific set of options:

• Academic
• Cortana tips
• Eat & drink
• Events
• Finance
• Getting around
• Health & fitness
• Mettings & reminders
• Movies & TV
• News
• On the Go
• Packages
• Reservations
• Shopping
• Special days
• Sports
• Travel
• Weather

• How to enable or disable cards on Cortana's Notebook

Academic

Academic allows you to track virtually any academic topic you like. For example, math, physics, calculus, astronomy, etc.

To configure or add new academic topics, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Academic.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Conference updates
   • News updates
   • News papers

6. Click the Add scholar field of study link.

7. Search for a new academic topic.
8. Personalize the available options for the topic.
9. Click Add.

10. Click Save to update your settings.

Cortana tips

As the name implies, you can use the Cortana tips card to get suggestions of things you can do using the assistant. You'll see these tips in the search box or when you open the assistant.

To configure Cortana tips, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Cortana tips.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Tip cards
   • Tip notifications

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Eat & drink

Eat & drink lets you get recommendations of food and drink places nearby. This option allows you receive suggestions from Foursquare and detect lunch conflicts. You can also tell Cortana the kind of foods you like, ambiance, price range, and more.

To configure Eat & drink, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Eat & drink.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Recommendation options
   • Distance
   • Cuisine preference
   • Meeting schedule alters during lunch time
   • Frequency you like to eat out
   • Ambience
   • Price range

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Events

Events is an option that allows Cortana to keep track and suggests local events.

To configure Events, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Events.
5. Click the Add an event category link.
6. Choose a category, such as music, performing arts, and sports & outdoors.
7. Click Add.

8. Click Save to update your settings.

Finance

Finance enables you to track gains and losses for stocks you want to follow.

To configure Finance, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

4. Click on Finance.

5. Click the Add a stock link.
6. Search and select a stock.

7. Click Add.

8. Click Save to update your settings.

Getting around

Getting around lets Cortana notify you of traffic conditions and route suggestions to get to your destination.

To configure Getting around, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Getting around.
5. Personalize your driving and public transit options.
6. Scroll down and personalize your Getting around preference: Driving or Transit.

7. Click Save to update your settings.

Health & fitness

Health & fitness allows you to let Cortana track your workout location data, activity information, and biometric data from your fitness device, such as the Microsoft Band 2.

To configure Health & fitness, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Health & fitness.
5. Turn on or off the option.

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Meetings & reminders

Meetings & reminders is an option that let you see upcoming calendar events with rich information, traffic alerts, and other details. In addition, you can adjust Cortana to show future reminders within the app.

To configure Meetings & reminders, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Meetings & reminders.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Meeting prep
   • Daily timeline
   • Related documents
   • Show reminders on Cortana home

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Movies & TV

Movies & TV brings you trailers for movies, showtimes, and predictions.

To configure Movies & TV, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Movies & TV.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • You predict the winners
   • Showtimes & trailers
   • Get showtimes for nearby movie theaters
   • See the latest movie trailers.

6. Click Save to update your settings.

News

News brings you the latest headlines and stories based on your interests, and you can quickly adjust the settings to tell Cortana exactly the kind of news you like.

To configure News, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

4. Click on News.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Local News
   • Headline news
   • Recommendation stories
   • News topic cards
   • News category cards
   • Popular now
6. Click the Add a team link to include your favorite sports team to your list.
7. Click the Add category link to include news categories to your list.
8. Click the Add a topic link to include news topics to your list.

9. Click Save to update your settings.

On the Go

On the Go allows Cortana to provide help with relevant tasks when you're mobile.

To configure On the Go, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on On the Go.
5. Personalize your suggestions options.

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Packages

Packages is a powerful feature that allows Cortana access to your emails to scan for package tracking information, and keep you up to date with estimated delivery and tracking ID.

Cortana can automatically track packages, but you can always add new information manually:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

4. Click on Packages.

5. Click the Add a packagelink.
6. Enter your tracking information.

7. Click Add.

8. Click Save to update your settings.

Reservations

Reservations is a feature that enables Cortana to scan your emails for reservations. Then the information is used to offer you transportation suggestions, traffic alerts, reminders, and other details.

Cortana tracks reservations automatically, but you can adjust the type of reservations the assistant cantrack:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Reservations.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Events
   • Movies
   • Restaurants

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Shopping

Shopping is a simple feature that can provide help while you're shopping.

To configure Shopping, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Shopping.
5. Turn on or off the toggle switch.

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Special days

Special days is an option that Cortana can use to offer greetings, games, and other activities on special dates and some holidays.

To configure Special days, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Special days.
5. Turn on or off the toggle switch.

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Sports

Sports enables you to stay up to date with information about your favorite team or sports category.

To configure Sports, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

4. Click on Sports.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Score updates for your teams
   • Show upcoming games and matches
6. Click the Add a team link.
7. Search for your favorite teams you want to track.
8. Personalize the available options for the topic.

9. Click Add.

10. Click Save to update your settings.

Travel

Travel lets Cortana track your flights, and you can also get additional details, such as when to leave your location to the airport, see the weather information, and other trip details.

Cortana tracks flights automatically, but you can adjust the settings by doing the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on Travel.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Flights
   • Trip plan

6. Click Save to update your settings.

Weather

Weather enables the digital assistant to offer weather conditions, forecasts, and alerts for your current location and any city you add to the list.

To configure Weather, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

4. Click on Weather.

5. Personalize the available options:

   • Nearby Forecast
   • Forecast for your cities
6. Click the Add a city link to include more locations to track weather information.
7. Search for your favorite city you want to see weather information.
8. Personalize the available options for the topic.

9. Click Add.

10. Under Units, you can choose to see temperature information on Fahrenheit or Celsius.
11. Click Save to update your settings.

How to enable or disable cards on Cortana's Notebook

While most of the Cortana's Notebook settings have their specific set of options that you can configure, every card includes a toggle switch at the top to enable or disable card and notifications.

Simply open the card you want to customize and turn on or off using the first toggle switch at the top of the card.

Finally, remember that all the customizations you add to Cortana's Notebook, excluding the name Cortana call you, will upload and sync across devices you can access using a Microsoft account.

To configure Cortana's settings, such as name, favorite locations, connected accounts, and more, check out our previous guide that walks you through the steps to configure the Notebook.

If you want a more personalized experience using Cortana, you better learn to configure the Notebook settings, which helps the assistant be more helpful and proactive.

On Windows 10, Cortana can perform an array of amazing tasks to optimize your time so you can focus on getting the real work done. It's all possible thanks to Cortana's ability to track things about you, most of which are stored in the Notebook.

The Notebook is a central location where Cortana keeps things that it's learned from you, such as interests and favorite places. You'll see the importance of the Notebook, when Cortana learns about your home and work locations, and it automatically shows you the traffic on the way home, when it tracks packages and flight without you having to lift a finger, or when it manages your calendar.

The digital assistant can figure out automatically a lot of things about you like the weather on your current location or your flight back home. However, at any time, you can add or remove preferences, and with all this information Cortana can track about you, the assistant can be more useful and proactive throughout your day.

Here we'll explain and walk you through the steps to customize the Notebook settings to help Cortana be more helpful and deliver a more personalized experience on Windows 10.

• Cortana's Notebook on Windows 10
• How to access Cortana's Notebook on Windows 10
• How to configure Cortana's Notebook
• How to configure personal settings on Cortana's Notebook
• How to connect different accounts with Cortana
• How to configure Cortana's Permissions

Cortana's Notebook on Windows 10

Cortana not only has the ability to track and learn things about you, but it's also able to sync the information to the cloud and across supported devices. This means that configuring the Notebook on your computer is a similar experience as setting it up on your other devices.

However, depending on the device you're using, Cortana's Notebook settings may be slightly different on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, and on the app for Android and iPhone.

Cortana's Notebook on PC (left), Windows 10 Mobile (middle), Android (right)

For example, while settings are virtually the same across devices, Windows 10 Mobile includes Quiet hours within Cortana's Notebook.

Quiet hours is similar to Quiet hours on Windows 10 for PC, but the mobile version of the operating system offers more customizations options to handle your calls and texts during the time you don't want to be disturbed.

There is even a feature that you can quickly configure to add a list of people who can breakthrough Quiet hours, so you don't miss an important text or call from someone close to your circle.

In addition, Cortana on mobile devices, including on a Windows or Android phone, the Reminders option is located in the left rail menu, not inside the Notebook.

Connected Accounts is a feature only available on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile.

How to access Cortana's Notebook on Windows 10

It doesn't matter if you're using a PC or Mobile (or even an Android device or iPhone), you can access Cortana's Notebook in the same way:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

How to configure Cortana's Notebook

The Notebook is structured the same way across devices and platforms. Once inside the Notebook, you'll notice two sections. The first section includes the options to sign in to Cortana, access to reminders, connect different accounts to the assistant, and you can also configure a number of permissions. Then the second section is where you tell Cortana your interests by configuring the different cards available.

How to configure personal settings on Cortana's Notebook

The first item you'll find at the top of the Notebook is About Me. Inside of this page, you can change the name Cortana uses for you, and you can even train the assistant to pronounce it correctly.

You can also add or remove favorite places, and here is where you can sing in or sign out of Cortana using your Microsoft account.

To change the About Me settings, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

4. Click on About Me.

To change the name Cortana use for you, do the following:

1. On About Me, click the Change my name button.
2. Type the name you want Cortana to call you in the provided field.
3. Click Enter.

4. Click Sounds good complete the process.

To change your favorite locations, do the following:

1. On About Me, click the Change my name button.

2. Click the "+" button on the bottom right.

3. Search and select a new location to add to your favorite.
4. Click the location in the result.
5. Type an optional nickname for the place.
6. Set whether the location is your home or work location (if applicable).

7. Click the save (floppy disk) button on the bottom right.

If you want to modify a location, simply right-click the item, and select Edit or Delete.

To sign in or sign out with a different account, do the following:

1. On About Me, click your email address.
2. On Account, select your account.

3. Click on Sign out.

Signing in with a different account is as easy as trying to open Cortana's Notebook and clicking Sign in and adding your account information.

Note: We're not skipping the Reminders section. We actually have an entire guide on how to use Cortana to create reminders.

How to connect Cortana with different services

Cortana is always evolving, and it's not limited to offer help from one source. In fact, the digital assistant can connect to other Microsoft and third-party services to provide even more value.

For example, at the time of this writing, you can let Cortana connect to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, LinkedIn, Microsoft Health, Office 365, Uber, and Xbox Live.

To connect Cortana with other services, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.

4. Click on Connected Accounts.

5. Click any of the available services.

6. Click Connect to agree to the terms and allow Cortana to access the service.

7. Type your account information.
8. Click Sign in to complete the process.

Repeat the process for each new service you want Cortana to get more information. In addition, you can also use the same steps to remove a service, but this time, click the Disconnect button.

How to configure Cortana's Permissions

Cortana is helpful and proactive because it's able to track and use a lot of your information, such as locations, contacts, emails, calendar, and communication history, and browsing history.

However, if you feel that having these options enabled is like giving Cortana too much power, you can quickly control what the digital assistant sees and uses.

To manage Cortana's Permissions, do the following:

1. Open Cortana.
2. Click the menu button. It's a set of three of horizontal lines in the top left corner.
3. Click the Notebook button below Home.
4. Click on About Me.

5. Click on Permissions.

6. Personalize the available options:

   • Location
   • Contacts, email, calendar, & communication history
   • Browsing history

It's important to note that turning off any of these options will prevent Cortana from collecting and using the particular set of information. However, you'll need to delete the data that Cortana already knows manually. You do this, by using the steps mentioned earlier to sign out of Cortana.

To help Cortana learn more about your interests, check out our previous guide that walks you through the steps to configure Cortana cards inside the Notebook.

The Nether is Minecraft's answer to hell.

It's perhaps not one of the lowest circles as Dante would have us imagine, but the Nether is still pretty grim. There are large numbers of powerful enemies, capable of killing you in a couple of hits if you're taken unawares. The environment is mostly unfriendly; it's dark, everything is on fire, lava cascades from the ceiling and pools on the floor as though it was Satan's personal hot tub and the large veins of soul sand everywhere slows you down. Why, oh why would you go there?

Getting to The Nether

If you don't already have one, you'll need to build a Nether portal to get there. You might feel like you could dig your way down, but trust us, this is a lot easier.

What is in the Nether?

The majority of blocks surrounding you will be netherrack. This is a dark red color with darker bands running through it, and if it catches alight, will burn indefinitely. The good thing about going to the Nether is that you can get by without torches, despite the low light levels. Since the netherrack will burn forever, and it makes up a huge percent of your local resource in the Nether, you can leave a trail of flaming blocks behind you in order to mark your way.

Moving one block in the Nether is the equivalent of moving 8 blocks in the Overworld. If you build a Nether Portal a considerable distance away from your spawn point in the Nether, it will spawn a new portal in the Overworld. Be prepared to potentially be miles away from anything you may have built above ground.

There is no weather cycle in the Nether, nor are there day and night cycles. Compasses and maps do not work properly, and water will turn to steam. Beds will explode if you try to sleep in them, and the explosion is larger than that of TNT. Everything in the Nether wants you to die.

Natural Nether Blocks:

• Bedrock: Is indestructible, even with TNT and diamond tools. Bedrock forms the lowest and highest layers of the Nether, creating an inescapable hell-prison around you.
• Glowstone: Hangs in clusters from the roof of the Nether. It produces its own light, and can be broken without a tool. It drops glowstone dust when broken.
• Netherrack: Burns indefinitely when it is set alight. Can be mined with a wood pick-ax or better.
• Nether quartz: Drops Nether quartz which is used in a variety of crafting recipes.
• Nether wart: Nether warts naturally spawn in blocks around stairwells within Nether fortresses. They can also be planted on soul sand, but growth can not be sped up by bone meal. It has three growth stages, fully grown being a thick cluster of red warts sprouting tall from the block.
• Soul sand: Slows down anything that walks on it, and can be used to grow nether warts and build Withers. Can be mined with or without tools, but spades are faster. The default texture has ghostly faces within it. Spooky.

Monsters of the Nether

There are many enemies and mobs to watch out for in Minecraft, but only specific ones can be found in the Nether — and none of them are friendly.

• Blazes: Blazes are found in the Nether fortresses. They may drop blaze rods on death which can be used in crafting.
• Endermen: Endermen are passive and relatively rare. They move blocks around and generally prefer to stay out of the light. Endermen will attack if you look them in the eye.
• Ghasts: Ghasts spawn in the Nether. They are flying sad octopi that shoot ghast fireballs at you, which hit hard.
• Magma cubes: Magma cubes spawn anywhere in the Nether at any light level, but are more likely to spawn within the Nether Fortress. There is also a possibility that on death, a Magma cream will be dropped.
• Skeletons: They shoot ranged arrows at you, and drop bones, arrows or feathers on death.
• Wither skeletons: Speedy and dangerous, Wither skeletons take no prisoners. They most often spawn within Nether fortresses. These merchants of chaos are able to pick up and use dropped weapons and armor.
• Zombie Pigmen: Zombie Pigmen are Nether natives. They are one of the most common mobs found in the Nether and are often found wearing armor and holding weapons. These can be dropped on death, and equipped by the player.

Nether fortresses

Nether fortresses are monuments that naturally occur in the Nether. They generally hold a lot of loot but are easy to get lost in due to their seemingly endless corridors and turns and staircases. They are home to blazes and wither skeletons. The fortress is made of Nether blocks, and they sometimes have a tendency to spawn partially within netherrack. This can make finding the fortress slightly difficult, as outer exterior markers may be covered.

Some corridors have a chance of 1/3 of having a chest in them. The list below is items found in chests within the Nether fortress, listed in order of least-most rare.

• Gold ingot: In almost half of Nether fortress chests you find, it's not as though gold is that hard to come by. It's a fairly common ore and can be found almost everywhere in the Overworld. However, gold weapons are strong and have low durability, so perhaps it's wise to have some on hand.
• Saddle: Used to ride horses, donkeys, mules and pigs. Can be used as part of the When Pigs Fly achievement.
• Gold horse armor: Gives moderate defense to your horse. You wouldn't ride Dobbin into a creeper party unprotected, would you?
• Nether wart: Nether warts naturally spawn in blocks around stairwells within Nether fortresses. They can also be planted on soul sand, but growth can not be sped up by bone meal. It has three growth stages, fully grown being a thick cluster of red warts sprouting tall from the block.
• Iron ingot: A common and abundant ore in the Overworld. Is used to build first tier tools and weapons; could be handy for crafting on the fly if you run out of materials to make stronger weapons.
• Diamond: A rare gem used to create the higher tier weapons and armor. Found in small pockets deep underground in the Overworld.
• Flint and steel: Can ignite Nether portals and most materials and animals.
• Iron horse armor: Provides less defense for your horse, but still a good idea to keep it safe.
• Golden sword: -Strong but has low durability. Good to have as a spare, just in case.
• Golden chest plate: S strong chest plate, but not very durable.
• Obsidian: Being the most rare, this probably isn't the most efficient way of obtaining obsidian

Can you build in the Nether?

The answer is yes. Depending how high your difficulty is set determines whether or not monsters will spawn within the Nether. If you're playing on peaceful, you can build to your heart's content. If you are playing on any other difficulty, you're at risk of attack while building.

The main enemy to watch out for as soon as you spawn into the Nether is a Ghast. Ghast fireballs can break your Nether portal, but you can build a cobblestone wall around it if you're worried. If you're unfortunate enough to spawn into the Nether in an open area, protecting your portal is the wisest option. Imagine getting stuck in the Nether after having summoned a Wither, and not being able to get back out. Since water turns to steam in the Nether, and Obsidian is so difficult to find in chests, if you didn't bring spares... RIP you.

Beware when mining into the netherrack if you're planning on building into the cliff faces. Lava blocks have a tendency to spawn within netherrack clusters, so be prepared to block up any sudden lava appearances. Taking a Potion of Fire Resistance (or twelve) with you into the Nether is a good idea, as it provides protection against lava, fire and Blaze attacks. The only downside is it requires taking on Magma Cubes in order to get Magma cream, so watch your fingers — things could get hot!

Do you have any Minecraft Nether buildings to show off? Tell us your worst Nether experience!

How do I survive my first night in Minecraft?

Sightseeing in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta is a lot of fun, but there are more pressing matters to attend to. Night comes fast, and chances of surviving without a solid plan are slim. Here are ten steps to follow to ensure you survive your first night in Minecraft!

1. Take a quick course on crafting

If you haven't a clue how to craft or what resources are used in certain crafting recipes, it would be to your benefit to get acquainted with the basics.

We have assembled a short how-to on crafting, as well as a list of essential recipes in Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta.

2. Gather wood

Walk up to the first tree you see and punch it. Keep punching until the raw wood block falls, then move onto the next wood block. Make sure you walk over the pieces on the ground — if you don't, the raw wood won't enter your inventory.

Keep punching wood until you have about 15-20 blocks of raw wood in your inventory.

3. Craft wood planks

In order to use all that raw wood you just gathered, you must craft it into wood planks. Place the raw wood into your crafting field and click the wood planks to craft them. You can keep clicking to craft more wood planks, as they are stackable up to 64 units.

Keep a few pieces of raw wood as a backup for later in case you don't manage to find any coal. Raw wood can be turned into charcoal in a furnace, which can then be used to craft torches.

4. Craft a crafting table

Now that you have your wood planks all ready to go, you will want to craft a crafting table. Place the wood planks in your crafting field, and click the crafting table to craft it.

Keep the crafting table in your inventory — there's one more step you'll want to take care of before you set down the crafting table.

5. Scout the area

Do a bit of running around — about two or three minutes — to look for a suitable spot for your shelter, and to look for coal. A small cavern that can be easily boarded up is usually best to hunker down in during your first night. Stay away from any deep caves; if you can't see the back, it probably has some enemies lurking within.

A prime area for a shelter is usually a spot between multiple resources. If you see a little nook close to trees, coal, livestock, and water, consider making it your (temporary) home.

Keep in mind that if you die before sleeping in a bed, you will return to the spot where you first spawned. For this reason, you might not want to run too far away, as it will be much harder to find your shelter and whatever resources or tools you dropped when you died.

6. Craft your first tool

The best thing to do now that you have an idea of where you want to sleep is to place your crafting table and get to crafting some tools. Try to place the crafting table within your planned shelter so that you can access it while the sun is down. You can always move the crafting table later by breaking it down with an axe or pickaxe.

First, craft some sticks using the wood planks. Don't go overboard — you should only need about eight to twelve for your first night, and you'll need the rest of your wood planks for tool crafting and putting walls and a roof on your shelter.

Craft a pickaxe from the sticks and wood planks. While you can craft all four basic tools — pickaxe, axe, shovel, hoe — from wood, you want to move onto stone tools as soon as possible. A pickaxe will do just fine with mining stone, and you can quickly move onto stone tools.

7. Mine!

Find some stone and start mining. In the process, try to shape your shelter. Start with a doorway that's two blocks high and one block wide, then expand the area within. If you've already found a bit of a natural cavern, work on expanding it, but don't make the opening too big — it will be harder to wall off from enemies. Mine stone until your wood pickaxe breaks.

If you happen to find coal, great. It looks like stone but has black chunks in it. Mine it as well, as you will need it to create torches when night sets in.

8. Back to crafting

Now that you have a bunch of cobblestone in your inventory, you can craft stone tools. Make a couple pickaxes, an axe, and a shovel. Don't worry about a hoe yet — you're still a long way from farming. If you're worried about enemies and have an ample amount of cobblestone, you can also craft a stone sword.

Also take the time to craft a furnace from the cobblestone you mined. Place it within your shelter so that you can access it while the sun is down.

Time to craft some torches from coal and sticks! If you didn't manage to find coal, torches can also be made from charcoal.

To make charcoal, place wood planks in the bottom field of your furnace, and raw wood in the top field of your furnace. The wood planks will burn the raw wood, and the furnace's output will be charcoal.

Craft a door from wood planks to block off the entrance to your shelter. If you'd rather keep the wood planks for other purposes, you can just use a couple of dirt or cobblestone blocks to keep out enemies.

9. Light up your life

Now that you have torches, place some in your cavern and the area around your shelter. Enemies can't spawn near torchlight, so be strategic with your placement. Even this little bit of extra protection counts when night falls.

10. Wall yourself in

If your shelter still has some holes in it — other than the two-high, one-wide space for your door — take the time to fill them in. Use cobblestone or dirt or wood, and ensure you have a roof on your place: spiders can climb over walls.

Place the door you crafted in the spot you left open for the door.

The night ahead

Now that you're safe and sound in your shelter, you can tackle some mining while the sun is down. Mine into the ground, but make sure you don't dig straight down — you never know what's directly beneath you. Create some more tools and torches to have with you while you mine. Watch out for iron and coal deposits -- large quantities are needed for long-game scenarios.

Keep an eye on the world outside your door; when the sun comes up, you'll want to go out and explore!

Cortana comes built into Microsoft Edge, and in this guide, we'll show you everything you can do to get the most out of the assistant when you surf the web.

Cortana is one of the biggest features on Windows 10. The digital assistant can quickly help you to create reminders, find files and settings, keep you informed with latest news and things that are more important you, and an array of other things.

The digital assistant also integrates with the Microsoft Edge web browser on your Windows 10 PC. When you navigate certain websites, Cortana will pop-up in the address bar with relevant suggestions that help you get done things faster.

Here we'll explain and walk you through the things you can do with Cortana when you're surfing online using Microsoft Edge.

• How to enable or disable Cortana on Microsoft Edge
• How to use Cortana on Microsoft Edge
• How to get quick answers using Cortana on Microsoft Edge

How to enable or disable Cortana on Microsoft Edge

Cortana on Microsoft Edge is not a different version of the experience on the desktop. It's actually the same Cortana that you know and love, just extended to the web browser.

While there aren't any specific settings you need to configure to start using the assistant on the browser, you'll need to enable the experience if it's disabled manually.

To enable or disable Cortana on Microsoft Edge, do the following:

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Click the menu button. It's the three dots button on the top-right.
3. Click Settings.
4. Scroll down and click View advanced settings.

5. Turn on or off the toggle switch for the "Have Cortana assist me in Microsoft Edge" option.

How to use Cortana on Microsoft Edge

Microsoft has integrated Cortana on Edge in a non-intrusive way. Once the feature is enabled, you won't see the assistant until it makes sense. When it makes sense, you'll notice Cortana's circular icon jumping up and down in the address bar at which point you can simply click the address bar to interact with the assistant.

Although Cortana is always evolving and future updates may introduce a different set of functionalities, there are four main scenarios where you'll see Cortana trying to offer suggestions in the address bar, including:

• Planning to dine out: When you're planning to eat out, and you visit a restaurant website, Cortana will be able to offer information, such as hours, contact details, directions, and menu.

• Shopping online: On online retailers websites (e.g., Microsoft Store, Best Buy, Staples, eBay, Macy's), Cortana can assist you by offering discount coupons for certain items that can save you money.

• Websites with apps: When you're a visiting a website and Cortana knows it has an app that helps you make things easier, the assistant will tell you where to download the app.

• Watching music videos: Whenever you're watching a music video, the assistant can also pull up the lyrics of the song or a link to listen or buy the song from various sources, including Groove, Amazon, and iTunes.

It's worth pointing out that you can't force Cortana to appear on the address bar. It's a feature designed only to appear when needed. In addition, there are a number of factors that will dictate whether Cortana can help you or not. For example, places like restaurants, online retailers, and other places not only they have to include a proper design , but they also need to make their data available.

How to get quick answers using Cortana on Microsoft Edge

Cortana can also provide assistance when you're visiting a web page, and you want to know more about a certain topic. On any web page, you can highlight a word, phrase, or even an image to get more information.

To know more about a topic or to define a word, do the following:

1. Highlight the word, phrase, or image.
2. Right-click the content and select Ask Cortana.

When asking Cortana about a topic, you'll see a flyout jumping from the right surfacing relevant data about. For example, if you're asking about a particular location, you'll see a map, information usually pulled from WikiPedia, weather, images, and related search results.

In addition, keep in mind that Cortana is powered by Microsoft's Bing search engine, which means that Cortana will also appear as you type a search term.

For example, similar to Google, you can go to Bing.com and type a search query, such as "when is Thanksgiving 2016" or "what's the weather like?", Cortana will provide you the answer using Bing's knowledge before you even press the search button.

These are called "instant answers", and these are the same kind of answers you would get using Cortana on the desktop or using any other web browser.

Important: Please note that Cortana is not available everywhere, which means that getting assistant using Microsoft Edge is only limited to a number of regions. Furthermore, even if Cortana is available in your location, keep in mind that some features may be limited to certain regions. For example, Cortana's ability to offer coupons is only available in the United States.

A Nether portal is a link between two worlds, the over-world, and the Nether. But how do you make one?

The road to completing a Nether portal is long and potentially arduous. When playing survival mode, it's not as easy as whipping out the obsidian blocks and igniting them. It sometimes requires hours of preparation.

The Nether is a host to a number of mobs, a Nether fortress, and all kinds of materials with their own properties. It's here you'll find a lot of materials for potion crafting, and since they're usually dropped by mobs it is not a wise idea to go into the Nether unprepared for a fight.

Here is a list of things you'll need in order to make a Nether portal.

1. Water buckets.
2. A lava source.
3. A Diamond pickaxe. Obsidian cannot be mined with any other tool than diamond. Make sure you have one.
4. Spare blocks. Dirt or sand is a good option.
5. Flint and steel. You'll need this to finish the portal off and activate it.

The first thing you will want to find is an accessible lava source. Digging down to a layer where lava is common is a viable option, but beware there may be additional lava blocks beneath it, creating a trap for your mined obsidian to fall into. Lava pools can sometimes be found on the surface, and providing they're close enough to where you're set up, you should aim for those. They are less likely to have deeper lava flows beneath them.

Once you've found your lava source, pour the water from your bucket onto the lava. This will turn it into obsidian. If you need more water, you can create a 4x4 pit and fill up the four corners to make a renewable water source.

Use your diamond pick-axe to mine the fresh obsidian. You can make a portal with a minimum of 10 blocks of Obsidian, though generally portals are spawned in game with 14 blocks.

Arrange the Obsidian in a 4x5 rectangle. There should be a 2x3 space in the middle completely open. To reach the top levels, spare dirt can be used to elevate you.

Use the flint and steel to ignite the bottom block of the portal, and a purple vortex will fill the inner void.

Step through, et voila! You're in the Nether! If this is your first time in the Nether, you'll also get an achievement. Yay!

Bonus tip: Multiple Nether portals can be placed, and the player will spawn at the closest one to the player's location. If there happens to be no portal closest to the player, the game will create one.