Table of contents for September 2016 in Windows Help & Advice

The big news right now is that Microsoft has confirmed its Windows 10 Anniversary Update will be released on August 2. As well as shaking up the Start menu, adding more features to Cortana and the Edge browser, and supporting Windows Ink, the update will make your PC more secure than ever. The best news though is it’s a simple download, and anybody who already has Windows 10 will get it for free. Because we’re part of the Windows Insider programme we’ve been checking out all the new features before they are released, and we’ve brought you a full hands-on report, starting on page 71 this issue. And don’t forget, if you haven’t upgraded your PC to Windows 10 yet, time is running out to get it for free and…

What’s that then? A virtual reality helmet with a silly name, developed by a company now owned by Facebook supremo Mark Zuckerberg. Isn’t it out already? You must be referring, attentive reader, to the feature we ran in our September 2015 edition that covered the Rift and other systems, both for virtual and augmented reality. Rift development kits have been available for a while, but, by the time you read this, actual finalised products should be available to buy. Do I need a huge PC to use one? Merely a quad-core Intel i7 and an Nvidia GTX 970 graphics card or better. No biggie. It’s aimed at gamers, among whom that kind of power is considered ‘barely adequate’. What can I do with one? Play games, mostly, with the head-mounted…

Creating a bionic hand on a 3D printer, then attaching it straight to the body of someone who needs it sounds like science fiction. But it’s closer to reality than you might think – and some of the first designs out of the nozzle are based on… science fiction. UK-based company Open Bionics previously designed a prosthetic arm based on game series Metal Gear Solid, and has now announced an affordable, 3D-printable hand based on the prosthetics seen in Ubisoft’s Deus Ex games. Set in the near future, Deus Ex explores the the relationships between ‘normal’ people and those who have been enhanced with cybernetic additions. This being a videogame, that relationship often dissolves into shooting. The hand designs will be provided royalty free, allowing anyone with a 3D printer…

Packed with informative tutorials Every issue, we guarantee to pack the magazine with great tutorials teaching you all the best things you can do with your PC. Each article features step-by-step instructions to make learning new skills fast and enjoyable. Customise Windows to work your way We all know how to do the basics but getting the most from Windows isn’t always easy. Our dedication to the operating system means you get the very best tips and tricks for all versions of Windows. Get more from your favourite websites We all have our list of favourite sites but often we miss out on great features because they’re difficult to use or hidden from sight. We’ll show you how to do more online, for a more satisfying web life. Discover new…

Your guide Cat Ellis says…“If you’ve accidentally deleted a file, or lost data in a hard-drive crash, don’t panic – Recuva can help you get it back” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 There are many ways to free up extra space on your hard drive, one of the first things is to hunt down any files you no longer need and delete them, then empty the Recycle Bin. But what if you realise you’ve deleted something important? If the Recycle Bin is empty, surely it’s gone forever? Or what if your hard drive fails, taking your photos and videos with it, or you accidentally wipe a USB stick or memory card? Is it gone…

Your guide Alex Dale says…“With one easy-to-use app and a few quick menu tweaks, you can check the speed of your network connection, and boost it by as much as 80%” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 One of the main benefits of Windows 10 is that the operating system takes care of any housekeeping by default, constantly scanning the internet for the latest updates and drivers for your software. This means you will get the most stable, safest and up-to-date experience possible. But if your internet connection isn’t the fastest, all that behind-the-scenes churning can disrupt your web browsing experience. Fortunately, with a little know-how it’s possible to lighten your connection’s load and free…

One of Windows’ best features is Windows Hello, which enables you to unlock your PC via fingerprint or facial recognition. The Anniversary Update makes it better by turning it into a security guard for your apps, online services and online shopping. The first change in Windows Hello is it’s coming to apps and to the Edge internet browser, which means you’ll be able to use it to approve sign-ins to services and to specific websites. No fingerprint reader? No problem. The other big change is that Windows Hello can now talk to companion devices, so you could use the fingerprint reader on your phone to approve Windows Hello on your PC. But there’s more. You might even have a Hello-compatible fitness band that automatically unlocks your PC when you’re nearby.…

In each issue of Windows Help & Advice we show you how to get to grips with Windows 10, and master the basics. This month, we demonstrate how to use Virtual Desktops to create workspaces on your PC, and we also look at how Cortana the virtual assistant works. When the Windows 10 Anniversary Update lands on August 2, you can expect even more features to be added to Windows 10 – we’ll cover these next issue by looking at what’s new in Cortana as well as the latest exciting features of the Edge browser. www.facebook.com/windowsmag…

TIME TAKEN 30 minutes Virtual assistants are all the rage these days. There’s Google Now and Apple’s Siri, but loudest of the lot is Microsoft’s Cortana. It’s built right into Windows 10 (and Microsoft’s new Edge browser), ready and waiting to help you find information but also provide context-sensitive tools when travelling, entertaining or working. Cortana learns what you’re doing too, so it can anticipate your needs. Do you regularly travel to and from work with your laptop? Let Cortana know where those places are, and it’ll look out for traffic news and give you a heads up on when’s the best time to leave. You can use it to set up meetings, create reminders and provide tips for your next night out. Here’s how to get started… Get Cortana…

Serif, creator of potent but wallet-friendly design applications, is bringing its previously Mac-exclusive Affinity software suite to Windows. Taking on Adobe at its own game, Affinity currently consists of two applications – the Illustrator-like vector drawing app Affinity Designer and image-editing Photoshop rival Affinity Photo. A third, the desktop publishing-focused Affinity Publisher, should be in beta by the end of the year, launching fully in 2017. Previously, while exclusive to Apple machines, Affinity picked up some top awards, with Photo voted the best app of 2015 on Apple’s App Store, and the Best Imaging Software award from the Technical Image Press Association. The year also saw Designer receive an Apple Design Award for design and innovation. Windows users have been out of luck… until now. “Pretty much any article, blog…

Snap happy Snap two windows alongside each other in Windows 10 by dragging the title bar of one to the extreme left or right corner. Then, when a ghost window appears on that side of the screen, pick another one from your currently open windows to snap alongside it. Once you click, the two windows will fill the screen, with the border between them adjustable by dragging the mouse. Un-snap a window at any time by clicking one of its window control buttons, or just drag one away from the top of the screen. Pressing the Windows key plus the right or left arrow will snap your currently active window to the left or right side of the screen, respectively. Show the desktop On the right of Windows 10’s taskbar,…

1 At this year’s E3, how many new Xboxes did Microsoft announce? A) 2 B) 5 C) 6 2 What’s the name of the next Zelda game from Nintendo? A) Breast of the Duck B) Breath of the Wild C) Breadth of the Beam 3 Which developer is making a new Spider-man game? A) Inanimate B) Insomniac C) Increasingly 4 Sony’s God of War has moved to which time period? A) Tudor English B) Australia, last year C) Old Norse 5 The new Elder Scrolls game, which will be number... A) 3 B) 6 C) 7 6 Microsoft’s Project Scorpio will play games in... A) 720p B) 1080p C) 4k…

Image-editing for experts If you want a complete set of professional-level editing tools without the cost, then Paint.NET (free, www.getpaint.net ) is the best there is. Support for multiple layers, powerful filters and the ability to extend its capabilities further with a series of community-written plugins make Paint.NET an essential tool in anyone’s creative toolkit. Improve your Wi-Fi signal One of the biggest problems with wireless connections is the overlapping of networks, causing dropouts and performance issues. Wi-Fi Analyzer (free, Microsoft Store) provides you with a handy summary of your network, plus lets you compare it to other networks, suggesting the best channel to switch it to in order to minimise interference and boost performance. Access OneDrive files If you don’t want to sync all or any…

Your guide Rob Mead-Green says…“Enjoy easy access to thousands of radio stations and podcasts worldwide – for free! Here’s how…” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 10 Mobile Windows Phone 8.1 Windows Phone 8 TuneIn Radio is the world’s biggest audio network, giving you access to over 100,000 live radio stations around the globe – as well as tons of podcasts and on-demand content. There are both free and premium versions (which costs from just £5.53 per month) giving you access to even more goodies, including audiobooks. But you don’t have to pay a penny to enjoy the overwhelming majority of its programming. Just download the free app for Windows 10 from the Windows store, tune…

Your guide Rob Mead-Green says…“Turn everyday photos into extraordinary ones with Autodesk Pixlr for Windows 10” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Thanks to the rise of smartphones almost everyone now has a camera in their pocket or bag – and that’s led to a proliferation of photo-editing apps that can add extra impact to your pictures, without getting buried in the intricacies of Photoshop. To our mind, one of the best photo-editing apps around is Autodesk Pixlr (http://bit.ly/1WLmx2U). It’s free to download, easy to use and comes with great range of image-editing and enhancement tools as standard – with additional Essentials available when you become a Pixlr member. For serious enthusiasts, there’s also a…

Your guide Christian Hall says…“Windows isn’t great at showing you how things are organised on your hard drive, so make TreeSize your first port of call if you’re struggling for space” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Storage has never been cheaper, but instead of splashing out on an extra hard drive when you need more room, you could just find out what’s hogging space on your computer. TreeSize Free is a fantastic tool for finding out what’s really going on with files on your PC. TreeSize Free can be started from the context menu of a folder or drive, and it shows you the size of that folder and its subfolders. Folders taking up…

If, like us, you’re looking forward to a week or two in the sun, you’ll be glad to hear there’s no need to leave your tech at home. There are many lightweight options available – we review the HP Elite x2 1012 G1 on page 88. Also, to help you get perfect sound when you’re away, we’ve rounded up six of the best travel speakers in our group test, starting on page 96. You’ll find plenty of tempting options on offer if you want to improve on your PC’s limited, built-in speakers for the ultimate party on the beach! Until next time……

http://downloads.techradar.com/ downloads/freemake-video-converter Freemake is much more than a simple YouTube video downloader. It supports more than 500 audio and video formats. The formats are organised in profiles for specific devices, so you can tell the app if you’re making a clip for Xbox 360 or PSP, etc, and it’ll pick the appropriate format. The software can convert between more than 500 video codecs and gadget-appropriate formats, and it can also download, convert and save many streaming formats from the internet, such as YouTube and Facebook videos. So if there’s something you want to watch video on, there’s a good chance Freemake can convert your video for watching on it. It burns to DVD and Blu-ray too if you have the appropriate hardware. If you’re looking for a do-everything video app,…

Your guide Rob Mead-Green says…“Enjoy easy access to thousands of radio stations and podcasts worldwide – for free!” Whether you’re stuck for inspiration or want to become a master of your Windows computer, our Explore section is the place to come. Each month we pack in tutorials covering a range of subjects suitable for all levels of expertise. This month we dive into the joys of internet radio, and show you how to set it up on your PC. There’s also a wealth of guides to improving your PC, making it run faster and restoring files you might have deleted. We’ll also help you get creative and turn your photos into art. It’s all here!…

Your guide Nick Peers says…“Preview – and manage – your email before downloading it with a brilliant free tool” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Email is still one of the main reasons we go online, but if you’re anything like us, it’s becoming harder to sift through the junk emails just to get to the important messages from friends, family and work, which you actually want to read. And what if a well-meaning person sends you a massive file that clogs up your connection and eats into your monthly internet allowance? PopTrayU is a simple, free tool that lets you take a peek at your email while it’s still on your mail server. You…

Your guide Mayank Sharma says…“Master the File Explorer on Windows 10 to access the different types of content on your PC” At a glance Skill level… Anyone can do it Straightforward Tricky in parts Suitable for… Windows 10 Windows 8.1 Windows 7 Windows 10’s File Explorer used to be known as Windows Explorer in earlier versions of the operating system, and as with previous versions, it’s still the main tool you use to navigate your PC. File Explorer is accessible from the taskbar on the Windows desktop and is intuitive to use. File Explorer helps you find, organise, share and work with documents, media files and documents that you have archived or are currently using. Furthermore, in addition to locally available data, it can also access data stored on other…

TIME TAKEN 15 minutes The ability to have (and swap between) multiple desktops is a feature that has long been missing from Windows. If you use your PC for gaming, but also for office work, for example, it can be indispensable, (and less confusing) to have an individual desktop for each task. Here, we’ll walk you through Microsoft Virtual Desktops – a feature new to Windows 10. Virtual Desktops not only gives you more desktop space for separate task-related windows, but it also allows you to access what you need quickly and easily. And, because you’re not creating a virtual machine, you won’t take up any precious system resources or space with your additional desktops. Let’s get going! 1 Opening your Task View The Task View button sits to the…

You can trust our reviews Our reviewers are 100 per cent independent, with years of experience in the world of computing. Our rigorous testing procedures mean that only genuine, high-quality products are awarded high star ratings. If you see an item of hardware bearing a high score, you can be confident that it is an excellent product. We choose the best products Thousands of new PC products are released every year and choosing between them can be an impossible task. Our experts select only the best hardware and software to feature in this magazine. Even better, our star rating system makes it simple to find the best products, giving you a fast, trustworthy guide. How we review Our expert reviewers guarantee to test every piece of hardware rigorously and thoroughly,…