Table of contents for Dec-15 in PCWorld

WINDOWS 10 IS actually pretty great. But Microsoft hasn’t rested on its laurels: Better messaging, improved device activation, and media casting comprise several significant improvements within the first major patch to Windows 10 since its release in July. A couple million users helped Microsoft evaluate Windows 10 before its launch. More than 110 million have already downloaded it since then. With the release of the November Update, formerly known as “Threshold 2,” both groups are on the same footing: Microsoft’s update takes many of these features out of preview and adds them to the “stable” build of Windows 10. And it’s not just the PC that’s receiving an update; Microsoft is launching the New Xbox One Experience (NXOE) (go.pcworld.com/nxoe) for its game console, too. Microsoft has released five previews since…

PEOPLE ALREADY SHARE a lot of photos online, but Facebook wants you to share even more photos stored on your smartphone. Recently, BuzzFeed reported that Facebook is testing a new photo-sharing feature called Photo Magic that will scan your camera roll for photos of your friends. Photo Magic would then send you a notification of photos it finds of your Facebook friends and prompt you to send them via the Facebook Messenger app. According to BuzzFeed, 9.5 billion photos were sent within Messenger in the last month alone, so Photo Magic is Facebook’s way of making it easier for users to share photos with their friends via a private platform. In order to do this, Facebook’s Messenger app will have permission to search the photos on your camera roll that…

FROM ONE PERSPECTIVE, it could be argued that the online advertising industry is getting what it deserves. After years of having webpages stuffed with ads, surfers are increasingly blocking them with free tools. The other perspective is that ads, like them or not, pay people to create content, which other people like on the web. Since finding paying subscribers is hard, ads are a key source of online revenue for publishers. In a frank post on recently, a senior executive of the largest online advertising trade group admitted that the surge in online ads over the years—and the accompanying performance issues—have alienated many. “We messed up,” wrote Scott Cunningham, senior vice president of technology of the Internet Advertising Bureau and general manager of its Tech Lab. “As technologists tasked with…

HERE’S A TIP you’ll want to keep in mind if you’ve got any plans to visit Amazon anytime soon. The online retailer is a great place to shop, but it’s easy to fall short of the site’s $35 free-shipping requirement. The choice between spending another two bucks or forking over more for full-cost shipping is a no-brainer. The company tries to assist with some suggestions, but if you’re looking for an alternative, check out Amazon Filler Item Finder (filleritem.com), which surfaced on Reddit recently. This site is very basic and simple to use. At the top, you just enter the amount that you’re short and Filler Item Finder creates a text-based list of all the items within that price range. Say you’re short by $2.50, Filler Item Finder will show…

NO, M.2 (PRONOUNCED M-dot-two) is not a government spy organization or secret project. It’s a small-form-factor (SFF) multi-purpose connector designed to replace the small mSATA and mini-PCIe slots commonly used in laptops. As such, M.2 isn’t designed strictly for storage, (it supports USB, SATA, and PCIe), but storage is a large part of what’s driving its adoption—even on the desktop. Say what? The thing is, M.2’s PCIe connectivity has coincided nicely with the migration of SSD drives to PCIe, to sidestep the 600MBps limitation of the SATA bus. The marriage of PCIe and the SSD has resulted in uber-fast storage for your PC. When I say uber-fast, I’m talking nearly four times the speed of SATA. Yup: 2GBps. It’s hard to describe how smoothly your system runs with a x4…

WELCOME TOThis Old Tech, a new column devoted to vintage gadgets, electronics, computers, and video games. By vintage, I mean things that are generally at least 10 to 20 years old or otherwise obsolete. Most people throw this stuff away, but I know I’m not the only one who likes to keep the tech and their stories alive. I’ll be starting with a classic Toshiba laptop that served as my entry point into the world of primordial computing. But first, a bit about me: I’ve been writing about vintage computers and classic video games for the past decade, first for my blog (vintagecomputing.com) and later for many other publications (benjedwards.com), including PCWorld. I started collecting old computers and video games as a teen. After 20-plus years—eons in tech time—my large…

RECENTLY, WE PUBLISHED a list of 15 Excel functions everyone should know to help you on your way to spreadsheet mastery. If you want to be efficient as possible while using your newfound knowledge, however, it pays to learn some basic keyboard shortcuts. There are tons of shortcuts for Excel out there—here’s a list of 200 for Excel 2013 alone. But trying to learn such a large number can be overwhelming, confusing, and ultimately inefficient. Instead, we’ve put together a list of 15 shortcuts that will be immediately useful for most users. This keyboard shortcuts list includes quick ways to format cells, navigate the program, and carry out a few operations. The list is based on Excel 2016, but most will also work on Excel 2013. When that’s not the…

LAST MONTH, A TRAGEDY befell the Internet that drastically changed how we interact with one of the most beloved social networks in the world. Yes, I’m talking about Twitter’s radical shift from representing favorites with a star icon to representing likes with a heart. And shortly I’ll explain how you can get your stars back and hold back the winds of change. Twitter said in a blog post (go.pcworld.com/twitterhearts) that it decided to go with the heart because it is a “universal symbol that resonates across languages, cultures, and time zones.” Twitter even went so far as to say that in their tests “people loved it.” That wasn’t the case for everybody, however. Debate over the shift from star to heart was swift, with many Twitter veterans crying over…

IT DIDN’T TAKE long for the newly formed HP Inc. to release its first product, the ZBook Studio, a feature-packed, 15.6-inch laptop with a 4K screen. The laptop can be configured to be as speedy as a gaming laptop, but is targeted at mobile workers. The laptop marks the first product launched by HP Inc., which recently officially commenced operations after Hewlett-Packard split into two: HP Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise. More laptops, hybrids, and tablets are expected to be released by HP Inc. in the coming months. The ZBook Studio is 18 millimeters thick and weighs 1.99 kilograms (4.6 pounds). It can be configured with Nvidia Quadro graphics cards, which are more for professional graphics and engineering applications. The laptop has a 2TB storage capacity, but HP is selling a…

MANY PEOPLE LIKE the idea of increasing their privacy with encryption and anonymity tools for sharing files, web browsing, and messaging. The trouble is finding tools for the job that aren’t overly complex. This tip will take a look at how easily you can use current privacy tools to chat with your friends in privacy and security. Cryptocat Advantages: Browser-based, encrypted chat; no user account required. The easiest tool to use for encrypted online chat is Cryptocat (crypto.cat) by developer Nadim Kobeissi. First you have to install the add-on for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera—there are also apps for OS X and the iPhone. Next, just click on the add-on icon in your browser, which will open a new tab with an interface similar to the one you see here. Fill…

THE IPAD PRO is not something you can review in a couple of days. That’s not because it’s a new product category or even a dramatic reimagining of one—we’ve all used iPads by now, and more or less understand what kinds of tasks they can do and apps they can run. If anything, the iPad Pro (apple.com/ipad-pro) represents a shift in workflow. The trick isn’t what the iPad Pro can do, but how it allows you to do more with an iPad than you’re doing already. I’ll be giving myself a little time to write Macworld’s iPad Pro review, since it’ll take some time to adjust to the iPad and evaluate what benefits and drawbacks it offers over my Mac. But from the moment I ripped off the shrink wrap…

ONE OF THE check-off features of Intel’s big Haswell-E CPU is support for quad-channel DDR4 memory, but my testing shows it may not matter much. Think of memory channels as shotgun barrels. You know from video games that two barrels are better than one. Now think of quad-channel RAM as the four-barrel shotgun of computers: The more memory channels, the more memory bandwidth available to the CPU. For each channel in a modern PC, you need an individual stick of RAM. This also depends, of course, on the CPU. Consumer chips such as the Core i7-4790K (go.pcworld.com/corei74790) and the new Core i7-6700K (go.pcworld.com/corei76700) support up to two channels, while consumer chips such as the Core i7-5960X can support up to four channels Normally this doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t buy an…

FLIR IS BEST known for building thermal cameras that help users detect household problems such as pest infestations and leaky pipes. Flir FX (flir.com/flirfx) is the company’s first home security camera, and, at $200, it’s priced to compete with the Nest Cam—successor to the popular Dropcam Pro—and other DIY models such as the Simplicam, Netatmo Welcome, and Logi Circle. But the Flir FX has ambitions beyond home security. If you’re willing to spend more money on the appropriate accessories, the modular camera can also can be retrofitted as an outdoor surveillance camera, a GoPro-like action camera, or a dashboard cam. We only tested it in its indoor surveillance capacity, and it impressed with its array of features. But it has some hurdles to overcome before it’s ready to contend in…

Windows 10 Professional doesn’t take anything away from Home users; it simply adds more sophisticated features. WINDOWS 10 PROFESSIONAL isn’t just for cubicle dwellers who have no choice in the matter. While users who own a “professional” PC, like the Surface Pro 3 (go. pcworld.com/surpro3rev), will automatically be upgraded to this higher-end version of the OS, smaller businesses and PC enthusiasts, as well as contractors and sole proprietors, may also weigh the benefits of the Pro version versus Windows 10 Home. Windows 10 Professional doesn’t take anything away from Home users; it simply adds more sophisticated features. It’s a costly choice, though: $99 for a Windows 10 Pro Pack that takes you from a licensed copy of Windows 10 Home to the Professional version. This applies to Windows 7 Starter,…

RECENTLY, MICROSOFT ADDED a new feature to Skype that lets anyone join a conversation (go.pcworld.com/skypeforall) even if you aren’t a Skype user. Personally, I’d be hard pressed to find someone I know without a Skype account. Nevertheless, it’s a good feature to have ready just in case. The new Skype feature is available now for U.S. users, but you have to activate it first. There may be a more official way to get it working, but here’s how I did it. These instructions are for the Windows desktop version of Skype but will work similarly on Skype for the web. Get your group on The first thing you need to do is create a group conversation to trigger the feature’s appearance. Select a contact from your list and double-click to…

If you don’t watch out, Windows 10 will put your documents, music, and photos automatically into its cloud service. Joyce Shue bought a new computer running Windows 10. After transferring data files from her older PC, she discovered that “it placed all my files and folders in OneDrive. How can I transfer these files and folder back to my PC? JOYCE USED LAPLINK’ PCMover (go.pcworld.com/laplink) to move her files, but I doubt it was that program’s fault. I simply dragged and dropped, and my data files also ended up in OneDrive (this was in a new Windows 10 environment; not an upgrade). I get the impression that Microsoft wants you to store your data in the company’s cloud-based storage service. Given that the company recently reneged (go.pcworld.com/onedrivelimited) on its…

WINDOWS XP WILL be getting even less secure next year, when Google stops updating Chrome for users of Microsoft’s nearly geriatric operating system. The company announced recently that PCs running XP and Vista will be able to keep using Chrome after April 2016, but Google will cease providing updates to its browser, including security-focused patches. That same deal goes for Mac users running OS 10.6, 10.7, and 10.8. Google said it was turning off the updates because the makers of all five OSs had stopped providing official support for them. “Such older platforms are missing critical security updates and have a greater potential to be infected by viruses and malware,” Chrome Director of Engineering Mark Pawliger said in a blog post announcing the decision. Google said earlier this year that…

THE FIRST TOYOTA Mirai to be sold in the United States might as well be the first car on Mars. It lands on a planet that can’t easily support hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. It’s kept alive only by elaborate and expensive means. The car and its creator face huge odds yet remain determined to, as the hero of the recent movie The Martian put it, “science the shit out of this.” Toyota and its partners might as well be making a space station. A lot of science—and money—is going toward the fueling infrastructure for the Mirai. They’re starting from zero, and it’s all costly, complicated stuff: hydrogen production, ideally by cleaner means. Better distribution. Many more hydrogen stations. The enormity of the mission hung over the small group that gathered November…

F-SECURE IS TAKING an unconventional approach to virus protection with a hardware box that covers every device in your house. For $199, the F-Secure Sense (sense.f-secure.com) connects to any wireless router and creates its own secure network. It then analyzes the traffic coming to or from any device on that network, finding and blocking potential threats. Sense’s main advantage over standard antivirus software is the protection it offers for smart TVs, connected appliances, or other smart home products. The makers of these products have a long history of neglecting security risks (go.pcworld.com/iotsecurityrisk), so F-Secure is promising to recognize and stop common threats. The company also says it can block unwanted tracking and data collection. Here’s how tracking protection works, according to F-Secure: “Sense will recognize suspicious traffic (for example, if…

In April 2014, the Linksys WRT1900AC was the fastest 802.11ac router I’d ever tested (go.pcworld.com/linksyswrt). And I made a point of including that date in the “At a Glance” part of the review for two reasons: That information is displayed almost as prominently as the headline in our reviews, and the router market was moving crazy-fast back then. It still is. The latest version of that router—the WRT1900ACS, reviewed here (linksys.com/WRT1900ACS)—is an incremental improvement, having gained a speedier CPU (running at 1.6GHz, versus 1.2GHz in the original) and another 256MB of DDR3 memory (512MB in total, compared to 256MB in the original). One change I’m not as enthusiastic about is the trading of an inline power supply for a large, outlet-hogging wall wart. The new model also loses the unique…

RENT OR OWN, we all want to know our homes are secure while we’re gone. That used to mean signing on with a professional—and pricey—security service like ADT. But the boom in wireless security cameras is putting home surveillance into our own hands. These close cousins of webcams require minimal installation and offer flexible setups and a range of security features. Indeed, the offers vary widely by camera, and navigating them all gets more daunting as this category grows ever more crowded. To help you find the best security camera for your needs, we’ve outlined the key features to consider and tested six of the newest, most high-profile models. Whether you’re looking for an easy way to check on your kids and pets, or a full-service sentinel to monitor for…

MOST WI-FI SECURITY cameras are designed to look for people who aren’t supposed to be in your home. The Netatmo Welcome (netatmo.com/product/camera) is made to look for the people who are. The smart appliance manufacturer built this $199 camera around facial recognition and a personalized notification system that seeks not only to reassure you of your loved ones’ safety, but to improve its ability to distinguish between real security incidents and false alarms. In the real world, however, the Netatmo struggles to get to know your family, and it’s missing many of the features that other cameras in its price range deliver. What you get The Netatmo Welcome looks nothing like a home-security camera. The indoor/outdoor device is housed in a tall, thin aluminum cylinder with a metallic finish much…

MICROSOFT WORD HAS many, many tricks up its sleeve. The seven here will help you through some common snags in complex documents. Quickly change Line Spacing You can change the line spacing on a single paragraph, page, or the entire document in two easy keystrokes. Place your cursor anywhere on the target paragraphs, then press: Ctrl+1 to change the line spacing to single spaced. Ctrl+2 to change the line spacing to double spaced. Ctrl+5 to change the line spacing to 1.5 (or one and a half spaced). Note: You must use the numbers above the alphabet keys. This shortcut does not recognize the numeric keypad. Rand command 1. To generate random text for tutorials (like this one), graphic designs, and other projects, place your cursor at the beginning of a…