Windows Help and Advice 111 (Sampler) by Future PLC

fixes AND Tips

solutions for your common PC problems

windows 8

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The latest windows laptops and phones

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WINDOWS 10 The ultimate

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ways to manage folders • Better preview your emails • Quickly Create a free Wi-Fi hotspot •Turn to p21 now!

EXPERT GUIDES 50 PAGES O WINDOWSF HELP!

Welcome So, Windows 10 is finally here – well almost! It’s going to be available on the 29th July, as a free download for all Windows 8 and Windows 7 users. To help get you ready for the big event we’ve got a great feature starting on page 54, which tells you everything you need to know about Windows 10. We’ve also got a couple of tutorials starting on page 48 to help you get going with the new OS. The good news is if you use either Windows 7 or 8 at the

moment, you’ll feel right at home with Windows 10. Even though the menu options are slightly different, all the basics you’re used to working with are still there at your fingertips. The upgrade to Windows 10 is done online through Windows Update. We’ll be taking you through the process in more detail next month, so don’t miss next issue, on sale 31st July – just two days after Windows 10 lands. Until then!

Graham Barlow Editor-in-Chief www.facebook.com/windowsmag SUBSCRIBE TO THE MAG TODAY AND SAVE – JUST TURN TO PAGE 28! We pride ourselves in being the only magazine on the shelves to show you exactly how to get the best from the Windows operating system, whether it’s Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. Windows Help & Advice also comes with a disc, on which you can find some of the great apps covered in the magazine. If you get a chance, take a look at how you can even read the magazine on your laptop, phone or tablet.

Don’t miss our Next issue, when we show you how to…

Next issue On sale 31 July 2015

How to upgrade to Windows 10 for free Install your favourite programs instantly Remote control your PC via Twitter Block unwanted toolbars

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Features 12 Master your PC

Quickly speed up Windows 8.1 with our fuss-free and simple guide

54 Get ready for Windows 10

We finally meet and discover more about Microsoft’s latest operating system

62 Stay safe online

The complete guide to preventing and dealing with potential online threats

Regulars 6 Discover A look at fitness tech, Google Jump, HomeGroup and more 28 Subscriptions Save up to 44% on print and digital issues 33 Back issues Don’t miss out! Order past issues while stocks last

98 Next month Discover what’s coming up in the next issue

Explore The best PC tutorials Your guide Graham Barlow says…

“Each month we include as wide a range of tutorials as possible, to help you use your computer more efficiently and inspire you to try new things”

Support

76 Four pages of essential expert help for all your tricky technical queries 4

| August 2015

22 Make your own tiles for your Windows 8 Start Screen

40 Discover what’s taking up space on your hard drive

26 Hide and restore program windows with WindowTangler

42 Get video chatting with Google Hangouts

30 Take control of your email using PopTrayU

44 Do even more with Google Hangouts on your computer

34 Let Virtual Router turn your laptop into a wireless hotspot

48 Easily customise your Windows 10 Start Menu

36 Voice-control your computer using your PC’s microphone

50 Getting started with the basics of Windows 10

Subscription bundle offer

Print and digital bundle – only £35.49 for six months Find out more on page 28

Fitbug Orb and Kiqplan fitness bundles up for grabs! See page 95

On the cover

MASTER YOUR PC

12 Quickly and simply speed up your PC

Upgrade 80 Our expert reviews 82 Fitness trackers

On the cover

84 Surface 3

GET READY FOR

WINDOWS 10

86 Asus Zenbook Pro UX501 88 Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear 90 Grand Theft Auto V

54 Introducing the latest OS

92 Broken Age 94 Infinite Crisis 96 LA Cops

On the cover

STAY SAFE ONLINE 62 Protect your PC from online threats

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August 2015 |

NEW things to do

amazing websites

Levelling up Easily attainable goals make improving your fitness satisfying rather than a slog

| August 2015

fascinating facts

Discover Keep fit

Wi tn ess the fit ness

How new tech will help you get fit the easy way

The Knowledge…

Thanks to amazing new technology it’s now easier than ever to increase your vigour and health

echnology lovers often have a reputation for being lazy – washing down crisps with cola while playing videogames, or updating Facebook with images of the pizza they’re about to devour. But we’ve recently seen big changes in how we can use technology to become more active. Major players Apple, Google and Microsoft have all moved into the arena of fitness on mobile platforms. On top of that there’s a host of different fitness gadgets and gizmos (dubbed ‘wearables’), which can track and analyse your activities and let you know where there’s room for improvement. It may all sound like hard work, but a big trend in fitness recently has been the analysis of day-to-day activities. Pop on a wearable, such as Fitbit’s Flex, and in

addition to letting you know how far you’ve run it’ll show you how far you’ve walked and how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed. Even if you work in an office, chances are you’re far more active during the day than you might expect. But you might not even need a dedicated tracker. Apple’s Health, Google’s Fit and Microsoft’s Health apps sit passively on your smartphone and use its sensors to measure your activity levels during the day. They track of your weight, so you can make the link between your exercise levels and how much weight you’ve lost. Most fitness devices come with built-in schedules and plans so you can start training gently. There are also rewards to keep you motivated, and, of course, losing weight and building fitness are a bonus…

“There’s a host of different fitness gadgets and gizmos which can track and analyse your activities”

Microsoft Health Get it on your smartphone Microsoft’s Health App is designed for use with its Band activity tracker – but it will work with your phone too. And, as part of Microsoft’s drive to become platform agnostic it’ll work on Apple iOS and Google Android devices as well as those running Windows Phone. The only caveat is the device you install it on has to include a step counter, but recent Android phones and anything above an iPhone 5 has this feature.

Jump Google’s plan to conquer virtual reality could become actual reality

Google Jump Is this a new fitness thing? No. Despite its rather active name, Jump is a catch-all term for Google’s new plan to conquer the world of virtual reality. It consists of three parts: a camera rig, a software assembler, and a player for playing back the captured videos. Tell me more about the rig. This is the most impressive part. It’s a 3D-printed chassis onto which 16 GoPro video cameras are mounted. Each of these captures a stream of video from its surroundings, so if the rig’s placed on the shoreline of a beach it will record the sea and the sand. Tell me more about the software assembler. These video streams need to be stitched together to create a stereoscopic 3D 360-degree video. This is achieved by filling in the blind spots between each camera, which in turn creates a seamless virtual reality experience. Tell me more… About the player? Sure, it’s YouTube, Google’s massive video playback platform. For the full experience you’ll also need a virtual reality viewer, which is where Google’s DIY cardboard headset – which works with smartphones – comes in handy. What will it be used for? The smart thing about Jump is that you can take it pretty much anywhere and anyone viewing the feed will feel like they’re there, so it could come into its own at pop concerts. Google has also announced Expeditions, an educational platform for the device, which means kids will be able to learn about what lurks at the bottom of the ocean without leaving their classroom.

Install Search your phone’s store for ‘Microsoft Health’, then download and install the app

Active lifestyle Once Health is up and running it’ll monitor your activity levels

August 2015 |

R INCHESTE HENRY W ERT TECH EXP

Hands-Free Food & Drink Windows 8’s Food & Drink app is a tasty proposition. Fire up the app and you’ll find some lovely recipes from celebrity chefs such as Nigella Lawson, The Hairy Bikers and Mary Berry. You can learn from the pros with a smorgasbord of tips and tricks, and once you’ve created your culinary delight you can unwind with a recommended bottle of wine. But the handiest thing here is a hands-free mode so you don’t get flour, jam or caviar all over your computer. To enable it open a recipe in the app, then right-click or swipe upwards and choose ‘Hands-Free Mode’. You can now wave your hand in front of your webcam to progress through the recipe.

Origin’s Free Games Origin is the gaming giant Electronic Arts’ equivalent to Valve’s Steam gaming service, and it has one pretty neat feature: free games. Thanks to EA’s tremendous back catalogue of classic titles and its need to tempt people to use its service it gives away games on a very frequent basis. We’ve picked up Dead Space, Syndicate and Peggle, and there are more great titles coming up in the future. To take advantage you’ll need to sign up for an Origin account at www.origin.com/create. Next download and install the software, and once you’ve logged in you’ll see the current ‘On the House’ deal.

RAW file support RAW files are images from digital cameras that don’t have any post-processing on them. Professional photographers use them so they have control over the final image, and most semi-decent digital cameras come with a dedicated RAW mode. The problem is, by default, Windows doesn’t know how to open them. However, there’s a workaround in the form of the Microsoft Camera Codec Pack. Visit http://bit.ly/1C2HBUa, download and run the software, and Windows Photo Gallery will now have support for formats from certain Canon, Nikon and Sony digital cameras, among others.

Struggling to get something to work? Need a tip?

Then email us your woes (to windowsmagazine@futurenet.com with the subject line ‘Windows Insider’) and we’ll share your perfect Windows tweaks in a future issue.

Share and stream

Tip of the month

Set up a HomeGroup Take the nightmare out of networks with Windows 7’s simple HomeGroup feature If you’ve got more than one Windows computer connected to your Wi-Fi router or modem, then you already have the ingredients for HomeGroup. These closed networks allow you to share and access files between computers easily, and even stream music from one computer to another. They’re easy to set up, too – simply enter the control panel on one of the computers and type homegroup in

the search panel, then click the result. Next click ‘Share with other home computers running Windows 7’ (it works with Windows 8, too), then follow the simple steps to set up your home network. You’ll get a password to enter on connected PCs, and soon you’ll be flinging files across your network. You can even use Windows Media Player to stream videos and music to other computers.

| August 2015

Connected Home Ditch those USB drives and copy directly from Windows Explorer with a HomeGroup

Discover It’s good to talk

Cabs and concierges

Download this…

How egalitarian services such as Uber and Airbnb are changing the way we take cabs and go on holiday

axi and accommodation companies have faced a huge shake-up recently. Uber and Airbnb are revolutionising the way we use private hire vehicles and book accommodation, and they’re both part of new financial models that are saving customers money and turning ordinary people into lucrative business owners. But how is this going to change wellestablished industries? Uber and Airbnb both have similar stories. They were founded in San Francisco towards the end of the last decade, expanding internationally within a few years. They both employ similar business models: Uber’s app is all that’s needed to turn a car into a taxi, while Airbnb can change a spare bedroom or flat into holiday accommodation. But both models’ unlicensed nature has courted controversy. Last year cab drivers in Paris protested against Uber, fearing it would ruin their livelihoods, while Uber drivers have been criticised under discrimination rules for refusing to transport wheelchair users and blind people. Airbnb, meanwhile, has faced

accusations that guests have stolen items from homes, and even turned abodes into makeshift brothels. In the face of such criticism it’s a wonder that people actually use such services. But there’s a big advantage to both: price. A taxi from Green Park to St Paul’s Cathedral will cost about £14, but with Uber it’s just £7. Likewise, a night at a decent hotel in Camden will cost a minimum of £60 a night, but Airbnb lists a double room for £35. The services have also evolved to become more friendly and usable for both employees and customers. Uber’s code of conduct spells out clearly what it expects from its drivers in terms of professionalism and respect, and failure to abide by its rules results in termination of the driver’s account. Airbnb’s customer reviews ensure hosts’ homes are clean and well-presented, while a generous insurance plan makes trusting your home to strangers more palatable. People have been sharing lifts and accommodating guests for years, but Uber and Airbnb have shown these simple ideas can be turned into lucrative businesses.

KitStarter www.airfix.com/uk-en/kitstarter We spent a great deal of our childhoods painstakingly assembling Airfix spitfires to hang from artex ceilings, and feeling a bit funny after inhaling too many Humbrol fumes. And now thanks to the wonders of the internet, the moulded plastic scale models are about to experience a resurgence with KitStarter. Created by Airfix owners Hornby, the site works like its Kickstarter namesake, allowing you to pre-purchase kits from the past. If a certain kit receives enough backers it’ll be reproduced in a UK factory from its original mould and sent to your home. At the moment the site’s in beta and there are a only a few models to choose from, but if it’s a success we could see all sorts of classic planes and vehicles on the site. We’re looking forward to spending our pocket money on it soon…

Get your kit on You can now relive the painstaking application of Union Jack transfers with KitStarter.

uiz The 60-Secondm Q e sta rts no w! 1

Which material will be used to make Samsung’s Galaxy S6 smartphones? A. Aerospace-grade aluminium B. Military-level carbon-fibre C. Bakelite

The game Fallout 4 has been announced – but where is it set? A. The Chernobyl

Exclusion Zone B. Post-apocalyptic America C. Clapham Junction

What is the unique feature of the Henn-na Hotel in Japan? A. It’s staffed by robots B. It’s designed for dogs C. It’s underwater

Force Touch will be arriving on Apple’s

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next-generation iPhones. But what is it? A. A new way of tapping to interact B. A Star Wars promotional app C. A security system

Amazon’s latest Fire HD tablet is aimed at whom? A. The elderly B. Children C. Health workers

Answers 1A. 2B. 3A. 4A. 5B. 6C.

Pe ns at th e rea d y, yo u r ti

NEXT ISSUE ON SALE July 2015

31 Friday

August 2015 |

Can Google make calorie counting easier?

Henry Winchester reveals a host of fascinating digital facts

Any dieter will tell you calorie counting is the key to shedding pounds. However, looking up each ingredient in a meal can be tricky. Google believes it’s found a simpler solution, though – its Im2Calories project is developing an app that can scan a photo of a meal, identify its constituents and therefore its calories.

Can a self-driving vehicle travel coast-to-coast in the US? California, Michigan, Nevada, Florida and Virginia all allow self-driving cars on their roads. It’s earmarked 70 miles of highway to trial such vehicles, and if they pass they’ll be allowed to go anywhere within the region.

the biggest wearable tech company around

24.6 per cent of the world’s techno jewellery comes from one company: Xiaomi. The Chinese brand is massive in Asia, but it has yet to make a dent on Western markets. Key to its domination of the wearable market is its Mi Band, a £15 activity tracker.

| August 2015

How tech savvy are

farmers? Farms are a hotbed of tech, from automated milking machines to GPS-controlled vehicles to sheepherding drones. Despite this, many still think the industry is as old as the fields. Only one in 20 people surveyed by Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) would describe a farmer as “tech savvy,” while one in seven admitted they’d learned about farming from Emmerdale…

Discover Facts & figures

Top BuzzFeed Facts The social and news company buzzfeed.com was founded by Jonah Peretti in 2006 as a source for viral content online.

Police officers in London will be equipped with body-worn cameras. A trial has been running for the past year, and thanks to its success the Metropolitan Police will be equipping officers with cameras by April next year.

How does old technology power compare with new? The Apollo Guidance Computer (1966) = Two Nintendo Systems (1985) A Cray-2 Supercomputer (1985) = One Apple iPhone 4 (2010) One Samsung Galaxy S6 phone (2015) = Five PlayStation 2s (2000) One Sony Smartwatch 3 (2015) = One Nintendo Wii (2006) One Tianhe-2 Supercomputer (2015) = 18,400 PlayStation 4s (2013)

While it looks simple enough, it’s powered by a complicated algorithm that monitors 120 million web users. This results in certain content ‘going viral’. Certain posts can also be tagged and categorised with seven badges such as ‘LOL’, ‘cute’ and the obligatory ‘wtf’. Recently the company has moved into video production, hiring YouTube humourist Ze Frank in 2012. Its YouTube feed has garnered more than 2.5 billion views and 5.4 million subscribers. In addition, last year the site raised $50 million in funding to launch Buzzfeed Motion Pictures, which will create documentaries and longerform features. The site receives 75 per cent of its traffic from sources such as Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook. Last year the site was valued at $850 million – more than three times the value of the 137-year-old Washington Post.

Source: Experts Exchange

Is camping a good way to get away from technology? A survey commissioned by Camping in the Forest found 50 per cent of Brits hardly ever spend time with their family without a piece of tech on permanent standby, while 84 per cent wish they could revert to the good old days. Unsurprisingly, Camping in the Forest recommends a damp, shivering night in a tent as an antidote to our reliance on tech – apparently one in five has never even camped. August 2015 |

Business Insider, Buzzfeed, Wikipedia, Fortune, The Guardian

20,000

It’s gone on to become one of the most successful sites in the world, with more than 200 million views per day.

r e t s a M PC r u yo

| August 2015

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