PCWorld Aug-15

Beginning July 29, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 users will be able to download Windows 10. It’s a monumental shift for both Microsoft and its customers. But Microsoft has provided a wealth of information to ease the transition, and let you upgrade to Windows 10 as simply and easily as possible. For consumers, the choice is a simple one: You’ll be upgraded to one of two versions of Windows 10: Windows 10 Home, or Windows 10 Professional. (This guide doesn’t cover the upgrade process to Windows 10 Mobile for phones.) Microsoft has also released the official retail pricing for Windows 10 (go.pcworld.com/win10cost), in case you’re building your own PC. During the update process, plan to invest some time in prep work and at least an hour in the upgrade process itself. And…

A few well-regarded flagship devices, a focused core experience, a vibrant app ecosystem, and a belief in the quality of its own products: Apple lives and breathes these things, and has achieved massive profitability in the phone space as a result. And it’s about the only strategy Microsoft has left to try. Soon after purchasing Nokia’s device business for $7.2 billion last year, Microsoft began to dismantle it—first laying off a third of the staff, and more recently waving goodbye to business unit head Stephen Elop and other top executives. Now it’s writing off (go.pcworld.com/writeoff) another $7.6 billion in impairment from the Nokia Devices and Services Business and laying off 7,800 employees. These actions tacitly acknowledge two errors: First, buying Nokia itself was a colossal mistake. Second, the strategy of making…

Users of microsoft’ original Surface and other Windows RT devices won’t have to wait much longer to get some features of Windows 10. As WinBeta (go.pcworld.com/winbeta) notes, Microsoft has updated its Windows 10 FAQ (go.pcworld.com/win10FAQ) with a short line about what Windows RT users can expect. “If you’re running Windows RT, your device won’t upgrade to Windows 10, but we will have an update for you around the time of Windows 10 release,” the FAQ says. (Note: Microsoft’s popular Surface Pro line runs the full-blown version of Windows and will receive Windows 10.) Windows RT was Microsoft’s ill-conceived effort to run Windows on ARM, the architecture that powers most smartphones and tablets. Although Windows RT looked similar to Windows 8, it couldn’t run desktop software with the exception of Microsoft’s built-in apps…

How far can we push Moore’s Law (go.pcworld.com/moore)? It’s starting to become a concerning question as processors push into almost infinitesimally small process nodes. Intel’s 14-nanometer Broadwell chips suffered from lengthy delays, stuttering Intel’s vaunted tick-tock manufacturing schedule. TSMC, the company that manufactures graphics processors for AMD and Nvidia, has been stuck at the 28nm node for years now. Intel plans to push into 10nm in 2017, but IBM’s looking beyond that, and just revealed the world’s first working 7nm processor—but it took some pretty exotic manufacturing to get there. Creating a working 7nm chip required moving past pure silicon, IBM revealed (go.pcworld.com/ibm). IBM—working with GlobalFoundries, Samsung, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and others—carved the transistor channels out of silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloy in order to improve electron mobility at such a small scale. Intel…

The bbc is getting into the hardware hacking craze with its second device in the last 34 years for school-age children. The British broadcaster recently unveiled the Micro:bit, a mini-programmable computer meant to teach children how to code and develop hardware projects. The device will be given away to every child in Year 7 at schools in the United Kingdom—around one million students—beginning in for sale to customers in the U.K. and other points around the globe. Presumably that includes the United States. Unlike other popular boards such as the Raspberry Pi, the Micro:bit is not meant to be used as a standalone PC. Instead, it’s a basic board for embedded projects such as a gaming device or a remote control. It’s also compatible with more advanced micro PCs like the Raspberry…

AMD’s polishing up software support for its new Fury X and Radeon R300 series graphics cards with the release of new WHQLcertified Catalyst 15.7 drivers. This sweeping update plays nicely with Windows 10, adds the clamored-for (and oft-delayed) CrossFire multi-GPU support for FreeSync monitors (go.pcworld.com/crossfire), and extends some of AMD’s formerly exclusive features (like frame rate target control) to the full range of older Radeon R200 series graphics cards. The Windows 10 support is no surprise, given that Microsoft’s nextgen operating system launches as we go to press. Nvidia also recently pushed out Windows 10-compatible WHQL-certified drivers for its GeForce graphics cards. DirectX 12 cometh (go.pcworld.com/directx)! But beyond that, Catalyst 15.7’s new offerings should have Radeon gamers shouting “Hallelujah!” from the rooftops. The story behind the story AMD is often criticized for failing…