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Microsoft has given notice to its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners that they must no longer sell personal computers with operating systems older than Windows 10 from the middle of next year. Windows 8 PC sales must end July 1 next year Australian time. Windows 7 Professional and Windows 8.1 can no longer be preinstalled on new computers from November 1, 2016, Microsoft said in its updated Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet. The Home Basic, Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 were sunset on November 1 last year by Microsoft.

ollowing the exciting news that Windows will be free for everyone currently on Windows 7 or 8.1, providing they upgrade within the first year, users should also be aware of a few features that will no longer work with Windows 10 after that upgrade. The features that will no longer work are taken from the official specifications page on Microsoft's Windows website, and reproduced below. The good news is that in some cases alternatives are available. If you have Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 8 Pro with Media Center, or Windows 8.1 Pro with...

Seated at the head of a table for 12 with a view of the city’s soaring skyline, Peter Thiel was deep in conversation with his guests, eclectic scientists whose research was considered radical, even heretical. It was 2004 and Thiel had recently made a tidy fortune selling PayPal, which he co-founded, to eBay. He had spent what he wanted on himself — a posh penthouse suite at the Four Seasons Hotel and a silver Ferrari — and was now soliciting ideas to do good with his money. The Human Upgrade: (snip) Among the guests was Cynthia Kenyon, a molecular biologist...

One of Microsoft's main goals with 'Threshold,' the next major version of Windows, is to win over Windows 7 hold-outs. Windows "Threshold," the next major version of Microsoft's Windows operating system due to hit around the spring of 2015, is coming into focus. And not too surprisingly, one of the Microsoft Operating Systems Group's main goals in designing and developing the coming operating system (OS) release — which may or may not ultimately be branded as "Windows 9" — is to try to make it more palatable to hold-out Windows 7 users. In order to do this, Microsoft is working...

Microsoft hopes to make it easier for Windows XP users to drop their old computers and upgrade to a newer Surface or PC by offering them $100 to do so. The Redmond-based company announced earlier this month that support and security updates will no longer be available for its popular old operating system after April 8. That doesn’t mean the computers will immediately become unusable, but they may be more vulnerable to hackers. Windows XP users can get $100 off when they buy a Surface Pro 2 or select PCs for $599 and more. The cheapest is an Acer Aspire...

"Having been early to the party of Angie's List (ANGI) short sellers, I would be remiss not to update readers to the fact that I changed my outlook for the company. In my columns spanning over the course of a year, my issues with Angie's List were not so much with its business model but with the valuation. I did not believe their subscription model would justify the market cap. Most consumers prefer FREE and the number of those who would pay an ongoing annual subscription of $50 is naturally far less than the 80 million visitors a month who...

Days before the government “shutdown” started, the Air Force contracted for an $84,380 upgrade on its “Exit” signs for the Joint Base Charleston-Weapons Station in Goose Creek, S.C. According to the Statement of Work, “approximately 973 existing wall/ceiling mounted exit lighting signs” will be removed and replaced with “0.92 Watt LED lighting signs.” …

As some of you know, my mother passed away last Jan. By June we decided to turn off her home phone and because it was my phone number since childhood, I called AT&T and asked if I could have that number as my cell number. They said no problem but there would be a $36 fee to do so. I was fine with that. Within a week, I had my childhood phone number as my iPhone number! They had done all the work and switched me over. I never stepped into a store. In June , 2 of the 5...

I guess you could say I started cheating on Windows back in October of 2010. That’s when Apple debuted the revamped MacBook Air. For the first time, I could resume working almost as soon as I flipped the lid on a laptop, thanks to the way the notebook leveraged its flash memory. (Intel and Ultrabook makers wouldn’t offer a similar instant-on experience until a year later.) The Air was a work of art, but it didn’t feel complete until OS X Lion arrived last year. With key time-saving features like Auto Save and Mission Control for faster multitasking, I started...

6/2/2012 - DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- B-1B Lancers are currently undergoing the most advanced hardware and software upgrades to date as part of the Sustainment-Block 16 program. Sustainment-Block 16 upgrades include a fully integrated data link in the aft station and vertical situation display upgrade in the front station as well as updates to navigation, radar and diagnostic systems. "The B-1 has never seen this many upgrades in one block," said Maj. Thomas Bryant, the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron assistant director of operations. "These upgrades will give us an entirely new aircraft; this is a game...

Why isn't someone tracking down Sharon's claim that Herman Cain upgraded her room at the Hilton 14 years ago???? Seems to me that if they can de-bunk that claim by her, he is home free as her story will completely crumble. The double standard our people face is unbelievable and highly depressing.

Beneficiary may "buy...bigger gun" "More than 250 guns traded for gas," staff writer Steven Ward of The Advocate tells us. The program, Gas for Guns, is a no-questions-asked, voluntary gun buyback program sponsored by Circle K and local law enforcement agencies. "No-questions-asked" means those of you with stolen guns--or even ones used in "guncrimes!"--can not only count on the police to dispose of evidence for you, they'll also act as your fence and reward you for your enterprising ways. And they'll do this knowing it won't make a damn bit of difference in "combating gun violence." Something that's pretty well...

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Boeing on 8 July received a license to export the F-15 Silent Eagle to South Korea and tested in flight one of the key upgrades for the stealthy new design. "It was a big week for the F-15," says Brad Jones, Boeing director for F-15 development programmes. The US Department of State awarded the license after a two-month review based on an undisclosed export policy established in May, Jones says. South Korea is expected to issue a request for proposals for the F-X3 contract in the first quarter of 2011, Jones says. The F-15SE will compete with the Lockheed Martin...

BAGHDAD - Sustainable electrical power has been in short supply here for years. But for the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, charged with protecting the Iraqi public, having uninterrupted electrical power to its 11-story headquarters building is not an option; it’s a necessity. And when faced with an aged, deteriorating electrical distribution system, the MoI turned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region District for solutions to upgrade the system. Tim Ernster, GRD Loyalty Resident Office electrical engineer, says the goal of the $6.5 million electrical distribution project is to both upgrade the MoI’s electrical system and double its...

Everyone wants to save money when they travel, especially with the economy these days. The travel experts at CanuckAbroad.com have come up with 5 tips to get the best seats for the lowest fare – simply by using a few tips that many travellers have known for years. While these tips aren’t advertised to the public, anyone can certainly take advantage of these tricks to getting the best seat and cheapest flights.

I love upgrades. But I hate upgrade discs and upgrade pricing. Let's find a way to do away with both, or at least make the upgrade transaction a bit cleaner. The reason I'm writing this column won't be a surprise to anyone one who follows technology: Windows 7. I bought the upgrade disc (on the pre-order special price). When it arrived, I started the upgrade process for my Vista desktop. Knowing that the disc was licensed only to upgrade an existing Windows installation, I pressed the big button for a "Custom" installation and the disc set up my computer more-or-less...

HOW TO UPGRADE WINDOWS 7 BETA OR RC TO WINDOWS 7 RTM (RETAIL VERSION) You can’t upgrade directly from a pre-release version—at least, not without a quick and easy workaround. Here is that workaround...The ProblemWindows 7 checks whether or not the current version you are running is a pre-release copy, and prevents you from upgrading further. For reference purposes, this is the error you’ll see when you try and upgrade.The SolutionThe solution is to edit a file inside the Windows 7 DVD—which you’ll have to extract to the hard drive to proceed. If you are using an ISO image for...

The Israel Air Force’s F-15 fleet is undergoing an upgrade, with systems that make it better equipped for complex long distance attack scenarios. The systems are being installed in both the F-15 and the F-15I -- a model of the F-15 that was developed by its U.S. manufacturer specifically for the IAF. According to IDF journal BaMachaneh, the F-15I model is currently being fitted with two new systems – one called “Barad Pelada” (“Steel Hail”), and another named Lightning. The Barad Pelada advanced weapons system has been operational in the IAF’s F-16s for almost four years, but had to be...

The software maker is warning customers that tools designed to prevent automatic installation of service packs are nearing expiration. Microsoft wants users of its Windows operating systems to move to upgraded versions of the software, so it's killing a tool that prevents upgrades from automatically self-installing. "I have some important information for those of you who have installed the Service Pack Blocker Tool for Windows XP or Windows Vista," wrote Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft's in-house Windows blogger, in a Friday post. "The Service Pack Blocker Tool temporarily prevents the installation of a service pack through Windows Update, typically for one year...