Category: Microsoft Windows

OneNote has become a serious player in the note taking app space but it is much more than just for notes.  OneNote allows you to create everything from lists to notes with embedded photos to being a platform to sync content from Office Lens or other apps on your Windows PC and Windows Phone.  In Windows Phone there is a big feature that is often overlooked but can be very handy, particularly for lists or a note you need to continually access.  That feature is the ability to pin a note to your Start screen on your Windows Phone.  In this How To I will show you just how to do this in OneNote so you can take advantage of it.

The news over the weekend that Apple’s flagship OS’ where more vulnerable to security threats should not come as a surprise to anyone. As one who formerly used OS X and iOS, I knew it was just a matter of time before the two platforms were targeted and it appears in 2014 that happened.  Why it shouldn’t come as a surprise is simple and comes down to simple target size for hackers.  The key however my fellow Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 users is not to gloat to much.  We have been here and know the pain.

One of the challenges that has plagued Microsoft with Windows Phone since its inception, and something they must resolve with Windows 10 for Phones has been carriers.  If you look at the history of Windows Phone 7, 8 and 8.1, the carriers have always held the strings when it comes to updates on devices.  In some cases, particularly in Europe, this has been fine as the carriers have gotten updates out in a timely manner.  Here in the US however it has been nothing short of a debacle.  Verizon Lumia Icon users just now got Lumia Cyan (rolled up with Lumia Denim) after it was available for a year.  AT&T has yet to roll out Lumia Denim to the Lumia 1520, arguably the flagship phone of the market today.  T-Mobile has been hit-or-miss which is the same for Sprint.

Microsoft in leading up to Windows 10 for Phones has indicated that they are working on ways to get around this problem and go with something akin to how Apple approaches update on iOS.  What they have not been clear on is how they plan on doing that feat.  Having done a lot of reading and asking even more questions, I think I know how they are going to do this with the next generation of Windows Phone.  The secret ingredient to me seems to be the “appification” of what use to be core components of the mobile OS.  Couple this the foundations laid with the Windows Insider program as the way to push out updates universally and you have the makings of what Microsoft wants to do:  Control the release of updates to everyone on Windows 10 for Phones in a timely manner.

One of the many elements of Windows Phone that I like about the platform is the ability to personalize your Start screen experience.  Live Tiles are a big part of that and many apps take advantage of this feature that has been a part of the platform since Windows Phone 8 was released.  One of those features is the ability to set a photo as your Photos Live Tile in Windows Phone 8.1.  The ability to do this has actually been around since the Windows Phone 7 and I actually posted a How To way back in November 2011 on how to do it then.  Today it is a bit easier and more intuitive but it is buried in Settings.  In this How To I’ll show you where it is located and how to set up your favorite photo as Live Tile.

If you took the plunge last week and put Windows 10 on your Phone, you know by now that it is very much a work in progress.  As I put in my initial thoughts post on the next generation of Windows for your phone, it has some rough patches and things that just aren’t working the way they should.  But hey, it’s beta and that’s to be expected.  That said, Microsoft has made an easy way for you to get back to Windows Phone 8.1 if you have decided that beta testing is not for you.  Fortunately they have made it super easy to do and in this How To I will cover how to go about it.

Last month the US carrier AT&T announced a new Rollover Data plan for all of their existing customers.  The plan basically gives you the unused data from your last month and rolls those gigabytes over to the current month.  The plan started taking effect for customers on January 25, 2014 and if your billing cycle has happened since then, you have Rollover Data on your account.  By-the-way, there is no sign up process for this features.  It is for every AT&T customer who has a qualifying plan which is all of the monthly billing plans.

As part of that announcement, AT&T indicated that the myAT&T app for Windows Phone, iOS and Android would all be updated to reflect this rollover data.  That is now in the app which you can download for free from the Windows Phone Store.

myAT&T for Windows Phone – Free – Download Now