Category: Microsoft Windows

It looks like the long awaited inclusion of LTE is coming to the Microsoft Surface Pro.  The current version of the 2-in-1 style device was released back in May and at the time, it was indicated that an LTE version of it would be available.  To date, that hasn’t happened but it looks like the end of the wait may be in sight.

Neowin is reporting that the LTE enabled version of the Surface Pro will be available on December 1st.  It will be initially available for the Intel i5 equipped models but could make its way to the i7 models at a later date.

Over the weekend, Microsoft began rolling out a background update to Microsoft OneDrive which forces the use of NTFS for Windows users.  The update caught more than a few off guard and while the Redmond company has been pushing for broader adoption of NTFS, this pretty much forces the issue.

NTFS, unlike FAT or FAT32, is much better at managing space and has more security options.  FAT in its original 8-bit form was created all the way back in 1977 while FAT32, the 32-bit version of it, was created with Windows 95 back in 1996.  No matter how you look at it, FAT is old and security, performance and scaleability have all improved under NTFS.

After dominating the world for the past three decades-plus, Windows is no longer the most widely used Operating System in terms of Internet usage.  That honor now goes to Android according to the team at StatCounter.  In their latest report, Android passed Windows by .02% to take over the top spot.  The report measures the Operating Systems in use globally to access the Internet and this is the first time that Windows has been beaten – by anyone.

The report reflects what many have seen for a long time:  The world is going mobile and with Android dominating the mobile landscape as far as install base, it isn’t shocking to see it take over the #1 slot when it comes to Internet usage.  It also reflects a fundamental shift in how we get to the information we need in our day-to-day lives.  Mobile search has continued to climb as the most common way people access information so this report fits that trend too.

Microsoft has announced that users of the new Outlook.com experience will soon have improved support for handling files from Google Drive and photos from Facebook.  The updates are going to be rolling out over the course of the next few weeks and it is a back end change so there is nothing you need to do.  Once you have the update, Google Drive files will be available to you from the Attach menu when creating an email.  Today when you want to do this you have to open a wholly separate tab.  That will no longer be the case and it will make attaching files out of Google Drive quicker and simpler.

Last week I posted about an ongoing issue that Windows Phone users have had with adding a Gmail account to their devices.  The issue was that when a user opened up Outlook Mail and attempted to add a Google account, it would give an error indicating that the browser of the device was not supported.  This on again-off again problem has been going on for several weeks but it appears, finally, that it has been addressed.  Google indicated in a forum post that the error was not intentional on the part of the company which I personally think is the case.  To me, this feels like simple inattentiveness on the part of the Mountain View company.

After months of waiting, the official Starbucks app for Windows Phone has been released.  The app, similar to the one available for Android and iOS, allows you to pay for your coffee or food items at participating shops with your phone.  This is done by providing a barcode which is connected to your Starbucks account (which in turn is tied to a credit card) that is displayed on your phone and scanned at the register.  It is quick and simple and as one who has been using their app on other platforms, it is about time it got to Windows Phone!