Windows 10 update
From midnight tonight, the new Windows 10 operating system is supposed to be available. We will have to wait and see if they are on time and whether there are any issues with it, but for now here are a few key points scanned and summarised from various sources:
- Starting to roll out from 29 July
- Will roll out progressively to those who have pre-ordered
- Designed to simply upgrade your existing operating system (Windows 7 or 8)
- As with any major upgrade or change to your software, backup first! You never know what problems might occur so it pays to make sure your existing data is safe.
- If you haven’t taken up the automatic free upgrade that has been on offer for the last few months, there’s no need to worry. The free upgrade will be available for at least the next year.
- As mentioned in the last article on this topic, it seems Windows 10 will be quite a different interface from what you’re used to. There will be new functionality, a new look, and one or two things that will no longer be available.
- If you do choose to download it, it’s likely to be a large file size so make sure you’ve got good internet connection and time.
There are still many questions. Will it launch on time? Will it have bugs and issues? How will you adapt if you do download and install it?
I still have the same advice – don’t rush. Wait till the early adopters have taken it on board and identified issues, which Microsoft will hopefully fix, then when the dust has settled, and you are prepared, go for it.
Driven mad by auto-complete?
If you use Microsoft Outlook you’ve probably been frustrated more than once by the auto-complete address function. As soon as you start typing 
an email address it cleverly tries to anticipate who you are emailing. Sometimes the electronic anticipation is not so clever or you hit enter in a hurry on the wrong address. This can result in the wrong person getting a bizarre email from you on a subject that’s of no relevance to them, or worse that contains personal information meant for someone else.
There is a way to get rid of these email addresses and it’s quite simple once you know how.
When in a new email message, in the TO: prompt, start typing the name of the person that you have an incorrect (or old) email address for. When you start to see this email address use the arrow up or down keys to select the address then simply press the [Delete] key. It’s that easy! If the [Delete] key doesn’t work in your version, Right Mouse button on the address then select Delete.
You can also turn the auto-complete option off if you wish. It could be tempting to save mistakes, but leaving it on as long as you are careful, saves a lot of time typing email addresses or selecting contacts.
To turn it off in Outlook, (depending up on your version) go to Tools > Options > Preferences > Email Options > Advanced Email Options, then towards the bottom of the list, uncheck the box “Suggest names while completing To, CC, and BCC fields” and selecting OK. It’s a simple matter to turn it back on again by checking the same box.
How to save when shopping online
We’re all looking at ways to save money and time. Shopping online is sometimes a more cost effective option based on price alone. Once you start adding in the cost of getting to the store, your time looking around, going to other stores to compare, talking to sales assistants and so forth, then buying online, even if the price isn’t cheaper, starts to look very attractive. Online shopping is particularly useful too for items you want to get from overseas that may not be available in Australia.
But are we really getting the best deal? Zurich recently published an article listing five ways to save when shopping online:
- Find the best day for the product type you’re buying (a bit like buying petrol on Tuesdays)
- Search for online discount coupons
- Use a VPN or switch to private browsing so your location doesn’t affect the price you are quoted
- Leave things in the shopping cart for a while to see if a special offer comes through to “tempt” you to finalise your purchase
- Use third party postal services for items from countries that won’t ship directly to Australia.
If you don’t already shop online maybe you can start using some of these tips. You can read the full article here. Happy shopping and saving!
Free Windows upgrade – to take or not to take?
If you are running a PC or laptop with Windows 7 or 8 operating system you may have noticed a new icon with the four windows boxes. Clicking on this icon leads you to information on how to reserve your “free*” upgrade to Windows 10 once it is available (currently listed as sometime after 29 July).
I am naturally a little skeptical about anything that claims to be free especially when there is an asterisk after the word “free” and you have to read the fine print for the conditions! However this does appear to be a genuine free upgrade for those who already have Windows 7 or 8. The question then is, whether to download automatically or wait until later to get your upgrade, or indeed, whether you need to upgrade at all (even though it’s free).
Naturally, Microsoft encourages you to take the upgrade because they’ve spent a lot of time and effort developing it and enhancing it with all sorts of new functionality, but it will still have bugs no matter how rigorous their testing. If you take up the free upgrade option, it will apparently download to your computer as soon as it is available, and you will then be able to choose when to install it.
Windows 10 looks like it will be fairly different from what you may have been used to in the earlier versions and my advice is to take your time and not to upgrade until you are ready and have some time to spend learning how it works. No-one needs to arrive at their computer and find a whole new operating system to come to grips with before even starting work! I expect Microsoft will be offering the free upgrade for some considerable time to come – it is in their interests after all – so there’s no need to rush in.