Camera360 (for Windows Phone)

• Pros

  Clever interface. Historic photo effects. Double exposure. Good one-shot HDR effect. Can apply filters to existing photos. Easy manual shooting controls. Organizes photos by date.

• Cons No basic photo adjustments for existing images. Lacks tilt-shift effect.
• Bottom Line

  With a cool interface and some unique shooting capabilities, Camera360 for Windows Phone belongs in any photo enthusiast's app collection.

By Michael Muchmore

Windows Phones are known for their outstanding onboard cameras, so it shouldn't come as a big surprise that there's a healthy selection of camera and photo apps to choose from. I've tested several of them, including BrilliantVision OneShot, i4software Fast Camera, PicsArt Photo Studio, and Instagram. The free Camera360 joins their ranks as one of the highest rated in the app store, with a 4.5 score from nearly 19,000 reviews. The praise is well deserved, but the app isn't quite as complete as its name might suggest. Still, Camera360 adds photo effects and editing abilities to powerful shooting tools like manual focus and live "Time Camera." And a very clever interface and good organizing and sharing tools don't hurt, either.

The Camera360 Setup Experience
The app, available in the Windows Store, is a moderate 16MB download, and works on smartphones running both Windows 8 and 8.1. I tested it on the Lumia Icon, which sports a 20-megapixel f/2.4 camera with 6-element optics. 

On first run, Camera360 plays a slideshow, complete with emotional music. After you tap Start, the photo-shooting interface appears with explanatory overlays showing the functions of interface elements. Notice I didn't precede this with anything about signing up for or into an account: Camera360 just starts working without all that—something I applaud.

Interface: Shooting with Camera360
The app takes a novel and clever approach to shooting photos on a smartphone. Yes, many apps have filters that emulate photography characteristics of bygone years, but Camera360 takes this a step further, with its Time Camera wheel. You can rotate its setting from 1837 to 1980, with several stops in between. There's also a frame setting button at the bottom right; options include 120 (square), Polaroid, and pinhole (heavy on vignette).

Slide the camera wheel up, and it transforms into a line with options for Effects and Double Exposure. Choosing either of these presents another wheel control, with choices such as HDR, Portrait, Macro, Night, Food, and Auto. The modes work well, and even have multiple effect choices within them. HDR is a particular standout, creating a dramatic skies in a cityscape shots.

Perhaps less practical but even more fun is Double Exposure mode. You take one shot, which remains burned onto your viewfinder while you take the second, for a superimposed, often surreal result.

Manual shooting is made easier in Camera360 than in most apps I've tried, including Nokia Camera and OneShot. When you tap a circled M button, it changes into a slider line control letting you alternately adjust exposure and focus.

Photo Edits and Effects
You don't have to shoot inside in the app to use its image effects. You can apply them to any existing photo on your phone. These effects are even adjustable from 0 to 100 percent strength, by sliding a finger across the image. It would be nice, however, to have basic photo adjustments such as exposure and white balance in addition to filter effects.

You can also use the app's crop and rotate tools, or apply a frame. A couple of popular effects, however, are missing, like tilt-shift and bokeh. These are even found in the mass-market Instagram app.

Sharing
Whenever you snap a pic, it's saved to Camera360's own timeline organizer, which displays photos by date that can be viewed by weekday tabs or a monthly grid of photos. And not only photos shot in the app show up here; everything in the camera does. Tapping on one photo thumbnail here lets you view it, edit it, or share it. A couple of buttons are dedicated to WeChat sharing, but there's also a social button that posts your pics to Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter, and topic hashtags, locations, and captions can be added.

The Complete Camera Phone App?
Camera360 is without a doubt one of the more innovative camera apps I've encountered. Its interface is clear, clever, and easy to use. You may still want an app like Adobe Photoshop Express for lighting and color adjustments, or PicsArt Studio to really jazz up your images. But for its unique era-switching, double exposure, ample effect filters, easy manual shooting adjustments, and respectable organizing and sharing capabilities, Camera 360 deserves a place in any Windows Phone user's photo app arsenal.

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How to Sleep like a Baby

It’s 3:00 a.m. where are you? Most people would probably be asleep. However, for a large majority of people, it is near impossible for them to get a good nights rest. Without it, they are unable to focus well, they have low energy, and let’s face it, they are usually in a not so good mood. Is there anything that the sleep deprived can do in order to help give their body the much needed sleep it needs? Aside from counting sheep, which rarely works, try some of the suggestions below.

First, start out by examining your bedroom for sleep distractions. Sleep distractions would be such things as clutter, the color of the paint, the noise level, etc. If your room is painted in bright, electrifying colors, you may want to consider painting it a soothing cool color. A pale green or a soothing blue would be good choices. You can’t expect to be able to sleep if the paint in your bedroom is so bright that it looks like an airport runway.

If your room is cluttered, consider scheduling a spring cleaning day and get rid of all those unwanted sleep thieves. If a room is cluttered, it gives our mind more things to focus on and think about during the night instead of sleep. Your bedroom is supposed to be your sanctuary, and let’s face it, who wants piles of bills or junk mail in their sanctuary? Not too many people.

As far as the noise level goes, this is different for each person. Some people enjoy some form of noise while they sleep and may even purchase a noise machine, while others have to have quiet. If you fall into the latter category, try purchasing some heavy drapes to see if they block out any of the unwanted noise. While the drapes probably won’t get rid of every unwanted noise, you will notice a big difference.

Next, try not to exercise before going to bed. I’m not saying don’t exercise at all, because exercise is good for us, but we all know that exercise releases endorphins which amp us up. You can’t expect to be able to go to sleep if you feel like you could run a marathon. Try to keep exercise to either early in the mornings or to around four hours before bedtime. This will give your body time to calm down and will help you to drift off to sleep much easier.

Another suggestion to help you get a good nights sleep would be to take a nice warm bath just before you are ready to go to bed. The warm bath will not only help you to relax physically, but it will also give your brain some time to unwind as well. It doesn’t have to be a long bath, just 10 or 15 minutes should do the trick. As you are letting the water out of the tub, picture your troubles and cares being washed down the drain. A mind that is not burdened with troubles is a mind that can easily drift off to sleep.

Lighting is another issue that effects sleep. If your bedroom window lets the light of a nearby street light into your bedroom, you might want to try some of those room darkening curtains to eliminate that problem. If you can’t find any or can’t afford them, try putting a quilt up instead. If your curtain rods are sturdy, they will usually hold up the extra weight of the quilt. Either of these two things will help darken your bedroom and help you drift off to what could be the best nights sleep you’ve had in a while.

Of course, don’t forget to flip your mattress every so often to keep it from getting worn. However, if your mattress is not in good shape and you can’t afford to buy a new one (because we know they don’t come cheap), consider buying a mattress topper. This will give you the sense of a new mattress, but will cost you a fraction of the price. Toppers come in a variety of styles, and it is up to you to find the one that suits your needs.

The last tip, try and keep the temperature in your bedroom at a comfortable level. You don’t want the temperature too hot or too cold. You want it just right. Again, it is up to you, as an individual, to decide what your perfect temperature is. Try these few tips out and see if they help you get the peaceful nights slumber your body has been missing. Pleasant dreams sleep deprived.

Baby's First Christmas - Celebrity Edition

The year of 2014 brought big changes in the lives of some of our favorite celebrities. New records, new releases, and new awards are always exciting, but nothing can measure up to the beauty and amazement of the birth of a baby. Meet all the new mini-celebrities that will be celebrating their very first Christmas this year.

Baby Schuyler
Parents: Rodger Berman and Rachel Zoe
Rodger Berman and Rachel Zoe (celebrity stylist) welcomed their very first baby this year, Schuyler Harris. Judging from his custom made shoes and his Missoni stroller, I think it's very safe to make the assumption that Schuyler's first Christmas will be filled with Gucci, Prada and Chanel.

Baby Flynn
Parents: Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr
Actor Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings) and model Miranda Kerr may have given birth to the cutest baby alive. With brown hair and big blue eyes, he has been making headlines since day one. This is an extra exciting time of year for Baby Flynn; he will be celebrating his first birthday on January 6th.

Baby Haven
Parents: Cash Warren and Jessica Alba
Producer Cash Warren and actress Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four, Sin City) welcomed their second daughter, baby Haven Garner in August, much to the delight of big sister Honor Marie. Jessica recently took both three year old Honor and four month old Haven to meet Santa Claus in their local mall. How sweet is that!

Baby Morocco and Baby Monroe
Parents: Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey
Nick Cannon (America's Got Talent) and singer/actress Mariah Carey welcomed their twins on April 30th of this year. This adorable duo made one of their first public appearances last Christmas when Mariah was visibly showing during her Christmas Special. Morocco was named after the Moroccan inspired room in which Nick proposed to Mariah, and Monroe was named after one of Mariah's longtime role models, Marilyn Monroe.

Baby Harper
Parents: David & Victoria Beckham
World renowned power couple David (English soccer star) & Victoria Beckham (designer) welcomed their very first daughter this year. Baby Harper Seven joined older brothers Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

Baby Bingham
Parents: Matt Bellamy and Kate Hudson
Matt Bellamy (front-man of Muse) and actress Kate Hudson (Bride Wars, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) welcomed their first baby, Bingham Hawn in August. Baby Bingham joins Kate's older son Ryder, who affectionately calls him Bing.

Baby Arabella
Parents: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump
Jared Kushner and entrepreneur and daughter of Donald Trump, Ivanka Trump, married in October 2009, welcomed their very first baby, Arabella Rose on July 17th of this year.

Baby Aleph
Parents: Benjamin Millepied and Natalie Portman
Producer Benjamin Millepied and actress Natalie Portman (V for Vendetta, Black Swan) welcomed their first baby, Aleph this year. Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a sweet tribute to the Hebrew background of the couple.

And there, my friends, are the newest celebrities of 2011. Merry Christmas to all the baby celebs and their parents! I can't help but wonder which celebrities will make this list next year...

Christmas Simplification

This year, our famous Christmas easiest way family. We hope to fly to Texas to be with the parents and siblings of my husband, leaving the week before Christmas.

Because of these great travel plans for our rowdy group of six years, many things have been simplified in December. And I find it very liberating. Although I usually like the tradition of cutting and decorating our tree this year alone, we turned on the vegetation in our piano and some Christmas decorations scattered around the house. Decoration took half the time and half the cost! Small and simple gifts are purchased that can be easily packed in our bags. In fact, I was almost done shopping in early December!

Stress December

With a lower tone Christmas reminded me of why I often feel so stressed in December. Try to get all the good cookies to participate in ten different Christmas events, and find the perfect gift for all those involved in the life of our family. Throughout the Christmas chaos, the true meaning of Christmas is often lost. Jesus is our greatest gift, and it is your life we are celebrating.

The other night at dinner, we talk to our children about Jesus Christmas maintain concentration. With worried eyes my six year old asked me, "Mom, this is not the right to give gifts" Of course, does not mean involve giving gifts is wrong but we want our children?. understand that the gifts are not the main point of Christmas. as we talked about other ways to share the love of Jesus at Christmas, playing the piano and singing in the nursing homes to buy gifts for someone in need, my six year old son started talking she is happy you can stillgive do this kind of things and gifts to each other (reference to mom and dad).

Teach our children the great gift

So this year I'm on a mission to simplify and enable new ways to teach our children the great Christmas. Here are some things we do.

Every night before Christmas (well, maybe not every night but mostnights) we read of our favorite Christmas devotional side of the table, take the time to discuss issues and the beautiful singing hymns included.

We use our Advent calendar to think of an attribute of God or a gift that Jesus gives us each day. Children turning thinking of them and write on a piece of paper in your pocket.

We give our children a sum of money to help World Vision project of their choice. At this point, our son is most excited about the project sunlight.

We sing songs with our own family one or two nights after dinner.

We find creative and simple solutions to bless others with our time and resources, a phone call or a piece of bread.

A family favorite: representing the Christmas story on Christmas morning, as we read in the Bible. Although I wonder how many more years the ass (my husband) can lead to regrowth Mary!

My encouragement to you and to my own heart this Christmas is to avoid becoming so busy doing things (even good things!) The tight time to reflect and appreciate the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas does not mean simply declined. Even if you decide to jump in butter recipe grandma cookies, who still love the wonder of Jesus, the greatest gift

Exploits for dangerous network time protocol vulnerabilities can compromise systems

Remote code execution vulnerabilities in the standard implementation of the network time protocol (NTP) can be exploited by attackers to compromise servers, embedded devices and even critical infrastructure systems that run UNIX-like operating systems.

The flaws, which can be exploited by sending specially crafted packets to machines running a vulnerable version of the NTP daemon (ntpd), pose a greater threat to systems where the service runs under a highly privileged user account such as root.

However, even if the ntpd user has limited privileges, attackers could leverage other privilege escalation flaws to gain root access after exploiting the NTP flaws.

The Network Time Foundation, the organization that oversees the NTP project, has released version 4.2.8 of the standard protocol implementation to address the vulnerabilities. Some Linux distributions, including Red Hat have issued updated packages based on it, but others such as Ubuntu have yet to do so. Manufacturers of network security appliances and other embedded devices are likely still evaluating whether the flaws affect their products.

According to a security notice from the Network Time Foundation, the ntp 4.2.8 update fixes four buffer overflow vulnerabilities, tracked together as CVE-2014-9295 in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database, and three other weaknesses in the protocol’s cryptographic implementation and error handling. All issues were discovered by Neel Mehta and Stephen Roettger of the Google Security Team.

The U.S. government’s Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) warned in an advisory Friday that exploit code for these vulnerabilities is publicly available already, which increases the risk associated with them. The organization advised industrial control system operators to evaluate the impact of the flaws in their respective environments, which may differ based on particular configurations.

“Ntpd typically does not have to run as root,” said Johannes Ullrich, the CTO of the SANS Internet Storm Center, in a blog post. “Most Unix/Linux versions will configure NTP using a lower privileged user.”

“Try to block inbound connections to ntp servers who do not have to be publicly reachable,” Ullrich said. “However, be aware that simple stateful firewalls may not track UDP connections correctly and will allow access to internal NTP servers from any external IP if the NTP server recently established an outbound connection.”

Systems administrators are advised the install the NTP patches as soon as they becomes available for their systems.

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Answer Line What's in the hidden Windows AppData Folder, and how to find it if you need it

Frank Hammond asked how to access the AppData folder and copy files from it.

The Application Data—or AppData—folder contains data created by programs. Almost every program you install creates its own folder in AppData and stores information there. At least in theory, users don’t have to worry about these files.

But in reality, you probably do. For instance, my personalized Microsoft Word templates and Sticky Notes file all reside inside AppData. If you’re using an older version of Outlook, that program’s data is probably in AppData, as well.

 [Have a tech question? Ask PCWorld Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector. Send your query to answer@pcworld.com.]

Finding this folder isn’t easy if you don’t know the tricks. The AppData folder resides in your user folder—the same location that contains Documents, Music, and other library folders (unless you’ve moved them elsewhere). But unlike those folders, AppData is hidden.

Unless you’ve told Windows to display hidden files and folders, you won’t see it. And if you can’t see it, you can’t click it.

But there’s a trick that will get you into the folder. Click Start or go to the Windows 8 Search charm, type %appdata%, and select the Roaming file.

Why Roaming? Because the %appdata% environment variable doesn’t actually point to the AppData folder. It points to the Roaming folder inside AppData.

This sort of makes sense. The Roaming folder contains the lion’s share of all the files in AppData—including the ones you’re most likely to need access to.

And if you really want to get to the actual AppData folder, once you’re in Roaming, click AppData in the Path field at the top of the window.

Once there, you should have no trouble copying files—or backing them up. However, I’d be very cautious about moving or deleting them. Doing so might break a program.

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Critical vulnerability in Git clients puts developers at risk

A critical vulnerability in client software used to interact with Git, a distributed revision control system for managing source code repositories, allows attackers to execute rogue commands on computers used by developers.

The flaw affects the official Git client as well as third-party clients and software based on the original Git code. The issue only affects implementations running on Windows and Mac OS X, not Linux, because their file systems are case-insensitive—NTFS and FAT for Windows and HFS+ for Mac OS X.

“An attacker can craft a malicious Git tree that will cause Git to overwrite its own .git/config file when cloning or checking out a repository, leading to arbitrary command execution in the client machine,” engineers from GitHub, a code repository hosting service, said in a blog post Thursday.

The desktop and command-line implementations of GitHub’s own client software for Windows and Mac are affected and have been updated.

The Git development team released versions 1.8.5.6, 1.9.5, 2.0.5, 2.1.4, and 2.2.1 to address the flaw. Updates are also available for Git for Windows, also known as MSysGit, as well as the libgit2 and JGit libraries. Development software that use these libraries, such as Microsoft’s Visual Studio, Apple’s Xcode and Mercurial, have also been updated.

“We strongly encourage all users of GitHub and GitHub Enterprise to update their Git clients as soon as possible, and to be particularly careful when cloning or accessing Git repositories hosted on unsafe or untrusted hosts,” the GitHub team said.

The company scanned all repositories hosted on GitHub for trees that might attempt to exploit this flaw, but didn’t find any. It also implemented protections that prevent such repositories from being created in the future.

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How to install the Windows 10 Technical Preview on a Mac

It may seem like mixing oil and water, but as it turns out, installing Windows on your Mac isn’t a violation of natural law—your Retina display won’t melt or anything!

In fact, doing so is actually a relatively pain-free process. To give the Windows 10 Technical Preview—a very early pre-release version of Windows 10—a whirl, you don’t even have to pay for a Windows license or already have Windows on your Mac. The Technical Preview is free to test.

Intrigued? Let’s dig in.

Decisions, decisions

There are two ways to get the Windows 10 Preview on your Mac.

The first is to install Windows on a separate partition of your hard drive using Apple’s built-in Boot Camp software. When finished you can boot directly into Windows, essentially transforming your Mac into a full-blown Windows PC.

Get Chrome or your other favorite apps on Windows 10.

Another option lets you run Windows as a virtual machine inside an OS X program. We’ll be using the open-source VirtualBox from Oracle, though Parallels Desktop is a popular alternative (it costs about $80). A virtual is the route we recommend, given that the Windows 10 Technical Preview is still in very early form, with the occasional rough edge or bugginess popping up. If something goes wrong on a virtual machine, it won’t affect your hardware or OS X installation—you can just wipe it and start over.

The Windows 10 Start menu is back, and you can have it on your Mac.

As with any pre-release software, one person’s experience may vary with another’s. Mine was pretty issue-free: I installed Windows 10 on a late 2014 MacBook Pro with a 2.6GHz i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. Any Mac released in recent memory should be able to run Windows 10 just fine.

Whatever you do, . Didn’t you hear the part about the Windows 10 Technical Preview being very early experimental software? You don’t want to lose all your valuable documents and family videos if Microsoft’s OS hiccups.

Download the ISO

Done backing up? Good. First we’ll head to the Windows 10 download site to download the Technical Preview. You’ll have to sign up for the Windows Insider Program by giving Microsoft your email address. 

After registering—note all the warnings about this being pre-release software, and Microsoft’s stern warnings about backing up your data—select the version of Windows 10 that’s right for your particular system. If you’re running a relatively recent Mac with an Intel processor, opt for the 64-bit version. It’s nearly 4GB, so get comfy—the download may take a while. Jot down the product key, too; we didn’t need it in our testing but it’s a good thing to keep in your back pocket just in case.

Install Windows 10 in VirtualBox

Let’s explain how to get Windows 10 running in a virtual machine first, since that’s our recommended method. Head to the Oracle VM downloads page, and select the VirtualBox version built for for OS X hosts.

Launch the download, dragging the icon into the Applications folder. Included is a 300-page PDF if you want a thorough set of instructions—though you can skip those and keep reading this if you don’t have time or desire to brush up on VirtualBox’s most arcane secrets.

At the VirtualBox launch screen, you’ll be asked to choose which operating system to install. I chose “Windows 8.1” from the menu, as it’s the most recent version of Windows. Windows 8 should probably work out as well—just be sure to select the appropriate 64-bit or 32-bit option based on the version of Windows 10 you downloaded.

Choose Windows 8.1 from the long list and get ready for some virtual computing.

VirtualBox will then ask you how much RAM to allocate to running the virtual machine. You can go with the default of 2048MB if you’re concerned about system resources, but Windows 10’s performance will increase if you can dedicate more—you are running another operating system simultaneously, after all. If you can bump it up to 4GB without starving OS X’s own resources, that’d be perfect.

Next you’ll be asked to create a virtual hard drive for Windows 10. Unless you’re planning on doing extensive work or installing more software, you can safely choose the default of 25GB. Select the VirtualBox Disk Image option on the next screen and continue.

Locate the ISO file for VirtualBox and get ready to install Windows.

The next choice is to select a dynamically allocated hard drive or fixed one. As you can probably figure out from the context, the former grows as you add space, and it’s a better choice if you’re short on space and don’t plan on adding that much to your Windows mock computer. The fixed drive, on the other hand, will give you faster performance as long as you can spare the room.

Locate the ISO file for VirtualBox and get ready to install Windows.

When all that’s done, highlight the Windows 10 VM in the VirtualBox dashboard and select the green “Start” arrow. You’ll be prompted to point the VM towards the Windows 10 ISO file. After doing so, you’ll see the Windows logo with a black background. You’re on your way!

The Windows signup screen will appear next. Pick a language and hit Install now. Then you’ll have two choices: a custom or upgrade installation. Select custom, then choose a specific location on the hard drive for installing Windows. Just leave this as it is—it’s installing to the virtual hard drive created by VirtualBox.

This is the first screen you’ll see when installing Windows 10.

Now it’s time to install Windows and plug in your Microsoft account credentials. If you don’t have an existing account, you’ll need to put in an email address to satisfy the Windows gatekeepers. This enables you to save and sync settings across multiple Windows devices.

Voila! You’re running Windows 10 on your Mac. You’ll probably want to check out PCWorld’s guide to exploring Windows 10.  

Running a virtual machine is a slightly different experience than running an operating system on a hard drive. Things may move a little slower and appear janky. But it works fine for getting basic work done, or just plain playing around with Windows 10.

When you’re done, just close the VM’s window as you would anything else. You’ll be prompted either to save the machine’s state as-is or power it off.

Using Boot Camp with Windows 10

If you want the full Windows Technical Preview experience, you can use Apple’s Boot Camp tool to install Windows 10 straight to your hard drive and boot directly into Windows. (You did remember to back up your data first, right?)

For this you’ll need a USB drive with at least 4GB of free space. Boot Camp will take the Windows ISO file and create a boot disk that can be used to install Windows on your Mac. 

Boot Camp Assistant is your friend for installing Windows.

Assuming you already have the Windows 10 ISO downloaded, launch Boot Camp. Tick all the boxes and proceed.

Insert your flash drive and then select the ISO file’s location. Boot Camp will then download all the necessary drivers to run Windows and transform your USB drive into a boot disk. This step takes a while, so be patient.

You’ll then be asked to partition your hard drive. This is a critical step, as you can’t expand or shrink the storage later on. Instead, you’ll have to wipe that part of the drive and start from scratch.

Decide how much hard drive space to devote to Windows.

It’s recommended you select at least 20GB, but 30GB or more is best, as Windows 10 itself will take up a sizable chunk. Consider how much you will be using it: Is it just for casually tinkering or do you want to install Office and do some serious work? If you want to play PC games, definitely bump up the free space you devote to Windows.

When you’re done, click Install to start (you guessed it) installing Windows 10.

Windows will next restart a couple of times. The longest wait will be when it hits the “We’re getting our apps ready” screen, which sat on my machine for 10 minutes. It does, however, cycle through some pretty colors for your viewing pleasure.

If for some reason your computer boots back to OS X, reboot and hold the Option key. This brings up a menu where you can select which operating system to launch. 

A few impressions

Use the Boot Camp Assistant help menu for troubleshooting issues.

Overall, Windows 10’s performance on the Mac seems good. Scrolling with the trackpad works great with native Windows apps, such as File Explorer or Start menu, but it’s a little janky with browsers (I tried it with Chrome and Internet Explorer). I found myself reverting to clicking and holding the toolbar to scroll through a page. Windows doesn’t have as many trackpad gestures as OS X, either, so using a mouse may be a good idea.

The brightness was a little inconsistent, fluctuating between too bright or too dark. The backlit keyboard was also confused: Trying to reduce its brightness didn’t work at all until the next-to-lowest setting, which then plunged the keyboard into near-darkness.

Such inconsistencies are to be expected with a pre-release operating system, however. If you run into trouble or want to check system requirements further, both Microsoft and Apple offer support pages. And if you want to return to Apple’s warm embrace, just hold down the Option key during a reboot and select OS X as your chosen OS.

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Lumia Denim Update Available in Europe

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Lumia Denim Update is latest update to windows phone over windows phone 8.1 update 1. Now Microsoft has started rolling out Lumia Denim Update in Europe. Earlier Microsoft said that they will release denim update in Late December or Jan 2015, but till now they have updated 69 Lumia Phones with this update.

The long-awaited Lumia Denim update for Lumia phones has finally started rolling out. The update was initially announced back in September, with its features getting detailed last month. However, at one point one UK operator warned that we shouldn’t expect to see Denim on phones this year, as initially planned.

Lumia-Denim-Update-Europe

Before today Microsoft has rolled out Lumia Denim in China. But now roll-out is going in India and Europe as well. Find the list of devices which have Lumia Denim update available today below.

• India: Lumia 520
• Bulgaria: Lumia 520
• Croatia: Lumia 520
• Cyprus: Lumia 520
• Czech Republic: Lumia 625, Lumia 520
• Denmark: Lumia 530, Lumia 625, Lumia 520, Lumia 1320
• Estonia: Lumia 530
• Finland: Lumia 530, Lumia 625, Lumia 1320
• Germany: Lumia 620, Lumia 625, Lumia 925, Lumia 1020, Lumia 1320, Lumia 830
• Greece: Lumia 520, Lumia 625, Lumia 1320
• Hungary: Lumia 625, Lumia 520
• Iceland: Lumia 625, Lumia 1320
• Ireland: Lumia 625, Lumia 1320
• Italy: Lumia 625, Lumia 1320
• Macedonia: Lumia 520

Lumia Denim Features:

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• Lumia Camera – Replacing Nokia Camera with Lumia Camera which is much faster and more instinctive than before take best pictures ever with Lumia Camera.
•  Speed – There is marvellous improvement in speed which helps us to take one shot to another shot.
•  Moment Capture – A long press of the camera button starts 4K-quality video recording at 24 FPS. With each frame at 8.3 megapixels, you can save individual frames as high quality still images.
•  Rich Capture – Auto HDR and Dynamic Flash are now welcomed into the already-impressive feature set. Shoot first and adjust the camera settings later for that perfect photo.
•  Improved image processing algorithms – Updated to give you clearer photos, even in lowlight.
• “Hey Cortana” Voice Activation – Gone are the days of pressing the microphone button to wake-up Cortana. Simply say “Hey Cortana” while the phone is idle and Cortana will activate.This is possible thanks to the Sensor Core technology.
• Glance Screen – Now Glance Screen has improved amazingly after current update. You can now Set Lock Screen Photo as your Glance Screen Background. This is the new feature not available in earlier version.

Lumia Denim Update Availability in Europe:

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Your phone notifies you once an update is available. We ask you to be patient, as updates for Nokia Lumia range are always released gradually.

Below table shows the latest version of software available for your phone.

To check your current software release, go to Settings > Extras + Info.

To check your current firmware & OS versions, go to Settings > About > more information.

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Nearly half a million people use the Windows 10 Tech Preview every day

James Niccolai

Microsoft says that more than 1.5 million people have signed up for the Windows 10 Technical Preview, and they're using it more actively than any previous Windows test build.

After two months, the Technical Preview has roughly 450,000 “highly active” users who access the operating system every day. The average user spends around two hours per day in the Windows 10 Technical Preview, compared to roughly one hour for the Windows 7 Beta at a similar stage in its development.

“It’s terrific for us to see this, because that hardcore usage will help us fix all the rough edges and bugs,” Gabriel Aul, an engineering general manager at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post. Along that line, Aul said Microsoft has fixed nearly 1,300 bugs due to user comments and automated reporting.

The company has also made some feature tweaks in response to feedback. For example, users can now set a folder as the default when opening File Explorer, and can turn off recent files and frequent folders in the Home menu.

Microsoft says it will have more changes to share on January 21, when it will talk about the consumer side of Windows 10. Aul said Microsoft held off on a new Technical Preview build this month so it could work on polishing a major new build in January.

Why this matters: The record engagement levels are a kind of validation for Microsoft as it's tried to appease opponents of Windows 8. While Windows 10 still has a long road ahead, support from early adopters is always a good sign, and will hopefully result in a more polished operating system when it launches next year.

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Easy Christmas Home Decor

Celebrate the holidays with a beautifully decorated home. Here are nine simple ideas season.

Red and green coat

Do not worry if your table does not match. For a modern twist on the traditional holiday table, red coat and green dishes in different colors and designs.

JOSÉ PICAYO

 

Create a Jolly tablescape

The decor does not have Santa and Rudolph. You can create a beautiful life, even through red and green objects. Tip: stick to one type of material, such as glass. Here we have grouped vases, bottles and glasses.

JOSÉ PICAYO

Try acorns

Just for the holidays: Try red and green tassels hanging on their doors, desk, chest of drawers. They are a nice touch, a lovely beauty, and a look that you can get on a budget.

JOSÉ PICAYO

 

Try unexpected materials

We take a simple mirror and exposed in the Christmas greenery and trapped in about 60 feathers. They in all directions: The idea is that they seem to dance and dance and play.

JOSÉ PICAYO

 

How to get Windows 10's best new features today

Windows 9? Fuhgeddaboutit. Microsoft skipped that digit and jumped straight to Windows 10 for the next-gen version of its operating system. Revealed at a preview event on September 30, Windows 10 aims to atone for the sins of Windows 8 by wooing PC power users with a mix of compromise and outright bribery. 

Further reading: Hands-on with Microsoft's new Windows 10: UI changes that look great at first blush

A reborn Start menu, windowed Metro apps, virtual desktop support, and enhanced Command Prompt tools are enticing lures indeed. Alas, Windows 10 itself isn't expected until the middle of 2015—a veritable eternity for folks slogging through Windows 8's Live Tiles. But fear not! You don't have to wait to get the best of Windows 10 today.

Microsoft will offer a Windows 10 Technical Preview in the months ahead of the operating system's launch, but if you don't like the idea of slapping pre-release OSes on your computer, some handy-dandy software can deliver some of Windows 10's highlight features to your Windows 8 PC today. 

Consider it a taste of things to come. Let's dig in!

The return of the Start Menu

A slew of Start menu replacements hit the web the second the Start Menu-less Windows 8 hit the streets, but when it comes time to put your cash on the line, the decision boils down to just two programs: Stardock’s Start8 and Classic Shell.

Stardock

Stardock’s polished Start8 Start Menu matches the color of your taskbar. (Click to enlarge.)

Those reviews have all the nitty-gritty details, but you’ll probably want to start with Classic Shell since it’s donationware. Classic Shell includes options for both Windows XP- and Windows 7-style Start menus, along with numerous customization options. You can tinker with what’s listed in the Classic Shell Start Menu, or even change the look of its Start button to an icon of your choice. Cool stuff, indeed.

Start8, meanwhile, offers either a Windows 7 Start Menu or a Modern UI-tinged Windows 8 Start Menu that’s more in line with what Microsoft itself is cooking up. The $5 Start8 app is more polished and easier to use than the open-source Classic Shell, which is chock full of ugly buttons. Start8 still offers plenty of options and features, though, and you can’t go wrong with either program.

You might also consider Start Menu Reviver. We didn't like it quite as much as Start8 or Classic Shell, but its tile-infused interface mimics the look of Windows 10's Start menu much more closely than its more classicly themed counterparts.

Windowed desktop Metro apps

Image: Microsoft

A Metro app running in a desktop window in Windows 10.

Sure, the Windows 8.1 spring update added plenty of mouse-friendly features, but it still doesn’t let you use Modern apps in desktop windows. If you want that capability today, you only have one place to turn: The utterly superb ModernMix software.

Again offered by Stardock—do you get the feeling that the folks at Stardock weren’t impressed by Windows 8?—ModernMix exists solely to let you run Windows Store apps in desktop Windows. It’s wonderful if you use Windows 8’s native apps, such as email, calendar, and Music, all of which stick to the Modern UI.

ModernMix in action. Seriously, buy it today.

ModernMix runs like a charm even with the updates recently introduced to Windows 8.1. It’s well worth the $5 admission price.

Virtual desktops

Image: Microsoft

Windows 10's virtual desktop feature in action.

Windows has long limited you to a single desktop interface. OS X and Linux operating systems, on the other hand, support virtual desktops—essentially multiple, configurable, virtual desktops you're able to switch between, so that you can have completely separate desktop interfaces for work and play or whatever.

But Windows 10 ditches that one desktop frame of mind, adding support for multiple desktops via a new "Task View" feature.

One PC, many virtual desktops, courtesy of Dexpot.

Why wait? If you want to start using virtual desktops on Windows today, just download Dexpot. It's not only free for personal use, it's chock full of UI hints that remind you that new desktop experiences are just a click away. Dexpot is insanely customizable and so finely polished that it makes virtual desktops feel like a native part of Windows—which they will soon indeed be.

Bringing it all together

There you have it: For less than the cost of a large pizza, you can have Windows 10’s most-anticipated improvements right now. Give yourself time to get used to Dexpot and you'll wonder how you ever managed to work without virtual desktops. And once you’ve welcomed a Start Menu replacement and ModernMix into your workflow—especially paired with the Windows 8.1 spring Update’s tremendous tweaks—you might just be surprised how well those newfangled Modern apps translate to the familiar desktop experience.

Now if only there was a tool that added keyboard shortcuts to the Command Prompt...

Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 16, 2014 but was updated with virtual desktop information and tweaked language on September 12, 2014 when appeared. The article was updated again on September 30 2014 when Windows 10 was revealed.

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Answer Line Why you can't use all of your RAM

Tarek El Nabawe’s PC has 8GB of RAM, but Windows is using only 3.45GB. What happened to the rest?

It sounds as if you’re running a 32-bit version of Windows. A 32-bit operating system has only enough addresses to handle 4GB of memory. Once you get past that, it just doesn’t know what to do with the rest.

[Have a tech question? Ask PCWorld Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector. Send your query to answer@pcworld.com.]

To find out for sure in Windows 7 or Vista, click Start, right-click Computer, and select Properties. In Windows 8, go to the Search charm, type system, and select System. Either way, it will bring up the System dialog box. The “System type”field will provide the answer.

Okay, so you have a 32-bit operating system. Why can’t you at least use a full 4GB? The operating system needs some of those addresses to interface with the hardware. The exact amount can vary, but it’s usually a half or more of a gigabyte.

To take full advantage of 4GB, and any advantage of more RAM than that, you need a 64-bit operating system. All three current versions of Windows—Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8—come in both 32- and 64-bit flavors.

But be aware that you need a 64-bit computer to install a 64-bit operating system. If your PC, like Tarek’s, can accept 8GB, there’s a good chance that you have the right hardware. To make sure, download and run Gibson Research’s free program, Securable.  If the program displays a big 64, you can upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows.

You can buy 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows 8. You’ll have to do a full install, after which you’ll have to reinstall all of your programs. Unless you’ve got some very old programs from the last century, they should all work.

The installation program should move all of your existing files to a folder called C:\Windows.Old. After the install, you should move your library files back to the new libraries.

And just to be safe, you should make a full backup before doing the install.

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New Windows 10 screenshots surface as Build 9901 leaks

Mark Hachman

If you’ve ever tested a prerelease operating system, you know that each new build brings with it a whole host of changes. And if screenshots of the upcoming—and apparently leaked—Build 9901 of Windows 10 are any indication, beta testers are about to get a sizable haul of new features and improvements.

According to Windows-focused blogger Paul Thurrott, this new build improves upon and adds new features to the taskbar, search, and the Cortana virtual assistant, among other things. The search button in the taskbar gets an update in that you can now view it as a button or as a search field, or you can hide it altogether.

Microsoft also tweaked the titlebars for windowed Modern UI apps, adding a new “full screen” button and an options menu icon in the upper-left corner that resembles Android’s “hamburger” menu. Visit Thurrott’s Supersite for Windows for his screenshots and initial observations of Build 9901.

The story behind the story: Windows 10 will be a much more traditional, desktop-centric release of Windows than Windows 8 and 8.1 were. A final release is still months away—it should arrive in the middle of 2015—but it’s currently available to developers and enthusiasts in the form of the Windows 10 Technical Preview.

Microsoft is expected to release a a more complete “Consumer Preview” of Windows 10 some time in January. Build 9901 is yet another step toward the Consumer Preview, though Microsoft will probably continue to make tweaks and improvements between now and when the Consumer Preview is ready for the masses.

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Diandra soares Gautam Gulati Private Bathroom Scenes Searches Getting Viral Diandra soares Gautam Gulati Private Bathroom Scenes Searches Getting Viral-

5
SHARES

Diandra soares Gautam Gulati Private Bathroom Love Scenes Video Searches Getting Viral as Diandra Soares got pregnant in accordance with the latest report and he his soon going to be mother of Gautam Gulati’s child.

However this is not confirmed but this news is getting viral and people are searching madly for the Love scenes of Gautam Gulati and Diandra Soares and we will update you with the latest available information. Hope you will love this and will share this video with your loved ones too.

Diandra soares Gautam Gulati Private Bathroom Scenes Searches Getting Viral

Diandra soares Gautam Gulati Private Bathroom Scenes Searches Getting Viral-

India.com Reports-

The ex-Bigg Boss player and Gautam’s companion advised him to quit getting inside the bathroom with Diandra. She exhorted him that their relationship is influencing him picture. However, Gautam was unyielding in clarifying all the visitors that Diandra is simply a friend and there is no intimation between the two. Despite the fact that Diandra didn’t question the Diya Aur Baati on-screen character’s casual movements in the gathering, she was a bit upset about Gautam’s absence of responsibility towards him.

The report in Daily Bhaskar cases (source report) that Gautam and Diandra made out no less than four times in the house subsequent to Gautam’s birthday.

That they feel weak at the knees over one another is open information and there have been visuals of Gautam and Diandra securing themselves the lavatory, far from the cams, in urgent inquiry of private minutes.

We will discover more dependable data on this substance and will impart it to you as quickly as time permits.

We ask for you to share this with your friends, near ones and family and let them know about most recent news about BIGG BOSS 2014 gossip.

You can watch the live feed from the House of Bigg Boss-8 on Colors.in.com/in/bigboss/live-feed.

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Microsoft to detail 'next chapter' of Windows 10 on January 21

Mark Hachman

At the end of September, Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 with an eye toward the business market and productivity. In January, Microsoft said it would detail the “next chapter” of Windows 10, revealing new features for consumers.

Microsoft announced that it would hold a Webcast and an in-person event in Redmond on Jan. 21, where chief executive Satya Nadella, plus senior executives in Microsoft’s Operating Systems division—Terry Myerson, Joe Belfiore and Phil Spencer—will discuss the new operating system. 

Microsoft

When Myerson, the executive vice president of the Operating System group, announced Windows 10 in September, he pitched it as an enterprise product with an interface that would be “familiar” for Windows 7 or Windows 8 users. “They will find all the tools they’re used to finding, with all the apps and tools they’re used to today,” he said.

As it turned out, those features included the revamped Start menu; the new “task view,” virtual desktops and ALT-TAB features; windowed apps; and the new “snap assist” capability. Our hands-on of the Windows 10 Technical Preview was very positive, and Microsoft has been busy refining the OS and its features through subsequent builds of the new operating system: Build 9860 included notifications, for example, and the November 9879 build tweaked the toolbar and simplified the OneDrive experience. Microsoft subsequently said that it would not release any new builds over the holidays, and instead release new code early in 2015.

WinBeta/YouTube

An alleged early build of Cortana on Windows 10.

In October, we talked about some of the consumer features we expect to see next in Windows 10: notifications; Microsoft’s digital assistant, Cortana; Internet Explorer 12; and an improved app store. We’ve seen enough leaks that it’s almost certain that Cortana will be included in the consumer build released on or about the January timeframe. Microsoft also showed off a “Continuum” concept where the UI would shift between the traditional Windows 8 Start page and the desktop experience, depending on whether or not a hybrid tablet or Surface was docked or undocked.

Finally, there’s the business play—not Windows as a business tool, but how Microsoft plans to monetize it. There’s been quite a bit of speculation whether or not Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows users, sold at a discounted price, or combined with some sort of services bundle or subscription to make up the difference. Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner has indicated that Microsoft will begin addressing some of these issues early next year—whether or not Jan. 21 will be the date he does that, however, isn’t certain. 

Why this matters: While the inclusion of Cortana may almost be an anticlimax after the many leaks, it’s also arguably the centerpiece of the Windows Phone experience. How will Cortana translate to Windows’ help functions? To your calendar? To Office? And what else does Microsoft have behind the curtain? While Microsoft traditionally showcases a few of its flagship features, hundreds more simply make Windows better, behind the scenes.

The consumer reveal, then, could offer some valuable strategic insight as to how Microsoft takes Windows forward—as well as some new goodies for geeks to play with. We’re looking forward to this for both reasons.

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Hassle-Free PC The hidden power of Windows Jump Lists

Windows is full of so many handy little features it's easy to forget some of them if you aren't using it every day. One such feature is Jump Lists, which is the app-specific menu that appears when you right-click a desktop app icon on the taskbar.

What you see in a Jump List is almost totally dependent on the app developer. By default, all Windows will provide is an option to open/close the app and pin/unpin it from the taskbar. Beyond that it's up to the app maker to add what makes sense for their app

Many apps, if they use Jump Lists at all, simply use the feature to show your recently opened files, along with an option to permanently pin specific files to the list. That's a great feature, but Jump Lists can be far more useful and productive than that. They can, for example, allow you to jump to a specific section of an app or open the app with a specific mode or setting. There's really no limit to what a Jump List can do.

Here are a few examples of apps that make Jump Lists really shine.

Steam

The Jump List for Steam for Windows.

Valve's Steam desktop app is a great example of what you can do with Jump Lists. Steam's Jump List provides shortcuts to multiple frequently used sections of the app, including the storefront, your personal game library, your friends list, the music player, the Steam community, and more.

The Steam Jump List makes it that much easier to leap right into the section of the app you need instead of waiting for the app to open and then navigating through the app's UI to the section you need. And if you never use any of the Jump List's default sections, you can remove specific listings in the Steam client's settings, and they'll be replaced by your most recently played games.

Bravo, Valve.

OneNote

OneNote 2013's Jump List.

Microsoft's OneNote has a Jump List that makes it easy to use the note-taking app's extra features, such as screen clippings, sending content to OneNote, and starting a new quick note.

Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer

The three major Windows browsers share some pretty common Jump List features that can help you be more productive with your web browsing.

Chrome's Jump List lets you switch between profiles.

Chrome offers a list of recently closed tabs, while Firefox and IE opt for listing frequently visited sites. Jump Lists for Firefox and IE allow you to open a new tab, Chrome and Firefox let you open a new window, and all three let you start a private browsing session (incognito mode in Chrome) from the taskbar.

Another nice feature that Chrome's Jump List offers is the ability to switch between user profiles.

Start exploring

There are far more apps we could talk about that have productive Jump Lists, such as email apps that let you compose a new message or Windows Media Center's Jump List, which shows you your latest TV recordings.

The next time you're in front of your PC have a look at the Jump Lists available on your favorite apps. It might surprise you just how handy they can be if you get in the habit of right-clicking your taskbar.

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