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Windows

Linux On Windows Goes Beyond Developers, Reflects On The Future of Microsoft

The Microsoft Build Conference took place a few weeks ago, and as always, it gave us a good glimpse into how Microsoft is shaping up and the ways in which it can entice developers. Let’s face it: Windows 10, in its current state, features only 60-70% of apps people would want — and the problem is compounded further on the phone platform. For the past few years, the reality of so-called universal apps has materialized, though even that still only created minor ripples in the Windows App Store quality. We finally heard of projects which allow for developers to (relatively easily) port over apps they created for the iPhone to Windows last year, along with a similar bridge for Android. This Android bridge was codenamed Project Astoria, and unfortunately was killed off earlier this year (which is quite a shame, as Android apps are far greater, though one could debate the quality of those in either store depending on price or content). read more

VIP: Reviving Old Screen Readers

Welcome to another edition of VIP. In this episode, Justin is joined by Leo and Jessica, as they proceed to go through some interesting news from the past week. They discuss the fact that Google released a blog post outlining some accessibility improvements that they have made in the past few weeks. Along this same line, Microsoft also announced some big changes to Narrator making it easier to use than ever before. Changing gears a little bit, they also discuss the Lechal shoes and insoles, which give directions to users by vibrating as the user is walking around. read more

Virtualize This: Install Windows 10 On a Virtual Machine

If you have always wanted to try out an operating system but you don’t want to risk losing your files, one good solution is to install it on a virtual machine. A virtual machine allows you to install an OS in an isolated environment, so even if anything goes wrong, your primary OS is still intact. It also lets you experiment without forcing you to part with your current OS. In this podcast, Leo walks you through installing Windows 10 on VMware Player, a free software which allows you to install an operating system on a virtual machine. If you don’t have a copy of windows 10, the best way to obtain an iso image is through the media creation tool. To help with the initial install, the talking Windows PE iso is also used. Only the initial install of windows 10 is covered, so if you’re stuck at the welcome screen, this podcast will show you how to complete the installation.

first major Windows 10 update surfaces, with substantial improvements excluding accessibility

Since the release of Windows 10, people have critiqued the operating system on numerous fronts for privacy concerns and general bugs. While our impression of the OS was certainly better than that of Windows 8, it had glaring accessibility concerns. I will state this up front, within the first paragraph of this article: This first Windows 10 update offers no new major accessibility improvements. To recap the glaring problems in accessibility still present from that first fabled launch day: read more

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