Saturday, December 31, 2016

Keep your phone safe in the car with this $10 magnetic car mount!

One of your resolutions for 2017 should definitely be to keep your phone out of your hands when you are driving, and this awesome magnetic car mount makes that so much easier. Anker's magnetic car mount is a simple way to keep your phone out of your hands but still in view so you can use it for navigation, music streaming and more. The strong magnet allows it to work universally with just about any phone, so it won't matter how often you switch you can use it with any device you have with you that day.

This $20 discount isn't likely to last very long, so you're going to want to pick one up sooner than later. Something like this makes for a great investment for each car you own, so be sure to grab a couple to keep your loved ones safe on the road.

See at Amazon



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How to celebrate New Year's in VR

Celebrate the new year from inside VR!

The end of 2016 is upon us, which means parties full of friends, watching the ball drop, and washing your hands of this year in preparation for 2017. If you don't yet have plans for the big night, then don't worry! There are a few awesome ways that you can experience the New Year's party in London, or New York City, all with the aid of your VR headset. Whether you're hoping to enjoy the feel of NYC from the relative comfort of your couch, or you couldn't get tickets to see the fireworks over London, we've got you totally covered.

Read More at VRHeads



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The best of Microsoft in 2016

This is Microsoft's 2016.

Microsoft had a tremendous year in 2016, with several jaw-dropping announcements that have taken the technology industry by storm. Many have even called Microsoft the new Apple, which is a compliment in and of itself. Still, with 2017 fast approaching, it's time to take a look back at Microsoft's biggest moments in 2016 and prepare for an entire new year.

Windows 10 Anniversary Update

This year saw Microsoft release its first major feature update for Windows 10. Dubbed the "Anniversary Update", this release featured improvements to the Start Menu, Action Center, Settings and Microsoft Edge, and introduced new features such as Windows Ink, Windows Hello in the browser, and a whole lot more.

The Anniversary Update began rolling out on August 2nd for all Windows 10 users, and now accounts for around 86% of the Windows 10 market. That's incredible, and excellent news for developers as it means they don't have to worry too much about fragmentation between the different Windows 10 releases.

Windows 10 Mobile also benefited greatly from the Anniversary Update, as it was the first Windows 10 Mobile release that felt complete. It mended several software bugs, improved performance, and brought full Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile much closer together.

Universal Windows Platform



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Watch and win as we livestream cartoon adventure The Little Acre tonight on Beam

Every weekend, Windows Central livestreams an Xbox One or Steam game for 1-2 hours and gives out free games to the cool people who join us during the stream. It's like a live podcast, only you also get to watch a game while chatting with our awesome readers and viewers!

Tonight at 9pm Eastern (8pm Central, 6pm Pacific, 2am GMT) on Beam, we'll be playing The Little Acre, a beautiful cartoon-like adventure game from Curve Digital and the designer of Broken Sword. We're also giving out 10 codes for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam! Read on for quick impressions and contest details.



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Best Racing Games for Xbox One

If you like to tear up the tarmac on your Xbox One, then you're in luck — there are some great racing games available for Microsoft's console!

Racing games aren't for everyone, but for those who love them, often little else will do. Here we're taking a look at the very best that racing fans can get their hands on for the Xbox One.

No new entries as we get ready to start a new year. Forza Horizon 3 is still the best racer you can buy!



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Best Disney Games for Windows 10

The Windows 10 Store has a fantastic collection of games from Disney that range from match-three puzzlers to arcade action games. Featuring some of Disney's most beloved characters, these games have colorful graphics, challenging gameplay and can appeal to gamers young and old.

The Windows 10 Disney games can easily help you pass short bits of time and many can be addictive time-consuming adventures. We scoured the shelves to find the best Disney has to offer in the Windows Store and these are the best Disney games for Windows 10.



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Digital Offer: Get a complete Raspberry Pi 3 starter kit for only $99!

Compact computers are becoming ever-more popular thanks to cheaper, more powerful hardware, and the Raspberry Pi system is one of the most popular out there. Although you can connect to the internet with your Pi right out of the box, figuring out how the rest of it works can be a daunting task.

What you need is a set of courses that begin with the basics of compact computing and move you through to advanced topics like building robots and discovering web development through Raspberry Pi.

Right now, Windows Central Digital Offers has a complete Raspberry Pi 3 starter kit for only $99. That's about 63% off the regular price of $272! What does the starter pack hold? Other than the actual Raspberry Pi 3, enclosure case, 8GB SD card, power adapters and plethora of cables, you also get immediate access to the following courses:



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I'm a Windows phone fan in an iPhone/Android world. Why? Microsoft has it going on!

I've been a fan of Windows on phone since Windows Mobile 5.0.

As a techie that enjoys the power, flexibility, and continuity of performing personal computing tasks on the go, Microsoft's Pocket PC vision appeals to me. Furthermore, I prefer Microsoft's Universal Windows Platform vision and the Live Tile UI above the competition's offerings.

Even with 1% share I'm all in with Windows phone.

So even with just 1% market share and an "Other" category ranking, I'm all-in on Windows phone. Not only because of what it is today, but also because of what I believe it will become.

With full Windows on ARM, the PC in our pockets is closer than ever. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella's ultimate mobile device that can be a tablet, desktop PC, phone and more is coming into view as Microsoft's vision unfolds. If Microsoft pulls this off, it is going to be awesome!

Looking back at looking ahead

In January 2015, as the promise of Windows 10 inspired Windows phone fans everywhere, I mused on the possibility of a seven-inch Surface Mini phablet.

In January 2015 I envisioned a cellular-capable Surface PC.



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Sky Force Anniversary review: An addictive classic shoot 'em up comes to Xbox One

Sky Force is a shoot 'em up that rocked mobile phones way back in 2004. Now Sky Force Anniversary has arrived on Xbox One, PlayStation, and PC. Can this shmup overcome its mobile origins and provide compelling gameplay? Surprisingly, yes!



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Friday, December 30, 2016

5 Great Foam Cushion Replacements for HTC Vive

What are the best foam covers for HTC Vive?

The foam cushion on your HTC Vive is pretty comfortable as is, but that doesn't mean you can't go with a better option. If you sweat a lot, there are waterproof options, and if you watch a lot of movies, you can get something soft and comfortable. Here are the best foam cushion replacements for your HTC Vive.

Read more at VR Heads!



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How to change date and time formats on Windows 10

Not everybody needs to see time and dates the same way — if the Windows 10 default for the Taskbar doesn't do it for you, here's how to change it.

Windows 10 by default displays the date in the Taskbar formatted with forward slashes and two numbers for the year (12/28/16) and 12-hour format for time (12:00 PM), which is totally acceptable, but you can always change these settings if you want to see something different.

Perhaps you want to see dashes for the date (12-28-16) or dots (12.28.16). Or maybe for the time, you want to use a 24-hour format or something more unique, such as replacing "AM" with "Before Noon" (9:00 Before Noon) and "Afternoon" for "PM" (6:00 Afternoon).

Thankfully, Windows 10 is a flexible operating system that includes the necessary options to customize the date and time formats on your device to virtually anything you want.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to customize the date and time formats on your PC.



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Everything we know about the next Xbox: Project Scorpio

At E3 2016, Microsoft announced Project Scorpio — the beastly next Xbox.

While we know a decent amount about Project Scorpio, the next Xbox is still somewhat of a mystery, and some of the information we have unearthed has raised more questions than answers.

Will all of my Xbox One games work on Scorpio? What will Scorpio's price be? Is Project Scorpio simply an Xbox One with boosted internals, or something more? Here's everything we know so far, and a collection of educated guesses.



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Join us LIVE for the Windows Central Video Podcast today at 2:30PM ET

Make sure you join us for the LIVE recording of the Windows Central Video Podcast, today at 2:30PM ET. For those in different time zones, here's when we'll be live: Convert your time zone here.



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Does putting an adhesive skin on your gaming laptop make it hotter?

One of the fun things about this job is fielding interesting questions that may not seem like obvious inquiries. Such an example recently came up when I found multiple people asking whether using a dbrand or DecalGirl adhesive skin on your laptop make it hotter.

On the face of it, the answer to me seemed like an obvious 'no, ' and I found the question odd. Nonetheless, I could see the 'broscience' explanation of why maybe it could matter.



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Gears of War 4 drops to just $25 at Best Buy

If you haven't had a chance to jump into Gears of War 4 on your Xbox One just yet, Best Buy's latest deal of the day may be just the excuse you need.



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Amazon will sell you a 200GB microSD card today for just $63

Amazon has once again dropped the price of the 200GB SanDisk microSD card to $63, which is a pretty great deal. While not the lowest price the card has ever hit, this is pretty close to it. Whether you need some additional storage in your phone, camera, drone, or even computer, you'll be thankful to have 200GB that is so portable. Load up your favorite pictures, movies, music and more to carry around with you all the time!

This deal is only good for today, December 30, so be sure to grab one now if you are interested!

See at Amazon



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Track your fitness progress with My Workouts

My Workouts is a Windows 10 app designed to help you track your exercise sessions. Available for Windows 10 PC and Mobile, My Workouts lets you log your workouts, create training plans, monitor your weight loss/gain and provide statistical charts to evaluate your progress. Data can be synchronized between devices through your Onedrive account.

The interface could use a little polishing, but after entering a few training sessions the rough edges do get smoother. All in all, if you are looking for a Windows 10 app to log your fitness activities My Workouts is a free app worth giving a try.



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Best RPGs for HTC Vive

What are the best RPGs for my HTC Vive?

Role-playing games are a ton of fun when played on a monitor, but actually stepping into the shoes of a character and giving their life a try through VR is an entirely different experience. The library of RPGs for HTC Vive is ever-expanding, but here are some of the best you can try right now.

Read more at VR Heads!



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Last chance: Become a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert for $48!

Obsessed with all things Microsoft? Looking to become a skilled IT specialist? Craving that extra little bit of certification excellence and legitimacy, but then you look at that $790 price tag for online courses and you're like…

Yikes. Nevermind.

We don't blame you, and that's why we here at Windows Central are so excited to announce the amazing savings you can get when you buy the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert: Server Infrastructure Bundle from iCollege – an international provider of online courses, learning technologies, and development services – for 92% off it's regular asking price.

TLDR; you'll be paying only $47.99 for this highly-respected and sought-after Microsoft certification that you would normally spend over $700 on.

The Server Infrastructure Bundle is broken down into 5 separate courses:

  • Microsoft 70-410: Installing & Configuring Windows Server 2012 will help you with the basics of becoming an expert with skills like installing and configuring servers, configuring print and document services, installing domain controllers, and more.

  • Microsoft 70-411: Administering Windows Server 2012 is designed to help you with more practical skills like group management, data security, and network access, while still teaching things like how to monitor servers, configuring VPNs & routing, configuring account policies & group policy processing, preferences, settings, objects (GPOs), and more.



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Star Wars: Rogue One – Wired Xbox One Controllers review

To celebrate the theatrical release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, PowerA has released a pair of themed wired controllers for Xbox One and Windows 10. Fans can pick the Light Side-themed Jyn Erso controller, or a Dark Side controller emblazoned with a Death Trooper. They look cool, but are they any good as controllers?



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Steam Link review: An affordable way to play PC games on the big screen

The Steam Link is an affordable solution to get you gaming on the big screen in the living room without having to lug your PC to the TV.

Steam Link is an interesting device for those already invested in the Steam ecosystem. This little box allows users to hook up their PC remotely to the TV in another room, much like the Xbox app can do with an Xbox One but inverted. It's incredibly simple to use, too: plug a HDMI cable into the TV and either hook up the Steam Link to the router via ethernet or Wi-Fi and you're pretty much good to go.



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How to change priority of notifications in Windows 10

How do I change which notification pop up in action center?

Not all apps on your Windows 10 PC are the same; some you care about a whole lot, and some you don't care about at all. To better personalize Windows 10, you can change which app notifications appear where in the action center.

How to enable and disable notifications from specific apps

Tired of seeing notifications from a certain app? Disable them completely. Can't figure out why you're not getting any notifications from another app? Make sure they're turned on. Here's how.

  1. Click the Start button.
  2. Click the Settings button.
  3. Click System.

  4. Click Notifications & actions.
  5. Click the switch next to an app in the list of senders to turn notifications on or off.



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Digital Day sale is now live on Amazon U.S. — here are the best deals!

Digital Day sale kicks off Amazon U.S.

Amazon has kicked off its inaugural Digital Day sale, offering discounts on thousands of games, apps, movies, TV shows, music albums, comics, and more. PC games are discounted by up to 75%, several albums are available for $5 and there are hundreds of movies on sale for just $4.99.



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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Razer DeathAdder Elite Review: The jack-of-all-trades gaming mouse

The Razer DeathAdder is a popular mouse thanks to its highly accurate sensor, available software suite and stunning looks. The Elite aims to take everything to the next level with eSports in mind.

The DeathAdder is the trusty gaming mouse from Razer that has been around for some time, a decade in fact. The company refreshed the snake this year with the launch of the DeathAdder Elite. It's ergonomic, solid-looking, and remains the jack-of-all-trades choice for many gamers.



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How to change the registered owner and organization info on Windows 10

Here are the steps to have Windows 10 show the correct registered owner and organization information on your computer.

Windows 10 by default no longer lets users set their registered owner and organization information during installation. Instead, the operating system uses default information, such as your email address if you're using a Microsoft account, "user name" and "org name" when starting with a local account, or "Windows User" if you're installing an Insider preview build.

About Windows: Insider preview (left), Local account (middle), Microsoft account (right)

Typically, you'll only see this information on About Windows, but while there are still a lot of apps that look for these names to customize the experience on Windows 10, or your computer is part of an organization, it's a good idea to add the correct information.

In this Windows 10 guide, we'll walk you through the steps to change the registered owner and organization information on your PC using the Registry.



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