Windows 7 and 8.1 Update is Windows 10 downloader

Microsoft has hidden a Windows 10 ad-generator/downloader in a latest security update KB 3139929. This security update is meant for IE11 users who are running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. So, before installing any Patch Tuesday, take a moment to look at what’s inside.

Microsoft’s Windows 10 updates are often labeled as security updates, feature updates, and bug fixes. While it’s hard to distinguish between a new feature update and a bug fix, the security updates are released as a separate release.
But, the desire to install Windows 10 on more devices has forced Redmond to change the rules and hide Windows 10 download ads in the latest Internet Explorer 11 security patch. If we look at Microsoft’s documentation regarding Patch Tuesday’s KB 3139929 Internet Explorer security update, it also installs a new Windows 10 ad routine called KB 3146449.

“This update adds functionality to Internet Explorer 11 on some computers that lets users learn about Windows 10 or start an upgrade to Windows 10,” Microsoft describes the update.
However, it isn’t clear how does this update affect your browser. Some websites report that after installing the update, IE11 shows you a big Windows 10 upgrade banner if you visit MSN.com.

 

Other users have already complained that they have been seeing giant Windows 10 pop-ups that prompt them to upgrade Windows 10 when they MSN.com — all this without installing the new IE11 security update. I’ve tried to reproduce this behaviour on my spare Windows 7 PC but failed to do so.
This Windows update was first spotted by InfoWorld.
If this behaviour is exactly the way it’s being reported, it’s a part of Microsoft’s strategy to increase the pace of Windows 10 installations. In the past, it was reported that company is using some shady promotional tactics and the latest saga is the new low.

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Microsoft Lumia 535 Launched in India for Rs.9,199

Lumia 535 is the first device of Microsoft to be launched without the Nokia brand and it will be available in the market from November 28.

Lumia 535, the first smartphone in the Lumia series to be announced without Nokia brand name, has been launched in India by Microsoft for Rs 9,199.

The Microsoft Lumia 535 has a 5 inch IPS LCD display with qHD (540x960 pixels) resolution. The display has scratch resistant Gorilla Glass 3 coating. This 8.8 mm thick smartphone weighs 146 grams which is pretty decent for a 5 inch device.

The Lumia 535 has 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 200 quad core processor that runs the Windows Phone 8.1 Lumia Denim operating system. The phone has decent 8 GB internal storage apart from an expandable storage slot that can accommodate a micro SD card of up to 128 GB. Also it has decent 1 GB RAM.

The Microsoft Lumia 535 has a 1905 mAh removable battery that claims to offer 13 hours of 3G talktime and 6.5 hours of maximum video playback. There is a micro SIM slot in the Lumia 535 which has Bluetooth4.0, micro USB 2.0 port, and WiFi with hotspot feature. It has GPS with A-GPS and A-GLONASS for navigation. Besides, it has access to Here Maps, Bing Maps, and Here Drive+ navigation apps.

The Lumia 535 comes with a 5 megapixel auto focus rear camera with f/2.4 aperture and 28 mm camera focal length. There is an LED flash in the rear panel too. In the front, this phone has a 5 megapixel wide angle fixed focus camera. It has FM radio and comes with noise cancellation as well.

The Microsoft Lumia 535 comes in orange, black, grey, green, white, and blue colours.

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Microsoft Drops Nokia name with Lumia 535

Microsoft is trying to expand its small market share worldwide with cheaper devices.

Microsoft has unveiled a cheaper smartphone, costing about 110 euro ($135), as it eyes emerging and other low-cost markets for growth.

The new model is the first Lumia smartphone under Microsoft’s own brand name. The company has released a few Lumia models since it bought Nokia’s phone business this year, but those models still carried the Nokia brand.

The Lumia 535 Windows smartphone will have a 5-inch screen, as measured diagonally. It comes with 5-megapixel front and rear cameras, which should snap sharper selfies than typical smartphones.

Microsoft is trying to expand its small market share worldwide with cheaper devices.

To do that, it has cut manufacturing costs. For instance, camera and control buttons on many models can now be tapped on the screen rather than being physical buttons on the frame.

Despite the low cost, Microsoft said the new phone would offer the same Microsoft services that high-end phones did. That includes Skype video calls, Office apps and the virtual assistant Cortana.

As is common with phones for emerging markets, Microsoft is making a version with slots for two SIM cards so that people can switch between service providers more easily.

The Lumia 535 is expected to go on sale this month. Microsoft didn’t announce any U.S. plans.

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Windows Phone 8.1 Review

Windows Phone 8.1 brings Microsoft's mobile platform to the modern age, finally, with a handful of big new updates. In fact, it's strange to call it 8.1 when it could really warrant a whole new name.

Many of the issues that we've always had with Windows Phone have finally been addressed, for the most part, and it makes the platform slightly more pleasurable to use. Things that had given us headaches, like the lack of a better notification system, are all gone.

Of course, it's still very much Windows Phone. So for those of you already familiar with previous iterations of Windows Phone, you'll feel right at home with some pleasant surprises along the way.

Live Tiles, the Metro UI and everything else remains mostly the same, but with tweaks here and there that improve the overall experience. Perhaps the biggest addition to Windows Phone 8.1 is Cortana, Microsoft's voice-recognition personal assistant.

With Cortana, Windows Phone finally joins iOS and Android in having a personal assistant, so to speak. Like its competitors, Cortana responds to all kinds of commands and requests, from the very basic things like setting alarms to more advanced stuff, like asking if a nearby restaurant is any good.

Another new feature is the notification pane, called Action center, which is just like the ones on iOS and Android. We can't thank the stars enough for this, especially since the previous system, Toast notifications, were just awful.

When you pull down from the top bar, a window pane comes down with toggle switches for things like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, along with a list of all your pending notifications. You'll also have the option to jump into settings or clear all notifications from this pane. Thank heaven. Seriously.

With that quick intro out of the way, let's dive a little deeper into this new stuff and see what the fuss is all about. But before we proceed, it's important to note that we have a developer preview version of Windows Phone 8.1, meaning that a lot of things could change before the final software version reaches the masses.

Cortana

With Cortana, you should be able to do all kinds of things without having to press more than a single button. First, like a good personal assistant should, Cortana learns important tidbits about you and who you are and things you're into.

Keeping track of your habits, interests and daily activities better helps Cortana guide you through things and make suggestions. It probably also helps Microsoft gather way more data about you, even though the company promises the info won't be used to advertise to you.

You'll get suggestions and reminders when you set them, or when you're interested in taking a look, and you can also schedule things in your calendar and send messages, too.

When you open up the app, the first thing you'll see is the weather and other items that might be pertinent to you, like transportation times, and more. Your information is kept in Cortana's Notebook, which holds your interests, quiet hours, places you visit, music searches you make and more.

Based on your interests compiled in Cortana's Notebook, you'll get information that suits you, rather than random suggestions that might have no interest to you. It's a little like Google Now, which shows you your travel data, calendar updates and more.

In the Interests section, you can quickly glance at your day by checking traffic, weather, news headlines and more. You can also get suggestions on what to eat nearby, plan trips and check for local attractions.

One neat feature in Cortana is quiet hours, and it works much like iOS's Do Not Disturb feature. You can set certain times of the day when you won't be bothered with notifications and calls. However, there is an option to let callers get through if they call a number of times within a given time frame, which makes it likely an emergency. Although, I did have a drunk ex once who'd call me repeatedly and bypass iOS's Do Not Disturb, so I just had to shut off that feature altogether. Your mileage may vary.

An additional option in quiet hours, like other OSes, is making exceptions for certain contacts. If you add people to your "inner circle" they can bypass the quiet hours entirely. This would be useful if you need to answer your boss's phone calls at 1 a.m., for example.

Cortana also works with speech to text, so you can just talk instead of typing when you need to. Like iOS and Android, all you do is tap the microphone button and start talking to your phone. Once you're done speaking, the phone will recognize when you're finished and the text just pops right up where it should be. Easy.

No virtual assistant is perfect, and Cortana isn't immune to the same faults as Siri or Google Now.

Occasionally, Cortana has some trouble hearing or deciphering things, so you'll just have to do a few things manually when that's the case. And if you ask Cortana for something that it doesn't understand, it will default you to a Bing web search, just like Siri would. Straight to the web.

We'd expect Cortana to get much better over time, and it's definitely a welcome addition to Windows Phone. Once a few bugs are squashed, it'll be right up there with Siri and Google Now.

Our Rating: 3.5

Pros

• Cortana Voice Search is super-cool.
• Cortana Home and Notebook is easy to use and Navigate.

Cons

• Some efforts will be needed to make a phone truly personal.

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