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The blue screen of death is going green for Windows testers
If there's one color guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of Windows users, it's blue. But as one Twitter sleuth has discovered, the iconic and always alarming "blue screen of death" is going green, and not because Microsoft is feeling festive. The new crash screen was spotted in a recently leaked preview version of Windows 10 (build 14997, to be exact), which isn't expected to be formally released until early next year. Microsoft's Matthijs Hoekstra has confirmed the color change is specific to test builds released through the Windows Insider program, which makes sense. Where bugs and crashes are reported, Microsoft will immediately be able to distinguish between problems with consumer Windows 10 builds, and those found on early, less stable preview builds.
Windows 10's virtual trackpad turns tablets into mice
Microsoft has begun testing out a new virtual trackpad feature in Windows 10, allowing users to turn their tablets into mice while using external displays. Chances are it'll form part of the OS's "Creators Update" arriving next spring, with the feature now live in the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview release (build 14965, if you're interested). The virtual trackpad is exactly what it sounds like: A square boundary with left and right mouse buttons sitting below it, performing the function you'd expect but using a device's touchscreen to receive inputs.
Windows 10 is now installed on 110 million devices
With Windows 10 being a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8 users, it's no surprise that many have jumped at the chance to see what Microsoft's latest OS has to offer. In fact, only a day after its release, the company counted 14 million installs, which skyrocketed to 75 million less than a month after that. At the "Windows 10 devices" event today, Microsoft's Terry Myerson provided a brief update, announcing that figure has now reached a whopping 110 million. That's quite the number, especially considering Windows 10 has only been out for around 10 weeks. The overwhelming majority of installs are coming from regular consumers, too, with just over 8 million attributed to business PCs.
Here's how to watch Microsoft's IFA keynote
Unlike Sony, Samsung, Huawei and others, Microsoft isn't putting on a flashy press conference at this year's IFA. That said, Nick Parker, Corporate VP of the company's OEM division, will be taking to the stage to deliver a keynote speech entitled "Windows 10 lights up new devices" roughly 30 minutes from now. Given Parker's position and the brief keynote summary, we imagine he'll be touching on the broad range of devices powered by Microsoft's latest OS -- including some of those announced over the last few days from the likes of Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and others. While we don't expect any surprise announcements from Microsoft itself, never say never. We'll be there, of course, and if you'd like to join us, jump on the livestream and settle in.
An in-depth look at the Windows 10 Technical Preview for phones
By now, you will have heard at least something about Windows 10, the next iteration of Microsoft's OS that aims to create a unified experience across all the devices it'll eventually inhabit: everything from PCs and laptops to tablets and phones. Microsoft already released several preview builds for computers, and now the first Windows 10 Technical Preview is available for phones. You're highly unlikely to want to install this buggy early build on your daily driver, but don't sweat it. I've got just the phone for the job: a Lumia 630, which happens to be one of the few compatible devices at the moment. So let's take a look at what's new, and what's still to come.
