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Windows 10 takes up less space and lets you easily kill bloatware
Microsoft is finally fixing a few of the most hated things about Windows. In a blog post, the software giant revealed that compared to Windows 8.1, Windows 10 will take up as much as 6.6GB less space, will re-install faster and possibly be easier to rid of crapware. To achieve those goals, Microsoft is using "Wimboot" disk compression to reduce system file and app sizes. To make sure it doesn't compromise performance, the OS will check your system RAM and other parameters before installing it. Also, instead of being stuck with files needed to recover from a failure, you'll create your own to backup and restore the OS and apps on PCs and tablets (Windows phones already have this feature). It added that the new technique will still allow recovery from "severe corruption."
Lock and (re)load: BioWare preps us for The Old Republic's launch
With 15 days to go before Star Wars: The Old Republic's launch, it doesn't seem like there's much time to get everything stocked and ready before the year's biggest release happens. Fortunately, BioWare's helping us to run down the preparation list with a series of informative forum posts. First on the list is to make sure that SWTOR players have the latest version of the client installed on their computers. BioWare says that if you played the game prior to November 25th, you'll probably need to install a completely new client; if you played since, you should be good. There are instructions on the forums as to how you can check which version you have. Pre-orders are wondering about early access, which BioWare says is the same between the three editions of the game -- it only matters when you added your pre-order code, not which edition you purchased. More information about the early access program is coming later this week. Finally, BioWare is preparing to make major changes to SWTOR's forums following a December 10th outage, during which all posts and PMs will be erased (as will infractions!). New forums, including those covering crew skills, story, lore and PvP, will be added, and guild forums will be expanded significantly. Those just starting to learn about the game will appreciate the new player help forum and community blog that's coming with the update.
Patch 2.3.3 glitches
With the advent of Patch 2.3.3 yesterday, there have been reports of unusual behavior. A few people in my guild say that while the load times might be shorter, when they do log in, everyone is naked. I DC'd twice last night standing in Shatt (which never happens), and the World Server took a dirt nap for a bit. Sadly for one rogue I know, the WS went down exactly as she was swapping gear for a BG, effectively destroying her Belt of One-Hundred Deaths. GM ticket? She has it! Over on WoW Ladies, a few players have reported that after downloading the patch yesterday afternoon, they couldn't play WoW at all. Either they couldn't connect or would get fatal errors. After contacting Blizz customer service, they were instructed to reinstall the entire game. Since then a hotfix has been issued that seems to have corrected the problem. Did you experience any patch bugs or has it been smooth sailing?
