Microsoft, right on schedule, has made the Windows 10 Technical Preview available to download. There are 64-bit and 32-bit versions available for US English, Real English, Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese. Follow these instructions to download and install the Windows 10 Technical Preview.
Updated: I have just completed upgrading Windows 8.1 Pro to Windows 10 Technical Preview. The upgrade appears to have worked cleanly. I haven’t spotted any issues yet, but will run a full suite of tests now.
My first Windows 10 Technical Preview screenshot, showing Photoshop and the new Start menu
Be prepared
As always with beta/preview software, you shouldn’t install it unless you’re fully prepared. This means you should back up any important files, and ideally you should have a separate hard drive/partition to install the Technical Preview on. You cannot revert from Windows 10 Technical Preview to Windows 7 or Windows 8; if you have second thoughts, you will have to reinstall from scratch.
Download the Windows 10 Technical Preview
To begin, head on over to preview.windows.com and join the Windows Insider Program. This only takes a few clicks if you already have a Microsoft account.
You then need to download the appropriate installation file (an ISO) for your system. This is probably the 64-bit (x64) version — though if you have an older system, or you want to test out the 32-bit version, grab the 32-bit download instead. The download will probably take quite a while: the 64-bit ISO comes in at 4GB.
Note down your license key (though you will be able to visit the page later, too).
With the ISO fully downloaded, you then need to transfer it to either a USB thumb drive (preferred) or burn it to a DVD. If you have Windows 8/8.1, burning a DVD is fairly easy — you can do it directly in Explorer. For burning an ISO image to a USB thumb drive,the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool is probably still your best bet.
If you want to install a fresh version of Windows 10 Technical Preview, reboot your computer, boot from the USB stick/DVD drive, and follow the on-screen prompts (use “Advanced” mode when prompted). If you want to upgrade an existing version of Windows 7 or 8/8.1, just run setup.exe from the USB/DVD drive from Explorer.
Do read the next section before you go ahead with the install, though.
Screenshot from the Windows 10 Technical Preview upgrade client (in Windows 8.1)
Screenshot from the Windows 10 Technical Preview upgrade client (in Windows 8.1)
Caveats and other options
As far as we’re aware, you can upgrade your existing Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 installation to the Windows 10 Technical Preview. I would advise you to do a clean installation of the Technical Preview, however, on a separate partition or hard drive, in case something messes up. The Technical Preview license expires at the end of April 2015, but another Preview build will be released before then. Other potential caveats/pitfalls can be found on the Windows 10 Technical Preview FAQ.
So, I installed Windows 10 Technical Preview. Actually, I was feeling so brave (foolhardy?) that I upgraded my main Windows 8.1 installation to Windows 10. The good news: The upgrade process went very smoothly indeed. The bad news: Well, except for a few small interface quirks, there doesn’t seem to be much bad news. Read on for my early hands-on impressions of Windows 10 Technical Preview — and a video of Windows 10 Technical Preview running on my multi-monitor desktop PC.
If you can’t watch this hands-on video, there are lots of screenshots below.
Upgrading from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10
First up, the upgrade process was very simple. I downloaded and installed Windows 10 Technical Preview, burnt it to a USB thumb drive, and then ran setup.exe from within Windows 8.1. I followed the on-screen prompts and kept all of my “settings, personal files, and apps” when given the option. After that, it was just a matter of hitting Next until the install completed. The upgrade took about 10-15 minutes (on a decent SSD).
Windows 10 Technical Preview upgrade screen. Yes, the rainbow colored section towards the end is still there.
So far I haven’t noticed any obvious issues (crashing bugs, faulty drivers) — but I haven’t done much more than run Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and a few games (Dota 2). Considering the Desktop side of Windows 10 is basically just Windows 8 (which in turn is essentially just Windows 7), everything should just work.
For the most part, if you’ve been using Windows 8 on a mouse-and-keyboard desktop PC for a while, Windows 10 Technical Preview will feel very familiar. Here are the new changes/features that immediately stood out:
Windows 10 looks a lot sharper. The new 1-pixel borders on app windows, along with the drop shadow, really does make the Windows 10 Desktop look rather smart.
The new Alt-Tab view is horrible. I’ve always hated Microsoft’s attempts to re-work the Alt-Tab app switcher into something more visual. The new Alt-Tab view in Windows 10 is pretty horrendous (picture below). Maybe it’ll be better once I get used to it — but if you’re used to a neat line of thumbnails that you can cycle through, you’re in for a shock.
Snapping is indeed much improved. In Windows 10 Technical Preview you have many more ways of snapping apps than in Windows 8. You can now snap left and right, and left and right of the middle divider on a multi-monitor setup. You can also snap in a top or bottom corner. When you snap an app, if you have other apps minimized, a new interface pops up asking if you want to snap another app into the remaining gap. It’s kind of cool. Very much a throwback to the “tile view” of yesteryear.
The Start menu is back. Personally I don’t use the Start menu much (I prefer to pin my apps to the taskbar), but yes, the Start menu is back in Windows 10 — and yes, you can remove all of the live tiles if you want. (Funnily enough, after removing all of the live tiles, I don’t know how to put them back.)
Windows 10 Technical Preview screenshots
Here’s a selection of screenshots from my Windows 10 Technical Preview adventures thus far. They mostly accompany the video; where you might not be able to see the detail in the video, I’ve provided a full-res screenshot below.
Windows 10 Technical Preview: The new Alt-Tab switcher
Windows 10 Technical Preview, Chrome. You can see the red X button is designed for the wider border of Windows 8, and thus it overhangs a bit in Windows 10
Windows 10 Technical Preview Start menu – without any live tiles
Windows 10 Technical Preview, snap helper UI thing
Windows 10 Technical Preview, improved app snapping
And finally, a very intimidating screenshot indeed: The new virtual desktops feature, on a multi-monitor Windows 10 Technical Preview setup. You will want to click this image to zoom in, to marvel at the power-userness of it all.
This is just the tip of the Windows 10 iceberg. The Technical Preview appears to be missing a lot of features, such as Cortana and the Notifications tray. There are also a lot of new configuration options to play around with — which is what I’m going to do now. I’ll keep this post updated as my exploration of Windows 10 Technical Preview progresses.
One of the most surprising aspects of yesterday’s Microsoft event was the name of its new operating system: Windows 10. Not Windows 8.2 or Windows 9… but Windows 10. When asked about Windows 10′s name, Windows chief Terry Myerson and Joe Belfiore avoided a direct answer, instead joking about how “seven ate nine” and then lamely saying how the “breadth of the product family” justifies the grandiose name. So, really, why did Microsoft call it Windows 10 instead of Windows 9?
Updated 6:39am October 2: I’ve added two other alternative (conspiracy?) theories on why it might be called Windows 10 rather than Windows 9. I would take these theories with a large pinch of salt — but I’ve included them because they’re just about feasible enough that they might actually be real.
Version numbers, version schmumbers
First of all, it’s important to note that between Windows 3 and Windows 7, versions of Windows were designated by a name rather than a number: 95, 98, NT, Me, 2000, Vista, and so on. When Microsoft announced Windows 7, there was actually a similar amount of disbelief/pushback; after a series of named versions of Windows, it seemed odd to jump back to numbers.
Windows 8.1: Actually version 6.3, build 9600
There’s also the odd fact that the name of each Windows release doesn’t actually match the real version number; for example, Windows 8.1 is actually version 6.3 of Windows. Windows 10 is version 6.4. The last time the release name actually matched the version number was Windows NT 4.0, which was released back in 1996. Windows 2000, which was called NT 5.0 during development, was actually version 5.0. Windows XP was version 5.1. Windows Vista was 6.0, Windows 7 was 6.1, Windows 8 was 6.2, and Windows 8.1 is version 6.3. (WinRT, which powersMetro, is a new and separate beast, but it still sits on top of the core Windows kernel.)
Technically, modern versions of Windows are still based on the Vista kernel/code base — including Windows 10, which is actually Windows 6.4. There will be some confusion if/when we eventually reach internal version 7.0, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
Some alternative theories for skipping Windows 9
After publishing this story, some other possible reasons for Microsoft skipping Windows 9 came to light. I am dubious about both of these alternate theories, but they have just enough truthiness in them that I’ll share them with you.
First, an ExtremeTech reader called Benny emailed me to say that the number 9 is considered unlucky in Japan. Microsoft has a big enough presence in Japan that it may have skipped Windows 9 to avoid any weirdness or ill will. Benny says that Trend Micro — a Japanese company — did the same thing a few years ago when it skipped version 9 of its antivirus software.
Second, someone purporting to be a Microsoft developer posted this comment on Reddit:
As stupid/amazing as this sounds, it is actually quite feasible that there are still a lot of legacy Desktop apps that use this method (or something similar) to check for Windows 95 or 98. Bear in mind that this is just an example piece of code — some developers will check for the OS name (“Windows…”), some will check for the version number (as discussed in the previous section of this story), and some might use other methods entirely to find out what OS the app is running on.
What’s in a name?
Ultimately, Windows 10 is just a name. Windows 9 probably would’ve made more sense — and I think it’s going to cause a lot of grief with novice users who just don’t understandwhat happened to Windows 9 — but Windows 10 isn’t any more right or wrong than calling Vista’s successor Windows 7.
Why Windows 10 wasn’t called Windows One: “It has been done before” (by Bill Gates)
A better question to ask now, though, is: Why did Microsoft call it Windows 10 specifically, and not something else? During the unveil event (video embedded above) Myerson gives us a few clues. Starting at around the 2:10 mark, he says: “We know, based on the product that’s coming, and just how different our approach will be overall, it wouldn’t be right to call it Windows 9.” He then talks about how Windows One would make sense with Xbox One, OneDrive, and OneNote, “but unfortunately Windows 1 has been done by the giants that came before us.” And so it seems the only other viable option was Windows 10.
Microsoft’s seemingly arbitrary choice of Windows 10 is an interesting one. It is clearly a strong version number — and it’s also a neat way of distancing it from Windows 8, which Microsoft really wants to brush under the carpet. In fact, this might even be the same trick that Microsoft used to make us forget about Vista: “With a name like Windows 7, it must be very different from Vista…”
Apple’s OS X has been OS X for 13 years now — and shows no sign of being retired
What about any similarity to Apple’s Mac OS X? Apple did a similar trick: Its operating systems steadily incremented through System 1-7, then switched to Mac OS 8 and 9, and when it got to OS 10 (X) in 2001 it stopped. Given how Windows 10 is meant to be a single platform for just about every form factor, plus the massive weight and importance that Microsoft is lending to this release, I wouldn’t be surprised if it sticks around for a long time. I wouldn’t be surprised if future versions of Windows — at least for the next few years — are 10, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, etc. I don’t think Microsoft is intentionally aping Apple with Windows 10, but I’m sure the marketing department is aware of both the positive and negative repercussions of wanting to ride on Apple’s coattails.
So, there you have it: Windows 10 is called Windows 10 because Microsoft says so. I personally think just “Windows” or “Windows X” would’ve been better — but I guess the former got voted down, and the latter is impossible due to Apple’s own OS X.
Microsoft unveiledWindows 10at an event in San Francisco today, lifting the lid off the highly anticipated Windows upgrade, though not under its expected name, before a gathered group of journalists and analysts.
Microsoft's Terry Myerson said the new Windows needed to be built from the ground up for a "mobile-first, cloud-first world," the mantra Microsoft has adopted ever since CEO Satya Nadella took over.
To that end, Windows 10 will run on more types of devices than ever before, and Microsoft will bring forth a single application platform, complete with one integrated Store, to deliver Windows experiences across devices.
Myerson called Windows 10 "our most comprehensive platform ever." Windows 10 is scalable across devices big and small, and developers can create across platforms using a "core common code."
You may notice Microsoft jumped straight from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10, leapfrogging the expected Windows 9 release. Myerson maintained that when users get their hands on the new OS, they'll see "Windows 10" is more fitting than "Windows 9."
Beginning tomorrow, Microsoft is launching a Windows Insider Program. A preview of Windows 10 is due out next week, and Microsoft expects to ship the OS later in 2015.
Windows 9 ... er 10 ... for enterprise
The event was billed as an enterprise-focused affair, and Myerson wasted no time getting into the business side of things.
According to Microsoft, Windows 10 offers a modern management platform that provides familiar, compatible and productive service.
Enterprises will get a chance to try an early version of Windows 10 before anyone else. The new OS will be able to run all of Microsoft's legacy Windows enterprise apps.
IT managers will be able to create customized internal app stores for employees to access, and managing Windows 10 should be a streamlined breeze as it will be accessible on phones, tablets, PCs and more.
By design, Windows 10 has some clear hark-backs to Windows 7.
The company wanted to give users something familiar to work with, a complaint that plagued the jarring Windows 8.
For example, the traditional Windows 7 Snap View works in classic and universal apps on Windows 10.
Microsoft also wanted to make its OS more novice-friendly to help them multitask better on the platform.
A button called "task view" is now present on the task bar, and launching task view will pull up all the apps users have running. Multiple desktops live along the bottom of the screen, and users can jump from desktop to desktop while keeping all their apps running.
A new Snap Assist UI lets users grab apps from various desktops, pulling them onto their screen in one full-screen view. You can have Bing search along the bottom, a Word doc on top, a PowerPoint to the side and your finder open below it.
In a simple fix - one that should have been added long ago - users can now Crtl+V to paste a command prompt.
While lending plenty of time to Windows power users, Microsoft also addressed the touch-first crowd it tried to attract with Windows 8. The Charms bar isn't going away in Windows 10, though Joe Belfiore said he expects it to change over time.
Swiping to the left on a touch-enabled Windows 10 device will pull up task view, complete with larger buttons for a more finger-friendly experience. Swiping to the right pulls up the settings menu.
A new design feature called Continuum lets the Windows 10 UI change depending on what device someone is using. Clicking away on a mouse and keyboard? Windows 10 will show in classic desktop mode. Jump to a tablet or a 2-in-1, and you're in tablet mode.The idea behind Continuum seems to be a consistent yet device-optimized design to give users the best Windows 10 experience, no matter.
Myerson said there will be more to share on the consumer side of Windows 10 early next year, and the Build 2015 conference will feature talk on Universal apps.
Microsoft is all set to officially unveil Windows 9 at a special event on September 30 — and so we thought it would be a good time to run through everything that we already know about Microsoft’s new operating system. Most of these features and changes are reliably sourced from people close to the development of Windows 9 or from leaked builds of the Windows 9 Technical Preview. We’ll also update this story with an official list of Windows 9 features when Microsoft starts releasing public beta builds next week. In short, if you want to find out about Windows 9, this is the place to be.
After the very poor response to Windows 8, and the bitter taste it left in the mouths of millions of users, Windows 9 is a very important release for Microsoft. On the one hand, it needs to rectify Windows 8′s wrongs and offer normal PC users a reason to upgrade from Windows XP or 7. On the other hand, Microsoft continues to lose ground in the mobile sector as well. Windows 9 will actually have to be the jack of all trades, rather than Windows 8′s rather ignominious status as the master of none. How will Microsoft do this? Well, let’s take a look.
Windows 9 for desktop and laptop users
The Start menu returns. After a few years of claiming that the Metro-style Start screen was just as good for mouse-and-keyboard use as touchscreen use, Microsoft has finally backed down. Windows 9 will have a Start menu on the Desktop; the left side will look a lot like the standard Windows 7 Start menu, but the right side will have the option of being populated with Metro-style live tiles. The left side of the menu will adopt a new Metro-like look, too — though you may be able to configure it to look like the good ol’ Windows 7 Start menu.
Virtual desktops. In Windows 9, you will have the option of using virtual desktops. Right now you just have one desktop per monitor — but with virtual desktops, you can switch between as many desktops as you like. This is a popular power user feature that has been present on some Linux window managers and via third-party Windows tools for years — but now it’ll be native in Windows 9.
Metro apps on the Desktop. Rather than forcing you into the full-screen Metro interface, Windows 9 will let you run Metro apps on the Desktop in a window. In theory this will mean that mouse-and-keyboard users might now actually use Metro apps, which in turn might kickstart the arrival of some better apps in the Windows Store. Or not.
Windows 9 Desktop, showing a new, very flat Explorer (note the new icon too)
Desktop interface overhaul. It’s not entirely clear yet, but it seems the Windows 9 Desktop will receive a graphical overhaul, to make it even flatter. The leaked Windows 9 Technical Preview shows some flatter icons and thinner window borders — and I suspect we’ll see some further UI changes in later preview builds. (If you recall, the first Windows 8 Developer Preview still looked a lot like Windows 7, and became more flat and less opaque as the development process went on.) Curiously, there does appear to be a drop shadow behind the Explorer window in the Windows 9 screenshot above — Windows 8 got rid of a lot of shadows, so it would be interesting if they made a return.
The Metro interface may be removed. In the last few months, there has been rumblings from Redmond that the Windows 9 experience might be formally split in two: A Metro-only experience for touchscreen/tablet users, and a Desktop-only experience for mouse-and-keyboard users. One of the biggest complaints of Windows 8 is the way it forces you into the Metro interface when you’re using a mouse and keyboard, and the Desktop interface when you’re using a touchscreen. It isn’t clear if the Metro interface will be removed entirely from “Windows 9 for the Desktop” — more realistically, to cater for users of hybrids and touchscreen laptops, there’ll just be a check box somewhere for “never show me the Metro interface.”
Lots of other tweaks to the Windows 9 Desktop. In addition to all of the above, the Charms bar is also being removed (from the Desktop interface at least; it might hang around on touchscreen devices). The Technical Preview has a Notifications panel that pops up from the bottom right corner (video above), though I don’t think this is its final format or placement. There will also likely be tweaks for multi-monitor and high-res (hi-dpi) setups, too. src:extremetech.com
Research firm eMarketer found that India will surpass US by 2016, to become the world's largest Facebook population.
India has recorded the highest social networking growth of 37.3 percent this year and will soon become the world's largest Facebook population, according to a recent report by research firm eMarketer.
The report stated that India has had the highest growth this year, an increase of 37.4 percent, Indonesia had a growth of 28.7 percent and Mexico has a social network user base of 21.1 percent. The report added that the growth in developed countries has stagnated due to saturation.
All of these three countries are high-growth areas for Facebook and eMarketer estimates that they will reach a worldwide monthly user base of 1.026 billion this year combined. US still has the greatest number of Facebook users, with 146.8 million this year.
But eMarketer believes India's large population and high expected growth rate will lead the country to have the largest Facebook population of any country in the world by 2016. Research firm eMarketer estimates that nearly 1.61 billion people log in to social networking sites at least monthly, from various electronic devices.
The report added that there has been a growth of 14.2 percent in social networker numbers from 2012, and the double-digit growth is expected to continue for another year. The research also found that by 2017, 2.33 billion people will use social networks.
Currently, Netherlands has the highest penetration of social network users as a share of total population with 63.5 percent of all residents are social network users followed by Norway with 63.3 percent.
According to a recent report by IAMAI, India will become the world's second largest Internet population with nearly 243 million users by June 2014. India currently has 205 million active users, US has 207 million users and China retains the number one spot with 300 million Internet users.
The Nokia Lumia 2520 runs Windows RT and uses a Qualcomm processor.
(Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)
Nokia's new Windows RT tablet turns the Finnish handset maker into Microsoft's rival, but at least one Nokia partner says there's really no competition.
Nokia earlier this week unveiled the Lumia 2520, the company's first tablet and the second current device in the market to run Windows RT. The other is Microsoft's Surface 2.Microsoft is in the process of buying Nokia, and the product release puts the two in an awkward position.
But executives at chipmaker Qualcomm say Nokia's tablet has a clear advantage over the Surface 2 in everything from processor speed to graphics, video playback, and wireless connectivity.
Of course Talluri is biased -- Qualcomm provided the processor for Nokia's device while Nvidia made the Surface 2 chip. But in terms of sheer speeds and feeds, the Lumia 2520 does have some things to offer beyond the Surface 2. For processors, Microsoft's tablet houses a 1.7GHz Nvidia Tegra 4, whereas Nokia went with a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 for the Lumia 2520. As CNET noted Thursday, the 2520 seems poised to be a more capable gaming machine than the Surface 2."The performance on [the 2520] is brilliant," Raj Talluri, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm's application processors, told CNET. "It's really at the next level. It's not even really a contest [compared to Surface 2] ... In every area, it's much bigger, faster, and lower power."
Talluri and Stephen Horton, a Qualcomm executive who works on product management for tablets and other computing devices, said Microsoft largely went with an Nvidia chip for Surface 2 because of timing.
"Let's put it this way," Horton said. "They're buying the company that did [the Lumia 2520] device. They clearly are very excited about it."
Microsoft and Nvidia declined to comment.
There will be no clear winner, however, until consumers vote with their wallets. Up to this point, few have chosen Windows RT products.
Windows RT is the first version of the operating system that runs on low-power chips normally used for cell phones. Those include processors from Qualcomm and Nvidia based on ARM Holdings technology. Making Windows compatible with such processors was Microsoft's attempt to better address the mobile market, an area where it has traditionally struggled. The lower-power chips allow thinner and lighter designs.
The Microsoft Surface 2 uses an Nvidia chip, much like the first version of the tablet.
(Credit: Josh Miller/CNET)
However, Windows RT has some big drawbacks compared with Windows 8. For one, it's not compatible with many older applications, including iTunes. Few companies have introduced products running the operating system. Dell, Samsung, Toshiba, and Hewlett-Packard are several who dropped their Windows RT plans.
"We have a longer term view on these things," Talluri said. "The RT of today may not be the RT of tomorrow. But the vision of a device that's both your entertainment and productivity device that you want to carry with you is going to be there. We invest for the longer term."
In smartphones, meanwhile, Qualcomm is the undisputed king. It either provides the wireless chips, such as 4G LTE, or the application processor in most major devices on the market, including the iPhone 5S and Galaxy S4. It also is the chip provider for Windows Phones, partnering closely with Nokia over the years. However, Qualcomm has lagged rivals when it comes to tablets. That recently has started to change, with Qualcomm providing chips for recent hot tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 and the Google Nexus 7.
Qualcomm said partners are working on more than 40 tablets using its processor that should hit the market within the next year. A big reason companies are choosing Qualcomm chips is the ability to support high screen resolutions, Talluri said, and many who work with Qualcomm on smartphones find it easy to shift to tablets with the chipmaker.
"Once you make the phone, it's an easy step to make a great tablet because you've already done the hard work and the same processor can support both," Talluri said.
And Horton pointed out that the first Android devices, such as the T-Mobile G1, also were panned.
"Google and Microsoft are very capable organizations, [with] lots of technologies," Horton said. Microsoft "didn't hit a home run out of the gate on the very first product, but they're working on it." src: cnet.com
SpyMeSat sends you notifications to let you know when an imaging satellite might be watching you or taking your picture
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Orbit Logic, an American company, has developed SpyMeSat, the first of its kind app designed for iPhone, iPad and the iPod Touch, that notifies users when they are within range of an imaging satellite that could be taking their pictures.
You can set SpyMeSat to give you alerts for any location, call up resolution specs for each model, track satellites even when they’re not overhead and learn about their various on-board sensors. The user can look up the imaging resolution information displayed as the satellite flies overhead, see a dynamic map graphic update with real-time position, look at the details of any pass and even see a picture and description of the satellite.
All of the imaging satellites in SpyMeSat are in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of about 805km. It can give you accurate data up to 16 meters. Users can check data from satellite models that are owned and operated by either public or private bodies, including GeoEye, India's CartoSat-2A, the French space agency's SPOT-5, Canada's RADARSAT-2 and DigitalGlobe's WorldView satellites.
SpyMeSat was created by Orbit Logic Inc., a company that specializes in supplying software to the aerospace and intelligence communities. The app’s chief purpose is to gather all that data into one cheap smartphone app.
"I actually got the idea for the app from talking to friends outside the aerospace industry who were always very interested in space and satellites and imaging from space. This app answers those questions in a fun and interactive way," said Alex Herz, president of Orbit Logic in Greenbelt, Maryland which developed the app.
Facebook gives more control to teenage users, lets them share images, updates and comments with general public.
Facebook has changed its privacy policy and now lets teenagers between 13-17 years share images and posts with the general public. However, the social networking site has set the default settings to 'friends only' for teenagers.
The site is giving the users an option to change the settings to share images, pics and posts with other friends, however they will get a reminder if they choose a public sharing setting stating that their posts can be seen by anyone, not just people they know. Facebook will send warning to teenagers if the changes the setting to public like "getting friend requests and messages from people they don't know personally." The default settings won't change or affect past posts for existing teen users profiles.
Earlier joining the service defaulted to being able to share information -- status updates, photos, videos, and the like -- with anybody in their extended network including friends and "friends of friends." The changes have come due to the privacy issues that Facebook continuously faces. A recent report has found that contrary to belief teenagers are concerned about their privacy on the social networking site.
Facebook announced in a blog post that the changes will take effect immediately. The new settings will help Facebook compete against other social networks like Twitter or Tumblr which don't prevent teens from posting publicly. The new privacy settings will appeal to advertisers as well as they will have access to photos, comments, etc of teenagers.
"While only a small fraction of teens using Facebook might choose to post publicly, this update now gives them the choice to share more broadly, just like on other social media services," reads a press release from Facebook.
Help desk staffers are coveted, but developers are the hottest commodity of all.
Computerworld - When it comes to overall job prospects for IT professionals, 2014 will look a lot like this year, with 32% of companies expecting to increase head count in their IT shops, compared with 33% in 2013, according to Computerworld's annual Forecast survey.
But while demand will remain steady overall, there have been a few changes in the skill sets most desired by hiring managers. Unemployment "is probably close to zero for people with high-demand skill sets," says Michael Kirven, founder and CEO of Mondo, a technology resource provider. Employers in search of top skills, he says, need to be prepared to move fast. "If you want them, you can be 100% sure there are at least two other firms that want them, as well," he says.
Data from 2014 Forecast Survey (Base: 221; June 2013), 2013 Survey, 2012 Survey, 2011 Survey and2010 Survey. Mouse over graph to get data details; click on items in chart key to turn them on and off.
Here's a look at the IT skills that will be in demand next year, according to companies with plans to hire IT professionals in 2014.
1. Programming/application development
• 49% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months. • Last year's ranking: No. 1
As it did in the 2013 Forecast survey, programming/application development tops the list of hot skills, although just under half of the 221 respondents said they will hire in this area, compared with 60% last year. Scot Melland, CEO of Dice Holdings, parent of IT jobs website Dice.com, concurs that software developers are the most sought-after technology workers and notes that they enjoy one of the lowest unemployment rates around -- just 1.8%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's no wonder, then, that respondents to theComputerworld 2014 Forecast survey named developer and programmer job openings as the most difficult to fill. The hottest specialties within that category, Melland says, are mobile development expertise and experience building secure applications.
Carbonite, an online backup service provider, expects to find a tight market for software developers and engineers as it shifts its business model to focus on the needs of small businesses, says Randy Bogue, vice president of talent at the Boston-based company. "While there are a lot of experienced software developers in the Boston area, there are just as many technology companies looking to hire them," he says. "We find this while looking for front-end developers, user experience engineers, mobile developers and pretty much any other software development position."
Lucille Mayer, CIO at BNY Mellon, also expects to have difficulty finding developers. The financial services company has several hundred openings, mainly in New York City and Pittsburgh, and about 40% of those are in development. Another 30% are in infrastructure, 20% are for business analysis/project management positions, and 10% are in management.
"Demand is high for skilled developers with three to five years' experience and a service delivery orientation," says Mayer, who is particularly interested in people with object-oriented development experience. Also important is finding people from diverse backgrounds, with diverse ideas and perspectives, she says.
Hospitality giant Hyatt is transitioning from a reliance on third-party service providers and aims to bring more development talent in-house. "We're looking to hire people who embrace agility and speed to move ideas to prototype and production quickly," says Alex Zoghlin, Hyatt's global head of technology.
2. Help desk/technical support
• 37% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 3
Help desk/tech support remained near the top of the list, moving up from No. 3 last year. Melland says that's an encouraging sign for the economy and the overall hiring outlook. "Organizations mainly add help desk and tech support when they're adding workers and expanding their technology infrastructure," he says. Also contributing to demand for support technicians is the fact that many companies are bringing the help desk back in-house after outsourcing that function; that's partly a response to the proliferation of mobile devices and company-provided Web services. Because of the complexity of such setups, "it's important for support staff to really understand what the company is doing, which argues for having this function closer to home," Melland says.
After several years of running a lean support function, Wolverine Advanced Materials in Dearborn, Mich., plans to hire a few help desk staffers in response to business growth and a decision to provide ITIL-based service management, says James Bland, network manager at the automotive materials supplier. "There is growth in the company, so we're more confident in hiring," he says.
3. Networking
• 31% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 8
Demand for networking skills jumped to No. 3 from eighth place last year. This correlates with the results of a recent survey by IT hiring firm Robert Half Technology, in which 55% of the respondents named network administration as the skill set most in demand, along with database management.
If you expect your IT employee head count to increase, for which types of skills will you be hiring in the next 12 months?
Programming/application development 49%
Help desk/technical support 37%
Networking 31%
Mobile applications and device management 27%
Project management 25%
Database administration 24%
Security 21%
Business intelligence/analytics 18%
Source: Computerworld Forecast survey; base: 221 IT executive respondents; June 2013
The need for wireless connectivity is probably behind the interest in networking professionals, Melland says. "Demand for people with wireless networking experience is up 9% year over year," he says, and the unemployment rate for network and systems administrators is 1.1%.
Charles Whitby, lead network analyst at the Medical Center of Central Georgia, says growing use of wireless medical devices is definitely fueling his workload. In addition to the increased network traffic they produce, those devices require a lot of troubleshooting -- as is the case when, for example, their firmware needs upgrading but it hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, he says.
Meanwhile, at Wolverine, Bland is looking to offload some networking responsibilities so he can concentrate on more strategic issues.
4. Mobile applications and device management
• 27% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 9
With mobile devices proliferating in both the corporate and consumer worlds, it's little wonder that mobile skills catapulted toward the top of the list, from No. 9 last year. And because of mobile's relatively new status, it's also not surprising that Computerworld survey respondents named mobile expertise the third most difficult skill to find, after development and BI/analytics skills.
Which of these skills do you expect it will be most difficult to hire for?
Among respondents who expect an increase in IT employee head count in the next 12 months
Programming/application development 32%
Business intelligence/analytics 21%
Mobile applications and device management 17%
Project management 14%
Security 14%
Source: Computerworld Forecast survey; base: 221 IT executive respondents; June 2013
Mobile app development is "a huge initiative" at PrimeLending in Dallas, says CIO Tim Elkins, and it will be a key hiring area next year. In addition to expanding its Salesforce.com development ranks, the mortgage provider hopes to hire two or three mobile developers, he says. PrimeLending's first mobile app is designed to enable its business partners -- real estate agents and builders -- to view loan statuses; its next one will be for consumers.
Elkins anticipates difficulty finding mobile developers and is therefore training a couple of current staffers to fill the need. "Salesforce.com developers are really tough to find because of the high demand, and so are mobile developers," he says.
Mobile expertise is also a priority for Hyatt, and Zoghlin says the company is trying to fill niche roles to ensure a consistent strategy across areas like mobility and user experience.
5. Project Management
• 25% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 2
While project management fell from its No. 2 position last year, it is considered a highly sought-after skill. Melland says that Dice has found demand for project managers to be second only to demand for software developers/engineers, having risen 11% from last year. That uptick, he says, is another positive sign for the economy as a whole, because it indicates that companies are willing to pursue strategic projects.
Mondo's Kirven attributes the demand for project managers to renewed interest in complex, strategic business-technology initiatives. "IT has historically been graded based on the success or failure of projects, so [companies are] making heavy investments in the business analyst/project manager layer," he says. "These people need to be able to talk to developers about technology and the right solution, but they also need to put on their business hat to gather requirements and prioritize needs and translate that into a programmable effort for IT."
6. Database Administration
• 24% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: Not ranked
Database administration -- which didn't even make last year's list -- will be hot in 2014, likely because of interest in big data. Kirven concedes that the term big data is a catch-all for everything companies want to do with the burgeoning stockpiles of information they store on internal systems and, increasingly, collect from sources such as social media sites, the Web and third parties. Much of the interest in big data originates in marketing, which wants to learn as much about customers as possible.
"Oracle DBAs, data architects -- these people stay on the market for about an hour until they're hired," Kirven says. "People are looking for that person who can build a logical data map of their systems and aggregate relevant data so they can analyze and report on it."
DBAs with experience moving pieces of the IT infrastructure to the cloud will be highly sought after, says Melland, noting that demand for cloud skills is up 32% from last year.
To help kick off PrimeLending's big data initiative, Elkins says he is seeking systems analysts, developers and DBAs to integrate data from third parties, with the goal of easing the mortgage process. "Mortgages have been like a big black hole, with a lack of transparency and a lot of sitting and waiting," Elkins says. "Our focus in 2014 is to give consumers more control and an experience with mortgages that they've never had before."
7. Security Compliance/Governance
• 21% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 4
Security expertise seems to show up on every list of hot IT skills, and Melland says interest in cybersecurity will further drive demand, which is up 23% from last year. "It's one of those skills that falls into a lot of job types, like network engineering, software development and database architecture," he says. Respondents to a recent Robert Half Technology survey said security jobs are among the most challenging to fill, in addition to application development and database management positions.
With the increase in malware and cyberattacks, security has become a No. 1 priority for PrimeLending, which doubled its security staff this year, from four to eight people, Elkins says.
8. Business Intelligence/Analytics
• 18% of respondents said that they plan to hire for this skill in the next 12 months.
• Last year's ranking: No. 5
With the volume of global data predicted to expand by a factor of 44 from 2009 to 2020 and reach 35.2 zettabytes, according to IDC, companies are eager to gain a competitive edge by developing sophisticated analytics capabilities. Although BI/analytics is still considered a specialty and therefore has fewer postings than other job categories on Dice.com, Melland says it's the third fastest-growing skill area on the website, and demand is up 100% from last year. Analytics expertise is scarce, ranking second among the most difficult skills to find in the Computerworld survey. Accordingly, these professionals command high salaries, often into the six figures, Melland says.
At Wolverine, management's demand for data-driven insights is growing, so Bland is looking for people with BI skills who are also familiar with the Plex Systems ERP application, which the company uses. "We would definitely like to get more information out of [our ERP] system, so someone with BI experience would be great," he says. "We'd like to provide more information in a more timely manner so the business can be more proactive." Hyatt, says Zoghlin, is similarly looking for people "who can make analytics usable and useful for customers and colleagues."
Microsoft, right on schedule, has made the Windows 10 Technical Preview available to download. There are 64-bit and 32-bit versions available for US English, Real English, Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese. Follow these instructions to download and install the Windows 10 Technical Preview.
As far as we’re aware, you can upgrade your existing Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 installation to the Windows 10 Technical Preview. I would advise you to do a clean installation of the Technical Preview, however, on a separate partition or hard drive, in case something messes up. The Technical Preview license expires at the end of April 2015, but another Preview build will be released before then. Other potential caveats/pitfalls can be found on the Windows 10 Technical Preview FAQ.
Microsoft is all set to officially unveil Windows 9 at 
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