Quite a few things have happened with Windows 10 Operating System since you upgraded to 10 from whichever version you previously had on your computer, or you may have bought a new PC or laptop with Windows 10 already installed. Either way you may like to check if you are indeed up-to-date with the latest version.

The reason for doing that is partly for security and partly to get any new function in updates working for you and partly to correct any bugs in the previous iteration.

I do hope that you are using Windows 10 and upgraded when Microsoft two years ago offered to do that for you,

provided your hardware was able to handle the new version. If you have an HP Envy X2 or similar entry level Windows 8 PC then you may have received a message from Microsoft when they tried to update you with the latest [March 2017] “Creators” update, version 1703, and the installation failed, that said: “Windows 10 no longer supported on this PC – uninstall this app now because it isn’t compatible with Windows 10”.

Well that is enough to panic you, but it isn’t true. There is no app to uninstall, it is a problem of compatibility between the older hardware and Windows 10. Rather it means that you are stuck with version 1607 of Windows 10 and supported by Microsoft at least to sometime in to 2018. In fact, Microsoft has now said that they will continue to supply security and reliability updates until 2023.

In the unlikely case that you have one of the machines with an Intel Atom processor named Z2500, Z2560, Z2580 or Z2760 your machine is incompatible with the update Windows 10 Creators. Later variants such as Z3700or X5-Z8500 should be fine with the update.

Enough about that.  Windows 10 after 2 years is now running on 500 million PCs worldwide.

Microsoft was threatened by the European data-protection authorities over Window 10‘s excessive data collection and their tracking of browser data without consent by the user, presumably to personalize advertisements. Microsoft now appears to have halved the amount of telemetry data collected and with the latest W10 update they say they provide information about web tracking and transparency.

In W10 ‘Creators’ update there are privacy-enhancing changes introduced which include an online privacy dashboard and finer controls for location, speech recognition, diagnostics, tips and recommendations, plus – let’s not forget – relevant adverts. Do take advantage of all the settings available.

I was reading recently that Microsoft was planning to get rid of MS Paint, the app that offers rudimentary design tools and colours, but the announcement apparently caused an outcry and Microsoft has been prompted to erase its chosen line and reassure the fans that ‘Paint’ “was here to stay”. So, after 32 years the app still has plenty of support for digital creativity, and admittedly, if you have had a go yourself using ‘paint’, it is a straightforward and simple interface that anyone can use. At SeniorNet Kapiti we even introduce our Students to it in our Introduction to Basic Computing Course. Good Fun.

As always should you wish to know more about a particular subject there is most likely a Course to suit you, or if it is just a problem to be fixed then there are the “How do I…?” workshops where help is always available from the friendly team at Kapiti SeniorNet.

Happy Computing.