Wednesday 24th June 2020
Windows
10 S
If
you look at new PCs, you will see a number that come with Windows 10 S.
Technically, Microsoft describe this as a mode, rather than a version of
Windows, i.e. “Windows 10 in S mode”. You can read more on Microsoft’s site
at:-
S
mode is only available on a new PC. You can switch out of S mode to Windows 10
Home or Windows 10 Pro (depending on whether you have Windows 10 Home in S
Mode or Windows 10 Pro in S Mode) by going to:-
Start, Settings,
Update & Security, Activation
For
full details, have a look at this video:-
Note
that switching out of S Mode is a one-way operation – you can NOT switch back
again to S Mode.
Windows 10 in S Mode can only install apps from the Microsoft Store and hence is more
secure than other versions of Windows where users can install any old software,
including malware! App store apps effectively run in a "silo" where they are isolated from and cannot damage other apps (this is similar to iOS on an iPad/iPhone).
The
security of S Mode makes it simpler and safer to use (rather like a Chromebook)
and it tends to be found on more modestly priced laptops.
Windows
10X
While
we are talking about variants of Windows 10, I should mention Windows 10X.
This was originally announced as being for dual-screen devices when Microsoft
announced the Duo and Neo hardware last year:-
The
Duo is a pocket-sized folding device which runs a version of the Android
operating system – essentially it’s a smartphone – and should be released later
this year. Although this is an Android device, it will feature the Microsoft Launcher, which replaces the standard Android user interface and makes Microsoft apps (such as Edge, Word, Excel, Outlook, etc) readily available. You can currently install the Microsoft Launcher from the Google Play Store on your Android phone, if you wish.
It
was thought that the larger Neo would be the first machine to run Windows 10 X
although it will not be released until next year. However, it now seems that
Windows 10X may appear first on single-screen devices, perhaps later this year.
One
of the key features of 10X is the ability to run traditional Windows software
(known as Win32 apps) in containers. This is like having each program running
in its own virtual machine which completely isolates it from other programs
running on the same physical PC. This dramatically improves security.
Although
there is still a lot we don’t know about 10X, this video explains more about it
and how it may be introduced in the future:-
Track & Trace App
Phil started a discussion on this. We previously discussed the principles of the Apple/Google infrastructure which has been added to iOS and Android phones to facilitate the creation of track and trace apps. See the blog from 22nd April this year for more:-
The Apple/Google system is completely anonymised. However, the NHS wanted to be able to identify physical locations where Covid-19 outbreaks might have occurred, so they decided to create their own system from scratch. However, without the deep links into the operating system, especially on iOS, they could not make this work successfully.
Matt Hancock made statements saying they are working with Apple to resolve these issues, but, according to this BBC article, Apple said "they haven't spoken to us":-
There is no doubt that a functioning app could help to identify some contacts which would otherwise be unknown - for example, fellow passengers on a bus journey. The app would never be perfect and would not be adopted by everyone, but it could still make a significant contribution.
Windows
10 – Mouse Settings
Mouse
settings have always been available in Control Panel which you can find by
clicking Start and typing control. You will see the Control Panel
app highlighted in the search results – just click on it or press Enter. I find
it easier to use Control Panel in Small Icons view – you can select this
at the top right of the Control Panel window. Click Mouse to open the Mouse
Properties box. Here, you can change the double-click speed, switch the
left/right buttons, select different pointers, add pointer options, etc
However,
you can now make some interesting and useful changes from Settings. Go to:-
Start, Settings,
Devices, Mouse
Here,
you can switch the left/right buttons and adjust some scroll features.
If
you now click on Adjust mouse & cursor size (near top right), this takes you to the Ease of Access centre where you can change the pointer size by using a slider and select different colours for the mouse.
Windows 10 2004 Update Issues
The latest feature update to Windows 10 (version 2004) is, as we have previously discussed, now rolling out. However, there have a number of reported issues, especially with printers, which still await fixes from Microsoft. I would, therefore, strongly recommend that you hold off this update for the time being. There are no great new features, so the only thing you are missing by waiting are potential problems.
Epson Printers Rejecting Compatible Ink
Cherry raised this issue. It seems Epson may have introduced a firmware update to (some of) their printers which prevent the use of non-Epson ink cartridges. There were reports of this nature some years ago, but I thought that had all been resolved. This article from TechRadar from last October talks about a class-action lawsuit over this in the States:-
Epson usually installs the Epson Software Updater on your PC which checks, and may update software from time to time. To prevent the update which disables compatible inks, you can turn off automatic updating. See this site for details:-
If you have already done the firmware upgrade, you may be able to revert to a previous version according to this site:-
HOWEVER - I have no idea if this would work and it could completely kill your printer, so try this at your own risk!
If anyone has any further information on this issue, please let me know,
Suspicious
Email Reporting Service (SERS)
If
you receive a suspicious email which you think might be a phishing scam, you
can report it to the SERS which is run by the National Cyber Security Centre (part
of GCHQ) by forwarding it to:-
The
NCSC will analyse the emails and take actions to cancel the source address of
the email and any associated web sites. They will not report back to you
individually.
If
you have actually paid money to the criminals you should report such potential
crimes to the Police at Action Fraud – go to:-
www.actionfraud.police.uk,
or phone:-
0300 123 2020
See
this NCSC site for more details:-
Both Tony and I have now purchased and installed these cameras, so we had a further discussion about them. The fact that the Blink system stores about 2-hours of video clips with no on-going charge is a big plus point.
"Press One" Phone Scams
Margaret had had one of these calls, as many of us have. A recorded message tempts you to press a key, either for more information or to be deleted from the list. Do NOT press any keys - just put the phone down.
OneDrive
In response to Linda's query, we had a discussion about OneDrive. OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud storage and is similar to other cloud storage such as Apple's iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. If you have a Microsoft Account, then you have at least 5GB of OneDrive storage. If you subscribe to Microsoft 365 (formerly known as Office 365) then you will have 1TB of storage. You can access this storage by going to:-
onedrive.com (which will actually redirect you to onedrive.live.com)
From there you can upload or download files, create folders, etc.
Somewhat confusingly, on Windows 10, you will find a OneDrive folder on your hard drive if you look in File Explorer. You will also find a OneDrive app which you can see in the System Tray (the area of the Taskbar near the clock). Right-click on this and then click Settings. You can then click on Account, Choose Folders to select which, if any of the files on your OneDrive cloud you want to sync with the OneDrive folder on your hard drive. If you click on the Settings tab, you can untick the box labelled Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows. The OneDrive sync system will then NOT start when you start Windows - do this if you do not want to sync.
The OneDrive folder in File Explorer will show the files/folders on the OneDrive cloud. A blue cloud symbol next to a file/folder means that it's only in the cloud. A ticked green circle means that file/folders has been synced with your local hard drive. Files/folders will not sync until you open them.
Personal Vault
This is a special folder on OneDrive which requires a second verification step, such as an authenticator code, fingerprint or face-ID before you can access its contents.
Chromium Edge
We discussed this last time. This new version of Edge, Microsoft's web browser, is now starting to appear on Windows 10 systems through an update. It replaces the previous version of Edge. If you had downloaded the beta version of the new Edge, this will remain, but it would be sensible to uninstall it once you have the new version.
Internet Explorer is still there on Windows 10, but I think this will be removed in the Spring 2021 Windows Update.
Which Video Conferencing Platform
We used Google Meet for this meeting which worked well in terms of video/audio quality, but there were issues with the screen layout for those using tablets. So perhaps for the next meeting, we will revert to using Jitsi? Any other suggestions would be welcome.
Next Session
Wed
8th July 2020 at 2pm video conference.
