Microsoft Finally Reveals What Data Windows 10 Collects From Your PC

Wednesday, April 05, 2017 Mohit Kumar



Since the launch of Windows 10, there has been widespread concern about its data collection practices, mostly because Microsoft has been very secretive about the telemetry data it collects.

Now, this is going to be changed, as Microsoft wants to be more transparent on its diagnostics data collection practices.

Till now there are three options (Basic, Enhanced, Full) for Windows 10 users to select from under its diagnostics data collection section, with no option for users to opt out of sending their data to Microsoft.

Also, the company has never said precisely what data it collects behind these options, which raised huge privacy concerns among privacy-conscious users.



But now for the first time, Microsoft has revealed what data Windows 10 is collecting from your computer with the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update, bringing an end to nearly two years of its mysterious data collection practices.

The Windows 10 Creators Update, which will be available from April 11 for users to download for free, comes with a revamped Privacy settings section.

During the process of upgrading to the Creators Update, you will be displayed a new Privacy Settings screen that will ask you to toggle the following features:


Location – Allow Windows and apps to request your location and share that data with Microsoft.
Speech Recognition – Allow Cortana and Windows Store apps to recognize your voice and send that data to Microsoft to improve speech recognition.
Tailored experiences with diagnostic data – Allow Microsoft to use diagnostic data from your computer to offer tips and recommendations.
Relevant ads – Allow apps to use advertising IDs to show ads more interesting to you based on your app usage.
What's more? On Wednesday, Microsoft published a massive list of diagnostics data – both the Basic and Full levels of diagnostics – on its TechNet site, showing what data gets collected.




Basic – The Basic level collects a limited set of data that is critical for understanding the device and its configuration. This data includes basic device information, quality-related information, app compatibility, and Windows Store.
Full – The Full level collects data for the following nine categories: common data; software setup and inventory data; product and service usage data; browsing, search and query data; content consumption data; linking, typing, and speech utterance data; and licensing and purchase data.
Windows chief Terry Myerson said in a blog post published Wednesday that Microsoft hoped the transparency would allow users to make "more informed choices" as the company starts rolling out its new Creators update to the operating system.

This more transparency in gathering diagnostic data after two years of the Windows 10 release is likely Microsoft's response to European Union regulators that's publicly pressuring the company about its privacy practices for the past year.

In February, European Union regulators said they're still unsatisfied with the privacy changes announced by Microsoft and seeking further clarification from the company.

Marisa Rogers, the privacy officer of the Microsoft's Windows and Devices Group, said that the company is planning to "share more information about how [it] will ensure Windows 10 is compliant with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation."

Facebook Live is rolling out for desktop users; allows livestream of games

Image Credit: Facebook

Facebook users can now go live directly from their desktops using their webcams and also broadcast gameplay from their computers. According to a Facebook blog post on Wednesday, Facebook live on desktops was earlier available for pages only, but now the status update composer will feature a Live button also.

Facebook also added a new feature that makes it easy to use streaming software or external hardware when going live from a computer. “With this update, people can seamlessly share their screens, insert graphics, switch cameras, or use professional equipment in Facebook Live videos,” the social media giant said.

With this update, it is easier to stream your PC gameplay to friends and followers and engage with them while you play. “Opening up on desktop takes Facebook Live beyond Twitter and Periscope’s options, and brings it into competition with longer-running services like YouTube,” TechCrunch reported.

The report quoted Facebook as saying that the desktop streaming could be useful for activities like Q&As and vlogging where holding phone in hand could be inconvenient. “While the content on Live might not be great yet, and there’s been some troubling broadcasts of violence that Facebook promises it’s working to prevent, it’s still early for the medium,” the report added.

Publish date: March 23, 2017 12:57 pm| Modified date: March 23, 2017 12:57 pm

Microsoft Tasks Pegatron with Making New Surface Hardware

Chinese manufacturer Pegatron Technology will build Microsoft’s next generation of

Surface products, including the Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2.

By Luke Jones -

October 12, 2016 4:32 pm CEST

Microsoft’s current plans for the Surface line are currently up in the air. The company has confirmed nothing. Certainly the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book are unlikely to be refreshed this year. However, a Chinese outlet has offered the clearest indication that the company is developing new products.

Economic Daily News (EDN) says that Chinese manufacturer Pegatron Technology has been tasked with building new Surface devices. Beyond that, we are still left speculating exactly when Microsoft will launch new products. More importantly, we do not know which devices will be launched.

Of course, there is plenty of insider information and speculation to chew through. For example, we know that no new Surface tablets or laptops will arrive this year. However, Microsoft is reportedly going to launch its much-rumored Surface all-in-one PC.

At the moment, Cardinal (PC codename) is expected to arrive in three screen sizes (21, 24, and 27 inches). However, we would say the 24-inch is unlikely, so expect just a 21-inch and 27-inch version. While we are dubious about the need of a Surface desktop, it is a logical hardware progression.

It makes sense that Microsoft will give the all-in-one a clear run without any other competing product launches.

Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2

That leaves Microsoft planning the Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2. This is where Pegatron’s involvement comes into play. The Chinese company has likely already started building those devices ahead of their launch next year.

Awards and accolades continue to arrive for Microsoft’s excellent hardware. In other words, the Pro 5 and Book have plenty of time before they need to be refreshed. We have reported before that Microsoft is waiting until the launch of Windows 10 Redstone 2 before launching the new hardware. That would mean a spring 2017 announcement.

The final DLC for 'Call of Duty: Black Ops III' arrives on Xbox One, PC this week

By Shawn Knight on October 3, 2016, 10:30 AM





The fourth and final DLC for Call of Duty: Black Ops III is set to arrive later this week for Xbox One and PC gamers.

Dubbed Salvation, the DLC includes four new multiplayer maps and the last chapter in the Zombies storyline. Citadel, set in the ruins of an ancient castle and Micro, a miniature war zone that takes place on an oversized picnic table (yeah, you can’t make this stuff up) are both brand new while Outlaw – a remake of the Standoff map from Black Ops II – and Rupture – made in the image of the Outskits map from Call of Duty: World at War – should feel somewhat familiar to longtime CoD fans.



Salvation, which has been a PlayStation 4 exclusive for the past month, lands on Xbox One and PC on October 6. Those with a season pass should be able to download the DLC automatically later this week; otherwise, expect to pay $14.99 if purchased individually.


The final DLC makes way for the next major release in the CoD series, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which is set to arrive on November 4. The game was initially met with lots ofcriticism from fans that aren’t thrilled about Activision’s insistence on pushing the franchise further into the future. To make matters worse, the next Battlefield game (Call of Duty’s main rival) is taking gameplay back to the WWI era.



Battlefield 1 is set for release on October 21 followed by Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare a couple of weeks later on November 4.

How to Emulate a Commodore Amiga on Your PC

Retro games remain surprisingly popular, with websites and even magazines dedicated to their continued appreciation. One perennially popular system is the Commodore Amiga, a desktop computer with surprising graphics ability and a desktop environment.

A passionate user base persists to this day, and the Amiga OS exists as a Linux-esque alternative to Windows (and can be run on the Raspberry Pi).5 Retro Operating Systems You Can Revisit with Ease on Linux 5 Retro Operating Systems You Can Revisit with Ease on LinuxYou probably already know you can play old games on your Linux device, thanks to emulator collections like MAME, but did you know that various emulators are available for running full applications? Here's how.READ MORE

Image Credit: Blake Patterson via Flickr

However, whether you’re running an emulator on your Windows, Mac, or Linux desktop (or even mobile device), continued use of the Amiga platform depends upon you loading up an emulator. From here, a disk image should be loaded at the Kickstart prompt.

Fortunately, various emulator solutions are readily available.

Emulating the Amiga on Windows, Linux, and Mac

You’ll find an emulator suitable for playing Amiga game ROMs (and app ROMs, too) on almost all currently-popular platforms. We’re going to show you two in particular, one for Windows, and another for Android.

Once you’re running an emulator, you’ll need some games to play. As with any copyrighted material, you’ll need to own a copy of a game to be able to legally play it. If you need some ideas, our list of the top 10 Amiga games should help, and these can be found in the usual ROM repositories. Once downloaded, they’re easily installed on your Amiga emulator.10 Amiga Games You Should Play With an Emulator 10 Amiga Games You Should Play With an EmulatorThe Commodore Amiga is one of the most important consoles of the 16-bit era. Want to know what games you should play on an Amiga emulator? Here are 10 you should try!READ MORE

Choose Your Emulator

Your best choice for an Amiga emulator can be found at fs-uae.net/download, home of the FS-UAE Amiga emulator. While the emulator is available for Windows, Mac, and various Linux distros (evenSteamOS!), we’re looking at the Windows version.

After downloading and installing the emulator, run FS-UAE Launcher. The launcher is arranged into eight tabs, which you use to configure your Amiga emulation. On the first tab, select the appropriate Amiga model for the game you wish to play. You can choose from the original Amiga 1000 all the way through to the CD32 and CDTV. Note that you can also quickly load up a game ROM here, as well as configure a controller.

You’ll also need to choose a Kickstart ROM. Kickstart was the bootstrapping firmware that prepared the Amiga for running software from an inserted diskette. Various versions of Kickstart were issued.

With FS-UAE, you can use the default replacement Kickstart ROM, which was originally developed for the AROS project. But if you have Kickstart ROMs on disk, you can import these. You’ll find the controls for selecting a Kickstart ROM across the bottom of the emulator window. Find out more about Kickstart ROMs at www.amigaroms.net.

Loading a Game ROM

Loading up a game (or app) can be done from the first screen, where there are slots for two floppy disk ROMs. If you have a CD-ROM based ROM, you’ll be able to load this up from the CD-ROM Drives tab. Similarly, there is also a Hard Drives tab, which you can use to configure a directory on your PC to he used as a HDD. Finally, if the title is across several disk images, you can use the Floppy Drives tab to load up the disks.

With your ROM in place, it’s time to click Start. The FS-UAE emulator will play rattling disk-reading sound FX, presumably recorded from a genuine Amiga, and the game will launch.

Load issues can be resolved by tweaking the configuration; perhaps adding memory, or using a genuine Kickstart ROM. The Additional configuration screen (the right-most tab) should help you out here.

As an example, in order to run the ScummVM title The Secret of Monkey Island with FS-UAE, I had to:SCUMMVM - A Point-And-Click Adventure Game Emulator SCUMMVM - A Point-And-Click Adventure Game EmulatorREAD MORE

1. Increase the available RAM to the emulated Amiga from the default 512 KB to 1.5 MB.
2. Use the Kickstart 1.3 ROM.

If you’re having problems, find an image of the original box online (use Google images) to check the system requirements. While most games will run on Kickstart 1.3 with 1 MB of RAM, this isn’t always the case.

How to Emulate an Amiga on Android

Even simpler to set up is the emulation of an Amiga computer on your Android smartphone or tablet (or even TV box). You’ll be able to do this by installing the UAE4ALL 2 app. This video explains in more depth:Android TV Boxes: What Are They, And What Can They Do? Android TV Boxes: What Are They, And What Can They Do?Companies like Apple, Roku and Western Digital have already capitalized on this with their set-top boxes, but now a new wave of Android options has hit the market. Typically available for between $60 and $100,...READ MORE

Once you’re up and running, you’re ready to start enjoying Amiga games on your Android device!

Using iPhone?

As iOS users will know, emulation on the platform is limited, and as a result there are few emulators available. However, a search of the App Store will reveal some repackaged Amiga titles. For instance,Tales of Monkey Island, sequel to The Secret of Monkey Island, is available for iPad.Tales Of Monkey Island Comes To iPad, First Episode Is Free! [News] Tales Of Monkey Island Comes To iPad, First Episode Is Free! [News]Looking for a great free adventure game on your iPad? You’re in luck, because Telltale Games’ first installment, Launch of the Screaming Narwhal, is available for free on the iPad until July 22. This first...READ MORE

The Amiga: Emulated

With an emulated Commodore Amiga running on your PC or mobile device, you immediately have access to a library of over 5000 titles, many of which set the groundwork for the way games are played 30 years later.