Windows 9 Might Come As A Free Download, But Only To Certain Users – Yahoo News

Please enter a valid phone number. Please enter your Phone Number. Send Thanks! A link has been sent. Done Windows 9 might come as a free download, but only to certain users By Chris Smith June 23, 2014 3:30 PM 0 shares View photo Windows 9 might come as a free download, but only to certain users Microsoft will release a second major Windows 8.1 update this year Windows 8.1 Update 2 which will be available free of charge to Windows 8.1 Update 1 users , hacker group WZOR has revealed. The group also says that Microsoft willsell Windows 8.1 Update 2 for an affordable price to Windows users who are running earlier Windows versions on their machines and want to upgrade to the latest OS version. WZOR also revealed that Windows 9 might be released as a free update for Windows users whohave Windows 8.1 Update 2 installed, or at a substantial discount. Apparently a decision on the matter has not been made yet. Previous reports from the same source have also indicated that Microsofts upcoming major Windows release may be available as a free download . Finally, WZOR has apparently revealed that Windows 9 Enterprise may have the ability to disable Metro 2.0. The company is expected to have a significant internal event from June 23rd through June 27th, at which point Windows 8.1 Update 2 might receive an RTM Escrow status. The hacker group said that Microsoft has tightened its Windows security, making leaks nearly impossible apparently, employees that want to use the latest builds will get personal Windows copiesthat will make it easy for the company to track down leakers.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://news.yahoo.com/windows-9-might-come-free-download-only-certain-193045035.html

Microsoft Issues an Update to Windows Update — Redmondmag.com

In addition, it will harden “the infrastructure” used by the client. The update will install automatically for those individuals or organizations that have their Windows Update/Microsoft Update client set for automatic installations. It’s not clear when the update will arrive. Microsoft suggested it will roll out gradually. Organizations using Windows Server Update Services to control their Windows updates will have to wait for this update to be available as “a standalone package,” according to Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article ( KB 2887535 ) associated with the update. Those individuals and organizations using Microsoft’s newest flagship operating systems may have already received the update. For instance, Microsoft’s April update ( KB 2919355 ) for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 already contains the improvements to the Windows Update/Microsoft Update client. In other update news, Microsoft cleared up a two mysteries this week that may have perplexed IT pros. One of the mysteries concerned Internet Explorer, which IT pros said was popping up an upgrade message in a separate tab after the installation of Microsoft’s June update . The other mystery concerned Windows 8.1, which sometimes does not report its software version correctly. Those two issues were recently discussed in the patchmanagement.org list-serv for IT pros. IE Welcome Tab Issue The Internet Explorer upgrade message tab popup is by design, although it’s thought by IT pros to be confusing to end users. The tab popup appears after the June update is applied for users of IE 10 on Windows 7, as well as users of IE 9 on Windows 7 or Windows Vista, according to this Microsoft blog post . The blog post offered a couple of tips on how to suppress this so-called “Welcome tab” in IE. It can be suppressed either by making a change in the Windows Registry or by pushing down a Group Policy preference to end users. Windows 8.1 Version Reporting The second mystery concerned Windows 8.1, which sometimes reports that it is “Windows 8.” It turns out that Microsoft routinely lies about its Windows versions.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://redmondmag.com/articles/2014/06/25/windows-update.aspx

How To Download And Install Windows Phone 8.1 | Ndtv Gadgets

(Also see: Windows Phone 8.1: Top Eight New Features ) In April this year, Microsoft had unveiled Windows Phone 8.1 and its desktop counterpart Windows 8.1 , promising several new features, bringing the platform on par with Android and iOS in terms of functionality. The update also adds a smart voice assistant called Cortana, but this feature isn’t available in India yet. (Also see: Windows Phone 8.1 Review ) Before you get to downloading the update, you should check which version of Windows Phone your device is running. To do that, open Settings > about. Here you will see the OS version under phone information. If it is Windows Phone 8.0, your phone should be getting the 8.1 update. Before updating, ensure that your phone has sufficient battery life. We recommend that you update while charging your phone to make sure that it updates without a hitch. Here’s how to get the latest Windows Phone 8.1 update on your smartphone. 1) Open Settings, scroll down and tap the “Phone update” option. 2) Now tap “Check for updates”. Your Windows Phone device will now check if the new update is available. You can download the update if it is available. 3) Alternatively, you may tick the option below check for updates, which reads: Automatically download updates if my data settings allow it. This way, your phone will update software automatically as long as you are on a WiFi connection. If your phone doesn’t show any updates available, you’ll have to wait a while longer. The review note on Microsoft’s support site reads, “The distribution of these incremental updates may be controlled by the mobile operator or the phone manufacturer from which you purchased your phone, and installation will require that your phone have any prior updates. Update availability will also vary by country, region, and hardware capabilities.” Alternatively, you may download the developer preview of Windows Phone 8.1 to get a taste of the OS before it is officially available for your smartphone. We hope you managed to update to Windows Phone 8.1.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/features/how-to-download-and-install-windows-phone-81-546838

April Windows 7 Patch Needed To Get June Ie Updates – Yahoo News

Please enter a valid phone number. Please enter your Phone Number. Send Thanks! A link has been sent. Done April Windows 7 Patch Needed to Get June IE Updates By Tom’s Guide / Jill Scharr June 16, 2014 3:14 PM 0 shares View photo April Windows 7 Patch Needed to Get June IE Updates Sometimes people forget to update their computers when a new software patch is released. Sometimes they don’t realize they should. And sometimes they just don’t want to update. If you use Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7 and you haven’t installed Microsoft’s April security update to Explorer, then you won’t be able to install the much larger June IE update, and you won’t receive any further updates to IE 11 including important security patches until you do. Furthermore, if you’re a Windows 7 user and you don’t have the April Windows 7 IE 11 patch installed, not only will future Internet Explorer patches not install, but they won’t even appear in your Windows Update queue of recommend updates. MORE: Best PC Antivirus Software 2014 Microsoft had previously warned Windows 8.1 users that they had to update to a later version of Windows 8.1 in order to receive any security patches beyond June 10. Now, according to a technically dense Microsoft support document , it seems Windows 7 users are also being required to update something now to get more updates later. In this case, however, ignoring the April update only affects Internet Explorer 11. This requirement immediately affects Windows 7 users who depend on Windows Update to keep their computers patched mostly consumers and small and medium-size businesses. Enterprise users, who use different updating software, have until August 12 to install the April IE patches. The April IE update contained no major changes to Microsoft’s products, so if you’ve been regularly downloading updates, you should be fine installing it. If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to, you can always replace Internet Explorer 11 with a different browser. Emailjscharr@tomsguide.comor follow her @JillScharr and Google+ . Follow us @TomsGuide , on Facebook and on Google+ .
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://news.yahoo.com/april-windows-7-patch-needed-191437189.html

How to speed up Windows 7: the ultimate guide to speeding up a slow PC – PC Advisor

Faulty drivers for example, stop Windows shutting down or cause it to start more slowly. Video card drivers are often updated to fix bugs and boost performance, and it is always a good idea to check that you have the latest version. Even if Windows updates are automatic, go to Windows Update in the Control Panel and manually check for updates. Only essential ones are installed automatically and there may be useful optional ones available. Drivers are programs that enable Windows to access hardware components like the video, sound, printer, scanner, webcam, and so on. Updating them is a pain and you have to identify the hardware, the drivers and version numbers, the hardware manufacturer’s website and the download page. Take a shortcut by using a free tool such as SlimDrivers (slimwareutilities.com) or Driver Booster Free (iobit.com). These do all the work for you and they are like Windows Update for drivers. They identify the current drivers, check if there are updates, and then download and install them for you. They solve a lot of problems. Driver Booster updates drivers, but avoid the extras during installation How to speed up Windows 7 and 8: Free up disk space Your PC’s hard disk slows down as it fills up and uninstalling software helps to free up space giving more room for Windows to work faster. Disk space can be recovered by using Ccleaner (piriform.com), Anti Tracks Free Edition (giantmatrix.com), Advanced SystemCare 7 Free (iobit.com) and others. There’s a right way and a wrong way to use these though. Select just a few items and clean them, making sure the app backs up the changes.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/desktop-pc/3502902/how-speed-up-windows/?zk=windows7

10 Essential Programs You Should Keep On A Usb Stick | News | Techradar

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Just make sure that the master key you choose to encrypt your password database with is suitably strong and not something you’re going to forget in a hurry! Keypass enables you to keep all your passwords, PINs and other info safely locked away 3. Zip it up Ok, so while Windows does have the ability to both open and create zip files, it’s a pretty basic beast at best. It will only open files with the .zip extension too, so if you’re the sort of person who likes to download .rar files then you’re out of luck. 7-Zip is one of the better desktop archiving tools and there’s a portable version, too . 7-Zip can open quite a few compressed archive formats, including CAB and ISO files (useful for extracting individual Windows files), as well as the usual ZIP, RAR, GZIP, TAR and ARJ. As a bonus, you can encrypt archives for security (see point 10). Windows’ built-in zip tool is limited, 7-Zip is a powerful, free, alternative 4. An office away from home We are of course big fans of the cloud and applications such as Google Docs and Microsoft SkyDrive, but if you don’t have an Internet connection, then these aren’t so helpful. Step forward the portable office app. LibreOffice and OpenOffice.org are both fully-featured suites, which have very good office compatibility and as they are both open source, there’s no expensive upgrade fees when you want to get the latest version. LibreOffice will open most Microsoft Office documents, even hugely complicated spreadsheets 5. Picture this So, you’ve helped your granny transfer her photos from her smartphone to her laptop, but now she wants to edit them and Windows paint isn’t really up to the job. Thankfully you’ve brought along your USB stick and The Gimp , a powerful, open-source image editor that rivals Adobe Elements. Download it and you’ll be cropping, resizing, colour correcting and masking in no time at all. A powerful image editing tool, no leather hood required 6. Entertain me With USB sticks available in capacities up to 128GB (albeit at a premium price), you can pretty much carry around your entire music collection, along with a handful of movies for good measure. There’s no guarantee that the computer you end up using will have a media player, or even the right codecs installed though, which is where VLC Media Player comes in. VLC is able to play virtually any media format you can throw at it, without the need to download CODEC packs, including FLV, DIVX, MP3, FLAC, MKV and many, many more.

Apple Uses Windows On Mac Pro Production Line | Apple | Geek.com

Windows 8.1 patches won’t install without April update – CNET

8, 2014 9:05 am Anyone who purchases a Mac Pro can do so knowing they are supporting manufacturing on US soil. And Apple is also very happy to remind us of this fact, with Tim Cook recently visiting the Austin, Texas manufacturing facility where the Pro is put together. The photo Cook tweeted of himself at the facility revealed something Apple will be less than happy to share with the world. Manufacturing the Mac Pro involves the use of the Windows operating system. If you click on the image below to view it full size, you can clearly see Windows running on iMacs right down the production line. More specifically it looks to be Windows XP, although Windows 7 or some released of Windows Embedded cant be ruled out, either. So why does Apple run Windows? Its unclear, but the most likely reason seems to be a piece of electronic design automation software that was written to run on Microsofts OS. Its also likely thats not the only piece of software Apples manufacturing facility requires Windows to run. It shouldnt come as a surprise that Windows is used during the manufacturing process. Its the most common OS used in the world, and Id be surprised not to find Windows used in a manufacturing facility regardless of the product being made. However, this is an embarrassing oversight on the part of Tim Cook and whoever handles his Twitter account. He will be embarrassed, Apples PR team will be embarrassed, and it makes Cook look a little silly, especially following his negative comments towards Microsoft and Windows during WWDC earlier this week. So, if you see someone using a Mac and they are making negatives comments about Microsoft, you may want to point out the device they are using only works in part because of Windows. If they dont believe you, then just show them the image above. I wonder how many will just shout shopped in your direction.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.geek.com/apple/apple-uses-windows-on-mac-pro-production-line-1596141/

That requirement was first revealed when Microsoft launched the so-dubbed Windows 8.1 Update in early April. But a Microsoft spokewoman confirmed to CNET that the requirement is now in place starting with the June Patch Tuesday updates rolling out today. “The majority of Windows 8.1 customers have installed the Windows 8.1 update,” Microsoft spokeswoman Jill Lovato told CNET in an email on Monday. “For those who have not yet made the transition, those newer updates offered with this month’s Update Tuesday will be considered ‘not applicable.’ Customers’ infrastructure will continue to function; however, it should be noted that they can’t consume any further updates until they apply the Windows 8.1 Update .” The Windows 8.1 Update is in many ways Microsoft’s latest mea culpa to Windows 8 PC users, many of whom found the initial release of the OS to have too much emphasis on touch-screen and tablet features. Designed with desktop and mouse users in mind , the April update offers greater support for right mouse clicks, a Start screen-accessible Power button, and the ability to pin Modern apps to the desktop. But Microsoft clearly is also using the April update as a necessary linchpin for all future Windows 8.1 updates. So what happens if a Windows 8.1 user has not yet installed the April update? Lovato described the scenario to CNET: “Customers who rely on Windows Updates (as opposed to Windows Server Update Service commonly used in corporate environments), and who have chosen to manually select and/or download updates instead of accepting Windows’ default update settings to automatically install, and who have then deselected the Windows 8.1 update for download or installation, will not see subsequent updates because they only apply once the Windows 8.1 Update is installed. Manually downloading these subsequent updates will result in failed installation for the same reason.” So there you have it, Windows 8.1 users. Install the April update or you’re out of luck as far as future updates. Fortunately, that’s not a terrible burden. The April update isn’t difficult to install and logically should be installed prior to any future updates anyway. Those of you who have Automatic Updates enabled should have already installed the update. You can easily tell if the update is in place by peeking at your Windows 8.1 Start screen. If you see a Power button and a search icon in the upper right corner of the screen, you’re all set. If not, launch the charms bar and click the Settings charm. Click the link for Change PC settings. Click the setting for Update and recovery. Make sure the setting for Windows Update is highlighted.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-8-1-patches-wont-install-without-april-update/

Windows Gets The Github Tool It Deserves | Itworld

Most everything needed to be done through the command line and the initial setup of the security key exchange between your desktop and GitHub was enough to deter a lot of people. All of that has changed with GitHub Windows 2.0 . GitHub Windows 2.0 is a stunning application. Its design and function is so streamlined youll marvel at it after installation. Every aspect of it seems to have been created with productivity in mind. Its minimal interface provides all of the functionality youll need via a single screen, complemented by flyouts. When you first fire up the app, it will (surprise) ask you to log into GitHub. Once you do, it automatically negotiates the SSH Key creation and exchange for you and provides access to your repositories. If you have any local repositories already, the app will help you find them, otherwise you can browse your online repositories and clone them to your local workspace in a click. Once you have a repo cloned to your local machine, you can view the history of that project and navigate between branches with ease. As you work on your project, GitHub for Windows monitors your files system and reports your uncommitted changes immediately. You get a detailed look at every file that has changed and a diff of each file showing what has changed and how. When youre ready, you can enter your commit message and commit your changes to the repo. This may all seem rather unremarkable but Windows users have been waiting for this application. The fact that it is done so well is a big and welcome surprise. It might be the best modern Windows application Ive seen since the release of Windows 8. If youve been looking to get started with GitHub and have held off because of the lack of a solid Windows GUI, today is the day that excuse disappears. Head over to the Github Windows site and download the software to get started.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.itworld.com/windows/422446/windows-gets-github-tool-it-deserves

Windows 8.1 patches won’t install without April update – CNET

That requirement was first revealed when Microsoft launched the so-dubbed Windows 8.1 Update in early April. But a Microsoft spokewoman confirmed to CNET that the requirement is now in place starting with the June Patch Tuesday updates rolling out today. “The majority of Windows 8.1 customers have installed the Windows 8.1 update,” Microsoft spokeswoman Jill Lovato told CNET in an email on Monday. “For those who have not yet made the transition, those newer updates offered with this month’s Update Tuesday will be considered ‘not applicable.’ Customers’ infrastructure will continue to function; however, it should be noted that they can’t consume any further updates until they apply the Windows 8.1 Update .” The Windows 8.1 Update is in many ways Microsoft’s latest mea culpa to Windows 8 PC users, many of whom found the initial release of the OS to have too much emphasis on touch-screen and tablet features. Designed with desktop and mouse users in mind , the April update offers greater support for right mouse clicks, a Start screen-accessible Power button, and the ability to pin Modern apps to the desktop. But Microsoft clearly is also using the April update as a necessary linchpin for all future Windows 8.1 updates. So what happens if a Windows 8.1 user has not yet installed the April update? Lovato described the scenario to CNET: “Customers who rely on Windows Updates (as opposed to Windows Server Update Service commonly used in corporate environments), and who have chosen to manually select and/or download updates instead of accepting Windows’ default update settings to automatically install, and who have then deselected the Windows 8.1 update for download or installation, will not see subsequent updates because they only apply once the Windows 8.1 Update is installed. Manually downloading these subsequent updates will result in failed installation for the same reason.” So there you have it, Windows 8.1 users. Install the April update or you’re out of luck as far as future updates. Fortunately, that’s not a terrible burden.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.cnet.com/news/windows-8-1-patches-wont-install-without-april-update/

Zoho Becomes The Latest Microsoft Rival To Port To Windows 8.1 | Zdnet

On June 3, Zoho became the latest to join the crowd, making available its Zoho Books accounting app for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT. The new app is free (but requires Zoho’s paid cloud services) and available for download from the Windows Store as of today, June 3. Zoho already has a Windows Phone version of Zoho Books , which has been available for download from the Windows Phone Store since January 2014. The most interesting part of the Zoho announcement to me is how and why the company ended up doing a Metro-Style/Windows Store version of one of its core apps. Zoho has been building cloud apps since 2004. Its focus is particularly on small/mid-size business users. The company has more than 10 million users of its collaboration, email and other office apps, Zoho officials say. “On paper, we look fairly competitive with Microsoft,” said Zoho President Raj Sabhlok. But Microsoft is increasingly open to “customer-driven partnerships,” he said. A large number of Zoho’s customers and partners use Microsoft platforms like Windows and Windows Phone, Sabhlok noted. “We are meeting our customers where they are at.” Sabhlok said that Zoho was approached by Microsoft a little less than a year ago about bringing its apps to Windows 8. “They committed some development and marketing resources and we committed some resources,” Sabhlok said. Just a couple of years ago, that statement would have been considered treasonous by some Microsoft officials who were adamant about not paying developers — or at least not admitting to paying them — to write Metro-Style/Windows Store apps. “We’ve seen a night and day difference” in how Microsoft is approaching and working with us, Sabhlok said. “Directionally, it’s less about protecting the Microsoft operating system and being about the customer.” Sabhlok said bringing Zoho Books to Windows 8 took about four months, including starts and stops.Zoho Books will be just the first of a number of Zoho apps to come to Microsoft’s platforms, he said.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.zdnet.com/zoho-becomes-the-latest-microsoft-rival-to-port-to-windows-8-1-7000030165/

Windows 8 spyware? Screenshot software? – Windows 8 – Windows 8

Screenshot software? Tags: May 21, 2014 12:44:11 PM Good day everyone, i am hoping some of you have some suggestions to this issue. HP Envy dv7. On EVERY active window, (does not matter what it is – windows explorer, every internet browser, photoshop, sql server, etc.) It does not matter the program – The viewport of any active program will randomly, occasionally and rapidly scroll to the bottom of the window, then back to the top. When it does this, it rapidly scrolls the page maybe 5-10 times within a second. Sometimes while holding control (to copy or to paste) on a web browser it will zoom in or out using the scroll feature. It will scroll randomly / horizontally even if you are in Excel / Office 2007 where you have the settings tabs at the top, if your mouse is over those tabs you can scroll horizontally with the wheel. I used to repair computers and the only time i have ever seen this type of behavior is with a type of spyware or a program that hides in the background and takes screenshots. Keylogger / Screenlogger. So.. i have been looking for one, but without success. I used acronis to restore to a couple week old backup i created when i got the computer, which did not fix the issue. I know i was not having this issue prior to creating that backup. There are many people with physical access to my computer and it is more probable that someone has installed / reinstalled this illusive software. (i usually lock it, but sometimes you just forget to ctrl + alt + delete + enter before walking away) I have Windows 8.1, and have tried AVG, Avast, Malwarebytes, Ccleaner, a few others, i have checked some registry keys list (i dont have a full understanding of registry keys and finding keys that are out of place) Windows startup is very minimal and I see nothing starting up with the computer that is out of place. I have scanned for rootkits with no success. I uninstalled and reinstalled the USB mouse driver thinking it could be hitchhiking on the mouse control. I never use the mousepad and always have a usb mouse plugged in. Computers come with software installed that controls the stock mousepad.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2151257/windows-spyware-screenshot-software.html

Zoho Becomes The Latest Microsoft Rival To Port To Windows 8.1 | Zdnet

Windows XP Resurrection is Imminent

Oracle , SAP , Salesforce — it’s a growing and somewhat surprising list. On June 3, Zoho became the latest to join the crowd, making available its Zoho Books accounting app for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT. The new app is free (but requires Zoho’s paid cloud services) and available for download from the Windows Store as of today, June 3. Zoho already has a Windows Phone version of Zoho Books , which has been available for download from the Windows Phone Store since January 2014. The most interesting part of the Zoho announcement to me is how and why the company ended up doing a Metro-Style/Windows Store version of one of its core apps. Zoho has been building cloud apps since 2004. Its focus is particularly on small/mid-size business users. The company has more than 10 million users of its collaboration, email and other office apps, Zoho officials say. “On paper, we look fairly competitive with Microsoft,” said Zoho President Raj Sabhlok. But Microsoft is increasingly open to “customer-driven partnerships,” he said. A large number of Zoho’s customers and partners use Microsoft platforms like Windows and Windows Phone, Sabhlok noted.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.zdnet.com/zoho-becomes-the-latest-microsoft-rival-to-port-to-windows-8-1-7000030165/

Some software for certain organizations, especially government offices, does not work for newer operating systems (Referred to as “Legacy Software”). There is now a great need for third party assistance in protecting Windows XP, and Horizon DataSys’s RollBack XP aims to do just that. Free for the end-user, RollBack XP will negate the need to try and find customized updates for the OS a Simply rolling back to a previous snapshot in case of a threat is the best defense. It is the premier alternative in the field of Windows XP Support, and is a huge benefit to the approximately 1-billion users currently running Windows XP. Our previous freeware software Reboot Restore RX was very successful as a SteadyState alternative , and many users found that it really helped them. We hope to have RollBack XP assist users in a similar fashion a by providing free and accessible restore software where there is no longer support present. Also, many XP machines are also being used in net cafes and public-access environments. XP works great for kiosks, so it’s important to have a kiosk computer recovery solution to match! To purchase an updated OS for all of these systems is just not feasible in today’s economic climate for many of these businesses. RollBack XP aims to be the premier recovery solution for Windows XP in this regard. Lyle Patel, President and CEO of Horizon DataSys, said: “We are doing this because there is a huge need for it. With over a billion users remaining, the cost for every single one of those to upgrade is massive. If we can provide even a percentage of those users with the power to fix virtually any PC disaster, then it’s our mission to do so.” RollBack XP will feature an option to make 5 snapshots.
For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Windows+XP+Resurrection+is+Imminent/9546585.html

Nokia Lumia 630 Review: An Affordable Windows Phone 8.1 Smartphone

Our Verdict
The Lumia 630 is the first smartphone to launch with Windows Phone 8.1 . This is a fairly major software update which includes many new features, although some such as Cortana won’t be made available in the UK until much later this year. See also: how to get Windows Phone 8.1 and Cortana right now
We’ll get to the software shortly, but the 630 itself is all about price. You can buy the smartphone outright for just £129. There are some compromises though, notably the lack of 4G support, and there’s plenty of competition from budget Android smartphones including the forthcoming 4G version of Motorola’s Moto G. The identical-looking Lumia 635 will support 4G but that’s not yet available – it should cost around £20 extra.
Nokia Lumia 630 review: design
With its removable plastic rear shell – similar to previous Nokia smartphones – it’s easy to change the 630’s appearance according to your mood. If black is too sombre, there are yellow, orange and green shells which cost £13 each from Microsoft’s online store.
The front is covered with Gorilla Glass 3, with cutouts at the top and bottom for the earpiece and microphone.
As a low-end phone, things are quite basic with an LED-less rear camera, a rear-facing mono speaker and a microUSB charging port at the bottom. Unlike other Lumia’s the 630 has no dedicated shutter button: you get a power button with a volume rocker above it.
The phone weighs 134g, but feels lighter. It’s just over 9mm thick – these are pretty average figures. See also: Nokia Lumia 930 hands-on review .
Nokia Lumia 630 vs Lumia 635: What’s the difference?
We’ve included both these devices in one review because they are very similar smartphones. A minor difference is that the Lumia 630 comes with a matt finish plastic shell while the Lumia 635 has a glossy coating. Since you can buy different interchangeable shells, there’s nothing stopping you mixing and matching.
The more important variation is that the Lumia 630 is limited to 3G data while the Lumia 635 adds support for 4G LTE networks. For some markets, the Lumia 630 will be available in a dual-SIM model.
Nokia Lumia 630 review: hardware and performance
Aside from the mobile data difference, the two Lumia smartphones share the same specifications. Perhaps the biggest compromise – and disappointment – is the low-resolution 4.5in screen. With 854×480 pixels, that’s under 220ppi and you really notice this when reading text on web pages. It’s fuzzy and hard to read, which means you have to zoom in more than on a smartphone with a higher resolution display.
Despite being an IPS screen, viewing angles aren’t the best. A bigger issue is that our sample had clearly visible backlight bleed along the top edge which was all too noticeable on light-coloured backgrounds. Overall, the backlight was more uneven than we’d like.
Processing power is decent for the most part. The 630 has the same 1.2GHz quad-core CPU as the Moto G but has half the RAM, with just 512MB on board. In general, Windows Phone 8.1 is snappy and responsive. One notable exception is the camera app. It’s never quick to launch, and can sometimes take several seconds to load, being ready to take a photo only after six or seven seconds – that’s unacceptable and meant we often missed the moment.
Since our usual benchmark apps aren’t available on Windows Phone, we could run only the browser-based SunSpider test. Here, the 630 completed the test in an average of 1486ms, a shade quicker than the Moto G.
There’s only 8GB of internal storage but as with flagships such as the Galaxy S5 and HTC One M8 , the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 have a microSD card slot which is capable of taking up to 128GB. You also get 7GB of free Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage.
Nokia Lumia 630 review: battery life
Another disappointment with the smartphone is mediocre battery life. During our testing, we were lucky to get through a full 24 hours without getting nagged about “critically low” battery levels. That was with average use – some emailing, IM, Facebook, YouTube and gaming. With heavy use, you’ll need to be near a power socket (or have a second battery to hand) in order to make it through a working day.
Annoyingly, the 630 (like all Nokia phones) is fussy about chargers. You get one in the box – with a captive microUSB cable – but try and use a different charger and it will warn you the phone is charging slowly.
Nokia Lumia 630 review: camera
A 5Mp camera sits at the back of the device, capable of capturing 720p videos. It’s nothing special, with no stabilisation, no LED flash and no HDR mode. The default camera app over-sharpens the photos to make them appear more detailed.
Here’s our standard shot of St Pancras, albeit on a rather miserable day (click to enlarge the photo – we’ve resized it to 1200 pixels wide).
Below is a 100 percent crop of the original photo so you can see the level of detail captured:
Here are a couple of other shots we took. They are unedited apart from being resized from 2592 pixels wide down to 1200 to fit your screen (click to enlarge):
There’s no front-facing camera, which makes selfies almost impossible. It’s reason enough to avoid the 630 altogether if you want to use Skype for video chats.
Nokia Lumia 630 review: Software
The Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 come with Windows Phone 8.1 which is the latest version of Microsoft’s mobile operating system. Although an update will be rolled out to existing Lumia devices, it won’t arrive for a few months. It also includes Nokia’s Lumia Cyan updates, in addition to Microsoft’s tweaks.

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Auto Repair Shops Vs. Insurance Companies – Usatoday.com

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Terry Branstad ‘s request. In a Nov. 16 letter to Branstad, the regulators said they had found that insurance company rates in the state are reasonable. Iowa law requires rates to be reasonable but isn’t specific on what that means. State Farm, the nation’s largest auto insurer, with 42 million policies and 18% of the market, regularly surveys repair shops online to determine prices for each market. Dick Luedke, spokesman for State Farm, said his company allows any repair shop to participate in the surveys. Luedke acknowledges the hourly rate determination isn’t always perfect and says State Farm will adjust it occasionally after discussing with shop owners, but generally the company stands by its rates. If a repair shop doesn’t think the rates are fair, the business can still charge more. “He definitely can do that, but what we pay is the prevailing competitive price,” Luedke said. “If he wants to collect the difference from the customer, he can, or he’s free not to do the repair.” Shop owners argue the system of preferred shops puts all auto body repair businesses in two categories the haves and the have-nots. “The shops that sign onto these (networks) operate by fear,” said Ron Reichen, owner of Precision Body and Paint in Beaverton, Ore. “Those shops see the insurance company as their customer, and not the person with the car.” Reichen said insurance companies save money by sending jobs to shops that use second-class auto parts. The insurance industry vigorously disagrees, saying it’s not in insurers’ interest to promote poor-quality repair shops. “If you have a shop that you’re having repeated complaints about, you don’t send work there anymore,” said Steve Morain, president of the Iowa Insurance Institute.