How to Use and Configure Windows 10’s Gestures on a Laptop Touchpad

Windows 8 had trackpad edge swipes that opened the charms bar and did other things desktop users didn’t care about. Microsoft overhauled these gestures in Windows 10, and they’re now useful even for desktop users.

These gestures have been dubbed “Mac-like.” They are similar to trackpad gestures on a Macbecause they’re so useful you’ll actually want to use them for navigating the desktop.

Does Your PC Support These Gestures?

Technically, this requires a “Precision Touchpad.” You can check if your PC has a precision touchpad by opening the Settings app, selecting Devices, and selecting “Mouse & touchpad.” You’ll see the line “Your PC has a precision touchpad” under the “Touchpad” heading here if it does.Not all existing laptops that have been updated to Windows 10 will be able to use these gestures. More modern Windows 10 devices should be capable of doing so.

You can’t just enable this feature by installing a new driver. Your PC’s manufacturer must have met Microsoft’s precision touchpad specification and been certified by Microsoft. This specification was introduced in Windows 8.1, so some PCs that have upgraded to Windows 10 will be able to use these features. Windows 8.1 Update 2 added some more features.

Why the restrictions? Well, Apple can control exactly which touchpads are in a MacBook and ensure they all work properly with gestures, but Microsoft can’t control which touchpads are used in Windows PCs. Historically, many touchpads in Windows PCs have been of poor quality. While they work okay for moving the cursor around, they wouldn’t necessarily be capable of providing accurate data about multi-finger gestures. This also ensures those trackpads don’t “misfire” and accidentally trigger gestures when you’re just trying to move the cursor around.

Microsoft doesn’t require PC manufacturers provide a “precision touchpad,” so not all Windows 10 PCs will have one.

Windows 10’s Touchpad Gestures

Here are the gestures you can use if your PC has a precision touchpad:

• Click: Perform a left-click by simply tapping on the touchpad. You don’t have to to press it down or click a button.
• Right-click: To perform a right-click instead of a left-click, tap with two fingers on the touchpad. You can also tap with one finger in the lower-right corner of the touchpad.
• Drag and Drop: To drag something — as if you were clicking and holding the mouse button down while moving it — perform a double tap and move your finger. Release it when you’re done.
• Scroll: To scroll around in a document, web page, or anywhere else you might use a scroll wheel, place two fingers on the touchpad and move them either horizontally or vertically.

• 
  Zoom In and Out: To zoom in and out, place two fingers on the touchpad and pinch them together or stretch them apart — just like you’d zoom in or out on a touchscreen.
• Open Task View: To open the new Task View interface that displays your open windows and virtual desktops, place three fingers on the touchpad and swipe them upward. You can then move your mouse cursor over a window and tap the touchpad to switch to it. Swipe down with three fingers to leave Task View without selecting a window.

• Show the Desktop: To hide open windows and show the desktop, place three fingers on the touchpad and swipe them downwards. Swipe up with three fingers to restore the minimized windows.
• Switch Between Open Windows: To switch between open windows — a bit like Alt+Tabbing — place three fingers on the touchpad and swipe them left or right.
• Activate Cortana (or Open the Action Center): To quickly activate Cortana, perform a three-finger tap. From the touchpad settings screen, you can switch this gesture to open the Action Center where you can see notifications and access quick shortcuts.

Configure the Gestures

These gestures can be configured from within the Mouse and touchpad section of the Settings app. Each individual gesture above can be disabled if you like, although they’re all enabled by default.

Aside from choosing to enable or disable gestures, you can choose whether a three-finger tap opens Cortana or the Action Center. That’s the only way these gestures appear to be configurable at the moment.

However, you can also control other settings from here, such as the cursor’s speed and whether the touchpad automatically disables itself while you have an external mouse plugged into your laptop.

---

That’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway. In practice, some PC manufacturers may resist Microsoft’s precision touchpad specification to save money, but bundle their own drivers and utilities that activate similar touchpad gestures, too.

If your PC doesn’t say it has a precision touchpad in the associated settings screen, but some of the gestures do seem to work, you’ll need to find a touchpad settings utility somewhere on your PC. You can discover and control your touchpad’s gestures from there.

If you care about having the best touchpad experience on Windows 10, you may want to check if a PC has a precision touchpad or not before purchasing it.

Read More

How to Create a Shortcut to Windows Update in Windows 10

With Windows 10, Microsoft is slowly moving away from the Control Panel in favor of the new Settings app that brings a more unified and consistent place to configure classic and advanced settings. But how do you open a particular page easily from a shortcut?

Almost every Settings page has its own URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) which allows you to open any Settings page directly with a special command. While you can pin settings to the Start menu, you cannot have direct access to specific settings from the desktop. But, if you know the URI then you can easily create shortcuts on the desktop to access your favorite settings.

Open a Settings Page Directly

Press “Win key + R” to open the Run dialog. Type or copy-paste the appropriate command into the Run box. The list of commands is available from the winaero website. For example, use the command;

ms-settings:windowsupdate

to open the “Windows Update” settings page directly. Use the

ms-settings:notifications

command to open the “Notifications & actions” settings page directly.

Create a Desktop Shortcut

Choose what settings you want to access and copy one of the settings paths. For example — ms-settings:windowsupdate to access the Windows Update settings page directly. Right click on an empty space on the desktop, select “New,” and click on “Shortcut.” A new window will open. Now paste the URI for Windows Update and click “Next.”

Choose a name for the shortcut, in this case “Windows Update,” and click “Finish.”

Double-click the shortcut and the Settings should open to the page you specified. Right click and hold on the new Windows Update shortcut, and click on “Properties.” Click on the “Web Document” tab, then click on the “Change Icon” button.

Select your icon, and click “OK.” Now you can access Windows Update right from the desktop. If you like, you can pin to taskbar, pin to start, add to All apps, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.

Read More

Make the Windows 10 Start Menu and Cortana Search Google Instead of Bing

By default, when you search the web in Windows 10 using the new Search box on the Taskbar or using Cortana, you get results from Bing. However, if you prefer getting your search results from Google, there’s a way to change this behavior.

You can redirect searches to Google whether you use Chrome or Firefox. We’ll show you both methods.

Google Chrome

To redirect your search results from Bing to Google using Google Chrome, you must make Chrome your default browser and install an extension in Chrome. To change your default web browser, open the Start menu and click “Settings”.

On the “Settings” dialog box, click “System”.

On the “System” screen, click “Default apps” in the list of items on the left.

Scroll down to the “Web browser” section and click on “Microsoft Edge” (or other option) under the “Web browser” title.

On the “Choose an app” popup menu, select “Google Chrome”.

Google Chrome now displays as the default web browser.

Close the “Settings” dialog box by clicking the “X” button in the upper-right corner.

Now, install the Bing2google extension from this link. You do not need to set anything up in the extension.

To search using Google from the Search box in Windows, click in the Search box on the Taskbar, enter a search term, and click “Web”.

Google Chrome opens and automatically redirects your search to Google. If Chrome was already open, a new tab is opened to display your results.

NOTE: If Google Chrome was not already open when you performed your search, you may notice that Chrome uses Bing rather than Google. There is a setting you have to change to force Windows to use Google instead of Bing for web searches, and we’ll show you how to change that setting later in this article.

Now, we’ll show you how to redirect Cortana searches to Google instead of Bing. To accomplish this, open Chrome and install the Chrometana extension using this link.

Once the extension is installed, the following webpage displays. Click on Google (or the search engine you want to use). A message briefly displays telling you the change was saved. You can close the tab once the change is saved.

The search engine you choose in the Chrometana extension is used when searching using either Cortana or the regular search box on the Taskbar. So, if you choose a different search engine for Chrometana other than Google, the Bing2Google extension will not work correctly. The setting in Chrometana takes precedence over Bing2Google.

To change the setting in Chrometana, access the “Extensions” page and click “Options” under Chrometana. The web page pictured earlier displays again and you can select a different search engine.

NOTE: To access the “Settings” page in Chrome, click the triple bar button in the upper-right corner of the window, select “Settings” from the drop-down menu, and then click “Extensions” in the list of items on the left side of the “Settings” tab that displays (under “Chrome”).

In order for these extensions to work correctly when Chrome is not open, you must have background apps enabled. To do this, click the three bars button in the upper-right corner of the Chrome window and select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.

Scroll down to the bottom of the “Settings” page and click the “Show advanced settings” link.

Scroll down to the “System” section and select the “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed” check box so there is a check mark in the box.

Close the “Settings” tab by clicking the “X” button on the tab.

Now, searches entered into Cortana or the regular Search box will be redirected to Google (or your chosen search engine) whether Chrome is open or not.

Firefox

Firefox allows you to change one setting to have both Cortana and the regular Search box on the Taskbar get redirected to Google, without installing an extension. First, set it as your default web browser using the method described earlier in this article. Then, open Firefox and click the magnifying glass button on the “Search” box.

Click “Change Search Settings” on the drop-down box that displays.

The “Options” tab displays with the “Search” screen active. Under “Default Search Engine” select the search engine you want to use as your default from the drop-down list. For this example, we chose “Google”, but you can choose whichever search engine in the list you are comfortable using.

Make sure the “Use this search engine for searches from Windows” check box is selected.

Close the “Options” tab by clicking the “X” (Close Tab) button on the tab.

Whether Firefox is currently open or not, Google (or your chosen search engine) will now be used when searching using Cortana or the regular Search box in Windows. You don’t have to turn on a background apps setting.

Read More

How to Upgrade a Linux Dual-Boot System to Windows 10

If you’re a Linux user, there’s a good chance you’ve installed Linux alongside an existing Windows 7 or 8.1 system in a dual-boot configuration. You can get the free Windows 10 upgradewithout damaging your existing Linux system.

Even if you’ve overwritten your original Windows system with Linux, you can still get the free Windows 10 upgrade. You’ll just need to reinstall the original Windows system first.

What You’ll Need

Upgrading a dual-boot system is much like upgrading any other Windows installation. You’ll need a genuine, activated copy of Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1. (If you have Windows 7 without Service Pack 1 or Windows 8 installed, you can upgrade them for free first).

If you installed Linux over your existing Windows installation and you want to install Windows 10, you’ll have to reinstall the original Windows system that came with your PC before performing an upgrade. But, if you have Linux installed in a dual-boot configuration and still have your original Windows system lying around, you’re good to go.

As always, it’s a good idea to have backups of your important files before continuing. While this process worked fine for us and shouldn’t cause any problems, Microsoft doesn’t officially support it.

How to Upgrade

You could also download the Windows 10 ISO from within your Linux system and burn it to a disc. You could then reboot into Windows 7 or 8.1 and launch the setup program from the disc. Be sure to upgrade by running the installer from within Windows 10 and selecting upgrade. You can’t actually perform a clean install of Windows 10 on a PC until you first upgrade it. The upgrade process effectively grants your PC the free Windows 10 license. Microsoft makes a note that your PC’s specific hardware configuration is allowed to use Windows 10 on its activation servers.To upgrade, reboot your computer and choose the Windows option in its boot loader. From within Windows, download the media creation tool from Microsoft, launch it, and select “Upgrade this PC”. Perform the same upgrade process you would to upgrade any Windows 7 or 8.1 PC to Windows 10.

Go through the typical process to upgrade Windows as if it were the only operating system on your PC. When the installer reboots normally, you’ll be brought back to the GRUB2 boot loader menu again. Select the “Windows” option here each time your computer reboots. Different Linux distributions each call it something slightly different, but “Windows” will be in the name.

Windows 10 will install normally, replacing your existing Windows 7 or 8.1 system with Windows 10. It’ll work just like it would on a typical PC with only Windows 7 or 8.1 installed. As it’s an upgrade, you won’t be prompted for partitioning or anything along those lines. Windows 10 will just replace your existing Windows 7 or 8.1 system on the existing partitions, leaving your Linux partitions alone.

What About the GRUB2 Boot Loader?

But, surprisingly enough, the Windows 10 upgrade process won’t overwrite the GRUB2 boot loader on your Linux PC. Everything will continue working normally, and you’ll see the usual Linux boot loader every time your reboot your PC. After you perform the upgrade process, selecting the “Windows” option in the bootloader will boot into Windows 10 instead of your old Windows system.Typically, installing or upgrading Windows will overwrite your Linux boot loader. Your Linux system will become inaccessible until you reinstall Linux or perform a repair-install of GRUB2. Every time you boot your computer, Windows will just boot immediately. That’s why you should typically install Windows before Linux when setting up a dual-boot system.

Optional: Update Your GRUB2 Boot Menu

Everything will “just work,” but your Linux distribution won’t automatically change the operating system label in GRUB. It will continue to either say “Windows 7″ or “Windows 8″, even though that option will boot you into Windows 10.

You can ignore this option entirely and continue using it — everything will just work. If you do want to rename the Windows 7 or Windows 8 entry so it reads Windows 10 instead, you’ll need to edit your GRUB2 boot menu.

Assuming you’re using Ubuntu, you can install the Grub-Customizer tool from this PPA and use the graphical interface to rename the boot entry. Other Linux distributions may have built-in tools for editing their boot menu. You can also use this tool to make Windows 10 your default operating system that starts every time you boot your PC, if you like.

---

The convenient upgrade process doesn’t tamper with your system and overwrite the Linux bootloader, which is a nice change from previous editions of Windows.

But, if you want to install Windows 10 from scratch in the future, you should still install Windows 10 first and Linux after. Performing a clean install of Windows 10 would overwrite your Linux boot loader with the Windows boot loader.

Read More

How to Fix Apache Can't Start in XAMPP/WAMP/MAMP/LAMP, port 443 is busy by VMware Player/Workstation

If you want to create a local host on your computer to work on your projects of course you need to install a server, and the famous one is Apache. And then if you are coding in PHP and working with databases you need to install MySQL and PHP on your computer. So it can take a long time to install all that piece by piece, but you can install that all components with one software such as XAMPP(multi-platform), WAMP(Windows), MAMP(Mac), LAMP(Linux).
But it may give you an error when you want to start an apache server. If it says the port 443 is busy, then it means you have a software which already using that port. This mostly happen when you have a VMware workstation installed on your computer.
And today i will show you how to fix that problem.

1) First of all close the software(XAMPP for example) and make sure all components on it are turned off.
2) Now go ahead and open up the VMware Workstation, navigate toEdit -> Preferences.
3) Now there you need to go "Shared VMs" at left side.
4) If you see a "Change Settings" button then simply click on it, if there is no such a button skip this step.
5) Press on "Disable Sharing" button and change the "HTTPS" value from 443 to 444 or something else, but make sure that post is not busy on your computer.

6) Now press on "Enable Sharing" button, wait until it's done and hit on "OK" button.
7) Close the VMware and open up the XAMPP, try to turn on the apache server again.

Read More

Download Xender For Windows Phone & Share Files An Amazing Speed

The app which already got over 245 reviews in few days from those who've downloaded it, has the ability to send and receive files at incredible speed through WiFi, so you don't have to wait endlessly sharing with Bluetooth.
xender-windows-phones
Here Are Features, Things You Can Do With Your Xenda For Windows

==>Send anything you want, from pictures, videos, documents, music, games and Apps.

==>Transfer and share files between Android devices, ISO or PC/MAC.

==>Transfers files faster than when using data cables, Bluetooth and other slow apps.

==>Supports group file sharing upto four (4) devices at once.

==>No internet connection needed.



==>1. For windows (.xap or .APPX) Get it Here



==>2. For Android Users Who still don't have it installed, you can get it Here


==>3. iOS/iPhone Users get xender for iPhone Here

==>4. Then finally Blackberry user (10 only) get yours Here.

How To Use?

==>1. Open App after a successful download and installation.
==>2. Get a second device with which you want to receive or send files to (xender or flash share must be installed on it too).

==>3. Now open xender on second device and click on Connect on both phones.

==>4. Choose Create Connection in one of the devices, and Join on the other. It should connect.

==>5. Finally locate the file, game, document etc you wish to share within the app, click on it and hit send
==>6. That's all. Sending should be through in few seconds, depending on the size of the file being sent.

With all this interesting features, its really sad why it only got to window phones now. Since it has been available on other platforms like Android, iOS, Mac and PC for a very long time now. 

Read More

How to Use Your Free Windows 10 License After Changing Your PC’s Hardware

The free Windows 10 license you receive is tied to your PC’s hardware. You’re still allowed to use Windows 10 on that same PC even after changing its hardware, but that may not be clear. Microsoft won’t give you a product key.

Microsoft really doesn’t want to explain how the activation process works. It doesn’t want to give pirates too much information, but that does make the licensing process confusing for legitimate users, too.

How Windows Licences and Activation Usually Work

In this case, the product key would always serve to activate Windows. But Microsoft hasn’t been handing out Windows 10 product keys to upgraders. There’s no way to find your Windows 10 product key if you’ve upgraded for free — you just don’t have one.The free Windows 10 license works very differently from previous Windows licensing systems. These all required a product key. Even modern Windows 8 and 8.1 PCs — and new PCs that come with Windows 10 — have a Windows product key embedded in their UEFI firmware. If you buy a new copy of Windows 10 — for example, to install it on a PC you’re building yourself — you’ll also have a product key.

How the Free Windows 10 License Works

The free Windows 10 license Microsoft is providing to upgraders works differently. Microsoft won’t issue you a Windows 10 product key. Instead, when you perform an upgrade from within Windows 7 Service Pack 1 or Windows 8.1, the upgrade process registers a unique ID associated with your PC’s hardware on Microsoft’s Windows activation servers.

In the future, whenever you install Windows 10 on that same PC, it will automatically report to Microsoft’s activation servers. Microsoft will confirm that the PC with that specific hardware configuration is allowed to use Windows 10, and it’ll automatically be activated.

This isn’t actually made clear in the installation process itself. To clean-install Windows 10 on a machine activated in this way, you have to continually skip all the product key prompts while installing it.

This automatic process only works if your PC has the same hardware it had when you upgraded to Windows 10.

What if You Change Your PC’s Hardware?

However, replacing your computer’s motherboard or CPU will likely be so big a change that it prevents the PC from automatically activating. Windows 10 will see it as a different hardware configuration, one which isn’t allowed to have the free upgrade.Microsoft has never actually wanted to explain exactly how the hardware-based Windows activation process works. Justreplacing your hard drive or upgrading your graphics card shouldn’t cause a problem. If you’ve just changed a few peripherals, Windows 10 may just automatically activate itself after you clean-install it.

If you run into this problem, you should just be able to clean-install Windows 10 normally. Skip both prompts when you’re asked to enter a product key. After it installs, it will attempt to activate itself with Microsoft and won’t automatically activate. It will be considered non-genuine until you activate it. The activation screen will prompt you to purchase a new license from the Windows Store.

According to Gabriel Aul, Vice President of Engineering for the Windows & Devices group at Microsoft, you can then contact support from within Windows 10, explain the situation, and they’ll activate Windows 10 for you:

@MarmeladSusi @WindowsSupport @PiotrGoreckiJr You can contact Customer Support after you've made a hardware change to regain entitlement

— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) August 8, 2015

To do this, you should be able to open the Start menu, select All Apps, and launch the Contact Support app included with Windows 10. Navigate to the Services & apps > Windows > Setting up category, which includes activation issues. You can text-chat with a Microsoft support representative here or have a Microsoft representative call you on the phone.

The free Windows 10 license isn’t tied to a Microsoft account at all — it’s just tied to the PC’s hardware configuration. However, we assume that it might help if you sign into the PC with the same Microsoft account you signed in with on your old PC. That would give Microsoft Support some way to confirm you previously had a free Windows 10 license on that PC. That’s just a guess, of course — Microsoft isn’t saying exactly what is required here.

You Can’t Move a Free Windows 10 License to Another PC

RELATED ARTICLE

What’s the Difference Between the “System Builder” and “Full Version” Editions of Windows?
Ever tried to buy a Windows license from Amazon or Newegg? If only it was so simple. You’ll encounter cheaper System... [Read Article]

Bear in mind that this will only work on the same PC. This does create some an inconvenient situation for people who boughta full retail license — not an OEM license — of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1. Most people don’t do this, though — even people building their own PCs usually seem to buy OEM copies of Windows.

Those retail licenses are portable between different PCs, so you can take them with you from PC to PC. You might have purchased a Windows 7 license and built your own PC. Build a new PC a few years later and you can take that Windows 7 license with you as long as you remove it from the first machine. Rinse and repeat over and over — as long as you’d like to continue using Windows 7.

However, that free Windows 10 license you get as part of the upgrade process is tied to an individual PC. Even if you upgraded from a retail copy of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, you won’t be given a retail copy of Windows 10. You just can’t move that free Windows 10 license to another PC. After the first year is up and the free Windows 10 upgrade offer is over, you’ll have to buy a new copy of Windows 10 if you want to move it to an entirely different PC.

This may feel a bit inconvenient. But, on the other hand, that Windows 10 license was just a free bonus in the first place. Retail licenses of Windows 10 you purchase can be moved between PCs in the same way.

---

Microsoft’s solution here is to hand this responsibility off to its support department, who can activate Windows for you. There’s no automatic process and no product key to help you. It’s a bit like calling Microsoft on the phone to activate previous editions of Windows — but at least you had a product key to help you in that scenario. Hopefully Microsoft’s support people are trained well enough to handle this properly.

Read More

How to Identify a Song on Any Smartphone, PC, or Tablet

What’s that song playing right now? At one point, your best bet was to hope your friend knew — or try to listen to the lyrics and search for them. Now, you can just have your phone, tablet, or PC listen to it. This is all built into modern operating systems.

Shazam was the app that really brought this to the masses, and it’s still available on modern smartphones and tablets. But it’s not needed anymore — although it’s not obvious, voice assistants like Siri, Google Now, and Cortana can all do this.

iPhone and iPad

SIri provides a “Buy” button that will let you buy the song in iTunes, but you can also just note the artist and name of the song and find it on another service.To get started, open Siri by long-pressing the Home button. Say something like “What song is playing?” or “Name that tune.” Siri will listen to the song and identify it for you. This feature is powered by Shazam, although you don’t need the separate Shazam app installed to use it.

Android

To use it, you can just say “OK Google, what is this song?” if you have the OK Google hotword enabled anywhere. Or, tap the microphone on the search bar at the top of your home screen and say “What is this song?” Google also offers an “Okay Google, Shazam this song” shortcut if you have the Shazam app installed — that will immediately open the Shazam app instead of using Google’s own song-identification feature.Google built this into the Google search app on Android. Arguably part of Google Now, this is one of the many “OK Google” voice commands you can use on Android.

Windows 10

You can identify songs playing on your PC this way — just ensure you’re not listening on headphones and your device’s microphone will pick up the audio from its speakers.Cortana has this built-in on Windows 10, too. Open Cortana (or say “Hey Cortana”) and say “What is this song?” or something similar to activate this feature. Cortana will listen for music using your device’s microphone and identify it for you.

This should work the same way on Windows Phone 8.1 phones and Windows 10 phones, which incorporate Cortana, too. It should also work with the Cortana app for Android and iOS.

Mac OS X

Apple hasn’t yet made Siri part of Mac OS X, so you can’t use Siri to do this on a Mac like you can use Cortana to do this on a Windows 10 PC. However, Shazam has made a free version of its song-identification app available for Mac users. You can download Shazam for Mac from the Mac App Store.

Interestingly, the app runs automatically in the background, listening to songs playing nearby and building up a list of songs you’ve heard playing nearby. You can wonder “what were those songs playing earlier?” and scroll through a list of them if your Mac was turned on at the time you were hearing them.

This also will pick up music playing on your Mac, assuming you’re playing it from your Mac’s speakers and its microphone can hear it.

Windows 7, Linux, Chrome OS, and Anything With a Web Browser

Midomi.com is a web-based tool provided by a SoundHound, a Shazam competitor. This is the closest thing there is a to a web-based version of Shazam.

This tool instructs you to “sing or hum” a particular song, but you don’t have to do that. Play the actual song for your computer’s microphone to hear and it will identify the song.

As with the above tools, this can pick up audio coming out of your computer’s speakers, too. You can use it to identify a song playing on your computer itself.

---

Obviously, this trick depends on matching a recorded song playing to a fingerprint of that recorded song in a database somewhere. It generally won’t work with songs being played live. If you can hear some of the lyrics, just plugging them into Google or another search engine often works wonders. Try enclosing them in quotes to find pages containing just those specific phrases. You’ll hopefully find lyrics pages associated with that particular song.

Read More