Microsoft is exploring the idea of putting ads in your Windows 11 Start menu. To be specific, it’s looking to place advertisements for apps you can find in the Microsoft Store in the menu’s recommended section. I could hear you sighing in defeat if you’ve used Windows 10 extensively before — the older OS serves ads in the Start menu, as well, and they’re also for apps you can download. At the moment, Microsoft will only show ads in this version if you’re in the US and a Windows Insider in the Beta Channel. You won’t be seeing them if you’re not a beta tester or if you’re using a device managed by an organization.
Further, you can disable the advertisements altogether. To do so, just go to Personalization under Settings and then toggle off “Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more” in the Start section. Like any other Microsoft experiment, it may never reach wider rollout, but you may want to remember the aforementioned steps, since the company does have history of incorporating ads into its desktop platforms. Last year, Microsoft also deployed experimental promo spots for its services like OneDrive in the menu that pops up when you click on your profile photo.
Windows 11 could conceivably get what surely everyone would regard as an unwelcome addition, or at least a very controversial change in terms of a potential new button for the taskbar that’s been uncovered in the innards of the desktop OS.
Apparently, Microsoft might just be mulling a ‘recommended’ button for the taskbar, and the theory is that it could surface various suggestions and thinly veiled adverts.
A new button is coming to the Windows 11 Taskbar right alongside system ones like Task View, Widgets, etc. It’s called “Recommended” & has all strings stripped from production, guess the UI team doesn’t want people to know. Concerned about recommendations becoming this integral😬 pic.twitter.com/XnvPhcGhvPApril 9, 2024
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The workings for such a button were discovered by well-known Microsoft leaker Albacore on X (formerly Twitter).
As Albacore makes clear, the button has had all its related strings (in the background) stripped from production builds, as if Microsoft’s team working on the interface wants to keep this as low-profile on the radar as possible.
As the leaker points out, the worry is that Microsoft is really thinking about making ‘suggestions,’ or nudges, recommendations, or whatever you want to call them, an integral part of the desktop, with a whole dedicated button on the taskbar.
Albacore notes that the description of the button is that it ‘controls visibility of recommendations on the taskbar’ and it’s filed under the term ‘taskbar sites,’ so the leaker theorizes that perhaps we could get website suggestions right on the taskbar, with the button’s icon changing to be the favicon of any given recommended site.
We’d further guess that maybe the idea would be to make these context-sensitive, so suggestions given would depend on what you’re doing in Windows 11 at the time – but that really is just guesswork.
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(Image credit: Marjan Apostolovic / Shutterstock)
Analysis: Paying twice for Windows 11 isn’t fair
As Albacore observes, we can hope that this might just be a piece of work from times gone past which has been abandoned, but references to it are still hanging around in the background of Windows 11. It’s entirely possible nothing will come of this, in short, and even if Microsoft is currently exploring the idea, it might ditch the button before it even comes to testing.
Granted, even if a recommended taskbar button is realized, we’d assume that Windows 11 will come with the option to turn it off – but it’s still a worrying hint about the direction Microsoft is at least considering here with a future update. A dedicated button like this would be a huge move in the direction of what might be termed soft advertising (or nudging).
Sadly, a further recent development as highlighted by another leaker on X, PhantomOfEarth, is that the ‘Recommended’ section in Windows 11’s Start menu could be getting something called promoted apps.
Looks like the Start menu’s Recommended section will be getting app promotions, similar to suggested apps in Start in Windows 10. This can be toggled off from Settings (Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more). pic.twitter.com/zYYnTKs9qwApril 9, 2024
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These would be apps Microsoft is actively promoting – there’s no bones about the advertising here, this isn’t badging or nudging – and again, it’s a dangerous move that very much runs the risk of annoying Windows 11 users. (Albeit it can be switched off – and remember, this is only in testing so far).
Given all this, we very much get the feeling that advertising-focused recommendations along these lines is something Microsoft is seriously considering doing more of. And given the past history of the software giant, that’s not surprising.
If you recall, recommended websites in the Start menu has long been a controversial topic – Microsoft previously toyed with the idea, abandoned it, but then brought it back in again last year to the disbelief of many folks (ourselves included).
As we’ve discussed in-depth elsewhere, the pushy advertising around Microsoft’s Edge browser and Bing search has been taken to new and unacceptable levels in recent times.
How about we abandon this line of thinking entirely, Microsoft? Just stop with the incessant promotion of your own services, or indeed possibly third-party services or websites, within Windows 11. This is an operating system we, the users, pay for – so we shouldn’t have to suffer adverts in various parts of the Windows interface.
Either make Windows completely free and ad-supported, or charge for it, with no ads, suggestions, nudges, or other promotional tomfoolery to be seen anywhere in the OS. Or give us a choice of either route – but don’t make us pay twice for Windows 11, once with an initial lump sum fee to buy the OS, and then again with further ongoing monetization by way of a constant drip-feed of ads here, there and everywhere.
Even though we at Engadget test and review a number of new Windows laptops every year, the cheapest notebooks don’t often make headlines. You won’t find pricey panels on these machines, nor will they include the latest high-powered graphics cards or ultra thin-and-light designs. But they have their place and can do a lot of things well. And it’s worth noting that not everyone needs a pro-level laptop — they just need the best machine that will fit their budget.
Companies like Acer, Dell and Lenovo make plenty of cheap Windows laptops that can be great for those who primarily use a computer to check email, shop online and occasionally video chat with friends and family. They can also be great for kids who have no business touching their parents’ pricey daily driver. We’ve tested a number of budget-friendly Windows notebooks — these are our favorites below, and we outline some buying advice for anyone looking for a cheap Windows laptop that balances capability with affordability.
What about Chromebooks and tablets?
You may be inclined to recommend a Chromebook or a tablet to anyone considering a budget Windows laptop. Those instincts aren’t wrong, but Chromebooks and tablets aren’t the best buy for everyone. Tablets have the most portability, but they will only work for the most mobile-competent users like kids who have been grabbing smartphones out of their parents’ hands since they’ve been dexterous enough to do so. Tablets can also be just as expensive as some of the cheapest Windows laptops, and that’s without a mouse or keyboard.
Chromebooks are a good alternative for those that basically live in a browser, the trade-off being you must give up the “traditional desktop.” And Chrome OS is a more limited operating system than Windows when it comes to the programs you can install and run.
What Windows laptops do well
Wachiwit via Getty Images
What can you realistically accomplish on a cheap Windows laptop? Quite a bit, especially if you’re doing one thing (or a limited number of things) at a time. They’re great for web browsing, checking email, video streaming and more. All of those things can be done on Chromebooks as well, but Windows laptops have a big advantage in Microsoft Office. While yes, there is a browser based version, the native, desktop apps are considered a must have for many and will run smoothly on even the most bare-bones budget laptop. The only caveat is that you may run into some slowdown on low-powered devices if you’re multitasking or working with large data sets in Excel or a lot of photos and graphics in Powerpoint.
When it comes to specs, a bright spot for Windows laptops is storage. Even the most affordable devices tend to have at least 128GB SSDs. That will come in handy if you prefer to keep your most important files saved locally on your laptop. In contrast, cheaper Chromebooks often have less storage because they’re built on the assumption that you’ll save all of your documents in the cloud. Not only is that less convenient when you need to work offline, but it also limits the size of programs and files that you can download. So, Chromebooks aren’t the best for hoarding Netflix shows before a long trip or for use as a gaming laptop.
Windows also has thousands of apps that you can download from its app store. Chromebooks have some Chrome apps, numerous browser extensions and the ability to download Android apps, but quality control is… inconsistent. Android apps, in particular, often haven’t been optimized for Chrome OS, which makes for a wonky user experience. Windows may not have as many apps as Android, but at least the experience is fairly standard across the board.
Windows also gives you the ability to download and use programs from other sources, like direct from the developer. You can run things like Adobe Creative Suite, certain VPNs and programs like GIMP, Audacity and ClipMate on a Windows device, which just isn’t possible on Chrome OS. Chromebooks limit you to the apps and programs in The Play Store and the Chrome Extensions store, reducing any others to unusable, space-sucking icons in your Downloads folder.
What to look for in a budget-friendly Windows laptop
While you can do a lot even when spending little on a Windows laptop, you must set your expectations accordingly. The biggest downside when purchasing a budget laptop (of any kind, really) is limited power. Many Windows laptops under $500 run on Intel Celeron or Pentium processors, but you can find some with Core i3/i5 and AMD Ryzen 3/5 CPUs at the higher end of the price spectrum.
Specs to look for in a sub-$500 Windows laptop
We recommend getting the most powerful CPU you can afford because it will dictate how fast the computer will feel overall. RAM is also important because, the more you have, the easier it will be for the laptop to manage things like a dozen browser tabs while you edit a Word document and stream music in the background. However, with sub-$500 laptops, you’re better off getting the best CPU you can afford rather than a laptop with a ton of RAM because the CPU will have enough power to handle most tasks that cheap Windows laptops are designed for (If you’re editing RAW images or 4K video, you’ll want to invest in more RAM… and a laptop well above $500).
When it comes to storage, consider how much you want to save locally. If you primarily work in Google Docs or save most things in the cloud, you may not need a machine with a ton of onboard storage. Just remember that your digital space will also be taken up by apps, so it may be worth getting a little extra storage than you think you need if you know you’ll be downloading big programs. A final side note: SSDs are ubiquitous at this point, not to mention faster and more efficient than HDDs, so we recommend getting a laptop with that type of storage.
You also don’t have to settle for an entirely plastic notebook either. There are options in the sub-$500 price range that are made, at least in part, with metals like aluminum. Those will not only be more attractive but also more durable. As for screens, there’s a healthy mix of HD and FHD options in this price range and we recommend springing for a notebook with a 1080p display if you can. Touchscreens aren’t as common in the under-$500 space as standard panels, but you’ll only really miss one if you get a 2-in-1 laptop.
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A final note before we get to our picks: The best cheap laptop models change all the time. Unlike more expensive, flagship machines, these notebooks can be updated a couple times each year. That can make it hard to track down a specific model at Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart or any other retailer. Also, we’ve seen prices vary widely depending on the configuration and retailer you’re looking at. We’ve listed some of our current favorite models below, but if you can’t find any of them available near you, just keep in mind our list of specs to look for in a cheap laptop – they’ll guide you to the best machines available at the moment.
Acer
Acer’s Aspire 5 series has been a reliable, budget-friendly pick for quite some time now. Most recently, we tested out a model that had a 14-inch 1080p display and runs on an 11th-gen Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and has 256GB of storage. Currently, you can pick up a model with a 15.6-inch display, an 11th-gen Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for around $300-$400.
Performance on our review unit was similar to the previous Aspire 5 model that we tested, the display is good and the keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience. The latest Aspire 5s support Wi-Fi 6, and most models have a nice variety of ports including one USB-C (that’s separate from the power back), three USB-A, an HDMI connector and a (gasp) Ethernet port. Battery life is solid as well: this model gets an average of 10 hours of battery life. On the previous version, we were clocking in roughly six, so this is a much-needed improvement.
Lenovo’s Flex 5 14 is a good alternative if you want a more portable cheap laptop with a battery life that will keep you going all day long. It runs on an AMD Ryzen 3 4300 processor, with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, and it’s accompanied by a 14-inch 1080p IPS display and an array of ports that includes one USB-C connection. If you care about future-proofing, that USB-C port will be critical.
The typing experience is also top-notch: while it doesn’t have a number pad, its keys have that rounded-bottom shape that’s similar to keys on Lenovo’s ThinkPad machines. They make a satisfying clicking sound while you’re typing, but they’re not loud enough to bother those around you.
And despite being a budget laptop, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 isn’t flimsy. The palm rests don’t creak under pressure and it’s easy to carry this machine one-handed around a room. I also appreciate its convertible design, which gives you more flexibility. And like most Lenovo machines, the Flex 5 14 has a webcam that you can cover with a physical shutter.
The Flex 5 14 also has the upper-hand over the Aspire 5 when it comes to battery life: The former lasted about 16.5 hours in our testing, whereas Acer’s machine lasted roughly 10 hours. That makes the Lenovo option the clear winner if you’re looking for a laptop that can last all day and then some.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 here, even though it starts at $800. It has one of the best designs you’ll find on any cheap Windows notebook, with a slim frame, minimalist aesthetic, thin bezels surrounding its 12.4-inch PixelSense touchscreen. While we would have preferred to see a true 1080p panel on a device like this, the 1,536 x 1,024 resolution on the laptop’s display is just fine and still pretty crisp and bright.
The Laptop Go 3’s design isn’t too much different than the previous model, which is a good thing. In addition to its ultraportable look and feel, it also has a stellar keyboard and a great trackpad — two things that are staples in the Surface lineup. The port situation could be better, but that’s often the case with thin-and-light laptops like this. The notebook has one USB-A connection, one USB-C port, a headphone jack and a Surface charging port.
The biggest changes are internal, with Microsoft giving the Laptop Go 3’s specs a decent bump. The base model has a 12th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. The additional RAM is key here, since the base model of the previous generation only came with a paltry 4GB of memory. While the Surface Laptop Go 3’s $800 starting price is more than our other top picks, its justified given its upgraded specs — and that’s still cheaper than most flagship laptops anyway.
I’ve been a Windows user for a very long time, since my very first IT class way back in primary school. It’s the system I’ve used the most, so I was excited – though a little intimidated – when I switched over to using a Mac mini as my regular computer a year ago.
It may have taken a while to get used to, but the amazing features packed into macOS have converted me into a superfan – so here are my three favorite features that’ll keep me on macOS forever.
Universal Control
(Image credit: Apple)
This is perhaps the most useful feature on macOS for people like me who have more than one Apple device. Universal Control allows a single mouse and keyboard to work across your iPhone, iPad, or another Mac, without having to individually set up your peripherals for each device. Alongside the Mac mini I use for work, I often have my iPad set up on my desk to play music or listen to podcasts while I work, and whenever I want to change a song, skip an episode, or just quickly Google something I can just swipe my mouse over to the left side and use my tablet as a second display.
Should I want to do something quickly without having to boot up my entire system and log into all my accounts, I can set the iPad back on my desk and use the keyboard to write quick notes, brainstorm story ideas, or just respond to a particularly lengthy email. I love being able to use all my devices with the same two peripherals.
If you’d like to give it a go, make sure your two devices are linked to the same iCloud account, and then head over to the menu bar on your Mac and click the Control Center option. You should then see an option to ‘Link keyboard and mouse to [device]’. With that enabled, you should be able to move your pointer over to the edge of your Mac screen until it appears on your iPad or MacBook.
Airplay to Mac
(Image credit: Future)
Airplay is a feature that allows you to share content from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac, or from Mac to Mac if you have say an iMac and a MacBook. Not unlike Universal Control, you can effortlessly extend or mirror your display and use your other screen as an external display.
I love this feature because I could be watching a video or a movie on my iPad or my iPhone and just throw it over to my iMac if I want a bigger screen, which has been super helpful for me as I haven’t had a TV for years. So, if I’m snuggled up in bed and want to throw my comfort show up on the big screen on my bedroom desk, I can do it straight from bed as long as my iMac is on.
You can turn on Airplay by making sure your AirDrop and Handoff setting is enabled, and you’ll be prompted to select which devices to allow Airplay content to stream to. Keep in mind that you’ll again need to be signed into the same iCloud account on your devices.
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AirDrop
(Image credit: Apple / Future)
Possibly one of the most helpful features across all Apple devices, Airdrop is a timesaver and incredibly useful in almost every situation. With Airdrop you can wirelessly and painlessly send photos, videos, documents, and more to other nearby devices and Mac computers. So, if I want to send over a file on my phone to my Mac to email to someone I can quickly select the file on my phone and Airdrop it to my Mac with a few taps on the screen.
I’ve used AirDrop almost every day since I got my Mac mini, and I don’t know what I’d do without it. It’s not just helpful for sending myself files, but quickly AirDropping something to a friend from my computer to their phone works the same way with AirDrop, so you’ll be able to use the feature with other people’s Apple devices as well. It’s such a good feature that I’m amazed it took Android so long to receive it.
You can turn on AirDrop on any of your Apple devices straight from the control center, so on your iPhone or iPad you just need to swipe down from the top of your screen and enable AirDrop, and the same with your Mac device. You’ll find the setting on the top right of your Mac screen, and you can decide whether to enable the feature for your contacts only or for anyone.
Microsoft will advertise that its upcoming Windows laptops with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processor are faster than the MacBook Air with Apple’s latest M3 chip, according to internal documents obtained by The Verge.
“Microsoft is so confident in these new Qualcomm chips that it’s planning a number of demos that will show how these processors will be faster than an M3 MacBook Air for CPU tasks, AI acceleration, and even app emulation,” the report says. Microsoft believes its laptops will offer “faster app emulation” than Apple’s Rosetta 2.
Introduced in October, the Snapdragon X Elite has Arm-based architecture like Apple silicon. Qualcomm last year claimed that the processor achieved 21% faster multi-core CPU performance than the M3 chip, based on the Geekbench 6 benchmark tool.
There are a few caveats here, including that Microsoft and Qualcomm are comparing to Apple’s lower-end M3 chip instead of its higher-end M3 Pro and M3 Max chips. MacBooks with Apple silicon also offer industry-leading performance-per-watt, while the Snapdragon X Elite will likely run hotter and require laptops with fans. Since being updated with the M1 chip in 2020, the MacBook Air has featured a fanless design. Apple can also optimize the performance of MacBooks since it controls both the hardware and macOS software.
Nevertheless, it is clear that Apple’s competitors are making progress with Arm-based laptops. Microsoft plans to announce laptops powered by the Snapdragon X Elite later this year, including the Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 on May 20.
While the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are still months away from launching, there are already over a dozen rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped new features and changes expected for the devices so far. These are some of the key changes rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models as of April 2024:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with large…
Apple agreed to pay up to $14.4 million (CAD) to settle a class action lawsuit in Canada that alleged the company secretly throttled the performance of some iPhone models (“batterygate”), and eligible customers can now submit a claim for payment. Apple’s settlement received court approval on March 4, and the claims period began today, according to law firm Rochon Genova LLP. To submit a…
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook this week sold 196,410 shares of the company’s stock, which had a total value of approximately $33.2 million based on the average sale price of the transactions, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. After taxes, Cook netted nearly $16.4 million from the sales. Cook received all of the shares that he sold this week as a performance-based stock…
While rumors have been focused on new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, some Apple customers are wondering when the next iPad mini will be released. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said new iPad mini and entry-level iPad models will be released in late 2024 at the earliest. “The company is also working on new versions of the low-end iPad and iPad mini, but those…
This weekend, Best Buy has a sale on MacBooks, including the previous generation 15-inch MacBook Air and the M3 MacBook Pro. As usual, Best Buy’s sale covers far more than just Apple products, and you’ll also find solid discounts on TVs, video games, and more during the event. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a…
Following a few notable discounts on MacBooks yesterday, Best Buy today introduced a sale on the 10th generation iPad, including numerous all-time low prices on the tablet. Prices start at $349.00 for the 64GB Wi-Fi model, and include $100 markdowns on both Wi-Fi and cellular devices. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may…
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Apple design chief Jony Ive have officially teamed up to design an AI-powered personal device and are seeking funding, reports The Information. Little is known about the AI device at this time, but it won’t look like a smartphone. Altman is a major investor in the Humane AI pin, a wearable AI device that does not have a screen, so it’s possible he will create …
Microsoft has made a relatively minor but pretty useful tweak for Copilot in testing, as part of the ongoing effort to bring the AI assistant into play more often with Windows 11.
This is part of the new Windows 11 preview build 22635 deployed in the Beta channel, and the change to Copilot is rolling out gradually, so not all testers in that channel will have it just yet.
The idea is a ‘new experience’ for Copilot that aims to boost your productivity in Windows 11. How exactly? Well, when you copy a text or image file, the AI’s icon in the taskbar has an animation that’s triggered to let you know the assistant can help with that file.
If you hover the mouse over the Copilot icon, you’ll then get some new options – for example with an image file, you’ll be presented with choices including creating an image like the current one, or getting Copilot to analyze the picture.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Build 22635 doesn’t do an awful lot more than these Copilot tweaks, but there is another change here for Windows Share. Microsoft is making it so you can use this functionality to share directly to a specific Microsoft Teams channel or group chat. (This is an ability that had been in testing previously, but was temporarily removed due to bugs – and it’s now reinstated).
As ever check out Microsoft’s blog post for the build to find out the full details and known issues in this preview release.
Analysis: Treading a fine line
The fresh tweaks for Copilot are simple but quick ways of interacting with files using the AI. Microsoft is putting these various abilities at the fingertips of the user, and highlighting that the AI can help with said animation on the icon. Clearly, the hope is that having brought Copilot to the attention of the person sat at the Windows 11 PC, this will result in more usage of the AI.
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With this change being in the Beta testing channel – the step before Release Preview, where things are finalized for the stable builds of Windows 11 for everyday users – we’ll likely see this introduced with the 24H2 update later this year.
As to the overall concept of having Copilot pointed out actively, if Microsoft is planning to do more along these lines, it’ll have to tread a thin line between helping the user, and perhaps getting on the annoying side with too many little calls for attention.
There’s a fine balance with some aspects of OS development – such as, for example, when recommendations or suggestions in menus become more like adverts – and sometimes Microsoft has strayed beyond the acceptable boundaries, at least in our humble opinion. We’re hopeful this won’t be the case here, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with the current Copilot rejigging in testing.
The cost of ditching Windows 10 at your business and upgrading to the latest software might end up being a rather expensive process, Microsoft has revealed.
Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, with businesses then needing to pay out for its Extended Security Updates (ESU).
The company has now unveiled details on how much businesses will need to have to pay if they want to keep using Windows 10 after its official end of support deadline without being left open to security attacks.
Costly Windows 10 upgrade
In a blog post explaining the changes, Microsoft reminded businesses that will need to keep using Windows 10 after support ends that they will need to enroll those PCs in the ESU program.
There will be three paid options for businesses looking to extend their support, Microsoft said – the traditional 5-by-5 activation key method, a cloud-based activation method, and activation included with your Windows 365 subscription.
The former is the base license package, costing $61 per device for Year 1, with users simply downloading an activation key and applying it to whichever individual Windows 10 devices they have selected for the ESU program.
Companies will also be able to access ESU through their existing Windows 365 subscription at no extra cost, with devices automatically be activated to receive security updates without any additional steps.
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Finally, Microsoft also has a “special offer” for organizations using a Microsoft cloud-based update management solution such as Microsoft Intune or Windows Autopatch, who can access a 25% discount, meaning their ESU will cost $45 per user for up to five devices for Year 1.
“ESUs allow you to receive critical and/or important security updates for Windows 10 PCs when you need extra time to move to Windows 11,” the company noted.
“Organizations that run legacy software are at a higher risk of security breaches and potential compliance violations. While Windows 10 PCs will continue to function after they reach end of support, they will no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, feature improvements, or security issue resolutions. Upgrading to Windows 11 or transitioning to a new Windows 11 PC will help you deliver the best, most secure computing experience to your employees—and help protect your organization.”
April 5, 2006: Apple introduces the public beta of Boot Camp, software that allows users with an Intel-based Mac to run Windows XP on their machines.
Boot Camp will officially arrive in Mac OS X Leopard, which debuts at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference a few months later.
Apple’s Boot Camp lets Windows run on Macs
As noted in yesterday’s “Today in Apple history,” the legal battles between Microsoft and Apple over similarities between the Windows and Mac operating systems ran throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.
Ultimately, Microsoft did not wipe out Apple as many expected early on. However, it became pretty clear to everyone that Microsoft emerged as the victor in terms of mainstream operating systems. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said so himself in Fortune magazine in 1996, around the time he returned to Cupertino.
“The PC wars are over,” Jobs said. “Done. Microsoft won a long time ago.”
By 2006, however, things were changing, and Boot Camp illustrated Apple’s — and the Mac’s — growing popularity. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had stopped running the company half a decade earlier. Microsoft got stuck in a relative slump after hitting its peak valuation at the height of the dot-com bubble.
Apple, on the other hand, found a way to rebound. Just a few years after releasing the iPod in 2001, the MP3 player made up the bulk of Apple’s revenue, moving the Mac to second place. The “halo effect” of the iPod, however, helped bring Macs to a whole new audience. (A series of innovative Mac hardware designs didn’t hurt, either.)
“Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware now that we use Intel processors,” Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, said at the time. “We think Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch.”
Boot Camp simplified Windows installation on an Intel-based Mac by providing a simple, step-by-step graphical assistant application. It made it easy to create a second partition on the hard drive for Windows, burn a CD with all necessary Windows drivers, and install Microsoft’s operating system from a Windows XP installation CD.
After installing the software, users could choose to run either Mac OS X or Windows when they restarted their computers.
Boot Camp did not mark the end of hostilities between Apple and Microsoft, though. Anyone who thought this was Apple acknowledging that Windows also had something valuable to offer would soon be disabused of that notion — when Apple debuted its “Get a Mac” ads talking trash about Windows PCs.
Apple silicon signals twilight for Boot Camp
In 2020, Apple began switching the Mac lineup from Intel processors to its own custom chips. One side effect is that Boot Camp does not run on Apple silicon. Users with Macs powered by Apple’s M1, M2 and M3 chips must rely on virtualization software like Parallels or VMWare Fusion if they want to run Windows.
The CdkeySales Spring Sale blooms with hot bargains. You can pick amazing deals on Microsoft software. Many special prices await on Microsoft productivity software like Windows and Office. That includes a beautiful Windows 10 Pro deal. You can get it for only $18.27. And that includes a free upgrade!
You can find surprisingly low prices at software activation keys provider CdkeySales.com now and throughout the year. To get the most savings, enter promo code CULT. That cuts an additional 25% off the site’s low prices on software keys. And you get a free upgrade to Windows 11 if you buy Windows 10!
CdkeySales Spring Sale: Windows 10 Pro for $18, Pro 11 for $24
If you’re still running an older version of Microsoft’s operating system, you owe it to yourself (and your PC) to take advantage of CdkeySales’ amazing prices on Windows 10 Pro and Windows 11 in the software seller’s big Spring Sale.
Updating to at least Windows 10 proves important for several reasons. It’s not just to get the software’s new, powerful features. It’s because Microsoft eventually stops supporting Windows versions. For example, Microsoft ceased offering technical support and software updates for Windows 8.1 on January 10, 2023.
Check out these deals on the latest versions of Microsoft Windows:
Fresh deals: Microsoft Office Pro Plus and 365
If you ever worked on a computer, you should be familiar with Microsoft Office and the various programs that come in the world’s most popular software suite. And if you need the software, why pay more? These Microsoft Office deals are hard to beat.
Bargains in bloom on Windows and MS Office bundles
If you happen to need both Windows and Microsoft Office, you can save even more with combo deals from CdkeySales:
Find big savings on genuine Microsoft software in the CdkeySales Spring Sale. Just head to CdkeySales.com using these links. And don’t forget to enter promo code CULT to get extra savings. Photo: CdkeySales.com
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If you’ve never bought software activation keys before, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through the process. We promise that it’s simple and straightforward.
First, go to CdkeySales.com. On the software activation key purchase page for the product you want, just click the Buy Now button. (What could be simpler, right?)
Then just sign up quickly for your free CdkeySales account (or log in if you’re a repeat customer). After you complete your purchase, you will receive your software activation link via email.
This page confirms what you ordered and lets you enter the code CULT for maximum savings. Photo: CdkeySales.com
Next, click on the link in the email you received to get your OEM product key. Then go to Windows 10 Settings. Just click Start > Settings > System > About the program > Change product key, and enter your new product key.
After you activate the OEM key, you should see the following message on the activation page: “Windows is activated with a digital license linked to your Microsoft account.”
This page shows the status of your purchased order. Photo: CdkeySales.com
CdkeySales Spring Sale: Install and activate new software
Installing and activating new software via Microsoft is also a straightforward process. For example, let’s say you want to activate a Microsoft Office package. Just follow these steps:
Enter your Microsoft credentials (or create a profile if you do not already have a Microsoft account).
Enter the purchased product key in the appropriate field (from the CdkeySales email you received after your purchase).
After selecting your language and region, click Next to complete the activation.
Now you can install Microsoft Office on your PC.
The process for activating your new software is straightforward as well. Photo: CdkeySales.com
About CdkeySales.com
CdkeySales.com also offers a range of software activation keys for games on an array of platforms, including Steam, Origin and Ubisoft Connect. Plus, the company sells hardware, network cards, gift cards, PC games and expansion packs.
If you encounter any problems before or after purchase, just contact CdkeySales.com’s customer service department via email at [email protected] for a quick response.
Microsoft could be reworking a major part of the Start menu in Windows 11, or at least there are changes hidden in testing right now which suggest this.
As flagged up by a regular contributor of Windows leaks, PhantomOfEarth on X (formerly Twitter), the Start menu could end up with a very different layout for the ‘All apps’ panel.
A Start menu update that could be coming soon: an updated All apps page in the Start menu, which displays apps in a grid of icons instead of a vertical list. pic.twitter.com/o8EYjf17UfMarch 30, 2024
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Currently, this presents a list of all the applications installed on your system in alphabetical order, but if this change comes to fruition, the panel will be switched to a grid-style layout (as shown in the above tweet) rather than a long list.
Note that this move is not visible in preview testing yet, and the leaker had to dig around in Windows 11 – a preview build in the Beta channel specifically – to find it (using ViVeTool, a configuration utility).
Analysis: 10X better?
What this means is that you’ll be able to see a lot more of the installed software in the ‘All apps’ panel at one time, with a whole host of icons laid out in front of you in said grid, rather than having a list with a very limited number of icons in comparison.
On the flipside, this looks a bit busier and less streamlined, with the alphabetical list being neater. Also, some have noted the resemblance to Windows 10X with this hidden change (which might provoke unwelcome OS flashbacks for some).
As ever, some might lean towards the list of installed apps, or some may not, and prefer the new grid-based view instead – which leads us to our next point: why not offer a choice of either layout, based on the user’s preference? A simple toggle somewhere could do that trick.
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We shall see what happens, but bear in mind that this grid layout concept might go precisely nowhere in the end. Microsoft could just be toying with the idea, and then abandon it down the line, before even taking it live in testing.
If we do see it go live in Windows 11 preview builds, odds are it’ll be incoming maybe with Windows 11 24H2 later this year – fingers crossed with that mentioned toggle.
April 5, 2006: Apple introduces the public beta of Boot Camp, software that allows users with an Intel-based Mac to run Windows XP on their machines.
