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10 Ways To Write An Irresistible Intro To Your Blog Post.

Imagine you’ve been invited to a party where you don’t know anyone.
You’ve come through the door, grab a drink, and stand there feeling like a pony with five legs.
Nobody seems to pay any attention to you.
After a while, you start sidling to the door in order to escape. Or maybe you tough it out and start ‘making conversation’.
Ok, so  this scenario isn’t much fun.
Here’s another scenario: You go to the same party. But this time the host spots you hovering on the doorstep, guides you into the room, hands you a drink and shows you around, introducing you to the other guests.
That would feel a lot better, right?
The difference lies in the introduction.
In the first scenario, you didn’t feel welcome. Whereas in the second scenario, your host connected with you.
When you think of visiting a blog and reading a post, the experience is quite similar. If there is no introduction to the post you’re about to read, you may feel unwelcome and leave.
Why?
Because the headline promised a wonderful experience, but the start of the post didn’t match up.

What makes the introduction to your blog post irresistible?

1. Invite the reader in.

The reader will feel at home if he or she feels that their concerns will be met here. And that your blog is a friendly place to visit. One way is to address the reader directly.
Example 1
Do you feel insecure, anxious and doubtful about your writing? 
From: Do You Worry About Your Writing?|WritetoDone
Example 2
Does it ever seem like you have more adversity in your life than other people do?
As if everyone around you is having an easier time of things than you are?
You begin to feel sorry for yourself and think, “Why does this stuff always happen to ME?”

2. State a commonality.

When you state something that you have in common with your readers, you create an immediate bond.
Example 1 
We all seem to be getting more self-obsessed by the day. Turn on your TV or open a web browser, and narcissism hits you smack in the face — everything screams ME! ME! ME!
Example 2
Everyone agrees that fitness is good. It boosts your health, brightens your soul, calms your mind, and allows you to do more with your life.

3. Be personal.

Address your reader like a friend. A great way to do this is to tell a personal story.
Example 1
“Just one big idea. One big idea, and we can change the world.”
I made the mistake of uttering those words in the back seat of a car many years ago in the company of some older, wiser colleagues.
Example 2
I’m a big subscriber to using whatever you can find to work out: pullups on trees, throw big boulders, flip logs or big tires, jump over things, sprint up hills.
From: Minimalist Gym| Zen Habits
Example 3
Blogging has been very good to me over the last twelve and a half years, but it’s come at a personal cost that I’m sure many can relate to.

4. Be exciting.

Create a mystery in your introduction that then unfolds in the main part. When you use this strategy, you create a bridge from the headline (which should offer a promise) to the middle part – which delivers the promise.
The key is to intimate to your readers in the introduction what are you going to reveal to them in the rest of the article.
Example 1
I’m a psychiatrist… in training at least. The stories I have heard within these walls could fill a book, but there is one particular case that has caused me to lose sleep.
This story has plagued my mind for far too long. Typing this out is my feeble attempt to make sense of something my rational mind refuses to comprehend.
Example 2
Your headline is the first impression you make on a prospective reader.
Without a compelling promise that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist.
So, from a copywriting and content marketing standpoint, writing great headlines is a critical skill. Here are some interesting statistics …

From: How to Write Magnetic Headlines | CopyBlogger

5. Offer the ‘why’ of your post.

Write about what triggered this topic in your mind, or in your life.
Example
When I started the 8-Week Fitness Challenge, I had no idea what the response might be. I was amazed when about 100 people joined the Challenge! It seems that there is a quiet revolution in progress.

6. Lead with a story.

A personal story can be a great way to draw your readers into a post. Of course the personal story needs to focus on the key issue of your post.
Example 1
Naked emotions?
Like I felt when I finally gave up screaming for help.
When I sank to my knees and wept by the side of the stream, watching my horse about to drown–and unable to rescue her.
Example 2
When a young Turkish boy named Celal Kapan first began to speak, almost the first thing he said was: “What am I doing here? I was at the port.”
Later he told his parents that he had been a dockworker who had fallen asleep in the hold of a ship when a heavy oil drum fell on him and killed him instantly.
Was he remembering a previous life?
From: Is there Life After Death?| Goodlife ZEN

7. Ask questions.

A question that is unanswered feels incomplete. Questions intensify the reader’s curiosity. The key is to ask questions that the reader can’t answer without further information.
Example 1
Why is your prospect on the fence?
Example 2
Could it really be possible that almost everything you are doing to promote your website is a waste of time?

8. State facts.

Details increase the value of your post and boost your credibility. Use exact numbers if you can. Readers tend to trust numbers.
Example 1
In 1995, authors, experts and influencers sold $10 million worth of eBooks through Amazon. 18 years later that number has grown to $1.6 billion.
Despite the growth, something is changing…
Example 2
Sex may be a common topic in the US, but there are some facts about sex that most of the American population is unaware of.
For instance, cold feet is probably the reason for a lack of orgasm. A UK study found that 80% of couples wearing socks during intercourse were able to reach orgasm, but only 50% of those who were sockless were able to reach orgasm.

9. Use quotes.

Quotes are a great way to lead into your post. Everyone loves quotes. They are usually by well-known authors and through using their quotes, you are borrowing their authority.
If you use quotes supporting the main points of your post, this will increase the reader’s trust in you.
Example 
What unites us as human beings is an urge for happiness which at heart is a yearning for union. ~ Sharon Salzberg

10. Anecdotes.

If you can find good anecdotes, the introduction is a great place to place them. Anecdotes are short, punchy stories. Speech writers often lead in with an anecdote because it help the audience to pay attention.
Example:
Google just introduced customizable background images on their site.
Here’s what happened: “I need to search for someth…. wait, huh?
What is Google celebrating today, the guy who invented transparency? A background image, oh weird, it’s like a mountain view. Oh I get it… Mountain View!
I wonder who that woman on the dock is? Not a huge fan of big, busy images… too distracting. What other pictures are there? Yuck. Yuck.
Nice for a photo album, but too busy for this page. Meh, the colored background is ok, red… no, gray, yeah, gray.
Actually, maybe I want—Wait, I was supposed to be searching, how do I turn this off?
Wait, why does clicking remove background image just return the original picture of the woman on the dock, I just want nothing to be there. Argh!”
From: A Google Background Image Anecdote| Plastic Mind

 Conclusion

The introduction is a crucial part of a blog post. It’s a chance to connect with readers and encourage them to read your post. You may think that it’s common knowledge how to write a good introduction, but about 60% of all guest posts that land on my desk lack an introduction.
It’s not a difficult skill to learn; it just takes practice. A great way to learn how to write good intros is to try out all of the eleven ways above in turn.
If you enjoyed this post, please share it on social media :-)
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Facebook’s giant internet drone is ready for testing.

Facebook is getting ready to start testing its Aquila internet drone, which uses laser technology to deliver internet to remote areas from the sky.
Aquila is a high-altitude, long-endurance aircraft that’s designed to circle a remote region for up to 90 days autonomously, helping deliver internet to people from an altitude of 60,000 to 90,000 feet. It’s wingspan is as big as a Boeing 737, but weight a hundreds of times less.
Though smaller scale version had been flown before, this is the first time a full-size model has been ready for testing.
When finalized, it will send the data via lasers, and Facebook’s also announcing a significant breakthrough in that technology as well: they can now send tens of gigabits per second to a target as small as a dime from over 10 miles away. For reference, the new technology is about 10 times faster than previous records.
It’s been a long time coming. Way back in March of 2014, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the drone connectivity project, and the company described its laser technology earlier this month.
According to Facebook, about 10 percent of people live in locations with no internet infrastructure. The company it doesn’t intend to create its own internet network, but instead hopes its research labs will foster the technological advancements needed for other operators to employ internet in remote regions.
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THE STORY OF WINDOWS 10 FROM INSIDE MICROSOFT.

The company’s latest trick: listening to its users.

Windows 10 has a lot to live up to. Microsoft has made a lot of promises about it. And oddly enough, we’ve heard most of them before, with Windows 8. Both were designed to acknowledge and embrace mobile and mobile apps, work well on touchscreens as well as laptops, and form the basis of a new phone platform. But there’s a big difference between them: Windows 10 actually does all those things.
Three years ago, tablets like the iPad looked like they might be a serious threat to Windows. In response, Steve Ballmer, Steven Sinofsky, and the rest of Microsoft took a big bet on a forward-thinking interface that asked its users to forget their old point-and-click ways and embrace a tiled future. Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 were related pieces in a bold strategy to move the company into a future of touchscreens and connected apps.
That strategy flopped. Users roundly rejected the confusing new version of Windows, and without them, developers balked. But the iPad hasn’t killed off laptops, and consumers haven’t shown a big interest in touchscreen PCs yet. Another version, 8.1, attempted to stem the bleeding, but it was too late. The market had spoken. Like Vista before it and Windows ME before that, Windows 8 was the version of Windows you skipped.
Now, a new leadership team for Windows under CEO Satya Nadella and executive vice president Terry Myerson are trying it all again. But this time around, the goal is much more ambitious: if they succeed, Windows 10 will be the final iteration of Windows: The one that will be updated like a service, continuously, in perpetuity. The one that finally makes good on all the promises of a synergistic ecosystem of like-minded devices designed to work together.
In a series of exclusive interviews with The Verge, the team behind Windows 10 revealed how they’re doing it, why they think it will succeed, and what they’re working on next. This is the story of Windows 10 from inside Microsoft.

DEVELOPING IN THE OPEN

Terry Myerson never imagined he’d last at Microsoft. “I thought I was going to stay here a couple of weeks, but found that I really loved the people.”
It’s now 18 years since Myerson sold his small company to Microsoft, during which time he worked on Exchange, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone. Now, he’s sitting in front of me as the head of Windows, just days before the software maker launches Windows 10. It’s been two years since Myerson was promoted to the top job, and the release is important to him and the company. Microsoft needs customers to love and want Windows enough to upgrade to it, thereby creating a massive install base to attract developers. The pressure is on.
Myerson is confident without being arrogant — he’s more than happy to tease me about my MacBook. His forthright manner is mirrored in how he chose to release Windows 10: out in the open, bugs and all, even before the company had finished thinking through what it should be.
Microsoft now solicits feedback directly from users in a very public way: over the past nine months, the company has been testing Windows 10 with 5 million “Windows Insiders.” Anyone can sign up to test, and the results of Microsoft’s work will go on display today as Windows 10 launches to millions of people around the world.
“It has sometimes been daunting,” says Myerson. “You’re putting it out there when it’s not done, then you’re getting all kinds of feedback and stuff that you know is broken.” That feedback has been constant and varied over the last nine months, and it will continue over the months and years ahead.
Initially, “there was a lot of hand-wringing around what was that going to be like and were people going to form opinions too early,” explains Gabe Aul, engineering general manager for Microsoft’s operating systems group. “I think we just decided to go for it.”
Aul launched his Microsoft career in product support 23 years ago. He went on to help build Dr. Watson, a debugger that gathers error data when your PC crashes, into basically every product at Microsoft.
Today Aul is the face of Microsoft’s Windows 10 testing. He receives Microsoft feedback, praise, and abuse on Twitter daily, but he remains perfectly cool. Even before we start our interview, I start moaning about some Windows 10 bugs I have, and he’s keen to listen, even emailing me a fix for a problem within seconds.
He admits he’s “passionate about quality” after working in product support for years, and it’s clear he genuinely cares. While many will joke IT support is simply a help desk asking a user to reboot their PC, Microsoft has built a whole system to process the feedback it receives for Windows 10. It all gets collected in a database where Microsoft engineers can use tools to analyze it visually. If Cortana starts breaking in France, Microsoft will hear about it, and engineers can detect trends and issues based on pop-ups that appear for testers.
Feedback doesn’t always come from within the operating system, though. The Continuum feature, which lets you switch between desktop and tablet modes in Windows 10, generated a wave of negative responses from social media. That’s probably because Microsoft initially ripped out all of Windows 8’s good touch work, a move that surprised testers, before slowly building it back in. “The trash can icon — the feedback we got on that thing…” He cuts short to laugh because Windows Insiders (myself included) were really vocal in comments and online forums about the how ugly the first version was.
Sometimes, Windows customers reached out to Myerson directly, including one during the time when the Windows chief misspoke and the result was that everybody thought Windows 10 would be free. “There’s this kid in Bangladesh who somehow got my email address, he runs pirated Windows,” Myerson says. “It was a great dialogue. It was more for me a learning experience about how did he pirate Windows, and why did he pirate Windows.” The conversation hasn’t changed Microsoft’s stance, though. Windows 10 still isn’t free for pirates.

TAKING FEEDBACK

To handle feedback, the Windows build team hosts daily “flight ops” meetings to decide which prerelease versions of Windows 10 get released. A “flight commander” takes control of the team, for that day. “He has a red hat that says ‘phone’ on it, and he has a black hat that says ‘PC’ on it,” Aul says. “When it’s time to talk about phone, he will take the PC hat off and put the phone hat on. That’s how we keep the room in check.”
There’s also a red outfit hanging on the wall, a symbol of a time when one employee came to the ship room wearing embarrassing matching red shorts and a T-shirt (he’s an Ohio State supporter). It became a running joke. Now, if a Microsoft engineer enters the meeting with a bug that’s equally embarrassing, they have to wear something red.
To continue with the red theme, Aul has a 3D-printed red button that’s become something of a Microsoft meme among Windows fans. Aul hits it when a build is ready to be released to the public. “It’s mostly ceremonial, but it actually does send a trigger to the flighting system,” explains Aul. “The other thing it does, that most people don’t know, is it says something inappropriate in a Stephen Hawking voice because it’s got a voice synthesizer in there.” Aul wouldn’t give me any examples, but quotes are sourced from the team or jokes about his tweets.
Microsoft’s willingness to solicit user feedback on early versions is a big change from the past. During the days of Vista, Microsoft’s lawyers ended up at my doorstep because I dared to write about prerelease versions of Windows. And while Windows 8 had a few public previews, it was largely developed with little consideration to feedback. Windows 8 shipped despite user concerns about fullscreen apps and a lack of attention to keyboard and mouse users. Microsoft’s management seemed to spend more time explaining every new feature in sprawling, technical blog posts instead of understanding why users hated the changes.
Myerson has a different philosophy: “It isn’t one guy comes down from a mountain with a tablet [saying] what the right product is,” he explains. “We just believe the customer feedback shaping the product is how we’re going to build clarity and confidence that we have a great product.”

FROM APPS TO PHONES

Microsoft may have been confident about Windows 8, but the ambitions to push touch computing didn’t work out. Microsoft has been forced to admit several times that it’s aware customer satisfaction rates for mouse and keyboard users are low. Microsoft’s new Start menu isn’t as domineering, it’s just designed to get them to move to Windows 10. “Our strategic belief is, if we have a big audience of people… then developers will put apps in that store because there will be demand,” explains Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore.
Belfiore looks after the customization of Windows for PCs, tablets, and phones. He spent years building Windows Phone, alongside Myerson. To many fans, he’s the face of Microsoft’s mobile efforts. Microsoft has been constantly resetting and rebuilding its Windows Phone OS. Windows Phone 7 users couldn’t upgrade to Windows Phone 8, and it took far too long for Windows Phone 8.1 to arrive with features that should have been there from the beginning. It’s knocked developer confidence, to say nothing of crippling its chances at gaining significant marketshare.
Part of Windows 10’s big promise is that the same apps can run across PCs, tablets, phones, and even the Xbox One console. As a result, the next phones will have an expansive set of apps from Windows 10 to jumpstart the ecosystem. “We have one common operating system for all the device types that we are making,” explains Belfiore. He’s also surprisingly blunt when he characterizes Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8, products he was intimately involved in developing. “We’ve had a couple of, sort of, practice runs with phone and PC,” Belfiore says, before pivoting to the presumably brighter future with Windows 10, “We now have all the devices lined up. I don’t expect to see the platform change again, in the same way it has before.”
That’s encouraging to hear, but it doesn’t help Windows Phone right now. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed recently that the company is restructuring its phone business, scaling it back massively as part of a $7.6 billion write-off from the Nokia phone business acquisition. Around 7,800 jobs are being cut, and Microsoft is planning to make fewer models. “We are going to focus on a few great devices and the most notable being that premium consumer category,” explains Myerson, adding, “The direction we will head is the premium-branded lineup.” I push him on whether that’s a similar approach to Surface, and he claims “the goal is to have one Microsoft device family that plays this role in the Windows ecosystem.” I’m not sure if that means a Surface Phone is in the cards, but it sure sounds like it.
The first example of that one Microsoft device family will arrive later this year. “One’s coming. Maybe two are coming, but at least one is coming,” teases Myerson, as he hides an unreleased Lumia phone in his pocket. Microsoft is rumored to be working on two high-end devices that will include a new Continuum feature from Windows 10. Continuum on phones lets you use the phone as kind of a PC. You can connect up a keyboard, mouse, and monitor and start using Windows 10 apps. “I think it is the future of the phone,” says Myerson.
Belfiore is equally bullish about Continuum, but the phone version of Windows 10 doesn’t ship until later this year. “The phone is significantly feature complete, but we’ll continue to polish and tweak and iterate the things that still need to work,” explains Belfiore. “We’ll put features in right up near the end. But in general, the broad feature set is set.”

WINDOWS 10 AND THE XBOX ONE

Windows 10 is also coming to the Xbox in a big way. A new Xbox app for Windows 10 is a significant addition, and it’s one of the best built-in apps available right now. You can stream Xbox One games to a Windows 10 PC and use the Xbox controller, and you can chat freely from a PC to an Xbox One with or without a headset. It’s a great addition for Xbox gamers after a rough couple of years. Sales have been second to Sony’s PlayStation 4, but it feels like Microsoft is recovering from the original unveiling of the Xbox One two years ago. “The launch of Xbox One, it was from a brand and a customer pride standpoint… a tough time,” says Phil Spencer, Microsoft’s head of Xbox. “A lot of the original ideas around Xbox One didn’t meet the expectations that Xbox fans have of what we should do with our product.”
Spencer, who has worked on products like Encarta at Microsoft, has spent the last year or so getting the Xbox team re-centered on its fans and gaming. It’s an approach that Myerson says inspired the Windows Insider program. “Xbox had this passionate focus on their fans and engaging with their fans and listening to their fans,” says Myerson. “Something that Phil Spencer just has at his core is his caring. He lives for those Xbox fans.”
Spencer sees Windows 10 as a “massive opportunity” to bring Xbox Live and a single store to people. Today, the Xbox store is separate from the Windows store, but Microsoft is unifying them this fall. That doesn’t mean apps will be immediately available on the Xbox One, though. “Getting to one store where all the content is there will happen a little bit later,” says Spencer, meaning we’ll be waiting until next year until we finally see Windows 10 apps on Xbox One. Microsoft’s store isn’t designed to kill off Steam, either. “Five years from now, I want Steam to be incredibly popular and successful. I look at the health of Steam as a harbinger of the health of Windows gaming.”
What is coming this year is a Windows 10 update for Xbox One that brings a refreshed UI, speed, and Microsoft’s Cortana digital assistant. “You can imagine scenarios of ‘Hey Cortana, what are most of my friends playing? What are most people watching?’” says Spencer. “The next step is being able to help you in-game, of really thinking about scenarios like ‘Hey Cortana, how do I get past this boss?’” Further out, Spencer says that streaming PC games to Xbox One is something he wants to enable. “We understand if you’re going to go PC to Xbox, we need to get keyboard and mouse working completely so you could play those games. In terms of where we want to go with our platform, those are absolutely in the scope of things that we want to do.”

THE LAST WINDOWS

Myerson and his team have shifted Windows 10 to a “Windows as a service” model, meaning regular updates instead of a major release every few years. It doesn’t feel like Microsoft really knows exactly how this is going to play out, but the Windows 10 release marks a milestone.
But it’s not the kind of milestone we’re used to. Windows 10, even at release, is not done. Right now, it’s all about updates that fix issues and bugs. If you upgrade from Windows 7 and Windows 8 this week, then you’ll start to see those regular updates, and they’ll install automatically to keep everyone up to date. Myerson is confident in the quality of Windows 10. “We look at these quantitative metrics and we think the quality’s great, and we’re continuing to fix more,” he says. “We’re going to keep fixing. We’re committed to listen and respond. Every day we’re shipping out new updates with 30 more fixes.”
That listening and responding sums up Windows 10. If there’s something wrong this time, then Myerson and his team will be listening. This can’t (and likely won’t) be another Windows 8 or Windows Vista mess for Microsoft. The company simply can’t afford to make those mistakes again. “Our goal is to roll out Windows 10 and build a base of millions of happy and engaged Windows 10 users,” says Myerson.
“Happy and engaged” is one of those talking points you hear a lot from Microsoft. Myerson used it nine times in our hour together. But behind the PR-approved phrasing is a simple truth: it’s been a long time since Windows users have been either, and Microsoft needs to fix that. It’s as good a North Star as any, especially when your product development cycle is founded on taking user feedback seriously. If Microsoft can make people love Windows again, then the rest — developers and apps — is easy.
If I’ve learned anything from speaking to the team building Windows 10, it’s that Microsoft is taking user feedback very, very seriously. Everything Microsoft is making — from the Xbox to phones to HoloLens — is based on Windows 10. It’s not just the foundation of this operating system, it’s the future foundation of the company. Microsoft doesn’t have a Plan B for Windows, and it’s proud of the fact: “There’s no one working on a Windows 11,” Myerson says, “but there’s a group of people working on some really cool updates to Windows 10.” When Windows Insiders see those updates, you can be sure Microsoft will want to know exactly what they think.
Source:The Verge
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Microsoft Windows 10 review

Microsoft gets it right

THE GOOD Windows 10 bridges the gap between PCs and tablets without alienating anyone. The new OS combines the best bits of old and new Windows features into a cohesive package, while correcting nearly all of the missteps of Windows 8. The upgrade process is mostly painless, and free for most Windows 7 and 8 users.
THE BAD Many of the new features will be lost on those who don’t care about touch. Automatic, forced updates could spell trouble later on. Cortana’s features are better suited for smartphones.
THE BOTTOM LINE Windows 10 delivers a refined, vastly improved vision for the future of computing with an operating system that’s equally at home on tablets and traditional PCs — and it’s a free upgrade for most users.
Windows 10 is the Goldilocks version of Microsoft’s venerable PC operating system — a “just right” compromise between the familiar dependability of Windows 7, and the forward-looking touchscreen vision of Windows 8.
This new Windows, available as a free upgrade for existing Windows 7 and Windows 8 non-corporate users, is built from the ground up to pursue Microsoft’s vision of a unified OS that spans all devices without alienating any one platform. It’s an attempt to safeguard Microsoft’s crumbling software hegemony, assailed on all sides by Google and Apple. And it’s a vision of the future as Microsoft sees it, where a single user experience spans every piece of technology we touch. Welcome to Windows as a service.
Yes, this new OS is chock-full of fresh features. To name just a few: a lean, fast Internet Explorer replacement called Edge; Microsoft’s Siri-like voice-controlled virtual assistant, Cortana; and the ability to stream real-time games to your desktop from an Xbox One in another room. (And in case you’re wondering: there is no “Windows 9” — Microsoft skipped it, going straight from 8 to 10.
Windows 10 bridges the gap between PC and tablet.
But Windows 10 is also the end of a long, awkward road that began with the release of Windows 8 in 2012, when Microsoft tried to convince a world of keyboard and mouse wielders that touchscreens were the way to go — or else. Ironically, in 2015, the PC hardware for that touchscreen future is now here — everything from 2-in-1s such as the Lenovo Yoga line to convertible tablets with detachable keyboards, like Microsoft’s own Surface. And Windows 10 smoothly lets users transition from “tablet” to “PC” mode on such devices like never before.
For the rest of the PC universe — including those who still prefer good old-fashioned keyboard and mouse navigation — Windows 10 is a welcome return to form. The Start menu, inexplicably yanked from 8, is back and working the way you expect it to. Those live tiles from the Windows 8 home screen still exist, but they’ve been attached to the Start menu, where they make a lot more sense. And the fiendishly hidden Charms bar has been morphed into the more straightforward (and easier to find) Action Center.
As always, there are some quibbles and gripes with the end product, but all-in-all — after living with Windows 10 for months — I can say it’s a winner. It’s flexible, adaptable and customizable. And it’s been battle-tested by an army of beta testers for the better part of a year, making it one of the most robust operating system rollouts in recent memory.

A fresh Start

The Start menu is back; it’s almost funny how relieving that is. That humble Start button has been a fixture on the lower left corner of the Windows desktop since the halcyon days of Windows 95, offering speedy access to apps and settings. Press it on Windows 10, and you’ll see the latest step in a long conversation about the state of the PC industry.
The past sits on the left: a neat column with shortcuts to your most used apps. Press the “All Apps” button and you’ll get an alphabetical list of all of the apps installed on your PC. There are folders in there too — press them, and extra options will fly out, just like they always have.
The future — or at least, the future as Microsoft envisions it — sits on the right side of the Start menu. These are the colorful, animated live tiles that debuted in Windows 8, pulling double duty as app shortcuts and informative widgets. You can resize these live tiles, drag them about to arrange them into groups and pin as many apps as you’d like — the entire Start menu can be shrunk or expanded to suit your liking. It’s essentially a miniaturized version of the fullscreen Start menu we saw in Windows 8. Hate live tiles? Then unpin them to excise them from your computer, leaving you with the narrow column of frequently used apps we’ve known for so long.

One step back, two steps forward

The Start menu in Windows 10 is admission that Windows 8 maybe have been a bit too forward thinking. But Microsoft hasn’t abandoned that vision of unifying all manner of devices under a single operating system: Continuum in Windows 10 is the latest attempt to bridge the gap between touch and non-touch devices, and this time it doesn’t force us to relearn how to work with our PCs.
To start, there’s no divide between the Windows 8-style “Modern” apps you get from the Windows app store, and those you install the old-fashioned way. Everything exists as a traditional windowed app, sharing space on the desktop. If you’re on a two-in-one device like Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3, pop the keyboard off and Windows 10 will switch to tablet mode. The Start menu and your apps will stretch to take up the entire screen, and all of the miscellaneous apps and shortcuts on your taskbar will disappear, to give your finger fewer obstacles to hit.
Reattach the keyboard, and everything slots back into place. It’s an instantaneous, seamless process (once you’ve shooed away the annoying confirmation window). It’s also entirely optional: you can disable the feature and switch to tablet mode manually, or forget that this whole touch concept exists at all.
This is what Windows 8 always should’ve been: an operating system that bridges the divide between touch and non-touch, without alienating folks who fall into one camp or the other. Like it or not, the future belongs to devices with touchscreens. But Microsoft (finally) understands that we’ll all get there at own pace, and Continuum makes the transition painless. And now that there are so many hybrid devices to choose from, making the switch to touch without abandoning the interface we know is more important than ever.

Learning new tricks

Microsoft hasn’t stopped at making touch make sense on a Windows PC. With Windows 10, just about every facet of the OS has been tweaked and updated, and a few new features have been rolled in. In typical Microsoft fashion, there’s a dizzying array of keyboard shortcuts and touch gestures for each of these features, giving you no fewer than three ways to access the things you’re trying to get to. No need to memorize them all — just use whatever suits you (or your device) best.

Virtual desktops

If I had to pick my favorite new feature, I’d go with virtual desktops. Click the new Task View button on the taskbar and you’ll get a bird’s-eye view of all of the apps you’ve got open. Drag one of those apps onto the “new desktop” button, and it’ll be moved to its own independent workspace. I can keep one workspace focused on work, a separate desktop for gaming forums, yet another workspace for the new camera lenses I’m checking out; there’s no limit to the amount of virtual desktops you can create, and each one is treated as its own little private island.
Virtual desktops are far from a new development, and they’ve been available in past versions of Windows thanks to third-party apps. But it’s nice to see Microsoft catching up here. The feature could still use some work: desktops are numbered, but if you create a lot of them it can be hard to keep track of where everything is. The “traditional” Win32 apps you might download and install from a website are happy to open a new instance on any desktop, while clicking the shortcut on an app from the Windows store will yank you back to whatever desktop you used it on last.
You can move apps across virtual desktops — just drag them, or right-click to shunt them over — but there’s no way to reorder the virtual desktops themselves, which would be really useful for staying organized. I’d also like to be able to set a different wallpaper for every virtual desktop — I can do both of those things in Apple’s OSX operating system, and have always found it really handy.

Windows Snap

The Snap feature introduced in Windows 7 has gotten a bit of an upgrade, too. Drag an app to the left or right side of the screen, and it’ll “snap” to fill that space. The new Snap Assist feature will then chime in, showing you little thumbnails of any other apps that are currently open — click a thumbnail, and it’ll fill up the remaining space. You can also snap an app into a corner of your display and fill your screen with up to four apps, divided equally across the screen — this could prove useful for folks with massive monitors.

Action Center

The new Action Center replaces the “Charms” introduced in Windows 8, and is another nod to mobile operating systems. Click the Action center icon on the taskbar to bring up a panel that houses all of your app notifications, and offers quick access to a few important system settings, like toggling your Wi-Fi network or switching in and out of tablet mode — you can choose the options that turn up here in the settings menu. If you’re coming from Windows 7 and have no idea where to find some of the settings you’re used to, there’s a good chance you’ll find them here.

Wi-Fi Sense

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Wi-Fi Sense. While technically not a new feature (it’s part of Windows Phone 8.1) its presence in Windows 10 should’ve been a welcome addition: Wi-Fi Sense connects your devices to trusted Wi-Fi hotspots.
I love the idea. Automatically sharing Wi-Fi credentials with my friends would remove much of the hassle of most social gatherings, when people just want to jump on my Wi-Fi network. And — this part is key — Wi-Fi Sense doesn’t share your actual password, so it theoretically eases a social transaction (the sharing of Wi-Fi connectivity) without necessarily compromising my network security.
But the implementation is, in a word, daft. I do want to automatically share my network with a select group of friends who are visiting, and have them return the favor. I don’t want to automatically share access with everyone in my Outlook address book, or on Skype, or the random assortment of folks I’ve added on Facebook over the years. Give me the ability to choose who I share access with, down to the individual, and I’ll give it a shot. Until then, I’ll be leaving Wi-Fi Sense off — I recommend you do too.

Windows Hello and Windows Passport

Microsoft is also beefing up security with Windows Hello. The feature will use your Windows 10 devices’ camera or a fingerprint scanner to turn your body into a password. Once you’ve authenticated yourself with Windows Hello, Windows Passport will then give you access to a number of third-party sites and products, without forcing you to log in all over again. This should make it a bit more convenient to log in to your devices, so you don’t skimp on traditional measures, like having a robust password. The only catch is that Hello isn’t widely supported on a lot of existing hardware: you’ll need a device sporting Intel’s RealSense camera, or a fingerprint scanner.

Chatting with Cortana

Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana isn’t exactly a new feature, as she’s been on Windows Phone for just over a year. But the company’s answer to Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Now has made the transition to the desktop with Windows 10, taking over the OS’ search functionality, while also handling quite a few housekeeping duties. You can have Cortana trawl through your email and calendar, and keep you notified of any upcoming flights you’re taking, or packages you’re expecting. She can set reminders and track stocks, and you can even dictate email messages for her to send to your contacts. Cortana can also be set to listen for you to say “Hey, Cortana,” and can be trained to recognize several different voices. If you want to learn more about Cortana, head over to my preview on Microsoft’s virtual assistant.
She’s not especially useful here. Windows 10‘s Voice recognition is rather accurate, but if I have to send an email message and I’m at my desk, I’m just going to use my email client. She’ll offer recommendations for places to eat or things to see, but that’d be a lot more useful when I’m out and about than at my desk. The same goes for reminders, which are decidedly less useful if I can’t access them anywhere.
Cortana will be making her way to Android and iOS devices later this year, which should clear up most of these issues — provided most of her functionality crosses platforms without issue. I’ll still turn to Cortana for the occasional joke, but until it’s available on a phone I use regularly, I’ll be sticking to Google for Now.

Microsoft Edge rethinks the browser

Microsoft has added a brand-new browser into Windows 10, and it’s called Microsoft Edge. Introducing a new browser in a world that already has Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple’s Safari is a pretty bold move. Doubly so when your previous effort was Internet Explorer — once a juggernaut in the space, now the Internet’s favorite punchline.
Edge is a fast, modern browser that offers quite a few commendable features. Cortana is integrated right into the browser, and she’ll offer detailed information on things like the weather or flight statuses while you’re typing into the browser’s address bar. Navigate over to a bar or restaurant’s website, and Cortana can pull up a little sidebar full of useful information, like reviews or directions. The webnote feature lets you scribble on webpages and share your annotations to OneNote or via email, and you can use the Reading view option to strip a website down to its bare essentials. Edge has also been built with tighter security from the start, to hopefully circumvent some of the headaches that erupted from Internet Explorer.
But there are no extensions to tame overzealous advertisements, or enhance websites like Reddit, or simply organized my tabs — I’ve been thoroughly spoiled by Google Chrome. There’s no way to sync tabs or bookmarks across devices, and you currently can’t import bookmarks from other browsers. All those features will be available eventually, with support for extensions coming sometime before the end of the year — like Windows 10, Edge is a constantly evolving work in progress. But it’s going to take a lot for someone like me, wholly enmeshed in Google’s ecosystem, to ditch Chrome for something new. Internet Explorer also isn’t going anywhere: it’ll remain a part of Windows for the foreseeable future, as legacy apps are dependent on it. Head over to my Microsoft Edge preview to learn more about Microsoft Edge.

Getting your game on

Windows 10 adds and tweaks a few things in the entertainment department. The Xbox Video and Xbox Music apps have been renamed to Movies & TV and Groove Music, respectively. Their function is identical: any music and video files on your device can be found here, but it mostly serves as a means to convince you to buy or rent content from Microsoft’s stores. You’ve got plenty of streaming services to choose from, for music and video.
If you’re a gamer, the Xbox app will prove far more interesting. It’s a window into your Xbox Live feed, letting you see what your friends are up to and send them messages, browse recordings people have made, compare achievements, and all of the expected ways of interacting with the social network. But if you own an Xbox One, you can stream activity from your console to any device running Windows 10.
It’s awesome. No, it’s not a game changer, and certainly not a reason to run out and grab an Xbox One. But it’s still awesome: if someone wants to use the television, I can just plug an Xbox One controller into one of my PCs and continue plugging away at the Xbox One version of The Witcher 3. The quality of the experience is going to be dependent on your network, so I’d recommend making sure both your console and the PC you’re streaming to are connect to your LAN. The console also can’t be used by others when it’s streaming so this won’t enable cooperative gaming. But if you frequently find yourself sharing the TV and have a PC with Windows 10 on hand, it’s a fun little addition that could come in handy.

Windows, everywhere

Windows 10 has finally arrived, but this version of Windows is fundamentally different from any that have come before it. It will truly be an everywhere OS, a concept Microsoft will be pushing withWindows 10 Mobile, and Universal Apps. We’ve been here before: apps developed for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 could share much of their code, which was supposed to make it easy to create a single app that ran everywhere.
Microsoft’s universal apps share an identical codebase: the Excel client on your desktop, for example, will be the exact same client as the one on your phone, with elements adjusted to make sense of the different display, and the lack of a keyboard or mouse. You can currently get a taste of this on the latest version of Windows 10 Mobile, and while I wouldn’t recommend editing spreadsheets on your smartphone, it’s possible.
Universal apps will lead to their own challenges, as developers will have to weigh creating rich, robust apps that can run on a mobile device, against developing apps that can make use of all of the power a full PC can bring to bear. Microsoft is already drafting a solution using Continuum. Microsoft hasdemonstrated Continuum for phones: plug a Windows Phone into a display, and the interface will one day morph to mimic the PC-based version of Windows. You’ll see the desktop, desktop-versions of Windows Store apps, and get full mouse and keyboard support. There’s no word on when Continuum for phones will be available, or what devices it’ll run on, but it offers a tantalizing glimpse of what Microsoft has in store.

Getting ready for what’s next

The Windows Update process will be key to getting everyone on board with Microsoft’s vision of the future of Windows. It’ll also prove to be one of the most contentious elements: if you’re running the standard Home version of Windows 10, updates are automatic and can’t be refused.
This is a great thing. Windows’ Achilles’ heel has long been its nigh-ubiquity, which makes it a prime target for malware and other digital nastiness. A computer that’s kept up to date is a happy computer, as it will offer you the best chance of avoiding viruses and other unpleasant things.

Conclusion

In an ideal world, we’d just call Microsoft’s latest operating system “Windows,” and sweep version numbers and codenames under the rug. That “10” gives the impression that something comes next, when in reality Windows is transitioning from something you buy (begrudgingly) once every few years, to a living document that’s constantly being updated, and tweaked. For many Windows users expecting a predictable upgrade cadence, this is going to be a difficult transition.
Windows 10 will mean the end of grand, sweeping changes, with a marked increase in the sort of minute, quality-of-life tweaks we’ve grown accustomed to on our smartphones and tablets. Cortana will learn new tricks, and the interface will become flexible enough to support entirely new kinds of devices, like Microsoft’s HoloLens. Should Windows Phone survive, we’ll eventually see the world Microsoft envisioned back at the launch of Windows 8, when every device was supposed to feel right at home.
All of that comes later. What we have, at present, is a fast, functional OS that that is equally at home on a beefy gaming rig as it is on a Surface tablet. It does everything you expect it to, and bakes in all of the improvements Windows 8 brought to bear. Both Cortana and Edge have a long road ahead of them before they’ll supplant Google’s vicelike grip on my digital life, but the novelty of dictating emails and requests to my PC is not lost on me. And then there’s the price: free, for those upgrading from Windows 7 or Windows 8.
If you’re running Windows 7 or Windows 8 you’ve little to lose, and quite a bit to gain, by making the jump to Windows 10. If you’re still on Windows XP, you’ve probably got your reasons. But Windows 10 marks the first steps in a transition from operating system to ecosystem, a wild dream that gets a little less crazy every time I ask my PC a question, or pop the keyboard of my laptop to get some reading done. This is Microsoft’s second attempt at bringing us the future, and this time they’re getting it right.

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    25 Signs You are Already Successful and You’re Simply Unaware.

    This kind of constant action and lack of clarity can make it easy to believe that you are a failure, even when all the evidence in your life–personally and professionally–points to other conclusions. If you are too busy in life fighting fires, you’ll likely never make the time to actually appreciate your own success and accomplishments. You could already be successful and just not realize it. Here are some signs that is the case:

    1. You aren’t controlled by your income.

    Many people feel like they are tied to that next paycheck to make things work for them. If you are able to go day-to-day without the worry that you won’t have enough money to last until the end of the month, then you are most definitely a success! You might not be able to afford a Rolex, but if you aren’t living from week-to-week you are a success.

    2. You don’t seek praise.

    Seeking praise from loved ones and colleagues is something that we typically grow out of in our teenage years. If you aren’t hanging around waiting to get the proverbial pat on the back at work or at home, you are a more successful individual than you might even know. Being able to do your part without looking for praise is a strong sign of mental security.

    3. You suffer less drama.

    Look back even just a year in your life: are you finding that things are quieter? At home and at work? If this is the case then you can probably say that your life is pretty successful–a lack of chaos points to order and harmony.

    4. You have a plan.

    Success is built on structure and having a long-term plan to get to where you want to be. If you actually have a framework to follow in your life to reach your life goals, you are already pretty successful. Most people don’t plan ahead!

    5. You crave more.

    For someone who might feel like they aren’t doing well very in life, if you tend to look for more from any situation you are already on your way to success. Ambition and a desire for knowledge points to a determined individual who seeks to better themselves.

    6. You are an early bird.

    You know the old saying. The early bird catches the worm. If you are to make your life a success, you can’t be starting each day in the afternoon. When you find that you are jumping out of bed, ready to attack the day, you can probably point to a successful lifestyle and personality.

    7. You are socially active.

    Success tends to come in many different ways, not just your rank or your pay packet. If you are able to get involved in many different situations with a variety of social circles you can point to a healthy and harmonious life–people don’t tend to stick around toxic personalities.

    8. You offer mutual respect.

    Success tends to come from your own experiences in life, including going through stresses and difficulties. If you understand the value of treating others with respect, you already harness one of the most important aspects of success.

    9. You wish to help others.

    Again, your success in this world goes far beyond the cost of your car. If you are able to provide people with a solid base to work with, and act as a pillar of strength for colleagues, success is not too far off.

    10. You are driven.

    Anybody without an engine and a willingness to get through the hard times and the difficulties will struggle to succeed. If you don’t mind getting your sleeves rolled up and your hands dirty, you are better off than you think.

    11. You possess confidence without arrogance.

    The big difference between a successful person and someone who believes they are successful is the way they conduct themselves. If you can show some genuine humility for others, whilst inspiring those who are struggling, you are already a successful individual

    12. You have fought back.

    We have already touched on how failure can be the point needed to succeed. You need to hit the bottom before you can reach the top. Being able to battle back from a position of failure to success–any success–is a sign of an iron-willed individual with the nous to succeed in life.

    13. You strive to improve.

    Many people fall into the trap of believing that they “made it”. When you always look to improve on the previous performance, even if it was spectacular, you are setting yourself up to be a long-term success.

    14. You have discipline.

    Discipline can only come from being a success and seeing how things have gone in the past. Learning how not to make mistakes and how to make the right call is vital to being a long-term success.

    15. You preach patience.

    Patience is a virtue that the most successful people emit on a large-scale basis. Without patience, it can be hard to ever make the type of impact that you originally intended in any work or personal environment.

    16. You can say no.

    We spoke earlier about the power of being able to avoid needing to be praised–this is the same ideal. If you are able to say no then you have already avoided the need to please everyone. This is the sign of a successful individual.

    17. You manage time well.

    Time management is a sign of long-term success, and being able to use the time in any given day to be productive is the sign of a successful person. Capable of dealing with plenty of tasks in any given day? You are already a success.

    18. You have successful friends.

    Success around you is the easiest way to inspire yourself. If you find yourself surrounded by those who are also doing well it can be easier to actually improve and develop yourself in the right manner.

    19. You don’t blame others.

    You have reached a point in your life where you fully understand what it means to take ownership of your actions and not target others for your frustrations and failures. That comes about from being active rather than passive, and noticing your inner power to transform your life. It also speaks to your ability to prevent the environment from leading you down a direction you do not desire.

    20. You don’t waste your time.

    Long gone are the days when you let others drag you along and make you invest your time in activities you deemed boring or even counterproductive to your self-development and self-esteem. Your greater sense of direction empowers you to know what you want without needing other´s approval.

    21. You are assertive.

    You understand that simply saying yes or no is not enough. Explaining your reasons in a clear manner is essential for others to understand that you are an individual with your own thoughts and needs. This does not mean being inflexible, but while being understanding you should never let anyone bend your way.

    22. You stay positive.

    You have learnt the hard way that being negative or skeptical to justify your potential defeats and failures does not serve any purpose. Not only it does make you feel unable and anxious, but also does affect the final outcome. By being positive and honest at pursuing your goals you will unleash the true achiever within you.

    23. You take care of your health.

    Quitting harmful activities that stop you from working towards the brighter future you have always dreams is a powerful step. Be it smoking, taking drugs, eating too much saturated fats and sugar, or not exercising, you understand that leaving all of those behind will turn you into a stronger individual with greater drive and willpower.

    24. You don’t seek a relationship to solve your personal issues.

    It is easy to hide our failures behind someone who loves us. But, it is a bit immature for both sides in a relationship to stop tackling the real issues that harm each other’s lives. It is not a good idea to avoid helping the other towards becoming a better person just because it is easier not doing it or because “things are just fine as they are”.

    25. You are mature.

    When bad situations unfold in the workplace, or you need to deal with the individual who you have a problem with. A sign of success is being able to put personal grievances to the side for professional gain.
    It’s always important to remind yourself that success isn’t something that can be judged so materially. If you are able to look at your lifestyle and understand that you do things in a mature, social and effective manner then you are already far more successful than any slap on the back will ever make you feel.
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    10 Universal Skills Successful People Should Master.

    Do you want to be successful? There are many different, important aspects of being a well-rounded, successful adult, but all of these skills are important for different reasons.
    Having all of these particular skills will help you become more successful in different aspects of your life. Check out these 10 universal skills successful people must master, regardless of their profession and position.

    1. Organizational Skills

    Organization is a very important skill for successful people – it helps them to handle responsibility and ensure that they are reliable people. It isn’t just about making sure they are on time to events; organizational skills will ensure they prioritize tasks and find effective solutions to any problems they may encounter.
    Without these management and organizational skills, it can be easy to fall behind.

    2. Negotiation Skills

    Successful people are good at negotiating because they are both confident and persuasive. This skill is useful both at work and in their personal life, as it can make their day-to-day life more pleasant and more beneficial.
    At work, strong negotiation skills could mean promotions, pay rises and new clients.

    3. Strong Communication Skills

    No matter what your job or status is, communication is an essential part of success. From sharing information with clients to collaborating with co-workers, successful people are effective communicators on a daily basis.
    If you struggle to communicate, consider all the different ways you can do it. Face-to-face, email, Skype and over the phone.
    Try to choose the method that will help you communicate in the most effective way you can.

    4. Emotional Intelligence Skills

    Emotional intelligence is an important part of how well successful people relate to and understand others, as well how well they empathize with them. This skill is particularly important if they work as part of a team, or if their job requires networking.
    Emotional intelligence will help successful people to secure clients and deals, as well as get along effectively with their co-workers. A good way to improve your emotional intelligence is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

    5. Critical Thinking Skills

    Critical thinking helps successful people to solve problems and faults in a creative and useful manner. Being a critical thinker often means they will solve problems faster by assessing the situation quickly, independently and reasonably.

    6. Focus Skills

    Being able to maintain focus will makes successful people more effective at achieving long-term goals and dreams. It helps them to stay on track as they work toward their future, helping them to not get side tracked by other daily problems.

    7. Teamwork Skills

    Teamwork skills are useful in most jobs, and essential in daily life. From working on a project with their boss and other co-workers to living with a partner, teamwork skills help successful people to collectively perform better.
    If one person struggles with teamwork skills, they could slow down the whole project.

    8. Balance Skills

    Having balance in their lives helps to give successful people perspective and a healthy rationale. Being able to juggle tasks at an efficient rate not only alleviates stress but makes it that much more possible to succeed.
    Balance allows them to know what makes them happy, both in their personal life and their career, helping them to be successful in each aspect.

    9. Confidence Skills

    Even when successful people do not feel confident of the time; they work on developing and improving their own confidence skills for their own benefit. Improving their body language and social skills helps them to gain the respect of others and put some weight behind their words, making them more effective.

    10. Research And Analysis Skills

    Perhaps the most important skill of them all, the ability to research information, analyze it and recognize patterns will be useful in nearly every job role. These skills help successful people to become more proactive people as they help them to analyze and improve their current situation.
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    10 free DOS Games you can play covertly at work.

    10 free DOS Games you can play covertly at work.

    So it’s another long day and you’re stuck in the office. When you don’t have much to do, it’s a total drag to aimlessly scour the Internet while watching the minutes roll by.
    Why would you do that when you could be playing a game?
    I’m a retro/classic gamer, so you can imagine how excited I was knowing that the Internet Archive released a limited selection of DOS games available for streaming, no downloading required. While it doesn’t have absolutely every amazing DOS game out there, it does have more than a few great titles to show off.
    Playing games at work is the dream, certainly, but you’re still at your job. You don’t want to get caught. And while you could spend your time completely immersed in ‘Wolfenstein 3D’ or ‘Prince of Persia,’ they’re not very kind to you if you have to tab away hastily to keep prying eyes from knowing your secret.
    So, here’s a short list of 10 great games for a more casual play-through. They don’t need a lot of intense babysitting, can be worked on in short bursts, and will not completely screw you over if you get rushed into a last-minute meeting and you have to leave them on.

    Lemmings 2: The Tribes

    The Lemmings need you! Mostly because they are cripplingly stupid. The sequel to the original Lemmings follows the titular beings as they hurl themselves off of and onto every dangerous obstacle in the world they’ve been dropped into. The cool thing about the sequel is that it’s non-linear, meaning that you can work through different sections that feature different lemming jobs depending on the scene. The levels are short, too, so they’re a nice brain break.

    The forerunner to essentially the entire point-and-click Adventure genre, ‘Maniac Mansion’ is full of creepy jokes and morbidity. You control a group of teens looking to save main guy Dave’s girlfriend Sandy, collecting everything in sight and dodging the creepy Dr. Fred and his family. It’s not an easy game and, unlike future LucasArts games like ‘The Secret of Monkey Island’ you can accidentally prevent yourself from beating the game if you get rid of a necessary item. Or blow up a hamster in a microwave on purpose.

    Where in the World is Carmen San Diego: Enhanced

    Sure, it’s about history and (thoroughly outdated) geography, but there’s something soothing about trying to catch the sticky-fingered filcher from Berlin down to Belize, Carmen San Diego. Although there are plenty of iterations of the franchise available to play in the archive, this one has the benefit of enhanced graphics without muddling up the interface with silly phones or a more point-and-click style.

    SimCity

    The game that put middle-schoolers on the ultimate power trip is available in its DOS version on the archive. While less pretty both visually and sonically than its Super Nintendo counterpart, the core of ‘SimCity’ is the same as you’ve come to know and love. Zone for different needs! Build Roads! Blow it all up if it sucks! This is also a game that is ideal for multitasking, since it involves a lot of downtime to let your citizens do the hard work for you.

    Leisure Suit Larry & The Land of the Lounge Lizards

    Essentially the video game version of shock sex comedies like ‘Porky’s,’ the ‘Leisure Suit Larry’ franchise follows a hapless singleton looking to score. You travel around town, collect items, and try to impress women enough to bed them, while avoiding bizarre death and other hazards of the swinging ’70s lifestyle. There are also many versions of this game (and sequels) available in the archive, but the original is best.

    Sim Ant: The Electronic Colony

    ‘Sim Ant’ is like the low-key champion of the DOS library. For one, it’s actually a very scientific look into the life of an ant. Also, the complex mechanisms involved when you’re a single ant in a large colony is what inspired creator Will Wright to go on and make ‘The Sims’. Hunt food, explore the overworld, and manage your little ant needs while avoiding the hostile creatures (including humans) who don’t take too kindly to you.

    Oregon Trail

    This one hardly needs explanation, since it’s the most popular game in the entire archive, but the DOS version of ‘Oregon Trail’ will tickle your nostalgia sensors like no other. So yoke up your oxen and try not to die from dysentery as you make it from Independence, Missouri all the way out west to your new life in Oregon. And don’t forget to bring a ton of bullets!

    Midnight Rescue

    As a grown woman, this educational game still scares the crap out of me. As a youth detective trying to solve the wily doings of the Master of Mischief, ‘Midnight Rescue’ is equal parts reading comprehension and horrifying paintbrush robots charging at you with a deadly look in their eyes. Although the reading materials are designed for younger kids, the game is still full of a good challenge to stay entertaining. Just don’t underestimate those robots.

    Pac-Man

    So, the DOS port of everyone’s favorite ravenous yellow circle isn’t exactly the prettiest version of the game. People who are used to the arcade version or console ports, even on the Atari, might need to adjust expectations in both the visual and controls department. But sometimes, when you want to play ‘Pac-Man,’ this free version will really get the job done.

    Number Munchers

    Unlike most children’s educational game, ‘Number Munchers’ actually remains a challenge well into adulthood. Thanks to scaled difficulty that allows you to challenge yourself with “8th Grade and Above” math, and the unpredictability of the insanely tough Troggles, hopping around from one block to another while trying to solve simple math problems can turn into a real brainteaser. If you still like your games with a side of learning or puzzles, then this game is easy to pick up casually and very addictive.

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    ‘Ant-Man’ review: Humor is the key strength of this film

    If, like me, you’ve been slowly tiring of the big, bloated superhero adventures that all seem to end with entire cities being reduced to rubble, then you’ll be happy to know that Ant-Man feels a lot more intimate than the typical Marvel blockbuster. And the stakes are relatively lower too. Think about it – the first action sequence in the film takes place in a bathtub.
    Ant-Man, while less popular than Iron Man, The Hulk and Thor, has been a regular character in the comics since he first showed up in 1962. He has the unique ability to shrink at will and cause all sorts of trouble for the bad guys. No wonder the smart folks at Marvel decided that Ant-Man needed his own movie.
    Designed as an origin story of the undersized superhero, the film, directed by Peyton Reed, stars the very likeable Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, an expert thief coming off a three-year prison stint. While hoping to go straight and reconnect with his young daughter, he’s tempted into one last job by his best friend (a scene-stealing Michael Peña). Turns out that the safe they crack belongs to atomic scientist Dr Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and the mysterious bodysuit inside gives Scott the ability to shrink to the size of an insect, and also to command an ant-army through a mind-controlling device.
    After much persuasion, Scott teams up with Pym and the scientist’s no-nonsense daughter Hope (an impenetrable Evangeline Lilly) to steal one of Pym’s creations from greedy industrialist Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), who’s assembling a weaponized version of the Ant-Man suit.
    Humor, woven intricately into its script, is the key strength of this film. From the many in-jokes directed at other Marvel superhero movies, to the sheer hilarity that ensues the first few times Scott puts on the suit, there’s a lightness of touch to Ant-Man that’s rare in Marvel movies…except perhaps in Guardians of the Galaxy. A lot of that is due to Rudd, who can be relied on to bring the funny. He’s decidedly unheroic, and that’s part of the charm.
    But criminally, Ant-Man spends way too much time on exposition and back-story. For a movie about a superhero character, we get repeated indoor scenes with Douglas rambling on about one thing or the other. And too much screen time is given to a subplot about the unresolved issues between Pym and his daughter.
    The film really gathers steam in its second hour, when Scott embraces his powers and sets out to pull off the heist he’s been training for. It all culminates in a cleverly executed climax on a toy-train set. Nice change from those world-flattening finales of The Avengers movies!
    I’m going with three out of five for Ant-Man. There’s plenty laughs and some neat special effects. But what the movie needed was real edge, and a willingness to take bold risks.
    Rating: 3 / 5.
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    Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation review: high on style, low on substance

    Early on in Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, a grizzled and grandstanding head of CIA (Alec Baldwin) accuses the Impossible Mission Force — the anti-terrorist spy team starring Tom Cruise and a rotating supporting cast — of being a throwback to another era. “Your results look suspiciously like luck,” he decrees, noting that every successful mission is preceded by high-risk hijinks and wanton destruction (cf. the last four Mission: Impossible movies).
    It isn’t subtle. The whole scene plays out as a meta discussion on Mission: Impossible itself, a 19-year-old, high-thrill film franchise (its roots as a TV series are moot at this point) that has long served as a tentpole for Tom Cruise: Action Hero. It’s a series that waits years between installments and purposely brings in a new director every time to add their own spin to a well-worn format (past helmers include Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird). Director and frequent Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Jack Reacher) has a lot of history to live up to, but more importantly, he also has to make Mission: Impossible exciting in a post-Avengers, post-Fast Five, post-Snowden world.
    So Baldwin’s meta-question is very relevant: can Mission: Impossible stay relevant in this new era of popcorn film? The answer is decidedly maybe. Definitely maybe.

    Rogue Nation opens on Ethan Hunt (Cruise) tracking down The Syndicate, a group of evil agents (“the anti-IMF,” as Simon Pegg puts it) that no one seems to believe exists, led by the anti-Hunt (a surprisingly beard-and-emotion-free Sean Harris). Why is The Syndicate so bad? Because we’re told they’re bad; aside from one (relatively) minor act of espionage, the movie fills in pieces with several lines of exposition. We’re supposed to hate them because of their ideals and capabilities — because Hunt hates them — not because of anything we really get to see. At the same time, the IMF is dissolved, leaving Hunt with few resources outside his own (admittedly impressive) arsenal of wits, safe house gadgetry, and obsessive sense of right and wrong. Mission: Impossible isn’t exactly known for taut storytelling, but the problem here is that there’s very little emotional investment offered for the audience.
    Of course, the throughline is just an excuse to tie together a series of action sequences, which for the most part shine brightly — chief among them is Cruise hanging off the side of a plane, which has been played up during the marketing campaign as this movie’s holy-shit-Tom-Cruise-actually-did-that moment. Unlike the time Cruise actually climbed the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol, though, this scene doesn’t quite elicit the same visceral feelings as the tower climb. It’s also much shorter — if you’ve seen any of the trailers, you’ve pretty much seen the whole scene. The other sequences are impressive, a mixed bag of the great (one prolonged scene at an opera house shines as the film’s best) and the maybe all too familiar (a pretty by-the-numbers car chase).

    That said, even the most rote sequence is exciting, thanks in large part to Cruise himself. Ethan Hunt is reckless and risk-taking; he rarely comes away from a fight without a few bruises, cuts, bullet wounds, or various near-death experiences. There’s an air of levity interspersed between the scuffles — a self-awareness that made Brad Bird’s entry (2011’sGhost Protocol) so compelling — which carries over for the most part here. Cruise nails these moments, projecting at times both confidence and incredulity that he survived yet another precarious situation.
    Joining Cruise is computer whiz Benji Dunn (the always-talented Simon Pegg) and de facto femme fatale Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who is without question the best part of the film as a fully-realized, very capable, complicated foil to Hunt (note: not a love interest). The few remaining speaking roles — including older computer whiz Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), secret agent project manager William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), and Alec Baldwin — are woefully underused but make the most of their screentime with wit instead of weaponry.
    “I THINK THIS MOVIE IS A REALLY GREAT POPCORN FILM AND HAS WHAT I WOULD WANT IN A MOVIE.”

    — Tom Cruise at the Rogue Nation premiere


    Not that anyone else in this movie matters except Tom Cruise. Mission: Impossible is and has always been about Cruise wanting to push the limits of what an action star can do for the camera. But for all its style — and there is a lot of style, not to mention more than a little luck at some precarious moments — Rogue Nation feels lacking in substance. WithSkyfall, Sam Mendes gave us a reason to care about James Bond, a flawed killer. The Fast & Furious franchise, which at this point is just pretty much a good vs. evil thriller with cars, has turned into the new high point for ridiculous stunts (some practical, some CG) and yet still manages to tug on our heartstrings every time Vin Diesel says the word “family.” There’s no reason we can’t be blown away by big explosions and strong emotional choices, and Cruise is more than capable at delivering such a nuanced performance.
    Maybe next time. See you in four to six years, Ethan.
    pnysofficial

    Microsoft Introduces Send, A Short-Form Email App That Works More Like Instant Messaging

    Microsoft today is introducing a new application aimed at reducing the time it takes to check and respond to email while on your smartphone. With Send, as the app is called, the idea is to make email perform more like instant messaging, as it does away with more formal email constructs – like the subject line, for example – in favor of quicker, shorter messages that you can dash off in seconds.
    This is not the first time a company has reimagined mobile email as more of a mobile messaging client, or a text messaging-like service. A startup called Hop attempted this as well, with an app it first launched back in 2013. Another startup called MailTime also previously participated in the TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield this past September.
    The concept is intriguing, but has so far failed to resonate with a large number of consumers who, today, often simply abandon email for simple communications and instead use mobile messaging apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or even just SMS or iMessage.
    But Microsoft argues that there’s still a place for this sort of short-form messaging within email, too, noting how you may need to quickly send a co-worker a message like: “don’t send the presentation yet!” or “let’s chat in 10,” for example. Send could also be used for simple back-and-forth conversations, like “are you in the office today?” / “No.”
    Send is the latest app to arrive out of Microsoft Garage, Microsoft’s internal initiative that lets employees and teams turn ideas into real-world projects, many of which have been cross-platform mobile applications. Microsoft Garage works something like an incubator within the company, as the projects that emerge are really just concepts looking to see if they can achieve product-market fit.
    That said, Send’s development isn’t stopping today with its iPhone release. Microsoft says that it will arrive soon for Windows Phone and Android.
    It also only works at launch for those with Office 365 business and school email accounts, but the plan is to make the app more broadly available in the months ahead.
    At present, however, Send connects to a user’s Office 365 business or school email account in order to find your most frequent and recent contacts, and then puts these right on its homescreen. You can tap on any of these contacts to start a conversation, or you can swipe on them and choose a built-in “quick reply” like “on my way,” or “I’ll get back to you.”
    This is one of the app’s more clever features, and something that differentiates it from competitors who have been largely focused on revamping email’s user interface for mobile so it worked and felt more like instant messaging, without thinking about how else email messaging could be sped up.
    But Send has also thought about its user interface, and how it can seem more like a texting app. It shows a typing indicator so you know when a contact is responding, for example. Also, Send doesn’t show you all your emails, only the ones you started in the app, which makes it far more usable than some alternatives.
    In addition, while other IM-like email clients have targeted a broader consumer base, Send is initially focused on business users. It will even include IT controls in a later release, notes Microsoft.
    Send is available now as a free download from iTunes.