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So far consumers will have seen it preinstalled only on devices such as the Surface Laptop. For those who’d prefer the full-blown Windows 10, Microsoft is allowing buyers to switch to Windows 10 for free on their Surface until March 2018. Previously it had said the free switch offer would end in December 2017. Now, though, Windows 10 S is also available via the Insider channel for beta testers. In order to install this you must have a PC running Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, although keep reading before you do this....

A reader wrote in to PC Advisor after being unable to boot his Windows 7 PC and getting the error message ‘deleting corrupt attribute records’. Here’s how we fixed his problem. Also see: My laptop won’t boot: 6 tips for fixing a PC that won’t start Q “My Windows 7 PC boots perfectly for a short time, but then boot times gradually become slower and slower until the computer eventually displays a black screen on boot up and begins to show messages that read: “deleting corrupt attribute records”....

In this article we look at the major differences between last year’s flagship from Xiaomi and the new Mi 9. Armed with this information you’ll be in a better position to work out whether or not it’s worth the upgrade (we think it is). In Europe the Mi 9 starts at €449 for the 6GB RAM, 64GB storage model, and is also available with 128GB storage at €499. It is available to pre-order now in France, and on 28 February in Italy and Spain....

At its annual WWDC keynote Apple has announced the next version of watchOS – the software that underpins the Apple Watch – will include automatic handwashing detection and tracking to help you improve your health and hygiene habits. The software will use machine learning to detect motion that resembles handwashing, before activating the microphone to check for audio cues like running water or splashing. Once it’s confident you are washing your hands, it’ll start a countdown and measure your sink time to make absolutely sure you did make it to the end of that second ‘Happy Birthday’, pestering you if you don’t make it to the end....

See also: The complete guide to virtual reality Zoostorm StormForce Hurricane 340 review: Price Priced at £799 from Laptopsdirect.co.uk, it’s at the lower end of what you can expect to pay for a VR-ready PC, yet it passed all of our VR tests without issue. Since we reviewed the PC, the GTX 1070 has been launched. This particular PC will be sold with the 1070 instead of the outgoing GTX 970, although we’re still waiting to get a confirmed price with this new configuration....

Networx is an umbrella program that allows federal agencies to buy voice, data and video services from five carriers: AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink (formerly Qwest), Sprint and Level 3. Created by the General Services Administration (GSA), Networx has a 10-year ceiling of $68.2 billion in revenue. However, due to delayed purchasing by agency customers, Networx total revenue through September 2012 is at $2.18 billion, GSA concedes. “There’s no question that Networx is not living up to GSA’s expectations,” says Ray Bjorklund, vice president and chief knowledge officer with Deltek, a Herndon, Va....

Also see: Best Black Friday Laptop Deals Acer is classing the Aspire R11 (R3-131T) a notebook but it can also be used as a tablet despite not having a detachable keyboard like the Aspire Switch range. We’re seeing more of these types of devices come to market with Lenovo leading the way with its Yoga products. Also see: Best new tablets coming in 2016. One of the main differences compared to rivals is that the Aspire R11 is affordable, something you can typically rely on Acer for....

But are the compromises worth the lower price? Let’s find out. Design and Build The Fire TV Stick Lite boasts an almost identical design to its brethren, with a compact rectangular shape. It can be plugged directly into your TV or attached via the HDMI extender which is included in the box. All-in-all, the Fire TV Stick Lite itself is rather discreet and can be hidden away neatly. The matte black finish is inconspicuous and will blend in with most TV setups....

All signs and leaks point towards a smartphone following on from the Kindle e-readers and Kindle Fire tablets. Tech Advisor’s Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.

Price At this price, it’s one of the cheapest electric mountain bikes available. Obviously the quality of components is lower than top-end bikes such as the Volt Alpine and the design isn’t as elegant. There’s just one frame size, which is fairly small, so it should suit those from around 5ft3 up to about 6ft. Features and design The first thing you’ll notice is the battery which looks like an oversized drinks bottle....

Many had assumed the Bluetooth sharing function would be limited to Android but there is a new hint that suggests Google is looking to build it into other operating systems. Chrome reporter Dinsan tweeted that he found a Nearby Sharing toggle in the settings on his Chromebook: As it happens the toggle did not enable the feature to work, but if it’s showing up in the latest builds of Chrome OS then it is likely it will crop up when Google officially launches it....

However, this usually comes at a cost. The Surface Pro X has used a custom version of the original Snapdragon 8cx across two generations, but the cheapest you’ll find it is £929/US$999.99 via the Microsoft Store. This is fairly typical of the Windows on Snapdragon market as a whole – you’ll be hard-pressed to find an affordable device that can compete with similarly-priced devices powered Intel or AMD chips. While performance and app compatibility have improved significantly in recent years, they still fall short of regular PCs in most cases....

Here’s everything we know about Ascent: Infinite Realm so far including release date, platform and gameplay rumours. Oh, and check out the five-minute A:IR announcement trailer above. Ascent: Infinite Realm release date rumours As confirmed by publisher Kakao Games, the Bluehole-developed Ascent: Infinite Realm will become available to excited fans in the first half of 2018. The catch? That’s when A:IR will be available in beta (or possibly Early Access like PUBG) rather than a finished game....

Don’t think it’s riddled with compromises either: its Nvidia GTX 1060 is significantly more powerful than the previous-generation GTX 980M, and you’d have to spend almost £2000 to get a laptop with one of those. Asus ROG Strix GL702VM review: Price It has a high-power variant of Intel’s Core i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD and 1TB hard drive. You may find gaming laptops with more RAM and a faster CPU at a similar price, but to buy one would probably be a mistake....

But does the mid-range price-tag reflect the quality and performance of the Asus ZenBook UX410? We’ve spent some time with the laptop, and here’s what we think. Asus ZenBook UX410: UK pricing and availability The Asus ZenBook UX410 is readily available to buy in the UK through the likes of Asus, Tesco and John Lewis with two variants for customers to choose from. You’ve got the base model that features an i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD and will set you back around £599 depending on the retailer....

Recently the company was bought by NortonLifeLock and we don’t yet know whether it will keep Avira in its current state or move users over to a free version of Norton 360. Whatever happens, for those looking for antivirus today, Avira is a good choice. It’s easy to download and install and prompts you to run a Smart Scan to kick things off. On our test system this took just a few minutes and reported it was free from viruses but had other issues that needed to be dealt with such as out-of-date apps, privacy settings to ‘fix’, warnings about browser cookies and registry entries and disk space that could be freed up....

You might also like: 20 best activity trackers 2015/2016 Connect it to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, and every morning, you’ll get a sleep score on the dedicated app, also available for Apple Watch. That score is based on seven different categories: Sleep amount, time to fall asleep, sleep efficiency, away from bed, awake, restless sleep and snoring. It’ll measure your heart rate and respiration throughout the night, too....

Still, they can be expensive, especially if you buy 4K UHD Blu-rays, so sale events like Black Friday and Boxing Day are a great excuse to stock up the collection, as there are almost always some steep discounts on the latest releases and a few big box sets. As always with any home entertainment purchase, take care to get the right format – you can’t play a Blu-ray in a DVD player, and similarly you can’t play 4K Ultra HD discs in a Blu-ray player....

In this article we round up the 17 best board games available to humanity, together with vital statistics (time to play, number of players, our difficulty rating) and a link to buy. For the best bargains, read our roundup of the best board game deals. And if you’re on your lonesome, take a look at our guide to the best solo board games. We’ve also taken a look at the pros and cons of playing free online board games....

Adding extensions is very simple. Click on the three dots in the top right of the Chrome browser, then select More Tools > Extensions from the drop down menu and search for one you want to use. Alternatively you can visit the Google Chrome Store and browse the various Extensions on offer. To aid you in your search, here are the best ones you should be using in Google Chrome....