Windows 10 Tuning: 15 Professional tips

Windows 10 shows its strengths and weaknesses after 100 days. It is quite as familiar as the advertising claims, it is not many changeovers. Our guide will show you how to find old-fashioned, new and even better, and where the professional switches lie.


Tip 1: Show and use libraries


The libraries known from Windows 7 and 8 are no longer displayed in the Explorer of Windows 10 by default. To access the libraries, click on the navigation area icon in the menu bar under View and switch to Show libraries


Tip 2: Start Explorer with Drive View


Right-click a library and select Properties from the context menu. There you can add more folders to the library and change the default location.


Tip 3: New icons for the navigation area in Explorer


The new Windows 10 Explorer starts by default with the Quick Access view. A hidden switch starts the explorer as before with an overview of all drives. In Explorer, open the View menu bar and click the Options icon on the right. In the Open File Explorer list box, select This PC.


Tip 4: Automatic login without password


Confirm with OK. The next time you open the explorer, the drive overview appears.


The navigation area on the left in the Explorer does not show the system control and the paper basket as usual under Windows XP. Click the right mouse button in the empty area below the icons in the navigation area and switch on the Show All Folders button in the context menu


As with earlier versions, Windows 10 offers the possibility to save the password on the PC and log on without the need for password input at the Windows startup. This works equally with Microsoft accounts as well as with local user accounts. By the way, Microsoft accounts can also be used to log on to notebooks while on the road without the Internet connection.


In the Run field, type netplwiz ([Win] + [R]) or the Cortana search box. Turn on the User must enter user name and password. After clicking OK you must enter the current password again for security and confirm. Then restart the computer.


Most of the system control modules can be integrated into the Start menu as tiles. To do this, right-click on one of the green headings in the Control Panel and choose Paste to Start from the context menu. A new tile in the Start menu shows the icon of this system control module. Like all tiles, they can also be arranged freely.


Computer games often offer a hidden so-called "god-mode" or "god mode", in which the player is immortal, whatever happens. In Windows, there is also an undocumented God-Mode, which does not make Windows immortal, but provides the user with quick access to various settings, which can otherwise only be reached via numerous clicks in the system control. Use the context menu New / Folder to create a new folder on the desktop with this name


After the folder has been created, its icon will automatically change, and the long-numbered combination will disappear from the visible name.


A double click on this folder shows various system settings. Most of them are modules of the control panel, which are easy to navigate in this way and with fewer clicks.


In previous versions of Windows, alternative browsers, such as Firefox or Chrome, could have declared themselves the default browser when the user enabled a setting in the browser.


Tip 5: Include System Functions in the Start Menu


With Windows 10, Microsoft makes the browser makers heavier. The user must now select the default browser in the System / Standard Apps / Web browser settings.


Windows 10 provides its own printer driver for the first time to create PDF documents. If you have created many such documents or have not connected a 'genuine' printer, you can set up the PDF output as a standard printer and create a PDF document from each program using the quick-printing function. In the Devices / Printers and Scanners settings, select the Microsoft Print to PDF printer and click Set as default.


Tip 6: The Mysterious and Practical God-Mode


If you have connected several printers, you will usually print several documents on the same printer. In order not to have to select this printer every time, Windows 10 can automatically set the last used printer as the default printer. To do this, turn on the Settings for Printers and Scanners in the Settings under Devices / Printers and Scanners.


Tip 7: Set Alternatives Browser as Default


Tip 8: PDF output as default printer


Tip 9: Last used printer as default printer


Evasi0n: iOS 6.1-Jailbreak (untethered) as download for iPhone 5 & Co

With the freshly available download of the iOS 6.1-jailbreak “evasi0n” (“untethered”), users of iPhone 5, iPad 4 or iPad mini can immediately and probably successfully remove the factory-limited limitation of their devices by Apple. The tool is supposedly synonymous with iOS 6.0 and is available as a download for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux on a dedicated website. Responsible is the Jailbreak team of “Evad3rs”, which, according to its own name, has specialized in the release of iOS devices.


Untethered "version of an iOS 6.1 jailbreak means that the unleashing of iPads or an iPhones is permanent. In contrast to the" tethered "variant, a PC or special software is required depending on the procedure to start or" jailbreak "device To-reboot, so the "tethered" solution is unlikely to be an ottonormal consumer, and demanding users are forced to use this method with iOS updates, because it is in the nature of the jailbreak that it is for publishing the more convenient variant Longer.


Why do you need a jailbreak? Apple devices are very restrictive due to the manufacturer, for example, if the user wants to install apps that Apple has not shared with the App Store. Also, after a jailbreak, a lot more functions can be customized on the device and system settings can be optimized. The alternative App Store Cydia also provides a wider range of apps and other content for iOS devices. Is a jailbreak legal? Apple believes that jailbreaks violate license terms. However, in a court case in July 2010, the US Copyright Office has decided to the contrary.


If you own one of the devices named iPhone 5, iPad 4 or iPad mini and has enough experience, you could take a look at evasi0n and test the package. In addition, the tool is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPod touch (4th and 5th generation). Please read the instructions carefully and follow them meticulously. We assume no responsibility for defects resulting from incorrect application. In addition, the warranty after an intervention in the system software is generally there. So you act at your own risk.


Sony Bravia KD-65X9005A on the test

Ultra HD will replace the now widely used Full HD technology. How fast this will happen depends on the innovation pressure of the equipment industry and content providers, but ultimately on the acceptance of the end customers. The high-quality spearhead of the technical innovators can already enjoy the stunning images of the upcoming Ultra-HD technology. At this year’s IFA in Berlin, many manufacturers will show first devices, but Sony is advancing and has already introduced 65- and 55-inch models of the second 4K generation.


Transition of standards


Many components are part of a completely new TV world. Even at that time, when HDTV or 16: 9 flat screens came up, the breakthrough did not happen in one fell swoop. The first HD TVs had neither HDMI nor HD Tuner, not even the now usual full HD resolution. And the Blu-ray disc was initially a disc that only Japanese TV could record.


Picture gallery


Now we are again in the phase in which the new TV standard Ultra HD was officially standardized, but there are still no broadcasting and also no mass storage with films up to pilot projects. Other links in the chain would be DVB standards, HDMI to connect the devices, and improved video encoding to pack more data on data more tightly. The transmission technology with cameras, mastering hardware and transmitters must also play.


Ultra-HD color space


This is behind the new Ultra-HD standard


Color processing


Some of these technologies are already ready and released or are about to be launched. Sony is directly involved in many innovations. The broadcasting department already has 4K cameras, studio equipment and kobeobeam at the start, the new PlayStation 4 can 4K and Sony Pictures saves for some time good films in the highest resolution. Also, the first home cinema projectors and nominally the first 84-inch ultra-HD TV came from Sony.


We are technically much more advanced than the introduction of HDTV, when you could buy a new TV every year, because the copy protection of the interface or the picture resolution had changed. Even the Blu-ray would be capable of playing Ultra HD with already available techniques (like BD-XL or HEVC), but of course new players and not backward compatible.


Sony's new KD-65X9005A is in the top class with the bonus that the HDMI jacks accept ultra-HD material in 24 to 30 Hz and pixel-precision on the new display. In addition, the ultra-HD TV accepts 4K (4,096 x 2,160 pixels) in 24 Hz. This could be Sony's first ultra-HD model KD-84X9005 (84 inches, 25,000 euros), but the new approach clearly in another relationship The future Ultra-HD standard.


Ultra HD is not only sharper but also offers a larger color palette and finer gradients. And already during the test of the first Sony TV with Triluminos, we noticed that the newly expanded color space is exactly in the direction of the basic data of Ultra HD.


With the triluminos technology Sony uses special LEDs for the LCD backlighting. Conventionally, the white backlight is obtained from a blue LED, coated with yellow phosphorus. Color filters in front of the pixels make them in the basic colors red, green and blue.


Triluminos LEDs are also based on a blue energy emitter, with nanoparticles, which carry out exact quantum leaps in such a way that narrow-band light is supplemented in red and green. The basic colors become so much richer, the color palette bigger - considerably too large for normal television.


In order to make faces not blush or grass neon green appears, the Sony TV has a sophisticated color processing on board. It also supports the legally extended HD color space x.v.Color (xvYCC, a Sony invention), which is used, for example, in camcorders and transmitted via HDMI.


In cooperation with the Sony Pictures Studios in Hollywood, there would be the possibility to create a Blu-ray that is closer to the big digital cinema fares (DCI) or to Ultra HD than HDTV allows.

Hollywood Studiotour: behind the scenes of Sony Pictures


Ultra-HD image quality


In fact, Sony Pictures are watching new studio technology by re-creating special Blu-ray movies as Mastered in 4K. These films include a flag that switches the Sony Blu-ray player and Sony ultra-HD TV into a high-quality mode. In the test, it became clear that the scaling technology 4K X-Reality Pro went to the factory more restrained, probably because the source is recognized as particularly high-quality and less manipulated.


The expected color shifting or the automatic activation of the large color tints (setting: color brilliance) did not materialize, the image quality was extremely natural. In the analysis of the data streams of the Blu-rays we also found no conclusions on color data in x.v.Color. It remains an option for the future.


Filter and Motion Smoothing


As a player for our 4K tests we use a PC and as much as possible of the few footage that is already available. Sony has supplied us with a hard disk player, which is obviously intended for demos in the trade and delivers excerpts in fabulous Ultra-HD quality.


It is breathtaking that one can see the girls running on the beach from a distance in kilometers. Also differentiations in the finest grass blades of a stadium are incredibly authentic. Just the fact that you want to go up to one meter to the TV giant to get even more picture details to be able to absorb.


Download: 4K test images


Conclusion


When a total recall scene is panned over the city, you will inevitably have to pause the movie to enjoy all the subtleties. The colors of the demos are bombastic and show where the journey goes at Ultra HD. The resolution is almost too fine for standard seating distances, but the incredible clarity of the images and the fascinating colors convince every doubter.


However, Sony's greatest art is also to bring a normal TV, DVDs and Blu-ray movies convincingly to the futuristic screen. Noisy analogue TV is always a pain, but the Sony is very good with all sources from DVB-T and YouTube over HDTV to the best Blu-rays.


But only who knows exactly what he does can achieve perfect results. The extremely high contrast Ultra-HD panel with its great black forgives no mistake if you go close enough to the picture. And the effects of sharpness, X-reality and the many artifact filters all the way to facial smoothing influence each other. The result is often incredibly sharp, but too hard and pixelated.


Practice: Movies in Ultra HD


Properly dosed, however, the filters cause almost miracles. Not so convincing is the motion smoothing, which is to work with 800 Hz (and true 200 Hz as a basis expect). The best compromise between light jerking, flickering and blurring is hard to find. As usual with VA panels, superior contrast is measured from the front, but the colors suffer a bit from the angle.


New to the panel supplier is the 3D polarization. Finally, the light spectacles can be used at full resolution without flickering. The integrated video player for network or USB sources is limited to Full HD, but photos are already displayed with the full eight megapixels, and everyone has it at home.


After the elusive description of the new technology now to the overall impression of the device: That is excellent. It looks very appealing and is best processed. Small firmware bugs could still cushion our HD + module (Sky and KDG worked) and Miracast connections were only accepted by the Xperia Z. The direct-beam three-way loudspeakers deliver a well-balanced neutrality and precision, but hardly bass. The equipment leans - classic and smart - just as much to Sony's best TV series as the operation.


Download: Data and measured values ​​


Sony presents stereo systems CMT-BT80WB and CMT-BT60B

The new stereo systems from the Japanese manufacturer offer the possibility of classical CD playback, reception of DAB + / FM radio stations and music streaming.


The more affordable CMT-BT60B can receive music via Bluetooth from any suitable playback device. The CMT-BT80WB also offers the possibility to play music from iPhone, iPod or iPad with Apple's AirPlay. The integrated WLAN allows the CMT-BT80WB to play music via DLNA from computers or network disks.


Both All-In-One systems have a USB port that can be used to connect and charge MP3 players or iPods. Magnetic fluid speakers should ensure good sound. In addition, both audio systems have an S-Master amplifier.


Smartphone owners can also control the CMT-BT80WB via app. This requires the Network Audio Remote App from Sony.


The new stereo systems will be launched in May 2013. The price for the CMT-BT80WB is 369 euros. The CMT-BT60B will be commercially available at a price of 299 euros.


Fujifilm XF1 review: Compact camera in retro look

Fujifilm describes the design of the Fujifilm XF1 with the vocabulary “style” and “elegance”. The carefully crafted casing of cool aluminum and a coating of black, light brown or red artificial leather gives the compacts a chic, nostalgic look.


Shoots faster than your shadow


How to find the right digital camera


All information at a glance


The focal length control of the Fujifilm XF1 is also nostalgic and user-friendly. The 4x zoom can not be controlled with the usual zoom lever, but via the lens ring. This makes the one-handed operation of the camera impossible, but is very convenient. It takes a long time to turn the camera on and off from the lens ring instead of using a separate button.


Conclusion


The switches of the XF1 have a pleasant pressure point and are marked with very small writing, but well readable. Aperture and / or exposure time can be adjusted in a classic way on the steering wheel on the camera back or by means of a ring around the four-way button.


Since Fujifilm's XF1 is a compact camera, it is also used in MF mode to focus, in addition to the usual program modes, filter options and automatic exposure modes, automatic shutter control, automatic time and manual exposure, as well as the possibility of manual focusing. As soon as you move it, the 3-inch display will activate the Loupe view, which will help you find the focus point.


There are numerous useful features as well as more or less original gadgets. Videos, the XF1 1 turns into full-HD quality or as a high-speed movie with up to 200 frames per second.


The XF1 also not only stores standard image series, but also high-speed serials or takes exposure series, series with different ISO values ​​or film simulation series. In doing so, she misses those images that have been attributed to earlier Fuji films such as Velvia or Astia.


Fujiflim supports the photographer with two user profiles as well as two function buttons, which he can define according to his taste, so that the XF1's versatility can be ergonomically controlled. The Fn button on the top of the camera can be used with a recording parameter or a function such as face detection, serial recording, or digital zoom.


The E-Fn button on the back activates a second level of the four-way switch and adjacent keys so that this second level provides quick access to a further six parameters. Practical, thought-out and easy to understand.


The 3-inch display can display all the relevant parameters for the viewfinder image or the stored images. This includes standards such as exposure settings, sensitivity, image quality, or resolution, including histograms, gridlines, or a water scale.


The image quality of the XF1 is satisfactory but not overwhelming. The sharpness impression is correct (1133 LP / BH at ISO 100, 1122 LP / BH at ISO 400), but the pictures in monochrome surfaces lacks a bit of drawing. The loss of quality in the telescope and in the case of increasing sensitivities: While the noise is maintained in the telescope as well as with increasing ISO values ​​(1.1 at IO 100, 1.4 at ISO 400), cheat in one-color areas And particularly in the case of skin tones, violent artifacts appear in the faces, such as geometric pigment disturbances.


The camera has less problems with the detailed reproduction, for example in the representation of the blades of grass and pebbles in our test pattern. These are also recognizable in the telescope and at high sensitivities.


Fujiflm XF1's high-quality design and versatility make it very attractive. In terms of ease of operation, the camera can meet this, but in terms of image quality, it disappoints with sensitivities beyond ISO 100.


Fujifilm XF1


Conclusion: For whom the Windows 10 Update is useful

If you like to work with the classic desktop of Windows 7, have installed a current anti-malware software and do not need Universal apps, you should not be forced to switch to Win 10 – after all, an operating system is not a self-purpose. Although Microsoft has discontinued mainstream support for Win 7 earlier this year, security updates are expected to take some more years. Visually, Win 10 has a fresher and more contemporary look with its reduced-flat desktop design language.


However, the two-generation 7-series Windows in the technical platform comparison to Win 10 is getting old. Win 10 is the world's leading provider of enterprise-class cloud computing, cloud computing, voice input, high-resolution scaling, on-board tools, search, DirectX, Hyper-V virtualization, WLAN and Bluetooth. For users who want to be technically up-to-date, want to be mobile, and enjoy a quick start, a change to Win 10 is extremely attractive.


Find the large Franzis manual for Windows 10.


USB 3.1 connector, speed, release

Why USB 3.1 is so important? USB has become the most important connection standard for all kinds of peripherals. Today, there are hardly any devices that do not use the Universal Serial Bus in any form for data exchange, device connection or voltage supply. Other interfaces such as the serial port, Parallelport or Firewire have practically disappeared. The only serious competition is Intel’s Thunderbolt. But this modern but also expensive connection variant plays practically no role outside the Apple world.


USB 3.1: The speed doubles


Already USB 3.0 was a huge leap at the maximum transfer rate from 480 MBit / s to 5 GBit / s. USB 2.0 was not even fast enough for mechanical hard disks with 480 MBit / s, but USB 3.0 is enough for an SSD. In addition, devices connected to a USB 3.0 port are now provided with at least 150 instead of 100 mA. Up to 900 mA at five volts are possible, with USB 2.0 it was still 500 mA.


USB Type C plug: Always fits


USB 3.1 brings a doubling of the performance up to 10 GBit / s, fast enough even for external drives with two SSDs in the RAID 0 network. In addition to this SuperSpeed ​​Plus mode, USB 3.1 also supports the "normal" 5 GB SuperSpeed ​​as well as the USB 2.0 standard and its predecessor.


Versatile: The Alternative Modes for USB Type-C


With a transfer rate of 10 Gbit / s, USB 3.1 is equal to the first Thunderbolt version developed by Intel. The new Thunderbolt 2 will deliver twice the transfer rate with 20 GBit / s. However, Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 need expensive cables with electronic components in the connectors: A two meter long Thunderbolt cable from Apple costs 39 euros. USB 3.1, on the other hand, does not have any active cables. For a two-meter cable, this is about 10 euros.


Full power ahead: Power over USB


Who is not already cursed under the desk, when trying to insert a USB plug right on the back of his PC? Even worse is it with Micro-USB. Here you can squeeze the plug with enough force even upside down into the socket. That ruins in the best case only the plug, if one has bad luck but equal the whole smartphone. The new type C plug, on the other hand, can be plugged into its socket in both orientations; it works in any case. Here the USB Implementors Forum (USB-IF) has taken a meaningful bond with Apple's Lightning connector, which is also the case.


With an area of ​​approximately 8.4 x 2.6 millimeters, which is necessary for the socket, the new Type-C is hardly any bigger than USB 2.0 Micro-B and is therefore well suited for flat mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets. It is more stable and supports SuperSpeed-USB. So far, the wider USB 3.0 micro-B connector was necessary.


In addition to a 15-core cable for SuperSpeed ​​and SuperSpeed-Plus connections, the Type C specification also provides more affordable five-wire cables for USB 2.0 connections. The connectors and jacks are identical here, unlike Micro-USB.


The existing USB plugs and sockets are still part of the USB 3.1 specification and will by no means be completely replaced by Type-C. In addition, there are countless USB devices with older connections. There will therefore be a whole series of adapter cables and connectors for the connection between them: For USB 3.1 from C to Standard-A, Standard-B and Micro-B, for USB 2.0 it should be cables from C from Standard-A, standard -B, Micro-B and even Mini-B.


An adapter with a standard A jack and a mini B jack are also provided. The first is to support SuperSpeed-USB, the second is only USB 2.0.


Besides the pure data transmission, USB Type-C can also take on other tasks. They are implemented via function extensions, so-called alternative modes. The first of these alternative modes is the Audio Adapter Accessory Mode. It is intended to make the 3.5 mm audio jack unnecessary for future devices and also function via USB hubs. There will be a USB-type C adapter with a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting conventional headphones or speakers.


With DisplayPort Alternative Mode, the USB cable is used for the transmission of audio and video. If two of the four high-speed lanes in the cable are used for the display port transmission of 4K video, then the other two still can transfer Superspeed USB with 5 GBit / s. With 5K video, only USB 2.0 is possible at the same time.


In the normal case, a USB 3.0 or 3.1 port is designed to supply connected devices with a maximum of 900 mA at 5 volts, ie with 4.5 watts. This is, of course, not sufficient for many devices, which are therefore dependent on an additional power supply. In the case of USB connections, which follow the USB Power Delivery Specification (USB-PD) adopted in 2012, up to 100 watts can flow over the USB cable. In order to cover USB Type-C as well, a version 2.0 of the specification was just passed.


The USB PD specification defines five different profiles that can be used to power devices via USB with 10, 18, 36, 60 or 100 watts. Micro A / B connections, however, are limited to a maximum of three amps and thus 60 watts. Type-A / B and Type-C connections can flow up to five amperes at 20 volts.


For the 10 Watt profile, conventional USB cables are sufficient, all other profiles require special cables with better shielding. A USB-PD-capable device automatically detects which profile is supported by the cable. How much electricity can actually flow and in which direction is negotiated when connecting two USB-PD devices.


Until now, this USB-PD specification was hardly used by manufacturers of USB devices. With the introduction of USB Type-C, however, this should change. Combined with the DisplayPort Alternative Mode, USB-PD makes the ultimate docking station for notebooks or tablets possible via Type C cables. A single cable is then sufficient to bring a 4K video with audio to an external monitor, while simultaneously scrambling data at 5 GB / s to external drives and supplying the mobile device with the same power.