windows

Blocking out-of-date Flash ActiveX controls on IE11 Note: Customers running Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 are not impacted by this change. By default, Windows Update will automatically install important Flash updates as they become available for Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge on those systems. Starting on October 11, 2016, we’re expanding the out-of-date ActiveX control blocking feature to include outdated versions of Adobe Flash Player. This update notifies you when a Web page tries to load a Flash ActiveX control older than (but not including): Adobe Flash Player version 21.0.0.198 Adobe Flash Player Extended Support Release version 18.0.0.241 You can continue to view the complete list of out-of-date ActiveX controls being blocked by this feature here. Supported configurations and scope of out-of-date Flash ActiveX control blocking Unlike out-of-date Java and Silverlight blocking, the following caveats are additionally [ more… ]

Creating Beautiful Effects for UWP The Composition APIs allow you to enhance the appeal of your Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app with a wide range of beautiful and interesting visual effects. Because they are applied at a low level, these effects are highly efficient. They run at 60 frames per second, providing smooth visuals whether your app is running on an IoT device, a smartphone, or a high-end gaming PC. Many visual effects implemented through the Composition APIs, such as blur, use the CompositionEffectBrush class in order to apply effects. Additional examples of Composition effects include 2D affine transforms, arithmetic composites, blends, color source, composite, contrast, exposure, grayscale, gamma transfer, hue rotate, invert, saturate, sepia, temperature and tint.  A few very special effects go beyond the core capabilities of the effect brush and use a slightly different programming model. In [ more… ]

Windows 10 Tip: Updates to the action center Did you know that you have an action center that lets you monitor and interact with notifications and settings? And did you also know that it recently got an upgrade with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update? Here’s what’s new with the action center: You can find the action center by clicking the dialogue box at the bottom right corner of your screen, by using the keyboard shortcut Windows key + A or by swiping left from the screen edge on touch devices. There you’ll see the new, fully customizable quick actions – settings you can change quickly, without going through the settings panel. The action center is also your one-stop shop for notifications to see what’s going on with apps and other programs from across your device. Plus, now you can also [ more… ]

Celebrate 50 years of Star Trek with a special Microsoft Rewards offer Today we’re celebrating 50 years of Star Trek and giving you the chance to earn great rewards with a special offer on Star Trek movies and TV shows in the Windows Store. This offer includes Star Trek movies and TV series spanning the franchise since the original Star Trek launched. You can be amongst the first to pre-order the newly released movie, Star Trek Beyond. Earn great rewards simply by purchasing or renting any of the Star Trek content in the Windows Store We recently introduced Microsoft Rewards, a program that gives members the ability to earn rewards by searching with Bing, as well as earn points when shopping with Microsoft and browsing the web with Microsoft Edge. To start earning Microsoft Rewards, simply purchase or rent selected [ more… ]