How to Fix Windows 8.1 Update Issues

With any new software update on any device, there are going to be small hiccups, little issues that cause users to not be able to download the update even though they should be able to. Windows 8.1, the free update for tablets, desktops and notebooks running Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system isn’t any different.
Since its release users have reported random issues with not being able to download the update. Here’s what to do when Windows tells you your Windows 8.1 install couldn’t be completed.
Before proceeding, it’s a good idea to simply close the Windows Store app by clicking or tapping on its top and dragging it to the bottom of our screen. Then trying the update again. This could fix your issue and save you from having to proceed with the rest of this process. If that still hasn’t helped then continue.
The first thing you want to do if you see the error above on your screen is to restart your Windows 8 devices and try again. Remember to save any work you’ve been doing in the background before you restart first. After you’ve restarted, don’t open the Windows Store app.
If you’re still having trouble downloading the update. You’re going to need to open the Windows 8 Command Prompt. Go to the Start Screen by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard or by pressing the Windows button underneath your device’s display.

Right-click anywhere on the Start Screen and click on the All Apps button.
Now, find the Command Prompt option in the list of installed apps. Don’t left-click on it. Instead, right-click on it and select Run As Administrator from the menu on the bottom. Tablet users should place their finger on Command Prompt and then pull down on the app slightly to see the app menu.

In the menu type ‘net stop wuauserv’ then hit enter on your keyboard.

Now type ‘net stop bits’ then hit enter on your keyboard again.

Now open a file window by going back to the Desktop. Go the following location by manually typing it into the address bar or by copy and pasting it into the address bar in a file window: C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution. Delete everything inside that folder.

Now go back to the Command Prompt and type in ‘net start wuauserv’ then hit enter.

Next type ‘net start bits’ then hit enter.

Now head to the Windows Store and attempt to download Windows 8.1 again.

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How to Add More Space for Live Tiles in Windows 8.1

Barring the use of any downloadable programs like Start8, the Start Screen is the single most visited interface for millions of Windows 8.1 users. It’s coveted real estate.
Here’s how to make room for more Live Tiles in Windows 8.1
Most apps hope to be so useful that they’re pinned here by users. Files too are pinned here so that users can quickly and easily access them without having to go looking for them inside the Desktop or through the SkyDrive app. Xbox Music even allows users to pin their favorite albums or playlists here.
Pinning all of this content and getting quick access to your files comes at a cost for Windows 8.1 users. Very quickly the Start Screen can turn into an unmanageable behemoth that forces users to scroll to the right endlessly just to find what they’re looking for. There are ways around this though. Windows 8 devices that have the Windows 8.1 update installed and a decent quality display, have a setting that allows them to make more space for Lives Tiles.
Go to the Start Screen by pressing the Windows button underneath your tablet or convertible’s display or by pressing the Windows key on your desktop or notebook’s keyboard.

Users with a touchscreen should slide their finger from the right edge of their display to the left to open the Charms Bar and then tap the Settings Charm. If your device has a mouse and keyboard, place the mouse’s cursor in the top-right corner of your screen to open the Charms Bar. Then click on the Settings Charm.

Now tap or click on Tiles in the menu.

If your device has a high enough resolution to support showing more tiles on the Start Screen you will automatically see an option labeled Show More Tiles. Tap or click on that option to add a fourth row for more Live Tiles.

If you don’t see that option than the best you could hope for is to plug your device up to a display that does have a high enough resolution to activate the Show More Tiles option. The display must have a resolution of more than 1366 x 768 for the Show More Tiles option to appear.

Turning on the Show More Tiles option isn’t magic. To make room for that extra row, Windows 8.1 makes the other tiles on your Start Screen smaller. Typically, smaller tiles aren’t a big issue for anyone using a mouse and keyboard. However, small Live Tiles could be particularly hard for you to accurately if you’re using a device with a touch screen.

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KitKat 4.4 Smart, simple, and truly yours

Beautiful & Immersive

A more polished design, improved performance, and new features.

Just say “Ok Google”

You don’t need to touch the screen to get things done. When on your home screen* or in Google Now, just say “Ok Google” to launch voice search, send a text, get directions or even play a song.

A work of art

While listening to music on your device, or while projecting movies to Chromecast, you’ll see beautiful full-screen album and movie art when your device is locked. You can play, pause, or seek to a specific moment.

Immerse yourself

The book you're reading, the game you're playing, or the movie you're watching — now all of these take center stage with the new immersive mode, which automatically hides everything except what you really want to see. Just swipe the edge of the screen to bring back your status bar and navigation buttons.

Faster multitasking

Android 4.4 takes system performance to an all-time high by optimizing memory and improving your touchscreen so that it responds faster and more accurately than ever before. This means that you can listen to music while browsing the web, or race down the highway with the latest hit game, all without a hitch.

Smart & Simple

Google smarts improve every corner of the Android experience.

The future is calling

The new phone app automatically prioritizes your contacts based on the people you talk to the most. You can also search for nearby places and businesses, your contacts, or people in your Google Apps domain.

A smarter caller ID

Whenever you get a call from a phone number not in your contacts, your phone will look for matches from businesses with a local listing on Google Maps.

All your messages in the same place

Never miss a message, no matter how your friend sends it. With the new Hangouts app, all of your SMS and MMS messages are together in the same app, alongside your other conversations and video calls. And with the new Hangouts, you can even share your location and send animated GIFs.

Emoji everywhere

Sometimes words can’t express how you feel. For that, there’s Emoji, the colorful Japanese characters, now available on Google Keyboard.

Grab & Go

New features help you get things done while you’re on the move.

Print wherever, whenever

Now you can print photos, documents, and web pages from your phone or tablet. You can print to any printer connected to Google Cloud Print, to HP ePrint printers, and to other printers that have apps in the Google Play Store.

Pick a file, any file

From apps like Quickoffice, you can open and save files on Google Drive, other cloud storage services, or your device. And with quick access to recently used files, it's easier than ever to send the file you were just working on.

Your office, anywhere

Create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations from your phone or tablet with the newly redesigned Quickoffice

Even more features

For those of you looking to go deeper, here's an exhaustive list of all the updates found in Android 4.4, KitKat.

Check them out  

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Jelly Bean 4.2 A new and improved Jelly Bean

One tablet, many users.

It’s your fully customized tablet. And theirs, too. With support for multiple users, you can give each person their own space. Everyone can have their own homescreen, background, widgets, apps and games – even individual high scores and levels! And since Android is built with multitasking at its core, it’s a snap to switch between users no need to log in and out. Available only on tablets.

Share what's on your phone on the big screen.

Android 4.2 allows devices to enable wireless display. You can share movies, YouTube videos, and anything that’s on your screen on an HDTV. Just connect a wireless display adapter to any HDMI-enabled TV to mirror what’s on your screen quickly and easily.

Daydream

Browser has improved performance, CPU and memory efficiency. With better performance for animations and HTML5 canvases and an updated JavaScript Engine (V8), pages load faster and feel smoother.

Expandable, actionable notifications.

Android has always put you in control when it comes to staying notified and connected. Just swipe down from the top of the screen to see all your notifications in one place. Late for a meeting or missed a call? Take action in an instant.

Fast and smooth.

We put Android under a microscope, making everything feel fast, fluid, and smooth. With buttery graphics and silky transitions, moving between home screens and switching between apps is effortless, like turning pages in a book.
More reactive and uniform touch responses mean you can almost feel the pixels beneath as your finger moves across the screen. Jelly Bean makes your Android device even more responsive by boosting your device's CPU instantly when you touch the screen, and turns it down when you don't need it to improve battery life.

Beam photos and videos.

With Android Beam on Jelly Bean you can now easily share your photos and videos with just a simple tap, in addition to sharing contacts, web pages, YouTube videos, directions, and apps. Just touch two NFC-enabled Android devices back-to-back, then tap to beam whatever's on the screen to your friend.

Expandable, actionable notifications.

With Jelly Bean it's now even easier to personalize your home screen. As you place widgets on the screen, everything else automatically moves to make room. When they're too big, widgets resize on their own. Interacting with your favorite apps and customizing your home screen has never been easier.

Live in the Now.

Google Now brings you the information you need, when and where you need it, before you even ask. Google Now tells you today's weather before you start your day, or when the next train will arrive as you’re standing on the platform. With the latest version, you can see popular photo spots nearby, track packages easily, get information about upcoming movies, and much more.
See what's new in Google Now

A new look for Google Search.

It's easier than ever to quickly get answers, explore, and browse search results. Android also lets you search the web with your voice, and it's convenient for getting quick answers on the fly. It speaks back to you and is powered by the Knowledge Graph , bringing you a precise answer if it knows it, and precisely ranked search results, so you can always find out more.

Amazing Photo Sphere camera

Up, down and all around you, it’s like no camera you’ve ever seen. With Android 4.2, snap pictures in every direction that come together into incredible, immersive photo spheres that put you right inside the scene. View your photo spheres right on your phone, share them on Google+ with your friends and family, or even add them to Google Maps for the world to see.

Explore incredible photo spheres from photographers around the world.

A smarter keyboard, now with Gesture Typing

Writing messages on the go is easier than ever with Gesture Typing just glide your finger over the letters you want to type, and lift after each word. You don’t have to worry about spaces because they’re added automatically for you.
The keyboard can anticipate and predict the next word, so you can finish entire sentences just by selecting suggested words. Power through your messages like never before.
Android's dictionaries are now more accurate and relevant. With improved speech-to-text capabilities, voice typing on Android is even better. It works even when you don't have a data connection, so you can type with your voice everywhere you go.

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Jelly Bean 4.3

Restricted profiles for tablets

You can now limit access to apps and content at home and work. For parents, this means you can create parental controls and for retailers, you can turn their tablet into a kiosk.

Bluetooth Smart support

Bluetooth Smart minimizes power use while measuring and transmitting data for fitness sensors like Fitbit, Runtastic and other devices, making your phone or tablet more power efficient.

Dial pad autocomplete

Just start touching numbers or letters and the dial pad will automatically suggest numbers or names.

Improved support for Hebrew and Arabic

We’ve added more support for Hebrew and Arabic speakers with new builds for right­ to ­left layouts.

Even more features

For those of you looking to go deeper, here's an exhaustive list of all the updates found in Android 4.3, categorized for quick access to the changes.

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iOS 7.1 Camera Trick Lets You Take Sneaky Photos with Your iPhone

As with iOS 7.0.X, iOS 7.1 still allows users to take sneaky photos using a trick with the Camera app that was discovered shortly after iOS 7′s release. It’s most likely a bug that Apple still hasn’t fixed, even with the release of iOS 7.1.
A lot of places prohibit people from taking photos and video, like at concerts or art galleries, which can be a huge bummer, especially if you wanted to share that moment with friends and family who can’t be there. There are plenty of iPhone apps out there that allow users to take photos without the camera viewfinder showing, especially on jailbroken devices, but this neat trick in iOS 7.1 makes all of these apps obsolete.

We first spotted this neat trick back in November, and it’s an easy hack that allows you to take photos with the Camera app without having the app actively open or the viewfinder even showing. Here’s how to do it.

• Open up the Camera app and immediately after doing that, double-tap on the Home button to open up the app switcher. You should see the Camera app in the app switcher still live and the viewfinder still working.
• You can now explore your app switcher and scroll through your open apps while the Camera app is still live. You can even access the notification tray from the app switcher by swiping down from the top of the screen. This completely hides the Camera app while still keeping it open and ready to take pictures.
• To simply take a photo, press the Volume Up or Volume Down button (since the shutter button in the Camera app is hidden, obviously).

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3 Reasons You Should Use Facebook Messenger

Facebook Messenger is a terrific app that’s available for both iPhone and Android devices, and it makes it possible for users to chat with their Facebooks friends while on the go. Of course, if you’re near a computer, you can still use Facebook’s web chat interface and message platform, but we find the mobile app to be a lot more intuitive, and here’s why.
Facebook Messenger has been around for a couple of years now, but it wasn’t until recently that it became even more useful with Windows Phone support and the addition of a dedicated Groups tab for group messaging. Plus, it’s absolutely free and available on iTunes and Google Play.
Here’s why Facebook Messenger is superior to Facebook’s web chat and messaging platform, as well as the default Facebook mobile app.

Facebook Chat, Wherever You Go

While you can only use Facebook Chat when on a computer, Facebook Messenger extends that capability to mobile devices, allowing to chat with Facebook friends while you’re away from a computer and on the go. This is especially helpful if you want to continue a conversation, but need to head out for some reason (or the other person needs to relocate).
Of course, typing is a lot easier on a full-size keyboard, so the web interface is perfect for those wanting a full keyboard, but the ability to be mobile while still being able to chat with Facebook friends is a huge benefit to have.

Better Interface, Less Bugs

One thing I love about Facebook Messenger is the user interface; it’s simple, clean and easy to use. The same really can’t be said for the web interface. It seems like Facebook changes constantly every few months, and consistency is hard to come by when using the Facebook website. Plus, the separation between Facebook Chat and the Messages platform can be confusing for a lot of users. Facebook Messenger simply combines both platforms to make it easier to use.
Facebook Chat on the web is also full of bugs. Plenty of times I’ll mark a message as read, but it still shows up as unread whenever I come back to Facebook later on. I’ve never had this issue on the mobile app, and I’ve never come across any kind of bug on the app in the first place, making it a great app to use without a lot of aggravation.

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iOS 7.1 Review: Three Weeks Later (Performance & More)

Three weeks ago, Apple released iOS 7.1, its biggest update to iPhone and iPad since the release of the iOS 7 update back in September. Over the past three weeks, we’ve extensively used Apple’s new update and we’ve also seen new details crop up including iOS 7.1 problems that are plaguing iPhone and iPad users.
iOS 7.1 release date rumors all pointed to an arrival in March. Right on cue, Apple released the iOS 7.1 update for iPhone and iPad, an update that had been in the beta process since November.

As expected, the iOS 7.1 update arrived for all devices running iOS 7 and it delivered significant changes including UI tweaks, performance enhancements, and a number of bug fixes aimed at improving iOS 7. From the looks of things, iOS 7.1 also delivered some problems of its own as well.
With iOS 7.1 complaints mounting, and other various iOS 7.1 details emerging from the shadows, we want to take another detailed look at Apple’s brand new iOS 7 update for iPhone and iPad. Here, we offer thoughts on its performance after three weeks, we take a look at some of the iOS 7.1 problems that have emerged since its release and we roundup some of the more important iOS 7.1 details that have surfaced in the weeks since its release.

iOS 7.1 Performance

For the past three weeks, we’ve been using iOS 7.1 on a number of iPhones and iPads. Personally, I’ve been using it on three devices in particular including Apple’s former flagship, the iPhone 5, the new iPad Air and the new iPad mini with Retina Display. A week ago, I found iOS 7.1′s performance to be adequate and it’s now time to revisit the software and take a look at how it’s doing on these three devices.

iOS 7.1 for iPhone 5

iOS performance tendency to get worse over time, especially on the company’s older devices. My iPhone 3GS was doing great in the two weeks after the iOS 6 update but things quickly started to deteriorate. Fortunately, this hasn’t been the case with iOS 7.1 on the iPhone 5. iOS 7.1 remains a solid performer three weeks after its release.
Applications are running smoothly and the Facebook app hasn’t crashed in a week. All of my other core applications including Twitter, Spotify, Instagram, Dark Sky, Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, Convo, Yelp, and Netflix are all performing admirably.
Battery life is still extremely solid, 4G LTE and Wi-Fi are as fast as they ever have been, and I haven’t discovered any crazy bugs lurking on board my iOS 7.1 update for the iPhone 5. Maybe the most remarkable thing, at least to me, is that the software has retained its overall speed.
Apple changed some of the animations and transitions in the software in an effort to speed up iOS 7.1. The improvements were, and still are very noticeable on my iPhone 5. iOS 7.1 is very fluid and it’s a big reason why I’ve recommended the update to friends, family and readers.

iOS 7.1 for iPad Air

Performance on the iPad Air continues to be solid as well. I haven’t run into any significant problems with applications. Battery life remains stellar and yesterday I used the iPad Air virtually all day, it was a lazy Sunday, and its battery life dropped by about 20%. That’s pretty fantastic.

Apple made changes to the animations inside iOS 7.1.

Connectivity, at least Wi-Fi, remains solid and the speed of the software remains intact. Again, the speed difference wasn’t, and still isn’t, as significant as it was on the iPhone 5 but there is certainly some improvement. iPad Air owners that haven’t updated will seriously want to consider upgrading.

iOS 7.1 for iPad mini with Retina Display

iOS 7.1 on the iPad mini with Retina Display also continues to deliver fantastic all-around performance. I haven’t stumbled upon any major issues and the software is as fluid as it is on the iPad Air. Connectivity, both Wi-Fi and AT&T 4G LTE both remain solid, and battery life is as good as it was on the iOS 7 update. It’s an update that I certainly recommend, especially if you haven’t installed the iOS 7.0.6 update and its security features.

Others

Those are the three devices I’ve focused on though colleagues of mine have dove into iOS 7.1 on other devices. We’ve taken a look at the performance of iOS 7.1 on the iPhone 5s and iPad 3, Apple’s aging tablet that was released months before the iPhone 5.

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How To Stop Windows 8.1 From Adjusting Your Screen Brightness

Devices running Windows use an army of different sensors to make life easier for users. In Windows 8, Microsoft added the ability for Windows devices to detect how much light is in a room and adjust their screen brightness. Unfortunately, devices like the Dell XPS 13 notebook and Windows convertibles can be way too aggressive in turning down the backlight on a display. Sometimes Windows device makers even include their own software that adjusts screen brightness, leaving Windows users to adjust their brightness manually over and over again.
Here’s how to stop Windows 8.1  from adjusting your screen brightness without your permission.
Before we begin, it’s important to note that this tutorial is specifically for users running Windows 8.1, the free update to Windows 8. If things in the screenshots look unfamiliar to you go to the Windows Store and look for a banner that says Update to Windows 8.1. You’ll want to install that update before using this tutorial. Typically, the upgrade takes around an hour.
Go to the Start Screen by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard or the Windows button underneath your device’s display.

Place your mouse cursor in the top-right corner of your display to open the Charms Bar. Touch users should place their finger on the right edge of their display and slide their finger to the left slightly. Tap or Click on Settings.

Tap or click on Change PC Settings.

Tap or click on PC and Devices.

Tap or click on Power and Sleep. It’s the menu option on the left side that’s third from the bottom.

Now click or tap on the switch below Adjust My Screen Brightness Automatically.

You’ve successfully kept Windows 8.1 from adjusting your screen brightness.
It’s important to remember that flipping this switch has consequences. Windows adjusts the screen brightness so that it can save battery power. Without that ability you may find that a few of your devices simply don’t get as much battery life as they used to. It’s also important to remember to adjust the screen brightness yourself in different lighting conditions. Not doing so could lead to eyestrain and headaches. To adjust the screen brightness on your own, go back to the Settings menu and click or on the light bulb icon.

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