Web User - UK (2020-02-05)

72 5 - 18 February 2020

Upgrading Windows was
a win-win situation
In Issue 491 (bit.ly/webuser491), you
published an article explaining how to
upgrade Windows 7 (or Windows 8) to
Windows 10, despite Microsoft ‘pulling’
this free update some time ago. With the
deadline of 14 January fast approaching,
when support for Windows 7 was due to
cease, there suddenly became an urgent
need for me to upgrade.
Having to upgrade two of the
Windows 7 laptops in my family, I dunked
both feet into the water, followed your
advice and successfully upgraded one
laptop to Windows 10 Pro and the other
to Windows 10 Home. Your article
potentially saved me several hundreds of
pounds – so, many thanks. Incidentally,
activating the update to Windows 10
using my current Windows 7 licences
was done automatically.
Web User has lots of useful tips, tricks
and up-to-date news and information.
I have been contemplating buying a
subscription for many months now, to
savemoremoneycomparedtothe

newsstand price. So with such a windfall

saving on upgrading my laptops to

Windows 10, I have taken the plunge and

signed up to a Web User subscription.

A win-win-Windows situation.

Neville Haneef, via email

Confused by mobile calls

in the US

I regularly visit the US and can never

seem to get a clear answer about using

my iPhone there. Many years ago, I

would buy dual-band mobile phones and

simply switch bands upon arrival, but this

is now out ofdate.

My main problem

is dialling frommy

iPhone to my

sister’s iPhone

when she is also

in the US. In the

past, it appeared

easiest to actually

purchase twocheap

mobiles whilein theUSandtwopay-as-

you-go SIMs,oneforcallinginsidethe

country and theotherforcallingtheUK.

However, thiswasverytime-consuming

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Quiz Answers: Issue 493

The Four

Seasons

Water Music

A Night on the

Bare Mountain

The Magic

Flute

Carmen Suite

Moonlight

Sonata

A

s Windows 7 is apparently

no longer safe to use, and

Microsoft is urging us all to

switch to Windows 10, I wonder how

long it will be before we’re next

warned about a looming expiry date

that we weren’t previously aware of.

Perhaps in 2023, Microsoft will have

changed its mind about Windows 10

being the “last version of Windows”,

and we’ll be told that we need to

upgrade to Windows 11 or risk infecting

our PCs with malware and leaving

them open to hackers.

When I buy food from the

supermarket, I’m always careful not

to purchase items that are due to go

out of date the next day and always

Technology should carry an expiry date

check the ‘Best before’ and ‘Use by’

information. This is especially true with

perishables such as milk, fish and eggs,

which can quickly turn nasty after their

expiration dates and make you quite ill if

you consume them without checking.

Perhaps technology companies should

also start being more transparent about

when their products are due to expire,

so that we don’t waste our time and

money on things that aren’t going to

last. Windows 7 PCs were still on sale

five years ago, so people who bought

one then must be miffed that they’re

now being told to ditch them.

Likewise, I’ve yet to own an Android

phone or tablet that didn’t give up the

ghost after two years (conveniently,

once the warranty had run out), yet I

don’t remember seeing any warnings

about their limited life. If I’m paying a

lot of money for technology, I expect it

to have a decent innings, but it’s too

much to expect these companies to be

honest with us.

George Shepard, via email

Star Email

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Inbox and http://www.twitter.com/webusermagazine

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