How To Install Windows 10 Insider Preview (Build 10130)

While Microsoft is working on the next version of Windows, you can get your hands on the latest preview that's available for free to anyone. You can sign up for this program, download the latest test version and install it on your computer or in a virtual machine. Here's how to get Windows 10 (Build 10130) and how to install it on your computer:

Signing up for the Windows Insider program

In order to download Windows 10 Insider Preview, you must sign up for the Windows Insider program. You need to have a Microsoft account to do this.

Go to the Windows Insider website and click or tap the Get Started button. Sign in with your Microsoft account.

You are shown the Participation Agreement and the Privacy Statement. You need to accept them to finish your registration. Scroll down and accept the Program Agreement, select your areas of interest and press the Submit button.

After submitting, you will be officially enrolled in the Windows Insider program. To download the ISO image file for installing Windows 10 from scratch, go to this address: Download Windows 10 Insider Preview ISO.

But, before you download Windows 10, read the next section in this guide.

Things to Keep in Mind

The Insider Preview version is a test version. Windows 10 still has many bugs, unfinished features and other issues like this. We strongly recommend that you do not install this as your main operating system on your computer. We recommend installing it in a dual-boot configuration, on a secondary PC or in a virtual machine.

The best virtualization applications that we have tested, which are capable of running Windows 10 are VMware Player, VMware Player Pro and VMware Workstation. VMware Playeris the only free product in this list.

Before you decide whether or not to install Windows 10, be sure to read the FAQ section on the Windows Insider website, and review its system requirements. Windows 10 demands the following:

• Processor: 1 GHz or faster, single core or multi core
• RAM: 1 GB for the 32-bit version or 2GB for the 64-bit one
• Free hard disk space: 16 GB
• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
• A Microsoft account and Internet access

Basically, if your PC can run Windows 8.1, you're good to go.

After you review the requirements, you can decide if you need a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows 10. Scroll down the download page, click the language that you want the system to be in and then download the appropriate ISO file.

Also, write down the product key mentioned on the download page. You may be asked to enter it, in order to validate your test version of Windows 10. At the time this article was written, the Windows 10 product key was: 6P99N-YF42M-TPGBG-9VMJP-YKHCF. This will work only until the final version of Windows 10 is released, and only with Insider Preview versions of Windows 10.

How To Install Windows 10 Insider Preview

After you have downloaded the ISO file, you should burn it onto a DVD or use the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool to copy it onto a USB flash drive. You'll want to use this if your computer does not have an optical drive or you simply want the installation to go faster. If you are installing Windows 10 in a virtual machine, you don't need to burn the ISO or copy it, you'll just mount it before you start the virtual machine.

Now it's time to turn on your virtual machine or boot your computer using the DVD or the USB flash drive that you created, with the Windows 10 setup.

Once the necessary files are copied, the setup starts by asking what language, time, currency and keyboard input settings you want to use. Make the selections you prefer and click Next.

Click or tap Install now to start the installation.

As we mentioned earlier, you may be asked to enter the product key for Windows 10. If that happens, enter it. If not, you'll be shown the license terms. Click or tap "I accept the license terms" and then Next.

Next, you are asked for the installation type. As you are installing Windows 10 from scratch, click or tap "Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)".

Now you are asked to select where you want to install Windows. Select the partition that you want to use for Windows 10 and press Next.

The installation starts. The setup takes a few minutes to copy all the required files and install the Windows 10 operating system.

Once the installation is done, the setup program will automatically reboot your system several times, to run the first-time configuration scripts. You just need to wait patiently for the process to finish.

How To Personalize Your Windows 10 Installation

After the reboots are finished, you are greeted with a first-time setup message, where you can select whether you want to use the Windows 10 recommended settings or customize each setting individually. We prefer to customize everything, so let's press Customize settingsand review each setting together.

Windows 10 asks you if you agree to send information such as contacts and calendar details, typing data or your location to Microsoft and/or some of their trusted partners. For each type of information, you can use the appropriate switch in order to send it or not. When you're done, press Next.

You are now able to set the default behavior of your browser, networks and error reports. You can enable the SmartScreen online services, choose if you want Windows browsers to preload pages, automatically connect to open hotspots and so on. Change the things you are interested in and click or tap Next.

You are now asked to confirm the ownership of your Windows 10 device. If you are its owner, select I do. If the device belongs to an organization (for example, the company you work at), select My organization, and you will be able to use your company account in order to sign in and access your resources. We chose the I do option.

You are asked to sign in with your Microsoft account. Enter your credentials and click or tapSign in.

After entering your email and password, in order to sign in, Windows 10 recommends that you create and use a PIN, instead of your password. We also recommend that you do that, because the PIN you create only works for the device you're installing Windows 10 on now. If you use your Microsoft account on more than one device, each of them has its own PIN. To create a PIN, click or tap PIN me!. Otherwise, select Skip this step.

You will have to enter the PIN you want twice, for confirmation. Note that, by default, a PIN has 4 digits. However, if you want to use more (or fewer) digits, you can deselect the option to "Use a 4-digit PIN". Once you're done, press OK.

And then… you get to meet Cortana, your personal assistant. This screen is purely informative, so after taking a quick look at what Cortana can do for you, click or tap Next.

Windows 10 takes a while to prepare your computer, your apps and all the settings. The process may also involve a restart. When it’s done, you are logged into Windows 10 and you can view the Desktop.

Congratulations, you have installed Windows 10 Insider Preview!

Conclusion

At least so far, the Windows 10 installation process is similar to that of Windows 8.1. Things may change in upcoming test builds so this may not be how the final setup process will look like. Before you go, we would like to remind you that you should not install the Insider Preview as your main operating system. It is best to use it as a secondary operating system or to install it in a virtual machine. We hope that you found this guide useful and, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask in the comments section below.

Simple Questions: What is a Windows Live ID or a Microsoft account?

Have you been using devices, tools or services from Microsoft? Then, at some point you might have been asked to provide a Windows Live ID. In Windows 8 you have been asked for a Microsoft Account. Never understood what they are and why you need them, let alone the benefits of having them? If that’s the case, then you should read this article, as it will explain everything you need to know about the Windows Live ID, also called Microsoft Account.

What is Windows Live ID/Microsoft Account?

The question is relatively simple to answer - Windows Live ID or Microsoft Account is an ID composed from an e-mail address and password, which you can use to login to most Microsoft websites, services and properties such as: Hotmail, Xbox Live, all Windows Live services (including SkyDrive and Messenger). It can be used also on your Windows computer, to enhance parental controls for the user accounts used by your children. In Windows 8 it is used to get access to all its features, including integration with Skydrive or to use the application Store. Windows 8, at least so far, is the only place where you will encounter the naming Microsoft Account instead of Windows Live ID. They are the same thing though.

Do I Have a Windows Live ID/Microsoft Account?

How do you know if you have a Windows Live ID? Easy - are you using any of these services: Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger or Xbox Live? If you are, then you already have a Windows Live ID. Use the same e-mail and password to log in to any other websites or services requesting a Windows Live ID.

How to Create a Windows Live ID/Microsoft Account (With or Without a Microsoft E-mail Address)?

If you don’t have a Windows Live ID, you can easily create one by completing all the required forms on the Windows Live Signup Page. When you complete the form, Microsoft proposes that you create an ID using one of their e-mail services (Hotmail or Live.com).

If you already have an e-mail address from another provider and you don’t want to create a new one with Microsoft, you CAN use that one instead. On the signup page, look for a link saying: "Or use your own email address". Click on it and wait for a slightly different form to load.

Complete your existing e-mail address, a password and all the other requested details, and you will have your Windows Live ID created in no time.

Watchout: If you create a Windows Live ID using an existing email address, it is best not to use the same password. Create a different password for your Windows Live ID. In this case, if the password for any of these two accounts gets stolen, the "hacker" won’t have access to both services.

What’s In It For Me?

I guess by now you are asking yourself: Why should I create a Windows Live ID/Microsoft Account? What do I get by having it?

The simple answer is - easy access to almost all Microsoft products, services, properties and websites. Create an ID if you are using or planning to use:

• Any of the tools in the Windows Live Essentials suite.
• Devices such as: your Xbox console and the Xbox Live service, your Zune media player or your Windows Phone 7.
• Get a free e-mail account from Microsoft (Hotmail or Live.com).
• Use all the features included with Windows 8.

Conclusion

If you are the "geek type", using lots of devices and tools, you will surely need to create a Windows Live ID/Microsoft Account at some point. I hope this tutorial manage to explain the full picture about it. If you still have any questions left, don’t hesitate to ask using the comments form below.

How To Turn Your Windows 8, 8.1, 10 Device Into A WiFi Access Point

Previous editions of Windows allowed users to create ad hoc wireless connections between computers. You could use those connections to create a wireless network between multiple computers or to share the Internet connection that was available on one of them. This can no longer be done in Windows 8.1, at least not using a visual interface and the mouse. However, with the help of the Command Prompt and a few commands, you too can turn your Windows 8.1 laptop or hybrid device into a WiFi access point. Here's how:

NOTE: Lots of readers have asked us for a way to automate the steps described in this tutorial. That is why we have updated the tutorial and created a small program, which aims to automate the steps involved in this process, as much as possible. You can find more information and the download link at the end of the article. However, we do recommend that you read the whole article before using our program, so that you understand how to use it.

What You Need In Order For This To Work

In order to use your Windows 8.1 laptop or hybrid device as an WiFi access point for other devices, it must have at least 2 network cards installed and one of them must be a wireless network card. One of them must be connected to the Internet.

Setup scenarios we tested that worked great include:

• One laptop using its Ethernet connection for Internet access and its WiFi adapter to broadcast - use a network cable to connect your Windows  8, 8.1, 10  laptop to the Internet and the wireless network card for the access point that's sharing the Internet access with other devices.
• One laptop that is connected to the Internet through a USB mobile modem and broadcasts the wireless network through its WiFi adapter - many users will have a USB mobile modem available with 3G or 4G connectivity. They can use it for Internet access and use the wireless network adapter for creating the access point and sharing the Internet access with others.
• One laptop and two wireless network adapters, one connected to the Internet and the other acting as an access point - you won’t find this situation too often, as laptops and hybrid devices don't come with two wireless network cards installed. However, you can install a USB wireless adapter and use it for creating the access point.

Step 1. Create A Virtual WiFi Network in Windows  8, 8.1, 10 

To begin, we'll need to open the Command Prompt with administrative privileges and use a command to create a virtual wireless network that is broadcasted by your Windows 8, 8.1, 10  device.

To show you how this is done, we will create a wireless network called Hotspot. The password for this network will be "Allsoftlearn".

Inside the Command Prompt window, type the following command:

netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=Hotspot key=Allsoftlearn

Notice that the name of the network is set using the SSID parameter and the password is set using the KEY parameter. Obviously, you can set your own values for them.

To create the access point, press Enter. If all goes well, you should see that the hosted network has been set.

Now you have created a virtual adapter that can function as a wireless access point for other computers and devices in your area. However, in order for it to work, you need to take one more step: turn on this virtual adapter.

Do not close the Command Prompt. Keep it open and enter the following command:

netsh wlan start hostednetwork

Then, press Enter.

The virtual wireless adapter is now started and shown in the Network and Sharing Center.

You can connect all your devices to the newly created wireless network. However, it has no Internet access. If you stop at this point, when you connect other devices and computers to the newly created access point, you can create a network between them and use it to share files and resources.

Step 2. Allow Internet Access For The Devices That Are Connected To The Virtual WiFi Network

Open the Network and Sharing Center. Notice that the virtual network adapter you just created is displayed as active, but it has no Internet access at this time.

Click or tap the connection of the physical network adapter that currently has Internet access. In our case, it is an Ethernet connection.

This opens the Status window for the selected network adapter. Click or tap Properties.

In the Properties window, go to the Sharing tab.

In order to give Internet access to the virtual WiFi adapter that was created earlier, check the box near "Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection".

Then, select the virtual adapter that was created earlier.

Click or tap OK and Close to save the settings you've made.

Go back to the Network and Sharing Center and you will notice that the virtual network adapter now has Internet access.

The virtual adapter now gives Internet access to all the devices that are connected to it.

How to Display Alternate Content to AdBlock Users

Ad blocking software like AdBlock and Ghostery are installed on millions of computers and thus affecting the bottom line of web publishers who are dependent on online advertising networks like Google AdSense to pay their bills. It takes time and effort to maintain a website but if the visitors are blocking ads, the revenues are reduced. Ars Technica says this is equivalent to running a restaurant where people come and eat but without paying.

As a website publisher, you have a few options. You can detect Adblock on the visitor’s computer and hide your content if the ads are being blocked. That’s going too far but you may ask for donations (OK Cupid does this) or request social payments (Like or Tweet to view the whole page) from AdBlock users.

The other more practical option is that you display alternative content to people who are blocking ads. For instance, you may display a Facebook Like box or a Twitter widget in the place of ads, you may run in-house ads promoting articles from your own website (similar to Google DFP) or you may display any custom message (see example>>>)

to the visitor.

Before we get into the implementation details.  It contains regular AdSense ads but if you are using an Ad blocking software, a Facebook Like box will be displayed inside the vacant ad space.

It is relatively easy to build such a solution for your website. Open your web page that contains Google AdSense ads and copy-paste the following snippet before the closing

tag. The script looks for the first AdSense ad unit on your page and if it is found to be empty (because the ads are being blocked), an alternative HTML message is displayed in the available ad space.

You can put a Facebook Like box, a YouTube video, a Twitter widget, an image banner, a site search box or even plain text.

<script> 
  
  // Run after all the page elements have loaded
  window.onload = function(){ 
  
    // This will take care of asynchronous Google ads
    setTimeout(function() { 
      
      // We are targeting the first banner ad of AdSense
      var ad = document.querySelector("ins.adsbygoogle");
      
      // If the ad contains no innerHTML, ad blockers are at work
      if (ad && ad.innerHTML.replace(/\s/g, "").length == 0) {
        
        // Since ad blocks hide ads using CSS too
        ad.style.cssText = 'display:block !important'; 
        
        // You can put any text, image or even IFRAME tags here
        ad.innerHTML = 'Your custom HTML messages goes here';
      
      }
      
    }, 2000); // The ad blocker check is performed 2 seconds after the page load 
  }; 
  
</script>


One more thing. The above snippet only detects blocking of AdSense ads and replaces them with alternate content. The process would would however not be very different for BuySellAds or other advertising networks.

Find How Many Visitors Are Not Seeing Ads on your Website

Adblocking software like AdBlock Plus have become mainstream and now pose a significant threat to web businesses that are dependent on online advertisements. The problem is so severe that Google and Amazon are paying the writers of AdBlock Plus to whitelist their ads. This may be seen as some kind of extortion but with billions of dollars at stake, the advertising companies have chosen to take the more profitable route.

It is estimated that ~5% of website visitors are blocking ads (PDF report) and the situation could be far worse for websites that have a more tech-savvy audience. If you are curious to know how many people visiting your own site are blocking AdSense and other ads, here’s a little trick.

Track Adblock Users with Google Analytics

Open your website template and copy-paste the snippet below before the closingbody. This code will detect the presence of adblocking software on the visitor’s browser and, if found, an event gets logged into your Google Analytics account.

<script> 
  
  window.onload = function() { 
  
    // Delay to allow the async Google Ads to load
    setTimeout(function() { 
      
      // Get the first AdSense ad unit on the page
      var ad = document.querySelector("ins.adsbygoogle");
      
      // If the ads are not loaded, track the event
      if (ad && ad.innerHTML.replace(/\s/g, "").length == 0) {
 
        if (typeof ga !== 'undefined') {
 
            // Log an event in Universal Analytics
            // but without affecting overall bounce rate
            ga('send', 'event', 'Adblock', 'Yes', {'nonInteraction': 1}); 
 
        } else if (typeof _gaq !== 'undefined') {
 
            // Log a non-interactive event in old Google Analytics
            _gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'Adblock', 'Yes', undefined, undefined, true]);
 
        }
      }
    }, 2000); // Run ad block detection 2 seconds after page load
  }; 
  
</script>

The snippet works for both Universal Analytics and the older version of Google Analytics tracker that used the _gaq object. As a web publisher, your only option is to serve alternate content to AdBlock users so the visitors at least see some content in place of the ads.

One big caveat though – it will fail if the ad blocking extension installed on the visitor’s computer has blocked Google Analytics as well. Some of the popular choices like μBlock, NoScript and Ghostery do block Google Analytics so the approach won’t work and you may have to build your own in-house solution – like downloading an image hosted on your own server and then counting the hits to that image through the Apache server logs.

Create an Apple ID without using a Credit Card

Some apps, Google Earth for example, are available as free downloads in the iTunes Apps store but you need a UK or US based Apple ID to install them on to your iPad or Phone. Similarly, some iBooks and podcasts have geo restrictions and may only be available to iTunes users who are logged in with an Apple ID for one of the available countries.

The workaround is simple. You can create multiple Apple IDs – like one for UK and another one for US Apps Store – and easily switch between them inside iTunes. So if you are signed-in from India, you can switch to the US store, login with your US based Apple ID and download the app that is otherwise not available in the Indian Apps Store.

There’s however a problem. When you create a new Apple ID, iTunes will require you to enter your credit card and the billing address of your card should be in that country. In other words, you need a US based credit card or PayPal account to create a Apple ID for the US iTunes Store. Apple will not let you create an Apple ID without entering valid payment information (see screenshot above).

That said, you can take an alternate not-so-obvious route in iTunes to create an Apple ID for any country without requiring a credit card. Here’s how:

Create Apple ID in iTunes without your Credit Card

1. Launch the iTunes software on your computer and sign-out of your existing Apple ID. Choose Store in the menu and select Sign-out.
2. Next scroll to the bottom of the iTunes page, click Change Country and select one from the list for which you need an Apple ID. Alternatively, you may click the country’s flag to switch to the iTunes store of another region.
3. Now open the Apps Store inside iTunes, select any app that is free and click the Get button to download that App.
4. iTunes will now prompt you to enter your Apple ID and password. Do not enter your existing Apple ID. Instead, click the Create Apple ID button, agree to the terms & conditions, enter your email address &amp password and minimum age.
5. Proceed to the Payments screen and here you’ll see a new option that says NONE (see screenshot below). Select the None option, enter a dummy postal address and submit to create your new Apple ID that will be valid in the iTunes store of that country.

If you have kids at home, you can use this trick to create a separate Apple ID for the iPads, one that is not associated with your credit card and so they’ll never be able to make any accidental purchases.

An Easier Way to Create a New Apple ID

If you need another Apple ID but do not intend to use it with the iTunes store for download apps, there’s an easier way. Go to icloud.com, click the Create Apple ID link and choose a different country from the dropdown. Your Apple ID will be created instantly but if you decide to use it for downloading iTunes content later, you’d still need to supply the credit card.

You Cannot Create An Apple ID Because You Do Not Meet The Minimum Age Requirement

You need to be at least 13+ years old to create an Apple ID inside iTunes. However, if you enter an incorrect date, iTunes will refuse to create your Apple ID and no matter how many times you try the process, you will keep getting an error saying “you cannot create an Apple ID because you do not meet the minimum age requirements.”

This is most like a caching related bug in the iTune software but can be easily. Open Preferences inside iTunes, switch to the Advanced tab and choose Reset Cache. Quit iTunes and launch the Safari browser. Go to Preferences and under Privacy, choose the option “Remove all Website date” to clear the cache.

Open iTunes again, try downloading an app and it should not allow you to create an Apple ID without issues. Thanks Mahendra for the tip.

How I Make Software Demos using Animated GIFs

Animated GIFs, like the ones you see below :

are easy to produce and can be used for short software demos, help videos and everything else that doesn’t require audio narration. Here are some reasons why an animated GIF may be a better alternative to screencast videos:

• People love sharing animated GIFs on social sites, especially Tumblr and Google Plus. Facebook doesn’t support animated GIFs yet but that could change.
• Animated GIFs render inside any browser without requiring plugins and, best of all, you may embed the GIF images in your email newsletters as well.
• Now that Google Image Search supports GIFs, your image-only screencasts have a better chance of getting discovered. Remember to use proper Alt and Title tag swith the images.

Bret Victor’s excellent writeup on Learnable Programming includes several micro-videos that explain the concepts of programming. Bret has used HTML5 (MP4) videos but such short video demos are also a perfect candidate for GIF animations.

Screencasting with Animated GIF Images

I have previously written a guide on creating GIF screencasts using a free tool called Screencast-o-Matic but there are a few downsides with that approach – one, you need Java on your machine to record the screencast video and second, the GIFs carry a watermark (or you upgrade to the paid version).

There are other alternatives though.

The GIF screencasts that you have seen on Digital Inspiration are mostly produced with Camtasia Studio. When you are done recording your screen with Camtasia, press Ctrl+P to open the Production Wizard, choose Custom Production Settings from the drop-down and then select GIF for the file format.

                 Produce animated GIF screencasts with Camtasia Studio

GIF files can become large and it is therefore important that you choose the most optimized encoding options. Set Colors as “Automatic” or choose a lower value for lower file size. The Dithered Color Reduction should be selected only when you are producing GIFs from videos but not for regular screen recordings.

If you are not using Camtasia, LineCAP is a good option – it is a free and light-weight utility available for both Mac and Windows.

With LineCAP, you can record your screen as well as save the recording as an animated GIF in a single step. Launch the program and adjust the frame such that it entirely encloses the scene. Hit the “Record” button, choose a name for your GIF file and start the demo. You may also move the capture frame during the recording. LineCAP produces good quality GIF screencasts and animations are smooth though the files are often large in size.

The other choice would be that you record a screencast video, use any of thesescreencasting tools, and then use a GIF encode to convert the video file into a GIF. Instagiffer and QGifer are easy-to-use tools for making GIFs from video.

                             Make Animated GIFs from Screencast Videos

Instagiffer is Windows-only and more popular while QGifer is open-source and available for Mac, Windows and Linux. If you are planning to make a short video demo or screencast that is not more than 10-20 seconds long, consider producing an animated GIF image.