Extra steps required to run Windows 10 Creators Update on a Mac via Boot Camp

Why it matters to you

So you want to run Windows 10 Creators Update on your Mac via Boot Camp? It’s possible, but you’ll need to take some extra steps first.

Using an Apple Mac and Boot Camp can offer up the best of both MacOS and Windows 10, depending on how you use your machine. If you don’t absolutely require every Windows 10 feature, such as touch and pen support, then running Microsoft’s OS on your Mac can provide for some real flexibility.

Apple’s Boot Camp utility basically lets you split your storage space between the two operating systems, and then dual-boot between them. If you want to use Boot Camp with Microsoft’s latest and greatest Creators Update, however, then you’ll need to take some extra steps.

More: Here’s how you can start using the Windows 10 Creators Update today

Specifically, according to both Microsoft and Apple support pages, you can’t simply clean install Creators Update via Boot Camp. If you do, you’ll get a Stop error that pops up the code “0xc000000f” in winload.efi. That’s just technical jargon meaning that the installation will fail and you’ll need to use Apple’s Boot Camp Assistant to remove the Windows partition and start over. The Apple support page tells you what to do if this is your situation.

Instead, you need to be running Windows 10 Anniversary Update and then upgrade from there. If you’re starting from scratch, then you’ll need to use the Anniversary Update ISO image file for your Boot Camp installation, which you can get here. Note that you’ll need to access this page from a MacOS machine to see the ISO download option — if you’re on a Windows 10 machine, then you’ll be redirected to the Media Creation Tool page instead.

Then, on your Mac, go to “Before you begin” on the Microsoft support page and select the proper edition of Windows 10 Anniversary Update. Download the ISO, and then use it with the Boot Camp Assistant utility as usual. Once that’s done, either wait for Microsoft to push the Creators Update to you or install it manually using the Windows 10 Update Assistant app, which you can get here on your Windows 10 Boot Camp installation by clicking “Update now.”

Windows 10 Creators Update isn’t as significant an update as its predecessor, but it nevertheless adds some nice new 3D functionality, a few other enhancements, and major privacy and security benefits. Just remember that if you want to run it on your Mac via Boot Camp, you’ll have to jump through a couple of hoops first.

Logitech adds support for webcam users affected by Windows 10 Creators Update

Why it matters to you

If your Logitech webcam stops working once you install the Creators Update, here’s what needs to be done to solve the problem.

The Creators Update is almost upon us, and over the last few weeks we’ve seen Microsoft doing everything in its power to iron out bugs and glitches before its official debut on April 11. However, as with any major update to an operating system as all-encompassing as Windows, there are some problems that couldn’t be intercepted ahead of time.

As of yesterday, the Creators Update became available to users who are eager enough to perform a manual download, according to a report from On MSFT. Already, it’s being reported that certain Logitech cameras might lose video or even go undetected by the PC due to incompatibility with the update.

It seems that the Brio range of webcams is worst affected, but at this stage it’s difficult to diagnose the extent of the issue. However, Logitech has already published documentation that will help users solve the problem and return their webcams to a functional state.

More: Here’s how you can start using the Windows 10 Creators Update today

The fix seems to be pretty straightforward. Users are advised to open up Device Manager and check to see whether there’s a yellow exclamation next to the webcam, or its name is listed as “unknown” — if this is the case, essential drivers didn’t load properly.

Users simply need to right-click and select “Update Software,” before checking “show compatible hardware” and picking ‘USB Video Device’ from the list they’re presented with. The company’s instructions state that “Logitech Brio” may appear as an alternative option, but that shouldn’t be selected.

This kind of minor issue can only be expected from an update that’s set to be distributed to the hundreds of millions of devices already running Windows 10. There are always going to be minor hiccups, and if they’re taken care of as swiftly as this webcam glitch, there shouldn’t be too much disruption for users.

Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong denies charges as bribery trial begins

Why it matters to you

South Korea’s trial of the century has kicked off, and its embattled defendant, Lee Jae-yong, has denied any fault in his initial court appearance.

In his first court appearance in what is being called “the trial of the century,” Samsung executive and company board Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong denied claims that he sent bribes to South Korea’s former president in order to expand his influence over the company. Lee is also being charged with embezzlement and perjury.

According to the official charges, the Samsung leader, who is essentially the acting chairman and is the third generation of his family to run the company, offered $38 million in bribes to the now-imprisoned Park Geun-hye, as well as her close friend Choi Soon-sil. His lawyers have said that evidence suggesting any wrongdoing is “based on presumptions,” and have pledged to engage in a lengthy lawsuit that could last past the end of this year.

More: Master your Samsung Galaxy S8 with these tips and tricks

While Samsung has admitted to the massive payment amounts, the company has insisted that they were not meant to help the organization in any way. The prosecution, of course, disagrees, noting that the large sums were meant to win the official green light for a controversial merger of Samsung affiliates in 2015. This merger is said to have been instrumental in giving Lee further control over Samsung.

Defense lawyers argued that Lee did not need the government’s assistance in completing the deal.

While the ongoing trial is certainly a concern for Samsung, it doesn’t seem to have significantly hamstrung its business. On Friday, the company announced a 48-percent increase in estimated operating profits for the first quarter of 2017. Estimated revenue did not appear to change, staying steady at $44 billion. But with the company gearing up to release its first flagship phone since the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, it seems as though Samsung could certainly benefit from undistracted leadership at this contentious time.

These robots can talk to one another to ‘see’ around factory corners

Why it matters to you

Locus’ autonomous warehouse robots just got a whole lot smarter, thanks to a new software update that allows them to talk to each other.

Anyone who has ever worked as part of a team (which, in today’s hyperconnected world, is virtually everyone) will know that things work better when people talk with one another. This way knowledge gets shared, collaborations become possible, and individual successes or mistakes are collectively learned from.

Why would you think that things would be any different in the world of robotics?

That’s exactly what the folks at Locus Robotics have been proving with a major new software update for their factory robot LocusBots. LocusBots are autonomous warehouse robots, capable of moving autonomously through a space and then transporting items from where they’re picked off shelves to the place they’re packaged into boxes and shipped out. Previously this was done individually, with each robot working in isolation. Thanks to the new LRAN system — short for Locus Robotics Advanced Navigation — it’s now a team effort.

“It’s like a real-time indoor Waze for robots,” Locus president Mike Johnson told Digital Trends. “With this technology, robots can literally see around the corner.”

Johnson’s not referring to new X-ray abilities for the company’s factory bots (although that does give us a good idea for a future startup). Instead, he’s talking about a way that LocusBots can share data with one another to help make them collectively smarter. This is where the Waze comparison comes in, referring to the smartphone app which enables drivers to alert one another of road conditions as they drive.

More: These beefy autonomous warehouse robots can carry up to 3,300 pounds at a time

“The challenge we’re responding to is that the facilities these robots are working at are huge,” Johnson continued. “We call them unstructured environments because they have a lot of equipment, a lot of people, and they change quickly. There are products coming in and products going out all the time. Our goal is to make things simple for operators. We want them to bring in robots and immediately see an increase in performance. The big change we’ve made to achieve this is giving robots the ability to collaborate. Rather than robots that just follow paths, these robots talk among one another, sharing information about the environment they’re in, and doing this in real time.”

The new system debuted at this week’s industry trade show ProMat in Chicago. At the show, six LocusBots were shown navigating the floor, avoiding bumping into each other or any humans that happen to get in their way. It’s an impressive demonstration of real-time route planning and crowdsourced information — and Johnson said it works as well with 50 or 100 robots as it does with six.

It’s also a nifty example of how robots can become more efficient, even without having to be physically retooled.

“While we have improved the hardware over time, this is all about the software,” he said. “The great thing about software today — including the software that we use — is that it can be pushed out, and within minutes all of our robots have it. It’s like a Tesla, where suddenly they have this new navigation system that lets them operate better.”

So will robot collaboration one day go beyond this so that, for instance, multiple robots could help one another perform impromptu tasks on the warehouse floor as and when needed?

“I think that will be there,” Johnson concluded. “Right now, robotics is on the early part of the adoption curve. We’re seeing a lot of interest, and a lot of fascinating work done with sensors. I do think that we’ll see some more interplay as these robots collaborate in new and different ways.”

Huawei must honor patent judgment or face U.K. ban of its phones

Why it matters to you

Huawei’s on the hook for royalties. The U.K.’s High Court has ruled that the company must pay licensing fees or face a ban of its products.

Huawei, the Shenzhen, China-based company behind the top-of-the-line P10, is in hot water over a U.K. copyright dispute. On Thursday, the country’s English and High Wales Court handed down a judgment that could threaten the company’s ability to sell smartphones in the U.K.

It stemmed from an ongoing intellectual property battle between Huawei, Google, and Samsung, and Unwired Planet, a holding company. In 2014, Unwired Planet alleged that all three firms had infringed on six patents related to networking standards. Google settled in mid-2015, but Samsung and Huawei counterclaimed on the basis of the U.K.’s competition law.

More: Look who BlackBerry’s suing now!

In a series of trials that ran between October 2015 and July 2016, Huawei argued that five of those were standard-essential patents (SEPs) — patents which by law must be licensed on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms. But U.K.’s High Court of Justice Chancery Division Patents Court wasn’t entirely persuaded.

On Wednesday, Justice Birss said that Unwired Planet hadn’t run afoul of the U.K.’s competition law, and that it hadn’t abused its position by seeking compensation.

“The FRAND licence between Unwired Planet and Huawei is a worldwide licence,” he wrote in the court’s judgement. “Since Unwired Planet have established that Huawei have infringed […] and since Huawei have not been prepared to take a licence […] a final injunction to restrain infringement of these two patents by Huawei should be granted,” Birss J ordered.

More: BlackBerry enters the patent lawsuit game as it does battle with Avaya

Huawei originally offered to pay 0.034 percent of revenues on 4G equipment, but Unwired Planet wanted 1.69 percent on 4G handsets and 2.29 percent on Huawei’s cellular network equipment.

The court awarded Unwired 0.051 percent on 4G equipment and 0.052 percent on handsets, with rates of 0.032 percent on 3G phones, 0.016 percent on 3G infrastructure, and similar rates on 2G kit and phones.

Intellectually property firm EIP, which represented Unwired Planet during the trial, said it would exercise its right to ban Huawei products from sale if the smartphone maker didn’t agree to the court’s terms.

More: Happy holidays, Apple! Santa delivers a patent lawsuit from Nokia

“The latest judgment, which sets out the basis on which Unwired Planet will be compensated for Huawei’s past infringements, also makes clear that unless Huawei agrees to enter into a worldwide licence for Unwired Planet’s patent portfolio, Huawei could be [enjoined] from selling its mobile telephones in the U.K.,” the lawyers said in a statement.

Huawei said that it welcomed the court’s decision to reduce Unwired Planet’s suggested licensing rates, and that it would evaluate the judgement before proceeding. “We welcome the decision by the Court that Unwired Planet’s royalty rate demands have been found to be unreasonable,” a Huawei spokesperson said. “Huawei is still evaluating the decision, as well as its possible next steps. Huawei does not believe that this decision will adversely affect its global business operations.”

MacOS drivers for Nvidia Pascal graphics cards are coming soon

Why it matters to you

If you run an older Mac Pro, you may soon be able to upgrade your graphics solution to something much more capable.

Nvidia is bringing top-tier graphics to Apple hardware in the very near future, with the announcement that MacOS drivers for its Pascal based graphics cards — the GTX 1000 series — are coming soon. This has some wondering if add-in graphics cards may be making a comeback in Apple systems.

Although hardly known for their gaming capability, Apple desktop systems used to have the option for a PCIExpress graphics card. However, that has not been the case since 2013, when Apple released the Mac Pro cylinder design. Since then, everything has had an onboard graphics processor (GPU) of some kind, but perhaps not in the future.

That would be a big win for Nvidia if it was the case. It doesn’t have anywhere near the stake in the onboard graphics chip market that AMD and Intel have, but it does control a majority of the add-in GPU market. If Apple were to start offering upgradeable graphics cards to Mac Pro users in the future, Nvidia would likely benefit the most.

More: Nvidia claims the pricey Titan Xp is the new graphics card performance champion

With that in mind, there is the possibility that Nvidia has made this announcement to try and court Apple. Knowing that the Cupertino, California, company is considering changing up the design of its Mac Pro significantly, it could be that Nvidia is making it clear that it’s willing to play ball with Apple and should the company need desktop-grade graphics cards, it will be ready and willing to support it.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Nvidia is instead marketing its Pascal cards to the niche Hackintosh community, as well as those running older Mac Pro towers — though that latter group would likely see severe CPU bottlenecking if they opted for anything close to top-end Pascal cards.

Hackintosh users aren’t too common but as Anandtech points out, it is a vocal one, so perhaps Nvidia has heard its calls and wants to solidify its dominance with desktop GPUs in all markets.

That could be reason enough for Nvidia to make this move. Keeping its hardware working everywhere its wanted keeps it in the forefront of people’s minds as arguably the top graphics card maker in the world. While supporting Apple hardware might be a very small part of its business, keeping support there leaves no stone unturned for potential profits and brand recognition.

Chromebooks with AMD hardware may be coming in the near future

Why it matters to you

AMD-powered Chromebooks could provide a whole host of new options for those looking to pick up a budget laptop.

The rumor mill is gradually spooling up with the idea that AMD hardware could soon find its way inside a Chromebook. While we don’t have any solid proof, the evidence is mounting, which could lead to not only better choices for consumers in that budget laptop space but also increased competition for existing manufacturers.

Although it seems like only yesterday that AMD’s Chief Technical Officer Mark Papermaster said Chromebooks were not a good fit for its chips, several interesting mentions of AMD have been spotted in the Chromium repositories over the past five months. First, there was an AMD-Powered board codenamed “Jadeite” and in March another, called “Kahlee,” appeared, according to Liliputing.

While we have not heard much more about that former entry, the latter has made another appearance, this time in the Corebook code review (via Phoronix). That particular machine is said to come with two M.2 storage slots, but more crucially, an AMD Stoney Ridge processor.

More: Samsung’s new Chromebooks should make Microsoft and Intel nervous

Don’t get too excited Ryzen fans, this isn’t a new, top-of-the-line AMD processor but one of its APUs: A combo chip that packs both a CPU and decent graphics chip on the same die. It would be unrealistic to expect a Ryzen CPU to make an appearance in a Chromebook now, not only because of cost but because AMD has only released desktop variants of that design so far.

However, if indeed the door has been opened into the Chromebook space for AMD, we could well see other variants of it in the future. It could be interesting to see how the Chrome OS would perform on AMD hardware and how Intel and ARM may respond to the new competitor in their mobile midst.

While those other two firms have strong presences in the mobile computing game, AMD has a firm stake there too and has typically provided strong graphical support with onboard hardware. It could be that AMD’s entry into the Chromebook market brings greater graphical performance, or at least greater graphical competition in the low-cost, alternative OS laptop game.

Looking for a new tablet? Survey shows customers prefer Microsoft Surface

Why it matters to you

Sure, tablets are not the most popular devices on the market, but if you need one, better go with Microsoft.

Tablets aren’t the most popular of mobile devices on the market, but of the ones that are available, it looks like customers are most partial to those made by Microsoft. On April 7, J.D. Power announced that Microsoft won the award for U.S. Tablet Satisfaction, edging past Apple and its iPad. This marks the first time the Seattle-based company has won the award, which has previously been claimed by the iEmpire.

Microsoft’s aggregate score of 855 points out of 1,000 (Apple achieved 849) was due largely to its tablets’ high marks in terms of features and styling and design factors. “These [Microsoft] tablet devices are just as capable as many laptops, yet they can still function as standard tablets. This versatility is central to their appeal and success.” said Jeff Conklin, vice president of service industries at J.D. Power in a release.

More: How to root your Android phone or tablet in 2017 (and unroot it)

Customers were most impressed with Microsoft in three performance areas — pre-loaded applications, internet connectivity, and availability of manufacturer-supported accessories. As it turned out, Microsoft Surface owners also use their accessories the most (in particular the Type Cover and Surface Pen). Tablet enthusiasts were also impressed with Microsoft’s variety of input/output connectivity and the amount of internal storage.

And while Apple generally hangs its hat on design, it would appear that customers are quite taken with Microsoft’s aesthetics, too. Indeed, when it came to tablets, Microsoft won over users in terms of tablet size, quality of materials, and attractiveness of design. That said, both Apple and Samsung produce tablets that leave customers quite happy as well, but just not quite as happy as Microsoft, apparently.

On the other end of the spectrum were Acer and Asus, who this year were below average when it came to customer satisfaction. Amazon, surprisingly enough, scored in the middle of the road — apparently, book lovers are quite pleased with its e-reading options.

So if you’re looking for yet another device to add to your stash, you may want to look at Windows and its Surface tablet.

Moto E4 and E4 Plus: News and rumors

Why it matters to you

Moto’s E devices have been darlings of the budget-conscious smartphone crowd and the E4 should give customers even more bang for their buck.

Motorola’s E line has proved over the last several years that you can spend double digits on a new smartphone and still get a quality experience. Last year’s Moto E3 launched in the United Kingdom for just 99 pounds ($122), with features like a quad-core processor, LTE, a Micro SD slot, a generously sized battery, and 5-inch 720p display — alongside a slightly more premium variant known as the E3 Power. Now, rumors indicate that Moto is looking to further drive the value proposition forward with two new devices: The Moto E4 and E4 Plus.

Although it is still early, we have some details on what to expect from Moto’s upcoming bargain smartphones.

More: Here’s everything we know about Lenovo’s second-generation Moto Z

Specs

Almost everything we think we know about the hardware powering the Moto E4 comes to us by way of the Federal Communications Commission, which certified two Motorola devices with model numbers XT1762 and XT1773 in March. These are believed to represent the E4 and E4 Plus, respectively, and were discovered by Roland Quandt.

Motorola E4 (I think) at FCC as Moto XT1762 (EMEA DS model) w/ 16GB, LTE, 2,4GHz WiFi, 2800mAh, BT4.2, Android 7.0: https://t.co/KqUHdYwfOI

— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) April 4, 2017

The FCC report mentions a 2,800mAh battery for the XT1762 and a massive 5,000mAh battery for the XT1773. Quandt followed the release of these documents with a short list of alleged specs for the standard E4. According to his tweets, we will see 16GB of storage — an appreciable improvement over the E3’s 8GB — as well as LTE, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 low energy, Android 7.0 Nougat, and most notably, another MediaTek chipset.

Last year’s Moto E3 devices launched in September, so there is likely a very long way to go until we see the E4 debut — and a lot of time for more leaks. Look for updates to increase as we approach the fall.

Users are already remapping the Bixby button on the not-yet-launched Galaxy S8

Why it matters to you

Planning on buying a Galaxy S8, but you’d prefer to use Google Assistant instead of Bixby? For now, it seems you can do just that.

Well, that was fast. People are already remapping the Samsung Galaxy S8’s Bixby button to whatever they like — and evidently, all it takes is a simple app install.

The answer to the question everyone has been asking comes to us by way of Homeguy123 on Reddit, who appears to have sidestepped Samsung’s new virtual assistant despite being under the watchful eye of a Best Buy representative. In the short video, the user presses the Bixby button to launch Google Search — though it could theoretically call up any app or command, including Google Assistant.

More: Bixby sees unofficial port to Galaxy S7 and other Samsung Nougat devices

The app that makes all of this possible is known as All in One Gestures, and based on the promotional images featuring what looks to be an original HTC One, it’s actually been kicking around the Google Play Store for quite a while. After enabling all the necessary permissions, including the app’s accessibility service, you can add the button as a custom key and free it from Bixby’s chains. XDA Developers goes into greater detail on its blog if you’d like to try it yourself, but it really is a shockingly simple process that many assumed would take time and ingenuity on the part of developers, rather than a years-old app.

It should also be somewhat unnerving news for Samsung, considering everything the company has staked on its new virtual assistant. Back in March, Injong Rhee, Samsung Mobile’s head of research and development, told us at the company’s Suwon, South Korea, headquarters that he believes all devices that support Bixby should feature a dedicated key, and that phones are merely its first destination.

Samsung envisions a network of smart devices unified through Bixby. But that confidence is largely dependent on users adopting and becoming familiar with its assistant, the same way they have with Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. Being able to avoid it this easily hinders the realization of that goal, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung found a way to patch this loophole down the road.