Microsoft Windows 10 will be out on July 29th

Microsoft promised to launch Windows 10 in the summer, and now the company is revealing an exact date: July 29th. The official date comes weeks after AMD CEO Lisa Su revealed that Microsoft would launch Windows 10 in late July. Microsoft’s aggressive timing means that the company will be looking to finalize its features for Windows 10 very soon. Recent preview builds of the operating system continue to include many changes to features, and a number of issues and bugs.

Microsoft now has less than two months to fix all these issues and bugs before it launches Windows 10 to the world. That’s slightly concerning given the state of the operating system right now, but recent preview builds have started to look and feel more final, indicating that Microsoft is making progress. A lot of Windows 10’s new features are part of universal Windows Apps, and the software company can easily update these even before many consumers buy new machines with Windows 10. Microsoft also has the option of releasing direct operating system patches up to and after general availability. Windows 8 launched with a big update available on the first day, and many separate app updates. Windows 10 looks set to continue that trend.

To get the word out about Windows 10, which is available as a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 users, Microsoft is also dropping a notification into users' task bars. Clicking on the pop-up brings up a slideshow explaining the benefits of Windows 10 before giving users the option of entering their email address to reserve their copy. However, while the free upgrade is certainly generous, some users have complained that the notification is "intrusive," while others say its unexpected appearance made them think they'd been infected with malware. Still, Apple delivers notifications about its own free upgrades to OS X in the same way, and pop-ups seem a fair trade for not paying to upgrade your operating system.

Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) review

Introduction
Almost a year later we are getting the second generation Moto E, which improves on the basics established by its affordable predecessor. The Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen) continues the legacy of a lag-free Android system provided by a powerful hardware set on a bargain price. This time however, the build quality is noticeably better and the screen size is more adequate.

Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)

The new Moto E got a tiny .2" screen bump to 4.5", but keeps the resolution at 540 x 960px presented on an IPS LCD matrix. The Snapdragon 410 chip is in charge of operations on the new Moto E (2nd Gen) for an even better and faster performance. There is LTE connectivity, too, plus the internal storage got doubled to 8 gigs. Finally, camera geeks will be happy to learn the camera has been improved with auto-focus and HD video recording.

Oddly, Motorola will be also offering a slightly less-capable 3G model, which is powered by the rather dated Snapdragon 200 chip, while keeping the rest of the novelties. Let's explore the complete feature list.
Key features

Available as a Dual SIM models on certain markets (HSPA+ XT1506) and (LTE XT1521)
4.5" qHD (540 x 960 pixels) IPS LCD display with 245ppi; Corning Gorilla Glass 3
LTE model (Cat. 4 LTE 150Mbps): 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU; Adreno 306 GPU; Snapdragon 410 chipset
3G model (HSPA+): 1.2 GHz quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, Adreno 302 GPU; Snapdragon 200 chipset
1GB of RAM
5MP auto-focus camera; 720p video capture; 0.3MP front-facing snapper
8GB of built-in memory; microSD card slot, up to 32GB
Optional Dual SIM connectivity, dual-standby
Wi-Fi b/g/n; Bluetooth 4.0; GPS/GLONASS; FM radio, USB OTG
2.390 mAh battery
Android 5.0 Lollipop OS (5.1 most likely on the way)
Customizable Motorola Band side strips

Main disadvantages

Battery is not user-replaceable
3G model comes with a dated chipset
No dual-band Wi-Fi
Uses 32-bit Android OS despite 64-bit CPU

The Snapdragon 410 upgrade, which offers LTE connectivity is the most welcome new feature with the Moto E (2nd Gen). We really doubt many people will go for the lesser 3G model, which seems behind the curve, but maybe with a proper pricing it could serve as a good alternative. The build quality on both devices should be identical and it's a huge improvement on the last year's Moto E. The lack of removable battery is probably the biggest flaw of the new Moto E, but then again that's where most of the droids, including the Moto series, are heading today.