Short Takes Weekly: What went on in the world of Microsoft for the week of July 27-31, 2015

This week in the news: It's all about Windows 10 -- from how to get it to how to install it, from how to personalize it to how to uninstall it, from what to do in it to how to get rid of it.

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What to Expect for Windows 10 in 2015 — The Windows 10 that started public delivery on July 29 is just essentially just a framework. This fall, brace for updates include OneDrive fixes, better Skype integration, and extension support for Microsoft Edge.

How to revert back to your previous OS after a Windows 10 upgrade — Whether it's incompatible software, slow hardware, or any other number of things, here's how to undo that which you had done.

How To: Reclaim Real Estate on the Windows 10 Taskbar by Modifying How Cortana Displays — If you don't want to use Cortana, or do want to use her but also get back some taskbar space for more pinned program icons. Windows 10 provides the ability to customize how Cortana is displayed.

Best Buy is ready to assist you with Windows 10 for a price — Good news! You can offload your family IT woes on to Best Buy for marvelously low prices

Wireless Networks Missing After Windows 10 Upgrade — The problem results from having VPN software that is not quite Windows 10 compatible when the upgrade is performed.

The Old-Style Control Panel is Just a Right-Click Away in Windows 10 — If you want to find some of the older-styled mechanisms, look no further than the new Windows 10 Start button. Simply right-click on the Start button and you're reintroduced to some old friends.

Your crash course in Windows 10, from installation to personalization — Make your Windows 10 upgrade process and subsequent use smoother by keeping this page bookmarked; we'll be including all our Windows 10-related help here.

How to make sure your free copy of Windows 10 is activated — We've got a four-step checklist that walks you through the process.

How To: Change Email Sync Frequency in the Windows 10 Mail App — Microsoft chose to make "Based on usage" the default for your notifications. Here's how to change your sync options.

How To: Fix the 80240020 Windows 10 Installation Error — If you receive an 80240020 error, but it’s a notice that the Windows 10 download was either interrupted (unfinished) or corrupted. Here's how to fix the problem.

Windows 10 Clean Install using the Media Creation Tool —  One of the big questions over the last few months about the release of Windows 10 was clean installing onto a former Windows 7 or 8.1 system and retaining proper activation of the subsequent Windows 10 install. Here's how Richard Hay answered that question. This is a step-by-step guide with screengrabs

Windows 10 - Create install media or download ISO from Microsoft — If you understand the terms USB, ISO and installation media then you can jump the reservation line and begin your Windows 10 installation right now. This is a step-by-step guide with screengrabs.

Enrolling in the Windows Insider Program post Windows 10 release — Why would you want to? Because Windows Insiders who have upgraded Windows 7 or 8.1 systems will have valid activated installations of Windows 10 with an option to enroll in the post release Insider program.

How To: Fix the 80240020 Windows 10 Installation Error — There's not much additional information given if you receive an 80240020 error, but it’s a notice that the Windows 10 download was either interrupted (unfinished) or corrupted. So here's how to fix that.

How To: Email Management for Touchscreens in the Windows 10 Mail App — The new Mail app that comes with Windows 10 utilizes some of the Windows 8.1 swipe capabilities but also adds a few new ones. Here's how to manage your mail in the app.

Meet Eric Hutchinson, the man behind the music of the Windows 10 Future Starts Now commercial — The singer/songwriter talks about the story behind the song, and what kind of relationship he's got with Microsoft.

How To: Require Ctrl-Alt-Del Logon for Windows 10 — "If you're one of those that just really loved the way Windows used to require the 3-finger salute (Ctrl-Alt-Del) to logon, you can re-enable that in Windows 10 to add an extra level of logon security."

After Windows 10 installation: What you'll need to do to clean up — Once you have settled into your new Windows 10 installation and are satisfied with how everything works you can do a simple maintenance task that will save you a significant amount of space on your device.

Windows 10 upgrade and installation FAQ: We figured out who pays and who doesn't — If you're a Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 user and you're looking to upgrade to Windows 10, there's no shortage of opportunities to be confused about whether or not you'll be paying for the upgrade, or when you have to start paying for upgrades.

Windows 10 downloads begin on Windows 7 and 8.1 systems — For users of Windows 7 and 8.1 systems that are running the Get Windows 10 App and reserved their copy of Windows 10 it appears those background downloads have begun today.

Top 5 areas to update and customize after your Windows 10 upgrade — Once your upgrade to Windows 10 is complete, you will arrive in the new OS ready to go with your compatible apps, programs and all of your files waiting for you. Take these five steps for a better Windows 10 experience.

Patch for crashing on Windows 10 after update KB3074681 released to Insiders — The Windows team went to work addressing the issue and just a short while ago released KB3074683 on Windows Update to replace the faulty patch KB3074681.

Mandatory updates on Windows 10 — Whether you agree with mandatory updates or not the course of events this weekend relating to the issues caused by KB3074681 worked exactly to plan.

Windows 10 Update KB3074681 causing crashes for users — Don't worry: We've got the workaround.

Microsoft Acknowledges New Issues with Windows Media Center Switchover — The switch to Rovi as a provider brings Windows Media Center in line with the Xbox One. The Xbox One uses Rovi to provide channel guide listings. One can assume that Microsoft expects to promote the Xbox One experience. Microsoft has promised a Windows Media Center replacement sometime in the future and this might possibly be the beginnings of that promise fulfilled.