Best printers of 2015

More often than anything else, we get the question, "What's the best printer for me?" It's a tough question to answer, because it all depends on what you want to do with your printer. Whether you want a high-quality printer, an all-in-one workhorse, a compact photo printer, or a simple single-function inkjet, we've got you covered. We've picked the five printers, across all categories, with the highest CNET rating from the past calendar year to satisfy your curiosity. If you're interested in specific categories, check out our top products lists on the left.

Brother MFC-J470DW

If you only have $100 to spend on a multifunction inkjet printer for the office, you'll have a hard time finding a faster performer with ink refills as cheap as the Brother MFC-J470DW.

Price: $91.99 Check prices

4 stars Excellent

Epson XP-420

Don't be fooled by its small stature: the Epson Expression Home XP-420 all-in-one inkjet printer forges ahead of the competition with its compact footprint, cloud connectivity options and its ability to print high-quality snapshots directly from an Android phone or iPhone.

Price: $69.99 Check prices

4 stars Excellent

Samsung Xpress M2020W

If you don't need color output or the extra utility of a fancy all-in-one, the compact Samsung SL-M2020W laser printer has an impressive roster of features for an unbeatably low price.

Price: $52.80 - $94.24 Check prices

4 stars Excellent

Brother HL-L2360DW

The HL-2360DW is a strong choice if you're shopping for a text-only printer that can print from the cloud and won't empty your wallet on toner refills.

Price: $109.97 - $125.87 Check prices

4 stars Excellent

Canon Pixma MG5620

A journeyman's all-in-one inkjet, the Canon Pixma MG5620 is a capable machine with easy set-up and an attractive set of features.

Price: $69.99 - $97.99 Check prices

3.5 stars Very good

See all printers

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Compate Windows 10 Editions

Microsoft has finally created tables outlining what the different versions of the operating system are going to feature. It was back in May that they finally announced all of the versions of Windows 10 that are coming, but the actual features of each version was still a mystery. We could of course take an educated guess based on history, but as of today there is finally a list of all of the features broken down by version.

As a refresh, on the PC there are four basic versions. Home and Pro are the two that will be available for most people to purchase, and Enterprise is available to customers with volume licensing agreements. There is also an Education edition targeted towards that market.

As expected, Home has the fewest features available. Much like previous versions, there is no support to join an Active Directory domain, but that was not expected either. One thing that many users were hoping to see on Windows 10 Home is BitLocker support. BitLocker is Microsoft’s drive encryption suite, and Windows 10 Home does not have this unfortunately. There can still be encryption, but only as part of InstantGo, which was formerly known as Connected Standby. InstantGo is Connected Standby plus device encryption, and that is available to Home.

Windows 10 Pro keeps support for Remote Desktop, and it can of course join an Active Directory domain just as in prior versions. It also has access to the new Windows Update for Business service, but it must be kept on the Current Version branch.

Enterprise and Education are very similar, and both offer practically the same feature set. The one big difference is that Enterprise customers can opt into the Long Term Servicing Branch whereas Education customers cannot.

Pro, Enterprise, and Education also have access to the Business Store for Windows 10, and even the Home version supports side-loading of business apps.

One thing that is nice to see is that all versions feature support for Mobile Device Management, although the Home version will not have this support initially and it will be added at a later time.

Source: Microsoft via ZDNet

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Introducing Windows 10 Editions

Windows 10 is coming this summer in 190 countries and 111 languages. Today, we are excited to share more details on the Windows 10 Editions.

We designed Windows 10 to deliver a more personal computing experience across a range of devices. An experience optimized for each device type, but familiar to all. Windows 10 will power an incredibly broad range of devices – everything from PCs, tablets, phones, Xbox One, Microsoft HoloLens and Surface Hub. It will also power the world around us, core to devices making up the Internet of Things, everything from elevators to ATMs to heart rate monitors to wearables. No matter which Windows 10 device our customers use, the experience will feel comfortable, and there will be a single, universal Windows Store where they can find, try and buy Universal Windows apps.

Introducing Windows 10 Editions

As in the past, we will offer different Windows editions that are tailored for various device families and uses. These different editions address specific needs of our various customers, from consumers to small businesses to the largest enterprises.

Windows 10 Home is the consumer-focused desktop edition. It offers a familiar and personal experience for PCs, tablets and 2-in-1s. Windows 10 Home will help people do great things, both big and small. With it, they will be more productive and have more fun thanks to a long list of new innovations: Cortana, the world’s most personal digital assistant; the new Microsoft Edge web browser; Continuum tablet mode for touch-capable devices;Windows Hello face-recognition, iris and fingerprint login; and right out of the box, a broad range of universal Windows apps like Photos, Maps, Mail, Calendar, Music and Video*.

We are also bringing the Xbox gaming experience to Windows 10, giving games and gamers access to the Xbox Live gaming community, enabling the capture and share of gameplay and giving Xbox One owners the ability to play their Xbox One games from any Windows 10 PC in their home.

Windows 10 Mobile is designed to deliver the best user experience on smaller, mobile, touch-centric devices like smartphones and small tablets. It boasts the same, new universal Windows apps that are included in Windows 10 Home, as well as the new touch-optimized version of Office. Windows 10 Mobile offers great productivity, security and management capabilities for customers who use their personal devices at work. In addition, Windows 10 Mobile will enable some new devices to take advantage of Continuum for phone, so people can use their phone like a PC when connected to a larger screen.

Windows 10 Pro is a desktop edition for PCs, tablets and 2-in-1s. Building upon both the familiar and innovative features of Windows 10 Home, it has many extra features to meet the diverse needs of small businesses. Windows 10 Pro helps to effectively and efficiently manage their devices and apps, protect their sensitive business data, support remote and mobile productivity scenarios and take advantage of cloud technologies. Windows 10 Pro devices are a great choice for organizations supporting Choose Your Own Device (CYOD) programs and prosumer customers. Windows 10 Pro also lets customers take advantage of the new Windows Update for Business, which will reduce management costs, provide controls over update deployment, offer quicker access to security updates and provide access to the latest innovation from Microsoft on an ongoing basis.

As we announced earlier this year, for the first time ever, we are offering the full versions of Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Mobile and Windows 10 Pro as a free and easy upgrade for qualifying Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 devices that upgrade in the first year after launch.** Once you upgrade, you have Windows 10 for free on that device.

Windows 10 Enterprise builds on Windows 10 Pro, adding advanced features designed to meet the demands of medium and large sized organizations. It provides advanced capabilities to help protect against the ever-growing range of modern security threats targeted at devices, identities, applications and sensitive company information. Windows 10 Enterprise also supports the broadest range of options for operating system deployment and comprehensive device and app management. It will be available to our Volume Licensing customers, so they can take advantage of the latest innovation and security updates on an ongoing basis. At the same time, they will be able to choose the pace at which they adopt new technology, including the option to use the newWindows Update for Business. With Windows 10, Enterprise customers will also have access to the Long Term Servicing Branch as a deployment option for their mission critical devices and environments. And as with prior versions of Windows, Active Software Assurance customers in Volume Licensing can upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise as part of their existing Software Assurance benefits.

Windows 10 Education builds on Windows 10 Enterprise, and is designed to meet the needs of schools – staff, administrators, teachers and students. This edition will be available through academic Volume Licensing, and there will be paths for schools and students using Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro devices to upgrade to Windows 10 Education.

Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise is designed to deliver the best customer experience to business customers on smartphones and small tablets. It will be available to our Volume Licensing customers. It offers the great productivity, security and mobile device management capabilities that Windows 10 Mobile provides, and adds flexible ways for businesses to manage updates. In addition, Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise will incorporate the latest security and innovation features as soon as they are available.

There will also be versions of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise for industry devices like ATMs, retail point of sale, handheld terminals and industrial robotics and Windows 10 IoT Core for small footprint, low cost devices like gateways.

Moving forward

We are making strong progress with Windows 10, and we are on track to make it available this summer. And because we have built Windows 10 to be delivered as a service, this milestone is just the beginning of the new generation of Windows. Starting this fall, customers can expect ongoing innovation and security updates for their Windows 10 devices, including more advanced security and management capabilities for businesses.

Customers will continue to help us create Windows 10 even after this summer’s initial release, thanks to the 3.9 million and growing Windows Insiders who are helping us build and test Windows 10. We are grateful for this invaluable feedback that is helping us offer the best Windows ever – for businesses and consumers – across all devices. You, too, can join the Windows Insider Program today and begin experiencing Windows 10.

We are incredibly excited about the innovation in Windows 10 that will be delivered through these editions. Please watch for more information at Windows.com as we move even closer to launch.

Tony

* Cortana will be available on Windows 10 at launch in select markets. Windows Hello requires a specialized, illuminated infrared camera for facial recognition or iris detection or a finger print reader which supports the Windows Biometric Framework. Apps and services may vary by market.

** More information about the free upgrade offer can be found at Windows.com.

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How to Lock Down Your Android Tablet or Smartphone for Kids

Google has added more and more parental control-style features to Android over the years. You can give a kid his or her own restricted user account, lock access to a specific app, or restrict what websites kids are allowed to use.

Depending on the version of Android you have and your device manufacturer, you may not have some of these options — or they may look a little different.

Restrict Access to a Single App

If your device has Android 5.0 Lollipop or newer, you can “pin” a specific app to your phone or tablet’s screen. You can then hand your Android tablet or phone to a kid and that kid won’t be able to leave the specific app until you enter a PIN.

This means you could launch a game and pin it, handing it over and knowing a kid won’t go through your email or look up any inappropriate content. Or, if you want your kids using a specific educational app, you can ensure they’ll stay in that app.

To use this feature, you’ll need to open the Settings screen, select Security, and activate “Screen pinning” under “Advanced.” Tell Android to ask for your PIN or unlock pattern before unpinning the app. Next, open the app you can to pin, tap the “Overview” button to show the list of open applications as cards, and swipe up. Tap the pin on the bottom-right corner of an app’s card.

To leave a pinned app, hold the “Overview” button. You’ll be asked for your PIN or pattern if you configured that option.

Set Up a Restricted Profile on a Tablet

Android Lollipop offers restricted profiles, a feature that arrived in Android 4.3.  Restricted profiles are only available on tablets — not smartphones. With a restricted profile, you can create a special user account that only has access to specific apps and content you allow.

Google added multiple user accounts to Android in Android 4.2, but only for tablets. With Android 5.0 Lollipop, multiple user accounts are now available on phones as well as tablets. However, restricted profiles are still only available on tablets.)

To create a restricted profile, head to the Settings screen, tap Users, tap Add User, and tap Restricted Profile. You can then lock down the profile and switch between the restricted profile and main user account from the lock screen. (Switching back to the main user account will require your PIN or whatever other unlock method you use.)

Theoretically, restricted profiles allow you to restrict access to specific content in some apps. In practice, app developers have to implement this. You’ll mostly be able to choose which of the apps installed on your device the child’s profile has access to.

Set Up Web Filtering

Unfortunately, Android’s restricted profile feature doesn’t provide a way to restrict adult content from being accessed through Google Chrome or other web browsers.

If you want to do this, you have two options. You could visit Google Play on your Android device and install a parental-control or web-filtering app. Or, if the Android device will just be using your Wi-Fi network to access the web, you could configure parental controls on your router. if your router doesn’t offer such built-in parental control features, you could switch your DNS server to OpenDNS and use its parental controls.

We’d encourage you to use OpenDNS and its well-regarded parental controls if possible, as many of the Android web-filtering apps seem to not work too well. They may also require paid subscriptions.

Google Play Parental Controls

The Google Play Store has its own parental control features. To access them, open Google Play on a device, tap the Menu button, tap Settings, and tap Parental Controls. Enter a special parental control PIN here and you can set age restrictions for what types of apps, movies, videos, music, and books a device can download. Anyone using the device won’t be able to download or purchase this type of content without the PIN. However, these restrictions only apply to the Google Play Store — uncensored content is still available through the web browser.

You can also further lock down Google Play to block expensive in-app purchases.

Other Parental Control Apps

Due to Android’s flexibility, the Google Play Store is full of “parental control” apps that provide some amount of lock-down features. These will allow you to set up a special application launcher that can only launch approved apps for a child, for example. These shouldn’t be quite as necessary if you have access to the “restricted profiles” feature. If you do have access to the built-in Android parental control features above, the main reason to install a separate app is torestrict access to websites.

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You could also use the guest account built into Android Lollipop for this, or create a separate user account (on tablets with Android 4.2 or later, or phones with Android 5.0 or later). These accounts can’t be “locked down” with parental controls, but they will ensure your kid is kept out of your main user account so they can’t go through your email or tamper with other sensitive data.

The guest user account is different because it can be wiped in between uses, while Android will preserve a standard user account or restricted profile’s data and settings.

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Windows 10 has seven editions – here’s how to tell which is for you .

After announcing seven different versions of Windows 10, some Internet users took to the comments with their disdain of Microsoft’s often profuse release system while others argued that its extensive offerings are necessary for businesses seeking advanced customization options. In any case, it’s irrefutably important that our readers understand the intended purpose of each edition — from Home all the way to Mobile Enterprise.

Windows 10 Home

Meant for the everyday consumer, Windows 10 Home brings all of the essential features expected of the OS to laptops, desktops, and 2-in-1 computers, ideal for at-home personal use.

In a seemingly endless lists of firsts for the upcoming operating system, Windows 10 will pioneer the successor to Internet Explorer, named Microsoft Edge (previously dubbed Project Spartan). Although Windows 10 Home will serve as the base option for users looking to surf the net, the new upcoming Internet browser will accompany every edition of the forthcoming OS. For touch-capable devices, Windows 10 Home will be compatible with Continuum, which allows users to navigate desktop functionalities with the simplistic look and feel of a mobile platform.

Along with the expected general purpose apps like Photos, Maps, Mail, Calendar,Music, and Video, the entry-level Windows 10 Home will even add Xbox One integration, allowing gamers like myself the ability to access our game libraries from the comfort of any preferred Windows 10-powered device. All of these features will also be available in other versions of Windows.

In short: This is the version most consumers will want for their PC.

Windows 10 Mobile

Opting to omit the Windows Phone brand, Microsoft announced Windows 10 Mobile back in January as a means of universalizing the Windows operating system. In contrast to Windows Phone, which offered a distinctly different app library than its desktop correspondent, Windows 10 Mobile promises to deliver parity in its software offerings. Assuming the replete product matches the company’s promises, Windows 10 Mobile could finally serve as Microsoft’s answer to the much more ubiquitous iOS and Android platforms.

Every install of Windows 10 Mobile presents a new and allegedly improved version of Microsoft Office. Described by corporate VP Joe Belfiore as a “nearly no compromise experience,” Office for mobile promises the same customary features you’re used to on your PC. Familiar programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be ready for use right out of the box, though some Windows Phone users may find it necessary to upgrade their devices before they’re able to take advantage of these tools.

Essentially, prospective adopters of Windows 10 Mobile can, in the best case scenario, look forward to everything they love about the Windows desktop experience, optimized for portability. Everything from Outlook to the Photo app will be integrated with the desktop OS, employing a greater dependency on cloud storage services like OneDrive than ever before.

In short: This is the version of choice for Windows Mobile phones and tablets

Windows 10 Pro

Expanding upon features found in Windows 10 Home, Pro comes packed with a few additional workings that Microsoft claims will “meet the needs of small businesses,” according to a statement published on the company’s official blog. Like with Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 Pro is intended for use on PCs, tablets, and 2-in-1s.

Windows 10 Pro will institute Windows Update for Business, a forthcoming Microsoft initiative designed to help businesses reduce costs by presenting more efficient controls over security improvements while simultaneously permitting real-time software updates.

Supplying device and app management tools like Secure Bootand Device Guard, Windows Update for Business will also ensure that only trusted applications can be initiated when the device is powered on and thereafter. Lastly, it provides cloud technology support required by organizations endorsing CYOD (Choose Your Own Device) programs.

In short: PC enthusiasts and small businesses will want this edition

Windows 10 Enterprise

Expanding upon features addressed in Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise is being constructed with medium to large sized corporations in mind. Demonstrating its ideas of quintessential protection from security breaches, Microsoft assures that Windows 10 Enterprise “[will provide] advanced capabilities to help protect against the ever-growing range of modern security threats targeted at devices, identities, applications and sensitive information.”

Like with Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise will be packaged with Windows Update for Business while also adding Long Term Servicing Branches, allowing businesses to refuse functionality-centric software updates while accepting only security-related amendments.

This version of the operating system will be only distributed through the Volume Licensing program, meaning Windows 10 Enterprise will be intended for purchase in bulk. Consumers typically aren’t allowed to order the operating system through this program.

In short: Established businesses and other large organizations should go for this; consumers can’t easily purchase it

Windows 10 Education

To those complaining about an over saturation of Windows variations this time around, you may want to consider that most of these won’t even be intended for public use. Akin to its predecessors, Microsoft invites educators to secure a version of Windows 10 contrived explicitly for academic purposes.

While it’s unclear how it differs specifically from the alternatives, Microsoft has revealed that, like Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows 10 Education will be distributed through its Volume Licensing program, and that both schools and students will be equipped to upgrade from the vanilla Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro edition using designated procedures scheduled to be announced in the near future.

In short: It’s not entirely clear how this will different from Enterprise, this presumably will be the edition of choice for schools and universities

Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise

Similar to Windows 10 Enterprise on the desktop, Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise is being developed for users of Windows-enabled smartphones in the workplace. Likewise, most of its features bear resemblance to the standard Windows 10 Mobile OS.

Once again available only to Volume Licensing customers, Mobile Enterprise aims to offer a Windows 10 Mobile facsimile with the consent of corporate regulation. It lets organizations administer software updates and control system modifications by users. Meanwhile, features related to security and innovation will be added automatically, ensuring real-time protection of users while abstaining from the hindrance of organizational oversight.

What’s more, variants of Windows 10 Enterprise and its mobile counterpart will be installed in industry technologies such as ATMs, retail POS devices, handheld terminals, and robots found around the globe.

In short: This is for organizations that want to roll out a standardized device policy for employee phones and tablets

Windows 10 IoT Core

Perhaps the most unusual, and interesting, rendition of the new operating system arrives in the form of Windows 10 IoT Core. This new version of Microsoft’s historically consumer-focused operating system will, interestingly enough, runcustomizable versions of Windows 10 on household appliances like smart thermostats, factory machinery, and yes, even toasters.

Instead of using your thermostat to play Hearthstone, like one might surmise at first glance, the IoT version of Windows 10 will instead emphasize the connection between communication devices and household appliances. For instance, with the help of IoT core, the day might be looming when preheating your oven with the assistance of a smartphone becomes commonplace.

Still, Windows 10 IoT won’t be restricted to utilities of the everyday. Steve Teixeira from Microsoft’s IoT group expressed the flexibility of IoT Core at this year’s Build developer’s conference when he said, “Whether it’s Hololens or Raspberry Pi or Windows desktop or phone [it’s all one platform]. You can extend that to the IoT editions … It’s the same platform … and it’s Windows, so you know it can go into enterprise.”

In short: This will be of interest to companies building IoT devices and enthusiasts looking to experiment with Windows-compatible gadgets

It’s a cluster, but that’s OK

Moving forward, it’s only a matter of months (maybe even less) before the imminent release of Windows 10. If you were previously overwhelmed by the number of differing versions of the operating system, I trust that I’ve cleared up at least some of the confusion.

Ultimately, it’s a negligible concern. Coming in contact with with more than two of these editions in your day-to-day routine is unlikely and, based on what Microsoft has declared so far, we can infer that little thought will be invested when you do decide to upgrade.

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