Another major update for Windows 10 is going to be released in October. The following details might change in minor respects before the release date but this is some of what is expected.

There will be a 'Clipboard history' feature. For those who aren't aware what the Clipboard is, it's a temporary place in the computer's memory created when images/text etc. are copy/pasted. When the 'Copy' option is clicked, the Clipboard is where the item is stored before being pasted into wherever it is needed.

Anything copied to the Clipboard disappears as soon as the next item is copied to it, or when the computer is switched off. In the new version of W.10, all things copied to the Clipboard will be remembered. Quite handy if anyone needs to paste the same item(s) repeatedly. The Clipboard history is stored on Microsoft's servers. This is so that the history of items copied to the Clipboard can be made available on any of your other devices as well.

The new Clipboard feature is an option that can be turned on or off. The stored Clipboard history can be cleared at any time. This function is nothing really new however. Third-party Clipboard programs have been available that will do this for as long as I've been running a computer. It's just that Microsoft are now introducing their own version of it integrated into the OS.

The Clipboard application has an option to stop passwords or other text from automatically being remembered and synchronised across the devices that you own. Personally, I think the new function could be useful but I wouldn't want any details remembered that are anything to do with passwords or other important details that I might copy/paste.

Other changes are on the way too. Notepad is being updated with text that can be zoomed with the mouse wheel. Notepad has perhaps always been a bit basic and there are third-party replacements that are better (Notepad++ for instance). I wonder if the new version will include a spell-checker? Write-ups don't say that it will but you never know.

There's also going to be a dark theme for File Explorer.

The full list of changes can be read about here (link to the 'How-To Geek' site)

So Microsoft now wants to (by default, I assume) remember all your clipboard contents on their servers? That's one big data trove in the name of "usability improvements". Surely analyzing whatever scraps you need to copy and paste across private letters, in photo and sound editing, et cetera, is going to be a major boost for targeted advertising...

I can only recommend that everyone who even gives the remotest consideration to privacy switch that off immediately. Use a third party LOCAL clipboard manager if you want the functionality.

Good thing I don't have a Microsoft account associated with my Windows user.

Is there any 'good' reason to have a Microsoft account associated with Windows?

Not really, but I assume the majority of people have one. After all, that's what Windows tries to make you do at pretty much every point in the installation / update process.

I won't be using the Clipboard function myself. I have used a third-party Clipboard extender (as they are called) in the past but the clips were stored locally on the computer. This was useful for what I was doing at the time. I can't think of any time I needed to synchronise clips with another device. With the Microsoft offering, I suppose I wouldn't mind storing a few photos or images if there was a need to but I can't see it being useful at present.

I have a Microsoft account. Not strictly necessary but it's just convenient to have one as regards buying software from the Windows Store, also when it comes to reinstalling the OS. Both have been done a number of times. I opened the account when W.10 was first released in 2015 and so far, there haven't been any disadvantages.

Other software companies want their users to have an account. Adobe and Xara are a couple that come to mind. Just modern software practices these days perhaps, unless switching to the Linux platform.

Edit: typo

Every time I click into the Challenges, and in a number of other FT screens, I get this message from Funtrivia.com

Error processing JavaScript in markup for element id: [Enable debugging by adding 'cfdebug' to your URL parameters to see more information]

I also find I can't just refresh an FT page without getting a request for confirmation first. Being a total dork, sometimes I focus at the bottom of my big portrait monitor waiting for it to refresh, while the message is ignored at the top of the screen.

These error messages started happening about 3 months ago after a MS update.

Can someone (in words of not more than 2 syllables, please) gently guide me through the process to make it all go away?

I've noticed too that when I attempt to copy and paste on FT (my mail for example), it sometimes takes several attempts, as the highlighting disappears before I can give the Copy command. That seems to date to about the same update.

What browser are you using? Is it Internet Explorer?

I tend to use Chrome as first choice, but will revert to Firefox if I'm having problems. I haven't used Explorer for some years.

Well, whaddaya know? the problem does not appear to be on Firefox. I'll make that my preferred search engine from now on. However, I am annoyed that the Windows 10 updates keep messing with my settings.

Clearing the cache in Chrome could be tried. This is a usual first step for curing errors in any browser. To do it in Chrome:

* Click on the three vertical dots at the top right-hand corner of the browser.
* Select 'More tools' and go to 'Clear browsing data'.
* In the 'Time range' setting, select 'All time'.
* Finally, click the 'Clear data' button.

When you do this, it will be noticed that some web pages or sites will be initially slower to open than usual. This should stop happening as the cache re-builds.

If the above doesn't help, resetting Chrome might. Once reset, any customisations may need to be re-done. For example: Extensions may need reinstalling and the spell checker setting up. This is a 'one-off' operation though and worth the trouble if it cures the fault.

To reset Chrome:

* Click on the three vertical dots at the top right-hand corner of the browser.
* Go to 'Settings'.
* Scroll down to 'Advanced' and click on it.
* Scroll down to the bottom of the page to the 'Reset and clean up'. section.
* Choose 'Restore setting to their original defaults'.
* Read what the dialogue box says so that you know what will happen and then click the 'Reset settings' button.

The roll-out of the Windows 10 October update has resumed. It was suspended for a number of weeks because of reports that files in the documents folder had been deleted and lost forever. A serious bug that is now said to be cured. More information here:

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperie...er-2018-update/

You may find, as I did, that this update does not download smoothly and that while it's in an interrupted state it comes up with error messages, such as "Windows has detected an error on Drive J, click here to scan and repair". Only nine times out of ten, clicking there (or anywhere else for that matter) results only in a repeat of the error message. Do not panic... once the download has tried again (just let it do its own thing) and has installed the update, restart the computer as you normally would with an update and the error message will disappear. The worst thing about it was that every time the error message appeared my computer would chime like a doorbell on steroids, again, and again, and...