This week the guys are elated about the death of Internet Explorer, the low, low price of free to upgrade to Windows 10, (even if you never paid for Windows 7 or 8) and Mario, Zelda and the gang are finally coming to mobile phones, but not the way you want them to.

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This Week’s Run Down

Windows 10 is free for everybody!

So, you may have heard of the latest version of Windows that Microsoft is working on releasing later this summer. If you haven’t, it’s called Windows 10. If you’re wondering why it’s called Windows 10 instead of… you know… Windows 9, it’s because of a little coding shortcut where programmers referred to Windows 95 and Windows 98 as – you guessed it – “Windows 9.”

Well, it turns out that Windows 10 is going to be FREE for everyone, well almost everyone.

Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s Windows chief to Reuters “We are upgrading all qualified PCs, genuine and non-genuine, to Windows 10”

So that means, as long as you have a computer running Windows 7 or Window 8 or 8.1 you can install 10 on your computer, at no charge, even if you stole the version that’s on your computer right now.

The Death of Internet Explorer

Microsoft confirmed this week that Internet Explorer will not be the primary web browser in Windows 10. Yes, the venerable Internet Explorer, which has been a part of Windows since Windows 95, is being put out to pasture. It will still ship with the next version of Microsoft’s operating system for backwards compatibility reasons, but a new browser with the codename Project Spartan will be Microsoft’s flagship browser. Project Spartan’s real name has not been released yet but Microsoft says that it will not use the Internet Explorer branding.

Nintendo to develop mobile games

After years of speculation, Nintendo is moving into the mobile game market. They announced this week that they have partnered with Japanese mobile game giant DeNA to “develop and operate new game apps based on Nintendo’s intellectual property, including its iconic game characters, for smart devices.”

They were quick to point out that their primary focus will still be their game consoles like the Wii U and 3DS, and that these new mobile apps are intended to complement, not replace, those systems. In the same announcement, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that a new console codenamed NX is development.

Unfortunately for those of us hoping this means we’ll be able to play classic Mario or Zelda games on our devices, Iwata also said that Nintendo’s plans do not include direct ports of console games. He cited differences between dedicated controllers and touchscreens as the reason.

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Photo Credit: Internet Explorer, a web developers menace by Jorgen Kesseler is used under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Ellen writes, How do I download videos from my iPhone to my PC? When I try to email them to myself it shrinks the video. I’ve been told to just connect my phone to my computer and download them that way, but how?

Here’s what you need to do Ellen. Fire up your computer, grab the charging cable for your iPhone and plug one end into your iPhone and the other end into your computer. Only one end will fit the iPhone, and the other end is the obvious end you’ll plug into the PC.

With this easy to follow guide, you too can plug your iPhone into your computer.

If this is the first time you have plugged your iPhone into your computer, you’ll see a pop up indicating that the software for the device is being installed.

Without the device driver software, the two pieces of hardware cannot communicate.

Right after you plug in your iPhone, (or after the driver software is done installing) you’ll get a notification on your phone that asks if you should trust this computer. Tap Trust.

Trust is an important part of any relationship, especially the one between a smartphone and a computer.

You may see a similar window appear on your computer. Click Continue.

Trust is a two-way street.

Then, if you’re using a Windows PC, you should get a pop up window on the computer that basically is asking “What do you want to do with this?” It will literally say “AutoPlay” and give you options to choose from. Click “Import Pictures and Videos.”

So, uh, what do you wanna do with this here thing, eh?

All of your pictures and videos will be selected. You can make changes to how and where they are imported by clicking Import Settings.

Import pictures and videos? That sounds exactly like what I wanted to do!

On the Import Settings Menu, you can choose to send the images and videos to different folders, change the file name of the photos and videos, and other options. Click OK to keep your changes.

Lots of choices. Where do you want what to go? Don’t feel like making choices? Afraid of succumbing to analysis paralysis? Just click Cancel, and get out of there.

Once you’ve chosen which videos and pictures you want to import, then click Import. Your images and videos will begin to transfer to your computer. Depending on how many pictures you have, this may happen quickly, or it may take a while.

You’ll watch your life flash before your eyes ? if you took a picture of every moment of your life.

You’ll see a checkbox that says, “erase after importing.” We recommend not checking it. If there is a problem transferring the video, then the video is gone. It’s best to wait until you you?ve confirmed that the video is transferred, and then delete it from your iPhone manually.

Finally! The pictures and videos are on the computer!

Another window will open up showing all of your pictures and videos that you just imported.

If for some reason you don’t get a pop-up, click the Start button and select “Computer.”

Then, you’ll right-click the iPhone icon, and select “Import Pictures and Videos.” From there, you’ll do everything else the same as we said before.

If you are using a Mac it starts out the same: plug the iPhone in and tell it to trust the computer.

Then, you’ll need to open the application Image Capture or iPhoto. We prefer Image Capture because you can choose where the video is stored on your hard drive.

Just open the Launchpad, and find Image Capture. (Start typing in Image Capture. It will be the only thing that comes up.) You could use iPhoto, but trust me, you don’t want to.

Once Image Capture is open, at the bottom of the window, you can select which folder to import them to.

You can choose the obvious places like Pictures or Documents, or you can decide to save them where ever you want to.

You could even choose to import your pictures and videos to iPhoto, but no one really knows why you would want to do that.

Then, you can click the “Import All” button or select the individual video and click “Import.”

Image credit: Stephen Jones / WJCT

On this edition of the Deemable Tech podcast, Ray and Tom have off-the-cuff answers for your questions about Windows 7 service packs, spam and our very own Deemable Tech app. The guys also share their thoughts on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge currently making waves on social media, and discuss other recent tech news. Plus, Sean stops by with a preview of a new occasional series of reviews.

#65 Shootin’ from the Hip

We’re currently working on our next hour-long public radio special, and we want you to be a part of it! Call us with your tech questions at 1-888-972-9868, or send an email to questions@deemable.com. And if you’ve seen a story on social media that just seems too crazy to be true, send it to debunkable@deemable.com and we’ll uncover the truth.

On this episode of the Deemable Tech podcast, Ray and Tom answer more of your questions about unwanted emails, transferring your copy of Windows to a friend and more.

The guys are also once again joined by producer Sean Birch to discuss some interesting news from the tech world, including the Kickstarter project that raised almost $60,000 to make a batch of potato salad, and a hotel that threatened to fine customers who left negative Yelp reviews.

#64 Bacn and Potato Salad

Links mentioned in this episode:

Lifehacker: How to Wipe Spam Email in Your Inbox

Use iTunes to Your iOS Device to Factor Settings

Restoring Your iOS Device Using Recovery Mode

Potato Salad Kickstarter – By the Numbers

Hotel Adds Negative Online Review Fine Clause to Terms of Service

Facebook Mood Experiment

OkCupid Experiment

Q: I heard you talking about Windows XP expiring. I don’t want to go to Windows 8, and I can’t find any new Windows 7 computers to buy. What do I do?

A: We’ve been talking about this a lot lately because Microsoft officially stopped supporting Windows XP on April 8, 2014. This means that, while you can continue using XP on your computer, Microsoft will no longer be doing anything to keep it up to date. There won’t be any new security updates or patches to keep hackers from finding new ways to break into the operating system. If you decide to stick with Windows XP, Microsoft is basically saying that you are now on your own. They recommend upgrading to Windows 8 instead.

The Start Screen in Windows 8 received a lukewarm response from some users.
Image credit: Microsoft

You didn’t say why you’re not interested in Windows 8, James, but we’re going to guess that it may have something to do with its user interface. Microsoft decided to completely get rid of the classic Start Menu with Windows 8, and replaced it with a Start Screen that was unlike anything else on the market. This made a lot of people unhappy because it was not what they were used to. It even made some people literally sick to their stomachs from motion sickness because the Start Screen slides from left to right while you’re using it.

We’re happy to report that Windows 8.1, the latest version, is much better in this respect. They’ve brought back the Start Button, and you can reduce the motion features associated with the Start Screen. According to rumors, Microsoft may just return to the classic Start Menu in the next version of Windows.

Unfortunately, James, you really can?t afford to wait for that to happen. And you’re not likely to find a new computer with Windows 7 on it because Microsoft no longer sells the rights to manufacturers to install it on new computers.

If you really want to go to Windows 7, you can still purchase copies of it from third party vendors like Amazon.com, NewEgg or TigerDirect, and install it yourself. This isn’t very difficult if you are just upgrading your old Windows XP machine. Just stick the disc in the drive and follow the instructions. Microsoft has gone to considerable lengths in the last few years to make Windows upgrades easy.

However, things get a little tricky if you’re looking to install Windows 7 on a new computer with Windows 8 already on it. To do this, you’ll have to completely remove Windows 8 from your computer first, which means formatting your hard drive and starting from scratch. This can be intimidating, so we recommend paying your friendly neighborhood computer guy to do it for you. He can probably get Windows 7 safely installed in an hour or two, and you’ll have some peace of mind knowing that it’s been done right.

It’s estimated that nearly 500 million people around the world use the Windows XP operating system on their computers. If you’re one of those people, you need to be aware of an important change from Microsoft.

So long, it’s been good to know you.
Image credit: Microsoft

On April 8, 2014, the software giant ended their support for Windows XP.  Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that your computer suddenly stopped working on April 9. It will, however, start to be a lot riskier to keep using.

Windows XP was released in 2001, and because of its worldwide popularity Microsoft has continued to support it with updates, bug fixes and security patches for the past 13 years. As the company begins to focus on newer versions of the Windows operating system, they’ve decided to stop releasing these updated security patches for XP. This means that there will be nothing to guard you from hackers finding new ways to break into computers running XP and stealing personal information from victims.

Now, the chances are that your copy of Windows XP will still be relatively secure on April 9, but that will change as it gets older and older. To protect yourself, we recommend that you upgrade your operating system. Microsoft, of course, is happy to help, and have created a page with all of the information you’ll need to know. There, you can download a program that will check your PC to see if it is compatible with Windows 8.1, the latest version of Windows.

You may have heard about Windows 8 getting a bad rap due to a new interface and the fact that initial versions didn’t include the classic Start Menu so many of us know and love. But the truth is that you can still run the classic Windows desktop in Windows 8, which looks and feels a lot like what you’re used to.

We should note that upgrading to a new operating system will cost money, and that an upgrade to Windows 8.1 costs $199. That’s a lot, and that’s the reason most people buy a new computer with Windows already installed on it. In fact, you can get a new Windows 8 computer for as low as $249.

If those options sound too pricey or if you’re just not ready for Windows 8, we recommend checking out Windows 7. Microsoft has stopped selling it officially, but you can still buy copies of the home version from many third party vendors like Best Buy and Amazon.com for around $100. It is a great operating system, and we would go as far as to say it’s the “new” Windows XP in terms of it being easy to pick up and use.

Whatever you decide to do, you need to start taking steps to update that old copy of Windows XP right now. Having an outdated, unsecured operating system might cost you more than any new one ever could.