Microsoft fails to hit Windows 10 target, no one believes what they read on social media, download Amazon videos to SD cards, choose new themes on Google Keyboard, and experience Instagram in real life.

Microsoft to Miss Windows 10 Target

In April 2015, when Microsoft pitched Windows 10 to developers, the company pledged to have Windows 10 on 1 billion devices by 2018. Now, in the middle of 2016, it has reneged on that promise. The reason? The distinct lack of Windows 10 smartphones on the market.

According to ZDNet, Microsoft has conceded defeat on that initial promise, even though it still has two full years to deliver on it. Because while Windows 10 has got off to a flying start -- thanks to the free upgrade offer from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 -- it's no longer on course to hit the magic 1 billion mark.

A Microsoft spokesperson said:

"Windows 10 is off to the hottest start in history with over 350M monthly active devices, with record customer satisfaction and engagement. We're pleased with our progress to date, but due to the focusing of our phone hardware business, it will take longer than FY18 for us to reach our goal of 1 billion monthly active devices. In the year ahead, we are excited about usage growth coming from commercial deployments and new devices—and increasing customer delight with Windows."

As the company makes clear in that statement, Windows Phone is the biggest cause of the pre-ordained failure to hit this milestone. Microsoft simply isn't focusing on its smartphone business at the moment, and that has significantly slowed adoption of the new operating system, which was, after all, designed to work across all of these devices seamlessly.

With the option to upgrade to Windows 10 for free ending at the end of this month, Microsoft faces an uphill battle to keep the impressive rate of adoption motoring on. The number of new PCs being bought isn't improving worldwide either, so Microsoft cannot rely on people upgrading their hardware either.

The upshot? Microsoft will still hit the 1 billion milestone at some point in the future, but it will take a lot longer than the three years originally promised.

Social Media News Is Unreliable

Do you trust the news you get from social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter? We're guessing your answer is No, because a recent Pew Research study discovered that very few people find social networking sites reliable sources of information.

The stats show that just 34% of adults in the U.S. trust the information they get from social media, and just 4% trust it "a lot". In comparison, 77% trust the information the get from family, friends, and acquaintances, 76% from national news organizations, and 82% from local news organizations.

This shows just how cynical people are about the information shared on social networking sites, because so much of it has been debunked or found to be inherently biased. However, the same family, friends, and acquaintances 77% of people trust or often the cause of this bogus baloney spreading across the internet in the first place. Which is ironic to say the least.

The onus is therefore on us as individuals to check the veracity and validity of news stories before we pass them onto other, more gullible, souls. May I suggest bookmarking Snopes.com as an absolute starter?

Download Amazon Video to SD Cards

Amazon has made a small-yet-significant change to its Amazon Video service. Amazon already allowed Prime subscribers to download videos for offline viewing, but it was previously limited to the internal storage of your Android or iOS device. Now, you can download it to an SD card too.

This effectively means you can download everything you want before you head out on vacation, leaving you free to watch it without the need to be connected to the internet. It's Android-only, because iOS devices don't have SD card slots, and rolling out to the U.S., the UK, Germany, Austria, and Japan from today.

Google Keyboard Gets New Themes

Google has updated Google Keyboard, giving users access to more themes. According to The Verge, Google has moved on from the "Material Light" and "Material Dark" options, adding a host of new colors, as well as the option to use an image from your camera roll.

This only applies to Google Keyboard 5.1 on Android, with iOS again playing gooseberry.

If Instagram Was Real Life

And finally, this video shows what life would be like if Instagram was the basis for all human interactions. Suffice to say, it would be an absolute nightmare, with vacuous people held in high regard, and the desire for attention trumping everything else.

The parody features Megan Mitchell, who seems to be big on Instagram purely because she has legs and lips. I also have legs and lips, and yet I'm not big on Instagram. Which is an injustice I won't be spending any time or money trying to put right. [H/T Digital Trends]

Your Views on Today’s Tech News

How do you feel about Microsoft's aggressive attitude to Windows 10? Do you trust information relayed through social media? Will you be downloading Amazon Video movies to your SD card? Are you a fan of Google Keyboard? Which app do you think real-life should be like?

Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.

Tech News Digest is a daily column paring the technology news of the day down into bite-sized chunks that are easy to read and perfect for sharing.

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