Software & Apps News - Page 3

Windows 11 has a new preview build, and while there aren't any noteworthy changes - it's mostly about bug fixes and minor tweaking - there's a hidden change to the Microsoft Store which is very worthwhile.

This is preview build 26100 for the Canary and Dev channels, and testers in these channels are getting those changes plus a new Microsoft Store rolling out, as highlighted by Sergio Pedri, a Senior Software Engineer at the company, on X (formerly Twitter).

The store has 'major performance improvements' and as you can see in the video clip in the tweet, it loads up pretty sharpish - with the ability to skip the splash screen, to boot.

Microsoft has already announced that it was ending support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025 - where after this date, the company will no longer supply security updates or new features. With Windows 10 still the most popular Microsoft operating system and Windows 11 adoption slowing, there will be a way for users and businesses to get Extended Security Updates (ESU) after this date.

Microsoft announced this last year, easing some concerns for those who might not want to upgrade on October 14, 2025. However, it did mention that signing up for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU) will come at a cost. Today, we've got the costs - they're geared toward forcing users to upgrade to Windows 11 (or 12).

Paid security updates after Windows 10 becomes end-of-life will cost users and businesses $61 USD per device for Year 1. From there, the "price will double every consecutive year, for a maximum of three years," so that's $122 USD per device for Year 2 and $244 USD per device for Year 3.

Google Podcasts is no more, with the app and podcasting service shut down by Google this week in the US and later in June for the rest of the world. Google announced last year that the dedicated podcast service app would disappear and be replaced by a dedicated podcast section within YouTube Music.

Google has a long history of unceremoniously axing what it deems unsuccessful services, apps, and hardware - from the video app Google Duo to Google Hangouts to its cloud gaming Google Stadia service. The list is long, to the point that sites like 'Killed by Google' keep track of it all, creating a virtual Google Graveyard. Check it out; odds are there'll be a few "Oh, I remember that" moments as you scroll.

The reasoning for Google Podcasts's demise makes sense when you consider that most notable podcasts with a video component are hosted on YouTube, so presenting an audio version on the YouTube Music platform and app feels more like a lateral move. So this isn't Google abandoning podcasts altogether.

You've doubtless heard about the Copilot key - the dedicated physical key that's present on the keyboard of AI PCs running Windows 11 - but there's a surprising secret behind this new feature.

This was highlighted by Tom's Hardware, who did some digging with new Dell XPS 14 and XPS 16 laptops that have the Copilot key on their respective keyboard decks, in an effort to find out how the key works.

In other words, what's behind the Copilot key in terms of mapping, and is it a new key with a new scan code? Well, the answer to that question is a short no.

If you're one of the Windows 11 users out there who missed the drag and drop functionality that once applied to File Explorer's address bar, well, you can breathe a sigh of relief - it's coming back.

This is the ability to grab a file in a folder and drag it over to place the file directly in another folder using the bar at the top of the folder window.

It's a pretty basic ability really, but it was removed with the Windows 11 23H2 Moment 4 update.

Facial recognition has been around for a while, with Windows Hello employing the tech so you can log into a Windows 11 device by simply looking at your webcam. This technology also exists in smartphones, surveillance, and security - AI also plays a role in how facial recognition technologies are trained and used.

According to a new patent (seen by Windows Report), Microsoft plans to integrate facial recognition technology with Windows 11 and OneDrive image search functionality. It will use facial recognition to review photos, determine the number of people shown and their identities, and then rank them accordingly.

If you're wondering where a patent fits into the picture, well, faces "determined to be friends or family" will be ranked higher than groups of fewer friends and family - so it's all about using the tech in a detailed searching tool.

If you own an iPhone you're already familiar with the option to use your passcode to secure it from prying eyes. You can also use Face ID or Touch ID if you prefer to go the biometric route, too. Some apps like banking apps can also give users the chance to protect them using in-app passcodes and biometrics, too. But what if you want to do that with an app that doesn't have the feature built in?

For those apps, App Lock is available in the App Tore and it does exactly what you think it will do based on that name. Once configured, App Lock lets people completely hide apps and lock them behind Face ID or Touch ID. It's all made possible using the Screen Time API to control access to apps so there are no hacks or potential privacy implications here. What's more, users can even choose to have the app disappear from the Home Screen entirely. In fact, the apps will even be hidden from the App Library. too.

Choosing apps to be locked behind biometrics is simple and users can even decide to have entire categories covered, too.

If you're an Apple Maps user on the iPhone you might be about to get a whole new feature for choosing the route that you take when using driving directions, according to a new report. It's said that Apple is working on a new custom route feature and that Apple Maps users will be able to choose different routes rather than the one that Apple picks out.

Users are not currently allowed to change anything to do with the route that they take and are instead left to follow the route that Apple Maps chooses for them. However, that could all change later this year with MacRumors noting that code reviewed by the website suggests the change is coming when iOS 18 arrives.

While Google Maps does offer a similar feature to edit the route chosen for drivers, that feature is only available via the Google Maps website and has not yet made its way to the iPhone app.

If you've ever formatted a disk using Windows, you've probably noticed that the UI and design of the Format tool haven't changed in a while. In fact, it's basically the same as it was in 1994 - which is impressive considering so much of everything else in Windows has changed. However, it was only meant to be temporary.

Microsoft programmer Dave W. Plummer shared some history of the Format tool and UI on X - which he created while working on Windows 95. As Microsoft's big update brought over many features of Windows NT, the Format tool had to be customized based on differences between the two operating systems.

"I wrote this Format dialog back on a rainy Thursday morning at Microsoft in late 1994," Dave writes. "I got out a piece of paper and wrote down all the options and choices you could make regarding formatting a disk, like a filesystem, label, cluster size, compression, encryption, and so on."

Windows 11 users should look out for a Copilot app which may have sneaked onto their system potentially, or so a German tech site reports.

Anecdotally, other users have discovered this Copilot app flagged up by Deskmodder.de by checking the roster of apps installed on their PC - so you might want to hop on over to that yourself.

If the app is present you'll find it listed under Installed Apps, but it appears to be just an empty shell at this point.