Software & Apps News - Page 19

WhatsApp, the hugely popular instant messaging app and platform owned by Meta, is testing a new feature that could make it much easier to keep your location private when on a call.

The feature, which is currently only in beta testing and ahs no public release date, allows users to protect their IP address when on a call. The move means that it will be harder for other people to use that IP address to try and figure out the person's location if they don't want them to know it.

The new feature was spotted by the WhatsApp watchers over at WABetaInfo and is available in the latest WhatsApp beta that is now being offered to iPhone users.

Apple first announced the Journal app as part of the iOS 17 unveiling back in June of 2023. We knew that it wouldn't be ready for iOS 17's release when that happened in September, but Apple did say that the Journal app would launch before the end of the year. Now, with the release of the first iOS 17.2 beta, it looks like it's coming good on that promise.

The first iOS 17.2 beta is now available for testing and while it doesn't have as many big new features as the iOS 17 update did, it does have some notable additions. The Journal app is one of the biggest because Apple promised that it would make it easier for people to reflect on and relive special moments. But is it going to live up to the hype?

Our initial testing suggests that might not be the case. Right now all you seem to be able to do is create a new entry and then add media if you wish. You can also share information into the app via the Share Sheet, with the journal entry showing a card a bit like the Notes app does. But so far, none of the recommendation aspects of the Journal app appear to be working.

It has been more than a year since Elon Musk officially carried out the acquisition of the social media platform that was formerly called Twitter, and is now called X.

Leading up to the acquisition, Musk expressed that he wished to turn then-Twitter into the "everything app," a single app that encompasses all of the general needs of smartphone applications (calling, texting, communities, authenticated accounts, and finance). While there are many other aspects to include in the "everything app", the aforementioned features are what X is currently working on implementing, and now we are hearing about a coming payment system.

During X's latest earnings call, Musk explained that he plans on turning X into a bank that has a seamless payment system between users, and that this feature would be implemented into the platform by the end of next year. Musk further iterated that this payment system wouldn't be as simple as sending $20 to someone, but would also include support for securities to be moved from one individual to another.

We all know that Windows 10 doesn't have too many miles left on the clock for support, and the impact of that could be pretty devastating to the environment, an advocacy group in the US has argued.

The Register reports that PIRG, the US Public Interest Research Group, has brought attention to the stark reality that when Windows 10 is made obsolete in October 2025, that will mean up to 400 million of the billion devices out there running the older OS could be on the scrapheap.

PIRG urges Microsoft to think again on Windows 10 support, and notes that the move could mean the "single biggest jump in junked computers ever," putting a big dent in the company's drive for sustainability.

The first version of Microsoft Word for Windows debuted on October 25, 1983 - a couple of days before the release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. If you have vivid memories of one or both of these events, you're one of what the young people these days call "the olds." Don't worry, putting a reference to one of the most popular albums from 1998 in the headline probably puts me in the same category.

Yes, Microsoft Word is now 40 years old, and to celebrate the occasion, Microsoft has posted a nice little timeline to commemorate the history of the Word Processor. The very first version of Word shipped with a mouse, and as you can see from the YouTube clip from Aldo Computers below, there was a little tutorial on how to use the strange new input device.

The WYSIWYG or 'what you see is what you get' design meant that whatever you saw on screen was exactly how the document would print. It was most likely on one of those dot matrix printers that made sounds like they were a secret weapon in Wolfenstein 3D.

Soon X users will be able to call each other, or at least that's what seems to be happening as select users are reporting a new feature popping up in their account settings.

Reports indicate that X users will now be able to enable audio and video calling by heading to their settings and locating the new toggle feature. Personally, my account hasn't received the push notification "Audio and video calls are here!" informing me that calls are now enabled on my account, but some members of The Verge reported they did, along with thousands of other users. It seems this new feature is being rolled out slowly to users, likely by region.

Notably, the new feature allows users to choose who can call their account, with options such as "people in your address book, People you follow, and Verified users". As you can probably imagine, users can make a call by heading to their Direct Messages, selecting the account they wish to message and then the call button located in the right-hand corner of the screen.

Microsoft has just pushed out Copilot to Windows 11 testers who are in the Canary channel, those using the earliest test version of the OS.

If you recall, there was some displeasure when the Copilot AI first began testing and was present in Dev, but not the Canary channel.

At any rate, the AI is now finally in Canary, but don't get too excited if you're involved in this branch of testing - the rollout is only just beginning at the moment. As that part of the intro in the blog post for build 25982 is bolded, we can guess that initially Copilot is probably going to see pretty limited availability.

Microsoft has a long history of trying to promote Edge over Chrome in one way or another - and indeed just trying to advertise Edge full-stop in Windows 11 - but the latest development in this kind of 'nudging' is an eye-opener.

Neowin reports that when attempting to download Google Chrome recently using the Edge browser, a poll popped up in the sidebar.

In the poll, Microsoft asks the Edge leaver if they can take a moment to inform the company why they are trying a rival browser.

Microsoft is forging ahead with adding AI into, well, everything it can right now, and the latest recipient in this respect is the Paint app in Windows 11 preview builds.

You may recall that Paint Cocreator was introduced to the app in testing in Canary and Dev channels back at the end of September, and subsequently has progressed through the Beta channel, and the functionality just hit the Release Preview channel (the final stage before actually landing in the finished version of Windows 11).

For those who missed this, Cocreator is an AI-driven feature based on Dall-E which works like the Bing AI image creator. You can simply describe a picture you'd like to have composed, select an art style (if required), and then the AI will knock up an image based on those criteria.

Windows 11 is now the operating system of choice for over 400 million monthly active devices. Windows Central reportedly is getting eyes-on with "Microsoft internal data" that has Windows 11 on track to hit 500 million monthly active devices in early 2024.

Microsoft launched Windows 11 in October 2021, so it has taken two years to reach the 400 million milestone, versus Windows 10 only taking just over 12 months to hit 400 million users. Windows 10 had reached a huge 600 million devices just a few months after the two-year mark, so Windows 11 is a little behind when it comes to operating system upgrades and adoption rates.

We should note Windows 11 is only supported by CPUs that were released in 2018 and newer, as well as with devices with TPM security chips. Windows 11 had higher minimum system requirements than previous operating systems, with modern chips and TPM (Trust Platform Module) support.