Software & Apps - Page 19

Windows 11 has a new preview out in the Canary channel and it makes some very useful changes on the accessibility front.

Build 26231 ushers in Voice Access for Narrator (Windows 11's screen reading tool), meaning that users can dictate text to their PC, and then have it read back to them.

Microsoft is also introducing voice commands for Narrator that include turning on the feature, and instructions to make the speed of reading faster, or to 'read the next line' or a selected piece of text.

Windows 10 users are in for something of a surprise - in a way - as Microsoft has just resurrected preview testing for the OS.

In a blog post, Microsoft explained that the Beta channel has been fired up again for Windows 10 testers.

Microsoft wrote:

If you're a Windows 11 user who misses the old File Explorer from Windows 10, here's some good news.

It's possible to access Windows 10's File Explorer within Windows 11 using a frankly unbelievably simple trick, allowing for the old interface to be used whenever you want a break from the new UI - or indeed when you want to avail yourself of the ability to drag and drop files into folders in the address bar.

(If you recall, that functionality didn't make the cut for Windows 11 - though to be fair, it is finally returning in testing right now).

In late February NVIDIA released the beta for its new NVIDIA App, which combines the company's GeForce Experience and Control Panel.

NVIDIA has announced at Computex 2024 that owners of its graphics cards will now be able to access the new app, which incorporates all of the features within GeForce Experience and Control Panel in one single unified application. The release of the new app will mean gamers won't have to dance between GeForce Experience and Control Panel, which are used for separate settings customizations in both graphics configurations and display settings.

Not only is everything now in one place, but NVIDIA has taken this opportunity to overhaul the visuals of the client, making a much cleaner, modern and minimal look. The new client enables gamers quick access to NVIDIA, GeForce, and RTX applications that are available to download/install, while also doubling as a way to tweak game settings within the Graphics tab.

Google has confirmed the thousands of leaked documents that first emerged earlier this week are in fact internal company documents that reveal some aspects of the inner-workings of Google Search.

The leak of 2,500 documents is likely to cause a ripple effect across the SEO industry as many of the documents, while still being hard to decipher, reveal details about the way Google Search works, particularly the information and data Google collects to rank content on its search engine. Notably, The Verge reports the internal documents details run contrary to what Google representatives have said in the past about what contributes to webpage rankings on Search.

These thousands of documents contain a plethora of information about Search rankings, but none of the information is outlined in a way that makes it clear which data is more valuable than other data, making the entire leak very murky for interpretation. Additionally, there is a chance all of the information is completely out of date, or no longer considered valuable by Google as its data collection/ranking processes may have changed entirely.

Microsoft wants people to move off Windows 10 and move onto Windows 11, and one of the ways the company intends to attract customers to its latest operating system is AI-powered PCs - and the exclusive features that come with them.

Microsoft only recently announced a selection of AI PCs in the form of new Copilot+ laptops. These laptops are different from traditional versions as they feature a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is a piece of hardware dedicated to running AI tasks locally. Microsoft has locked many, if not all of its of Copilot+'s attractive features behind this hardware requirement in a bid to entice customers to go out and purchase a new Copilot+ PC.

One of the most talked about Copilot+ features is Windows Recall, which enables a user to ask the Copilot AI in natural language to show them what they were doing on the PC at specific times. For example, if a user at 4pm forgot what they were doing at 1pm they would be able to ask the AI and it would show them what was on their desktop at 1pm. Recall is able to create this timeline of a users desktop by taking screenshots of the desktop every few minutes, which are then stored locally.

As the month of May draws to a close, Windows 11 has just got its latest preview update, and this optional effort might be picked up by more users than normal, seeing as it brings in a couple of keenly awaited pieces of work.

Patch KB5037853, for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, introduces a bunch of features and fixes, but something that a lot of folks have been waiting for is drag and drop functionality in the File Explorer address bar.

This means you can now drag a file out of a folder, and into another folder on the address bar at the top of the window (where the file path is displayed). It's a convenient shortcut for moving files sometimes, and one that Windows 11 users missed, or at least some certainly did. So, it's good to see this basic piece of functionality now present in File Explorer.

Windows 11 is continually evolving, and that doesn't just mean adding new features (AI, more AI, and, oh yes, yet more AI) but also taking some away.

With every major release, certain features get the chop, and with the 24H2 update now in the final stretch of testing, Sweclokers (via PC Gamer) picked up on what's been ditched in the preview build which is the release candidate for this upgrade.

In the 24H2 update, we are waving goodbye to WordPad, and as you may recall, that was previously announced - as were all these revelations (this is just final confirmation that they're being removed from Windows 11, essentially).

Windows 10 is easily Microsoft's most-popular operating system, accounting for more than 70% of all Windows users, but what are the chances that all of those millions of Windows 10 users know the truth about the classic default background for the operating system. I would guess, very little of them do.

The release of Windows 10 came at a time when users were making their way through the trainwreck that was Windows 8, which even pushed many users back to Windows 7 - a renowned operating system. Windows 10 was a breathe of fresh air when it released and that is part of the reason why its still Microsoft's most-popular operating system.

All of these Windows 10 systems had at one stage or another, the classic Windows 10 default background wallpaper that many - and I would guess more than 90% - thought was a simple computer generated image. However, that isn't the case. The Windows 10 default wallpaper is actually a real photograph and the process to capture it was quite lengthy. First the team behind the image arranged a laser projector behind a large Windows 10 logo. The lasers were fired through the windows while volumetric smoke was released.

If you're fed up with Microsoft trying to persuade you to upgrade from Windows 10 to its newest operating system, well, we've got some bad news - it seems more nagging is underway.

In fact, this appears to be a fresh drive to try to stoke Windows 11 adoption, which as you may have noticed is flagging of late (and it was never going all that well at any point, certainly not compared to how Windows 10 took off back in the day).

It includes something that just popped up on our Windows 10 PC, namely a 'campaign' icon that appeared on our taskbar, invoking a full-screen message (see above) telling us our PC isn't eligible for a Windows 11 upgrade. (Because we haven't sorted the TPM out - not wanting to upgrade this device yet, anyway).

If you've been using a PC and going online since the days of dial-up modems and first-gen broadband, then you'll probably remember ICQ - one of the very first instant messaging apps for Windows. If that's the case, you'd probably be surprised to learn that ICQ is still around, though not for long.

The app's official site has a simple message: "ICQ will stop working from June 26." This is a big "Uh-Oh" to those still using the service; one of the reasons ICQ became so memorable was its "Uh-Oh" sound that played whenever you received a message. If you're still on the platform, the site suggests migrating to VK messaging apps and services - the Russian media company that acquired ICQ from AOL back in 2010.

Fun fact: AOL, or America Online, acquired ICQ in 1998 for a cool $400 million, which shows how prevalent the app was during the early days of the Internet. Although it's time is finally coming to an end, ICQ has managed to outlast its rivals like MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger.

Windows 11 looks like it may have a new default app in the future, or at least there are early signs in testing that this is the case - with a notable caveat.

The app in question is PC Manager, and it's an optimization app along the lines of CCleaner, but as it's Microsoft's own take on the idea, there are some dubious additions here. Most notably suggested fixes like a 'repair' for your PC that involves making Bing the default search in Edge.

We shouldn't get carried away, though, as for now, PC Manager is only being turned into a default app in Windows 11 in China (and that's just in testing, with the current incarnation of the Windows 11 24H2 update for that matter).

If Apple sticks to the tried and tested plans of recent years we can expect it to release a slew of new software updates this fall, one of which will surely be the macOS 15 software for the Mac computers. Apple is set to preview the changes at WWDC on June 10, but we might not have to wait that long to get a feel for what's in store.

According to a new report by AppleInsider, Apple is planning a number of changes for the big release including one that will be welcome news to many. The System Settings app has been lambasted by many since it replaced the familiar System Preferences, and now the report says that Apple intends to make some changes this year.

One of the changes coming to System Settings is the removal of the Apple ID section with a new Apple Account section taking its place. There are also going to be changes throughout the System Settings app to accommodate new Apple Account settings and features, we're told, with new animations or redesigned interface elements arriving. AppleInsider also believes that the Apple Account rebrand will see the arrival of a new feature called Printable Account Recovery Summary, or PARS. It's not yet clear what that feature will be but it's likely designed to give users easier access to important account information.

Windows 11 24H2 is entering the final phase of testing ahead of its likely fall release later this year, and Microsoft has made a big move with Copilot.

In preview build 26100, which is now in the Release Preview channel (the last stage before general availability), Copilot has been transformed into a fully standalone app.

That means the AI assistant is no longer confined to a panel at the right side of the desktop, but it's now in its own window which can be moved around the desktop and resized, just like any other app.

Ever wanted to run Windows XP on old hardware? Well, you might have done a couple of decades ago, when Windows XP was released - but probably not now, right?

Despite the apparently futility of the exercise, a challenge is a challenge, and getting Windows XP working on an Intel 486 processor from 1989 is certainly that - and it was one undertaken by a modder from Germany.

That modder is Dietmar on the MSFN forums, as Techspot noticed, and they successfully patched Windows XP to work on the 486 chip running at 90MHz (yes, the heady heights of clock frequencies back in the day).

Google has released a new white paper that outlines everything that is "wrong" with Microsoft security, particularly highlighting its recent failings.

The new white paper is titled "A more secure alternative," and Google explains across 14 pages all of the problems with Microsoft's approach to security while also recommending better alternatives, Gmail and Google Drive. The paper is mostly based on the recent discoveries by the US government's Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), which stated last month that Microsoft's approach to the June 2023 attack on its Exchange Online service was lackluster.

The CSRB reprimanded Microsoft for its lack of knowledge on when attackers were able to infiltrate its Exchange Online service that resulted in the hackers being able to sift through email inboxes. Additionally, the CSRB criticized the Windows owner for having a seven-year-old security key still be valid, which was used by the hackers to gain access to the Exchange email service.

Microsoft is preparing to announce one of, if not the biggest change to Windows in its existence, which is the inclusion of artificial intelligence-powered tools.

The company is set to showcase its latest integrations of AI into PCs at the Build developers conference on Tuesday. According to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who said in January 2024, AI will become the "first-class part of every PC". That shift has already begun with the inclusion of Copilot chatbot assistant in Microsoft's Bing search engine, and direct integration into Windows 11.

What users can expect out of tomorrow's conference is Microsoft explaining how AI will become fully integrated into Windows, specifically Windows 11, and what users will be able to do on the next generation of AI PCs. More specifically, AI PCs will have a two-purpose goal: increase the number of PC sales and maintain Microsoft's position in the AI industry via AI being rolled out to millions of Windows users.

What would happen if you installed Windows XP in 2024, set the internet connection to be fully open without any firewalls or anti-virus software, and just let the computer sit there idling? If you answered, malware and hackers would obtain full access to the file system and admin privileges in minutes - then you'd be on the right track.

YouTuber Eric Parker decided to run an experiment to see how dangerous running Windows XP in 2024 is, and the results were alarming. Without browsing, downloading, or opening suspicious files, the PC (a virtual installation) was almost immediately infected by malware. Granted, the Windows XP Firewall was disabled, too, but it's wild to think how vulnerable XP was/is to attacks.

All you need to do is go online with Windows XP, and you're open to all manner of malware, Trojans, new admin accounts being created, and even an FTP server starting, which all happens here.

Behind the scenes, Microsoft is working on rolling out a slew of new artificial intelligence-powered features for Windows 11 users, and now the company has implemented a dedicated section within the Settings menu for "AI components".

The new addition to the Settings menu was discovered in Windows 11 Build 26217, and isn't officially mentioned by Microsoft within its official blog post for the build. Notably, the new feature is available to developers and testers in the Canary alpha channel, and at the moment it's up for interpretation on what this new feature will do. Presumably, it will track all of the updates for coming AI features such as AI Explorer and Copilot, which was recently rolled out to Windows 11 users' taskbars.

There is also the possibility that "AI component updates" will not only be for AI-powered apps or features but also for hardware dedicated to running AI-based operations locally. Reports indicate Microsoft is preparing for its upcoming Build Developer conference later this year, which is associated with the company encouraging developers to take advantage of Windows and build their own AI features.

Microsoft has made a rather odd move in trying to promote Bing search in Windows 11 with a change to its PC Manager app.

If you're not familiar with PC Manager, well, we wouldn't be surprised, as it's not an app that all that many folks know about - partly because it's only available in certain regions for Windows 11 (and not the US, not officially yet - but that could well change).

At any rate, it's a PC performance boosting utility from Microsoft China, that takes a typical approach with file cleanup features to free up storage, memory, and so forth.