Software & Apps - Page 26

Microsoft has made installing apps from the Microsoft Store easier by implementing a new feature - the ability to download and run executables/installers directly from apps.microsoft.com. Microsoft's Rudy Huyn took to X to outline the update and its reasoning in great detail.

The website for Microsoft apps has been around for a while. To install an app using the site, you click on a link, confirm that you'll need to switch to the dedicated store app, and then select and go through the install process on the app. Rudy Huyn said, "Feedback indicated that the install flow involved too many clicks."

The reason installation directly from the site wasn't available was security, which is beneficial to users and partners releasing apps through the Microsoft Store. That said, switching to a two-click system for a select group of developers "led to a 12% increase in installations and a 54% increase in the number of applications launched after installation."

Microsoft's OneDrive is getting a mode that allows you to work with your files in the storage locker when you don't have an internet connection.

The catch we mentioned in the headline? This is that the feature is rolling out to begin with only to OneDrive work and school users (across the globe), but surely a broader deployment to consumers will follow soon enough.

How does offline mode work with OneDrive? You can continue to interact with the following views: Home, My files, Shared, Favorites, People, and Meeting.

Windows 11 has a couple of fresh changes which are hidden in preview builds, which a leaker has uncovered using ViVeTool.

As anyone who follows Windows leaks will doubtless be unsurprised to learn, this is PhantomOfEarth (who accounts for a lot of spillage around the OS, as well as Albacore on X).

The first change which has been dug up using ViVeTool (the Windows configuration utility) is an improvement for File Explorer tabs which you can see in the above tweet.

Windows 11 is showing a bulked-up set of nag screens, and this is part of a push underway to get more folks using Microsoft's Edge browser, it seems.

Those are the findings of tech site Windows Latest, which observed being confronted by a multi-screen post-setup marathon of seven panels to be clicked through.

Typically, this is what you'll see after installing Windows 11, but as you've doubtless noticed, these multi-screen affairs also pop up sometimes after simply installing the latest monthly cumulative update for the OS.

A new update from HP for its laptops has implemented a change that a fair few people are hating, and that's a notification that pops up when you hit Caps Lock.

This is a giant padlock icon that says 'Caps Lock On' and takes over a huge amount of screen real-estate whenever you press the Caps Lock key.

We guess the idea is that it's very possible to accidentally press Caps Lock, and if you don't notice, and you're typing for a bit and not looking at the screen, you realize that you've written a VERY SHOUTY SENTENCE LIKE THIS BY ACCIDENT (ahem).

Windows 11 might just flag up a warning if your PC doesn't meet the system requirements to run AI Explorer, hidden code in the OS suggests.

This discovery was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Albacore, one of the ever-present folks who while away spare hours sifting through the inner workings of Windows 11.

The clues were uncovered in preview build 26200 for the Canary channel, where Albacore found that AI Explorer checks for its requirements, and if the host PC doesn't meet them, a "warning will be present in its overlays."

WhatsApp, the meta-owned instant messaging platform, has been testing support for passkeys for some time now and the feature is already available for Android users - in fact, it has been since October. Now though, WhatsApp has started to roll out passkey support for those who also happen to have an iPhone for the very first time.

The news was first reported by Engadget which reported that iPhone owners now have the option to use passkeys. It's rolling out to WhatsApp users right now, but it could take a few weeks for it to become available to everyone because of the way that WhatsApp tends to make these new features available.

In a statement provided to Engadget, Alice Newton-Rex, WhatsApp's head of product said that the support for passkey verification will make signing into WhatsApp easier and more secure. It's seen as an additional layer of security, she continued.

X is preparing to make the jump to your home TV, or any smart TV that is capable of downloading a new app, with the company preparing to release its own TV app dedicated for X video.

As part of Elon Musk's intention to create the "Everything App" X is now making the jump to TV's with a new separate app that will bring X video content to your couch. X's likely hoping the impact of bringing X to TVs will at least slightly shift the brand into being recognized as a video app as well - something Musk and X have been working on since the Tesla CEO purchased the company.

X CEO Linda Yaccarino, took to her personal X account to announce the X TV App and what it will entail. According to the X CEO the new app will come with a "trending video algorithm" that will enable users to stay updated with popular video content, AI-powered topics that will create a personalized user experience, cross-device support that will let users start a video on their phone and continue you it on your TV through casting, and an advanced video search.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shared new insights into the number of users on Threads, the company's direct competitor to X, formerly Twitter.

Zuckerberg revealed during a recent earnings call that Threads has gained more than 28 million daily users in the US, beating Elon Musk's X, according to Apptopia's VP of Research Thomas Grant to Business Insider. Notably, reports indicate that Threads has gained 20 million users since December and is currently sitting in third place in the App Store for the most popular app, while Threads is in position 41.

X has definitely had a turbulent experience since being acquired by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, with the current battle being fought against the Australian government for refusing to remove a piece of video content the nation's online safety agency deemed a "terrorist attack". X responded by locking all Australian users out of that content, which the agency said wasn't enough, and demanded the video content be removed completely from the platform.

Windows 10 users can look forward to a small but nonetheless welcome change in that the monthly cumulative updates for the OS are set to get smaller in the future.

This more streamlined update size is being achieved by Microsoft leveraging a feature it has already developed and successfully used with Windows 11, namely reverse update data generation technology.

It sounds a bit of a mouthful, but as Windows Latest, which flagged this up, points out, this should decrease the size of Windows 10 updates substantially - shrinking upgrades by up to 40%. This move is going to be in place from next month, we're told, so the May cumulative update will benefit from being more compact.

The saga of Microsoft jamming more nudging and prodding into Windows 11 continues, with a fresh rumor now indicating that future plans might just involve outright ads in the Start menu.

As regular Microsoft leaker Albacore highlighted on X (formerly Twitter), there's been a telling addition to the option to enable recommendations and tips (or app promotions) to include a specific mention of "ads."

Windows Latest, which spotted the above post, also noted that they've observed this change in testing in the Canary channel (build 26200 to be precise).

Microsoft has removed another piece of functionality from the Control Panel in Windows 11, redirecting folks heading to the Fonts section to its equivalent in the Settings app.

The old-style Control Panel still lurks in the background of Windows 11, making for an untidy contrast to the new Settings app - the problem being that there are so many settings in Windows that a bunch of legacy stuff is still yet to be migrated to the latter.

That process is happening, very slowly, but surely, and as Windows Latest spotted, the latest move is that when going to the Fonts page in the Control Panel, you'll be redirected to the revamped version of Fonts in the Settings app (which is already in place). Windows Search will also push you to Settings instead (whereas it currently highlights the old Control Panel when you search for Fonts).

Microsoft is charging full steam ahead with a Windows 11 update that will put advertisements for apps within the Start menu's "Recommended" section.

Microsoft began testing this new feature within its Insider program early this month, and now it appears as the latest optional update for Windows 11 version 22H2 and version 23H2. For those that don't know, Microsoft's latest move will introduce new applications to Windows 11 users within the "Recommended" section of the Start menu. According to Microsoft these apps will come from a "small set of curated developers" that will meet Microsoft's quality standards.

Many users aren't complaining about the Recommended apps themselves, but for the decision by Microsoft to put any advertisement within the Start menu at all. Luckily, previous reports that cite Insiders testing Windows 11 preview builds, users will be able to turn off advertisements within the Start menu by following these steps: Settings > Personalization > Start. Then switching "off" for "Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more."

The latest build of Windows 11 has reduced the total number of CPUs that Microsoft's latest operating system can run.

According to reports, the latest version of Windows 11 will not boot on PCs that have a CPU that doesn't support the SSE4.2 instruction set, which is a way for Microsoft to reduce the number of ancient PCs using old hardware from running the latest Windows operating system. Notably, the SSE4.2 instruction set arrived in the first generation of Core i5 and i7 processors, which was more than 15 years ago.

Microsoft's Windows 11 hardware requirements list does reveal a long list of supported CPUs, but this move has made that list smaller. Why does Microsoft do this? There are several reasons, some hardware may have limited security capabilities that don't meet Microsoft's current security standards for its latest operating system, while another reason could be an architectural limitation of the microchip itself, as Windows 11 may require a more advanced architecture to precisely draw resources from.

Windows 11 is getting a new feature called AI Explorer - or at least, AI PCs running the OS will be - and some fresh clues have been spotted that give us a hint of what it might do.

As you can see in the above and below tweets, a couple of regular leakers on X (formerly Twitter) have pointed out a few strings and hidden bits of code pertaining to AI Explorer that they've dug up in recent Windows 11 preview builds.

PhantomofEarth highlights some strings relating to 'screen understanding' being either on or off, and the following dialog: "Screen understanding is paused. Models are not available and need to be downloaded."

Windows 11 just had its latest update pushed out in preview form, and the bad news is that this is carrying additional adverts.

Yes, Microsoft has been more broadly experimenting with ads here and there in Windows 11 of late - as you may have noticed - and the preview update for April (KB5036980), which will be the Patch Tuesday release for May, comes with fresh adverts in the Start menu.

What kind of ads and where? Microsoft explains: "The Recommended section of the Start menu will show some Microsoft Store apps. These apps come from a small set of curated developers. This will help you to discover some of the great apps that are available."

The beginning of the end of TikTok in the United States is here as the Senate has passed a bill that bans the ByteDance-owned app from the app store as it's considered to be a piece of software that is controlled by an adversary nation, China.

The bill was recently passed in the House with 350-58 votes and has now passed in the Senate with 79 votes to 18. Notably, the act was bundled into HR 815, a law that included authorized military funding to support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. TikTok has been suspected as a surveillance application that is harvesting the data of millions of Americans, which doesn't sit well with many lawmakers, security experts, and the US government, especially considering TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company.

The new legislation deems TikTok a national security risk as the app can scrape the personal data of 170 million Americans, which could then be shared with China's government. The app also has the potential to be used to spread misinformation in the US. However, the legislation gives TikTok one way of staying available in the US - ByteDance sells its share of TikTok to an entity the US government is satisfied with.

Australia's government recently declared a video that was making the rounds on social media platforms a "terrorist attack," which has resulted in Australia's eSafety Commissioner asking social platforms to remove the content in question.

Australia demanded social platforms respect its laws that prohibit social platforms from hosting any content that depicts a terrorist attack, with the eSafety Commissioner asking Elon Musk's X to remove the content of an Australian man attacking bishop Mari Emmanuel in Sydney, Australia. Australia's government defined the incident as a terrorist attack due to it involving religious or ideological violence.

Elon Musk's X responded by blocking the content for Australian users, but Christopher Tran, the barrister for the eSafety commissioner, argued this decision doesn't represent the removal of the posts, which violates Australian law. The eSafety Commissioner demanded that X remove global access to the content to abide by its laws, which Musk promptly responded to by vowing to challenge the requirement.

The banning of TikTok has been talked about since the Trump administration but recently caught wind again last month when the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require TikTok's owner, ByteDance, to either sell the app or face a ban from regulators.

The first bill that was passed in the House last month didn't attract much attention from the Senate, meaning the app wasn't forced to be sold. However, efforts to get rid of TikTok have increased again with another bill that has already been passed in the House. This new bill expands the timeframe ByteDance has to sell the app, increasing the window from six months to nine months, along with the addition of a presidential ability to grant a further 90-day extension.

The bill was passed in the House 360-58 and was included in a larger package that featured foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. TechCrunch reports that the inclusion of TikTok within this larger bill was a way for House Speaker Mike Johnson to "attract more conservative support". It's expected the Senate will vote on this bill within the next couple of weeks, with President Joe Biden saying that it has already earned his support and that he will sign it if it passes.

The former White House cyber policy director has said Microsoft has a stunning amount of control over the US federal government and is not afraid to use it.

In a recent interview with The Register, ex-White House cyber policy director AJ Grotto explained that Microsoft has a surprising amount of control within the US federal government and that the company's recent security failings are an illustration of how Microsoft is a national security threat to the US.

Grotto explains that Microsoft accounts for 85% of the federal government productivity software services, and a result of that market dominance is Microsoft gaining an "awful lot" of leverage over the government, as it simply cannot walk away from such an engrained vendor. Microsoft's recent hacking by a Russian-linked group that resulted in corporate email accounts being compromised is one example of Microsoft's failings, which the company hasn't shown any significant response to.