Software & Apps - Page 35

Being able to choose what drive or directory to install a PC game on is not something you'd consider a luxury feature. It has been a point of contention for the Microsoft Store since the storefront debuted with Windows 8 in 2012. Fast forward to 2023, and the Microsoft Store app in Windows 11 (version 22310) has finally been updated to do just that - including the ability to install games like Starfield and Halo Infinite on an external drive.

You can now buy a game directly from the Microsoft Store and choose a drive or location on your PC to install it. To quote Jim Carrey from The Cable Guy, "The future is now!" For those using the Xbox app on Windows 10 or 11, you'll undoubtedly be aware that this has been a feature for a little while now - so it is great to see it finally make its way to the Microsoft Store proper.

It's just wild that it's taken so long and that Microsoft can tout what should be the norm as a brand-new feature coming to an app that has been around for over a decade.

It's fair to say that Threads is the darling of the social network world right now, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently claiming that there are around 100 million people using the platform right now. That means that you've probably been tempted to take it for a spin and even if you haven't, it's probably only a matter of time before you do. And now you can do without the fear of losing your Instagram account if you don't like it.

Because that's a very real problem that some people have had to deal with to date. Until now, there was no way to delete a Threads account without also deleting the accompanying Instagram account which is less than ideal. However, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has confirmed that a change has been made that now allows people to delete only a Threads profile while keeping the associated Instagram account intact.

That was a long-standing feature request for people who had taken Threads for a spin but later decided that it simply wasn't for them. The option to just let the account lay dormant was always there of course, but that has its own problems and should never be the only option. Now, it isn't, and that's great news for people who might have been on the fence about taking Threads for a test drive.

The rise of Threads as a competitor for X and Mastodon continues to be an impressive one, but Meta has been doing some things to try and raise its profile yet further. Part of that meant that Threads posts would often appear on Facebook, something that not everyone wanted to happen. Now, it seems that there has been a change made that gives users the option to finally stop it from happening.

The new toggle has appeared in the Threads app under the Privacy option. The toggle in question is actually two, with the 'Allow your posts to be suggested on:' portion of the settings allowing people to choose Instagram and Facebook independently. That's a more granular option than some might have expected and it's good that people now have more flexibility. Some might want their Threads posts to pop up on Instagram but not Facebook, for example.

It will be interesting to see whether this change has an impact on Threads' growth. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last month that Threads had almost 100 million monthly users at the time, and we can expect that to be more by now. However, it's a small number compared to the more than 500 million users that Elon Musk claims X currently has, although it's important to remember that Musk has been known to say things that aren't entirely true before.

If you're a WhatsApp user who finds themselves joining voice calls often you're probably already very aware that it can be annoying to receive that call when you're in the middle of something. It can also be startling to receive a call if you aren't expecting it, but WhatsApp is now changing the way that all works to make things a little less disruptive.

Having previously tested the change in beta form, WhatsApp is now rolling out a tweak to the way people are invited. The new voice chats should make things more palatable. Now, rather than receiving a call, people will receive a notification that can then be tapped just like any other. Once tapped they'll see an in-chat bubble that will allow them to join an ongoing voice chat if they want to. That's important because it means that just tapping the notification isn't enough to throw you into a call - a second tap is required.

WhatsApp confirmed the tweak in an updated support document that also confirms that voice chats will be available to groups of between 33 and 128 people. The feature is only available on a user's primary device as well, and the chat will automatically be closed if nobody joins the first or last person in the chat for 60 minutes.

Reports indicate that Apple is working on a big software update that will be rolled out as part of iOS 18, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Gurman, who is known for having his finger on the pulse of what is happening inside of Apple, wrote in the latest edition of his Power On magazine that Apple is referring to iOS 18 as "ambitious and compelling". Notably, Gurman writes that Apple is expected to roll out iOS 18 with "major new features and designs", which will come with additional improvements to performance and overall security.

As with most rumors, there isn't any specific discussion by Gurman, but there are some interesting pieces of information worth mentioning. iOS 18 will come "after a few years of modestly sized updates", which has been going on for many years now. Gurman writes this is a challenge that Apple is facing as iOS updates have been somewhat stagnant as of late, with each iteration shipping with steady improvement but not really any groundbreaking changes.

X, formerly called Twitter, will soon have new features added to it that will allow for a more fluid dating experience on the platform, or at least that's what X owner Elon Musk has teased.

The decision to morph X into a dating app is part of the Musk's overall push to create "the everything app", an app that has all of the features of the most downloaded apps one has on their smartphone. Core apps that users have on their smartphone include finance apps such as banking, stocks, cryptocurrency, messaging services, and calling. Musk plans to include all of these in one unified place, while also incorporating other features from other apps.

Musk spoke to X staffers and touched on "X Dating", saying that he has "found people on the platform" and that users are able to tell if they are a "good match" based on what they post. This comment was followed up by a question by X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who jokingly cut in "So, X Dating around the corner then?". Musk responded by saying, "Yeah. There's already some stuff happening to some degree. But I think we might be able to improve the dating situation."

YouTube has started cracking down on ad-blockers with a recent change that occurred last week that has severely angered millions of users around the globe.

YouTube has long been public about its stance regarding ad-blockers as these tools are used by millions of users around the world, which are reducing the company's overall revenue and ultimately are against its main business model - advertising. Now, the company has rolled out a change to its platform, which has come in the form of a simple "block" that requests the user disable its adblocker or whitelist YouTube.

It appears this change has affected a select group of YouTube accounts, and from personal experience, I only know a few people who have had their accounts added to the initial rollout list - my brother being one. YouTube confirmed this change of disabling video watching for select accounts back in June, with the company writing back then that it would only affect a small group of accounts globally. However, that has now changed as millions of accounts have been added to the list over the following weeks/months.

Windows 10 is set to see the arrival of Microsoft's Copilot AI according to insiders who spoke to Windows Central.

Zac Bowden is one of the most prolific Microsoft leakers out there, and he tells us that his sources assert that the plan is to bring Copilot to Windows 10 in an update that'll be released soon.

We're pretty shocked at the decision, considering that no so long ago, we were told that Windows 10 wouldn't get any more features at all - beyond small tweaks, anyway (and the obligatory security updates of course). And feature additions couldn't come any bigger than Copilot, it's the veritable centerpiece of the latest Windows 11 23H2 update.

We're used to speedruns with games, of course, but these days there are super-quick attempts at all sorts of weird and wonderful pursuits in the tech world - like Duolingo.

The language learning app is probably not your first choice for a speedrun, mind, and it looks like YouTuber JoZapinski regretted the idea towards the end of the video uploaded showing the run (see above).

JoZapinski said that he expected to complete the entire Spanish course in 12 to 14 hours, but it actually took 24 hours (so the video is sped up in the middle, to get around Google's 12 hour upload limit).

Sending videos and photos via the WhatsApp instant messaging platform in their original quality might be about to change, with the Meta-owned company testing a tweak that will allow people to send them as files. The change will mean that people no longer have to send photos and videos via the media picker, with WhatsApp now testing the feature via the TestFlight beta program on the iPhone.

The feature change is currently only available in the WhatsApp beta for iOS 23.3.0.76 update, although it seems likely that it will eventually roll out to everyone who installs the app via the App Store.

The tweak was first reported by the WhatsApp watchers at WABetaInfo with the report noting that the change will allow people to send files and videos in their original quality as if they were any other file. However, they will still be limited to the same 2GB size as other files, which could be an issue for those sharing larger and longer videos.

Windows 11 23H2, officially known as Windows 11 2023 Update, has been out for a short while now, available to those who want to upgrade from 22H2.

However, there's a catch, and that's regarding installing the latest incarnation of Windows 11 with the Media Creation Tool (which is used for a fresh install of the OS via a bootable USB stick or DVD).

If you go this route, even though Microsoft states that the current release version of the Media Creation Tool is the 23H2 update, in actual fact, it still fetches 22H2 instead.

Hot on the heels of announcing new, more powerful Macs, and then discontinuing the 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple has now canceled something else. In this case, the canceled product isn't hardware but rather a service.

That service is the Apple Music Voice tier which previously allowed people to pay a reduced price for their music streaming so long as they only wanted to access it using Siri. That was particularly useful for owners of HomePods, for example, because they wouldn't need to access their music using the desktop or mobile apps. However, the Apple Music Voice tier is no longer available after Apple canceled it.

The Apple Music Voice tier was previously available for just $4.99 per month and was originally launched back in 2021. Before its cancelation, Apple Music Voice was available in the U.S., Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan, and the U.K.

Windows 11's big annual update has finally arrived for 2023, and while it certainly brings goodies in tow as you'd expect, you may be a little underwhelmed.

That's because some of the major features for 23H2 - which Microsoft is calling the Windows 11 2023 Update (we'd prefer Windows 11 Fall Creators Update Part 7 ourselves) - have already been rolled out to those on 22H2.

That includes the most important new feature for Windows 11 this year, the Copilot AI (though it's still very barebones). This began rolling out at the end of September, but not quite everyone has it yet - if you grab the 23H2 update, you'll be assured of getting the AI assistant.

The owner of the social media platform once called Twitter, now called X, has revealed that the old version of the social media platform was an "arm of the government".

Elon Musk has sat down for a 2.5 hour podcast with Joe Rogan on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast where he discussed the variety of topics, one of which was how he carried out the $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform formerly called Twitter. Musk said that Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey wasn't aware of the level of control the government had over the social media platform, nor was the public.

Musk said he discovered this after taking over the company, saying a more accurate way of thinking of old Twitter was a "state publication". Musk explains that old Twitter was plagued by an extremely liberal ideology that pushed for the silencing of any other political opinion, with Musk even going as far to say that republican users on Twitter were "supressed 10 times the rate of democrats".

Google's Chrome web browser is available for download from the App Store for those who would prefer to use that than the Safari browser that ships with the iPhone. And now they have a new feature to use that borrows heavily from that incumbent browser.

Google has announced that its latest Chrome for iPhone update includes the option to move the address bar to the bottom of the screen for the first time. That's a feature that could be of huge benefit to people who like the larger display of devices like the iPhone 15 Pro Max but don't have the biggest of hands. However, for those who prefer to keep the address bar at the top, nothing needs to change.

This move echoes one that Apple made with its own Safari not that long ago. However, Apple moved the address bar to the bottom for everyone, a move that proved controversial. Ultimately, Apple later chose to allow people to decide for themselves with iPhones now featuring an option that allows people to move the address bar as required.

Some Windows 11 users are running into trouble when installing the latest update for the desktop operating system.

That's patch KB5031455 for Windows 11 22H2, and it should be noted that it's an optional update - so you don't have to touch it. These preview updates are by their very nature more likely to have bugs in them, of course.

This update is an important one because it's the first to carry Moment 4 features for Windows 11 users who haven't elected to receive such features early - so this is the full general rollout of Moment 4, in other words.

Earlier this year, we reported on Microsoft expanding its compression support in Windows 11 to include native RAR, 7-Zip, and other file formats that aren't your basic ZIP files. For those that have been dealing with archived files over the years, undoubtedly, you've encountered some RAR files - which have been a Windows staple since Windows 95. Native support has been a long time coming; does this mean no more WinRAR? Well, not quite.

Five months after confirming that Windows 11 would be getting much more compression love, the support arrives as part of the latest KB5031455 (OS Build 22621.2506) Preview update. But there's a catch, at least in this first version. The new compression features in Windows 11 do not support password-encrypted files.

However, the expanded archive support now includes 11 new file formats with the help of the open-source libarchive project, which is described as an "efficient C library that can read and write streaming archives in a variety of formats."

WhatsApp, the wildly popular instant messaging app and platform currently owned by Meta, is reportedly testing the ability for people to use passkeys to sign into their accounts. That's according to code found in the latest beta version of the app.

That code was found by software developer and researcher @aaronp613 on X, the social network previously known as Twitter. The code shows that WhatsApp is working on implementing support for passkeys to allow for safer account management and signing in.

Passkey support would allow users of WhatsApp to sign into the iPhone app using Face ID or Touch ID on devices that support those biometric security systems. For those times when those aren't available - when wearing a mask or gloves, for example - the device's passcode can also be entered instead.

If you use Facebook or Instagram and live in a number of European countries, you're soon going to have the option to spend money to remove ads. parent company Meta has also confirmed that it will no longer show ads to people under the age of 18, although there is no guarantee that won't change in the future after the company said it was going to pause them rather than ditch them.

The move comes as Meta finds itself under increasing fire from the EU over the way it does business in its member countries, and it's taken the steps of offering people the chance to remove ads before being forced to remove ads altogether. However, this move only offers the ad-free paid tier to people in EU countries including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Notably, the UK is not included on that list as it is no longer part of the European Union.

We've reported on the efforts of NTDEV and its work to create leaner and more memory and space-efficient versions of Windows 11 multiple times in the past. The developer's Tiny11 is a lightweight version of Microsoft's OS that removes all of the bloat and telemetry to deliver a streamlined experience that still benefits from its key functionality.

Tiny11 is a great option for those with outdated hardware or limited storage space, not to mention those who simply want a no-fuss version of the operating system to run on a VM for testing. Tiny11 Core is the latest version from NTDEV, and it's another impressive feat because it uses LZX Compression to not only drastically reduce the size of the ISO but also the amount of space the full Windows 11 OS takes once up and running.

The team took to Twitter/X to announce that with Tiny11 Core and LZX Compression, this lightweight version of Windows 11 only takes up 3.25 GB of disk space after installation. Compared to the 20+ Gigabytes required for a standard Windows install, it's impressive.