Software & Apps - Page 4

Microsoft debuted the Copilot app for Mac users last week, and this week, the Redmond-based company has thrown a fresh coat of paint onto the Copilot app for Windows users. Introducing, the new and approved Copilot app.

Microsoft explained in a new blog post the Copilot app for Windows 11 has been changed to fall in line with the rest of Windows 11's aesthetic design, with the implementation of a sidebar for separating multiple chats users have with Copilot, native context menus, and an overhauled user interface. Notably, the Copilot app for Windows, when it launched,d was simply a web view of the Copilot website, which came with problems such as delayed responses, missing features for specific users with unknown reasons as to why, and other various minor issues.

Those all seem to be stamped out with the release of the Copilot app, or at least I can report my experience with the app has been quite smooth throughout my time using it (a few days). Additionally, it appears that no features are present on the web version have been lost with the native Copilot app, so you can expect the full functionality with the new app. For those who have never used the Copilot app, users are able to query Copilot with a wide variety of questions either through natural language text or through the Copilot Voice feature. All chats with Copilot will be saved in the sidebar.

Windows 11's most recent (optional) update has been causing serious problems with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, according to some reports - though Microsoft has also fixed a separate issue with this patch.

Let's start with that nasty Black Ops 6 bug, with the game seemingly being scuppered by KB5052093, which is the preview update for February 2025 for Windows 11 24H2.

Windows Latest picked up on this and points out that reports of this happening seem to be scattered, with just a reader complaining and a couple of gamers on Reddit.

Miss the heady days of Windows Vista? Well, some people must, as the ancient operating system from Microsoft has been recreated in a modern take, as a theme for Windows 11.

To be precise, this is a DIY patchwork theme for the utility Windhawk that goes by the name of the 'Windows Vista 2025 Edition.'

Windows Central spotted this, and explains that the setup process is rather convoluted (not to mention that it comes with something of an oddity).

Microsoft has made the Copilot app available on macOS, so those curious to try out the AI on an Apple computer can now grab it from the Mac App Store.

It's not available to all those with a Mac, though, and there are some notable system and regional requirements to be aware of.

You'll need to be running macOS 14.0 or better, and Apple M-series silicon is also necessary to run the Copilot software (M1 or better, in other words).

Mozilla has released its Terms of Service for Firefox, which has sparked some outrage from users who noticed broad language such as, "When you upload or input information through Firefox, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information."

The official Terms of Service for the Firefox browser have been showcased along with an update to the Privacy Policy, in which Mozilla explains that prior to these updates, it has been using an open-source license paired with public promises, but beginning in March 2025, users will have to agree to the new and more specific license agreement to use the browser.

According to the updated terms, Firefox users will need to agree to give Mozilla a worldwide, royalty-free license to use all information uploaded or inputted into the Firefox browser, as Mozilla claims the data it will be gathering is critical to making Firefox a competitive and feature-rich browser. As you can probably imagine, the language used sparked immediate pushback from Firefox users, some of which noticed Mozilla removed previous statements in its terms of use, such as "Unlike other companies, we don't sell access to your data".

With the rise of digital media, ownership of games, books, and music has shifted dramatically from the days of physical copies. In a recent move, Amazon has removed the ability to download and transfer purchased books from the Kindle store, further restricting user control over their digital libraries.

As reported by The Verge, the change took effect on February 26. Previously, Kindle users could download purchased books as files for use on a PC or other devices. Following the update, users can still transfer files from their computer to a Kindle, but can no longer download fresh copies of purchased books directly from Amazon's store.

Amazon responded to the change, emphasizing that purchases will remain accessible through its ecosystem:

Apple has confirmed its voice-to-text feature does currently have a glitch that makes it write "Trump" when a user says the word "racist".

Apple has verified this bug is real, and it's currently working on a solution for the glitch that has been detected by some users who have shared video footage of it occurring on social media platforms. According to Apple, the glitch happens because the speech recognition models powering the feature can sometimes display words with phonetic overlap until further analysis from the model can be conducted and the correct word displayed. Apple says the bug has been suggesting "Trump" in replacement of several other words beginning with the "r" consonant.

Microsoft has subtly launched a new version of Microsoft Office for Windows users, but it has arrived in an intentionally gimped state.

The new version of Microsoft Office has been unsurprisingly paywalled by the Redmond-based company, with the suite of apps being based on their full counterparts, but access to the entirety of each app's features is locked behind a Microsoft 365 subscription. Additionally, advertisements are present on-screen at all times when a user is within each of the free apps, and this new free version of Office only allows files to be saved to Microsoft's OneDrive, which means users are unable to edit files locally stored on a device.

The list of limitations don't stop there, as the free Office apps don't come with support for add-ins, dictation, advanced formatting, designer, smartart, and many other features. Judging by what is available, Microsoft solely intends these free versions of the Office apps to be used in their most barebones state, with the lack of features being the enticing aspect of getting users to sign up for Microsoft 365.

Data conscious iOS users across the UK just lost the ability to add extra layers of security as Apple has revoked the option of Advanced Data Protection for iCloud users.

For those unfamiliar with Advanced Data Protection, the feature enables users to add end-to-end encryption for their iCloud data, making it extremely difficult for their iCloud data to be stolen, tampered with, or viewed. However, UK users of this feature won't be able to use it any longer as Apple has responded to the recent UK government orders that force companies such as Apple to add backdoors to its encrypted systems.

Instead of enabling the backdoors Apple has decided to remove the feature entirely for UK users, and for users that currently have it enabled Apple says they will have to disable it to regain access to their iCloud account. Notably, due to the nature of the end-to-end encryption system, Apple is unable to make the change remotely, so users will have to navigate to the Advanced Data Protection page within the settings and disable it manually.

Notepad has been around for more than 40 years, and throughout that time, Microsoft made simple software free, but that time has now come to an end, or at least if you want full access to Notepad.

The age of Notepad having a paywall has arrived, with the simple writing software now prompting users to sign into a Microsoft account to access new tools such as Rewrite, a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to rewrite highlighted text. Users attempting to use the new feature will be prompted with a Microsoft account sign-in page, and if the account doesn't have an active Microsoft 365 membership, the user will be required to sign up. This is the paywall.

It should be noted that you can still use Notepad without a Microsoft account, and users can go as far as removing the Rewrite icon completely from Notepad. Despite the ability to still use the software without an account, Microsoft has received some criticism for implementing what is most definitely a paywall/advertisement for a built-in piece of Windows software.