The new Insider feature is launching today with three applications with support for ARM devices; Start11 v2, Fences 5, and Groupy 2 for ARM builds are now available in Object Desktop Manager application as well as from your Downloads dashboard when you login to your account.

Support for ARM devices is a big step forward for Stardock and with Microsoft once again placing a big emphasis on the upcoming release of Windows that also supports new ARM chips, we wanted to make sure our applications are available where our customers are headed.

While ARM releases are currently limited to Object Desktop Insider, we do anticipate in the future that support for the platform will be part of our general release. But for early adopters of Windows on ARM who are looking to bring their favorite productivity apps to their desktop, Object Desktop Insider is ready for you.

With the Insider program being part of Object Desktop, this allows us to bring some features and products to our customers faster. While the testing and validation of each build for stability occurs with all of our releases, Object Desktop Insider builds will contain newer features before they may be fully baked as we evaluate the scenarios of how a feature functions in the real world.

In addition to ARM support, we are experimenting with a new application that lets Object Desktop members have access to AI-tools without having to sign up for each service that comes online. While the app is still in its very early stages, we expect to make it available to Insiders in the coming months.

Object Desktop is available for $49.95, or as an upgrade for $34.95. For more information, visit the website here.

Non ARM versions are also included in Object Desktop, or you can purchase and download the following programs Fences, Start11, Groupy, SoundPackager, DeskScapes and Multiplicity as standalone apps.

Disclaimer: Neowin's relationship to Stardock

[Contains Neowin affiliate links]

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Many modern browsers let you keep the address and search bar separate. That saves you a few clicks when you want to find something on the internet. Instead of opening a new tab, you can type your request on the current page and press Enter to make your browser create a new tab for you.

As of right now, Microsoft Edge has only one big box that works as both an address bar and a search bar. By default, everything you type into it opens on the current page. However, you can use Alt + Enter to search in a new tab or Shift + Enter to launch a new window. Microsoft is going to change that and let users choose if they want to keep a single address bar or add another one for search only.

Microsoft is A/B testing the new search bar in Microsoft Edge Canary, which means only some insiders can access it right now. However, you can force-enable the new feature using a modified shortcut. Here is how to do it (via Deskmodder😞

1. Turn off Startup Boost in Menu > System and Performance.
2. Close the browser.
3. Click your Edge Canary shortcut and press Alt + Enter to open its Properties window.
4. Click the Target box and add to it the following command: --enable-features=msSearchBoxInToolbar,msSearchBoxInToolbarSearchInteractionTrigger,msSearchBoxInToolbarShownTrigger
5. Save the changes and launch Microsoft Edge Canary using the modified shortcut.
6. Go to Menu > Settings > Appearance and scroll down a little. You will find two new radio buttons that let you show an additional search box in the toolbar or hide it.

    

   

It is worth noting that you can use the address bar to search for something on the internet even with the new search bar on.

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Firefox 123 includes just a few changes and features. The major feature in the release is a new tool to report broken websites directly to Mozilla.

All development builds of Firefox are updated around the same time as well. Firefox Beta and Development builds move to version 124 and Firefox Nightly makes the jump to version 125. Firefox for Android follows the versioning scheme of the Stable desktop version; it too gets the update to version 123.0.

I have installed Firefox 123.0 on a test system to review all of its changes and features.

Executive Summary

• Mozilla introduces a new website compatibility report tool in Firefox that Firefox users may use to report broken sites to the organization.
• Tooltips and form controls text is now also translated by Firefox's integrated translation feature.
• Firefox View information may now be searched.
• Known Issue: Firefox on machines with older AMD processors may render thumbnails as "all black" in file dialogs. Mozilla suggests updating the graphics driver to address the issue.

Firefox 123.0 download and update

Most Firefox installations receive updates automatically thanks to the built-in updating.

Note: our review is published before the official release. The updates will become later on the day of publication.

Firefox users who do not want to wait for the update to roll out to their system may speed up the installation. This is done through manual update checks.

Select Firefox Menu > Help > About Firefox to run a manual update check. Firefox should pick up the update and install it on the device.

Here are the official download locations:

• Firefox Stable download
• Firefox Beta download
• Nightly download
• Firefox ESR download
• Firefox for Android on Google Play

Firefox 123.0 major changes

Report broken site

The main new feature that Mozilla introduces in Firefox 123.0 is a report tool. Users of the Firefox web browser may report broken sites to Mozilla. The main idea behind the feature is to help Mozilla address compatibility issues in Firefox.

Firefox has a much smaller userbase than the Chromium-based browsers. Multiple companies, including Google and Microsoft, find and deal with compatibility issues in the Chromium source.

The new reporting tool involves the Firefox community. Select Firefox Menu > Report broken site to open the reporting tool. Select a reason, e.g., site slow or not working, ad blockers, or sign-in or sign-out and hit the send button. You may add text to the report, which you should do to provide additional details that describe the issue that you experience on the site.

Mozilla announces the new website compatibility reporter in the following way: "Having any issues with a website on Firefox, yet the site seems to be working as expected on another browser? You can now let us know via the Web Compatibility Reporting Tool! By filing a web compatibility issue, you’re directly helping us detect, target, and fix the most impacted sites to make your browsing experience on Firefox smoother."

Other changes and fixes

• Firefox translates website tooltips, e.g., when hovering over images, and text displayed in form controls now as well. Mozilla launched Firefox's native translate feature in Firefox 117.
• Firefox View, accessible via the dedicated button in the top left corner of the browser's interface, supports search now. This allows you to find open, closed, or tabs from other devices quickly.
• Address bar settings are now fond in the Search section in Firefox's Settings.

Developer changes

• The <template> element now supports a shadowrootmode attribute that allows declarative creation of a shadow DOM subtree.
• The <linearGradient> and <radialGradient> SVG elements now support changing the color space.
• Firefox supports the 103 Early Hints HTTP information response status code for preloading resources now.
• The Web Authentication API now supports cross-origin credential creation.
• Addition of fhe contextualIdentities.move function enables items to be moved in the list of contextual identities.
• The new Save Response As option of the Network Monitor allows saving a response body to the local system. It replaces the "Save Image" context menu option, as it only supported saving images.

Enterprise changes

Firefox 123 includes just three Enterprise changes:

• Mozilla addressed an issue with the background updater on systems with multiple user accounts. The tool updates "now properly" according to Mozilla. The bug report provides additional information. According to the report, the background update task did not run if the user who installed Firefox on the machine was not logged in.
• The Preferences policy allows setting the type of a preference using Type. This addresses the issue that Integer preferences with values 0 or 1 were set as Boolean previously.
• The UserMessaging policy has been updated to also control whether the translation feature is advertised to users in a popup.

Security updates / fixes

Not yet published, come back later for the information.

Outlook

Firefox 124 and Firefox ESR 115.9 will be released on March 19, 2024

Recent Firefox news and tips

• Mozilla has a new CEO.
• After taking over the reigns, Mozilla's new CEO switched the organization's business strategy. Core focus is now Firefox and AI.

Additional information / resources

• Firefox 123 release notes
• Firefox 123 for Developers
• Firefox 123 for Enterprise
• Firefox Security Advisories
• Firefox Release Schedule

Closing Words

The introduction of the web compatibility reporter tool could help improves Firefox's overall web compatibility. It may help Mozilla prioritize development and may point at issues that the developers and engineers were not aware of.

There is a chance that Mozilla may get flooded with generic reports though.

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According to various reports on Reddit and Microsoft's Feedback Hub, KB5034765 breaks Windows 11 by leaving blank space where its taskbar usually resides. As a result, affected customers cannot launch pinned apps, switch between running applications, access the Quick Setting menu, check the notification area, and more. In Windows, the taskbar is a cornerstone of the user interface, so losing access to it is a big problem.

Microsoft has not acknowledged the problem yet. Therefore, affected users need to figure out the problem and fix their computers without specific guides or workarounds from the Windows maker. Fortunately, it seems that you do not need deep knowledge of Windows to mend your system. Uninstalling KB5034765 helped some users resolve the problem. Here is how to do that.

1. Naturally, if your system is affected, you cannot right-click the Start menu to open the Settings app. Therefore, press Win + I to launch it without the Start menu.
2. Go to the Windows Update section and click Update history.
3. Press Uninstall updates.
4. Find KB5034765 and click Uninstall.
5. Windows will ask you to confirm the action, so click Uninstall again.
6. Restart your computer.

There is no information on what exactly triggers the problem and if the KB5034765 is the culprit. You can try uninstalling it as a quick and easy fix. As a reminder, Windows is a very diverse ecosystem with thousands of hardware configurations and even more software configurations. Therefore, multiple factors may affect your experience and cause a random bug or two. Taskbar malfunction sounds like a serious one, so hopefully, Microsoft will address it soon.

Is your system doing okay after installing the latest cumulative updates?

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Image editing tools have been a staple of the computing world since the early 90s, and their popularity can be traced back to Adobe Photoshop. First released as a third-party app for the original Mac OS, the tool made it easy for untrained users to manipulate and edit digital images.

Although many raster graphics editors have emerged in recent years, Photoshop is still one of the most popular designing tools in 2024. And it all started on February 19, 1990, when Adobe released the first version of Photoshop.

Before Photoshop, there was Display

Which started out as a barebones app

Within a year, the brothers had come up with version 0.63 or “Bond,” the first prototype of Photoshop. The same year, Thomas approached Barneyscan, a company that mainly created desktop scanners. Back in 1988, there was little interest in the scanner market as users could barely do anything with the scanned images. As such, Barneyscan needed an innovation to attract users to its 24-bit scanners.

The Knoll brothers’ Photoshop application was the golden goose for the firm. Even in its early state, users could not only resize, sharpen, and transform images, but they could also modify the color space of digital images. At the time, only industry-grade tools allowed modification of scanned images, and they could cost upwards of $1M. In contrast, Photoshop, when paired with Barneyscan’s scanners, allowed users to edit and scan images for just $15,000!

Barneyscan started selling a rebranded version of Photoshop

And soon, the Knoll brothers made a deal with Adobe

With Barneyscan keen on acquiring the product, Thomas Knoll proposed selling the rights to Photoshop for a $300K sum and 18% of the income generated using the image editor. Barneyscan countered the proposal with a short-term offer to provide a $250 royalty on every sale of their scanner-Photoshop combo. Once the deal was accepted by the Knoll brothers, the company began shipping their scanners with Barneyscan XP, a modified version of Photoshop that could only run on proprietary hardware.

In the meantime, John traveled to Silicon Valley to showcase the application to Apple and Adobe. Both companies were impressed with Photoshop, and Adobe acquired the license to distribute the application in September 1988. On February 19, 1990, Adobe released the first commercial version of the Mac OS (or Classic Mac OS, as it is called today).

Photoshop turned out to be a fruitful venture for Adobe

Even Microsoft started seeking a slice of the Photoshop pie

Following its release, Adobe’s version of Photoshop quickly gained a lot of traction from users, with its popularity skyrocketing over the next couple of years. What truly cemented Photoshop’s status as a game changer was the fact that it made retouching and modifying images more accessible to ordinary users. Earlier, it could easily take hundreds, or even thousands of dollars just to edit one digital picture. With Adobe Photoshop, all you needed was a Macintosh system, and you could pay a one-time premium of $895 to retouch as many images as you wanted.

Soon, Microsoft realized the potential of Photoshop. In 1993, the company ported Adobe Photoshop 2.5 over to Windows, exposing even more users to the killer app. During this time, Adobe’s contract with the Knoll brothers stipulated that the company must pay a royalty for every sale of Photoshop. This led to Adobe eventually purchasing the rights to Photoshop from the Knoll brothers for $34.5M in 1995.

Photoshop: 34 years later

After acquiring Photoshop, Adobe began adding more features to the application. By the early 2000s, Photoshop became synonymous with image editing. Heck, Photoshop became so popular that many companies began focusing their efforts on creating plug-ins and add-ons for the application.

In October 2003, Adobe launched the first commercial release of the app under the name Photoshop CS, with the new version featuring an overhauled UI. After spending a decade incorporating new functionalities into Photoshop, Adobe switched to a subscription model and began offering Photoshop alongside other products under the Creative Cloud subscription. Adobe’s transition to a software-as-a-service model caused quite a bit of backlash from the community, though the company remained steadfast in its decision. By 2017, Adobe had removed Photoshop CS6, the last version of the app that supported perpetual licenses, from its store.

And here we are, 34 years after the release of the groundbreaking app. With AI taking the world by storm, Adobe, like most tech firms, has integrated generative AI facilities into its application suite. While Photoshop has radically changed since its early days, the fact that it still has a ton of users in this day and age is a testament to its success.

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What you need to know

• Microsoft recently shipped a major update to its Sticky Notes app for Windows.
• The update adds a new and modern appeal to the platform, as well as a neat feature that lets you find the original source of your screenshots easily.
• The new Sticky Notes app is currently in preview, so it might not be available for everyone immediately.
• Interestingly, the new app doesn't ship with AI capabilities.  

It's barely been a few weeks since Microsoft teased major updates shipping to the Sticky Notes app on Windows 11 and Windows 10. And now, the company is living up to its promises and has unveiled the new Sticky Notes app on Windows.

Microsoft says the new Sticky Notes experience is now available via the OneNote app on Windows in preview. The company added that the new experience is "focused on creating and recalling notes more seamlessly than ever."

As you may know, the Sticky Notes app is a nifty tool that lets users note important details and information on their Windows devices. Sadly, it's one of the in-box Windows apps that hasn't received any major update since Microsoft shipped Windows 11.

However, it seems that this is about to change this year. Right off the bat, the app spots a new and sleek look that aligns with the modern design you'll find in other apps that are updated every so often, like Microsoft Designer or even the recently launched Microsoft PC Manager.

It also ships with a neat tool that simplifies the note-taking process as well as how you capture screenshots. The new Sticky Notes app links the screenshot of the web page, app, or document for future reference as it will redirect you to the source instantly. 

No AI capabilities for the new Sticky Notes app?

A screenshot of the new Sticky Notes app for Windows being used side-by-side with PowerPoint to promote efficiency and effectiveness.  (Image credit: Microsoft)

While teasing the new updates for the Sticky Notes app, the team behind its development promised that the updates shipping to the platform won't transform it into a web app. So far, the team has kept its promise on this front.

Interestingly, the new and overhauled Sticky Notes app doesn't ship with AI-powered capabilities. Microsoft has doubled down on its efforts to integrate AI across most of its products and services, including its in-box Windows apps like Notepad and Paint. 

The new Sticky Notes app might not be available for everyone immediately, since Microsoft is rolling it out in waves. It's currently rolling out to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Current Channel (Preview) running OneNote on Windows Version 2402 (Build 17328.20000) or later.

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This overview lists all important features and changes that the Moment Update 5 introduces. Note that some of the listed features may roll out over time, even though they are part of the update.

Moment Update 5 highlights

The final Moment Update introduces compliance with the European Union's Digital Markets Act. It gives users from the EU control over certain features, including the ability to uninstall Microsoft Edge, turn off Bing in Windows Search, and disable news in Widgets.

The feature drop includes a number of changes for all users. This includes various AI updates in integrated tools, support for using Windows Ink in text boxes, and several smaller changes.

AI changes and new AI features

Moment Update 5 is not the update that turns Windows 11 into the AI operating system. Still, Microsoft continues its push of AI tools, features, and services into the Windows 11 operating system.

Windows Copilot's icon is moved to the right side of the taskbar. It replaces the traditional hidden Show Desktop button there by default. A new setting in the taskbar preferences restores Show Desktop, but you need to enable this manually.

The Copilot icon remains in the same location, but you may hide it or turn off Copilot in Windows altogether, if you prefer to do so.

Copilot's interface may also be a bit wider now and it works on all connected monitors.

Windows 11's Snap Assist feature may show suggestions now for certain layouts. Hover over the maximize button of a window to see available layouts. Apps may be shown in some of them, and when you select these options, Windows will automatically show these in the areas on the screen.

Widgets changes

The Widgets Board of the operating system has offered some customization options up to this point. You could pick interests to populate the news section and also show or hide other widgets.

What Windows 11 users could not do until now was to turn off the news feed entirely. This changes with the release of the update. Now it is possible to hide the news widget to only display others in the Widgets Board.

Do the following to remove the News widget:

1. Open the Widgets Board with a click on the icon.
2. Select the preferences icon in the top right corner of the interface to open the options.
3. Locate "Show or Hide Feeds" and click on it.
4. Toggle Microsoft Start to off. This disables the entire News feed in the Windows Board.

Now it is possible to disable all widgets. Microsoft is opening the Widgets Board for third-party services. This could, in theory, introduce other news providers to the Widgets Board in the future. A link to the Microsoft Store is already provided to install third-party widgets.

Fun fact: if you uninstall Microsoft Edge, you get a blank Widgets Board.

Application updates

Several built-in tools receive new features after installation of the Moment Update 5.

• Snipping Tool -- the screen capturing tool supports adding shapes to images now.
• Notepad -- is getting an "explain with Copilot" context menu option. This can be used to get an explanation for the selected text from Copilot.
• Mobile Devices -- there is a new option under Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices in the Settings app called "Allow this PC to access your mobile devices". One of the first features is the ability to access photos taken with the mobile device quickly.
• Settings app -- features a new "get Copilot" ad on the homepage. There is also a new option to repair the Windows installation using Windows Update). You find it under System > Recovery in the Settings. This lets you repair Windows without the need to prepare installation media or using the "reset" option.
• Windows Spotlight is set as the default provider for background images (wallpapers). This is only the case if the default Windows wallpaper was set as the background image prior to installation of the update.
• The Microsoft Store has a new "arcade" section. It lists games that you may play without installation.

Smaller changes

The following list contains smaller updates.

• You may now give your PCs a descriptive name for the Nearby Sharing feature to improve identification. This is located under System > Nearby Sharing > Your device is discoverable as "...". Note that when you turn on Nearby Sharing, that Windows 11 will turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi automatically, if disabled.
• The Share feature of the operating system supports third-party services now, including WhatsApp, X and several more.
• Windows 365 Boot & Switch is getting a new dedicated mode. This supports booting into Windows 365 Cloud PCs from devices directly after sign-in. This also supports faster account switching.
• Task View is getting some improvements for Windows 365. There is a new option to disconnect from a Cloud PC and new indicators that reveal if the PC if you are on the local desktop or the Cloud PC's desktop.
• Narrator got support for natural voices, which users may add under Settings > Accessibility > Narrator under Narrator's voice. This feature is limited to some languages. You may preview and select one out of multiple available languages.
• Voice access may now be used to control Narrator and support for creating custom commands. Commands include opening a folder, file, or application, pasting text or media, or clicking with the mouse.

Closing Words

Moment Update 5 will be the last update of its kind. Microsoft is switching again to yearly feature update releases. The next one, Windows 11 version 24H2, will be released in the second half of 2024.

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Of course, people on Reddit and X are not having it, so there are already plenty of complaints.

Sadly, there is no apparent option to hide the new sidebar button, and the only easy method to get rid of it is to turn on the Copilot button (how convenient for Microsoft). Still, Edge users are not left dead in the waters, and there is a command you can use to remove the permanent sidebar button. The solution is not as elegant as a regular toggle, but at least you can make it work.

Here is how to turn off the sidebar button in Microsoft Edge:

1. Go to Settings > System and performance and toggle off Startup boost.
2. Close Microsoft Edge.
3. Right-click your Microsoft Edge shortcut on the desktop (create one if you do not have it) and click Properties. Tip: you can select a shortcut and press Alt + Enter to get to the Properties window faster.
4. Click the Target field, place one space, and type --disable-features=msGenericIconSidebarButton
5. Save the changes and launch the browser using your modified shortcut. The sidebar button should no longer be there.

Again, this solution is not very elegant because it only works when you launch Microsoft Edge using the modified shortcut. Any other method to invoke Edge, including clicking a link, will open the browser with the new button back in its wrong place.

If you are not happy with the new sidebar button, share your feedback with Microsoft. Open Edge and press Alt + Shift + I or open Menu > Help & Feedback > Send Feedback.

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As it turned out, Windows has dedicated IDs responsible for bringing back some of the apps you have previously deleted. Turning them off using the ViveTool should put an end to that and ensure Dev Home, Outlook, and Teams stay out of your system the next time you install a new build from the Dev, Canary, or another Channel. Here is how to do that.

1. Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files in a convenient and easy-to-find folder.
2. Launch elevated Command Prompt (run as Administrator).
3. Navigate to the folder containing the ViveTool files with the CD command. For example, if you have placed ViveTool in C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
4. Type vivetool /disable /id:43180945,44686276,44697583 and press Enter.
5. Restart your computer.

Now, you can delete the new Outlook app, Dev Home, and Teams. These apps should no longer return after the next upgrade to a newer build. The commands above should also work when upgrading a stable version, but considering that Stable Channel gets a full build upgrade once a year (look out for the next one in the second half of 2024), you probably should not bother.

Speaking of other interesting update-related findings, did you know that keeping the Settings app open when installing updates slows the process down? If you have a low-power Windows machine, closing the Settings app will help it finish installing notably faster.

Credit for the IDs goes to Albacore (@thebookisclosed) on X.

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What is new in the February 2024 firmware update for the Surface Laptop 5?

The following update is available for Surface Laptop 5 devices running Windows 10 October 2022 Update, Version 22H2, or greater.

 

Improvements and fixes:

 

• Resolves intermittent boot to Windows logo issue.
• Address battery error message in Surface App.
• Improves Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock stability.

Here is the list of new drivers:

Here is extra information about the release:

Keep in mind that Microsoft does not allow uninstalling Surface firmware updates, so each install is a one-way ticket. Even though the update does not contain any known issues, back up important information before getting to the latest firmware on your Surface computer. There were times when Microsoft pushed a buggy firmware update, so it is better to be safe than sorry.

Like other recently released Surface computers, the Surface Pro 5 has a six-year lifecycle. Its end of support is scheduled for October 25, 2028.

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While AMD was the first company to release NPU hardware, both on notebooks as well as on desktops, unfortunately, the company's chips currently are not supported by Microsoft's DirectML API, which meant AI acceleration inside Windows is out of the equation for the moment. So, we were not able to gauge how capable AMD's NPU really is.

Intel is in a slightly better position as Microsoft recently unveiled that DirectML NPU support for Team Blue is now in preview. However, things are looking up for AMD. In a recent community blog post, the company announced that it is working with Redmond to enable the Microsoft Compute Driver Model (MCDM) on AMD's NPUs which means Task Manager will be able to monitor NPU usage on AMD's Ryzen PCs as well. At the moment, it only works on Intel chips.

AMD also feels that monitoring NPU use can be useful especially in laptop and notebook scenarios to ensure an efficient PC. It writes:

AMD has been working with Microsoft to enable MCDM (Microsoft Compute Driver Model) infrastructure on the AMD NPU (Neural Processing Unit)-enabled Ryzen 8040 Series of mobile processors.

 

[..] Being able to track how resources are allocated in real-time and which system components are under load is useful for monitoring application behavior. This kind of tracking is particularly important in notebooks where end users may choose to maximize battery life by controlling where certain workloads run or adjusting global power settings either via the Windows Settings menu or in an OEM-provided application.

AMD says the situation is similar to when Microsoft had introduced GPU usage monitoring on Task Manager with the Windows 10 Falls Creator update. The former has praised the Redmond tech giant's commitment to "keep pace with the added complexity of PCs".

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Microsoft Teams - The desktop app will soon support all Microsoft accounts and more

If you use the new desktop version of Microsoft Teams for Windows and Mac, this bit of news might be of interest. The Microsoft 365 Roadmap added an entry this week that states sometime in April, the Windows and Mac versions of Teams "will support every type of Teams account (work, school or personal) in a single desktop application." That should be a huge help for people who use more than one Microsoft account.

Other new Roadmap entries on Teams this week included one that's due in March. During that month, iOS and Android Teams users will be able to access the Copilot AI assistant for the first time.

If you use Teams on a Mac and also use Apple AirPods, you are getting a nifty new feature in March:

Microsoft Teams now works seamlessly with Apple AirPods to mute or unmute yourself on Mac models running macOS Sonoma. The same functionality already available on iPhone running iOS 17 is now supported on new Teams for Mac.

All Teams versions will get a new multi-window feature in March:

Microsoft Teams enables you to open your app content in new multi-window experiences. Unlock multi-tasking workflows for your users inside Teams. Allow them to engage with content and conversation, side-by-side.

In addition, all Teams versions will gain a skin tone feature in April:

In Teams settings, users have the option to select their preferred skin tone. This preference will be applied to all emojis and reactions in chats, channels, and desktop/web meetings, allowing users to express themselves more authentically in conversations.

Finally, Windows and Mac Teams users will get a new way to create a workflow in April:

Can't find a workflow template that matches what you need? You will now be able to describe in detail on how you want your automation to work and from that description generate a workflow to match your needs.

Microsoft Outlook - New working hours and location feature and more

The Microsoft Outlook email app also got some love on the Roadmap this week. One new feature that will be previewed in March and officially launch in April on the desktop app will include new ways to let people know when and where you work:

New working hours and location options in Outlook lets people set more flexible working hours each day and specify the location from where they plan to work. You can also view your colleagues' work location when scheduling a meeting.

Web and desktop Outlook users are also getting revamped versions of Message Bars in March, along with a way to collapse the app's date headers.

That's our look at the Microsoft 365 Roadmap this week. Come back in seven days, as we will once again review the new entries on the Roadmap.

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In case you may not be aware of the benefits of it, Hyper-Threading technology (HTT) allows a physical core to execute more than one instruction in the pipeline. This parallel processing essentially improves the multithreaded performance of a hyperthreaded chip as a single physical core on the chip is able to act like two via its two hyper-threaded logical cores. This does not however imply that one hyper-theaded physical core will be as good as two physical cores though. It only leads to better performance compared to one physical core, and two real cores are still faster as it has more resources at its disposal (like cache, Integer units, Floating point units) than a single real core.

AMD tried its slightly altered version with CMT (Clustered Multi-threading) with Bulldozer but it proved to be a massive failure, which is why it borrowed a page from Intel and Zen (Ryzen CPUs) picked up SMT instead.

Despite all the success Intel has enjoyed with HTT though, it seems the company is looking to part ways from it on next-gen desktop and laptop parts.

The latest leak shows a Task Manager screenshot which apparently is that of Lunar Lake, Intel's 16th Gen mobile processor, on its early A1 stepping. Indeed what is the most interesting thing about it is the number of (physical) cores and logical cores Windows picks up as both of them are read as eight. This means there appears to be no HTT active on this part at least.

Also, Lunar Lake may not be the first or only time Intel will seemingly ditch Hyper-Threading. An alleged snapshot of an Intel document also apparently shows missing HTT on the desktop side Arrow Lake-S as well.

While Intel's E-cores (Efficient cores) already do not have hyper-threading, it looks like the company will be killing it off on its traditional Performance cores (P-cores) as well.

Source: Xzair (Zhihu) via HXL (Twitter/X) |yuuki_ans (X/Twiiter)

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The one for September, KB5030211, initially had no known issues, though later on it did add a couple. Meanwhile, one that was not documented still, likely because it does not classify as a bug, but rather an inconvenience, was the auto-installation of the Windows Backup app on Windows 10 Pro 22H2 and LTSC enterprise systems; which went on to cause a bit of a disruption for some of the IT and system administrators as it did not function properly.

They were somewhat displeased, not with the application itself, but because it did not function and was something seemingly inessential as running it would fail to launch the app with the message "This feature is not supported by your organization" like the one you can see in the image below:

Image via binaryzero (Neowin forum)

Following this, Microsoft updated its FAQ page for Windows Backup to confirm that it was working on a fix and that a future Windows Update would resolve the issue. At the time, it stated:

Because Windows Backup is a system component, it cannot be removed. However, we will be releasing a future Windows Update that prevents Windows Backup from appearing on certain user interface (UI) screens for Azure Active Directory (AAD) or Active Directory (AD) users that run the Pro, Education, or Enterprise editions of Windows 10 or Windows 11. For example, after the future Windows update is installed, Windows Backup will not appear in the “All apps” or “Installed apps” lists.

Microsoft has kept its word and as such, removed the app from appearing in the "All apps" and "Installed apps" list. The company confirmed this change via an update to its FAQ page. It now reads:

Windows Backup is a system component and cannot be removed. A Windows update that prevents Windows Backup from appearing on certain user interface (UI) screens for certain editions of Windows 10 and Windows 11 has been released. This update prevents Windows Backup from appearing in the “All apps” and “Installed apps” lists for Enterprise users, domain-joined users, guest users, and users whose Microsoft accounts have been restricted by policy. When you install a Windows security update that was released on or after January 25, 2024, the Windows Backup app does not appear on an Enterprise-managed device.

Hence, they rolled it out via the January 2024 Patch Tuesday though since we already have had another release of Patch Tuesday (for February 2024) since then, installing the latter should work too.

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The original plan was to launch Windows operating systems in 2000 so both the consumer and business versions would be based on the same Windows NT kernel. However, that didn't happen because the consumer Windows team was not able to get that working.

As Paul Thurrott wrote on his Supersite for Windows website, then Microsoft president Steve Ballmer announced on April 7, 1999, that Microsoft would release a final consumer Windows that would be an update from Windows 98. That OS would later launch as Windows Millenium Edition, better known as Windows Me, in September of 2000.

That meant businesses who wanted a new version of Windows with the NT kernel would be getting an update from Windows NT 4.0, Originally the name of that OS would be Windows NT 5.0. However, Microsoft decided to name it as Windows 2000. That OS launched 24 years ago today, on February 17, 2000.

Even though Windows 2000 was made for business users, Microsoft made an effort to add some of the features that were included in the consumer Windows 98 operating system. The archived Microsoft webpage that revealed the features of Windows 2000 Pro showed that it added support for Internet Explorer 5 and later IE 6, along with Windows Media Player, Outlook Express, the Windows Desktop Update feature, and more.

It also added Plug and Play support for better access to printers and other accessories. It supported DirectX, which meant that it could run high-end Windows games of that time. Windows 2000, with no legacy MS-DOS support, was also far more stable than the consumer Windows Me. In Microsoft's official press release announcing the launch of Windows 2000 24 years ago today, the company hyped up the reliability of the OS based on tests run by Ziff-Davis Labs:

According to the test, with constant and intense use in the 90 workdays that Ziff-Davis Labs ran the test, Windows 2000 never failed. In comparison, Windows 95 had to be rebooted every 2.1 days and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 had to be rebooted every 5.2 days.

One quick aside: The press release mentions that the launch of Windows 2000 on that date included a presentation from none other than actor Sir Patrick Stewart. Microsoft's press release stated he used a massive 40-foot laptop during the event. We have been unable to find a video of this presentation. If someone out there knows where it is located, please let us know in the comments.

The price of Windows 2000 Professional, the desktop version of the OS, was $319 (about $545 in today's dollars). As CNET reported at the time, Microsoft also let people who used the consumer-based Windows 95 or 98 an upgrade path to Windows 2000 for $219, which was a first for the company.

There were four versions of Windows 2000 released. The Professional version was the most popular but Microsoft also released Windows 2000 Server and Windows 2000 Advanced Server on Feb 17, 2000. A fourth version, Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, became available several months later on September 26, 2000.

Microsoft finally merged their consumer and business Windows operating systems under the NT kernel less than two years after the release of Windows 2000 with Windows XP. However, Windows 2000 was supported with four service packs over the next several years. It reached the end of its support life in July 2010. In the end, it served its purpose as a kind of transition from the Windows NT era to Windows XP and beyond.

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What is new in Intel driver 31.0.101.5330?

Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics and Intel® Core™ Ultra with Intel® Arc™ Graphics for:

 

• Nightingale
• Pacific Drive

 

Game performance improvements on Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products versus Intel® 31.0.101.5194 software driver for

 

• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (DX11): Up to 24% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Ultra High settings
• Fortnite (DX12): Up to 8% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings and Nanite enabled
• Remnant 2 (DX12): Up to 8% average FPS uplift at 1080p with High settings

Fixed issues and bugs include the following:

Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products:

 

• Starfield*(DX12) may experience an intermittent application crash while launching the game.
• Palworld (DX11) may experience an intermittent crash during extended gameplay sessions.
• Dead by Daylight (DX11) may experience an application crash during gameplay.
• Payday 3 (DX11) may experience an intermittent application crash during extended gameplay sessions.

 

Intel® Core™ Ultra with Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

 

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (DX12) may experience an application crash after loading into gameplay on certain maps.
• Call of Duty Warzone 2.0* (DX12) may exhibit corruption in game menu and during gameplay.

And here is the list of known issues:

Intel® Arc™ A-Series Graphics Products:

 

• Topaz Video AI may experience errors when using some models for video enhancement.

 

Intel® Core™ Ultra with Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

 

• Diablo 4 (DX12) may exhibit corruption on the terrain during gameplay.
• Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection (DX12) may experience application crash after loading into gameplay.
• Autodesk Maya may experience an application crash while running SPECAPC benchmark.
• Blender may experience an application crash while rendering some scenes on certain system memory configurations.
• Topaz Video AI may experience errors when using some models for video enhancement.
• Serif Affinity Photo 2 may experience application crash while running benchmark.

 

Intel® Core™ Processor (12th -14th Generation) Products:

 

• Dragon Quest X Online (DX9) may experience sporadic application crash during gameplay.

You can download Intel driver 31.0.101.5330 non-WHQL from the official website. Full release notes are available here (PDF).

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Stuff like this might sound minor, but it can break your muscle memory big time and create unnecessary irritation, which is something Microsoft Edge users experience quite often nowadays with its constant prompt to change various settings. It can make you feel like your computer has hung up, your mouse is misbehaving, or you are simply going crazy and cannot remember whether you clicked the file or not. Either way, it is not a nice experience.

Windows lets you customize whether opening files and folders requires one or two clicks, but that feature does not affect downloads in Microsoft Edge. In addition, the bug is intermittent, which means sometimes it takes two clicks, and sometimes it takes more—the browser just cannot make up its mind and decide how many clicks are enough.

A frustrated user on Reddit conducted a small investigation, which concluded that the bug was introduced in Microsoft Edge version 120 and newer. Going back to Microsoft Edge 119 fixes the situation until you install a more recent release. As of right now, Microsoft Edge 121 is the latest version in the Stable Channel.

Hopefully, Microsoft will release a fix soon, just like it fixed the alleged bug causing the browser to steal data from Chrome and other browsers. Meanwhile, you can bypass the bug by opening your downloads from the edge://download page or by mashing the left clicks many times.

Are you experiencing this bug on your system? Let us know in the comments.

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Original story - Feb. 8, 2024 - A few weeks ago, Windows enthusiast @PhantomOfEarth on X (formerly Twitter) made some code discoveries in new versions of Windows 11's Snipping Tool and Notepad apps. Both indicated new features for the apps would be coming soon.

Today, the official Windows Insider blog announced that both Snipping Tool and Notepad have new versions for people in the Canary and Dev Insider channels. As predicted by the leaks, the Snipping Tool update adds shape support for image captures. The Notepad update includes a Copilot generative AI tool.

Here is the blog post:

Snipping Tool (version 11.2401.32.0)

 

With this update, we are adding the ability to add shapes to captures in Snipping Tool, so that you can quickly add rectangles, ovals, lines, and arrows to mark up your screenshots.

 

Snipping Tool window open with the new shapes toolbar activ

 

To get started, select the new shapes button in the toolbar, and select the desired shape (you can change the fill or outline color if you’d like). Click and drag anywhere over your image to draw a new shape. You can resize, move, or change your shape color before clicking away. Once the shape is deselected, it will merge with your image, but you can still remove shapes with the eraser tool or undo your annotations.

 

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Snipping Tool.

 

Notepad (version 11.2401.25.0)

 

In this update to Notepad, we are adding a new feature that helps you quickly understand content in your text files. With “Explain with Copilot”, you can ask Copilot in Windows to help explain log files, code segments, or any selected content directly from within Notepad.

 

Notepad app open showing new “Explain with Copilot” action on selected content.

 

To try it out, highlight any text, right-click, choose “Explain with Copilot” from the menu or use the new Ctrl + E keyboard shortcut, and a detailed explanation will appear in Copilot. This feature is available on devices that have Copilot in Windows, but there is a known issue where some users might not see this new feature in Notepad right away.

 

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Notepad.

It will be interesting to see the reaction to these app updates, especially the Notepad Copilot addition.

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Here is the changelog:

New features for everyone in the Beta Channel

 

Instantly access new photos and screenshots from your mobile device

 

We are also beginning to gradually roll out the ability to effortlessly access and edit your most recent photos and screenshots from your Android mobile device in Snipping Tool on your PC. With this feature, you’ll receive instant notifications on your PC whenever a new photo or screenshot is captured on your Android device.

 

Windows notification prompting to open capture in Snipping Tool for markup.

 

To enable this experience, go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Mobile devices and choose “Manage devices” and allow your PC to access your Android phone.

 

 

New settings window for managing mobile devices that are allowed to connect to your PC.

 

Please note that as part of this change, we have renamed the Phone Link settings page under Settings > Bluetooth & devices to Mobile devices.

 

Your PC will get a Cross Device Experience Host update in the Microsoft Store that is required for this experience to work. This new experience replaces the remote capture with Phone Link experience that was announced back in September.

 

FEEDBACK: Please file feedback in Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Devices and Drivers > Linked devices.

 

Fixes for everyone in the Beta Channel

 

• This update addresses an issue that affects the CrashOnAuditFail registry value. When you set it to one (1), only admins can sign in to a machine that has stopped working. After you install this update, standard users can sign in to the machine.
• This update addresses an issue that affects an embedded SIM (eSIM) When you delete it, you do not get a notification.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Azure Virtual Desktop virtual machines. At random, they restart. This occurs because of an access violation in lsass.exe.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Microsoft Edge. The UI is wrong for Internet Options Data Settings.
• This update addresses an issue that affects long-edge fed printers. The alignment of stapling or hole punch locations is wrong.
• This update addresses an issue that affects a machine that is used as a remote desktop session host. You get stop error RDR_FILE_SYSTEM (0x27). This occurs when you start up all users from the machine.
• This update addresses an issue that makes the troubleshooting process fail. This occurs when you use the Get Help app.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Windows Settings Home page. It randomly stops responding when you go to the page.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Remote Desktop Web Authentication. You might not be able to connect to sovereign cloud endpoints.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Steps Recorder. Some of the UI and steps are not localized to Chinese.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Notepad. It does not open for the standard user account. This occurs when you use Command Prompt to open it based on file type association.
• This update addresses an issue that affects 8 Zip archives. It stops you from opening them by double-clicking them in File Explorer.
• This update affects games you install on a secondary drive. Now, they remain installed on the drive.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the Certificate Authority snap-in. You cannot select the “Delta CRL” option. This stops you from using the GUI to publish Delta CRLs.
• This update addresses an issue that stops a system from going to sleep. This occurs when you connect an external device to the system.
• This update addresses an issue that affects the download of device metadata. Downloads from the Windows Metadata and Internet Services (WMIS) over HTTPS are now more secure.
• This update addresses an issue that affects networking. A device fails to make the automatic switch from cellular to Wi-Fi when it can use Wi-Fi.
• This update addresses an issue that affects Narrator announcements. They are slow when you use Natural Voices.
• This update addresses an issue that affects explorer.exe. It might stop responding. This occurs when you restart or shut down a PC that has a controller accessory attached to it.

You can check out the full blog post here:

Source

What is new in AMD Radeon Software 24.2.1?

New Game Support:

 

• Skull and Bones

• Nightingale

   

Fixed Issues:

 

• Improvements to intermittent driver timeout or application crash while playing HELLDIVERS™ 2.
• Intermittent application crash when first launching Enshrouded or changing Anti-Aliasing settings on Radeon™ 7000 series graphics products.
• Intermittent driver timeout or application crash may be considered while playing Counterstrike 2 with FSR enabled on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 7900 XTX.
• Improvements to excessive stutter while playing various games, including Battlefield™ 2042, Destiny 2, Overwatch 2, Monster Hunter: World, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS and STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II.
• Deathloop may experience extended loading times on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 6900 XT.
• Dead Space may experience an application crash after enabling RTAO on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 6800.
• Shadows may appear bright, or reflections may be missing while playing Enshrouded on Radeon™ 7000 series graphics products.
• HDR settings may intermittently fail to take effect while playing certain games such as Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
• Graphics API metric may be incorrectly reported as DirectX® 12 for some Vulkan® games.
• After a system reboot, Parsec host application may experience a crash on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 7900 XTX.
• During Microsoft Teams meetings, the camera may intermittently display looped footage on some AMD Products, such as the AMD Ryzen™ 7 7840U Processor.
• Oculus Rift S may display with a green tint on AMD Radeon™ RX 7000 series GPUs.
• AFMF may be inaccurately displayed on select hybrid graphics configurations, particularly in systems where one of the devices lacks support for AFMF. AFMF must be supported on the displaying GPU to be activated.

And here is the list of known issues:

• Application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing Starcraft II™ on Radeon™ RX 7000 series GPUs.
• Intermittent driver timeout or application crash may be experienced after playing a mission and changing the in-game resolution while playing HELLDIVERS™ 2.
• World of Warcraft may experience extended initial loading times with DirectX 12 API on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon™ RX 6800.
• Shader caching may fail for Windows usernames containing accented characters. [Resolution targeted for 24.3.1]
• FPS performance metric may incorrectly report values while a game is minimized. [Resolution targeted for 24.3.1]
• AMD SmartAccess Video may be incorrectly reported as “Available” on some systems with the Parsec Virtual Display Driver installed.
• Performance drop may be observed while using some DirectML workloads in Topaz AI.
• Audio and video may intermittently become out of sync while recording using the AV1 codec in AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. [Resolution targeted for Q2]

AMD Radeon Software 24.2.1 is available on systems with 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. You can download it from the official website. Full release notes are available on the same page.

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Added Features:

 

• Added buttons to zoom in/out and reset the image position within the Magnify image dialog.

 

Improved reliability:

 

• Fixed a browser crash in text prediction.
• Fixed a browser crash in PDF.
• Fixed a browser crash in autofill.

 

Changed behavior:

 

• An issue has been fixed where the FRE Community card was removed from the safety component under browser essentials.
• Fixed an issue where a blank space appeared at the bottom of the search panel under the search header.
• An issue has been resolved where the web camera and microphone could not be started during a Microsoft Teams call.
• An issue was resolved where the keyboard focus order was incorrect while navigating using the tab or shift tab keys on the ‘Import your data for easy browsing’ screen.
• An issue was resolved where search result would not appear again when the search bar was clicked on after selecting the ‘Show in Folder’ button on the search panel.
• Fixed an issue where an error message would appear when launching Copilot in a browser while signed in with an MSA account.
• Fixed an issue where copilot would always display a loading page when opening.
• A problem was fixed where, when the font size was set to the largest option, buttons would overlap with text in the pop-up and on the 'Add to Home' page.
• An issue was resolved where only one favorite would be restored when multi-selecting, despite attempting to restore multiple favorites.
• An issue was resolved where only one item would be displayed under the current workspace on the favorite's hub when opening for the first time after killing browser.
• Fixed an issue where “Select which buttons to show on the toolbar” menu does not include a setting for the Search icon in the toolbar.
• WebView2: Fixed a delay issue when reloading Copilot after closing and reopening a new provider.

 

Android:

 

• An issue was resolved where the ‘Cash Back’ join button was not visible.

 

iOS:

 

• Fixed an issue where clicking "join now and activate cash back" button resulted in no response.
• An issue was resolved where clicking the ‘Try it now’ or ‘Try free image creating’ button on the FRE page would not successfully launch the Copilot chat frame.

Microsoft Edge 123 will be available in the Beta Channel on the week of February 29, 2024. Stable release is expected on the week of March 21, 2024.

You can download Microsoft Edge Dev from the official Edge Insider website.

Source

It also is the first Windows 11 version 24H2 build, and interestingly, it looks like Microsoft is making a fairly major change in terms of CPU instruction set architecture (ISA) support on next-gen Windows 11. The company is seemingly looking to make the SSE4's "POPCNT" instruction a mandatory requirement for running Windows 11. When a user tried to boot into Windows 11 24H2 on a system powered by such a chip, the machine failed to boot up.

Hence, it seems users running such old processors would no longer be able to bypass Windows 11 24H2 system requirements. However, that does not mean bypass will not work on other more modern CPUs that are not on the list of supported chips. An unofficial WinPE (Windows Preinstallation Environment) tool based on build 26052 has already confirmed it will work.

Following that, the more recent build, 26058, has added another block via the Setup itself such that users can't proceed further. It also clearly informs the user about the missing "POPCNT" instruction during the Setup.

Outside of the traditional utilities like Rufus and Ventoy, another bypass has been circulating the interwebs since at least August of 2022. This one is pretty simple as all it needs is a single command that tricks the Windows setup into thinking it is a Server SKU. This consequently led to the skipping of the system requirements check. There were reports however that the command had stopped working, though such was not the case.

Unfortunately, though, it seems this bypass can not prove helpful for all the old processors without POPCNT. Although the bypass apparently still works, the Setup is unable to boot into Windows.

This error is similar to when a Windows setup, in the past, would check if NX bit (Never eXecute), PAE (Physical Address Extension) were enabled or not, or if the SSE2 instruction was present, failing which the upgrade would be blocked. There were, however, workarounds for those.

Interestingly, CPU ISA update isn't the only major thing Microsoft is doing currently. The company also announced that it is updating the Secure Boot keys that have been around since the Windows 8 era, and for good reason.

Google of course has this entire situation on its radar which is why it wants owners of unsupported PCs to dump Windows 10 and 11 and switch over to its ChromeOS Flex.

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• The new Sticky Notes app for Windows integrates with OneNote for a unified experience.
• Capture notes & screenshots easily with source information automatically included.
• View notes in larger windows, dock them, or access them on mobile with OneNote apps.
• Available to Microsoft 365 Insiders for testing before a wider release.

Microsoft gives Windows users a sneak peek at a revamped Sticky Notes app after several leaks and hints, offering a more integrated and efficient note-taking experience. This new app is available to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Current Channel (Preview).

The new Sticky Notes app seamlessly integrates with OneNote, allowing users to access notes directly from the OneNote app on Windows. This eliminates the need for a separate Sticky Notes app and provides a more unified note-taking experience.

Capturing thoughts and ideas is now easier than ever. The new app allows users to quickly create notes or take screenshots with a single click. Additionally, the app automatically captures the source information of the app window where the note is taken, making it easier to reference later.

Users can access the new Sticky Notes app through the Windows Start menu, pin it to the taskbar for quick access, or use the keyboard shortcut Win + Alt + S for an even faster launch. Notes can be viewed in a larger window, docked to the desktop for side-by-side use, or accessed on the go through OneNote for iOS and Android.

The new Sticky Notes app is available to Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Current Channel (Preview) running OneNote on Windows Version 2402 (Build 17328.20000) or later. Existing Sticky Notes users will find their notes automatically transferred to the new app, ensuring a smooth transition. Signing into a Microsoft 365 account is recommended for syncing notes across devices.

More here.

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While Google's AI Gemini is not yet integrated visibly in Google Chrome, Chrome users may enable the functionality already. The integration that is already available is hidden at the moment, but it may be activated in development versions already. Chrome users may then interact with the AI directly from the Google Chrome address bar.

Whether that is desirable or not is for the individual user to decide. This is an optional feature for now. The company announced Gemini 1.5 today, promising a model with extended capabilities and processing powers.

Note: Chat with Gemini is not yet available in Chrome Stable.

How to enable Chat with Gemini in Google Chrome

It takes just a few clicks to enable the AI integration in the Chrome web browser. I tested this in the latest Chrome Canary version (123.0.6304.0).

1. Open Google Chrome Canary and make sure that the browser is up to date. Load chrome://settings/help to make sure of that.
2. Load chrome://flags/#omnibox-starter-pack-expansion in the address bar afterwards.
3. Set the feature Expansion pack for the Site search starter pack to Enabled.
4. Restart Google Chrome.

This is all that it takes to enable Chat with Gemini in Google Chrome.

Using Chat with Gemini in Google Chrome

Now that the feature is enabled, you may start interacting with the AI from Chrome's address bar. To interact with the AI, type @ in the address bar.

You see several options, including three specific search options. The fourth option is Chat with Gemini, which you may select with a click or tap.

When you do that, Chrome displays a Chat with Gemini label in the address bar. Type or paste text into the address field now and press the Enter-key to send the data to the AI.

Google Chrome loads the Gemini website. If you are not signed in, you will see the sign-in option and no response to your request.

If you are signed-in, you may still not get a request, but the Gemini Chat startpage instead. It is possible that Google is still working on the integration.

One interesting aspect of this integration is the path that Google uses to send data to Gemini: https://gemini.google.com/app?q=TEXT

This allows other services, in theory at least, to send input to Gemini right away as well.

Google's Gemini integration in Chrome

Google's integration of Gemini in Chrome has several reasons. The first is that it will give Gemini a lot of exposure. While Google owns popular websites and services, Chrome is ideal to getting the word out about Gemini.

For Chrome users, Gemini's integration may either be useful, if they plan to interact with the AI, or not useful at all. There is a chance that private data gets submitted to Gemini, which is probably less likely if you visit the Gemini website directly.

Companies like Microsoft and Google will continue to push their AI products into their services and applications. Mozilla is also working on integrating trustworthy AI into Firefox, but it will take quite some time before anything of substance comes out of the recently announced pivot in development priorities.

AI will be an integral part of web browsers.. Users who dislike that may get options to turn this off, but there is no guarantee that all browser manufacturers will add these control options to their browsers.

Now You: do you plan to use AI in your favorite browser?

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Rival browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Vivaldi support sync, but they require signing in to an account. DuckDuckGo's sync system is similar to Brave Browser's Sync Chain, i.e. instead of an account, it stores the data on your devices.

DuckDuckGo says that the data is end-to-end encrypted, and that the decryption is key only stored on the user's device. So nobody can access the bookmarks, passwords, except you. The browser had previously supported importing the data from other browsers. But if you had to set up the browser on multiple devices, you had to do it manually. The new sync feature will automate the process. In addition to passwords and bookmarks, the browser also syncs your Email Protection settings between your devices.

You can use the Sync & Backup feature on DuckDuckGo browser for Windows, Mac computers, iOS and Android phones, tablets.

How to sync bookmarks, passwords in DuckDuckGo browser

1. Open the DuckDuckGo browser on your computer, phone or tablet.

2. Go to the Settings.

3. Select Sync & Backup.

4. Click on "Sync with Another Device".

5. The browser will display a QR code that you can scan with your phone's camera. Alternatively, you can use the view "Text code" (alphanumeric) that you can copy and paste on your device, this can be useful for syncing the data between two computers.

That's it, your data will now be synced between your devices. Whenever you make some changes on your computer, phone or tablet, the change will automatically be reflected on the other devices. DuckDuckGo browser will display a recovery code that you can save as a PDF, or save it as a Text Code. This can be used to recover your data, if you lose your device.

Mobile-specific features

The mobile version of the browser has two special features. DuckDuckGo for Android and iOS supports auto-download of icons for synced bookmarks. The option is disabled by default, because downloading the favicons rely on your network instead of device-to-device synchronization. While your bookmarks are synced between your devices, your favorites are not. You may choose to sync favorites across devices by enabling the option.

The desktop browsers lack the above features, but they are coming soon.

Want to download the DuckDuckGo browser? Go to https://duckduckgo.com/ and click on the menu button in the top right corner, and select Mac or Windows. The Windows version is distributed through the Microsoft Store for Windows 10 (May 2020) or later.

DuckDuckGo browser has come a long way since debuting on macOS in 2022. The desktop browser supports Duck Player, which lets you watch YouTube videos. The app has a built-in ad-blocker, tracker blocker, and supports Bitwarden Password Manager (on macOS). The app doesn't support ad-blocking filter lists, so you cannot fine tune it per your requirements.

DuckDuckGo does not support extensions yet, and a Linux version of the browser does not exist. Those are the only things that may deter users from switching to it.

Do you use the DuckDuckGo browser?

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