Note: No report is 100% accurate, and you should take the stats with a grain of salt. Statcounter gathers its data from 1.5 million websites, so there is a margin of error. You can learn how Statcounter prepares its report in the official FAQ.

Google Chrome was the most popular desktop browser in January 2023. It reached a 66.39% market share, gaining 0.25 points. Microsoft Edge also increased its customer base and climbed back past 11%—11.09% (+0.11 points).

Meanwhile, Apple's Safari keeps its distance with a 9.33% market share (+0.32 points), and Mozilla Firefox is fourth with 6.87%. The latter is the only mainstream browser that demonstrated a notable dip—it lost 0.34 points compared with the previous month. Finally, Opera closes the top 5 desktop browsers lists with a 3.42% share and a +0.12 point increase in January 2023.

1. Google Chrome - 66.39% (+0.25)
2. Microsoft Edge - 11.09% (+0.11)
3. Apple Safari - 9.33% (+0.32)
4. Mozilla Firefox - 6.87% (-0.34)
5. Opera - 3.42% (+0.12)

On the mobile desktop browsers market, things are slightly more dynamic. Also, it misses Microsoft Edge as the company cannot figure out how to make users use its browser on Android and iOS. Edge's mobile market share is too small to appear in the report.

1. Google Chrome - 65.35% (+1.04)
2. Apple Safari - 24.45% (+0.9)
3. Samsung Internet - 4.46% (-0.6)
4. Opera - 1.78% (+0.14)
5. UC Browser - 1.47% (-1.34)

You can find more information about Statcounter's browser stats in the report available on the official website. The December 2022 report is available here.

Statcounter: Microsoft Edge has slightly increased its market share in January 2023

Releasing today, Google Chrome 110 packs a very lengthy changelog. Although Chrome 109 was supposed to be the first version of the browser to implement Google's alternative to third-party cookies in the form of Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State (CHIPS), this has seemingly been pushed to Chrome 110 instead.

Moreover, an opt-out mechanism for Secure Payment Confirmation allowing users to have their information removed from the developer's server has also been implemented. And while the details are too technical for most of us, external HTTPS server implementers might also want to take a look at a TLS ClientHello extension permutation that ensures that protocol is more robust to changes.

Additionally, there is more access control surrounding the navigator.share() function for third-party iframes objects along with the ability to load new documents in them through ephemeral credential-less contexts, and web apps can also customize their launch behavior based on various triggers. In a similar vein, cross-origin iframe support has been added for the FedCM API, something appreciated by web developers and browser vendors (Apple, Mozilla) alike.

Another important change is that Chrome 110 allows deviation characters like "ß" and "ς" in domain names, just like Firefox and Safari - both of which have been handling them correctly since 2016. Some other changes which are generally available are listed below:

• Prefetching triggered by the speculation rules API
• FileSystemHandle.remove() method now available
• AudioContext.setSinkId() for routing audio to a device of the user's choosing now available
• CSS Initial Letters to align with WebKit now supported
• CSS pseudo-class ":picture-in-picture" for view customization of the media player is ready for use

This release of Chrome also contains a lot of features currently in developer and Origin trials, you can see them summarized below:

• Developer trial (behind a flag)

  • Media Session API: Presenting slides actions

  • No-Vary-Search support in navigation prefetch cache

  • RegExp v flag with set notation + properties of strings

  • ServiceWorkerBypassFetchHandlerForMainResources

  • Speculation rules: delivery via Speculation-Rules header

  • Speculation rules: referrer policy key

  • Use Non-Transitional IDNA Processing in URLs

  • User-Agent Reduction Phase 6

     

• Origin trial

  • No-Vary-Search support in navigation prefetch cache

  • PerformanceResourceTiming.deliveryType

  • ServiceWorkerBypassFetchHandlerForMainResources

  • SoftNavigation performance entry

  • Speculation rules: delivery via Speculation-Rules header

  • Speculation rules: document-sourced rules

  • X-Requested-With in WebView

     

Finally, there are a couple of deprecations and removals as well. WebSQL in non-secure contexts is being axed completely following a deprecation in Chrome 105. Similarly, the legacy storage quota API "window.webkitStorageInfo" is being removed. It has been deprecated since 2013 and this removal is expected to have little impact considering no other browser implemented it either.

It is important to note that while Chrome 110 is hitting Early Stable today, there is no opt-in mechanism. The update will be seeded to a "small percentage of users" based on some unknown criteria and the idea is to identify any niggling issues ahead of the actual Stable release on February 7. As such, there is no known way to officially force the update.

Google Chrome 110 is the first build in new Early Stable channel, rolling out today

Aside from that, this release includes a few game-related fixes, but plenty of known issues. Find the full changelog below:

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Launch driver for 13th Generation Intel® Core™ Mobile Processors with Intel® Iris® Xe and UHD Graphics (Codename Raptor Lake-P).
• Intel® Arc™ Control now supports a standalone desktop mode

NOTES:

• The Intel® Arc™ 101.3490 BETA driver is bundled with the latest version of Intel® Arc™ Control to streamline installation experience, resulting in a larger driver package file size.

FIXED ISSUES:

Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide* (DX12) may experience application crash during character selection.

Intel® Core™ Processor Products:

• Need for Speed Unbound* (DX12) May exhibit screen-space colour corruption during gameplay.
• Total War: Warhammer III* (DX11) May exhibit an intermittent application crash when launching the game.
• Battlefield: 2042* (DX12) May experience colour corruption on certain maps.

KNOWN ISSUES:

Intel® Arc™ Graphics Products:

• Halo Infinite* (DX12) may exhibit colour corruptions during gameplay.
• Sea of Thieves* (DX11) may experience colour corruption on water edges.
• Conqueror’s Blade* (DX11) may experience corruption in benchmark mode.
• Call of Duty: Vanguard* (DX12) may experience missing or corrupted shadows during the Submarine mission.
• System may hang while waking up from sleep. May need to power cycle the system for recovery.
• GPU hardware acceleration may not be available for media playback and encode with some versions of Adobe Premiere Pro.
• Blender may exhibit corruption while using Nishita Sky texture node.

Intel® Iris™ Xe MAX Graphics Products:

• Driver installation may not complete successfully on certain notebook systems with both Intel® Iris™ Xe + Iris™ Xe MAX devices. A system reboot and re-installation of the graphics driver may be required for successful installation.

Intel® Core™ Processor Products:

• Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection* (DX12) may exhibit texture corruption during gameplay.
• Warhammer 40,000: Darktide* (DX12) may exhibit texture corruption during gameplay.
• Dysterra* (DX12) may exhibit texture corruption during gameplay.
• Total War: Warhammer III* (DX11) may experience an application crash when loading battle scenarios.
• Call of Duty Warzone 2.0* (DX12) may exhibit corruptions on certain buildings and floors during gameplay.
• Conqueror's Blade* (DX12) may experience application crash during game launch.
• A Plague Tale: Requiem* (DX12) may experience application freeze and crash during gameplay.

INTEL® ARC™ CONTROL FIXED ISSUES:

• Arc Control may report incorrect memory bandwidth value.

INTEL® ARC™ CONTROL KNOWN ISSUES:

• Windows UAC Admin is required to install and launch Arc Control.
• The Live Performance Monitoring page may not apply the desired removal of some performance metric tiles.
• The Resizable Bar status may show an incorrect value on systems with multiple Intel® Graphics Adapters.
• Using Arc Control Studio capture with certain games may incorrectly generate multiple video files.
• Using Arc Control Studio capture with AVC codec selected may incorrectly use the HEVC codec
• Modifying performance sliders may fail to apply back to their default values. A workaround is to use the "Reset to Defaults" button.

Intel® Arc™ Control Performance Tuning (BETA):

• Intel® Arc™ Control Performance Tuning is currently in Beta. As such, performance and features may behave unexpectedly. Intel® will continue to refine the Performance Tuning software in future releases.

You can download the driver by heading over to Intel's official website at this link. The driver is compatible with Intel Arc discrete graphics cards alongside Intel 11th, 12th, and 13th Gen processor graphics.

Download for Windows 10 and 11 .exe format or ZIP (1.1GB)

View: Release Notes (PDF) | Intel Website for Detailed Description

Intel Graphics v31.0.101.4091 WHQL driver includes fixes and support for Raptor Lake-P

However, the major change is the complete repackaging of the tool into "Debloos". According to the builtbybe, Debloos or Debloat OS is the "Universal Debloater and PC Manager for Windows 11." The initial release of the tool with version 0.12.0 is now out. Here's how it looks:

It is noteworthy that ThisIsWin11 will not be retired, at least not immediately; though as expected, by the time next-gen Windows 12 hits us, the app will cease to exist.

ThisIsWin11 will continue to be maintained but I could imagine giving also the best features of ThisIsWin11 to the new Debloos app. At the latest with Windows 12, the ThisIsWin11 app would also be retired.

The Debloos app is built on the same code and GUI as the discontinued LoveWindowsAgain app. Nothing will change here for the time being but new features will be added and improved.

The release note for ThisIsWin11 version 1.4.1 says:

This release of ThisIsWin11 fixes some minor issues and has been repackaged with the new Debloos app . This univeral Debloater and PC Manager is going to be sooner or later the successor of ThisIsWin11.

The changelog for Debloos 0.12.0 is given below:

Initial release
Tested on W11, Build 25201

• Added BloatFinder app (for removing apps the manual way including a "Slasher Mode" for automatic detection) analogue to ThisIsWin11 > PumpedApp module

• Added InstaPackage app (for installing some nifty app packages) analogue to ThisIsWin11 > Packages module

• Added WinModder app (for applying custom script/automation files to customize Windows 11) analogue to ThisIsWin11 > PowerUI module

• Added Windows 11 Setup/Assistant, similar to ThisIsWin11 Get Started module

You can download ThisIsWin11 from its GitHub page here. Likewise, the latest Debloos version is available here.

Interestingly, Microsoft also has its own PC Manager app in the works, though it is still in beta.

TIW11 evolves into Debloos, the "Universal Debloater and PC Manager for Windows 11"

Starting with Excel for the web, we have a single feature but one that's been highly requested by customers. It is the ability to view the source data for a value cell in a PivotTable. This is especially useful if you spot a seemingly anomalous value in a PivotTable and want to investigate the underlying data further. Now you can do so by double-clicking the cell or right-clicking it and pressing "Show Details". This will open a new sheet with more details about the cell so you can validate the numbers and the calculations.

Coming over to Excel for Windows and Excel for the Mac, we have an identical changelog for both. Office Scripts can now be automated through Power Automate by leveraging a dedicated "Automate" tab. This is something we already covered in detail a few weeks ago.

Meanwhile, for Insiders, there are two new functionalities on Windows and Mac. The first makes automation even easier. Rather than writing Office Scripts through JavaScript or TypeScript, you can simply use the "Record Actions" functionality, which does exactly what it says on the tin. You can navigate and perform actions in the UI yourself and the script to mimic your activities will automatically be generated on the backend. The other Insider feature is relatively minor and offers a tooltip to validate your parameters in an Excel formula.

While the changelog certainly isn't as extensive this time around, there are certainly some productivity enhancements that will likely be appreciated by those looking to automate monotonous workbook activities.

Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in January 2023

This caused many users to experience issues as XPS documents which leverage structural elements like tables and hyperlinks will not display correctly in WPF-based readers. Moreover, some inline images may not display correctly in XPS documents or throw Null reference exceptions in WPF-based readers.

Although Microsoft issued a couple of temporary workarounds involving PowerShell scripts and Windows registry configurations, the company has now rolled out a more permanent fix through an out-of-band (OOB) update.

The OOB update is now available for the following platforms:

• Windows 11 version 22H2
• Windows 11 version 21H2
• Windows Server 2022
• Azure Stack HCI version 22H2
• Azure Stack HCI version 21H2
• Windows 10 version 22H2
• Windows 10 version 21H2
• Windows 10 version 20H2
• Windows 10 version 1809
• Windows Server 2019
• Windows 10 version 1607
• Windows Server 2016

It is important to understand that this OOB update is not being delivered through Windows Update. As such, if you want to install it, you should navigate to the Microsoft Update Catalog and search for the various KB numbers mentioned in Microsoft's support document.

Now that this permanent fix is available, you can also revert any temporary workarounds you may have applied as they are no longer needed.

Microsoft releases OOB update for Windows 10, 11, and Server to fix .NET issue

Microsoft informed its customers about the move in January, saying that the last day it would offer its Windows 10 downloads would be at the end of the said month. However, while it is still technically January 31 in some parts of the world, accessing the page for Windows 10 licenses is no longer possible. Specifically, visiting Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro product pages now leads users to Windows 11 product page.

This means bad news for individuals hoping to get their last-minute shopping to build a Windows 10 PC. Fortunately, Windows 10 licenses will still be offered by third-party retailers, though the availability of the said product wouldn’t forever be ample.

On the other hand, while the product will no longer be offered on the Microsoft website, Windows 10 users will still be able to use their OS, as the EOS date of Windows 10 PCs is in 2025.

“Windows 10 will remain supported with security updates that help protect your PC from viruses, spyware, and other malware until October 14, 2025,” Microsoft assures.

Microsoft’s move to cut Windows 10 downloads on its sites came as it continuously pushes more users to embrace its newest OS, Windows 11. Currently, Windows 10 still has the biggest Windows version market share worldwide at 68.75%. Meanwhile, Windows 11, despite getting frequent updates and new features, still sits at 18.13%.

Windows 10 licenses are no longer available on Microsoft website today, January 31

A couple of months ago, we discussed one Windows "12" concept and some fascinating ideas it offers. Now it is time to look at Windows "11X".

AR 4789, the video creator, has decided to take Windows 11 and improve its existing features without radical overhauls (although you can spot a rounded taskbar, which supposedly will arrive in Windows "12"). The most notable change is the Start menu which swaps the recommended section for Windows Widgets. One might argue that such an implementation is significantly better than the current Windows Widgets in their dedicated space.

In addition to placing widgets in the area where users are most likely to use them, Windows "11X" envisions allowing moving widgets to the desktop. There is also a unified notification center with quick settings, quick actions for notifications, and a compact File Explorer.

Another thing that caught our eye is the return of the long-forgotten tablet mode with a full-screen Start menu and applications. In addition, being a successor to the now-dead Windows 10X, the concept offers optimizations for dual-screen devices (albeit those "optimizations" are a bit scarce).

As a cherry on top, AR 4789 imagines an operating system that works well on older systems (probably not as old as the one shown in the video) and without requirements for TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot. Many users despise Windows 11 due to its steep hardware requirements, so a new operating system with a lower entry point will be great.

Of course, videos like this have nothing to do with the upcoming Windows upgrade, but they show what users want Microsoft to consider in future upgrades. The company could borrow several ideas from such concepts and deliver a more compelling product or improve Windows 11.

What do you think about Windows "11X?" Let us know in the comments.

via BetaNews

This Windows 11X concept envisions Microsoft's next generation operating system

This feature is reportedly part of the company's internal Edge project codenamed "Phoenix," and it's currently available behind an experimental flag "Microsoft Edge Split Screen" in Edge Beta, Dev, and Canary builds.

You can tap on the toolbar's new "split tabs" button to open any two tabs in the split screen view. When you tap on the button, you'll notice all your open tabs on the right side of the browser, ready to fill the second half.

You can choose any tab, and it will automatically snap into place opposite the first tab, which is open on the left side.

If you don't see your tab, you can also use the search box or click on the "New tab" button, which opens the "New Tab Page" (NTP).

Edge's split screen is a handy feature for large monitors, especially if you use many apps over traditional desktop apps. 

An example of when split-screen tabs are helpful is when working on an assignment on one screen and having a page used for research open on the other.

However, those with smaller displays might not find this feature helpful as your resolution may be too small to view both websites properly.

Via Reddit

Microsoft Edge is getting split screen mode - here's how to enable it

As mentioned before, the new Mouse Jump utility will be based on FancyMouse, a software that basically helps move the mouse rapidly across the screen. This is especially useful for people working on very large ultrawide (21:9) or super-ultrawide (32:9) monitors with more real estate. Likewise, it will also prove very handy for those on multiple monitor setups. While a high DPI (dots per inch) mouse is somewhat helpful in this regard, FancyMouse wants to make the task even easier.

The way FancyMouse works has been explained by Clayton:

A hotkey or spare mouse button can be configured to activate the FancyMouse popup, and the pointer only needs to be moved a tiny amount on the preview thumbnail. A single mouse click then teleports the pointer to that location on the full-size desktop.

The visual cue tells you exactly where the pointer will end up so you can find it easily without needing to search for it.

The two graphic demonstrations below show the difference between mouse movement with FancyMouse disabled and enabled:

Without FancyMouse, the mouse movement across the screen is pretty sporadic as one has to move the mouse multiple times to get there

With FancyMouse popup, you basically need to point to the area of the screen you want to visit inside the popup and the mouse goes there, no extra work necessary

In case you missed them, you can check the recent feature additions and bug fixes in PowerToys here.

Via: Deskmodder

Microsoft PowerToys' upcoming Mouse Jump / FancyMouse could be super-helpful on Windows

The latest version 8.1 update build 7336 fixes several bugs and issues. A memory allocation issue related to BitLocker has been fixed. It also resolves a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) issue and more. The full changelog is given below:

Bug fixes and Improvements v8.1.7280 - 10th January 2023 / v8.1.7336 - 30th January 2023

Note: Release v8.1.7280 was available for a short period of time. These release notes cover both v8.1.7280 and v8.1.7336.

• Macrium Reflect v8.1 is here
  We're pleased to announce the public release of Macrium Reflect v8.1.
• Changed Block Tracker
  This release fixes a problem with the previous release, v8.1.7280, that caused a BSoD for some users.
• Imaging
  When reading some Bitlocker volumes, Reflect could attempt to allocate an erroneously large block of memory. This has been resolved.
• System Restore
  Staging a system restore from Windows would sometimes fail to automatically reboot after the restore completed within the rescue environment. This has been resolved.
• Macrium Image Guardian
  During data de-duplication operations on Windows Server, the File Server Data Management Host (FSDMHOST.EXE) process would be blocked from opening Reflect image files. This has been resolved.
• General
  Lower than actual write speed values were shown in Disk Write Performance tool. This has been resolved.
• Rescue Media
  We've updated the Windows PE 10 download to version 2004.
• viBoot
  • We've added VirtualBox 7.0 support to viBoot.
  • VirtualBox VMs sometimes would not show in viBoot GUI. This has been resolved.

You can download Macrium Reflect v8.1.7336 from the official website using the "Reflect 8 Trial" option which offers a 30-day free trial. After that, it will cost a single user $69.95 while opting for a four-user pack will set you back $139.95.

On a separate page, Paramount Software has highlighted the improvements made in version 8.1. This includes performance boost due to much better CPU thread utilization, backups on the background, and more. You can read about it in detail here.

Macrium Reflect gets performance boost, fixes BitLocker bug, BSOD, but it's free no more

Originally launched in October 2022, Ubuntu Pro entered general availability on January 26, 2023.  Ubuntu Pro is available for the Long Term Support releases Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS at the time of writing.

Ubuntu Pro is free for personal use on up to 5 machines. The limit is raised to 50 for official Ubuntu community members.

The main advantages over regular Ubuntu LTS versions is that Ubuntu Pro is supported with security updates for 10 years. The security support period includes the 5 years of support for Ubuntu Main, and an additional 5 years of extended support.

It is a subscription model that includes security updates and technical support, based on the plan, for Ubuntu Main and an an additional 23000 packages. Extra packages include Python, WordPress, Node.js, Docker, Apache Tomcat, Rust, or phpMyAdmin.

Ubuntu Pro advantages

Ubuntu Pro offers several advantages over Ubuntu LTS releases:

• 10 years of security support for Ubuntu Main and 23000 additional packages.
• Optional phone / ticket support.
• NIST-certified FIPS crypto-modules
• USG hardening with CIS and DISA-STIG profiles
• Common Criteria EAL2
• Kernel Livepatch service.
• Landscape

Kernel Livepatch Service may deploy critical and high security kernel vulnerability patches while the Ubuntu system is running. This reduces downtime and the "need for unplanned maintenance windows".

Canonical releases a livepatch and a security notice whenever a critical or high Linux kernel vulnerability is discovered. Systems with the livepatch client will download and install the patch automatically once it is released. The patch replaces the vulnerable kernel code with the improved code and update the rest of the kernel to use the new code.

Landscape is a management and administration tool for Ubuntu that enables Enterprise customers to manage up to 40000 machines from a single interface. The Landscape service monitors systems using an agent that is installed on Ubuntu machines. System administrators receive reports and tools are provided to manage users, upgrade machines and permissions on all connected Ubuntu devices.

Getting started with Ubuntu Pro

Ubuntu Pro is available on the official Ubuntu site. Home users may register for a free account, commercial customers may buy Ubuntu Pro based on their requirements.

Free personal tokens are listed on the account management page after sign-up. These need to be entered on individual machines to link them to the account and enable Ubuntu Pro on the device.

All it takes for that on desktop machines is to open Software & Updates, switch to the Ubuntu Pro tab in the window that opens, and activate the "Enable Ubuntu Pro" box on the page. The token, which is listed on the Ubuntu website in the user dashboard, needs to by typed or pasted into the "or add token manually" box. Select confirm to complete the linking.

A second option may be used. The page described above displays a code, which may be entered on https://ubuntu.com/pro/attach to attach the device to Ubuntu Pro.

Now You: what is your take on Ubuntu Pro?

Ubuntu Pro is now available: here is what you need to know

The main things from Linux Mint 21.2 that were talked about were login screen improvements, a rebase of the Pix image management program, and support for HEIF and AVIF image files as well as Adobe Illustrator document support in the Xreader document viewer.

In Linux Mint 21.2, users will be able to switch between keyboard layouts on the login screen. The indicator in the top-right corner, when clicked, will present a menu showing your default system layouts that you’ve chosen before, under those will be a more layouts option where you can access other supported layouts.

If you like using tap-to-click on your touchpad, this is now enabled on the login screen too. The login screen’s optional on-screen keyboard, Onboard, is also now more configurable and the keyboard navigation on the login screen was improved allowing the arrow keys to be used to edit passwords.

The Pix image manager is based on gThumb and with Linux Mint 21.2, it’s being rebased on gThumb 3.12.2 from 3.2.8. This means it will have a new interface that uses headerbars and buttons rather than toolbars and menu bars. Lefebvre said that this UI is “less discoverable for newcomers” but is cleaner and still intuitive. This update brings 168 new features and user-visible changes including better performance, support for AVIF/HEIF, and JXL formats, configurable dark mode, and more.

Finally, Linux Mint will have support for HEIF and AVIF image files and Adobe Illustrator documents will be properly supported in Linux Mint’s home-grown document viewer, Xreader.

If Linux Mint 21.2 stays on schedule, users should expect a beta release in mid-June to allow for two weeks of testing before the final release.

Linux Mint 21.2 will be known as “Victoria”, due at the end of June

Starting off with meetings enhancements, we have a paginated view for videos. This basically means that if your screen is not large enough to display the video streams from all the meetings attendants, you can utilize pages to see other attendants. Moreover, teachers and students can access meeting recording directly inside their Learning Management System (LMS). On the other hand, enterprise customers can stream Teams meetings and webinars directly to Meta Workplace Live. Dedicated buttons have also been added to the toolbar for raising hands and switching viewing modes.

Over on the webinars front, there is a better management experience with more customization options such as details, presenter bios, themes, and more. In terms of calling upgrades, we have federated group calling with screen and video sharing capabilities without PSTN usage charges.

Switching gears to Teams Rooms and Devices enhancements, a Whiteboard can be started in a Teams meetings through a Teams Rooms on Windows device. Meeting chats can be shown or hidden in various gallery modes and there are improvements to the notification experience as well. Since we're talking about Teams devices, it's worth mentioning that the Poly CCX350 IP desk phone is now Teams-certified.

In terms of improvements to chat and collaboration features, full chat conversations can be viewed when clicking on a message in a Teams search result for additional context.

On the management side of the fence, developers can now access events in user-to-bot chats. Moreover, files uploaded through the Power Automate portal will show up in approval requests within Teams. Teams admins can also leverage Intune to control how much content is shown in a notification on a phone screen managed by the company.

Last, we have some improvements for frontline workers and Government customers. For the former, those on shared devices can now utilize Outlook and Power Apps on Android alongside Teams. Meanwhile, Government customers can make use of the following functionalities:

• Teams calendar now includes scheduling form pop-outs for GCC-High and DoD
• View attendance report on Microsoft Teams for Android and iOS for Government clouds
• Express yourself (using emoji) in Teams meeting for DoD
• Disable or Enable all Attendees' Video for DoD
• Automatically view up to 49 videos (7x7) in Teams meeting for GCC-High and DoD
• Manage attendee audio permissions for DoD

As usual, this is quite a hefty changelog overall. We already have a decent idea about what Microsoft is planning for March but it'll be interesting to see what we get next month too.

Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Teams in January 2023

Video filters in Teams aren't exactly new, however. Teams desktop app allows you to tweak some basic stuff, such as the ability to control brightness. But Teams' latest video filter offering aims to take the whole experience to another level. Besides the brightness controller, Teams users will also be able to add different Frames and Styles to augment the video stream experience.

Microsoft Teams allows users to apply video filters from the quick tray in the pre-join screen. It is also possible to apply these visual effects after joining a meeting from the meeting toolbar. However, you need to be in Public Preview to use this feature.

The video filters are available as apps developed by Microsoft and third-party partners. As a result, applying video filters will require your consent to install the apps. Windows and macOS are currently the supported platforms for you to try the new visual effects.

As noted by Microsoft, the new visual effects have some limitations:

• The video filters can be enabled/disabled by app level from the Tenant Admin Center.
• Feature is not available in EDU tenants

Microsoft Teams video filters are expected to hit general availability in February.

Microsoft Teams brings new video filters to spice up your online meetings

The first version of the mod arrived at the end of 2021, and it then featured a not-so-user-friendly installation process and worked only on Windows 11 preview builds. Now you can install the mod with a single click and use it on the stable Windows 11 release.

Caution: Windhawk and the Dark Paint mod are third-party mods, albeit open-source. Always mind the risks of using such tweaks, and remember that only you are responsible for your computer and the safety of the data stored on it.

1. Download and install Windhawk from its official website.
2. Run the app and click Explore or Browse for Mods.

    

   
3. Type Dark Paint in the search box and click Details. Alternatively, use a direct link. You can also click the Source Code tab to see how the mod operates and what code it uses to create its software magic.

    

   
4. Click Install.
5. Confirm installation by clicking Accept Risk and Install.

    

   
6. Open Paint.

    

   

Another thing worth noting is that the implementation still needs some improvements. For example, the mod enforces the dark mode regardless of your current system theme, and the only way to toggle on light mode is to disable Dark Paint in the Windhawk app. To do so, open Windhawk and turn off Dark Paint on the Home page. You can uninstall the mod by clicking Remove.

If you are into drawing, check out a recently discovered feature that lets you draw stickers directly on the desktop in Windows 11 preview builds.

Third-party mod for Windows 11 brings the forgotten dark mode to Paint

As spotted by @Leopeva64, the latest Edge 111 Canary update has removed the "Show Windows 11 visual effects in title bar and toolbar" flag, making it impossible to turn on the "Show Windows 11 visual effects in title bar and toolbar (Preview)" option in the browser's appearance setting. Now the tab strip, toolbars, and sidebar use the default dull-looking gray background (or another non-translucent colour you have set in the settings). Fortunately, the flag and setting are still present in Edge Stable.

There is no information on why Microsoft has removed the Mica effect from its browser in the Canary Channel. Also, this is not the first time the company deleted visual upgrades from Edge. Perhaps, Microsoft is working on a better variant, which might be a part of the rumored Edge "Phoenix"—a reimagined version of the browser. One can also guess it is a temporary change or bug that Microsoft will revert.

We will update the article once we have word from Microsoft.

Microsoft removes eye candy from Edge in the Canary Channel

What is new in Skype 8.93?

Here are the changes and improvements in Skype 8.93 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and the Web:

• Who’s this?: You can easily manage your Caller ID settings from within the Skype app.

• All the pretty colours: You can customize your theme in Skypeand choose from several different colours.

• The Beauty of languages: You can now use your own voice during a translated call in Skype.

• Universal translator: During a Skype call, if a participant speaks different languages, Skype Translator will automatically detect the languages and translate it for you.

• Bug fixes and stability improvements. Got rid of some bugs, made a few tweaks. All in a day's work.

   

Skype on Android, iPhone, and iPad has received the following:

• Who’s this?: You can easily manage your Caller ID settings from within the Skype app.

• All the pretty colours: You can customize your theme in Skypeand choose from several different colours.

• Extra! Extra! Read all about it: Stay up-to-date with the latest news and trends.

• Hit me up sometime: You can easily add contacts in Skype on mobile using a unique QR code to get connected.

• Lookin’ fresh: We’ve made some updates with Skype videos calls on mobile.

• The Beauty of languages: You can now use your own voice during a translated call in Skype.

• Universal translator: During a Skype call, if a participant speaks different languages, Skype Translator will automatically detect the languages and translate it for you.

• Bug fixes and stability improvements. Got rid of some bugs, made a few tweaks. All in a day's work.

   

The new features are rolling out gradually, which means some users will get them a little later than others. You can download Skype for the desktop from the official website. Skype for Android is available in the Google Play Store, and Skype for iPhone and iPad in the Apple App Store.

Skype gets a massive update with new personalization, natural voice translation, and more

The new Firefox release fixes four unique issues in the browser, including a poor rendering issue on certain Windows machines and an authentication issue in Enterprise environments.

Firefox 109.0.1

Firefox users may select Menu > Help > About Firefox to display the installed version. The overlay window that opens lists the installed version and runs a check for updates. It should pick up the new version once it is released later today and install it automatically at that point.

Firefox 109.0.1. addresses a font rendering issues affecting certain Windows configurations. The issue affects Firefox 109 and newer and is taken care of in the point release. Mozilla attempted to improve DirectWrite font rendering on Windows, but it seems to have had an undesirable side effect for some configurations. The previous behavior is restored in Firefox 109.0.1.

The second issue that is fixed in the new version of Firefox caused the browser to freeze on pages with a considerable number of emojis.

Firefox 109.0.1 addresses an Enterprise authentication issue in environments that use corporate proxies with kerberos authentication. Firefox had issues with embedded iframe content on pages and kerberos authentication. According to the bug report, Firefox would not send any authentication for the iframe content but only for the rst of the page.

The fourth and final fix addresses inconsistent sizing of event listener checkboxes inside the Inspector developer tool. The size of the checkboxes in Firefox's own Inspector Developer Tool varied in size in the new release.

Firefox users affected by one or multiple of the fixed issues may want to install the update immediately upon release. The next major Firefox release is scheduled for February 14, 2023. All fixes will be included in that release as well.

Firefox users may download the latest version from Mozilla as well. The Firefox 109.0.1 release will become available later today.

Now You: did you run into browser issues lately in the browsers that you are using?

Firefox 109.0.1 fixes font smoothing and Enterprise authentication issues

Open File Explorer with several tabs at once

Using a script to open File Explorer with several tabs is a bit whacky, so prepare to trade one convenience for another. You will have to use only one specific shortcut on the desktop, which cannot be pinned to the taskbar. On the other hand, you can create several scripts to open different predefined tabs.

Launch Notepad and paste the following script:

Set oShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
oShell.Run("""C:\windows\explorer.exe""")
WScript.Sleep 1000
oShell.AppActivate "Explorer"
WScript.Sleep 500
oShell.SendKeys "%d"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "PATH1"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}"
WScript.Sleep 500
oShell.SendKeys "^t"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "%d"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "PATH2"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}"

The script is set to open File Explorer with two tabs, but you need to specify paths before executing it. Go to the folder you want to open upon launching File Explorer, click the address bar, and copy the path.

1. Replace PATH1 on line 8 with the first folder's address. Ensure you paste it inside the quotations marks, so it looks similar to "C:\Windows\Users\Taras\Downloads"

2. Repeat the same with PATH2 on line 16.

3. If you want to add a third tab, create a new line at the end of the script and paste the following:

WScript.Sleep 500
oShell.SendKeys "^t"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "%d"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "PATH3"
WScript.Sleep 300
oShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}"

4. Replace PATH3 with a legit path to a folder.

5. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to add even more tabs. Keep in mind that the more tabs you add, the longer it will take to open them.

6. Click File > Save As and rename the file to something with the .vbs extension—for example, script.vbs.

7. Run the script to open File Explorer with several tabs.

Tip: You can try speeding up the script by reducing the WScript.Sleep values (specified in ms) if your computer has enough horsepower. Just do not set extremely low values — File Explorer is not the fastest tool in Windows 11's shed, so give it some time to handle such an extremely demanding task.

Although the implementation is far from the fastest or the most convenient, it will surely make File Explorer a bit better while we wait for Microsoft to deliver the missing features.

Source

To access iMessage on Windows 10/11 using Chrome Remote Desktop:

1. Open Google Chrome and search for Chrome Remote Desktop.
2. Install the Chrome Remote Desktop extension in both Windows and Mac.
3. Launch Chrome Remote Desktop via chrome://apps on both devices.
4. Enable remote connection on the Mac and create a PIN/password.
5. Use the same account to open Chrome Remote Desktop on Windows 10 and find the remote Mac.
6. Start screen sharing and access iMessage on Windows 10/11.

To access iMessage on Windows 10/11 with the Ipadian Emulator:

1. Download iPadian from the official website on your Windows PC.
2. Install and run iPadian on your PC, accepting the terms and conditions.
3. Search for and download iMessage on iPadian.
4. Install iMessage on your Windows PC.
5. Launch iMessage and log in with your Apple ID.
6. Now you have iMessage available on Windows 10/11 through the Ipadian Emulator.

To access iMessage on Windows 10 through Cloud Service Cydia:

1. Download and install Cydia on both your iOS device and PC.
2. Go to Settings > Remote Messaging on the iOS device.
3. Enable authentication for the application.
4. Enter your username and password.
5. On the PC, open a browser, enter the IP address, and go to the Enable tab.
6. Press Enter, and enter your password and username details.
7. The setup is complete, and you can now use iMessage on your Windows 10 PC through Cloud Service Cydia.

As shown above, even though there’s no official support for iMessage on Windows 10 and 11 operating systems, it’s still an easy enough goal to achieve. All you need to do is pick one of our three methods and follow each of the steps, and you’ll be good to go.

How to get iMessage on Windows 11/10 PC

The following list shows suggestions published on Feedback Hub that Microsoft has yet to implement. Ideas and requests for changes Microsoft has already made are not included.

1. Add automatic switching between light and dark mode - 6520+ upvotes.

Response from Microsoft:

Appreciate the feedback, this has been shared with the team for future consideration

Tip: You can get this feature using third-party apps, such as Auto Dark Mode we recently featured in our "Top 11 apps for Windows 11 users" article.

2. Merge the old Control Panel with the Settings app - 6360+ upvotes.

Response from Microsoft:

Thanks for your feedback about merging settings and the control panel. This is something we have been and will continue working on.

3. Windows Update should include changelogs for cumulative updates - 2130+ upvotes.

Response from Microsoft:

Appreciate the feedback! When you install a cumulative update, if you go to Windows Update Settings > View Installed Update History, you should find a link to the changelist for that cumulative update.

However, users are not happy with the response from Microsoft, and many agree in the comments that Windows Update should display changelogs before installing the updates. Besides, release notes should not require opening a browser.

4. Allow opening several Settings windows at once - 2030+ upvotes.

Response from Microsoft:

We got this feedback.

5. Restore the old default apps settings section - 1232+ upvotes.

Windows 10 and early Windows 11 builds allow setting default apps per category (Email, Browser, Media Player, etc), not per extension. Users argue that the new variant is too clunky and unintuitive, making it harder for users to opt out of using Microsoft Edge as the default browser.

Response from Microsoft:

We got this feedback.

6. Slow performance - 830+ upvotes.

Response from Microsoft:

Thanks for taking the time to report this. We've been making improvements as subsequent builds have flighted out, and will continue monitoring feedback.

If you're experiencing performance issues in the latest updates, either with Settings app launch time, or page navigation, please log feedback letting us know what you're seeing and including a trace of the issue if possible.

7. Add search to Device Manager - 380+ upvotes.

This is technically not directly related to the Settings app. However, I decided to include this in the list since Device Manager is a part of the old Control Panel and users desperately want Microsoft to get rid of the latter.

Response from Microsoft:

Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback. At this point we're not planning on making investments in this space, however we will take your request into consideration if that plan changes.

8. Do not remove the old Control Panel - 350+ upvotes.

A funny one. Although most users agree that Windows 11 should have only one app for settings, more than 350 users have upvoted the suggestion to keep the good-old Control Panel in the operating system. It is worth noting that there are reasons to support this feedback. Some users are unhappy with how Microsoft transitions from the Control Panel to Settings—"modern" implementations of the old options sometimes lack specific features or are less convenient.

Response from Microsoft:

We got this feedback.

9. Allow adjusting the amount of transparency, not just the on/off switch - 185+ upvotes.

Response from Microsoft:

We got this feedback.

10. Add a Screen Time feature - 70+ upvotes.

Mobile operating systems and macOS have a built-in feature that lets you see how much time you spend using various apps and set screen time limits. Unfortunately, Windows 11 has no such feature, and the response from Microsoft is not very promising:

We got this feedback.

Those are the most popular feedback pieces regarding the Settings app in Windows 11. Do you agree that Microsoft should make those a priority? Maybe Microsoft should focus on other aspects of the Settings app? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Also, upvote feedback from other customers or file yours in the Feedback Hub.

Here are the top 10 improvements Windows 11 users want for the Settings app

For starters, Teams is getting "ultrasound howling detection" on Windows and Mac. Basically, when multiple people join a Teams meeting in the same room with their respective mics and speakers on, it results in echoes and "howling" sounds due to the audio feedback loop. Microsoft is solving this problem by automatically detecting when more than one laptop is in the vicinity for the same meeting and if at least one has their mic on. When these conditions are met, participants after the first one will be informed and their mic and speakers will be automatically muted when they join.

Moreover, Teams on Windows and Mac will also get support for an "Explicit Recording Consent" policy, which is exactly what the name implies. Before you consent, your audio, video, and content shared on your screen won't be recorded.

Meanwhile, Teams admins will be able to leverage a cleaner UI in the Teams Admin Center on the web as well. Left navigation items that are not used as frequently will be hidden by default but admins will have the opportunity to pin them if they want.

There are a few more nifty enhancements here and there too. Emergency locations for routing of emergency calls will be auto-suggested, meetings can be joined from the calendar view on Apple CarPlay on the iPhone, and more customization options for live captions, including the ability to scroll to previous captions, up to a minute ago. Lastly, Teams customers on the government cloud will be able to send, view, record, and review short-form Teams video clips.

All of the aforementioned features are planned for general availability in March 2023 but it is important to understand that timelines mentioned on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap are tentative so they can slip.

Here are some new features coming to Microsoft Teams in March

Originally designed for Windows 10, Everything Toolbar has now been updated to version 1.0. Along with the update comes official support for Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system.

The main idea behind Everything Toolbar is to improve the accessibility of the Everything search tool. It is developed by a third-party and open source. Users place the icon on the Windows taskbar to get a search interface immediately when they activate the icon. The search returns results as fast as Everything does, and there are some filters at the top to limit results to files, folders, or specific file types.

Everything Toolbar 1.0

Everything Toolbar 1.0 is a major milestone release. It comes with a relatively long list of new features and improvements. It is the first version that supports Microsoft's Windows 11 operating system, but that is not the only change.

The developer worked on the application's code to release updates faster for new Windows releases. If Windows 12 gets released by Microsoft in the future, Everything Toolbar may support it much quicker thanks to the under-the-hood development work.

Windows users may also notice that the search app supports automatic light and dark modes as well as accent colours. The interface should apply these automatically based on the system settings.

Another helpful feature is that users may right-click on search results to access the Windows context menu. Useful to run copy, open with or delete operations right from Everything Toolbar.

There is more:

• Drag & Drop support of files from Everything Toolbar to other applications supports tabbing into other applications.
• Search History, if enabled, prevents search terms from being cleared.
• Many application styles may now be modified.
• Performance of the app's opening and closing animations improved.
• Support for named instances added.

Everything Toolbar requires Everything Search. It needs to be installed on the device. Users who want to use both regularly may want to consider adding both to the system's autostart. It is also possible to run these manually on start.

Everything Search can be downloaded from the official VoidTools website. Everything Toolbar is available on its GitHub repository.

Everything Toolbar may throw a Windows SmartScreen prompt when it is run. It is not a virus, but a new program and this may throw SmartScreen off balance. A wizard displays instructions on pinning the icon of the app to the Windows taskbar and some other settings. To pin it, right-click on the icon and select pin to taskbar.

A click opens the interface then and the search field is selected automatically. A keyboard shortcut is available and configurable in the options. There is an experimental setting to replace Windows' Start Menu search as well, but it should be considered beta at this point.

Closing Words

Everything Search and Everything Toolbar improve file and folder searches on Windows significantly. Results are delivered faster and more reliable with Everything.

Now You: do you use Windows Search or a third-party alternative?

Everything Toolbar 1.0 launches with Windows 11 support

Quick Commands is not a new feature in the browser world. First established in the Vivaldi web browser, it has since then found its way into Chromium. Google launched it as Commander in the Chrome browser, but renamed it to Quick Commands eventually.

The main idea behind the feature is to let users execute certain actions in the browser using the interface. Launched with the shortcut Ctrl-Space in Brave, Quick Commands displays a small prompt on start. The prompt accepts keywords, like tab, bookmark or close, and display the matching actions as suggestions.

The keyword tab, for example, displays suggestions to close all other tabs, bookmark the active tab, or create a new tab. Commands can be refined, e.g., by typing close tabs to only display options related to closing tabs.

Not all commands may execute faster when using the feature, but some do. To close the browser, Quick Command users have to press Ctrl-Q, type q and hit Return to do so.

Enable Quick Commands in Brave

Quick Commands is not enabled by default in Brave, but the feature is available in all versions of the browser, including Stable. Since it is a Chromium feature, it may also be available in other Chromium-based browsers.

Here is how to enable it in Brave:

1. Load chrome://flags/#quick-commands in the address bar of the Brave browser.
2. Set the Quick Commands feature to Enabled using the menu on the right.
3. Restart Brave Browser.

Once restarted, activate the prompt using Ctrl-Space while Brave's browser window is active. Note that some of the commands related to the active tab or window.

Quick Commands lists available keyboard shortcuts next to commands, so that users may notice them and use them directly to speed up actions further.

Source