Fast forward to today, and the latest version of Edge Canary, v110.0.1563.0, has a major overhaul as the previous 1GB cap in the Edge Secure Network feature has now been removed and has been raised to offer 15 times more free data at 15GB. Reddit user and Edge enthusiast Leopeva64-2 noticed this change in the latest release, and it is indeed a big one.

To test Secure Network, download Microsoft Edge Canary from the official website and sign in with your Microsoft Account (MSA). Note that using Secure Network during the preview period requires the MSA in order for keeping track of the data usage. It can be enabled inside the "Privacy, search, and services" menu in Settings.

Of course, this is still a preview feature in testing, so it is anyones guess whether it will reach the final Stable Channel build. And if it does, Edge could become an enticing browser choice for those that enjoy browsing anonymously via VPN, but don't want to pay for it.

Source: Leopeva64-2 (Reddit)

Microsoft now offering 15GB free data instead of just 1GB through Edge VPN on Canary

The software giant says those affected by performance degradation in Windows 11 22H2 should install the latest cumulative updates released on December 14, 2022. KB5020044 (earlier available as a preview) fixes the problem with GPU debugging and reclaims the lost performance (it also allows enabling some of the upcoming new features). Users could have also solved the issue by updating their games to the latest versions, but there was no guarantee the workaround would work. Fortunately, a permanent solution is now available.

Solving the bug also allowed Microsoft to remove the upgrade block, giving the affected systems the green light to install Windows 11 22H2 or 2022 Update. The latest release offers many new features (including gaming improvements), fixes some of the original version's annoyances, and delivers a much better user experience overall. You can learn what is new in the Windows 11 2022 Update in our comprehensive review.

Source

Sticky Scroll is a little bit limited right now in terms of the languages that it supports but it will work when editing code written in C#, C++, XAML, and JSON. Microsoft said it will continue improving the feature so it may add Sticky Scroll support for languages in the future.

The Sticky Scroll feature will make namespaces, classes, and methods stick to the top of the editor as you scroll through the code. The Sticky Scroll portion grows and shrinks as applicable headers are passed. This should help you identify what part of the code you were editing without having to scroll up and look again, saving you time.

If you don’t like too much content being stuck at the top of the editor, you can limit the number of lines from the same place you enabled it. Just type in the number of lines you’d like next to “Define the maximum number of sticky lines to show:” and press OK. To get started with the feature, download the latest Visual Studio 2022 Preview.

Visual Studio 2022 17.5 Preview 2 adds Sticky Scroll to boost productivity

This comes after a previous warning from June 15, the day Internet Explorer reached its end of support, when the company told customers that the legacy web browser would get disabled via a Windows update.

"The out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) desktop application is scheduled to be permanently disabled on certain versions of Windows 10 devices on February 14, 2023, through a Microsoft Edge update, not a Windows update as previously communicated," Redmond said on Friday.

"All remaining devices that have not already been redirected from IE11 to Microsoft Edge are scheduled to be redirected with the Microsoft Edge update scheduled for February 14, 2023."

Enterprise admins are advised to transition from IE11 to Microsoft Edge with IE mode and remove IE visual references from the Start Menu and the Windows taskbar with the Disable IE policy before February 14 to avoid "business disruption at scale when users lose access to IE11-dependent applications."

Next year's May non-security preview release and the June Windows monthly security update are also designed to remove them in environments where admins will not act before IE11 gets permanently disabled.

BleepingComputer previously reported that Internet Explorer would redirect users to the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge when launching the Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications.

Starting in October 2020, IE11 has been automatically launching Microsoft Edge when visiting incompatible sites. The list of incompatible sites (managed by Microsoft) contains 7,562 domains belonging to a long list of high-profile online platforms and services, including Facebook, Instagram, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, Twitter, and many others.

During the redirection process, users' data (including settings, passwords, and favorites) will be imported into Microsoft Edge to make the switch easier.

Internet Explorer still around for some time

Even though officially retired from multiple Windows 10 versions on the semi-annual channel (SAC) servicing channel and not shipping with Windows 11, IE11 will still be available on Windows 7 ESU, Windows 8.1, and versions of Windows 10 LTSC client, IoT, and Server.

The web browser will continue receiving technical support and security updates on systems running these Windows versions for the lifecycle of the Windows version it runs on.

Microsoft has been urging customers to switch to Microsoft Edge with IE mode for years as it enables backward compatibility and will be supported through at least 2029—you can learn more about IE mode and how to make the switch in this getting started guide.

To enable IE mode in Microsoft Edge, you have to go to edge://settings/defaultbrowser, toggle on the 'Allow sites to be reloaded in Internet Explorer' option, and restart the browser.

Microsoft first announced plans to ditch support for IE11 in Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 in August 2020, with an official retirement announcement issued in May 2021.

Microsoft discontinued IE support in Teams in November 2020 and also ended support across Microsoft 365 apps and services in August 2021.

Other Microsoft services and apps have also ended support for Internet Explorer during the last few years—a complete list is available here.

Source

Windows 11 also marked the debut of Microsoft Edge as the company's default internet browser — replacing Internet Explorer. In addition, the popular messaging tool Microsoft Teams is now integrated within the operating system, as opposed to a downloadable app in the past.

Given that Windows 11 comes pre-installed on most non-Apple desktops and laptops today, most people use the OS without being aware of some of the new features it brings to the table. At SlashGear, we wanted to know what these little-known/hidden features on Windows 11 were. To figure this out, we asked 607 SlashGear readers in the U.S. to tell us about the features they didn't know Windows 11 had.

A significant majority of the respondents (37.07%) were unaware that Windows 11 had a feature that let them minimize all background windows using the shake gesture. Longtime Windows users should find this feature familiar, as it's similar to the "Aero Shake" or "Title bar window shake" feature that has been around since Windows 7. The feature gives users a quick way to minimize all open Windows (except for the one users are working on) with a simple shake gesture using the mouse. As it turns out, this Microsoft feature is still sticking around on Windows 11 as well.

A significant portion (21.58%) of our respondents were unaware of the fact that Windows 11 also supports a text-to-speech feature that lets users convert spoken words into written text. This feature is enabled by Microsoft's proprietary speech recognition technology. To use the Voice Typing feature on Windows 11, it needs to be enabled by pressing Windows + H on your keyboard.

Another Windows 11 feature that a sizable percentage of users (15.82%) weren't aware of is that the platform actually supports the installation and usage of Android apps. Windows 11 currently enables this feature via the Amazon App Store, where users can download and install thousands of Android apps. The two other Windows 11 features our respondents were unaware of included its support for Dynamic refresh rate on supported monitors (13.67%), and the ability to manage volume for individual apps (11.86%).

Source

The company writes in its blog post:

Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1037 and Build 22623.1037 (KB5021304) to the Beta Channel. This will be our last Beta Channel flight for the holidays. We’ll be back with new builds in January 2023!

Build 22623.1037= New features rolling out.
Build 22621.1037 = New features off by default.

Here is the full list of changes and improvements, as well as bug fixes in the new Beta builds:

What’s new in Build 22623.1037

Voice Access Improvements

Voice access is now more flexible and supports interaction with UI controls having different names such as:

• Names which contain numbers in them, for example the Calculator app where you can now directly say “Click 5”.

• Names without any whitespaces between them, for example in Excel, under the Insert tab, you can interact with UI controls like “PivotTable” and “PivotChart” directly by saying “click pivot table” or “click pivot chart”.

• Names with special characters in them, for example items like “Bluetooth & devices” or “Dial – up”. You can now say “click Bluetooth and devices” or “click dial hyphen up” and interact with these UI controls.

   

We have improved the horizontal scroll experience where we now support scrolling to the extreme left and right ends of a page, and you can do a continuous scroll left/right similar to what is already present in vertical scroll experience.

We have also added support for UI controls such as spin controls, thumb control and split buttons which enables you to interact with these controls with “click” command or by using number overlays. Commands that move the cursor in a text box now execute instantly and issues with snapping commands that snap a window left or right are fixed.

In addition, we have added support for the following commands:

Microsoft is looking for feedback with these new voice activated command improvements, they are asking for them to be filed under Accessibility > Voice Access in the Feedback Hub.

Changes and Improvements for BOTH Build 22621.1037 & 22623.1037

[Search on the Taskbar]

• In this build, we are continuing to try out different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar. We are excited to learn from your feedback on this, so please let us know what you think via Feedback Hub if you see the different treatments on your PC. Insiders who get this experience will have the ability to change the treatment of search on taskbar in settings under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Items.

   

Here are the fixes in Build 22623.1037:

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Updated the Quick Settings icons in the taskbar when using a screen reader so if you set focus to each of the icons it no longer includes the words system state and instead just says what the icon is (for example instead of “system volume state” it just says “volume”).

• Fixed a few more explorer.exe crashes relating to recent taskbar changes.

   

[Task Manager]

• We fixed the issue causing Task Manager to become unresponsive when using the search box at the top of Task Manager.

   

Here are the Fixes for BOTH Build 22621.1037 & Build 22623.1037:

• We fixed a known issue that might have affected Task Manager. It might have displayed certain elements in the user interface (UI) in unexpected colours. Some parts of the UI might not have been readable. This issue might have occurred if you had “Choose your mode” set to “Custom” in the Personalization > colours section of Settings.

• We fixed an issue that might have affected Data Protection Application Programming Interface (DPAPI) decryption. The decryption of a certificate private key might have failed. Because of that, virtual private network (VPN) and other 802.1 certificate-based authentication might have failed. This issue might have occurred when you encrypted the DPAPI master key with a wrong value.

   

and finally, here are the known issues for both builds:

[Search on the Taskbar]

The following known issues only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar as mentioned above in this blog post:

• You may see issues with the search box on taskbar not rendering correctly and displaying visual artifacts.

   

[Task Manager]

• Filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.

• Some services may not show in the Services page after filtering is applied.

• If a new process is starting while a filter is set, then that process may appear for a split second in the filtered list.

• Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.

• The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Task Manager Settings page.

• The Startup apps page in Task manager does not list any apps for some Insiders. If you are impacted, please use Settings > Apps > Startup for the time being.

   

The above image shows how the browser can be launched with a voice command.

You can find the official blog post here.

Latest Windows 11 build 22623.1037 (KB5021304) includes many new voice access improvements

Ned Pyle, the Principal Program Manager in the Microsoft Windows Server High Availability and Storage group, has updated the blog post that described the issue. He writes:

An updated version of this preview fix is now available in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 25267. This version "Fixed an issue where restartable copies of a file (for example using robocopy) with alternate data streams were hanging frequently in the latest Dev Channel builds."

Pyle mentions "updated" as Microsoft had already released an initial fix for the bug in a previous Windows build 25252. Of course, this is still in preview and Pyle says that the final fix will be released publicly later in a monthly update.

The final fix for Windows 11 22H2 production computer will come in a normal monthly Cumulative Update through Windows Update once validated in Insider builds.

You can find Ned Pyle's write-up here.

Microsoft releases additional fix for major Windows 11 22H2 file copy kernel bug

Following that, the developers of Files have now released another small update which further adds to the visual makeover with a new "fake mica" theme that sort of resembles the Mica effect in Windows 11. Files developers explain how it works:

Mica and Mica Alt are two UX materials Microsoft uses for Windows 11 UX design, aside from Acrylic. The move to WinAppSDK sort of meant that such an upgrade was probably on the cards for Files. Speaking of WinAppSDK, the developer tool has been updated to the new version 1.2.221209.1. You can view the full changelog below:

What's Changed

• Feature: Added a new theme for fake mica by @yaira2 in #10716
• Feature: Updated WinAppSdk to 1.2.221209.1 by @yaira2 in #10717
• Updated translations by @yaira2 in #10687

You can download the Files App version 2.4 from Microsoft Store but it costs $6.99 which helps fund the project. The same is also available on GitHub and Files' official website for free.

Files App gets even more Windows 11-like with "fake mica" theme

Windows 11 build 25267, the final preview release in 2022, has brought a fresh coat of paint for one more legacy user interface. The operating system now displays a modern and better-looking dialog box when a program requests network permissions from Windows Firewall. Although the change arrived unannounced, it does not require Vivetool or other software tricks to enable.

The updated Windows Firewall prompt now looks the same as the modern User Account Control dialog box. It is also slightly simpler than its predecessor—networks and extra information about the app are now hidden behind the "Show more" link, an additional step some users are unlikely to enjoy.

Besides a better and more modern look, the updated dialog box is more accessible and easy to use on tablets and laptops with touchscreens, thanks to larger buttons and checkboxes. Microsoft also gets extra points for dark and light theme support, plus the prompt now dims the display to drive the user's attention to the message. Unfortunately, the Firewall itself is still a part of the legacy Control Panel with all its downsides.

Here is how the new UI compares to the old one:

Old

New

The new Windows Firewall UI joins the other parts of the operating system Microsoft recently updated. In case you missed it, Windows 11 preview builds now feature redesigned dialog boxes for the "Go to previous build" and "Recovery" features.

Credits for the finding go to @PhantomOfEarth.

Windows 11 build 25267 brings a redesigned Windows Firewall dialog box

The company is taking its sweet time to roll out the app update to users. I got access to it recently, and liked the feature. This got me thinking, would the latest version work if we sideloaded it in the stable channel of the OS, like we did with the Windows Media Player? I tried it, and it does.

Note: The following steps will replace your existing version of the Snipping Tool with an experimental version. It might have some bugs, but you can get the old version back (instructions below) if you are facing some issues.

How to install the new Snipping Tool with video recording option in Windows 11

1. Visit the store.rg-adguard.net website.

2. Set the first drop-down menu to ProductId.

3. Paste this code in the text box: 9MZ95KL8MR0L

4. Now, click on the third box on the page, and change it to Fast.

5. Hit the checkbox button, the page will take a few seconds to populate the links.

6. The version that we are looking for is 11.2211.35.0. It's about 5.75MB to download.

The file's name is Microsoft.ScreenSketch_2022.2211.35.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.Msixbundle

7. Run the installer, and click the update button in the window that appears. Wait for it to finish the process.

8. Open the Snipping Tool, and you should see the Record button next to the Snip option.

Reverting to the old version of Snipping Tool

In case you want to roll back to the previous version of the app, which is 11.2209.2.0, you download it by selecting the RP channel build in step 4 above. Run the installer, and choose Reinstall.

The file's size is 4.25MB and the name is: Microsoft.ScreenSketch_2022.2209.2.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.msixbundle

Snipping Tool's video recorder

The video recorder in the Snipping Tool does not have a hotkey. Begin by clicking the Record button from the toolbar, and then draw a box around the part of the screen that you would like to capture. You can adjust your selection by dragging the edges of the box to resize it.

Click the start button when you are ready, and a 3-second timer will appear on the screen. Once it counts down to 1, the recording starts. You can discard the video by clicking the trash can icon at anytime.

Click the stop button to end the capturing process. Snipping Tool will display the video in its interface, so you can play it directly without switching to a video player. Sadly, it does not seem to include the audio played during the recording, which makes this a little more than a GIF maker. The video captures the mouse cursor, and there is no setting to disable this behavior.

You may copy the recording to the clipboard, and paste it in another app too. Or you can choose to save the recorded video to a file in the MP4 format. There are no options to edit the video in Snipping Tool, so you have to use a third-party tool to modify it.

The app crashed on me once during the testing process, but has worked fine ever since. It's not a world beater by any means, but the basic video recording option should be sufficient for creating GIFs and short videos. You should check out open source tools like Screen2GIF, or OBS Studio for advanced video recording and editing options.

You can install the Windows 11 Snipping Tool with video recording option on the stable channel, here's how to do it

The company says it has redesigned the Skype experience to be "more delightful and fun." The app now features a brand-new interface with fresh illustrations, new emoticons, better performance, and reliability improvements. You will even spot the iconic clouds from "the good old days" of Skype. Overall, Microsoft wants to keep its messenger familiar, fresh, and modern, so users should not be shocked or feel lost after installing the update.

Skype on mobile devices now features improved colourful themes with more prominent and vibrant colours throughout the app and enhanced accessibility. You will also find recognizable Skype elements, such as clouds and animated emoticons.

It is not all UI and graphics. Skype for iOS and Android has received the same new calling experience Microsoft added to desktops last year. Users can pick the light theme for calling, select backgrounds for participants without video, and enjoy better controls during video calls. Microsoft also promises technical improvements that ensure any video call performs well and remains stable no matter how many people participate (Skype supports up to 100 people per call).

Finally, the redesigned Skype offers a new "Today" tab with personalized articles and news stories from "trusted sources all over the world." Users can read and share those stories without signing up for a subscription.

You can read more about the latest improvements for Skype, including the new TruVoice real-time translation feature, in the official blog.

Microsoft announces major Skype redesign with more 'delightful and fun' experience

TruVoice is a big step for Skype in its mission to let people communicate with those whose language they do not know. Now you can ditch robotic voices and enjoy translation that sounds just like the person you are talking to.

The AI that powers the feature uses several tools to do its magic. Microsoft says Skype Translator combines speech recognition with natural language processing, then samples your words to tune the translation and make it sound like you, achieving a more comfortable and human-like conversation.

Microsoft also lets you disable the TruVoice feature and switch to standard robotic voices. You can see how the two options compare in the video below:

The new translation capabilities in Skype support English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and other languages. For now, TruVoice is available only in one-to-one calls, but Microsoft promises to upgrade group calls and Telephony in the next few months.

You can learn more about real-time translations with your personal voice in a post on the official Skype Blog.

Skype gets real-time video calls translation "TruVoice" with your personal voice

Lucid mode in Opera browser

The problem with most old videos are the resolution they were shot in, the lower it gets, the blurrier the image looks. Opera aims to address this by adding a CSS sharpening filter to videos and images on web pages. This feature is driven by hardware acceleration, handled by your computer's GPU.

The option is disabled by default, you can toggle it in 3 different ways. Open the sidebar and toggle Sharpen videos on all sites, and optionally enable the 2nd setting, Sharpen images on all sites. You may also configure these options from the browser's settings page: opera://settings/lucidMode

The third way to toggle it is by simply opening a web page that has a video, when you click the play button, a button labeled "Lucid Mode off" will appear, click on it to switch it on, or off.

When I read about it at the announcement page, and saw the ad for it, I thought this is just a gimmick. My expectations weren't high, but I wanted to see how Lucid mode works. Some videos appear to have a grainy effect, this was noticeable in videos that had a very low resolution.

In videos that had a decent amount of detail, the results appeared marginally better. If you observe the images carefully, you may notice that various objects in the background and foreground appear slightly sharper in Lucid Mode.

The filters are similar to shader effects like HQ4x, xBRZ, ScaleFX, that you may have used in game emulators. There is still a bit of noise here and there in videos with Lucid mode enabled, but you can't do much about it. The feature appears to make some changes to the brightness and a color correction effect to sharpen the image quality.

When it comes to animated videos like cartoons, the difference in the quality is quite prominent, and not in a good way.

In this screenshot, you can see that the colors appear brighter, but the cartoon's vivid outlines standout even more in Lucid Mode. This results in fuzzy pictures and lines, it almost looks like a video game's graphics with anti-aliasing disabled, which sort of ruins the whole experience. This is where the toggle is useful, if you don't want the feature, turn it off with a click.

Speaking of which, there is no option to hide the pop-up that appears over videos, it disappears for a few seconds, but it is shown every time you pause and resume a video. This could get annoying if you watch a lot of videos, or keep pausing videos often. Opera should have provided an option to hide this pop-up.

Lucid Mode does not work out in video pop-out (Picture-in-Picture) mode. Text in videos may appear a bit sharper when Lucid Mode is enabled, but text on dark backgrounds were garbled. While it supports images, the output quality depends on the type of content in the image, text may appear sharper, but graphical content tends to take a hit.

Opera's video about Lucid Mode is nowhere close to the real deal, but the feature is fun to use, though it's quite flawed. It won't magically remaster blurry videos to 1080p quality, but it might make them look slightly better. That's the thing, it's a gamble really, sometimes it looks better, sometimes it makes it worse. This depends on the original quality of the video, its compression, etc. I think Lucid Mode shouldn't be a toggle, it needs more controls, so users can choose the level of sharpness, and other details to fine tune the image.

Don't let me dissuade you from trying it, Lucid mode works on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and more. Try it for yourself. Download Opera browser 93.0.4585.70 for Windows, Linux and macOS from the official website. The company has finally managed to include the zero-day security fixes for issues (CVE-2022-4262) that were reported nearly 2 weeks ago.

Source

However, the update was found to be causing issues as it was failing to install with error code "0x800f0922", and as a workaround, Microsoft suggested updating the UEFI. Well, apparently, it was just the start, as a week later, Microsoft also acknowledged another issue relating to the KB5012170 update. This time, users reported that after installing the update, their systems were forced into BitLocker recovery mode, forcing the Redmond firm to provide steps to workaround the bug. Microsoft's health dashboard still lists these bugs as "confirmed" implying there is more to the story here.

While the KB5012170 update was initially released for Windows 11 21H2, Windows 10 21H2, and older Windows versions, users recently began reporting that they were now seeing the update on their Windows 11 22H2 systems as well. Microsoft has now acknowledged the issue. On the Windows health dashboard, the company has confirmed that the latest Windows 11 version indeed received the KB5012170 update. The company has also added that Windows 10 22H2 is affected.

The KB5012170 support page has also been updated now which includes Windows 10 22H2 and Windows 11 22H2. This was clearly not the case before. The support page now lists the following OS versions:

• Windows Server 2012
• Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2
• Windows 10, version 1507
• Windows 10, version 1607 and Windows Server 2016
• Windows 10, version 1809 and Windows Server 2019
• Windows 10, version 20H2
• Windows 10, version 21H1
• Windows 10, version 21H2
• Windows 10, version 22H2
• Windows Server 2022
• Windows 11, version 21H2
• Windows 11, version 22H2
• Azure Stack HCI, version 1809
• Azure Stack Data Box, version 1809 (ASDB)

As far as a workaround is concerned, Microsoft still recommends updating the UEFI bios which means not much as changed since August.

Source: Microsoft (1) , (2)

Microsoft acknowledges it pushed buggy update on Windows 11 and Windows 10 22H2

Starting with Windows 11 22H2, the updated Quick Assist app is a part of the operating system, and those using older Windows versions (21H2 and older) had to install the new app from the Microsoft Store. That process was anything but smooth, so December 2022 Patch Tuesday is here to fix that, as described in a newly published post on the Tech Community forums.

The update adds the new Quick Assist app's features to the old version on Windows 11 21H2, Windows 10 22H2, 21H2, 21H1, and 20H2. It also ensures that the Quick Assist shortcut launches the correct version of the app. You can press Win + Ctrl + Q, and the operating system will run the original variant if the Microsoft Store version is not installed.

More importantly, Microsoft is now committed to continue supporting the old built-in Quick Assist app on older Windows versions as long as the operating systems remain supported. Users can ignore the Microsoft Store version and stick to the old one. Microsoft also promises to release the same update for Windows 10 Enterprise 2019 LTSC and 2016 LTSC next month.

Finally, the software giant warns that the Quick Assist app now requires WebView2 Runtime. WebView2 is available to all Windows 11 customers by default, and Microsoft is rolling out the runtime to Windows 10 users. Quick Assist will take care of WebView2 upon the first launch if it is not installed on your computer.

Microsoft updates Quick Assist on older Windows versions, promises to continue supporting it

If you have participated in large interactive meetings and presentation on Teams where everyone is actively collaborating, you might have observed an etiquette where a person uses the hand-raising feature in Teams in order to ask for permission to speak. This enables the presenter to pause what they are saying at a suitable time and then let the person who raised their (digital) hand voice their thoughts.

While this capability works fine in essence, a minor nuisance - especially in large interactive meetings - can be where a participant forgets to lower their hand after they have spoken. This can lead to some confusion as to whether the person has raised their hand again for follow-up questions.

Microsoft is working on a solution to this problem. In an update on its Microsoft 365 Roadmap, the Redmond tech giant has mentioned that Teams will take action to automatically lower a person's hand after they have spoken. Basically, Teams will detect when a person has spoken and then prompt them to lower their hand. If the person doesn't respond to the prompt, their hand will be automatically lowered.

Microsoft has not yet defined how long this prompt will wait for a response from a participant but those details will likely be ironed out later since the feature is tentatively planned for general release in March 2023, which is a few months away. The capability is being tracked under the Feature ID 90022 and is in development only for Mac and desktop for now.

Microsoft is working on a welcome change for meetings in Teams

You can find the full changelog of build 25267 below:

Changes and Improvements

[Search on the Taskbar]

• We are continuing to try out different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began with Build 25252. Insiders in the Dev Channel will begin seeing an updated treatment with more rounded corners starting with this build. If you see the new treatment, you can right-click on the taskbar to open taskbar settings and adjust the experience.

Example of different treatments we are trying out for how search looks on the taskbar.

Fixes

[General]

• Fixed an issue which caused some Insiders to have issues casting (with WIN + K) in the previous flight.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• Fixed an issue causing the Bluetooth section of Quick Settings to crash for some people.
• Updated the Quick Settings icons in the taskbar when using a screen reader so if you set focus to each of the icons it no longer includes the words system state and instead just says what the icon is (for example instead of “system volume state” it just says “volume”).
• If focus is set to an app icon on the taskbar and you use ALT + Shift + Left/Right to move it, Narrator will now say that it has been moved.
• Fixed a high hitting explorer.exe crash which was impacting some Insiders in the last two flights.

[Search on the Taskbar]

The fixes only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar that began rolling out to Insiders with Build 25252:

• We fixed the issue causing a search box which appeared to be floating on the desktop when you changed your primary monitor or plugged in an external display.
• Text in the search box should no longer be clipped on the bottom when using increased text scaling.

[Input]

• Clicking the notification received the first time you press ALT + Shift should open the customize option now, rather than unexpectedly opening a Command Prompt window.
• We fixed an issue which was causing the first candidate item to be invisible or clipped sometimes in the Simplified Chinese IME candidate window.

[File Explorer]

• Fixed an issue where using “Browse for Folder” from an app was only showing Desktop (and no other folders) for some people.

[Settings]

• If a Windows Update failed to install, the error code in Windows Update history can now be selected if you want to copy it out.

[Other]

• Fixed an issue where restartable copies of a file (for example using robocopy) with alternate data streams were hanging frequently in the latest Dev Channel builds.

NOTE: Some fixes noted here in Insider Preview builds from the Dev Channel may make their way into the servicing updates for the released version of Windows 11.

Known issues

[General]

• [NEW] Some Arm64 devices will experience a black screen while resuming from sleep or hibernate. A workaround is to press the power button a few times to wake the device up and get to the Lock screen to login.
• [NEW] Using Windows Hello to sign in with facial recognition may not work on certain devices. A workaround for this is to use the Hello PIN path.
• We’re working on the fix for an issue causing various UI elements in apps appear to disappear and reappear sometimes in recent builds.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• The taskbar is sometimes cropped in half when using the tablet-optimized taskbar. You may also see this issue on secondary monitors.

[Search on the Taskbar]

The following known issues only apply for Windows Insiders who received one of the different treatments for how search looks on the taskbar as mentioned above in this blog post:

• You may see issues with the search box on taskbar not rendering correctly and displaying visual artifacts.
• In right-to-left display languages like Arabic, there are layout issues with the text in the search box on taskbar.
• Some Japanese IME candidate items are clipped inside the search box on taskbar.

[Task Manager]

• Filtering by publisher name does not match correctly on the Processes page.
• Some services may not show in the Services page after filtering is applied.
• If a new process is starting while a filter is set, then that process may appear for a split second in the filtered list.
• Some dialogs may not render in the correct theme when applied from Task Manager Settings page.
• The data content area of the Processes page may flash once when theme changes are applied in the Task Manager Settings page.
• There’s an issue we’re investigating where Task Manager isn’t displaying light and dark content correctly, leading to unreadable text. This happens when you have your mode in Settings > Personalization > colours set to Custom – as a workaround for the time being, please switch it to Light or Dark.
• The Startup apps page in Task manager does not list any apps for some Insiders. If you are impacted, please use Settings > Apps > Startup for the time being.

[Widgets]

• We’re investigating an issue where the widgets board will get stuck open in an invisible state for Insiders in China (and potentially others), causing clicks on the left side of the screen to not work. If you encounter this, pressing WIN + D may resolve the issue.
• In right-to-left display languages like Arabic, content animates out of view before the widgets board resizes when clicking to expanded view of the widgets board.

[Live Captions]

• [NEW] Live Captions is not working in this build. Our goal is to quickly flight a new build after the holidays with a fix.

You can find the official blog post here.

Final Windows 11 Dev Preview before Christmas includes more taskbar experiments, broken UI

The features Microsoft released for the Windows 11 2022 Update in November are your "Moment 1" update, "Moment 2" should arrive in February or March 2023, and now we have a new report spilling the beans on the upcoming "Moment 3" update.

According to @_h0x0d_, a reliable source of Microsoft leaks, the company plans to release the "Moment 3" update or "next Windows Continuous Innovations" in May 2023. References to "Moment 3" have already been spotted in the recent Windows 11 preview builds.

There are no official confirmations from Microsoft or definitive lists of new features that "Moment 3" could bring. The company has yet to disclose what users will get in the "Moment 2" update, although some of its parts and features are already available in the stable version of Windows 11 22H2.

While we wait for Microsoft to officially announce upcoming updates for Windows 11, check out our recent coverage showing five neat features coming soon to Windows 11 and their five not-so-great counterparts.

What do you want to see in the Windows 11 "Moment 3" update? Share your wishlist in the comments.

Microsoft reportedly plans to release Windows 11 Moment 3 update in May 2023

Updates for the recently introduced Sidebar feature are the highlight of the latest release. You can now resize the Sidebar, enable or disable push notifications, mute and unmute websites, and access search.

Microsoft has also noted that this is the last feature update for the browser in the Dev Channel in 2022. The company will continue pushing weekly updates once the holiday season is over.

What is new in Microsoft Edge Dev 110.0.1556.0?

New features:

• Sidebar pane can now be resized.
• Sidebar now has mute/unmute menu.
• Sidebar apps now support push notifications.
• You can now access Sidebar search in PWAs.

WebView2:

• Gamepad data fetch has been added to the gameinput API from the Microsoft GDK.
• Added "Toggle Visibility" menu item under "View" tab in WinForms.

Enterprise:

• New policy: (Note: Updates to documentation and administrative templates may not have occurred yet)
• Added SearchInSidebarEnabled policy.
• Added WorkspacesNavigationSettings policy.

Reliability improvements and bugfixes:

• Fixed a crash when playing the Surf game.
• Fixed a browser crash when adding a 3rd party site to Sidebar.
• Fixed browser crash related to Sidebar.
• Fixed browser crash when activating the Mini Menu.
• Fixed browser crash issue after some period of activity usage.
• Fixed Restore tabs prompt at every launch due to a crash.

iOS:

• Fixed browser crash related to Collections.
• Fixed browser crash when switching accounts.
• Fixed browser crash related to tooltips window.
• Fixed browser crash related to the reading list.

Android:

• Fixed browser crash when switching accounts.
• Fixed browser crash when sharing files.
• Fixed Read Aloud crash issue when reading some pages.
• Fixed browser crash related to the sign in to sync button.

Enterprise:

• Fixed browser crash related to PasswordManagerBlocklist policy.

Other changes:

• Fixed the New Tab button not displaying next to tabs.
• Fixed opening Collection pane affecting the Collection on another browser/machine using the same account.
• Fixed the overlay scrollbar not displaying correctly.
• Fixed edge://inspect page not working.
• Fixed Workspaces opening in a new browser when reconnecting.
• We replaced local/offline NTP with an error message.
• Fixed the Error bar not displaying with the login UI.
• Fixed STATUS_BAD_IMPERSONATION_LEVEL error when running the browser in Windows sandbox.
• Fixed the issue where the URLs registered with AppsForWebsites open in the browser instead of their UWP app.
• Sidebar games will now preserve the game state when moving to a new tab.

Android :

• Fixed Read Aloud pausing on Wikipedia pages.

iOS:

• Fixed search box partially obscured in landscape mode.
• Fixed can’t scroll to the bottom on menus.

WebView2:

• Fixed arrow keys not working in combo-box drop-down menus on Xbox.
• Fixed the .NET out of memory issues due to WebResourceResponseReceived events reporting incorrect size.

Enterprise:

• Removed the Audit option in the BrowserCodeIntegritySetting policy.
• CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForCas policy now works with Android.
• AAD sign in dialog only shows when no AAD account is signed in on Android.
• Fixed page failed due to no client certificates prompt when visiting from an IE mode page.

Microsoft has not published a list of known bugs in the update, but it does not mean there are no issues. Remember that Edge Dev is less stable than the public release version, and Microsoft does not recommend using it as your primary browser (the company provides support only for Edge Stable and Edge Beta).

You can download Microsoft Edge Dev 110 for Windows (10 and 11), macOS, Linux, and Android from the official website.

Microsoft releases final Edge Dev update in 2022 with several new features for Sidebar

The redesigned OneDrive app features a Windows 11-like user interface and navigation. There are four vertical tabs for managing sync and backup, account, and notification settings. The fourth tab lets you check the current app version and sign up for OneDrive Insider preview updates.

Another notable change is the storage indicator in the bottom-left corner, which lets you check your storage limit without navigating to a specific tab. Finally, the app now supports dark and light modes, something the legacy variant has never offered.

Apart from the fancy UI and redesigned navigation, the new OneDrive app for Windows does not offer any new features. You can manage your backups, customize download rates, enable or disable files on demand, and more.

Of course, OneDrive Settings is not something you visit frequently, but it is still great to see Microsoft giving this part of the operating system a much better-looking and modern user interface. There are no reports of this arriving on Windows 10 as of writing, however Microsoft has yet to announce the rollout of the new OneDrive app for Windows, and we will update the article once we have official information from Microsoft.

Have you received the updated OneDrive app on your computer? What do you think about the redesign? Let us know in the comment section.

Microsoft is rolling out the redesigned OneDrive app for Windows 11

Here is the full changelog for VMware Workstation Pro and Workstation Player 16.2.5:

• This release resolves CVE-2022-31705. For more information on this vulnerability and its impact on VMware products, see VMSA-2022-0033.
• Installation of Microsoft Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022 on a virtual machine fails. When you try to install Microsoft Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022 operating system on a virtual machine, the installation might fail with the following error message: unsupported processor. This issue is [now] resolved.

Full release notes with links for download, system requirements, and prior releases are available in the official VMware documentation here (Workstation Pro) and here (Workstation Player). You can use the updated virtualization software from VMware to run the official virtual machines supplied by Microsoft that let you use Windows 11 for free until March 2023.

VMware releases updates for Workstation Pro and Player to fix Windows 11 unsupported CPU bug

Instagram is introducing a set of new features that the platform hopes will help users better connect and share with their friends.

One of these is Candid Stories, a feature that awfully resembles BeReal, a popular photo-sharing social media app. Much like BeReal, Candid Stories notifies you daily to capture and share two unfiltered photos of what you are doing in real-time through your phone's front and rear cameras. You can also use capture candids from the Stories camera or a multi-author Story, and enhance your posts with text and doodles. If you don't want to receive the daily notification reminder, you can turn it off in Settings.

Instagram is testing Candid Stories in South Africa starting Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. It is not yet known when the capability will be available globally.

Another feature is Notes, which allows you to share short posts of up to 60 characters with people who follow you back or users you designate as close friends. Notes, which are now rolling out to everyone, will appear as thought bubbles above your profile picture in a user's inbox. Replies to your notes will appear as direct messages.

Instagram is also testing other features. One of these is include Group Profile, which lets members share posts and stories with each other, rather than all of their followers. Another is Collaborative Collections, which allows you to share saved content like memes or fashion items with another user. Finally, Instagram's Add Yours function that encourages users to share content to Stories is getting a nomination feature, so you can invite specific friends to participate by passing on a prompt that reminds you of them.

Group Profiles are already being tested in Canada, Chile, and Taiwan. Collaborative Collections and Add Yours nominations, on the other hand, will commence testing this coming Tuesday for a limited number of users worldwide.

Via: Wall Street Journal

Instagram launches its BeReal clone and a "Notes" feature

What's new in macOS Ventura 13.1

Freeform app

Freeform is a new whiteboard app that allows users to jot down ideas, and get creative with drawings. It allows you to add various types of contents like photos, video, audio, documents, PDFs, URLs, map locations, sticky notes, drawings, etc.

Users may drag and drop content to Freeform from other apps, and preview it using Quick Look. The canvas resizes dynamically as you add more content on the board. It offers a variety of brush styles, color options that you can use to draw diagrams, shapes, add text, comments, etc. You can export a board as a PDF, or simply save it as a screenshot. If you have an iPhone or an iPad, you can draw on the canvas using your finger, or use the camera on these devices to add an image or a scanned document to the board. iPads that support Apple Pencil allow you to sketch images, scribble notes, etc.

Freeform supports FaceTime, so you can collaborate with your friends and colleagues to work on a board together. You can also invite users via email or by sharing a link, the app allows up to 100 users to work on the same board at a time. The app syncs its data to iCloud, though this option is not enabled by default. When you run the app for the first time, it will ask you whether you'd like you to sync it, you may change this behavior from the Settings.

Apple's Freeform app is available on Mac, iPad and iPhone. If you update your device to macOS 13.1, iOS 16.2 or iPadOS 16.2, the Freeform app will already be available on it. The best part is that the app is completely free to use.

Image courtesy: Apple

Advanced Data Protection for iCloud

A week ago, Apple revealed various security options for its devices under a new setting called Advanced Data Protection for iCloud. It is now available for Mac, iPhone and iPad devices running on the latest OS version. The security feature adds end-to-end encryption for your data that is synced to iCloud, it protects 23 data categories including iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos. You can read our previous coverage to learn more about Advanced Data Protection.

I have not tested Advanced Data Protection since it is not available in my Country. It is only supported in the U.S. as of now, and will roll out globally in early 2023. Please refer to the official support article to learn how to enable the feature. I'll give you the list of steps to follow to turn on the security feature, tread carefully.

How to enable Advanced Data Protection on macOS Ventura 13.1

1. Open the Settings app
2. Click on your name in the sidebar.
3. Select the iCloud option.
4. Scroll down the page, and you should see Advanced Data Protection at the bottom of the list.
5. Click on it, and select the "Turn On" option. You will be asked to set up your data recovery options before the feature is enabled.
6. Hit the Done button to apply the security settings.

Improvements

The search function in the Messages app now lets you find photos based on the content. e.g. dog, car, person, or text. This isn't a particularly new addition, as it was already supported in Spotlight. The Find My app can be used to play a sound to help detect nearby devices such as AirTags, AirPods Pro 2nd gen case, and other accessories that support the Find My network. The Notes app now supports Participant Cursors, it displays live indicators that allow you to see the changes/updates that others make in a shared note.

Security fixes

macOS Ventura 13.1 patches 33 security issues in the operating system and some apps. That's way too many to list here, so I recommend reading this support page for more details about the vulnerabilities that were fixed.

Bug fixes

Apple has fixed an issue that was preventing some notes from syncing with the iCloud. Keyboard and mouse input should no longer lose focus in apps and games.

I haven't encountered any bugs in macOS Ventura 13.1 since updating to it last night. That said, I have not run into any bugs in Ventura since updating to it on my MacBook. The Settings app reported the size for the update as 1.68GB, but it was actually around 2.53GB to download.

Have you updated to macOS Ventura 13.1?

Source

The release note regarding the issue on the latest Patch Tuesday (KB5021255) reads:

Highlights

This update addresses a known issue that might affect Task Manager. It might display certain elements in the user interface (UI) in unexpected colours. Some parts of the UI might not be readable. This issue might occur if you have "Choose your mode" set to "Custom" in the Personalization > colours section of Settings.

This is not the only bug Microsoft addressed with Patch Tuesday. The Redmond company also fixed one on Windows 10 as well where the Camera app crashed due to a memory-related issue. The update (KB5021233) also has quite a few major known issues.

Latest Windows 11 Patch Tuesday fixes frustrating bug that made Task Manager unreadable

The new Thunderbird version is available already. While it is being distributed automatically to most devices with Thunderbird, some users may want to speed up the installation of the update.

All it takes for that is to select Menu > Help > About Thunderbird. The small window that opens displays the current version and whether the email client is up to date. The program checks for updates and any update found may be installed right away.

Thunderbird 102.6.0

Thunderbird 102.6.0 addresses seven different security issues. The overall severity rating of the fixed security issues is high, second only to critical.

Here is the full list of the fixes:

1. CVE-2022-46878: Memory safety bugs fixed in Thunderbird 102.6
2. CVE-2022-46881: Memory corruption in WebGL
3. CVE-2022-46880: Use-after-free in WebGL
4. CVE-2022-46872: Arbitrary file read from a compromised content process
5. CVE-2022-46882: Use-after-free in WebGL
6. CVE-2022-46875: Download Protections were bypassed by .atloc and .ftploc files on Mac OS
7. CVE-2022-46874: Drag and Dropped Filenames could have been truncated to malicious extensions

The security advisory, published here, provides information about each of the security issues.

The release notes list seven non-security fixes. These address bugs in previous versions of the Thunderbird email client. One fix addresses an issue with the cookie deletion option of "show cookies". Cookies were not actually deleted when the action was selected by the user. Another fixes the pause RSS feed option in the RSS reader of the email client. RSS feed were not actually paused when the option was activated by the user.

There was also an issue with message indexes getting deleted when too many folders were opened, and an import issue that affected secret OpenPGP keys.

The two remaining fixes addresses a vCard formatting issue and a calendar issue that affected recurring events.

Thunderbird users may want to check the full release notes for additional details on the fixes.

Thunderbird 102.6.0 is a security and bug fix update

Frontapaged: Mozilla Thunderbird 102.6.0