News: Software News

Windows 11 22H2 gets tablet-optimized taskbar and redesigned notification area

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:50:05 +0000

Microsoft has released an optional update for users running the latest Windows 11 update. KB5018496 or Windows 11 build 22621.755 adds improved backup settings, "visual treatments" on the taskbar, better OneDrive subscription management, right-click to launch Task Manager (use our guide to force-enable this change), and more features alongside traditional bugfixes.

Besides changes mentioned in the official release notes, Windows 11 22621.755 contains a couple of hidden features previously available only for Windows Insiders: the tablet-optimized taskbar, redesigned notification area, and improved File Explorer search. These additions are disabled by default, but you can enable them using the ViveTool app.

Caution: Hidden features are often less stable than those publicly available. Back up important data before using the ViveTool app. Remember that waiting for Microsoft to deliver new features "organically" is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

We have dedicated guides that describe how to enable the tablet-optimized taskbar and new notification area. Still, before proceeding, you need to enable another ID; otherwise, you will not get the new features.

Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files somewhere convenient.
Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.
Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have copied ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
Type vivetool /enable /id:39281392 and press Enter.
Restart your computer.
Now proceed with the IDs for each feature you want to enable.

It is worth noting that the redesigned notification area currently lacks some of the latest improvements Microsoft has introduced in Windows 11 build 25227, which means you will have to deal with minor UI glitches and broken icons. And before you blame Microsoft for releasing half-baked features, remember that those are hidden and turned off by default.

As usual, kudos to @PhantomOfEarh for sharing the findings!

Windows 11 22H2 gets tablet-optimized taskbar and redesigned notification area

Firefox 106.0.2 fixes a freeze, opening issue and more

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:47:07 +0000

Mozilla Firefox 106.0.2 will be released later today. The second Firefox 106 point release addresses five different issues in the browser, none is security related.

The browser's automatic updating system should pick up the new version starting later today. Firefox users may select Menu > Help > About Firefox to display the current version and run a check for updates; this check should pick up the new version later today as well and install the new update for the browser.

Firefox 106.0.2

Firefox 106.0.2 addresses five different bugs. Some of the bugs are found in new or improved features introduced in Firefox 106, others appear unrelated to that release.

Mozilla addressed two Firefox View issues (bugs 1792680 and 1794474) . Firefox View was introduced in Firefox 106 as a way to improve using Firefox on different devices. The feature works best if Firefox Sync is used, as it displays tabs from other Firefox instances in that case. The bugs prevented the reload button from working on the Firefox View tab and introduces sync requesting functionality on the page as well. Mozilla argues that users would expect that stale data is updated when the refresh action is selected on the Firefox View page.

Another issue that has been fixed in the new Firefox point release prevented the opening of the browser, it if was installed from the Microsoft Store (bug 1796391)

Firefox users could also run into browser freezes under certain conditions (bug 1793748). On installations with accessibility enabled, the browser could freeze on certain sites, such as Proxmox sites. Firefox freezes completely in that case and the only recourse was to kill the main Firefox process to close the browser and restart it.

The fourth issue fixed in Firefox 106.0.2 addresses a PDF document display issue. Mozilla improved Firefox's PDF reader by adding basic editing support in Firefox 106. Some PDF files with forms would not display correctly, according to the bug report (bug 1794351).

Mozilla fixed the column width of the Notification sub-panel on the Settings page as the final fix in the point release (bug 1793558)

Now You: did you encounter any of the issues while running Firefox?

Firefox 106.0.2 fixes a freeze, opening issue and more

Frontpaged: Mozilla Firefox Browser 106.0.2

Brave Translate goes from supporting 15 to 108 languages

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:44:58 +0000

Brave Translate now supports 108 languages after supporting just 15. The latest update brings support for widely spoken languages including Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic – you can find a full list here. To use Brave Translate, update the browser to version 1.45 and uninstall any other translation extensions you have installed in the browser. When you visit a foreign-language website, a translation button will appear in the URL bar.

The new languages are available on desktop and Android versions of Brave, and will arrive for the iOS version in a future update. Just like everything Brave tries to do, Brave Translate is run in a privacy-friendly way. Explaining the technical side of the feature, Brave said:

“Chromium’s native translation service caches user translation requests, passing that data along to Google’s API. Brave Translate, however, is privacy-preserving and enables users to privately translate websites in over 100 languages, without exposing browsing activity. Brave uses a self-hosted server and the Lingvanex translation engine to power translations, which means no caching, and no feeding your translation requests to privacy-threatening models.”

Until recently, Brave prompted users to install the Google Translate extension because it didn’t support the feature natively. Now that this functionality is included, users who installed Google Translate are free to remove the extension if desired.

Source: Brave

Brave Translate goes from supporting 15 to 108 languages

Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in October 2022

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:43:33 +0000

Each month, Microsoft adds lots of new features to Excel across various platforms, then pens a recap of all the new functionalities in a handy list. And while the month of October isn't quite over yet, it seems like Microsoft has met its target for this month as it has published a roundup already.

Starting off with Excel for the web, we have a single but handy utility. Users on this platform can now quickly search for commands using the shortcut menu instead of navigating different menus or memorizing complex shortcuts.

Meanwhile, Excel for Windows customers also have the shortcut menu along with a streamlined navigation pane that is friendlier for new users or people who are working with large workbooks. You can check it out in action below:

There are three additional capabilities available on the Insider Beta ring too. These include automation of repetitive tasks using Office Scripts, support for 92 new DAX functions, and the ability to paste values using Ctrl + Shift + V.

Finally, Excel for Mac has the Office Scripts automation functionality available to the Insiders Beta ring for now too.

All in all, it's not a lengthy changelog, but any improvements will likely be appreciated by Excel's users. Microsoft has also stated that the updated navigation pane will soon become generally available for Mac and web customers as well.

Here are all the new features Microsoft added to Excel in October 2022

Microsoft launches new OneNote feature to help you take notes without distractions

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:42:10 +0000

Last week, Microsoft launched an important feature for OneNote users on Windows, improving its accessibility. And after its successful launch, the software giant has started offering another noteworthy functionality, but this time, it has more to do with distraction-free note-taking.

The new functionality recently launched for OneNote on Windows is Pen Focused View. As explained by Microsoft, it enables you to create with your pen without any distractions. What does that mean? Well, it is just a full-page view of OneNote, where you will only see tools you need to take notes and sketch out your ideas, including customized pen options. You can display or hide the Pen toolbar in Pen Focused View from the top right corner.

This distraction-free note-taking capability in OneNote will not be limited to Surface PCs. It will also work on other Windows PCs with or without touch support. However, things are better if you have a Surface pen. OneNote will automatically switch to Pen Focused View when your Surface pen is undocked. You can disable it by navigating to File > Options > Advanced and clearing the Switch to focused inking when pen is undocked check box.

However, Pen Focused View may not work as you would like when you are using your Surface pen in Select mode. This is because it has the following known issue:

While using your Surface pen in Select mode, the cursor may switch back to the Pen tool if you try to tap on ink.

In its Office Insider blog post, Microsoft said it would roll out this feature to Insiders running Version 2210 (Build 15724.10000) or later.

Microsoft launches new OneNote feature to help you take notes without distractions

“Too much and too soon”—Steven Sinofsky looks back at Windows 8, 10 years later

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 20:39:46 +0000

Ex-Windows chief reflects on the risks and rewards of taking Windows in a radical new direction.

On October 26, 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8, a hybrid tablet/desktop operating system that took bold risks but garnered mixed reviews. Ten years later, we've caught up with former Windows Division President Steven Sinofsky to explore how Windows 8 got started, how it predicted several current trends in computing, and how he feels about the OS in retrospect.

In 2011, PC sales began to drop year over year in a trend that alarmed the industry. Simultaneously, touch-based mobile comping on smartphones and tablets dramatically rose in popularity. In response, Microsoft undertook the development of a flexible operating system that would ideally scale from mobile to desktop seamlessly. Sinofsky accepted the challenge and worked with many others, including Julie Larson-Green and Panos Panay, then head of the Surface team, to make it happen.

Windows 8 represented the most dramatic transformation of the Windows interface since Windows 95. While that operating system introduced the Start menu, Windows 8 removed that iconic menu in favor of a Start screen filled with "live tiles" that functioned well on touchscreen computers like the purpose-built Microsoft Surface, but frustrated desktop PC users. It led to heavy pushback from the press, and PC sales continued to decline.

The iconic Windows 8 Start screen, with its colorful live tiles and Metro interface.

Microsoft

Despite its drawbacks, some aspects of the Windows 8 interface predicted how we use tablets and other mobile devices today, including some features (like side-by-side apps and screen edge swiping) once considered too complex that Apple later adopted on the iPad. Necessary refinements aside (such as restoring the Start button for desktop users, which happened in Windows 8.1), one could argue that Windows 8 was ahead of its time, or "too much and too soon," as Sinofsky puts it in the interview below.

The Ars interview: Steven Sinofsky

To understand Steven Sinfosky's background at Microsoft, it's useful to know that he worked at the company for 23 years, beginning in 1989 as a software design engineer. After joining the Microsoft Office team in 1994, he worked his way up to managing the development of Office 2000, XP, 2003, and 2007. Two years later, he became president of Microsoft's Windows Division and oversaw the launch of Windows 7, which became a widely successful product for Microsoft. Following the launch of Windows 8, Sinofsky left Microsoft in December 2012.

Steven Sinofsky at a Windows event in 2012.

Microsoft

In 2020, Sinofsky began writing detailed historical accounts of his time at Microsoft, and they turned into a Substack newsletter called Hardcore Software, which he publishes regularly. He's been thinking deeply about his history a lot recently, which makes this prime time for a retrospective interview, which we conducted via email. His answers have been lightly edited for formatting, punctuation, and brevity.

Ars Technica: What was the No. 1 driving force behind Windows 8’s interface design changes? The iPad?

Steven Sinofsky: You never say No. 1 reason, but the primary motivations for changing the interface of Windows 8 was because Windows had run its course.

If you look at how Windows was thinking when we built Windows 7 (2006–2009), the world was very focused on how the PC would be computing for what the industry called "the next billion." Windows 7 ended up being built at the tail end of a vision that would never be realized: The PC powering computing for the billions using PCs.

As we know now, with the iPhone in 2007 (+apps in 2008) and Android in 2008 (+/-), not only the next billion but the next billions were those on smartphones. Given that is how people were going to exclusively use computers, if there was any hope of growing the use of PCs, it would come from having an experience more aligned with smartphones. This applied to the basic user interface (launching programs) and metaphors (touch) as well as the underpinnings such as cloud storage and all-day battery life and also the way mobile hardware platforms raced beyond PCs, such as with sensors.

The whole point was to modernize computing on a PC to be in line with the modern computing experience on smartphones. This could easily be seen as "catching up," but really, the whole design was about taking the essence of a PC and pushing it beyond smartphones: Sharing between apps, advancing touchscreen typing, life files, file management, device support (printing!), and so on, that didn’t exist on smartphones.

Ars: Which came first: Microsoft Surface hardware or Windows 8?

Sinofsky: They were designed in parallel. We saw the need to have a computer that reflected the design of the software and to have software that could exploit a modern hardware platform. We saw the Surface+Windows as a stage for *your* apps and content.

Windows Division President Steven Sinofsky, left, and Panos Panay, general manager for Microsoft Surface, introduce Microsoft Surface in 2012.

Microsoft

Ars: Who designed the tile-based Metro interface? Did you consider any alternatives?

Sinofsky: The tiles arose from a synergy with the "Metro" design language, which itself was an evolution at Microsoft, going from Expedia to Windows Media Center to Windows Phone. We had many alternatives, but the essence of the Start screen and live tiles were such that the combination addressed the major shortcomings we saw with how the Start menu, taskbar (including how we innovated in Windows 7), system tray, gadgets, and notifications had become so "unusable" in Windows.

Ars: What role did Windows Phone have in the design of Windows 8 and RT?

Sinofsky: Windows Phone and Windows 8 shared a name, of course, but with the "Metro style" interface, we wanted to have a family feel and intentionally chose a similar graphical language.

Ars: What do you think Windows 8 did best?

Sinofsky: I believe what we did with connecting apps to each other via what we called "contracts" was an incredible innovation. Apple did not extend this to third-party apps until 2014, I think, and as late as iOS 13, though much of what was done in Windows 8 still hasn’t made its way there (like app-to-app sharing).

But in 2011, we showed developers how to share content from one app to another, how to search across apps, or how to cross the secure file spaces of apps and wire that up in apps with almost no code. Even small things, to this day, that were broadly discussed as hard to use are now standard, such as swipe gestures from the edges or simply typing to launch programs. These were not there for "advanced," users but [part of] the basic user experience.

Ars: What did Windows 8 do worst?

Sinofsky: The least satisfying aspect of Windows 8 was that there was no real Windows 8.1 and 8.2. Like any Microsoft project, we started knowing we were on a 10-year journey.

As a comparison, consider the iPad in 2010 to today’s iPad (or compare the Surface RT to the iPad). Even comparing one year after release would have made a huge difference, as we saw with iPad. Perhaps the thing I regret the most was that unlike most everything Microsoft ever did that was successful (Windows itself, Microsoft Word, Windows NT, and more), Microsoft really did just back completely off the idea of transforming Windows when really the platform (WinRT API), the hardware (Surface for ARM), and the overall user model could have made substantial progress had the company stuck with it. While that’s not the "worst feature," it is the thing I think of the most when I think of what could have changed with a future of Windows 8.

Of course, you can’t explore the counterfactual, so I can’t sit here today and say this would have changed the outcome, only that the final judgment of Windows 8 probably could have used more time, just as we did for everything that was successful at Microsoft (and many things that were not, to be complete).

Ars: How did it feel to see some of the negative press reaction to Windows 8?

Sinofsky: The most interesting thing about the press reaction to Windows 8 was how that reaction has been revised over time. The product did what it did in the market, and I am not in any way disputing that, but to say something like I’ve heard people say, such as "everyone knew it wouldn’t work" or "it was a bad idea from the start" goes against what kind of feedback we received as we were building the product.

For example, at the Build conference in September 2011, we unveiled the full product and provided code to over 500,000 people. There were reviews and first looks that were positively glowing about the product. For example, Paul Thurrott tweeted, "Hello, Windows 8? This is iPad. You win," and James Governor of RedMonk wrote, "The experience still felt magic, and that's what really counts. Well done Microsoft."

Ars: Do you think the critical reaction to Windows 8 was unfair?

Sinofsky: I would never call a reaction unfair. I'm sure people writing and reacting believed they were fair. What I would suggest and as a teaser for what is to come in Hardcore Software is that what was going on was a huge tectonic shift in computing, definitely driven by Apple (though, as discussed, they were first, but we also started before they were public, so definitely a case of convergent evolution). This shift made a lot of people uncomfortable. In particular, Apple was out there talking about how tablets were the future of computing. A lot of people didn't accept that and really pushed back with tablets as "consumption devices" and not for productivity.

We had a decidedly different point of view that was not tablet-centric but was "computer centric." We believed that there was a convergence of "mobile," "tablets," and "laptops," and that it was entirely possible for one OS to span these and be optimal across them. That is why at every Windows 8 event we showed devices of all form factors and sizes running Windows 8. Similarly and orthogonal, we thought of the cloud as an integral part of the experience from the start: Windows 8 + Windows Live was the product definition from the earliest days.

We were super focused on productivity and mobility, and that is why we designed an integral keyboard experience with Surface. We saw users always having a keyboard, even if it was folded over the back as a cover. At the same time, the kickstand was about using the device for laid-back consumption, or as I showed it, hands-off productivity (the camera in Surface was angled so it would point correctly on a desk when standing on the kickstand). From the start, we designed the OS to be in landscape mode primarily and designed the "multitasking" support to assume a widescreen layout for apps such that two apps side by side would work great.

Ars: How has your opinion of Windows 8 evolved or changed over the past 10 years?

Sinofsky: First, so much of the feedback about Windows 8 focused on removal of the Start menu—the literal menu—which we knew at the time had reached its functional limits. So in many ways, I think the feedback overplayed the role of the Start menu much the same way the early Windows critics overplayed the removal of "C:\>" from the core experience. Yet, of course, like the early Windows, we had affordances to keep that around (the desktop in Windows 8).

Second, 90 percent (that's a rhetorical stat) of computing is now done via grids of apps, launched by touch, filling a screen. Mobile browsing dominates desktop browsing, and overall screen time on mobile vastly outpaces desktop. Desktop computing is on a decline. That assumes desktops are used at all, and for a few billion people, they will never see desktop computers as traditionally envisioned.

So in that way, I think we tried to bring Windows to the natural next step of computing. Our vision for doing that was just too much and too soon, and as a result Windows ended up not moving forward and today retains its secure position—though that is in a shrinking desktop world, one also challenged by Mac much more so in 2022 than it was in 2012.

Ars: What do you want people to remember Windows 8 for the most?

Sinofsky: Windows 8 will be remembered for how it worked in the market. Nothing will change that. My hope is that, over time, some people will reflect on what was done, revisit the initial reactions, and realize that what Windows 8 tried to do was the classic effort businesses should do—it is always better to disrupt yourself than to get disrupted by another company. That's what we tried to do.

In many ways, there was a crazy (or even absurd) amount of innovation in every level of the system, from the lowest layer of hardware/software system API, the UI, the app runtime, and the user experience in the system. Windows 8 is an example of something that failed because it had "too much" innovation, if that's a thing. The market couldn't absorb all that at once, even though all the pieces turned out to be relatively prescient on so many fronts.

Innovation and business are like that—everything has to align. Often, getting that alignment is much more difficult for an incumbent.

Microsoft designed its Surface tablet in parallel with Windows 8.

Microsoft

Ars: Do you think Windows 8 is underrated among historical Windows releases? How would you rank it against, say, Windows 95 or Windows 7?

Sinofsky: One of the most interesting phenomena in tech is that people remember products that were wildly successful and then also remember cataclysmic failures. But people also remember products that were not so successful and yet remember them as though they changed a great many things, almost more successful than they were. There's a full range in there, from the Altair, to Zune, to Windows Phone, to Newton, to Amiga. None of those were successful businesses, but each has incredible fans today—irrational fans.

I would love for people to recognize that from swipe gestures from the edges, to the APIs, to ARM support, to window management, to share/search/picker contracts, to live tiles, and more, Windows 8 had not only a broad set of innovations, but many went on to occupy places in the leading platforms of iOS and Android even though Windows 8 itself was not successful in bringing those to Windows users directly.

Ars: Has it been cathartic or emotionally helpful to write about Windows 8 for your Hardcore Software Substack?

Sinofsky: I would say it has been neither of those. Mostly I am documenting conversations I had with hundreds of groups and companies over the past 10 years. There's a huge interest in the "how and why" of strategic and management choices, and these stories resonate with managers, product leaders, engineers, and more. What Windows experienced might have been a bigger or higher high than many businesses achieve, but every business will be faced with existential moments.

Part of writing, too, has been a great reminder of what I recognized at the time, which is that Windows 8 was the very best of Microsoft. It was a time that the whole company came together to deliver.

“Too much and too soon”—Steven Sinofsky looks back at Windows 8, 10 years later

Brave 1.45 Stable out with Brave Translate improvements and more

Wed, 26 Oct 2022 04:55:29 +0000

Brave 1.45.113 Stable is now available. The new version of Brave Browser for the desktop is a massive list with a long list of improvements. Existing installations should be upgraded to the new version automatically. Brave users may speed up the process by loading brave://settings/help in the browser's address bar, or by selecting Menu > Help > About Brave.

New users may download Brave from the official website for installation on their devices.

Brave 1.45

Brave 1.45 integrates the Copy Clean Link feature, which I reviewed earlier this year already. It is a privacy feature that allows users to copy only the relevant part of a site's address, cutting any unneeded parameters in the process. A right-click on the address bar displays the new option in the context menu.

Brave introduced a privacy-friendly Translate option in a recent version of the browser. The company uses the same self-hosted solution as Vivaldi for that. Now, in Brave 1.45, comes support for additional language pairs. Announced on the official blog, Brave Translate languages have gone up to 108 from 15 in the previous versions.

Users may also start seeing a new prompt in Brave that allows them to enable the blocking of cookie consent notices on the Web. It is powered by the popular EasyList Cookie List Filter, which blocks these annoying prompts. Brave users who do not see the prompt may follow my instructions on the linked resource above to enable it in Brave.

Brave 1.45 includes a number of additional improvements. Users who install Brave and have Google Chrome Beta or Dev installed may import data from these browsers now. There is also the ability to import extension settings in the new version of Brave.

Brave's Speedreader feature supports themes now in the release, and there is a new gradient background option for the New Tab Page in the settings. Two new privacy-related features are also new. The first improves fingerprinting protection by "adding farbling protections for screen resolution and coordinates", the second prevents that private windows inherit permissions from normal windows.

Brave 1.45 runs Chromium 107. Brave users who use the crypto-functionality of the browser may notice that there is additional password protection for Brave Wallet actions, such as removing the account or showing the private key. Lots of additional crypto-related changes in the release.

Now You: do you use Brave? What's your take on the new version?

Brave 1.45 Stable out with Brave Translate improvements and more

Microsoft is working on Android 13 and more features for Windows Subsystem for Android

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 20:04:13 +0000

One of the most significant new features in Windows 11 is the ability to run Android apps. Users can download their favorite titles from the Amazon Appstore—or sideload an APK file using third-party tools—and use them like native programs in resizable windows. The apps also support push-notifications, networking, access to cameras, printing, and other capabilities. Soon, Windows Subsystem for Android will become even better, as revealed by the recently published roadmap.

WSA's GitHub repository contains a roadmap describing existing features, unavailable capabilities, and new stuff Microsoft "has on radar" for future releases. According to the documentation, Microsoft plans to upgrade WSA to Android 13 and add file transfer, shortcuts, picture-in-picture, and local network access support.

Unfortunately, there is no information on when Microsoft will ship those features. Still, the company frequently releases WSA updates with features. A couple of days ago, Microsoft released an update with quality-of-life improvements and bugfixes for WSA in the Dev and Beta Channel. You can enroll your device into the Windows Insider program to be the first to test Android 13 and the promised new features.

Windows Subsystem for Android is available for Windows 11 users in 31 countries across the globe, and Microsoft is working on bringing Android apps support to even more users. Note that your computer should meet hardware requirements to run Android apps, which are slightly different than the hardware requirements for Windows 11.

Microsoft is working on Android 13 and more features for Windows Subsystem for Android

Chrome 107 is landing today with HEVC decoding support, despite pushback from Mozilla

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 20:03:16 +0000

Google Chrome 106 arrived four weeks ago with lots of experimental features and deprecations, which means that it is time for the availability of the next major version of the browser. Chrome 107 seems to be a similar update in terms of the number of new supported APIs, but one interesting functionality this time around is support for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).

HEVC, also known as H.265, is a video compression format that is supported by many modern applications. Chrome 107 now supports it by default, which is interesting because of the viewpoints held by other browser vendors. Although Apple's Safari WebKit team supports HEVC too, Mozilla has historically been against it.

In discussions dating back to 2016, Mozilla can be seen emphasizing that it has no plans for HEVC because it is "patent encumbered". Although it has stated that it will focus on supporting AV1 instead, there has been pushback from developers and other members of the community with one comment on the same thread arguing that:

The request is not for Mozilla to provide HEVC video decoding in Firefox, which would require Mozilla to license HEVC. The request is to support (pass through) HEVC when the device supports it, as Safari and Chrome do. The device handles the video decoding, and as such, the device OEM is responsible for licensing all required HEVC patents. Device OEMs have been licensing and supporting HEVC for many years. As of 2018 the majority of mobile devices supported HEVC decoding.

Either way, it seems like Chrome will go ahead with supporting HEVC decoding by default, regardless of what Mozilla thinks.

Other smaller features enabled by default include improvements to the CSS grid-template properties interpolation to allow developers to achieve specific interactive effects, hints for display surfaces with the ability to exclude the current tab, and showing a button to switch display tabs during screen-sharing. Additionally, there is an ignoreCase option for URLPattern, better render-blocking support, and a "rel" attribute for form elements.

Switching gears to experimental features behind developer flags and Origin trials, we have the following:

Developer trial (behind a developer flag)
Origin trial
- Declarative PendingBeacon API
- Permissions-Policy: unload

Finally, in terms of deprecations, we just have the Expect-CT HTTP header that is getting the ax. It was a way for websites to migrate to Certificate Transparency (CT) enforcement. However, Google says that this is now required by default anyway and since no other browser vendor implemented this configuration, there will be no impact on current use-cases.

Chrome 107 will start rolling out in the later hours of today. If Chrome does not automatically update to version 107 for you throughout the course of the day, head over to Help > About Google Chrome to trigger the update once it becomes available. Next up is Chrome 108 which will hit the Beta channel on October 27, followed by a Stable release on November 29.

Chrome 107 is landing today with HEVC decoding support, despite pushback from Mozilla

Frontpaged: Google Chrome 107.0.5304.63

Google Chrome is dropping support for Windows 7 and 8.1 in February 2023

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 20:00:29 +0000

If your devices are still running Windows 7 or 8.1, listen up: according to a recent announcement by Google, the company will officially end Chrome support for the two aforementioned operating systems in line with the tentative release of Chrome 110 on February 7, 2023.

While Google Chrome will continue working after the update, it will no longer receive any feature updates and security patches on devices running these OSs. This increases users' and businesses' risks of falling prey to online attacks if they continue to use Windows 7 or 8.1.

"You’ll need to ensure your device is running Windows 10 or later to continue receiving future Chrome releases," Google states in its Chrome Help Blog. "This matches Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 7 ESU and Windows 8.1 extended support on January 10th, 2023."

Windows 7, which reached its end of support back in January 2020, still has a 10.68% desktop market share worldwide, according to StatCounter. This means that there are still many people worldwide using the OS. Windows 8.1, on the other hand, holds a measly 2.7% market share. Given that more apps are dropping support for the two OSs aside from Chrome, it's best for users to finally upgrade to Windows 10 and 11.

Source: Google via AndroidAuthority

Google Chrome is dropping support for Windows 7 and 8.1 in February 2023

Sunsetting Atom

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 13:04:00 +0000

We are archiving Atom and all projects under the Atom organization for an official sunset on December 15, 2022.

When we formally introduced Atom in 2014, we set out to give developers a text editor that was deeply customizable but also easy to use—one that made it possible for more people to build software. While that goal of growing the software creator community remains, we’ve decided to retire Atom in order to further our commitment to bringing fast and reliable software development to the cloud via Microsoft Visual Studio Code and GitHub Codespaces.

Today, we’re announcing that we are sunsetting Atom and will archive all projects under the organization on December 15, 2022.

Why are we doing this now?

Atom has not had significant feature development for the past several years, though we’ve conducted maintenance and security updates during this period to ensure we’re being good stewards of the project and product. As new cloud-based tools have emerged and evolved over the years, Atom community involvement has declined significantly. As a result, we’ve decided to sunset Atom so we can focus on enhancing the developer experience in the cloud with GitHub Codespaces.

This is a tough goodbye. It’s worth reflecting that Atom has served as the foundation for the Electron framework, which paved the way for the creation of thousands of apps, including Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Slack, and our very own GitHub Desktop. However, reliability, security, and performance are core to GitHub, and in order to best serve the developer community, we are archiving Atom to prioritize technologies that enable the future of software development.

What happens next?

We recognize that Atom is still used by the community and want to acknowledge that migrating to an alternative solution takes time and energy. We are committed to helping users and contributors plan for their migration.

Today, we’re announcing the sunset date six months out.
Over the next six months, we’ll continue to inform Atom users of the sunset in the product and on atom.io.
On December 15, 2022, we will archive the atom/atom repository and all other repositories remaining in the Atom organization.

Thank you

GitHub and our community have benefited tremendously from those who have filed issues, created extensions, fixed bugs, and built new features on Atom. Atom played an integral part in many developers’ journeys, and we look forward to building and shaping the next chapter of software development together.

Source

Nvidia readings on Task Manager are all topsy turvy in Windows 11 22H2

Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:29:03 +0000

It is not unusual for Windows updates to be buggy, and the situation is especially pronounced when we are dealing with a massive feature update like the one for the recent Windows 11 22H2. Among the several issues, one of the more glaring ones has been related to Nvidia graphics cards. And the issues aren't exclusive to the new RTX 4000 Ada Lovelace GPUs, either, as older gen cards are also affected.

In case you missed it, users began reporting about performance related bugs and problems almost immediately as Windows 11 22H2 hit general availability. Nvidia quickly released an emergency software update to fix the issue. The update was later bundled with the Game Ready driver. Since display drivers are cumulative, the fix is also present in the latest 522.25 update as well.

However, even with the said fix in place, users and even reviewers are still finding issues. Some of them are related to performance of course, as the gaming performance can still be all over the place due to poor frametime and framepacing, something which has been a bug on 22H2 either due to Windows 11 itself, or for some incompatibility problem in Nvidia's own drivers.

Aside from performance issues, there is another bug where the 3D readings for Nvidia GPUs in Task Manager is seemingly upside down. An idle graphics card will show close to 100% usage for its 3D section even though the card is actually doing nothing. This bug came to our attention when one of Neowin's readers, SoLiD_MasteR reported about it on one of the news stories.

Here is a screenshot of the issue posted by a Reddit user, washed_king_jos on their RTX 3070 Ti:

As you can see above, the apparent 3D usage for the GPU is 96% though the card itself is clearly idling at a pleasantly cool temperature of 39 °C. The readings appear to be inverted, which means the actual usage in this capture instance may be 4%.

Nvidia readings on Task Manager are all topsy turvy in Windows 11 22H2

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Tue, 25 Oct 2022 00:10:58 +0000

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Microsoft quietly updates Windows 11 22H2 AMD and Intel supported CPUs

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 23:48:38 +0000

It has been over a month now that Microsoft began to publicly roll out the Windows 11 22H2 feature update. And about a week ago, the company released an updated processor support page for the new 22H2 update. Although the system requirements of Windows 11 haven't changed (much) since the original 21H2 release, Microsoft has added a separate list of CPUs exclusively for Windows 11 22H2.

So if anyone hopes that their currently unsupported hardware could suddenly appear on the supported list, that is simply not going to happen. But regardless, people have been running unsupported systems on Windows 11 22H2 as well, just like they were doing with the 21H2 version. Some users were even so impressed by their old hardware that they even exclaim it "runs like magic".

However, it is not the old list either as new processor SKUs have been added. These include the 13th Gen Raptor Lake-S CPUs from Intel which was released at the end of last month. Over on the AMD side, the Ryzen 7000 series desktop CPUs has been added.

You can view the updated Intel and AMD supported processor list for Windows 11 22H2 at the links below:

Intel
AMD

An update for Qualcomm CPUs has also been made.

Microsoft quietly updates Windows 11 22H2 AMD and Intel supported CPUs

Will the real Windows 10 2022 Update please stand up?

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 23:44:24 +0000

Following the rollout of the Windows 11 2022 Update (version 22H2) last month, Microsoft began to make the version 2022 of Windows 10 available to consumers a few days ago too. Although it's supposed to be a feature update, there is very little fanfare surrounding it since development focus has shifted to Windows 11.

While it's understandable that the update is a bit minor under the circumstances, what's really odd is that Microsoft doesn't have a proper changelog for it. The company has promised a faster update experience for versions 20H2 and above, but that's not really a surprise considering that it likely has very minor changes. In its announcement blog post, Microsoft's John Cable has also touted "a limited scope of new features and functionality delivered via a familiar, fast and reliable update experience", but does Microsoft actually explain what these "new features" are? Nope.

And that has been bothering me a bit, it's like the company is ashamed that it hasn't added anything noteworthy to the OS even though I personally think it's completely understandable. As it currently stands, Windows 10 is kind of Microsoft's "support mode" for people who can't or won't upgrade to Windows 11, until they are forced to.

So I started digging around a bit to try and figure what the update actually includes. I started with checking for the update on my device, and it did show up. Clicking on the "See what's in this update" button directed me to this dedicated page, but to my disappointment, it just reads:

The Windows 10 2022 Update (Windows 10, version 22H2) delivers a scoped set of improvements in the areas of productivity and management.

Next, I went through some Microsoft documentation. While the Health Dashboard references the update, it only highlights the known issues and associated mitigations. I also re-read John Cable's announcement blog to see if it had been updated or contained links to an actual changelog, but no luck. Then, I visited the official @WindowsUpdate account on Twitter, but that just had a very unhelpful tweet embedded below:

After exploring all my first-party options, I fired some search queries on Google and that's when I finally struck gold. Although some media outlets had recent coverage for the Windows 10 2022 Update, most were uncertain what new features it packed, however, I found an article published in August by biscomputer.com, and it definitively stated the new features in the Windows 10 2022 Update. Its source? A KB5015878 cumulative update pushed to the Release Preview channel in July. This is also what led me to find the official blog post in which Microsoft emphasized that this is its first 22H2 build for Windows 10.

And so, my search for what's new in the update has seemingly come to an end, here is what the Windows 10 2022 Update brings:

New! Gives you the option to receive important notifications when focus assist is on. Focus assist is like a do not disturb mode that hides notifications.
Addresses an issue that causes certain docking stations to lose internet connectivity when waking from Sleep mode.
Adds functionality that improves the OS upgrade experience.
Addresses an issue that might cause consecutive video clip playback to fail in games that use DX12.
Addresses an issue that affects certain games that use the XAudio API to play sound effects.
Addresses an issue that affects the height of the Search box when you use multiple monitors that have different resolutions.
Addresses an issue that prevents certain troubleshooting tools from opening.

The same outlet has also referenced a Windows Autopilot enhancement for commercial customers, but some further sleuthing has led me to believe that this is actually a 21H2 feature, not 22H2.

All in all, I'll emphasize once again that I don't find it surprising in the slightest that Windows 10 22H2 does not have a lengthy changelog. Despite being called feature updates, the last few updates to the OS have been enablement packages that only light up minor features.

Instead, what does strike me as odd is that Microsoft doesn't seemingly want you to know what the changes in its latest OS update are. Maybe I missed something obvious and there is a clear as day blog post from Microsoft that says "We are releasing the Windows 10 2022 Update, here is what's new", but I don't think I did.

I've always asked for transparency from Microsoft, and that's what I'll request again. A consumer should know or at least have a reference to what they're installing. Sure, the vast majority who do update don't actually care what's on their computer but for those of us who do, it really shouldn't be this difficult to find official documentation.

I completely understand that a lot of changes with Windows 10 are usually backend since frontend development is being prioritized for Windows 11, but that doesn't mean that Microsoft should skimp over the details. Windows 10 version 21H2 was also an enablement package and was quite minor, but Microsoft did publish lots of details regarding it, I even wrote a full-length article about it. But for some reason, the Redmond tech giant has not been upfront about the details in this update. I'd love to be proven wrong, but our fellow media outlets and journalists have seemingly been unable to concretely and confidently describe what's new in this update too, which confirms that this is irregular behavior. Do better, Microsoft.

Will the real Windows 10 2022 Update please stand up?

This merging of Windows Vista and Windows 11's Fluent design is mouth-watering

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 23:41:01 +0000

Although Windows Vista is not regarded as one of the better past Windows versions, this is mostly down to the (at the time) insane and costly modern hardware requirements it needed in order to run one of its main features, Aero Glass. However, it is that feature, which in subsequent versions of Windows has no longer seen the same level of attention to detail and consistency; its development ran for more than two years, drawing off the efforts of Longhorn which was confirmed by Bill Gates in 2001.

Microsoft has shifted focus on the Windows UI a few times since then, but it always manages to leave traces of past versions. No amount of feedback from users seems to motivate one of the most valuable companies in the world enough to fix the UI inconsistencies, despite having enough revenue to pay for the development resources other companies can only dream of.

This leaves enthusiasts to create concepts of what they wished Microsoft would offer its customers. And although concepts like these won't float everyone's boat, you have to wonder why a single person with time on their hands can do a better job - or at least have a more consistent vision - than a mighty global brand like Microsoft, despite all its resources and consumers reporting feedback voluntarily on those inconsistencies.

Anyway, this is not an editorial or article about all the inconsistencies that have frustrated users since Windows 95 left in the Windows 3.x styled program manager and called it a day. It is about a merging of the beautiful Aero Glass, with the principle of Windows 11's "Fluent" design by Abdi4789 on DeviantArt, and uploaded to their YouTube channel.

It incorporates some great ideas that made past Windows versions great, such as desktop widgets —not something you have to click on to view, which is now required 15 years after Vista came out. And what about proper and useful action fly outs? Furthermore, it improves on things like File Explorer with a ribbon and a useful new tab page. Also, let's not forget about Media Center, which was dropped without a meaningful alternative. It takes things that Microsoft introduced and then for whatever reason dropped and never really replaced properly, like the current Windows 11 taskbar, which is now seeing features getting added back to it that Windows users could count on for decades.

Concepts like this can only exist because shortcomings in the finished product bugged someone enough to give an example of how it can be better. If only Microsoft could show us that it values attention to detail as much as its own documentation leads us to believe, or some random person on the internet with some time on their hands wishing the next version of Windows might do a better job than what's been foisted on consumers.

What do you think of this concept? Does Windows 11 still miss something not covered here, and you want included in "Windows 12"? Let us know by contributing a comment below.

This merging of Windows Vista and Windows 11's Fluent design is mouth-watering

How to disable tabs in File Explorer in Windows 11

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 23:25:04 +0000

Tabbed File Explorer is probably the most exciting change in the "moment 1" update Microsoft started rolling out several days ago. Unfortunately, as Thanos once said, the reality is often disappointing. After installing the update, many users quickly discovered that tabbed File Explorer is raw, buggy, and lacks many features. If you do not want to deal with tabbed Explorer's shortcomings, here is how to disable it and restore the original variant Microsoft introduced in Windows 11 21H2.

Note: Back up important data before turning on or off Windows features using third-party software. Such utilities could cause unexpected behaviors, crashes, or bugs. If you do not like tabs in File Explorer, the safest option is to stay on Windows 10.

How to disable tabs in File Explorer in Windows 11 22H2?

Windows 11 has no dedicated settings section for managing tabs and related features. Therefore, disabling tabbed File Explorer requires diving under the hood of the operating system using the ViveTool app. It is a command line-based utility we often use to enable hidden and experimental features in Windows 11 preview builds.

Download ViveTool from GitHub and unpack the files somewhere convenient.
Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
Switch Windows Terminal to Command Prompt profile by pressing Ctrl + Shift + 2 or clicking the arrow-down button at the top of the window.
Navigate to the folder containing the extracted files using the CD command. For example, if you have extracted ViveTool to C:\Vive, type CD C:\Vive.
Type vivetool /disable /id:37634385 and press Enter.
Type vivetool /disable /id:36354489 and press Enter.
Restart your computer.

If you change your mind and want to restore tabbed File Explorer, repeat the steps above and replace /disable with /enable in the commands on steps 5 and 6.

Are you happy with tabbed File Explorer in Windows 11 22H2, or do you plan to downgrade to the previous version? Let us know what you think in the comments.

How to disable tabs in File Explorer in Windows 11

Microsoft experiments with new Windows Widgets designs, here is how to enable them

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 23:22:26 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, Windows Insiders spotted slight changes in the Windows Widgets Board. Users report spotting new buttons for launching extra MSN services, refreshing or adding widgets, and getting local content. It appears that Microsoft is experimenting with more ways to increase engagement, but the rollout is traditionally random, with only select Windows Insiders getting the new layouts. That means it is time to pull out the user-favorite ViveTool app.

Windows Widgets is far from being the most popular or beloved part of Windows 11. Still, with third-party widgets support looming over the horizon, Windows Widgets might become a slightly more useful or exciting space, not just a gate to feed the public with tabloid news. Therefore, changes in Windows Widget layouts and features are worth testing to provide Microsoft with feedback for future improvements.

You can try your luck with getting a randomly redesigned Windows Widgets Board layout by enabling one ID using the ViveTool app. The ID allegedly makes your device eligible for participating in the experiment with Microsoft to decide what design to give. In case you missed it, we also have a separate guide describing how to enable full-screen Windows Widgets.

Important: Think twice before proceeding. Enabling hidden features could break things, cause bugs, and other software nastiness. Stay away from ViveTool and Windows Insider preview builds if you are not ready for troubleshooting or dealing with the not-so-pleasant wonders of using pre-release software.

How to enable new Windows Widgets design

The following guide works on systems with Windows 11 build 25212 and newer (Dev) or 22623.746 and newer (Beta).

Get the ViveTool app from GitHub and extract the files in C:\Vive. You can also use another folder to keep the app; our variant makes it easier to navigate in Windows Terminal.
Launch Windows Terminal as Administrator by right-clicking the Start menu (you can also press Win + X) and selecting Terminal (Admin).
Switch to the Command Prompt profile by clicking the arrow-down button on the tab strip.
Open the folder containing Vivetool files using the CD command. For example, CD C:\Vive.
Type vivetool /enable /id:40772499 and press Enter.
Restart your system and then open Windows Widgets.

To disable this tweak, simply run the command in step 5 with disable instead of enable.

What do you think about the experimental layout changes in Windows Widgets? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Credits for findings go to @FireCubeStudios and @PhantomOfEarth

Microsoft experiments with new Windows Widgets designs, here is how to enable them

New Windows 11 problem holds your USB drives hostage

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 14:04:02 +0000

Windows 11 adds another headache for users

Windows 11 22H2 has an annoying new bug which is preventing some users from being able to safely eject their USB devices if Task Manager is open.

Whenever you plug in a USB device, especially a storage device such as a USB flash drive, you should always make sure you safely eject it before removing it. In Windows 11, you should be able to do this by right-clicking the USB icon on the taskbar and selecting ‘Eject’ by the name of the device you want to remove.

Annoyingly, however, some people are reporting a bug that prevents them from doing this when Task Manager is running. Instead, trying to disconnect the USB device causes Windows 11 to become unresponsive for a few seconds, and then throws up an error saying “Windows can't stop your device because a program is still using it. Close any programs that might be using the device, and then try again later.”

This error usually appears when you try to eject USB media that's still being used -such as when you’re copying files to and from a memory stick. However, this bug means you get that warning regardless of whether or not your USB device is in use – and that can cause issues.

Analysis: Seems a small issue – but could have big ramifications

(Image credit: Pixabay)

Sure, in comparison to other Windows 11 problems, this may not sound like a huge issue. It seems to only happen when Task Manager is open at the same time, and most regular users will rarely use it.

You could also argue that this bug at least seems to tell people it’s not safe to remove the USB when it is safe – rather than the other way around.

However, this is still a frustrating bug that can cause serious issues. There’s a reason why you should always safely remove a USB storage device by ejecting it in Windows 11, rather than simply pulling it out of your computer. If you do that, and the USB device is still in use, you may corrupt the data on the USB – and in extreme cases even make the entire USB device unusable. If you have a lot of important stuff stored on the USB stick, that could be a real nightmare.

So, if Windows 11 is giving incorrect information about when to remove a USB drive, that’s worrying. It could lead to people pulling out the device and ignoring the warnings in the future.

As we said in our Windows 11 review, the newest operating system from Microsoft has the potential to be a brilliant upgrade – but bugs like this aren’t going to win it new fans any time soon.

Source

Windows 11 build 25227 adds new icons, animations, and confusion to notification area

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 21:16:31 +0000

Not so long ago, Microsoft introduced a redesigned notification area for Windows 11 with modern focus boxes, better tooltips, improved spacing, and new features. Like other parts of the taskbar, the new notification area lacked some of the previously available options (users hated that), so now almost every Windows 11 Dev build brings various improvements for that part of the taskbar. Recently released build 25227 is no exception—it adds new animations and icons to make pinning and unpinning apps a slightly better experience (and, to some extent, a bit worse).

The modernized notification area in Windows 11 25227 now shows pin/unpin icons when you drag apps in or out of the overflow menu. The "Show hidden icons" button also plays a neat animation when you add or remove apps from the notification area. A small but aesthetically pleasing addition.

It is not all roses, though. Windows 11 build 25227 and its notification area have some weird quirks and bugs that will annoy those daring to use Dev builds on a daily basis. For example, opening the overflow menu triggers File Explorer, and you can even preview the area by hovering the cursor over File Explorer's icon. An attempt to close File Explorer with the open overflow results in the former crashing hopelessly.

Pinning and unpinning apps from the notification area is another thing that will take some time to master. Windows 11 22H2 and older versions let you drag an app from the notification area into the overflow menu and vice versa. In Windows 11 build 25227, things are different—you need to aim precisely for the "Show hidden icons;" otherwise, you will get nothing but a stop icon. It might be just a temporary bug and something Microsoft will improve in future updates.

It is worth noting that not all insiders with Windows 11 build 25227 have access to the updated notification area, and we are well aware that the feature is still in testing. Hopefully, the quirks will not stay this way, as is currently the case with the buggy tab dragging in the generally available File Explorer tabs. You can force-enable the new improvements using this guide (do it first) and this guide (do it second).

Do you like the latest improvements for the notification area in Windows 11 build 25227?

Windows 11 build 25227 adds new icons, animations, and confusion to notification area

How to enable Taskbar search in Windows 11 Build 22623.870

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 21:15:07 +0000

Search from your Windows taskbar... again!

Microsoft started experimenting with returning search to the Windows 11 taskbar in early September with a Dev Channel Insider Preview Build 25197, and from that, it is now in a working state when enabled with the ViveTool in Beta Channel Build 22623.870, which was released earlier this week.

As spotted by @PhantomOfEarth, The search box no longer looks weird and broken in Windows 11 build 22623.870. The ViveTool ID lets you switch from the standard search icon in the middle of the taskbar to a search box on the left, next to the Widgets button. The option is available under Settings > Taskbar > Taskbar Items, and you can read on to enable it.

Caution: Unannounced features are often raw, unstable, or borderline unusable. Back up important data before using the ViveTool app and enabling hidden options. Remember that using stable Windows 11 is the best way to ensure your system remains as bug-free as possible.

How to enable new Search in Windows 11 build 22623.870

Download ViveTool from GitHub and extract the files wherever convenient. For example, in C:\Vive.
Press Win + X and select Terminal (Admin).
Switch Terminal to the Command Prompt profile using the arrow-down button on the tab strip.
Navigate to the folder containing ViveTool files using the CD command. For example, CD C:\Vive.
Type vivetool /enable /id:40887771.
Press Enter and restart your computer.
Open the Settings app and go to Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Items > Search.
Note: disable ID 39072097 if the search box appears to the left of the Start menu button.

To revert the changes, repeat the steps above and use the vivetool /disable /id:40887771 on step 5.

What do you think about the new option to place the Windows Search button next to Widgets? Share your thoughts in the comments.

How to enable Taskbar search in Windows 11 Build 22623.870

How to add borders to Snipping Tool captures in Windows 11

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 09:54:59 +0000

If you want to grab all or a part of your computer screen, the Snipping Tool in Windows 11 lets you capture it easily. Besides, you can even add colored borders to the captured region, but you first need to enable settings related to the feature. Let’s find out how it is done!

Add colored borders to Snipping Tool captures in Windows 11

There is more than one way to capture screenshots in Windows 11. However, all those images won’t show borders surrounding them unless they are configured to do so. Here’s how you can change the settings in Windows 11 Snipping Tool to add custom color and change border thickness for images.

Click on Start and in the search box, type Snipping Tool and select it from the list of options displayed.
Click the See more menu visible as three horizontal dots in the upper right corner of the Snipping Tool window. Choose the Settings option.
Scroll down to the Add border to each screenshot option under the Snipping section. To enable borders for the screen captures, toggle the switch to the ‘On’ position.
If you would like to add a custom color and adjust the thickness of the borders surrounding images, hit the drop-down button next to the Add border to each screenshot option.

Choose a custom color to change the color of the outline. Simply tap the color box and select the desired color. Similarly, move the slider to the right or left to adjust the border thickness of the images.

How to add borders to Snipping Tool captures in Windows 11

Vivaldi gets official support for pinning tab stacks

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 09:51:31 +0000

One of the Vivaldi web browser's greatest features, if you ask me, is the browser's ability to stack tabs. Just drag one tab on another and you have created a tab stack. Enable the two-rows feature, and all tabs of a stack are displayed in a second tab row in the browser. When you switch, the second row is hidden again, provided that you do not switch to another tab stack.

Now, with the latest Vivaldi snapshot, comes support for pinning tab stacks. It may look like a small feature at first, but it can be quite useful.

Vivaldi, just like any other modern desktop browser, supports tab pinning. Right-click on a tab and you get an option to pin it to the tab bar. Pinned tabs are displayed with just their icon and at the leftmost position on the tab bar. Pinning saves a lot of space on the bar, makes sure that important sites are always open at a specific location, are protected that they are not closed accidentally, and always loaded on browser start.

Starting with Vivaldi snapshot 2829.3 comes the official ability to pin stacked tabs to the browser. The process is identical to pinning individual tabs. Just right-click on the tab stack and select the pin option from the context menu.

The stacks icon is minimized and depending on how tab stacking is configured, Vivaldi may display a second full row of tabs that are open in the stack, as an accordion stack, or a simple stack. The feature is available in a development release of Vivaldi, and it needs a bit of adjusting. When I pinned a stack of two tabs in Vivaldi using the second-level tab bar display option for tab stacks, and restarted Vivaldi with the homepage startup option, the tab stack was destroyed and the two tabs were pinned individually on the tab bar.

Vivaldi developers will surely sort this out before it lands in the next stable version of the web browser.

Closing Words

The ability to pin a tab stack is a great feature addition to the web browser. It reduces the space the entire stack uses on the tab bar further. With the second tab row for stacks enabled, it is an excellent feature addition to one of the most customizable browsers out there.

Now You: do you use tab stacks?

Vivaldi gets official support for pinning tab stacks

Microsoft Edge to get advanced "Find on Page" features

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 22:20:06 +0000

Microsoft is working on improving the "Find on Page" feature in its browser. The current stable version has a simple search that allows finding matching characters, words, and phrases only. Future updates will provide more advanced search features, such as finding related words, match cases, whole words, and diacritics.

The updated "Find on Page" feature is currently available for some testers in the Canary channel with the options you can toggle on or off after pressing Ctrl + F or selecting the Find on Page feature from the main menu. As of now, additional options include the following:

Include related matches - the browser will highlight words and phrases that might be related or similar to your request.
Match case - enables case-sensitive search, for example, finding a specific upper-cased word.
Match whole world - this option finds only words and omits parts of words that match your search request.
Match diacritics - lets you find only accented characters. This option will pair nicely with the new Quick Accent tool in PowerToys.

If you want to try new features for "Find on Page" in Microsoft Edge, download Edge Canary from the official website. The browser is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Note that not all Canary users get new features right away, so you might need to wait a little longer to get all the new stuff.

Credits for the findings go to Leopeva64-2

Microsoft Edge to get advanced "Find on Page" features

Microsoft is again cleaning its pipes with Windows 11 Dev build 25227.1010 (KB5020539)

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 22:18:42 +0000

Microsoft has released an update for Windows 11 Build 25227, which was out to Windows Insiders a couple of days ago. It comes in the form of Cumulative Update Build 25227.1010 (KB5020539) and contains nothing new, as it is designed to test the servicing pipeline.

The full announcement says:

We are starting to roll out Cumulative Update Build 25227.1010 (KB5020539). This update does not include anything new and is designed to test our servicing pipeline for builds in the Dev Channel.

Hence, all the bug fixes and improvements that were announced with the earlier released build 25217 to the Dev Channel are carried over into this.

Interestingly, while there are no new changes made in this build, servicing test builds like these before have been known to break some features. For example, in the previous version of Windows, on Windows 10 Build 21292.1010 specifically, it caused issues for x64 emulation on ARM PCs.

The official announcement can be found on Microsoft's website here.

Microsoft is again cleaning its pipes with Windows 11 Dev build 25227.1010 (KB5020539)