WABetainfo has spotted support for voice notes in status on WhatsApp beta for Android 2.22.16.3. Besides photos and videos, users will also be able to share their voice notes as status updates once the voice notes support goes live for everyone. The instant chat messenger may call it “voice status.”

As can be seen in the screenshot, a new microphone icon is at the bottom of the status page to let users record their voice notes. Below the microphone icon are the options to send text, photos, and videos as status updates, which you already know.

It's also important to note that voice notes you post as statuses are end-to-end encrypted, just like photos and videos. Also, “voice status” will be shared with those you chose in the status privacy setting, just like how you limit the reach of your WhatsApp status currently.

The support for voice notes is currently under development and not available for WhatsApp beta testers, nor can we tell anything about when it will be introduced. But it will certainly not be limited to Android users only.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp has introduced the full emoji keyboard for Reactions, allowing users to react with their chosen emojis and skin tones. Hopefully, we'll continue to get exciting new features such as this in the future.

Source and image: WABetainfo

WhatsApp to let you post voice notes to status updates

Improvements

• Addresses an issue that redirects the PowerShell command output so that transcript logs do not contain any output of the command. Consequently, the decrypted password is lost.

Known issues

Aside from the improvements, this update brings quality improvements to the Windows servicing stack, which ensures Windows updates correctly in the future.

This Patch Tuesday update doesn’t require any user intervention to install, just get your computer hooked up to the internet and allow Windows Update to download and install available updates. If you want to install the update on an offline machine, you can do this with a standalone package from the Microsoft Update Catalog, just make sure to pick the right version.

Microsoft releases Windows 11 Patch Tuesday update (KB5015814) for July

You can find standalone links to download the new update on Microsoft Update Catalog at this link here.

The major highlight of the release is security updates for Windows 10 and as is generally the case, the Redmond company has also listed the known issues in the update, which is always handy. Here are the symptoms and their respective workarounds:

Some of the older Windows 10 versions have also received updates today which have been listed below with their respective release notes (KB) linked as well as links to download them at Microsoft's Update Catalog:

It is noteworthy here that Windows 10 20H2 and Windows 10 1909 reached end of servicing. Also, while not Windows 10, Microsoft has also released updates for Windows Server 2022 under KB5015827.

Windows 10 July Patch Tuesday (KB5015807) is out — here's what's new and what's broken

Windows 8.1

Improvements

• Starting with this release, we are displaying a dialog box to remind users about the End of Support (EOS) for Windows 8.1 in January 2023. If you click Remind me later, the dialog box will appear once every 35 days. If you click Remind me after the end of support date, the dialog box will not appear again until after the EOS date. This reminder does not appear on the following:
  • Managed Pro and Enterprise devices.
  • Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Enterprise and Windows Embedded 8.1 Industry Pro devices.
• When you use Encrypting File System (EFS) https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/win32/fileio/file-encryption files over a remote Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol connection, the connection might be unsuccessful.
• NTLM authentication through an external trust is unsuccessful when serviced by a domain controller that has the January 11, 2022 or later Windows update installed. This issue occurs if the DC is in a non-root domain and does not hold the global catalog (GC) role. Impacted operations may log the following errors:
  • The security database has not been started.
  • The domain was in the wrong state to perform the security operation.
  • 0xc00000dd (STATUS_INVALID_DOMAIN_STATE)
• Applications might not run after an AppLocker publisher rule is deployed.
• Addresses a known issue that might prevent you from using the Wi-Fi hotspot feature. When attempting to use the hotspot feature, the host device might lose the connection to the Internet after a client device connects.
• Addresses a known issue in which Windows Servers that use the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) might be unable to correctly direct Internet traffic. Devices which connect to the server might not connect to the Internet, and servers can lose connection to the Internet after a client device connects.

Known issues in this update

Windows 7

Improvements

• When you use Encrypting File System (EFS) files over a remote Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV) protocol connection, the connection might be unsuccessful.
• NTLM authentication through an external trust is unsuccessful when serviced by a domain controller that has the January 11, 2022 or later Windows update installed. This issue occurs if the DC is in a non-root domain and does not hold the global catalog (GC) role. Impacted operations may log the following errors:
  • The security database has not been started.
  • The domain was in the wrong state to perform the security operation.
  • 0xc00000dd (STATUS_INVALID_DOMAIN_STATE)
• Addresses a known issue that might prevent you from using the Wi-Fi hotspot feature. When attempting to use the hotspot feature, the host device might lose the connection to the Internet after a client device connects.
• Addresses a known issue in which Windows Servers that use the Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS) might be unable to correctly direct Internet traffic. Devices which connect to the server might not connect to the Internet, and servers can lose connection to the Internet after a client device connects.

Known issues in this update

Both of these updates are now available to download through Windows Update if you’re eligible. Your systems will download and install the updates automatically.

Windows 8.1 (KB5015874) and Windows 7 (KB5015861) Patch Tuesday updates land

Thunderbird 102.0.2 is already available. It should be downloaded and installed automatically on most systems, but you may speed up the updating by selecting Help > About Thunderbird from the menu. If the menu is not displayed, press the Alt-key to display it.

Thunderbird displays the current version and runs a check for updates. The email client will pick up any new version automatically to download and install it on the device.

Thunderbird 102.0.2

The official release notes list one change and a large list of bug fixes. No default action is executed anymore when users double-click on chat messages.

The list of fixes is long, and it includes several major ones.

• POP3 messages were not always deleted from the server; deletions failed occasionally. The issue is fixed in Thunderbird 102.0.2.
• Importing data from Seamonkey or Outlook failed in the second step.
• The offline cache was "unusable" for NNTP accounts.
• Non-ASCII messages that were forwarded in the client as attachments looked garbled. Thunderbird supports forwarding messages inline or as attachments.
• OpenPGP signatures were broken if the Primary Password dialog remained open.
• Thunderbird did not highlight subfolders with new messages until they were selected by the user.
• The Spaces toolbar covered the Files menu.
• The preview pane did not list any new messages.
• When selecting "Edit as new message", address fields were not populated.
• Double-clicking to edit selected contacts did not work.
• Pending chat messages contents were not updated if the conversation was not selected.
• Additional backslashes were displayed for some CardDAV fields.
• The attachment paper clip was cut off in the message list.
• Occasionally, only the first letter of a contact's organization was displayed.
• Various unspecified user interface fixes.

Thunderbird 102 is only available as a download and not a direct upgrade. Once installed, updates are delivered via the built-in updating system.

Now You: do you use Thunderbird 102 already? What is your impression so far?

Thunderbird 102.0.2 is a big bugfix release

Frontpaged:   Mozilla Thunderbird 102.0.2

Hi, I'm Adam, I'm known as Warwagon on the forum. For the past 19 years, I've been operating my own computer repair business. In doing so, I deal with the average computer user on a day-to-day basis.

Every bit of information I provide for people, I do so with the lowest common denominator in mind.

It's a common misconception that everyone who joins or browses a tech site is a techie. Some people are just looking for guidance. That is why for some, these tech tips may seem a bit too simplistic, but they are educational for others.

Tech Tip Tuesday: Pinning Windows to the side of the screen.

Have you ever been on a website and thought “I wish I could see this webpage, and another application at the same time on the same screen?”

While in an application you can hold down the Win key (The key with the 4 flags, on the bottom left of your keyboard) and then press an arrow key corresponding to where you want to put it.

Want to put it along the left-hand side of your screen? Press the Win+Left arrow.

It will then move the application to the left-hand side of the screen. If you press the Win+Left arrow twice (in Windows 11 you only have to do it once), it will bring up a selection on the right, of which application you want to put next to it.

Happy Computing!

If you learned something today, great! If not, maybe share your own tech tip in the comments below!

Warwagon's Tech Tip Tuesday: How to pin a window to the side of your screen!

While designed with multiple monitors in mind, Twinkle Tray works fine on single monitor systems as well.

Microsoft's Windows 10 and 11 operating systems provide basic controls when it comes to the brightness of connected displays. If you have used multi-monitor setups before on Windows, you may have noticed that it is not that easy to control the brightness of individual monitors comfortably on Windows PCs.

Adjusting the brightness on a single monitor works fine most of the time, but that is usually the extend of what is supported. On Windows 10, brightness controls may not even be provided on some systems.

Third-party developers created numerous applications to control the brightness on Windows systems efficiently. I reviewed DimScreen in 2010 as a program to change brightness levels quickly. Other programs worth mentioning include Win10_BrightnessSlider, Battery Mode,  Modern Flyouts, or ClickMonitorDCC.

Twinkle Tray: Brightness Slider is a modern app for Windows 10 and 11 devices. It is an open source application that is available on GitHub and the Microsoft Store. Windows Package Manager users can install it with the command winget install twinkletray.

Twinkle Tray adds an icon to the system tray of the Windows operating system on start. A click on the icon displays a brightness slider for all connected displays.  The displays need to support DDC/CI and WMI for communication, which most do.

The style of the interface matches the personalization settings of the user and the style of the Windows version.

image credit: Twinkle Tray

You may use the sliders to adjust the brightness of each connected monitor individually. Each display is listed with a name for easier identification.

Twinkle Tray supports a number of extra features that may make it interesting to some users. When you open the settings, you may assign hotkeys to the following functions:

• Increase the brightness of all or a specific display.
• Decrease the brightness of all or a specific display.
• Turn off all monitors.

Options to modify the steps used to change the brightness level are provided as well.

Another useful feature is the option to change brightness levels automatically based on the time of day. Brightness may be set automatically for all displays or individually in the preferences.

Closing Words

Twinkle Tray: Brightness Slider is a well designed application for Windows 10 and 11 that improves brightness controls of devices running supported versions of Windows. The application's size is quite large, at over 80 Megabytes that are downloaded from the Microsoft Store. Windows users who prefer smaller apps and those who don't use the Microsoft Store, may check out the alternatives mentioned above instead.

Landing page:   https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/twinkle-tray-brightness-slider/9PLJWWSV01LK?hl=en-us&gl=US

Now You: how do you control the brightness of your systems? Do you change it regularly?

Twinkle Tray: control brightness of multiple monitors on Windows

Microsoft has published an advisory stating that Microsoft 365 Apps will become completely unsupported on Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 from January 10, 2023.

Although Microsoft 365 Apps on the aforementioned operating systems were already unsupported, they still received security updates under the Extended Security Updates (ESU) program that some customers were paying for. This program ends for the three operating systems mentioned above on January 10, 2023, which is why support for Microsoft 365 Apps on them will be fully retired on the same date too. Apart from losing access to security updates, new installations will be blocked as well.

As expected, the only workaround involves updating to a newer and supported operating system immediately. Microsoft has encouraged customers to have a look at this support matrix to figure out which OS would best suit their support and compatibility needs.

PSA: Microsoft 365 Apps will lose support on these older operating systems soon

In the Twitter post, FireCube has added some description for it saying "LEAKED Microsoft plans rebrand of Windows 11 after switching to new web based tech powered shell" with the following image attached to it:

The screenshot is an edited version of a winver window that looks like it was slapped together pretty quickly, as they missed correcting the end of the first line, and the build number does not even line up or space properly, even though this is only meant as joke.

And while it is just for the banter, Microsoft's recent actions related to its Edge web browser feature-set actually does make an "EdgeOS" pretty believable. That's because the Redmond giant has been adding a boatload of additional and perhaps unnecessary features into Edge over the last couple of months, making it sort of a mini OS in itself.

So far, the company has added an entire sidebar that contains a calculator, unit convertor, as well as Photos app and even links to the entire office suite and the Outlook calendar. And it is also a gaming browser now, "the best" out there according to Microsoft. And it's possible more such features would be added later too.

Source and image: FireCube (Twitter)

New Windows 11 "EdgeOS" fake screenshot is actually not too far from reality

Opera Software released Opera 89 Stable last week, and this browser version appears to be the culprit. The issue existed in development versions of the Opera browser and has migrated to the stable version of the browser as well. Development editions of Opera 90 are causing the issue as well.

Opera browser launches and works without issues, and there is no noticeable startup or shutdown delay.

Dozens of entries are displayed in the Reliability Monitor on Windows whenever Opera is launched. The entries state "successful application reconfiguration" and list programs that are not related to Opera. This includes KeePass, Windows PC Health Check, Microsoft Visual C++ redistributables, or Google Update Helper.  It is unclear why these entries are added to the reliability monitor when Opera is launched.

Microsoft explains that the Reliability Monitor provides a quick view of a Windows PC's stability:

In addition, it tracks events that will help you identify what causes reductions in reliability. By recording not only failures (including memory, hard disk, application, and operating system failures), but also key events regarding the configuration of your system (including the installation of new applications and operating system updates), you can see a timeline of changes in both the system and reliability. The reliability monitor also allows you to identify how to get your system back to optimal reliability when the behavior of the system is not behaving as expected.

I have confirmed the issue on a Windows 11 PC running Opera 89 Stable. Our colleagues over at Deskmodder confirmed it on a Windows 10 PC.

Opera users who run the browser on Windows may do the following to check the issue on their devices:

1. Use the keyboard shortcut Windows-R to open the run box.
2. Type perfmon /rel and hit the Enter-key to launch the Reliability Monitor.
3. It takes a few seconds to populate the listing.
4. Start the Opera web browser. Make sure that it is Opera 89 or newer.
5. Refresh the chart with a click on View > Refresh.

You should see dozens of new entries. Whenever you restart or start Opera, you will notice that new entries are added to the Reliability Monitor.

The issue does not seem to impact the browser's functionality. Deskmodder notified Opera Software about the issue, but have not heard back yet. It is unclear when and if the issue will be fixed.

Now You: do you use the Opera browser?

Opera Browser is flooding the Windows Reliability Monitor with entries

macOS Ventura’s public beta is here. These are our favorite lesser-known features

After causing some confusion, Microsoft is clarifying that it will still block macros by default in its Office programs—eventually.

The clarification arrived late on Friday after users noticed that Microsoft quietly backpedaled on its decision to automatically block the macros by default.

In an update(Opens in a new window), Microsoft wrote: “Following user feedback, we have rolled back this change temporarily while we make some additional changes to enhance usability. This is a temporary change, and we are fully committed to making the default change for all users.”

The statement signals that some customers have been complaining about Microsoft original’s plan to block Visual Basic Application-based macros by default, even though the change is meant to protect computers from malware.

Microsoft's earlier attempt at warning users about malicious macros.

Macros operate as programming codes that can automate a series of tasks with a single command. The problem is that hackers have long exploited macros as a way to trick users into downloading malware on their computers. This can be done by embedding macros in a malicious Office document, which can then be sent via email.

Microsoft has been aware of the threat. Years ago, the company introduced "Protected View," which adds a warning bar about the dangers of opening Office documents containing macros. But the warning bar can be easily be bypassed with one click. To block the macros by default, Microsoft left it up to(Opens in a new window) IT administrators to turn the setting on.

In February, Redmond decided it would start blocking the macros automatically for Office files downloaded from the web. “For the protection of our customers, we need to make it more difficult to enable macros in files obtained from the internet,” the company said at the time.

Example of the warning bar Microsoft used with the default macro blocking. (Microsoft)

The change began rolling out in version 2203 of Microsoft 365 in April. But since Microsoft’s announcement, some users have complained the default blocking comes at the cost of conveniently running legitimate macros in Office files.

“Listen, taking features AWAY from people isn't IMPROVING a product,” one user wrote in February in the comments to Microsoft’s original announcement(Opens in a new window). “Just because you can't address this properly, it doesn't mean you should turn these features off on everybody.”

Some complaints have also focused on how Microsoft implemented the default blocking, which involved posting a stricter warning bar over untrusted Office files that contain the macros. The same warning bar contains a “Learn more” button on how a user can re-enable the macro. This involves removing(Opens in a new window) Microsoft’s so-called “Mark of the Web” from the document, forcing users and IT administrators to learn how to do.

“We're already receiving negative sentiment towards the change, as every file downloaded though the Teams desktop app from our own tenant is being tattooed with the MOTW,” one user wrote in April.

Last week, users then noticed Microsoft had rolled back the default blocking, including the warning bar messages over untrusted Office files. In a bit of irony, the decision sparked more criticism from Microsoft since it was done quietly, without a public announcement.

“You've got us jumping from one foot to the next and having to second guess what the next volte-face is going to be,” someone wrote in the comment section of Microsoft’s original post. Others pointed out that hackers are likely celebrating Redmond's decision to delay blocking the macros by default.

Microsoft didn't say when it will start blocking the macros by default. But the company plans on providing a timeline in the coming weeks. "Regardless of the default setting, customers can block internet macros through the Group Policy settings described in this article(Opens in a new window)," Microsoft added.

Source

Calibre 6.0 is already available on the official website. Point a browser to the site and download the latest version of the application to your system. Calibre is available for Windows (installer and portable), Mac OS and Linux, and can also be run on mobile devices.

Note: Calibre 6.0 drops support for 32-bit CPUs, because of its dependency on QT, which does not support 32-bit CPUs anymore in its latest version. On Windows, installing Calibre 6.0 will uninstall the 32-bit Calibre installation and replace it with the 64-bit version. Windows 8 support was dropped because QT 6 does not support the operating system The move to QT 6 may cause incompatibilities with certain third-party plugins

The new version of the ebook software supports new CPU architectures. Calibre 6.0 supports Apple Silicon CPUs on Mac OS devices and ARM CPUs on Linux.

Another main improvement is the ability to run full text searches using Calibre's indexing functionality. Calibre can be configured to index the text of all books in the library to make it searchable. Select the FT icon next to the search field in Calibre's interface and check the "index books in this library to allow searching their full text" option when the configuration window opens. The default indexing speed is set to slow, which is done to limit the impact on the computer when the indexer runs. The fast indexing speed option requires more resources, but it finishes indexing operations faster.

Once books are indexed, Calibre will run full text searches across the entire library whenever the search function is used. Search supports basic searches, e.g., for single words and phrases, but also Boolean searches and phrases near others. An overview of the Calibre search syntax is available here.

Calibre 6.0 introduce support for "read aloud" functionality in the ebook viewer. Just activate the read aloud button in the viewer to listen to the active ebook. The function uses the text-to-speech functionality of the operating system.

The calibre:// URL scheme may be used to create links to individual books or locations inside books, according to the announcement. Options to run calibre with calibre URL parameters from the command line are supported. The official manual has more information on the feature.

Closing Words

Full text search capabilities are a welcome addition to the ebook management software, as it extends search significantly. Calibre 6.0 introduces support for new architectures, but it does drop support for Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system as well.

Now You: do you use Calibre or read ebooks?

Cross-platform ebook app Calibre 6.0 is out with full text search support. Drops Windows 8 support

The bug affects POP, IMAP, and offline Exchange accounts, which use the local Windows Search service to index and locate emails. Microsoft says Microsoft 365 and connected Exchange accounts are unaffected.

Microsoft is currently investigating the new bug. Meanwhile, users can bypass the problem using a temporary hack. Microsoft recommends disabling Windows Desktop Search to force Outlook to switch to its built-in search service. Here is how to do that:

1. Press Win + R and type regedit.
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows and select Edit > New > Key.
3. Rename the new key to Windows Search.
4. Select the Windows Search Key and click Edit > New > DWORD Value.
5. Rename the new value to PreventIndexingOutlook and press Enter.
6. Open the PreventIndexingOutlook value and change its value data to 1. Use 0 to revert the changes.
7. Click Ok to save the changes.
8. Close Registry Editor and restart Outlook.

Interestingly, this is not the first time Microsoft recommends users to disable Windows Search Service to fix problems in Outlook Desktop. A similar situation happened last year to those willing to pull the trigger and try the first preview builds of Windows 11.

You can learn more about the bug in the official documentation.

Microsoft warns about search issues in Outlook on Windows 11

The tested OSs were:

• Windows 11 Pro
•  Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
•  Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with Linux 5.18 stable kernel
•  Intel's Clear Linux 36580

The test system consisted of:

•  Intel Core i9 12900K
•  ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-E GAMING WiFi motherboard
•  2x 16 GB DDR5-6000 memory
•  500GB WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD
•  Radeon RX 6800 XT GPU

However, unlike what Puget Systems had found, Phoronix test shows that Windows 11 is struggling to keep its lead over Linux and Ubuntu. In fact, in the overall average performance department, Windows 11 has fell behind the tested Linux distros, which is in stark contrast compared to what was observed last time, where Windows 11 was significantly faster in many situations.

Here is the geometric mean of all the tests where Windows 11 has secured the last place:

You can find the full test results on Phoronix's website at this link.

Source

Although Google Chrome continues to dominate the web browser rankings, Microsoft’s flagship service is making headway in an important market, new data shows.

A survey of 3,000 employees conducted by TechRadar Pro, in collaboration with Perimeter 81, revealed that Microsoft Edge is the preferred web browser of the largest proportion of businesses (37.77%).

Although Google Chrome isn’t far behind (33.01%), the share enjoyed by Edge in the business world is far greater than its position in the broader market, which Statcounter places at roughly 4%.

An uphill battle for Microsoft Edge

Although the Microsoft Edge user base expanded rapidly in the months following its relaunch in early 2020, many of these gains stemmed from the retirement of Edge Legacy and Internet Explorer.

Despite a consistent stream of feature updates, renewed marketing efforts and the integration of Edge into the company’s new Windows 11 operating system, Microsoft has since struggled to move the needle in any significant way.

The latest data shows that, although Edge has leapfrogged Firefox in the rankings, it still falls a long way shy of Safari (18%) and Chrome (65%), the two default browsers on iOS and Android, respectively.

Microsoft has also scored a number of own goals that are unlikely to have ingratiated the new browser with potential new users.
For instance, the company was recently forced to walk back a policy that added an unreasonable amount of friction to the process of changing the default browser after users made their displeasure known.

Microsoft also came under fire for efforts to block links opened via its own services (e.g. Windows 11 widgets, the Start Menu etc.) from launching in any other browser but Edge, another tactic that drew criticism from the community.

However, the indication that Edge has become the browser of choice in the business sphere will lift the spirits at Microsoft, suggesting the company’s efforts to lean into qualities like security are paying dividends.

Within the last year, for example, the company has bolstered the in-built password manager, rolled out an integrated VPN service and introduced a “Super Duper Secure mode” designed to shield against all manner of browser-based attacks.

If Microsoft Edge is to compete head-to-head with the market leaders, the team will need to stake a claim to a particular niche or use case. In the business market, perhaps it has found one.

Source

Their exchange, which is a slightly humorous one, is given below:

We do wonder what kind of bug the developer team has caught as nothing more about it was said. We will likely know it soon enough when the build is out next week in the known issues list if Microsoft isn't able to fix it.

Microsoft confirms it's chasing down a bug in the Windows 11 23H2 Dev Channel

Microsoft stirred up quite a controversy last month when it updated its terms of use for the Microsoft Store. The new rules, which could still go into effect on July 16, appear to stop the sale and distribution of commercial OSS apps. Section 10.8.7 in the revised policy states:

Not attempt to profit from open-source or other software that is otherwise generally available for free, nor be priced irrationally high relative to the features and functionality provided by your product.

As a result, there were a lot of complaints from developers who have listed open-source apps on the Microsoft App Store. Despite what the name suggests Free and Open-Source Software, commonly referred to as FOSS, isn't always free to download and use.

Linux and OSS are routinely assumed to be entirely free. However, there are many commercial projects that bring a lot of additional value. Although based on FOSS, there are no restrictions on a developer to charge for an open-source app.

Giorgio Sardo, the General Manager of Apps, Partners, Store at Microsoft, initially claimed Microsoft’s goal was not to stop the distribution of OSS. The company merely intended to cut down on "misleading listings”.

The explanation offered by Sardo seems quite vague. Hence, some developers asked him to clarify the company’s position in regards to the sale of apps (based on FOSS) on the Microsoft Store.

There might not be a direct correlation, but Microsoft is also trying to keep apps that use Apple's WebKit, away from its store. WebKit is an open-source rendering engine.

As the Tweet indicates, Microsoft has decided to postpone the implementation of the policy. He added that Microsoft needs to clarify its intent behind the revised draft. What this means is that Microsoft will not be banning commercial OSS apps from the Microsoft Store. However, the company hasn't yet scrapped the troubling clause in the policy.

Microsoft won't ban open-source apps from its app store, for now

This indie app attempts to fix that inconvenience while Microsoft is busy adding other things to its operating system. It will make our fellow colleague Usama Jawad particularly happy after he expressed his frustration about the botched calendar flyout in Windows 11.

Calendar Flyout will sit in the notification area on the taskbar and let you open the proper flyout with all the missing features. It displays the clock with seconds (you can disable that) and events from your calendar. Besides, you can add new entries to your calendar from the flyout without opening the stock Calendar app. The program also lets you collapse the schedule, leaving only the calendar and the clock.

Probably the main downside of the Calendar Flyout app is that you cannot invoke it by clicking the standard clock in the notification area. Calendar Flyout uses a dedicated icon in the system tray, so users must re-train their muscle memory to find the needed button.

Another thing to note is some minor inconveniences with non-Microsoft calendars. You need to open the Windows Calendar app to sync events with the Calendar Flyout app. Besides that, Calendar Flyout is a decent attempt to fix what Microsoft shipped with the initial Windows 11 release (and the upcoming 22H2 update).

You can get the Calendar Flyout app from the Microsoft Store for $1.49. There is also a free trial, so users can check the program before buying it.

This app attempts to fix crippled Calendar flyout and clock in Windows 11

However, ever since the news of Autopatch's announcement, there has been a lot of confusion in the media and in the community surrounding a certain use of phrase in the announcement blog post. The Tech community blog post, penned by Microsoft's Lior Bela said:

For organizations who select this option, the second Tuesday of every month will be 'just another Tuesday'.

Due to the denotation of the second Tuesday, which is generally referred to as Patch Tuesday or Update Tuesday, as "just another Tuesday", many took it as an indication that it could mean the end of Patch Tuesday as we know it.

However, Microsoft recently confirmed that such is not the case at all, quashing all such rumors, reiterating that Patch Tuesday will continue to co-exist and Autopatch is basically a free of cost automated approach for those companies who prefer automatic update deployments.

Earlier today, Jeremy Chapman, Director at Microsoft, also shared a helpful PSA explaining though a flowchart graphic showing how the Autopatch service will work in tandem with Microsoft's Endpoint Manager and Windows Update for Business to deploy automatic updates.

To describe it in words, here's how the Autopatch service will deploy Windows Updates:

Windows updates

The General Availability Channel is the source for Windows updates through Windows Autopatch. Polices for quality and feature updates can be set independently to meet your needs.

Admins will be able to see what updates have been applied through the Windows Autopatch message center in Endpoint Manager and will learn about what updates to expect. The familiar cadence of monthly Windows security and quality updates, also referred to as "B" releases, will continue and out-of-band updates will be applied as needed.

The service is currently in Public Preview and is slated to be available this month.

Source: Jeremy Chapman (Twitter)

Microsoft shares helpful PSA to clarify how Windows Autopatch really works

Edge 104 does not bring much in the way of new features. In fact, for a regular consumer, there are no new features at all. According to the official release notes, Edge 104 Beta introduces only new policies for enterprise consumers. Here is the full changelog.

What is new in Edge 104.0.1293.14:

New Policies:

• AllowedDomainsForApps - Define domains allowed to access Google Workspace
• AskBeforeCloseEnabled - Get user confirmation before closing a browser window with multiple tabs
• BrowserCodeIntegritySetting - Configure browser process code integrity guard setting
• DoubleClickCloseTabEnabled - Double Click feature in Microsoft Edge enabled (only available in China)
• ImportOnEachLaunch - Allow import of data from other browsers on each Microsoft Edge launch
• QuickSearchShowMiniMenu - Enables Microsoft Edge mini menu
• PasswordManagerRestrictLengthEnabled - Restrict the length of passwords that can be saved in the Password Manager
• PDFXFAEnabled - XFA support in native PDF reader enabled
• TextPredictionEnabled - Text prediction enabled by default

Obsoleted Policy:

• U2fSecurityKeyApiEnabled - Allow using the deprecated U2F Security Key API

Edge Beta is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. You can download the browser from the official website on desktop platforms and the Google Play Store on Android. Microsoft plans to release Edge 104 in the Stable channel in the week of August 4, 2022.

Microsoft Edge 104 is now available in Beta channel

The complete list of affected Office apps includes Excel for Microsoft 365, Word for Microsoft 365, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

"Word, Excel, and PowerPoint might close unexpectedly when opening, closing, saving, uploading, or downloading cloud files in Office Version 2205," the company described the issue on its support website.

According to Redmond, users wouldn't know the cause of these crashes since "no errors are displayed when the application suddenly closes."

Microsoft says the Microsoft 365 issue has been addressed in Office Version 2206 Build 16.0.15330.20230, with the fix currently being rolled out to affected customers via an update.

Those impacted by this problem who don't want to wait until the update rolls out to their system can manually install it by opening the Office app and clicking "Update Now" under File > Account > Update Options.

Excel 365 freezing issues

Microsoft has also fixed another Excel 365 issue today where the app might stop responding or experience performance issues when switching between worksheets.

"Excel for Microsoft 365 might experience performance problems or stop responding when switching between worksheets of an existing file containing a PivotTable to which a filter has been applied," Microsoft explained.

This known issue affects multiple Microsoft 365 Apps builds, including:

• Office 365 Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Version 2108 (Build 14326.20962 )
• Office 365 Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (Preview) Version 2202 (Build 14931.20392)
• Office 365 Monthly Enterprise Channel (MEC) Version 2203 (Build 15028.20248)

Redmond says the fix is available for customers in the Current channel Version 2204 or later (Build 15128.20280) and those in the Monthly Enterprise Channel Version 2204 (Build 15128.20280).

The fix will also roll out to Office 365 subscription customers this month for those in the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (Version 2202) and the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel Preview (Version 2202).

Microsoft also provides a workaround for Office 2021 or Office 2019 customers who will not be provided with a fix.

"If a fix is not available for your current version of Excel 365, you can work around the problem by removing the filter from the affected worksheet by selecting File > Home > Sort & Filter > Clear," Redmond added.

Those familiar with the Windows Registry can also set a registry key that will have the same effect using the steps detailed here.

Microsoft fixes bug crashing Office apps when opening cloud documents

Current Channel Office Insiders on Mac are getting Office Build 16.63.22070500, which introduces some new features to PowerPoint and Excel. PowerPoint users are getting a new Cameo feature that allows you to insert a live camera feed anywhere in your presentation. To use it in your slide show, just select Insert > Cameo.

Office Build 16.63.22070500 also adds the ability to resize your Conditional Formatting Manager dialog boxes. It means you can see more rules at one time and view the entire formula and range of your rules. To use the feature, go to the Home tab and select Conditional Formatting > Manage Rules. Now, you can simply drag the edges of the dialog box and resize it as needed.

You can read the complete official changelog below.

Changelog

Office Build 16.63.22070500 (Current Channel)

Microsoft has also released an Office Preview build for Beta Channel subscribers on Mac. However, unlike the Current Channel, there are no new features for the Beta Channel users. Instead, you get a good set of important fixes for issues found in Excel.

Office Version 16.64 (Build 22070301) (Beta Channel)

In other Office-related news, Microsoft released Office Version 2207 Build 15427.20000 for Windows users, allowing users to disable specific types of automatic data conversions, thus eliminating the need for you to worry about Excel converting your data to a format you didn’t want and weren’t expecting. It also introduced bug fixes and other changes.

Microsoft releases a new Office update every week for Current and Beta Channel subscribers on Mac, adding new features and changes. Microsoft is also expected to release a new Office Insider Build next month. We’ll keep you updated if we find anything interesting in the update.

To update the Microsoft Office Insider Preview Build to the latest version, open any Office program and go to File> Account> Update Options> Update Now.

Microsoft releases new Office Preview builds for Mac users

Here are the release highlights in PowerToys 0.60:

• PowerRename and Image Resizer now appear on the new Windows 11 context menu.
• There's a new PowerToys Run plugin for OneNote. Thanks @palenshus!
• FancyZones uses a new zone identification with monitor Id to increase stability and avoid zone resets.
• AlwaysOnTop now uses rounded corners for highlighting rounded windows on Windows 11.
• Added settings to PowerToys Run to better control the query results order.

And here is the full changelog for version 060:

General

• Upgraded the Windows App SDK runtimes to 1.1.1. (This was a hotfix for 0.59)

Always on Top

• Added support for more diverse keyboard shortcuts with a fallback to low level keyboard hooks. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Added rounded corner highlights for rounded corner windows on Windows 11.

FancyZones

• Fixed a bug where windows shown on all desktops were not working with FancyZones. (This was a hotfix for 0.59)
• When changing zone layouts, windows will match a new size/position if the option is on. (This was a hotfix for 0.59)
• Minor UI fix in FancyZones Editor. Thanks @ZetaSp!
• Fixed proper canvas layout rendering in FancyZones Editor and the unscaled monitor resolution is now shown.
• Fixed an issue with transparency in certain windows causing the window to go blank.

Image Resizer

• The Image Resizer entry is now shown in the new Windows 11 context menu.

File explorer add-ons

• Add a viewBox attribute to svg file thumbnails so that it tries to show the whole image, similar to what was done in the preview handler.
• Removed access to a remote image in the tests for markdown preview.
• Fixed flakiness in the markdown preview test suite with proper component initialization timeouts.
• Fixed the leaking WebView2 resources caused by svg thumbnails.

Keyboard Manager

• The Editor title bar is now shown in the immersive dark mode theme. Thanks @WilliamABradley!

Mouse utility

• The Mouse Pointer Crosshairs default activation shortcut was changed to not collide with a special character combination on some internation keyboards.

PowerRename

• Fixed the file enumeration logic to only change enumerations at the end of the file name.
• Clicking on regex/date and time cheat sheet appends that item to the selected search or replace text field.
• The PowerRename entry is now shown in the new Windows 11 context menu.
• The title bar is now shown in the immersive dark mode theme. Thanks @WilliamABradley!

PowerToys Run

• A setting was added to disable and configure the input delay on searching queries. (This was a hotfix for 0.59)
• Fixed and added logs for default Web Browser detection. (This was a hotfix for 0.59)
• The Program plugin can now search .lnk shortcuts by their executable name. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• A new plugin for OneNote was added. Thanks @palenshus!
• Query caching and delayed execution was added to the OneNote plugin. Thanks @palenshus!
• Quality of life fixes for the TimeZone plugin, including fixes for empty subtitles, missing time zones and results not being found when expected. Thanks @TobiasSekan!
• Calls to the obsolete WebRequest API were removed. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Added common names for the share settings in the Settings plugins. Thanks @htcfreek!
• The Calculator Mages engine was updated to 2.0.1, for higher precision. Thanks for the testing and for pushing for the changes @htcfreek!
• Translation fixes for the Calculator and TimeDate plugins. Thanks @htcfreek!
• An entry for "Search Settings" was added to the Settings plugin. Thanks @jefflord!
• Removed uses of the deprecated BinaryFormatter, which contained vulnerabilities. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Added settings to better control the query results order. Thanks @jefflord!
• The Terminal plugin now uses a better API to detect installed Terminal packages. Thanks @htcfreek!

Settings

• Fixed a bug that said an update had failed, even if PowerToys was fully updated. (This was a hotfix for 0.59)
• OOBE window is resizable. (This was a hotfix for 0.59)
• OOBE can now show release notes through authenticated proxies.
• OOBE now hides the x64 and ARM64 installer hashes on the What's New page.
• Minor UI fix in the Keyboard Manager page. Thanks @ZetaSp!
• Fix in internal data type of CheckBox controls. Thanks @ghost1372!
• The title bar is now shown in the immersive dark mode theme. Thanks @WilliamABradley!
• Fixed a crash accessing the loading the System.Management API on ARM64 versions of Windows.

Installer

• Fixed signing of the setup custom actions dll in the new pipeline.
• The Visual C++ redistributable was updated to 14.32.31332 and fixed an installer error when a newer version was installed. Thanks @snickler!
• Updated the .NET dependency to 6.0.6.

Development

• Clean up of the CA1031 warning suppression. Thanks @davidegiacometti!
• Support for ARM64 binaries was added to the Microsoft Store submission task. Thanks @azchohfi!
• Added code for a tool to help identify monitor IDs.
• Support for ARM64 binaries was added to the winget package creation task.
• Updated the Pull Request template to better reflect project changes.
• Component Governance checks were re-activated on the new main branch.
• CI is failing to run tests calling the newer WebView 2 version, so these were disabled until a fix is found.
• Updated the tests SDK to 17.2.0.
• Nuget package versions used in the solution were consolidated.
• The CodeQL CI task was disabled in the repo, but was causing issues on forks, so it was removed.
• A specific Newtonsoft.Json version was specified in tests to avoid a vulnerability present in previous versions.
• FabricBot configurations were added to the repository.
• Added a dependabot configuration for updating GitHub actions dependencies. Thanks @naveensrinivasan!
• Updated the check-spelling action and added quality of life fixes to the workflow. Thanks @jsoref!

PowerToys 0.60 comes with a couple of known issues:

• After installing PowerToys, the Windows 11 new context menu entries for PowerRename and Image Resizer may not appear before a restart.
  • On some Windows 11 dev channel insider builds, the new context menu entries are not registering correctly and the classic context menu entries will be shown instead.
• There are reports of users who are unable to open the Settings window. This is being caused by incompatibilities with some applications (RTSS RivaTuner Statistics Server and MSI AfterBurner are known examples of this). If you're affected by this, please check the linked issue to verify if any of the presented solutions works for you.

You can download PowerToys 0.60 from the Microsoft Store using this link or the official repository on GitHub. If you already have PowerToys installed on your computer, the app will notify you about available updates, or you can manually update from settings.

If you are unfamiliar with PowerToys, it is a set of advanced utilities provided by Microsoft and the open-source developer community. It contains various tools, such as an app launcher, bulk file renamer, color picker, a utility to customize shortcuts, etc. Microsoft frequently updates PowerToys with new features and fixes.

Microsoft releases PowerToys 0.60 focusing on stability and improvements

This is what the Opera sync panel looked like prior to this update.

The new version looks cleaner and contains some options that you may find useful. The first option acts as a sign-in button. Once you have signed in to your account, the icon switches to reflect your profile picture and ID. Click on it to access and manage your Opera account. The pop-up modal also has a sign-out button. The account pop-up panel displays the current status of the synchronization, i.e., whether your data has been synced to the cloud. Clicking on the icon takes you to the browser's Sync settings page. Likewise, the Pinboards button acts as a shortcut to quickly open your pinboard collections page.

Opera has managed to throw in an ad for its VPN Pro service into the Sync panel. It appears even if you don't have the VPN option toggled in the browser. Clicking on it takes you to the official site with more information about the subscription plans for the premium service. Not everyone is goind to be a fan of this, and fortunately there is a way to remove the Opera VPN Pro shortcut. Refer to the bottom section of this article to learn how to do this.

Users can access the Opera Shopping Corner from the pop-up panel in Opera 89. The service, which debuted in the previous version, Opera 88, is currently available for users located in 4 countries: in Germany, Poland, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Opera 89 update is based on Chromium 103, which includes fixes for a 0-day security issue referred to in CVE-2022-2294. The latest version of the browser ships with a couple of bug fixes. The application should no longer crash while scrolling bookmarks in the bookmarks folder. The dropdown list that appears when typing in the address bar has been improved, but it's unclear what was changed. The Opera account popup is now functional on Linux. Search suggestions should work when the VPN is enabled. Switching tabs in full screen mode no longer displays an empty page.

Don't like the new panel? You can remove the button from the interface, which also disables the panel.

How to disable the Opera account button

1. Open the opera://flags page in your browser.

2. Use the search bar on the page to find the flag for Opera Account Popup.

3. Click on the drop-down menu next to it, and change the value of the setting to Disabled.

A prompt will appear at the bottom of the window. Click on the Relaunch button to restart Opera, and apply the changes.

If you just want to remove the Opera VPN Pro section from the pop-up, you will need to disable the following flag in the application: "VPN Pro". Disabling it removes the VPN button, but sort of leaves behind a blank space in the modal.

Download Opera 89 stable for Windows, macOS and Linux from the official website.

What do you think about the new account pop-up panel?

Opera 89 introduces a redesigned account pop-up panel

Frontpaged:   Opera 89.0.4447.38