Thankfully, soon after the launch, users found multiple ways to bypass the requirement, but Microsoft was quick to close the loopholes. Now, as the company plans to make this mandatory for Windows 11 Pro users as well, a new method promises to help users' setup their devices without internet and using a local account. If you are one of the people who don't want to setup a Microsoft Account or don't have an internet connection, you can follow the steps below to setup your machine:

• On the OOBE "Connect to the internet" screen, press Shift + F10 to open the command prompt

• Type "OOBE\BYPASSNRO" (without quotes) and press enter

• This will reboot your system, post which you should see "I don't have internet" option

• Click on the option and then click on "Continue with limited setup" option to complete the setup. This will further allow you to setup your machine with a local account instead of a Microsoft account

• Once done, you will be greeted by Windows, and you can continue using your machine without a Microsoft account

Once the setup is complete, you can connect your system to the internet and use it. So far, we have not been forced to sign in with a Microsoft account. However, do note that some services that require a Microsoft account may not work on a local account. Unfortunately, there is no workaround for that, and you will need to sign in with your account to use services such as Microsoft Store.

Thank you again, d5aqoep, for the find!

Here's how you can setup your Windows 11 device without an internet connection

Now, Microsoft has started showing a couple of warnings for people running Windows 11 Insider builds on unsupported hardware.

As spotted first by Windows Latest, Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557 - which arrived less than a week ago - has started showing a "System requirements not met" watermark on the bottom right corner of the desktop. A snippet can be seen in the image above.

This is quite similar to the "Windows not activated" watermark but it only shows on the desktop wallpaper, it does not appear on top of other apps or windows.

This is similar to yet another warning that Microsoft has started showing in the Settings app, as noted by Albacore (@thebookisclosed) on Twitter:

It is important to note that this warning has only started appearing in Dev Channel builds in the Windows Insider Program for now, so it's not yet known if it will also make it to the generally available (GA) versions of Windows 11. While it makes sense to show the warning at least somewhere, many might be frustrated if it's visible at all times on the desktop.

The existing "Windows not activated" watermark also locks a couple of personalization-related capabilities until you activate your system, but this does not appear to be the case with the most recent watermark, at least for now. Furthermore, changes in Dev Channel builds are not tied to specific versions of Windows 11, so it's possible that the cautionary watermark doesn't see the light of day on the GA version of the OS at all.

Windows 11 will now show a watermark if you are on an unsupported Insider PC

The new version of the encryption software is already available. New and existing users may download the latest version from the official website for all supported operating systems. Select Help > About in the application interface to find out which version of VeraCrypt is installed.

VeraCrypt 1.25.9 includes fixes for the three supported operating systems Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Most changes apply only to the Windows version, including a fix for a BSOD that could happen on shutdown.

VeraCrypt erases the system encryption keys on shutdown by default; this procedure caused Blue Screens of Death on some Windows devices. The developers have created a new Registry key that toggles the erasing of the encryption keys on Windows devices.

1. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\veracrypt
2. Right-click on the VeraCrypt value and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.
3. Name it VeraCryptEraseKeysShutdown.
4. Set the value to 0 to disable the erasing of security keys during shutdown.

The workaround is only required on systems that are affected by BSOD errors during shutdown. The Windows version of VeraCrypt includes several other changes:

• The size of the .exe installer was almost halved by switching from Deflate compression to LZMA.
• The minimum supported operating system version for MSI installs was set to Windows 7; this is a bit strange, as the download page lists Windows 10 as the minimum requirement for the MSI installer.
• The MSI installer is compatible with system encryption.
• The error that prevented Traveler Disks from being created using MSI has been fixed.
• Double-clicking mounted drives did not work in some cases in the VeraCrypt user interface.
• The outer volume password is not cached anymore when mounting with hidden volume protection if the wrong hidden volume password was specified.

Linux and Mac OS builds of VeraCrypt share a fix, which is also the only fix for Mac OS. Both address a hidden volume settings display issue when enabling hidden volume protection in the mount options window.

The Linux version has three additional fixes and improvements, including one crash fix. You can check out the entire changelog here.

Now You: do you use encryption software?

VeraCrypt 1.25.9 Encryption Software fixes BSOD on Windows

Frontpaged:   VeraCrypt 1.25.9

As noted by active Neowin news tipper and Redditor u/Leopeva64-2, Chrome Canary now allows you to add notes to saved passwords, as can be seen in the screenshot above. The "Note" field is visible both when you're manually adding a new password and editing existing credentials.

While Google hasn't clarified its utility yet, one possible use-case for this would be to keep a list of security questions or storing information about when you last modified the password and when it is set to automatically expire, among others.

Some on the Reddit thread have expressed concern over whether this information will be encrypted or not, but one can assume that Google will only roll out this capability after rigorous testing and ensuring that the best cybersecurity practices are in place, considering it deals with sensitive information.

It's not currently clear if Microsoft Edge will enable this feature as well, but considering that it's based on Chromium too, we might see it there as well for feature parity. For now, the addition of notes is only possible on Chrome Canary 101. This appears to be a staggered rollout as well since we don't have it on our test machines yet. It will likely go through weeks of testing before and if it becomes available on the Stable channel, though.

Chrome may allow you to add notes to saved passwords in the future

Resetting a Windows device and deleting the data that is on it can be useful in  some circumstances. Devices may be passed around to other company employees, they may be handed over to family members or friends, or sold on marketplaces such as eBay.

The wiping option is designed to remove personal data from the device. Most users keep personal data on their laptops and PCs, and it is clear that this data should not be handed over to the new owner of the device.

Ooms discovered that Windows' wipe feature left user data behind in the latest versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11. Remote and local wiping as well as Fresh Start on devices running version 21H2 of the operating system would leave user data behind in the Windows.old folder. The same procedures on Windows 10 version 21H1 cleared all user data from Windows.old like expected.

Ooms describes how he received a phone call from a CFO his company worked for to delete data on the CFO's old device so that it could be passed on to another employee. Since the company was "a couple of 100 miles away", Ooms decided to remotely wipe the device.

He made sure to select none of the options to retain user data after the wiping and discovered that user data was retained on Windows 11 after the operation completed successfully. Tests confirmed that wiping was affected on version 21H2 devices (Windows 10 and 11), and that the issue affected all forms of wiping and resetting functionality on these devices.

While Ooms used Intune to wipe the device remotely, he conducted local tests as well and discovered that data was retained as well.

Ooms created a PowerShell script that fixes the issue by deleting the Windows.old folder from wiped devices. It can be downloaded from the linked blog post.

Closing Words

The issue affects version 21H2 of Windows 10 and 11 only. The number of users affected by this wiping issue is unknown, but it could cause data leaks. Windows users who need to wipe a device without retaining the user data need to make sure that the windows.old folder is removed after the operation completes to eliminate any chance of data leaking into the wrong hands.

Now You: have you used wipe functionality before? (via Günther Born)

Windows 10 and 11 Wipe Feature leaves data behind in 21H2

It's no secret that games that run in full screen mode have better performance than windowed or the borderless windowed modes. There are a couple of factors that impact the level of performance.

When you are playing a game in full screen, and try to Alt + Tab to a different window (or switch to a different monitor), you may notice that it takes a long time to do so, the screen might stay black for a few seconds. This is because full screen exclusive (FSE) games bypass the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). On the other hand, DWM controls the display in windowed mode, and reduces the time it takes to switch between 2 windows significantly. This is why some games have the full screen borderless window enabled by default.

Microsoft addressed the latency issue in Windows 10, with a feature called Full Screen Optimizations, to allow games to run in an optimized borderless windowed mode. This article at the Microsoft Dev Blog explains it quite nicely.

The other factor that plays a major role in the performance of games, is Vertical Synchronization, aka V-Sync. Full screen mode lets you control V-Sync, but if the game is running in windowed mode, you may notice that the V-Sync option gets grayed out or un-clickable. That's because V-Sync doesn't work with windowed programs.

Why is this important? Most modern games have a frame rate slider in the settings, that lets you cap the FPS to a certain limit. e.g. 30FPS, 45FPS. 60FPS. Some games don't have this option, if you have a monitor with a higher refresh rate, say 75Hz, you can enable V-Sync. Enabling this option helps prevent screen tearing by limiting the frame rate to that of your monitor. Setting a frame cap can also reduce the load on your GPU, thus improving the performance of the game. E.g. If a game is taxing your graphics card, try reducing the FPS limit, and you will experience a constant flow instead of spiking to a higher frame rate and dropping to a lower value from time to time.

The issue is, not every game has the options to toggle V-Sync, Frame Limiter, or set the screen mode, which is why Microsoft is introducing a new way to manage your games, Optimizations for windowed games.

Image courtesy: Microsoft

Per-game graphics settings in Windows 11

Gaming desktops and mid-range/high-end laptops have two graphics cards, one that is integrated in the CPU (Intel iGPU or AMD), and a dedicated one such as  an NVIDIA or Radeon graphics card. While games usually pick the dedicated GPU correctly, some titles may not detect it, and default to the weaker integrated option instead.

Windows 11's new presentation mode will allow you to manage the graphics settings of each game from the Settings app. The options are available from the System > Display > Graphics page, with an option to choose the GPU. This isn't a particularly new option, as you can do the same with your graphics card's software, like the Nvidia Control Panel (not Geforce Experience app, which is garbage).

The other options in Windows 11's new mode, seem to be interesting, the operating system gives you the choice to select whether a game should use Auto HDR, providing you have the hardware for it. In addition to this, you may toggle variable refresh rate for games that don't support the feature by default. The setting for Hardware-accelerated GPU Scheduling was introduced in Windows 10, but frankly, I've never observed a major difference in the performance with the option enabled or disabled.

There is another setting in the new mode, that acts as a global switch for Optimizations for Windowed Games. If you are running into issues in the game, you can toggle the option to see if it gets you better results. If you switch the option off, you can still manage the options on a per-game basis.

The graphics optimizations will be available for games that rely on DirectX 10 and 11. Games that run on DirectX 12 already support the new presentation mode. The announcement article says that Windows 11 will deliver the best settings by default, i.e., it will manage the optimizations automatically. The new options are available in Windows 11 Build 22557 that was released last week.

I haven't faced any issues while playing games on Windows 11. If you are experiencing lags while gaming, you may want to update your operating system, as KB5008353 which was released about a month ago solved the issue that was slowing down the performance of SSD. And of course, you should always update to the latest graphics driver from Nvidia or AMD's official website.

What tweaks have you made to improve the performance of games in Windows 11?

Microsoft introduces optimizations for windowed games to reduce latency in Windows 11

Mozilla's main source of income comes from its main competitor in the browser space, Google. The agreement between Mozilla and Google ends next year, and it is not clear if both parties will renew the agreement. While Mozilla does have a few options in the case the renewal should fall through, it has changed its strategy in regards to revenue generation in recent years.

In 2020, Mozilla earned $496 million in revenue, a slight increase of $6 million when compared to 2019 if you ignore a one-time payment Mozilla received in that year. The bulk of the revenue came from search engine deals; agreements to make a specific search engine the default in the Firefox web browser. A total of $441 million was contributed by search engine deals.

Revenue from other services, mostly subscription-based services, rose from $14 million in 2019 to $24 million in 2020. Mozilla did launch additional products, including Firefox Relay Premium and Mozilla VPN, which will likely increase the overall revenue from subscription-based services going forward.

Hentzschel reports that Mozilla may launch the new MDN Plus service as early as March of 2022. Mozilla did test MDN Plus in Summer of 2021 and revealed after the test period that it had plans to launch MDN Plus in the future to the public.

According to Hentzschel's information, Mozilla could launch the service on March 9, 2022 in select countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and some other countries.

The subscription-based service will offer in-depth technology articles from experts and additional features to improve MDN Web Docs usage, including offline usage, personal collections, change notifications, or theming options. The price may be $10 per month or $100 per year according to Hentzschel's information.

Closing Words

Mozilla needs to diversify its revenue stream to reduce the dependence on search engine deals. Subscription-based revenue is on the rise and the creation of new services will certainly contribute to the overall revenue, provided that services are not dropped in the future.

It will be interesting to see how well these services did in 2021 compared to 2020.

Now You: do you use one of Mozilla's premium services?

Sources:

https://www.soeren-hentzschel.at/mdn/exklusiv-mdn-plus/

https://www.ghacks.net/2022/02/21/mdn-plus-mozilla-plans-to-launch-premium-developer-service/

Security researcher Swift on Security, our German colleagues from Deskmodder, and several other websites claim that Microsoft is working on the next version of Windows already. Sources are not revealed, but all state that the info is coming from Microsoft directly. Swift on Security removed the post later on from Twitter.

Windows 10 will be a very different operating system according to the information that has been revealed so far.

• Microsoft plans to drop part of the old foundation of Windows that is part of all versions of the operating system, including Windows 11.
• Windows 12 will require a Microsoft Account for Home and Pro users.
• The security chip Microsoft Pluton will be a requirement.
• TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot will play a larger role.
• Parts and bits of Windows 10X will be used.

Everything has to be taken with a grain of salt currently. Microsoft has not confirmed any of this outside of new job postings, and information that is available is scarce. Some points need further explanations regardless of that.

Current Windows 11 Professional builds and final versions will require a Microsoft Account during setup already, and the change could be in preparation for the next version of Windows.

Microsoft Pluton is a security chip that the company developed in collaboration with AMD, Intel and Qualcomm. Unlike TPM chips, Pluton is built directly into the CPU. The architecture limits or eliminates certain forms of attacks that are levelled against current setups with TPM chips.

Windows devices with Pluton will use the Pluton security processor to protect credentials, user identities, encryption keys, and personal data. None of this information can be removed from Pluton even if an attacker has installed malware or has complete physical possession of the PC.

his is accomplished by storing sensitive data like encryption keys securely within the Pluton processor, which is isolated from the rest of the system, helping to ensure that emerging attack techniques, like speculative execution, cannot access key material. Pluton also provides the unique Secure Hardware Cryptography Key (SHACK) technology that helps ensure keys are never exposed outside of the protected hardware, even to the Pluton firmware itself, providing an unprecedented level of security for Windows customers.

Lenovo was the first manufacturer that included Microsoft Pluton on some of its devices. The company has not enabled the chip by default. Without an option to disable Pluton, the device's hardware would be locked and users could not install other operating systems, e.g., a Linux distribution, on the device. It is up to the manufacturer to provide the switch to turn the component off and there is a chance that some devices won't have it.

Out with the old, in with the new

Microsoft may drop some of the old foundation of Windows, but details are not revealed at this point. It is possible that support for old features is removed. It seems unlikely that the company is going to remove core backwards compatibility features or planning to push the next Universal Windows Platform again to get rid of Win32 once and for all.

Closing Words

Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system is supported until 2025, Windows 11, which Microsoft released just last year, has no final end of support date yet. Feature updates are supported for 2 years for Home users and Microsoft will release new versions that are supported for another 2 years.

If Windows 11 is supported for 10 years, the period of Windows 10's support, then Windows 11 will be supported until late 2031. Windows 12 will likely be released in the meantime, if Microsoft continues to push forward with its strategy.

Now You: Is Windows 12 already in development? (via Computer Base)

Sources:

https://www.computerbase.de/2022-02/das-naechste-letzte-windows-microsoft-startet-im-maerz-die-entwicklung-von-windows-12/

https://www.ghacks.net/2022/02/21/the-next-final-version-of-windows-12-may-already-be-in-development/

A couple of days ago, we talked about the ability to create App folders in the Start menu being a welcome change, and today, we are going to walk through some of the changes introduced to Task Manager in the same Dev Channel build.

First up, you'll notice that Task Manager has gone through a major design revamp. This includes a few notable features. The first is that the app finally respects your system theme, so if you're running dark mode, you'll see the app in the same theme as well. This is a very welcome change and ensures consistency. Secondly, the content that was previously present in tabs has been moved to the left as a hamburger menu with new icons. I find this to be a very user-friendly change and it's in line with the Windows 11 design language as well. Some options have been moved to the pane on the top but most of them can be accessed from the right-click context menu too.

While we are on the first page of the Task Manager as can be seen in the screenshot above, it's worth talking about a couple of new functionalities as well. Back in April 2021, Microsoft introduced "Eco mode" in the Windows 10 Insider Preview, and this is making a return in Windows 11 as "Efficiency mode". As the name suggests, this setting basically allows you to limit resource consumption of individual processes through their associated context menu or by clicking on them and then tapping on Efficiency mode on the options pane at the top.

You can make use of other common controls such as End task and Run new task directly from this UI as well. You can also click on the View button to group processes, expand them, or collapse them. It's quite nifty to have these settings at your fingertips instead of navigating between drop-down menus as is the case with the generally available Task Manager implementation, so I appreciate this change too. That said, this interface is clearly under development as the three-dots menu on the options pane at the top does nothing right now except highlight the options section, which is a bit of an unfamiliar behavior.

It is important to note that Efficiency mode can't be enabled for process groups, you have to apply them individually. Processes running in Efficiency mode show a green leaf symbol while processes that are suspended should a red pause icon. While it may seem obvious in hindsight, your process group won't show the green leaf symbol until all its associated processes are running in Efficiency mode. For example, in the screenshot above, I have two Chrome processes running in Efficiency mode but both the individual processes or the process group don't show the green leaf symbol. Meanwhile, Notepad only has a single process so putting that in Efficiency mode immediately shows the green leaf symbol next to the process group too. This took me a while to figure out as I expected to see the symbol next to individual processes too.

The Performance page is mostly the same. Although the shaded area under the CPU utilization curve does look very nice and modern, especially in dark theme. The Copy and Resource Monitor options have been moved to the three-dotted menu at the top, but otherwise, it seems to be the same in terms of functionalities.

The App history page is mostly the same, but you will notice an Open app button in the options pane at the top, which is once again, nice to have at your fingertips in some use-cases. The three-dotted menu doesn't do anything right now.

The Startup page has been renamed to Startup apps, which makes sense to me. Functionality-wise, it appears to be the same as the current implementation, with some common controls moved to the top options pane. The three-dotted menu expands to show two configurations, namely Open file location and Search online.

The Users page is the same too but some common controls have been moved to the top. The three-dotted menu has the same options as the previous Startup apps page.

The Details page is the same but the three-dotted menu doesn't do anything.

Functionality-wise, the Services page is the same but the common controls have been moved to the top and the three-dotted menu has two options, namely Go to details and Search online.

Finally, we have a dedicated Settings menu too. This is something I really like as previously, these options are currently hidden behind drop-down menus. I think it makes complete sense to have a dedicated section for them and I think this is a very user-friendly and clear implementation.

All in all, I'm a fan of most of the changes that have been to the Task Manager in Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557 right now. Sure, the UI isn't fully consistent yet as some three-dotted menus don't even serve any purpose right now, but these are definitely steps in the right direction. We finally have dark theme and we finally have a UI that is more modern than the current legacy implementation, at the very least. It is also important to note that this is a Dev Channel build in which Task Manager will ideally be polished further before it is pushed to stable releases.

I only have one slight concern right now, and that is performance. Currently, swapping between different pages has a minor and nifty animation, but I have noticed at times that there is a slight jitter when I'm moving between pages or when I bring the Task Manager window back in focus after I have navigated away, which can be a bit jarring. I hope that this is something that the Windows development team can resolve before this hits general availability. But once again, this is an Insider build, so here's to hoping that Microsoft improves this further.

Have you tried Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557 yet? What do you think about the Task Manager revamp?

Closer Look: Task Manager in Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557

Changelog

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

Microsoft releases Office Insider Preview Build 15012.20000, here is what’s new

The next major version of the image editor, Paint.net 4.4, will support 64-bit or ARM devices running Windows 10 and later only. While there is a chance that a bug fix release will become available before Paint.net 4.4 is released, users of the application who use it on Windows 8.1 or older devices won't be able to upgrade to Paint.net 4.4 once it is released by the developer.

Paint.net 4.3.8 installs fine on all supported devices. Users can download the latest version from the project website or the Microsoft Store. Paint.net users may also select the question mark icon in the Paint.net interface and then about to display the current version of the application and run a check for updates.

Paint.net 4.3.8 improves the performance of certain operations in the application. The change log mentions "greatly improved performance" for the Line/Curve and Shapes tools, and "improved performance" for the Move Selected Pixels tool when using Bicubic resampling.

Users of the image editor find a new command to toggle the layer visibility menu either by selecting Layers > Toggle Layer Visibility, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Comma.

The remaining changes fix various issues in the application or update plugins that it uses to provide certain functionality. The most notable fix addresses a performance bug in the canvas renderer that caused tiles to be copied more often to the GPU than necessary. Another fix patches a "small memory leak" in the application.

Closing Words

Work on Paint.net 4.4 has started already and users who use the image editor on Windows 7 or 8.1 machines have two main options once it is released: either stick with the last release version, which will never be updated again, or switch to another image editor. Free image editors like GIMP continue to

support older versions of Windows. While it seems likely that support will end eventually as well, switching to these ensures that the image editor receives updates until that happens.

Updates may introduce support for new image formats and features, but also fix critical issues or security vulnerabilities.

Now You: which image editor do you use?

Paint.net 4.3.8 is likely the last version for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1

Frontpaged:   Paint.NET 4.3.8

Task Manager continues to be one of the most popular tools for Windows and it is the easiest way to identify troublesome apps and end their process. With Windows 11 Sun Valley 2, Microsoft is exploring a new user interface for Task Manager, which dramatically changes the interface of the app and replaces the traditional top bar/menu with a command bar.

Like the current version of Task Manager, the new version can also display the same set of screens, such as Processes, Performance, App history, Startup apps, Users, Details, and services. However, there are a few noticeable changes.

First and foremost, Task Manager has been updated with a sidebar menu that houses options like Processes and Performance.

As shown in the above screenshot, Microsoft is doing away with the usual tabbed sections and you will find a new 'hero element' feature that would display the computer's name and model, CPU, GPU and memory being used

Task Manager's new design uses WinUI and it matches the new Windows 11 design principles. This includes dark mode support and a new settings page where you can modify the Task Manager's update speed and more.

Microsoft is also adding a new command bar on each page to help users access common actions. For example, you can enable the efficiency mode directly from the command bar when you're viewing the processes tab.

Efficiency mode is a new feature that will limit an app's CPU consumption so that the system gives priority to other apps. You can also enable Efficiency mode by right-clicking on the process, but remember that you can apply Efficiency mode to a single process only, so the option would be greyed out when you try to throttle the entire group process or system processes.

Task Manager's new design is far from perfect, but it's good to see that Microsoft wants to address UI consistency issues in the OS and more improvements are expected to show up in future preview builds.

Closer look at Windows 11's new Task Manager

Windows 11 has already restored support for rounded corners, and it appears that the next big update will include a new design feature that will be akin to the Aero effect from Windows 7.

Transparent title bars for traditional Windows apps will return, signaling a change in look for the Windows operating system. Microsoft intends to refresh the top-level windows and app pop-ups with a new transparency effect, which might be Acrylic or new material.

Currently, developers are responsible for implementing the Mica (a new sort of transparency effect), so we only have the Mica effect in select apps, and the rest of the app windows have a straightforward look.

Based on a screenshot of Windows Run that was unintentionally shared during the January webcast of the Windows Developer program and found by us, it is evident that the tech giant is reverting to a style reminiscent of Windows Aero used in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

The Aero Glass theme in Windows 7 or Vista gave the app’s title bar (the menu that includes buttons like minimize, maximize, and close) a soft and translucent appearance for the uninitiated. The implementation of Windows Vista looked excellent and modern, but it used more resources than a simple design.

Windows 11 version 22H2, also known as Sun Valley 2, may be able to help duplicate this look for app title bars.

The tech behemoth will probably employ the Acrylic effect on all classic app title bars and save Mica for windows.

Mica is an opaque effect that is applied to program windows, title bars, and even the backdrop, as opposed to the Acrylic effect, which allows for transparency/translucency.

As seen in the comparison above, Mica is subtle and only allows you to see the desktop wallpaper through it.

Acrylic, on the other hand, is a more opulent and resource-intensive Windows Aero-like effect that shows the desktop wallpaper and other windows that are hidden behind the active app.

In addition, we discovered a new experimental flag in the operating system that could enable the Mica effect in more Windows apps.

The flag is titled “MicaBackdropInApplicationFrameHostTitlebar,” and it would replace Mica in some existing apps such as Feedback Hub. The Mica effect is now available in core Windows 11 programs such as Photos and Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft plans to introduce it to other apps in the coming weeks.

News Credit: Windows Latest

Windows 7-style Aero design for Windows 11

The integration was spotted by eagle-eyed Redditor and regular Neowin news tipster u/Leopeva64-2, who spotted the change in the latest Edge Canary build. Essentially, you now have a new toggle in the Appearance setting that adds a Skype Meet Now button to the Edge omnibar. Clicking on it in the omnibar opens a Skype Meet Now panel directly in Microsoft Edge. A snippet of this can be seen in the image above.

Although the toggle is disabled by default, the latest move by Microsoft will likely once again spark debates about why something like this is directly integrated into the browser and not offered as an extension that users can optionally download. In fact, the change also opens up discussions around what is Microsoft's recommended online communication app considering that Teams has a personal version that essentially competes against the consumer version of Skype too.

All in all, it's not known yet when, or if, this integration will hit the stable release channel. Edge Canary is updated on a nightly basis so we do start to see features appear with more frequency there before they make their way over to Dev, Beta, and eventually Stable. Furthermore, this integration is being made available as a part of Microsoft's "controlled rollout" strategy so not everyone may have it in their Edge build yet.

Microsoft is testing Skype Meet Now integration with Edge

If iMessage sliced off both ends of your tweets, you’re not alone

The organization introduced the new Print Preview interface in Firefox 81, released on August 10, 2020, but it did add an option to Firefox to restore the classic Print Preview of the browser. Some users did just that and the classic option was restored for them.

The release of Firefox 97 changes that as it removed the option and enforced the use of the new Print Preview interface on all users.

Differences between both modes exist even though both share most features. The new Print Preview opens as an overlay on the existing page, the old one in a new separate window. As far as options are concerned, some, like the ability to jump to a specific page or scale presets, are missing in the new user interface.

Mozilla did improve the new Print Preview mode since the initial release. Several missing features, including printing a simplified version of the webpage or improved readability on smaller screens, were added. Readability of the webpage when displayed in the new Print Preview interface is still not ideal, especially on smaller displays or when the browser window is not maximized.

Additionally, the Simplified format does not work well sometimes, as you may end up with lots of white space on some pages. The following screenshot highlights the issue.

Firefox users who restored the classic Print Preview option in Firefox, dislike the removal of the classic print preview interface in Firefox for the most part.

Closing words

Mozilla's main intention was to unify the Print Preview in Firefox for all desktop platforms. The print dialog resembles that of Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers now, which is fine for users who use both browsers or who migrate from one browser to another.

The number of Firefox users who restored the old Print Preview feature after Mozilla landed the change in the browser is unknown, but the majority of users who are affected by this will not appreciate the change. One option that is left is to switch to Firefox ESR, as it includes the classic Print Preview preference until it is replaced by the next Firefox ESR version. Firefox 91.x ESR will retire in September 2022.

Now You: classic or new Print Preview, which do you prefer?

Source: https://www.ghacks.net/2022/02/19/mozilla-removed-the-classic-print-preview-from-firefox-there-is-still-one-option/

Skype users in the US can now make 911 calls from their computers

However, with Microsoft's release of Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557 a couple of days ago, I was tempted to switch to the Insider channel once again. As this build contains a lot of stuff to unpack, I felt that it is only natural that I resume the Closer Look series so we can talk about features that are not generally available (GA). This is why the title of this article explicitly mentions the Insider channel and the build number so people have a clear idea that anything we talk about from this point onward in this series might not be in the same state when, or if, it hits GA.

To start us off, I'll be looking at the app folders in the Start menu of Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557. Our readers might remember that the GA version of the OS has a scrollable list of pinned apps in the Start menu instead of Live Tiles. And while I don't care much about Live Tiles, one notably absent feature from Windows 10 was the ability to group apps into app folders. So, if you have hundreds of apps pinned to your Start menu, you would have to scroll through the entire list to open the one you desire. Microsoft has started to remedy this with the re-introduction of app folders, as can be seen in the screenshot above.

With Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557, you can now simply drag-and-drop your apps over each other to categorize them into folders. There's no associated context menu as of yet, which is a bit of a pity, because if I want to remove all apps from a folder, I have no option but to manually drag-and-drop them out of the folder one by one.

Speaking of other customizations, there aren't any to speak of, yet. You can't name app folders, you can't set a different background color for them, you can't change their size. What this means is that if you have 20 apps each in 10 app folders, there's pretty much no way to differentiate the folder of an app unless you recognize the collection just by looking at the 4-app preview.

Talking about how much apps can be placed in a folder, I couldn't find a max limit. I took all the 24 pinned apps from my Start menu and was able to place them in a single folder as a scrollable list (screenshot above). There was no notable performance degradation in the UI. So if there is a limit, it's definitely more than 24.

All in all, I appreciate the fact that Microsoft is apparently listening to feedback once again and returning useful functionalities - that should not have been stripped away in the first place - to Windows. Although it's pretty bare-bones right now, it's important to keep in mind that this is a Dev Channel build and that Microsoft will likely update it with more functionalities. Furthermore, since this channel is not tied to a particular version of Windows, it's not yet known whether we'll see it in the major update for Windows 11 planned later this year. That said, I hope it hits GA soon because it will definitely improve productivity for a lot of people who utilize the Start menu in Windows 11.

Closer Look: Start menu App folders in Windows 11 Dev Channel build 22557

Microsoft has also published the minimum system requirements for running Android Apps on Windows 11, and the company has only recommended solid state drives (SSDs) as the storage type. Though there is no particular mention of SATA III or NVMe here, so either should be plenty.

Here are the full requirements:

Interestingly, for Windows 11 itself, Microsoft hadn't specified in particular what kind of storage was preferred and only mentioned "64GB" as the requirement. It does seem like Microsoft feels that running the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) may be a bit too much for spinning hard disks.

Another interesting takeaway is the omission of Ryzen 2000 processors as only Ryzen 3000 is listed in the requirements table above. The Ryzen 2000 series CPUs (not the Ryzen 2000 APUs) are based on the Zen+ micro-architecture and they are officially supported by Microsoft for Windows 11.

Source: Microsoft

Microsoft recommends only SSDs for Android Apps on Windows 11, no Ryzen 2000 either

Microsoft released a preview of the Windows Subsystem for Android and the Amazon Appstore application back in late 2021 and has recently integrated the functionality in Windows 11. Microsoft restricted the preview to customers from the United States, and the recently integrated version has the same restriction. In other words: if you are not from the U.S., you can't install the Amazon Appstore application from the Microsoft Store. It is unclear why Microsoft is keeping the limitation at this point.

The geographical restriction will be lifted at one point, but Windows users who are interested in running Android apps and games on their devices face another hurdle: the system requirements.

The minimum system requirements for running the Amazon Appstore on Windows are 8 Gigabytes of RAM, an Intel Core i3 8th generation or better, an AMD Ryzen 3000 or better, or a Snapdragon 8c or better. The recommended requirements double the RAM to 16 Gigabytes.

Windows 11 itself requires 4 Gigabytes of RAM or higher and some of the supported processors do not meet the minimum processor requirements either.

Microsoft does not seem to restrict the installation or the opening of the Amazon Appstore on devices that don't meet these system requirements currently. It is possible that these won't be enforced but resemble PC game requirements that are not enforced either usually. If Microsoft enforces the requirements, some devices that run Windows 11 officially won't be able to use the Amazon Appstore on the device.

Users with incompatible devices can still install and run Android applications using other means, e.g., by using programs such as WSATools or WSA PacMan. These third-party programs will install Android apps and games, provided as APK files, on the Windows device. The Windows Subsystem for Android is still necessary, but the Amazon Appstore application is not.

The Windows Subsystem for Linux is quite popular and it is up for debate whether the Windows Subsystem for Android will be equally popular. Android has a larger userbase and some users might like the idea of playing their games or apps on Windows devices. The main downside is that Microsoft restricts it to the Amazon AppStore currently, which is not as attractive as Google Play in terms of what is available.

Google did announce that it would bring some Android apps and games to Windows as well, but the entire Google Play library won't come to Windows at this time, or ever.

Now You: are you looking forward to running Android apps and games on Windows? (via Deskmodder)

Amazon Appstore has high requirements for running Android apps on Windows 11

Firefox ships with a number of search engines based on a user's region. The default search engine is the one that is used automatically when the user types in the address bar or uses other means to search, e.g., from the browser's New Tab Page.

In most regions, Google Search is the default, but in some, other search engines such as Baidu or Yandex are the default. Firefox users are free to add search engines to the browser and change the default search engine. If they prefer to use DuckduckGo, Startpage or Brave Search, they may do so as the browser supports it.

An article on Mozilla's support website confirms that the default search engine may change for some Firefox users with the release of Firefox 98.

The support article is vague when it comes to specifics. It does not mention search engines by name nor does it provide any other details.

According to Mozilla, the change is necessary because it "was unable to secure formal permission to continue including search engines in Firefox". Mozilla "provided an opportunity to previously-included search engines to sign an agreement" and some search engine companies "did not complete the agreement" according to the article.

The nature of the agreement is unknown. It is unclear if it included financial compensation or other requirements. The Bugzilla bug listing is set to private.

Firefox ships with a number of search engines, many of which are local  search engines that are available besides global ones, others are search engines of commercial sites. It appears that only these search engines are affected, but there is no confirmation of this at this point.

Firefox users who are affected by the changing of the default search engine are informed about this when the browser launches.

Your default search engine has been changed. Firefox no longer supports NAME. Google is now your default search engine.

Firefox users may re-add the removed search engine to the browser again after the removal; this is a strong point in favor of the theory that the removal affects built-in search engines only, as Mozilla might likely not allow this otherwise.

Closing Words

The support page lacks information and there is a chance that only a small subset of users are affected by the change. Mozilla is shooting itself into the foot with the omittance of important information in the article. Would it be that difficult to list the affected search engines or provide a brief explanation of the agreement that search engine companies had to sign?

This miscommunication happens frequently. It is often a tempest in a teapot that could have been avoided entirely if communication would have been clearer.

Mozilla will replace the default search engine for some Firefox users

You’ll need a Microsoft account to set up future versions of Windows 11 Pro

Firefox 97.0.1 is already available and should be installed on most user devices automatically over the coming days. Firefox users who want the update right now can run a manual check for updates to install it.

All that it takes for that is to select Menu > Help > About Firefox to do so. The page that opens displays the installed version and runs a check for updates. The update should be picked up at this point and installed automatically.

Firefox 97.0.1 is a bug fix release only. It does not add new features to the web browser nor does it address security issues.

The official release notes list four issues that Mozilla has fixed in the new version:

• Addresses an issue with the video service TikTok that prevented videos to play on the service's website if they were started from a user profile. The new version addresses the issue that was a SHIP regression according to Mozilla's bug listing.
• Fixes an issue that prevented Firefox's Picture-in-Picture mode from working on Hulu. Picture-in-Picture moves videos from the current webpage to an overlay that can be moved around freely and stays visible even if the user does something else in the browser, e.g. switches to other tabs.
• Addresses a compatibility issue with the security software WebRoot SecureAnywhere antivirus, which, "in some situations" caused Firefox to become unusable.
• Fixes an issue that displays the Restore Session screen to users when starting Firefox unexpectedly. Restore Session is usually displayed after Firefox crashes.

Mozilla released Firefox 97.0 Stable on February 8, 2022. Firefox 97.0.1 is the first update for that release. The next version of Firefox, Firefox 98, is expected to be released on March 8, 2022.

Now You: did you run into any of the issues mentioned in the release notes?

Firefox 97.0.1 fixes issues with TikTok and Hulu

Frontpaged:   Mozilla Firefox Browser 97.0.1

Opera updates automatically by default, but this does not happen the moment a new version is released by Opera Software. Users may run a manual check for updates by selecting Menu > Update & Recovery, or by loading opera://updates in the browser's address bar.

Opera displays the installed version and runs a check for updates to install any update that is found. A download of the latest version of the browser is also provided on the official Opera website.

Paste Protection

Opera Software highlights Paste Protection as the main feature of the new Opera browser. I reviewed Paste Protection back in December 2021 when it was introduced in Opera 84 Developer, a development version of the browser.

Paste Protection aims to protect sensitive Clipboard content by informing users about potential manipulations. Users who copy data such as banking account numbers or crypto wallet identifiers are informed by the browser if the content is manipulated. Malware may target these specifically so that transactions are hijacked if the user does not pay attention to the target addresses. Paste Protection warns users only so that they are aware of potential manipulations. Pasting is not prevented though.

Opera Software's blog post does not reveal additional information about the release, but it links to the full changelog.

Naturally, Chromium, the base that Opera shares with browsers such as Chrome, Vivaldi, Edge or Brave, has been updated to a new version. Opera supports the new Windows 11 snap layout popups and there appear to be some changes in regards to the DRM system Widevine as well in the release.

Other than that, there is not a lot that is sticking out. The changelog lists bug fixes, including crash fixes and memory leaks in the new version.

Now You: have you updated to the new Opera? What is your impression so far?

Opera 84 final is out with Paste Protection

Frontpaged: Opera 84.0.4316.14

Other Windows 11 gaming improvements introduced on Wednesday include Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for a better HDR gaming experience.

"We understand that you want to see the best out of your games and your PC, which is why we are excited today to introduce you to Optimizations for windowed games," said Hannah Fisher, a Graphics and Gaming Program Manager at Microsoft.

"This feature has the ability to significantly improve latency and unlock other exciting gaming features including Auto HDR and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)."

The 'Optimizations for windowed games' feature can be toggled on by going to System > Display > Graphics > Change default graphics settings.

The feature may also be already on by default on some Windows 11 systems. Gamers will also be required to enable it to use other graphics features, including Auto HDR.

DX10/DX11 games need to be running in windowed or borderless windowed mode to take advantage of optimizations for windowed games.

Windows 11 users can opt-out of optimizations and Auto HDR for specific games or applications by entering the Options dialog on System > Display > Graphics.

This new feature only applies to DX10/DX11 games and windowed gaming modes because DX12 games already take advantage of this new presentation mode and a similar optimization feature already exists for fullscreen mode.

"More technically, we are moving apps from the legacy blt-model presentation to modern flip-model. Many games already take advantage of modern flip-model, but this new optimization will allow thousands of games to benefit as well," Fisher added.

"Flip model generally results in lower latency. Reducing latency means getting your game's frames to the screen as fast as possible."

Yesterday, Microsoft also announced that it's expanding Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) on laptops with 120Hz displays to Microsoft Edge Canary and Windows UI.

Redmond is also planning to add a Windows HDR Calibration app to the Microsoft Store that will help improve color accuracy and consistency on HDR displays for a better HDR gaming experience.

The new HDR Calibration app will allow gamers to determine the darkest and brightest visible details, as well as how bright their HDR displays can get.

Windows 11 gaming gets "significant" latency and HDR improvements