News: Software News

StartAllBack 3.0 released to address Windows 11 UI shortcomings, and a giveaway

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 22:22:08 +0000

StartAllBack has been updated to 3.0, you may remember this program by the name StartIsBack, well according to the developer it now has a new name and a new focus for Windows 11 UI shortcomings that are plaguing early adopters. Namely: the stubborn taskbar, slow File Explorer with cut context menus and the "quite cringe start menu" (their words, not ours).

So what does it do? StartAllBack restores taskbar from Windows 10, adopted with Windows 11 features and look. It restores the File Explorer UI and context menus, improved with Mica and Acrylic effects, as well as the classic start menu derived from Windows 7. That last point is the kicker, this app appears to mostly emulate the Windows 7 Start menu. So if you are looking for an app to restore the Windows 10 Start menu in Windows 11, this is not for you.

Here is the changelog:

Improved Search, Task View, Widgets, Chat buttons
Added Control Center optional system tray icon
Added volume control via mouse wheel on volume tray icon

StartAllBack costs $4.99, or $1.50 if you are upgrading from StartIsBack. The app is also included in the Rectify 11 project, which aims to provide Windows 11 clean installs with some visual fixes, as well as including StartAllBack as the default Start menu.

We have five licenses of StartAllBack to give away, all you have to do is ensure that you follow @NeowinFeed on Twitter and retweet the above tweet that we've embedded, alternatively if you are blocking javascript, here's a link to it. We'll be using the Tweet to draw winners sometime next week!

StartAllBack 3.0 released to address Windows 11 UI shortcomings, and a giveaway

Stardock announces Fences 4 with refreshed interface and Windows 11 support

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 22:16:00 +0000

Stardock announced Fences 4, a program that allows users to automatically organize shortcuts and icons on their PC desktops into custom-sized spaces called fences. As with previous editions of the software, Fences 4 creates dedicated areas to organize icons and folders and offers additional customization features that has made it popular with millions of users of Microsoft Windows.

"Fences 4 is being designed to meet the needs of today's PC user," said Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock. "Fences has always been a great way to show a clean desktop or to organize it and now we are adding features that allow users who want a minimalistic desktop to have that while also supporting users who use the desktop as a natural extension of their workspace."

Stardock has released an alpha version of Fences 4 for Windows 10 and 11 to users of its Object Desktop suite. New features will be added throughout the fall with a targeted release later this winter.

Upcoming features for Fences 4 include virtual desktop support, enhanced search functionality, roaming profiles, and many other updates that will help home and business users stay organized.

Additionally, Stardock has announced Fences for Business, which will help keep PCs organized and standardized across the workforce. A new kiosk mode will help administrators lock their entire desktop layout, while the Snapshots feature will allow them to replicate layouts across multiple devices.

The Fences 4 alpha is available exclusively through Stardock's Object Desktop suite. For more information, visit www.stardock.com or the Fences 4 website here.

Stardock announces Fences 4 with refreshed interface and Windows 11 support

AMD's latest chipset driver fixes Windows 11 CPPC2 issues on Ryzen

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 22:13:44 +0000

If you're an AMD Ryzen CPU user running Windows 11, there's some good news for you today. The company has released its latest chipset driver version 3.10.08.506 and it comes with the performance patch for a Windows 11 issue that was causing the release version of the OS to not properly schedule the fastest available cores appropriately due to a problem with the Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC) mechanism. As a result, applications that weren't very threaded would lose performance. The issue was one of the two problems - the other one being an L3 cache latency issue - that were noted on Zen CPUs. You can read about these in detail in the original report here.

In its release notes for the 3.10.08.506 driver, AMD says:

Restores intended function and behavior of UEFI CPPC2 (“preferred core”) in Windows® 11 build 22000.189 (or newer) on AMD processors.

The driver adds a new Ryzen Power Plan 7.0.3.5 which comes optimized for Windows 11 which should fix this CPPC2 bug.

While the new driver patches performance issues on Windows 11, it is also available for Windows 10 on all Zen-based systems. However, on Windows 11, the driver is only compatible with Zen+-based CPUs and newer, and it makes sense since anything older than Zen+ isn't supported on Windows 11 either way. In terms of chipset support, all available Zen-based chipsets are supported by this driver.

The driver also fixes an OpenGL error pop-up and installs a new AMD UART Driver version 1.2.0.113 which adds support for 4Mbps baud rate.

There are a few known issues too:

Sometimes custom install fails to upgrade to latest drivers.
Text alignment issues may be seen on Russian language.
Manual system restart required on Non-English OS after the installation is complete.
Windows® Installer pop-up message may appear during the installation.
Uninstall summary log may incorrectly show uninstall status as fail on non-English OS.
May observe a pop-up message "AMD Chipset Software is not responding" when the installer is launched and UI screen is clicked.

If you wish to download the new 3.10.08.506 chipset driver, head over to AMD's official site where you can find the relevant links.

AMD's latest chipset driver fixes Windows 11 CPPC2 issues on Ryzen

Mozilla is testing a Firefox version on the Microsoft Store, but it's not available for users yet

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 22:10:45 +0000

Mozilla Firefox has been listed on the Microsoft Store. But, before you get excited, I should tell you that you, the app is not available for users just yet (only those with a code to unlock the application).

Here's the listing, instead of the "Get" option, the button says you need to redeem a code to download the browser. A text above it reads, "Mozilla Firefox is currently not available."

The app does not appear in the search results if you look it up in the Store. Redditors were quick with the jokes about Mozilla running out of stock for the digital download, and supply chain issues. A Firefox developer chimed in the thread, to confirm that the Firefox Microsoft Store version is in the internal testing phase right now, and hence not available to the public.

There are a few issues filed on Bugzilla related to this. (1, 2, and 3). According to the bug-related discussions, the Firefox app will use the same user profile folder as the normal standalone browser. That will be good for users who can install the Store app, and switch to it, without losing their browsing history, extensions and other data.

Some users were able to install the Store version, and say that it can exist alongside the desktop version. But, you'll only be able to run one of those at a time.

Unlike Linux and macOS which ship with app stores that are handy to update programs, Windows users have to manually keep an eye out for updates, or use the app's built-in update checker. I use RSS Feeds to make this a little simpler. That's why I think having Firefox on the Microsoft Store is a good thing, timely updates with security fixes, that will be delivered automatically. And it would be easier for the layman to get the correct version of the browser, instead of obtaining a potentially malware-ridden one. Plus, putting it on the Store gives an additional way for users to download Firefox, it could be another way of drawing new users to it.

The minimum requirements on the Firefox Store listing says that users will need to be on Windows 10 version 17763.0 or higher. It is a 64-bit app. More importantly, this confirms that the app won't be exclusive to Windows 11. Speaking of which, the new OS allows developers to upload different types of apps, including Win32, .NET, UWP, Xamarin, Electron, React Native, Java and Progressive Web Apps. But there are some limitations to the other types, especially Win32, because the Store will not allow the apps to be updated. One of the discussions of Bugzilla reveals that the Firefox Microsoft Store version is an MSIX package. This means users will get automatic updates for the browser delivered through the Store app.

Windows 11's Microsoft Store is a lot better than Windows 10's, hopefully the experience will get better once more developers bring their wares to the table.

Oh, and we can't forget the meme. Soon, you will no longer need Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge to download Firefox.

Image courtesy: Reddit

Mozilla is testing a Firefox version on the Microsoft Store, but it's not available for users yet

Windows 11 KB5006746 update fixes gaming performance issues

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 22:06:41 +0000

Microsoft has released the optional KB5006746 cumulative update preview for Windows 11, fixing sixty-four issues, including AMD CPU performance and gaming issues.

This cumulative update preview is part of Microsoft's scheduled October 2021 monthly "C" updates, allowing Windows 11 users to test the upcoming fixes being released on September 9th as part of Patch Tuesday.

Unlike the Patch Tuesday updates, schedule "C" updates are optional and only contain bug fixes and performance improvements but no security updates.

To install this update, you need to go to Settings > Windows Update and manually 'Check for updates.' As this is an optional update, Windows will not install it until you click on the 'Download now' button, as shown below.

Windows Update offering the KB5006746 update

Windows 11 users can also manually download and install the KB5006746 preview update from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Gaming performance issues fixed

This update fixes numerous issues with gaming performance in Windows 11.

Since Windows 11's release, users have been complaining of noticeable performance issues with AMD Ryzen CPUs.

In a support article published by AMD, it was explained that these issues are caused by "L3 cache latency may increase for some applications" and "UEFI CPPC2 ("preferred core") may not preferentially schedule threads on a processor's fastest core."

"Addresses an L3 caching issue that might affect performance in some applications on devices that have AMD Ryzen processors after upgrading to Windows 11 (original release)," explains the release notes for today's update.

With the KB5006746 update, Microsoft has also fixed an issue causing Bluetooth mice and keyboards to be slower than expected, which can adversely affect shooters and eSports games.

Finally, Microsoft fixed an issue preventing users from using the Xbox Game Bar recording features.

What's new in the Windows 10 KB5006746 update

After installing the KB5006746 update, Windows 11 will have its build number changed to 22000.282

The Windows 10 KB5006746 cumulative update preview includes 64 improvements or fixes, with the thirteen highlighted changes listed below:

Updates an issue that causes Internet Explorer to stop working when you type certain characters in the Input Method Editor (IME).
Updates an issue that occurs when you try to rename a file in File Explorer using the new Japanese IME.
Updates an issue that might distort the sound captured by voice assistants.
Updates an issue that sometimes causes your lock screen background to appear black if you have set up a slideshow of pictures as your lock screen background.
Updates an issue that might cause your Bluetooth mice and keyboards to respond slower than expected.
Improves the time estimate for how long you might wait to use your device after it restarts.
Updates an issue that might prevent you from using the Xbox Game Bar recording features.
Updates an issue that causes some applications to run slower than usual after you upgrade to Windows 11 (original release).
Updates an issue that prevents Narrator and other screen readers from announcing when the Start menu is open in certain cases.
Updates an issue in that prevents the search window from appearing on a secondary monitor.
Updates an issue that prevents you from opening multiple instances of an app using Shift and clicking on the app’s icon in the taskbar.
Updates the visual design and animations of the Chat icon on the taskbar.
Updates an issue for a small number of users that prevents the Start menu from working and prevents you from seeing the updated taskbar after upgrading to Windows 11 (original release).

You can find a complete list of improves and fixes and detailed explanations of the known issues in the KB5006746 support bulletin.

Windows 11 KB5006746 update fixes gaming performance issues

Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 21H2 in November

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 22:03:13 +0000

Microsoft is preparing Windows 10 21H2, the next Windows 10 version, for a November 2021 release and is now rolling it out to all Windows Insiders in the Release Preview Channel.

The Windows 10 21H2 feature update is offered as an optional update through the "seeker" experience in Windows Update to Insiders who go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.

"We are preparing the Windows 10 November 2021 Update (Windows 10, version 21H2) for release," said Brandon LeBlanc, Senior Program Manager on the Windows Insider Program Team.

"We believe that Build 19044.1288 is the final build for the November 2021 Update, and the ISO for this build can be downloaded here.

"Once an Insider updates their PC to Windows 10, version 21H2, they will continue to automatically receive new servicing updates through Windows Update (the typical monthly update process)."

Windows 10 21H2 feature update (Microsoft)

"Windows 10, version 21H2 will have a scoped set of features focused on productivity and security, prioritized to meet our customers' needs based on feedback," Microsoft's John Cable, Vice President, Program Management, Windows Servicing, and Delivery explained in July.

According to Cable, Windows 10 21H2 will add the following features:

WPA3 H2E standards support for enhanced Wi-Fi security
Windows Hello for Business introduces a new deployment method called cloud trust to support simplified passwordless deployments and achieve a deploy-to-run state within a few minutes
GPU compute support in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute intensive workflows

However, today, LeBlanc said that Microsoft is still finalizing the Windows Hello for Business cloud trust deployment method and will be launched later with a monthly update.

"We will continue to improve the overall experience of the November 2021 Update on customers' PCs through our usual servicing cadence," he added.

Windows 10 21H2 will receive 18 months of support for Home and Pro editions and 30 months for Enterprise and Education editions.

Commercial customers can validate Windows 10, version 21H2 before deployment in their environments using the info available in this blog post.

If you want to join the Windows Insider Program to test the final Windows 10 21H2 build available to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel, you can click here.

Microsoft is releasing Windows 10 21H2 in November

FreeOffice 2021 is Here for Linux With Enhanced Compatibility and New Features to Rival Microsoft Office

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 13:02:22 +0000

FreeOffice 2021 comes with improved integration with MS Office products and extra features to improve productivity, all for free.

The German-based software developer has just announced the latest upgrade to its popular FreeOffice series. FreeOffice 21, as a free alternative to Microsoft Office.

It is a complete software suite aimed at productivity. It contains three apps – TextMaker 21, PlanMaker 21, and Presentations 21 – that serve as alternatives to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The UI is very similar to MS Office’s ribbon layout, although you can choose the classic layout instead.

FreeOffice 21 is based on the commercial suite SoftMaker Office 21, which is also available for Linux. Even though it lacks certain features compared to SoftMaker Office, FreeOffice is reasonably sufficient for home or office use.

This makes it one of the best office suites and other open-source Microsoft Office alternatives on Linux.

Let’s get to know what the latest release has in store for us.

Major Highlights

The eye-catching feature of the release is the flawless compatibility with MS Office formats. It supports the modern file formats DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX. This means you can easily open, edit and save your friend’s MS Office files. Thus, there’s no hassle of exporting and converting file formats anymore.

Another important highlight is using a single license for Linux, macOS, and Windows concurrently. This is helpful if you want to use FreeOffice on more than one PC, like your workstation or your sibling’s laptop.

Other newly added features include initial support for SVG graphic format and improved import-export functions.

TextMaker 2021 Improvements

Source: Presskit

You can now simultaneously use footnotes and endnotes in the same document.

Moreover, TextMaker can even open the older Microsoft DOC format and ODT format utilized by OpenOffice and LibreOffice.

PlanMaker 2021 Improvements

Source: Presskit

Power users will find it comforting to know that functions, like conditional formatting and extended pivot tables using PlanMaker, will be compatible with Excel 2021, 2019, and 365.

Presentations 2021 Improvements

Source: Presskit

Users who like to focus on the visual aspects of the slides can find more animations, slide transitions, and effects. These are now based on OpenGL for smoother performance.

Wrapping Up

FreeOffice 21 seems to be a good update, especially if you were looking for a free office suite with better compatibility with Microsoft Office.

FreeOffice is available for Linux along with macOS and Windows, entirely free of cost. You can find DEB, RPM packages, along with a tar package for other Linux distributions.

Download FreeOffice 21

Source

The global chip shortage is driving demand for this London startup’s software

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 12:43:53 +0000

Semiconductor manufacturing plants, called fabs, are among the most complex factories on the planet. Each silicon wafer must undergo as many as 1,600 steps under carefully controlled conditions to be turned into a computer chip. It’s part of the reason for the current shortage of semiconductors: it isn’t easy to simply speed up production to meet a surge in demand. And building a new fab can take more than two years and an investment of at least $1 billion, and sometimes many multiples of that.

That's one the reason the world is currently facing a shortage of semiconductors for use in everything from cars to laptops.

To help plug the yawning gulf between supply and demand, wringing more efficiency out of each existing fab is vital. But to date, eeking out even small improvements has been difficult. Just ask Tina O’Donnell, the wafer systems manager for hard drive manufacturer Seagate Technology. The company has used a variety of advanced software to schedule work on its production equipment: algorithms based on hard coded rules, discovered through years of bitter experience, about what works best, as well its own internally-developed machine learning algorithms, and advanced simulations. But despite all of this, O’Donnell says, Seagate might only be able to improve its production efficiency by a few percent. Its fabs can still experience bottlenecks at different stages of production, she says, especially if one of the chip factory’s sophisticated machines is down for maintenance.

But recently Seagate’s fab in Derry, Ireland, began using a software package created by a London-based company called Flexciton. The software uses a mathematical technique called mixed integer linear programming (MILP for short). The method has an advantage over even most state-of-the-art machine learning techniques: it can find not just a better factory scheduling solution, but the best one, with mathematical certainty. The problem is, MILP has been too slow to run (that's the case even with powerful computers), to provide the solution in a timeframe that is useful for highly dynamic, modular manufacturing lines, like those in most fabs.

Flexciton figured out a way to crack that problem, and can now calculate an updated solution for even the most complex fab in less than 15 minutes. “We break the problem down into a series of sub-problems that can be solved, and then combine them back up to create the optimal schedule,” Jamie Potter, Flexciton’s co-founder and chief executive officer, says.

Using Flexciton at is Derry fab, Seagate was able to achieve a 10% improvement in efficiency in a proof of concept project. It has now rolled the system out to about 60% of the machines in the fab and plans to use Flexciton’s software to schedule its entire production there by the end of the year. “It was amazing,” O’Donnell says of Flexciton’s software. Even if Seagate only sees half the level of improvement it achieved in the proof-of-concept when it rolls Flexciton out to the entire fab, she says it will still represent “a step change in our throughput.”

Potter says that in an average large fab Flexciton will probably increase efficiency—as measured by cycle time, or the amount of time it takes for the factory to produce each semiconductor—7% to 10%, which would translate to $3 million to $5 million in savings per month. Those kind of numbers are driving a flood of interest in Flexciton’s software, Potter says.

© Provided by Fortune Flexciton CEO Jamie Potter.

Improving production scheduling at fabs was crucial for semiconductor makers, even before the recent chip shortage. That’s because as semiconductors have packed more and more circuitry into ever smaller, thinner silicon wafers, the complexity of creating those chips has skyrocketed. A decade ago it would have taken about 200 different production steps to produce the most common chips; today it often takes more than 1,000. What’s more, the most efficient producers have been able to capture the lion’s share of the market, according to a report from consultants McKinsey & Co.: TSMC, the Taiwanese semiconductor giant that dominates the industry, with an 84% share of global semiconductor revenue, also ranks at the top of the industry by a number of manufacturing efficiency metrics.

Its not just customers that are beating a path to Flexciton’s door. The startup has also caught investors’ attention. Today it announced the completion of a £15 million ($20.6 million) financing round lead by London-based Saras Captital. Also participating in the funding were Backed VC, Chalfen Ventures, Join Capital, Entrepreneur First, Vestey Brothers SCM, Romulus, and several angel investors.

Potter says the company plans to use the new money to hire up, adding to its current headcount of 40, so that it can serve more semiconductor customers. He also says he sees a role for the company’s software in related areas: for instance, in chip design, where there is an opportunity for thinking about how a semiconductor can be manufactured most efficiently in a particular fab could become an important consideration in configuring the chip.

The software could also play a role in scheduling almost any complex production process in industries ranging from aerospace to chemicals.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Source

Windows 11 Subsystem for Android lets you sideload apps - Here's how

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 +0000

Microsoft has released the first preview version of the Windows Subsystem for Android for Windows 11 Insiders, and one of the more interesting features is that you can sideload Android apps.

The Windows Subsystem for Android is a new feature of Windows 11 that allows you to run native Android apps directly from the desktop in a virtualized environment.

These apps will have graphics support, audio, and even network access, allowing you to play multiplayer games online.

To install Android apps, Microsoft has partnered with Amazon to create the Amazon Appstore, which currently contains 50 curated apps.

Amazon Appstore

However, the Windows Subsystem for Android also allows you to sideload apps using the Android Debug Bridge (adb), theoretically allowing you to install any app you wish.

How to sideload apps in Windows Subsystem for Android

While the apps available in the Amazon Appstore have been curated by Microsoft to make sure they are bug-free and work well with the new Android feature, many other apps will work as well.

The good news is that you can use sites like APKPure or APKMirror to download APKs and sideload them using ADB.

To sideload an Android app in the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), please follow these steps:

1. Download the Android app you want from APKPure or APKMirror.

2. Download the Android SDK Platform-Tools for Windows and extract it to your hard drive.

3. Click on the Start menu and type Android. When the Windows Subsystem for Android search result is displayed, click on it, as shown in the image below.

Opening the Windows Subsystem for Android

4. The Windows Subsystem for Android settings screen will now open. Scroll down and enable 'Developer mode' and then click on the 'Copy' button in the IP address field. If you do not see an IP address, click Refresh and try again.

If you are still cannot see an IP address, open the 'Files' option at the top of the Settings to make sure the subsystem is enabled.

Windows Subsystem for Android Settings

5. Open a command prompt and CD to the folder you extracted the platform tools. For example, if you extracted the tools to C:\Platform-tools, you would enter cd c:\platform-tools and press enter.

6. You will now be in the folder containing the Android SDK platform tools. Enter the command adb connect ipaddress, where the IP address is the one you copied in step 4.

For example, to connect to the WSA running on my computer, you would enter adb connect 172.30.204.180. If you see an error about it not being authenticated, ignore the message.

7. Now you want to install the APK using the adb install apk command. For example, if your APK is named 'com.innersloth.spacemafia_2021.6.30-967_minAPI23(arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk' and was saved in the Downloads folder, you would type:

adb install %UserProfile%\downloads\com.innersloth.spacemafia_2021.6.30-967_minAPI23(arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk

Sideloading an APK in WSA

8. When you are done sideloading your apps, you will find them listed in your Start Menu.

Sideloaded Among Us now available in the Windows 11 Start Menu

9. You can now close the command prompt.

To launch your sideloaded apps, simply click on them from the Start Menu. Like apps installed through the Amazon Appstore, sideloaded apps will have network access and sound.

Sus screenshot of the Among Us Android app

At this time, not all sideloaded apps will work in WSA yet, so you may experience blank screens when you attempt to launch an app.

Also, while it is possible to install the Google Play Store app on WSA, it will crash if you attempt to run it. Therefore, you will not be able to use any apps that rely on Google services.

There are also many malicious Android apps floating around the Internet, so be careful of what you install as it is not clear what access Android apps have to the rest of the Windows environment.

BleepingComputer has reached out to Microsoft with questions about sideloading apps but has not heard back at this time.

Windows 11 Subsystem for Android lets you sideload apps - Here's how

Microsoft release Cumulative Update KB5006744 for Windows 10 1809 with Printing fix, more

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:22:18 +0000

Microsoft has released optional Cumulative Update KB5006744 for Windows 10 1809.

Windows 10 1809 is no longer being supported for consumers, but still remains in Enterprise Long Term Servicing.

The update mainly adds miscellaneous non-security improvements. For enterprise users, the main fix of interest may be to address the problem of installing printers over Internet Printing Protocol.

The full changelog reads:

Addresses an issue with PropertyGet in JScript9.dll.
Addresses an issue with Assigned Access kiosks that are configured with Microsoft Edge as a kiosk application. These kiosks might sometimes fail to restart Microsoft Edge if users close the browser window.
Addresses an issue in which the use of App-V intermittently causes black screens to appear when signing in on the credentials page.
Addresses an issue that causes Windows to go into BitLocker recovery after a servicing update.
Addresses an issue that causes searchindexer.exe to keep handles to the per user search database in the path below after you sign out: “C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\\” As a result, searchindexer.exe stops working and duplicate profile names are created.
Addresses an issue that causes the DnsPsProvider.dll module to leak memory within a WmiPrvSE.exe process.
Addresses an issue that prevents Windows 10 virtual private network (VPN) users from connecting to Windows Server 2019 Routing and Remote Access service (RRAS) servers.
Addresses an issue that prevents Software-Defined Networking (SDN) virtual machines from working when you configure the Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) VPN bandwidth limitation.
Addresses an issue in Code Integrity that might cause a memory leak.
Enhances Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s ability to identify and intercept ransomware and advanced attacks.
Addresses a memory leak issue in lsass.exe on domain controllers in the forest root domain that occurs when you have multiple forests and multiple domains in each forest. The SID-Name mapping functions leak memory when a request comes from another domain in the forest and crosses forest boundaries.
Improves the Windows Server Storage Migration Service by adding support for migration Windows Servers configured with Azure File Sync cloud tiering. Additionally, this update addresses multiple issues and improves reliability. For more information, see Storage Migration Service overview.
Addresses an issue with the virtual machine (VM) Load Balancing feature, which ignores a site’s fault domain.
Addresses a known issue that might prevent the successful installation of printers using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).

The update has the following known issues:

Symptom	Workaround
After installing KB4493509, devices with some Asian language packs installed may receive the error, “0x800f0982 – PSFX_E_MATCHING_COMPONENT_NOT_FOUND.”	Uninstall and reinstall any recently added language packs. For instructions, see Manage the input and display language settings in Windows 10. Select Check for Updates and install the April 2019 Cumulative Update. For instructions, see Update Windows 10. Note If reinstalling the language pack does not mitigate the issue, reset your PC as follows: Go to the Settings app > Recovery. Select Get Started under the Reset this PC recovery option. Select Keep my Files. Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.
After installing KB5001342 or later, the Cluster Service might fail to start because a Cluster Network Driver is not found.	This issue occurs because of an update to the PnP class drivers used by this service. After about 20 minutes, you should be able to restart your device and not encounter this issue. For more information about the specific errors, cause, and workaround for this issue, please see KB5003571.

Symptom

Workaround

After installing KB4493509, devices with some Asian language packs installed may receive the error, “0x800f0982 – PSFX_E_MATCHING_COMPONENT_NOT_FOUND.”

Uninstall and reinstall any recently added language packs. For instructions, see Manage the input and display language settings in Windows 10.
Select Check for Updates and install the April 2019 Cumulative Update. For instructions, see Update Windows 10.

Note If reinstalling the language pack does not mitigate the issue, reset your PC as follows:

Go to the Settings app > Recovery.
Select Get Started under the Reset this PC recovery option.
Select Keep my Files.

Microsoft is working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release.

After installing KB5001342 or later, the Cluster Service might fail to start because a Cluster Network Driver is not found.

This issue occurs because of an update to the PnP class drivers used by this service. After about 20 minutes, you should be able to restart your device and not encounter this issue.
For more information about the specific errors, cause, and workaround for this issue, please see KB5003571.

The update can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalogue here, or by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update. In the Optional updates available area, you’ll find the link to download and install the update.

Microsoft release Cumulative Update KB5006744 for Windows 10 1809 with Printing fix, more

Windows 11 build 22483 for Dev channel users brings more bug fixes

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:15:26 +0000

Microsoft is rolling out a fresh new build for Windows Insiders in the Dev channel, bringing build 22483 that includes a bunch of bug fixes and a tiny new feature. However, those waiting for Android app support might have to wait slightly longer, as support for running Android apps will first head to Beta channel users only.

While it is odd that a new feature is first being tested in the Beta channel instead of the Dev channel, it is likely due to the fact that support for running Android apps might be being readied for the version of Windows 11 currently available publicly. It will be no surprise to see the feature make it to the Dev channel eventually. Additionally, some fixes made as part of today's build will also make it to the Beta and Release Preview channels, before eventually making it to the generally available version.

In terms of features, there is just one small addition, which is the ability to right-click on the “Recommended” or the “More” button in Start to refresh the items in the list. There is also a new 7th-anniversary badge in the Feedback Hub for Windows Insiders, though that has nothing to do with the build.

Here is the complete list of fixes:

[Search]

Fixed an issue that was causing Search to appear black and not display any content below the search box.

[Settings]

Searching for “display” will now return Display Settings.

[Other]

Trying to access the Linux entry for WSL in File Explorer’s navigation pane should no longer pop up an error saying “wsl.localhost is unavailable, insufficient resources exist” on ARM64 PCs.

Fixed an issue that was causing cellular data to not work on certain devices in recent Dev Channel builds.

Addressed an issue with NTFS when the USN journal was enabled, where it was doing extra unnecessary action with each write, impacting I/O performance.

Made some small improvements to keyboard navigation and screen reader usage of Performance Monitor.

Webview2 processes should now be properly grouped with the application using it in Task Manager’s Processes tab.

Fixed an issue that was causing the Publisher column in Task Manager to not retrieve publisher names.

And here is the list of known issues, some of which have been added thanks to feedback from Insiders running the previously available Dev channel build:

[General]

Users updating from Builds 22000.xxx, or earlier, to newer Dev Channel builds using the latest Dev Channel ISO, may receive the following warning message: The build you are trying to install is Flight Signed. To continue installing, enable flight signing. If you receive this message, press the Enable button, reboot the PC, and retry the update.

Some users may experience their screen and sleep timeouts being reduced. We’re investigating the potential impact that shorter screen and sleep timeouts could have on energy consumption.

We’re investigating reports from Insiders that the Processes tab in Task Manager is blank sometimes.

We’re working on a fix for an issue causing some devices to bugcheck with SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCPTION when updating, starting with the previous build. If hit this issue previously, try rebooting and re-trying the update.

We’re investigating reports from Insiders that Xbox Game Pass games are failing to install with error 0x00000001.

[Start]

In some cases, you might be unable to enter text when using Search from Start or the Taskbar. If you experience the issue, press WIN + R on the keyboard to launch the Run dialog box, then close it.

[Taskbar]

The Taskbar will sometimes flicker when switching input methods.

We’re working on the fix for an issue causing tooltips to appear in an unexpected location after hovering over the Taskbar corner.

[Search]

After clicking the Search icon on the Taskbar, the Search panel may not open. If this occurs, restart the “Windows Explorer” process, and open the search panel again.

[Quick Settings]

We’re investigating reports from Insiders that the volume and brightness sliders aren’t displaying properly in Quick Settings.

Beta channel users recently received Windows 11 build 22000.282 that brought with it a ton of fixes. Expect more to be on the way as the firm further polishes the OS for a wider rollout in the next few months. With the Windows Subsystem for Android heading to these builds, it will not be surprising to see Android app support ship to general consumers before the next major update to the OS.

Windows 11 build 22483 for Dev channel users brings more bug fixes

Hands on with Microsoft's Android app support in Windows 11

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:08:55 +0000

Microsoft has released its first preview build of the Windows Subsystem for Android, allowing you to run Android apps directly on your desktop.

Like the Windows Subsystem for Linux, the Windows Subsystem for Android allows you to run native Android apps in a virtualized environment with sound, graphics, and network connectivity.

For the initial release, Microsoft has partnered with Amazon to bring fifty curated apps that users can test, with more coming in the future.

"We have partnered with Amazon and popular app developers to curate 50 apps for Windows Insiders to test and validate across a broad set of hardware. We will release new apps through Windows Insider Program updates in the coming months," announced Microsoft today.

The preview is only available to Windows 11 Insiders in the 'Beta' channel who have virtualization enabled on their devices, run Windows 11 in the Beta channel, the operating system configured for the USA region, and USA Amazon account, and the device must meet the minimum system requirements.

First look at the Windows Subsystem for Android

Rather than being a separate component, the Windows Subsystem for Android is installed by and coupled with the Amazon Appstore app.

The Amazon Appstore can be installed through the Microsoft Store, and when installed, will also install the Windows Subsystem for Android in Windows 11.

Amazon Appstore installing the Windows Subsystem for Android

Once the Windows Subsystem for Android is installed, you can open and log into the Amazon Appstore, which acts as the front end for the new feature.

Once the Amazon Appstore opens, you can install whatever apps you want, which is mostly games at this point.

Amazon Appstore in Windows 11

Any apps that you install will also appear in the Start Menu, as shown below.

Android apps in the Start Menu

When the Android app is launched, it will show up in a dedicated window on your desktop that you can resize as large as you like.

Hungry Shark Android app running in Windows 11

While using the apps, you will hold and press the mouse button and slide the cursor to emulate swipes with your fingers. To tap on the screen, you would click with the mouse button.

At first, this felt unusual, but you quickly get used to the experience.

As this is the first release of the Windows Subsystem for Android, the apps are pretty limited, with them mostly being games and children's content.

The non-game apps included with this release are Yahoo Mail, United Airlines, Scanner Radio Pro, Comics, Kindle for Android, Alaska Airlines, BBC Sounds, The Washington Post, and Flight Tracker24.

For the most part, the apps run ok but definitely need improvement. For example, when when running Android games in full screen, you will notice that there is quite a bit of lag with noticeable delays as you perform actions.

However, Microsoft themselves state this is "Day 1" for the Android feature, so we will see increased performance as times goes on, bugs are fixed, and new features introduced

Hands on with Microsoft's Android app support in Windows 11

Microsoft releases Edge Dev channel build 96.0.1047.2 with support for adding Citations and more

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:05:07 +0000

Microsoft today released the new v96.0.1047.2 build for Edge Dev channel users. This new build comes with support for adding Citations to items in a Collection, support for Super Duper Secure Mode flag on Linux and more. Find the full change log of Edge Dev Channel build below.

Added features and bug fixes:

Added support for showing the Downloads menu and button in popup windows that don’t have a standard address bar/toolbar.
Added support for adding Citations to items in a Collection.
Added more support for resetting sync data for work and school accounts.
Added support for the Super Duper Secure Mode flag on Linux.
Added a management policy to control Internet Explorer Integration Complex Nav Data Types, which controls how form data and headers are sent in IE mode tabs. Note that updates to documentation or administrative templates may not have occurred yet.
Added an API for WebVew2 apps to print to PDF (Issue 364).

Edge Dev Improved Reliability:

Fixed a crash when a webpage shows a popup alert.
Fixed a crash when using the Web Widget.
Fixed a crash when turning sync on or off.
Fixed a crash when opening a popup like the … menu by clicking its button on the toolbar.
Mobile:
- Fixed a crash after signing out of the browser.
- Fixed a crash when saving a password.
- Fixed a crash when a website requests a new permission.

Changed Behavior:

Fixed an issue where sync doesn’t work for work and school accounts.
Fixed an issue where certain websites don’t work when Super Duper Secure Mode is enabled.
Fixed an issue where the Collections pane sometimes can’t be closed.
Fixed an issue where editing text in a Collection sometimes causes the pane to scroll unexpectedly.
Fixed an issue where sidebar searches sometimes show content cut-off.
Fixed an issue where the What’s New page doesn’t appear after updating the browser.
Mobile:
- Improved ad blocking on certain websites.
- Fixed an issue where the browser sometimes can’t be signed into.
- Fixed an issue where a sync error dialog sometimes mistakenly appears, and when clicked on, it doesn’t navigate to sync settings.
- Fixed an issue where proxy settings are sometimes ignored.
- Fixed an issue where links that are clicked in InPrivate tabs sometimes are opened in non-InPrivate tabs.
- Fixed an issue where certain settings aren’t remembered after they’re turned on.
- Fixed an issue where the new tab page is rendered incorrectly.
- Fixed an issue where InPrivate sometimes isn’t disabled via management policy when it should be.
- Fixed an issue where Rewards prompts for a sign-in to a work or school account even though Rewards isn’t available for that type of account.
- Fixed an issue where certain internal websites sometimes don’t load properly for work and school users.
- Fixed an issue where websites sometimes have to be signed into twice in a row in order to actually be logged into the site.
- Fixed an issue where tabs sometimes close unexpectedly.
Fixed an exception in WebView2 applications (Issue 1781).

Known issues:

Users of certain ad blocking extensions may experience playback errors on YouTube. As a workaround, temporarily disabling the extension should allow playback to proceed. See this help article for more details.
Some users are still running into an issue where all tabs and extensions immediately crash with a STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_HASH error. The most common cause of this error is outdated security or antivirus software from vendors like Symantec, and in those cases, updating that software will fix it.
Users of the Kaspersky Internet Suite who have the associated extension installed may sometimes see webpages like Gmail fail to load. This failure is due to the main Kaspersky software being out of date, and is thus fixed by making sure the latest version is installed.
Some users are seeing “wobbling” behavior when scrolling using trackpad gestures or touchscreens, where scrolling in one dimension also causes the page to subtly scroll back and forth in the other. Note that this only affects certain websites and seems to be worse on certain devices. This is most likely related to our ongoing work to bring scrolling back to parity with Edge Legacy’s behavior, so if this behavior is undesirable, you can temporarily turn it off by disabling the edge://flags/#edge-experimental-scrolling flag.

This Edge Dev channel update should download and install directly but in case it doesn’t then you can head to the Edge settings and manually update the browser.

Microsoft releases Edge Dev channel build 96.0.1047.2 with support for adding Citations and more

Microsoft: Old Windows updates now expire to improve speed, security

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 23:02:57 +0000

Microsoft says it regularly evaluates Windows updates for expiration to make the entire update process faster and safer by removing older releases that have already been superseded by newer packages.

Installing updates is slower and their size gets incrementally bigger due to the long backlog caused by the two or more updates for each Windows platform released every month.

Also, older packages are delivered via Windows Update as part of cumulative updates, further decreasing update performance and making the entire process take longer than needed.

Microsoft increases Windows Update's overall performance by marking earlier updates for expiration as part of a regular evaluation process.

"Microsoft produces two to three updates per supported Windows platform monthly. Many of these updates, however, are cumulative and include all earlier updates that have been published for that platform," said Christine Ahonen, a Program Manager at Microsoft.

"By expiring older, redundant packages, you get better performance, shorter scan times, a faster user experience, and reduced risk of deploying older updates which have been superseded with newer, more secure ones."

Some older Windows updates never expire

Ahonen also added that some older packages may not go through evaluation or may never meet the criteria Microsoft uses to mark updates for expiration.

Additionally, security-only update packages for some earlier Windows versions (i.e., Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 SP2, Windows Server 2012, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 SP2) will never expire since they only hold one month of fixes and are not cumulative.

"This KB is no longer available from Windows Update, the Microsoft Update Catalog, or other release channels," Microsoft says on the entries of expired updates.

"We recommend that you update your devices to the latest security quality update. The latest security quality update is cumulative and contains all the addressed issues in this update."

Expiration notice (BleepingComputer)

Smarter and faster Windows 11 updates

Microsoft is also testing a new method to deliver Windows update improvements in Windows 11 using a new feature known as Update Stack Package.

The company explains that, by using Update Stack Package, it can deliver improvements to the update experience before monthly or feature Windows updates, outside of major OS updates.

"The Update Stack Package will help ensure that your PC has the highest likelihood of successfully installing new updates with the best and least disruptive experience available," Microsoft said.

Delivery through Update Stack Package is limited to a small set of update-related Windows system files developed independently of the operating system.

Microsoft also announced last week that it redesigned cumulative updates in Windows 11 to allow users to install security and quality updates faster by removing reverse differentials from the cumulative update package and with the help of more efficient packaging.

"The cumulative update size in Windows 11 is approximately 40% smaller than the same set of quality and security updates would have been packaged for Windows 10," Microsoft said.

Microsoft: Old Windows updates now expire to improve speed, security

Waterfox G4 has been released; it requires an SSE4.2 compatible processor

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 22:59:48 +0000

Waterfox has been updated to version G4, and brings some important changes. An announcement on the developer's website says that the browser has been heavily optimized for best performance.

You may use Waterfox G4 to import your profiles from other Gecko-based browsers, like Firefox. To do so, click the File menu and select the Import From Another Browser, option. Initially the latest version had a bug that failed to detect existing profiles, but the issue was quickly patched in G4.0.0.1

Waterfox G4 has a new theme called Lepton, which is based on the Proton theme. There are two more themes you may choose from: Dark and Light. The most notable change in the new theme, is the tab bar, especially the tab corners, they look less like Chrome and are now similar to Firefox.

The main menu is also similar to Proton UI's, as is the page context menu. The Lepton theme is not exclusive to Waterfox, you may use it with Firefox too, since it is an open-source User Chrome CSS style, called Firefox-UI-Fix (previously known as Proton Fix).

Waterfox requires a SSE4.2 compatible CPU

Waterfox G4 has a limitation that some users may not like, and this is related to the performance improvements. Starting with the latest version, you need to have a processor that supports the SSE4.2 instruction set technology, to use Waterfox. According to Wikipedia, Intel started supporting SSE4.2 from the Nehalem-based processors in 2008, while AMD began supporting it with the Bulldozer-based FX chipsets from 2011. Basically, you don't need to worry about it unless you are using a very old computer. But if you are wondering whether your computer supports SSE4.2, download a portable hardware monitoring program like HWiNFO or CPU-Z, and run it. The tool will tell you if your processor is compatible with the technology.

Some users on reddit have questioned whether their computers with SSE4.1 or below will be unable to run the browser.

Now as far as cross-platform compatibility is concerned, Waterfox's website says that G4 is supported on Windows 7, macOS 10.12 Intel, macOS 11 ARM and Linux Kernel 5.4. It appears that support for macOS Yosemite 10.5 has ended out of the blue. ARM support for Apple's new Macbooks is a welcome move, and the developer plans to add Windows and ARM builds in the future. You can find the installers, portable versions of the browser at the releases page.

Waterfox Classic coming to an end?

Waterfox Classic could be coming to an end, says Alex Kontos, the developer of the Firefox-fork. Responding to a query from a user on reddit, Kontos said that the existence of Waterfox Classic depends on whether security fixes from Firefox ESR91 can be ported to the Classic version. In short, it depends on how difficult the task could turn out to be, and boils down to the choice between updating the browser with new features, while leaving security vulnerabilities unpatched.

Kontos' post on the Waterfox blog says that the browser will now follow the central branch of Gecko. The browser will get a rolling release instead of Extended Support Releases.

Waterfox G4 has been released; it requires an SSE4.2 compatible processor

Ubuntu 21.04 and 20.04 LTS Users Get New Linux Kernel Security Update, Patch Now

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 14:24:52 +0000

Canonical published a new Linux kernel security update for Ubuntu 21.04 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS systems running Linux kernel 5.11 to address a total of eight security vulnerabilities.

Coming only three weeks after the previous kernel security update, the new one is currently only available for Ubuntu 21.04 (Hirsute Hippo) and Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS (Focal Fossa) systems running the Linux 5.11 kernel series, and it’s available for all supported architectures and kernel flavors that Ubuntu supports.

In this new Ubuntu kernel security patch, there’s a fix for CVE-2021-3732, a flaw discovered by Alois Wohlschlager in the overlay file system that could allow an attacker to expose sensitive information, CVE-2021-3739, a security issue discovered in the Btrfs file system, which could allow an attacker with CAP_SYS_ADMIN to cause a denial of service, and CVE-2021-40490, a race condition discovered in the EXT4 file system that could allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service or gain administrative privileges.

Also patched is CVE-2021-42008, a security vulnerability discovered in Linux kernel’s 6pack network protocol driver, which could allow a privileged attacker to crash the system by causing a denial of service or execute arbitrary code, as well as CVE-2020-3702, a race condition discovered in the Atheros Ath9k Wi-Fi driver, which could allow an attacker to expose sensitive information from the Wi-Fi network traffic.

On top of that, the new Ubuntu kernel security update fixes CVE-2021-3753, a a race condition discovered in the virtual terminal (VT) device implementation that lead to an out-of-bounds read vulnerability, allowing a local attacker to expose sensitive information, and CVE-2021-3743, a security flaw discovered in the Qualcomm IPC Router protocol implementation, which could allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service (system crash) or expose sensitive information.

Lastly, the new kernel security update addresses CVE-2021-38166, an integer overflow discovered in the BPF subsystem, which could allow a local attacker to cause a denial of service (system crash) or possibly execute arbitrary code.

All Ubuntu 21.04 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS users using the Linux 5.11 kernel from the archives for 64-bit, Raspberry Pi, AWS, GCP, Azure, or KVM systems, are urged to update their systems to the new kernel versions (linux-image 5.11.0.38.39 for 64-bit) as soon as possible.

To update your kernel, simply run the sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade command in the Terminal app or use the Software Updater utility. Don’t forget to reboot your machines after installing the new kernel version.

Source

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Codename Has Been Revealed and it’s Dangerously Hot

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 14:17:48 +0000

The Ubuntu 22.04 LTS codename has been revealed on Launchpad, home of Ubuntu development.

After the letter “I” in the alphabet series, comes “J”. Therefore, Canonical’s next big LTS version codename should have the letter “J” in its codename.

Canonical has revealed what the codename is going to be for the next LTS version of Ubuntu i.e, 22.04. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS release date has also been revealed and it is set on April 21st, 2022.

If you were paying attention, the Ubuntu releases are always on a Thursday, scheduled to not be the last Thursday of the month (3rd usually) as it provides a week to push the schedule back if necessary and keep it in the month.

As you know, each codename of Ubuntu releases so far have and will contain an adjective and an animal. The animal may be real or anything that suits alliteratively. So, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is codenamed as “Jammy Jellyfish”. It’s been revealed on launchpad.

What Does “Jammy Jellyfish” Mean?

According to Collins Dictionary, if you describe someone as “jammy“, you mean that they are very lucky because something good has happened to them. So far so good.

But what about the jellyfish? Jellyfish have drifted along on ocean currents for millions of years, even before dinosaurs lived on the Earth. Jellyfish have tiny stinging cells in their tentacles to stun or paralyze their prey before they eat them, and can be painful to humans and sometimes very dangerous.

So Canonical has definitely come up with a very brave and threatening codename. What can we say? Only one thing – definitely it’s a little bit creepy.

What Features to Expect in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS?

Ubuntu 22.04 is a long term support (LTS) release and it will be supported for five years for regular users and for ten years if you opt for the paid extended support maintenance.

Since it’s an LTS release, stability is of the upmost importance. Probably, the Canonical team won’t try any radical changes here. There will be improvements, of course, but the focus is on creating a true foundation on which other people, companies and services can stand.

The development starts this month. New features, packages, and APIs will be included until February 24th, 2022.

Probably Ubuntu 22.04 LTS will ships with GNOME 42, which is planned for release in March 23rd, 2022. Also there are PHP 8.1, OpenSSL 3, and Mesa 22.0. In addition, the Firefox web browser will only be available as a Snap app.

It’s important to note that the Ubuntu team has being discussed switch to PipeWire though not decided.

Source

Linux 5.16 To Support The 2021 Apple Magic Keyboard

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 14:10:49 +0000

Separate from all the ongoing Apple Silicon/M1 bring-up work for the Linux kernel, the Linux 5.16 cycle is set to support this year's Apple Magic Keyboard.

Via the Apple-HID driver there has been Linux kernel support for earlier versions of the Magic Keyboard to deal with device quirks and differences around this keyboard that need to be specially handled by the software for making full use of the keyboard, such as for the function (Fn) keys.

Back in April was the introduction of a 2021 refresh of the Magic Keyboard as the newest revision of this Bluetooth connected keyboard. The 2021 Magic Keyboard does add a Touch ID sensor, but this Linux enablement isn't within that scope.

This patch was picked up by the HID subsystem's "for-5.16" Git branch. This driver addition gets the keyboard working with the hid-apple driver. Just adding the new ID (0x029c) is necessary along with indicating to the driver that there are Fn keys.

A simple but important addition should you find yourself wanting to use the latest Apple Magic Keyboard under Linux.

Source

The love/hate relationship the cloud has with Linux

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 14:08:53 +0000

Jack Wallen has a bone to pick with cloud services run by Google, Microsoft and Apple.

The cloud is run by Linux and open-source. There is no debating that claim at this point. It's fact. And not only does Linux power all of those cloud services we deploy and use, but the hold it has over that particular tech sector is also only going to get stronger as we march into the future. I predict that, over the next five years, the cloud and Linux will become synonymous to the point everyone (from CEOs to end-users) will finally get just how important and powerful the platform is.

So it's safe to say, there would be no cloud without Linux.

There would also be no cloud-native development, Kubernetes, Docker, virtual machines or containers in general.

With that in mind, it should stand to reason that the relationship between Linux and the cloud would be all love.

It's not.

And that's a shame.

Let me explain myself.

I depend on the cloud. Every day I work with Google Docs, syncing and sharing files that are critical to what I do. On my System76 Thelio desktop (running Pop!_OS) I have an Rclone script that downloads one particular folder from Google Drive to an external drive (to serve as a backup). I have another Rclone script that uploads files from a particular directory on my local machine to Google Drive. It's a solution that has worked flawlessly for me for about two years. Find out how I did this in "How to use rclone to automatically back up Google Drive to your local storage."

Why did I have to go that rather convoluted route?

The answer borders on tragic, but explains the premise of this article.

I used to use Insync to keep Google Drive and my desktop in sync with one another. Then, one fateful day, Insync completely wiped away the Google Drive folder that I keep all of my book files (20 years of work and nearly 50 novels). To make matters worse, it saw the directory had been deleted on Google Drive, so it wiped it on the local drive as well.

I had no backup.

Fortunately, Google was able to restore everything. Needless to say, after that, Insync was placed on my no-fly-list of software.

I've tried other solutions, each of which was a rousing failure (until I cobbled together the Rclone scripts).

This issue has led me to wonder: How is it that an operating system the cloud absolutely depends on, constantly gets the cold shoulder from certain companies that wouldn't exist if it weren't for Linux?

The primary company I'm talking about is Google.

Where would Google be without Linux?

It wouldn't have Android.
It wouldn't have ChromeOS.
It wouldn't have the cloud.

What's left for Google? A search engine? Oh, it probably wouldn't have that either. And yet ... and yet ... the company continues to rebuff every request to create an official Google Drive sync client for Linux.

The same thing holds true with Microsoft's OneDrive. No client. Apple's iCloud? Yeah ... as if that's ever going to happen. Guess what? Both Microsoft and Apple lean heavily on open-source technology to make things happen, but neither have any plans to support Linux for its cloud solutions.

All the while Dropbox has a fantastic Linux desktop client. And other, smaller companies offer Linux desktop clients for syncing to their cloud platforms.

But the big slap in the face comes from Google. And it never ceases to amaze me how a company, who wouldn't be the juggernaut it is without Linux, continues refusing support for the operating system that helped make it so unstoppable.

You can bet, on a daily basis, Linux users search for an official Google Drive client, and every time they fail. Eventually, many of them wind up doing what I did and head back to the terminal to craft scripts they know they can rely on.

It shouldn't have to be that way. An operating system that runs the cloud should also benefit from the cloud. Linux should be the first operating system Google supports because Linux is the one operating system that fully supports Google.

Linux has a love/love relationship with the cloud. In return, that relationship is love/hate. This needs to change. If companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple are going to continue absolutely depending on open-source, they should, in turn, toss the Linux community a bone now and then so those users can easily sync their desktops to cloud solutions ... without having to cobble together bash scripts to make it work.

Come on, Google.

Do better, Microsoft.

Seriously, Apple?

It's time those companies did the right thing and develop desktop clients for Linux.

Source

Windows 10 21H2 Insider build 19044.1319 boosts ransomware defence, fixes memory leaks, more

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 14:03:47 +0000

Microsoft today released Windows 10 build 19044.1319 (KB5006738) to Insiders running version 21H2 in the Release Preview ring. It brings a ton of improvements that include improved security against ransomware attacks and other such cyber attacks, fixes memory leak issues.

While Insiders that have originally been running Release Preview builds of versions 21H2 will receive this update automatically, those that were moved from the Beta channel to the Release Preview channel recently will be able to receive it via the “seeker” experience, meaning that they will be served the update only if they check for updates manually.

The update (KB5006738) is also rolling out insiders on Windows 10 21H1with build version 19043.1319 and features the same changes. The reason for which the update packages for Windows 10 versions 21H1 and 21H2 are identical is that version 21H2 is just an enablement package, the way 21H1 was for versions 20H2.

Moving on, the long list of improvements Build 19044.1319 (KB5006738) brings is given below:

We fixed an issue that prevents you from accessing the pre-provisioning page during the out-of-box experience (OOBE). This issue occurs when the credentials page for signing in to Azure Active Directory appears, and you press the Windows key five times.
We added a feature that facilitates certain cross-browser data transfers.
We fixed an issue with Assigned Access kiosks that are configured with Microsoft Edge as a kiosk application. These kiosks might sometimes fail to restart Microsoft Edge if users close the browser window.
We fixed an issue in which the use of App-V intermittently causes black screens to appear when signing in on the credentials page.
We fixed an issue that might prevent subtitles from displaying for certain video apps and streaming video sites.
We fixed an issue that prevents Windows 10 virtual private network (VPN) users from connecting to Windows Server 2019 Routing and Remote Access service (RRAS) servers.
We fixed an issue that prevents Software-Defined Networking (SDN) virtual machines from working when you configure the Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) VPN bandwidth limitation.
We fixed a Primary Refresh Token (PRT) update issue that occurs when VPN users sign in using Windows Hello for Business when the VPN connection is offline. Users receive unexpected authentication prompts for online resources that are configured for user sign-in frequency (SIF) in Azure Active Directory-Conditional Access.
We fixed an issue that causes Windows to go into BitLocker recovery after a servicing update.
We fixed an issue that might cause Kerberos.dll to stop working within the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). This occurs when LSASS processes simultaneous Service for User (S4U) user-to-user (U2U) requests for the same client user.
We fixed an issue in Code Integrity that might cause a memory leak.
We enhanced Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s ability to identify and intercept ransomware and advanced attacks.
We fixed an issue in the OOBE that might cause Windows AutoPilot provisioning to fail.
We fixed an issue that prevents Kana input mode users from inserting a question mark (?) using the Shift-0 key combination.
We fixed an issue that sometimes causes the lock screen to appear black if you enable slideshow.
We fixed a reliability issue with LogonUI.exe, which affects the rendering of the network status text on the credentials screen.
We fixed an issue that causes Server Message Block (SMB) Query Directory Requests to fail when the buffer size is large.
We fixed a memory leak issue in lsass.exe on domain controllers in the forest root domain that occurs when you have multiple forests and multiple domains in each forest. The SID-Name mapping functions leak memory when a request comes from another domain in the forest and crosses forest boundaries.
We fixed an issue with the virtual machine (VM) Load Balancing feature, which ignores a site’s fault domain.

You can find the original announcement post for builds 19044.1319 (21H2) here and 19043.1319 (21H1) here.

Source

PC Health Check App gives ancient Pentium 4 thumbs up for Windows 11

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 13:59:42 +0000

Most would agree that Windows 11 has some super-strict hardware requirements that Microsoft has enforced. The base requirements seem pretty reasonable, but it's the additional need for technologies like Trusted Platform Module (TPM 2.0), Secure Boot, among other things, that make it unfeasible for many people, even those that own CPUs just a few generations old, like a Ryzen 1000 series or most of Intel's 7th gen Core processor. That's because these slightly older CPUs lack Mode Based Execution (MBE) and hence will lose performance when running Virtualization-based Security (VBS).

Microsoft says these additional requirements are essential for the top-notch security that Windows 11 offers its users and also presented a very convincing demo to better explain it.

Here's a quick recap of the official minimum requirements published by Microsoft:

1Ghz 64-bit dual-core processor
4GB RAM
64GB storage
9-inch display (1366x768 resolution)
UEFI, Secure Boot & TPM 2.0
DirectX 12 compatible graphics / WDDM 2.x

The firm also released an application called PC Health Check that allows users to see if their systems meet the minimum requirements. The app is meant to be an easy-to-use solution so that people don't have to look up their system specs to check Windows 11 compatibility.

Bizarrely, as discovered by a YouTuber Carlos S. M. Computers, the PC Health Check app apparently believes that Intel's Pentium 4 is such a processor which is officially supported by Windows 11. You can see it in the screenshot below:

The YouTuber is apparently using a Pentium 4 661, a CPU that was released in 2006 and lacks MBE. It is also not a true dual-core as it's a single-core processor with hyper-threading emulating a dual-core. But it seems Microsoft's PC Health Check App is unable to understand this. Still, it is even more bizarre that the lack of MBE was also not noticed either.

Interestingly, WhyNotWin11, a third-party app that people have also been using to check compatibility for Windows 11 correctly flags the Pentium 4 661 as unsupported as you see:

Perhaps this really implies that Microsoft's PC Health Check app still needs more work if it's green-flagging dinosaur era (not literally) processors like these.

Source: Carlos S. M. (Twitter)

Source

Brave's homegrown search claims to protect your privacy but there's a long way to go if it's to challenge the big G

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 13:50:03 +0000

Ad-free now but not forever

The Brave browser will now default to the company's own search engine, claimed to preserve privacy, while a new Web Discovery Project aims to collect search data again with privacy protection.

The Brave web browser is based on the Google-sponsored Chromium engine but with features designed to prevent tracking, as well as an unusual reward system using its own cryptocurrency, the Basic Attention Token (BAT). Brave search will now be the default on new installs for desktop, Android, and iOS. Existing Brave users will keep their current default unless they choose to change it.

Brave Search was released in beta in June and uses technology called Tailcat, acquired from the failed German Cliqz project, which also sought to provide a Google-free index.

The company said in June that "for some features, like searching for images, Brave Search will fetch results from Microsoft Bing," in line with the claim from Ecosia's founder, Christian Kroll, who told us earlier this month that the existence of Bing is "absolutely essential" to competing search providers.

A "search independence" metric shows the percentage of results delivered from Brave's index, and this is 87 per cent across all Brave search users at the time of writing. The company says it gets nearly 80 million queries per month. Google does that many queries in under four minutes, according to figures here.

Search independence shows how many results come from Brave versus other engines, primarily Bing

The search is smart in this respect since at the foot of the results is an option to "find elsewhere", in our case offering Google, Bing or Mojeek (a UK-based independent search engine). Immediately conducting a further search is one of the indicators of poor search results that can optionally be recorded to improve the engine.

Brave search is currently ad-free, the bad news being that "the free version of Brave Search will soon be ad supported," according to a post yesterday. "Brave Search will also offer an ad-free Premium version in the near future," the company said, though as yet no further details are available.

Brave has also introduced the Web Discovery Project, a method of collecting user data (such as data on bad searches) while claiming to protect their privacy. "Brave needs data to power its privacy search," the project explains. The project aims to prevent linking records as belonging to the same person, to prevent profiling, "by strictly prohibiting any user identifier."

User data is still aggregated, but on the user's device, and when data is sent back to the Brave server, it omits any user identifier.

How good is Brave Search? Since many users are in the habit of using search for navigation, many searches are trivial, meaning "take me to Apple" or similar. A question like "How many states in the USA" is answered while typing on Google (as a "prediction"), where Brave search came up with a Wikipedia article in top position, requiring further clicks to get the information.

A developer query like "call to undefined function simplexml_load_file" successfully returns a Stack Overflow entry with helpful information. There are many kinds of searches, though, and our brief experiments show that Brave is way behind on depth and quality of organic results, but a pleasure to use in respect of freedom from ads – and although this is set to change, it may still be less confusing and ad-laden than a typical Google search result page.

Although in principle a new privacy-respecting search index will be welcome, there is a long way to go before it can make much general impact. Currently Google has a 92 per cent market share, according to Statcounter, with Bing in second place with 2.66 per cent. In web browsers, Google Chrome and Apple Safari account for around 84 per cent of the market, and both default to Google search. Brave's market share is somewhere in "Other", though the company reports over 13 million daily active users, more than double that of one year ago. ®

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PowerToys 0.48.1 Experimental includes Video Conference Mute utility and one fix

Wed, 20 Oct 2021 03:52:12 +0000

PowerToys is Microsoft's open source project that offers a collection of nifty tools that people can use to customize the Windows 10 UI and experience to their liking. As we know, depending upon feedback and general stability, some of the utilities also make their way to the OS. A prominent example of this is Snap Layouts and Snap Groups in Windows 11 which borrow heavily from the FanzyZones tool in PowerToys.

Last week, Microsoft released PowerToys version 0.47.1 to address stability issues and fix bugs. Today, the company has rolled out version 0.48.1 which inlcudes the Video Conference Mute utility and everything in 0.47.1. Microsoft does note in the changelog that they expect there may be issues with this Experimental release, so if you're not up for unexpected issues, stay on the stable 0.47.1 release.

The change log for PowerToys 0.48.1 Experimental, can be seen below:

Change log

Fixed an issue with the first hotkey input in the settings being focused when the page loads. Prevents unintentional shortcut reassignment. Thanks @niels9001!

To find out more about the Video conference mute utility, which is still in Preview, head over to the Video Conference Mute overview. There's also a bunch of known issues in this version, which can be viewed below:

Current known issues and limitations:

With some webcams, there is an incompatibility with Teams and the overlay image is not rendered, instead a corrupted frame is shown. If your camera has this quirk, please let us know the model in the [main tracking issue - #6246]
The application preview (Teams, Meet, etc.) may show the overlay image flipped horizontally but that is expected, the image will show correctly to the other people on the call.
In order to enable/disable the VCM, PowerToys should run as administrator
Changes to some of the VCM settings require the application to restart to pick up the new values such as a new overlay image.
In some cases, the overlay image can be shown flipped vertically (the workaround is to edit the image and flip it before selecting it).
(#6246)
If the PowerToys Video Conference Mute webcam doesn't show up in the video conference app, try restarting the app and if still doesn't show up try restarting Windows.

Those who would like to try PowerToys for the first time can grab the version 0.47.1 installer from the app's GitHub page, but please note that this release is on the "Experimental" train, so only prerelease versions will be prompted for updates. In addition, this release will not be on WinGet. Microsoft is evaluating if this is something people would be interested in.

PowerToys 0.48.1 Experimental includes Video Conference Mute utility and one fix

VirtualBox 6.1.28 Released with Initial Support for Linux 5.14 and 5.15 Kernels

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 21:31:22 +0000

Oracle released today VirtualBox 6.1.28 as a hefty update to their open-source and cross-platform virtualization software for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows systems.

VirtualBox 6.1.28 is here about three months after VirtualBox 6.1.26 to introduce initial guest and host support for the Linux 5.14 and 5.15 kernel series. This means that you can now use VirtualBox on GNU/Linux systems powered by Linux kernels 5.14 or 5.15, as well as to run distributions powered by Linux 5.14 or 5.15 kernels inside virtual machines.

In addition, this release introduces initial support for the upcoming Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5 operating system, improves the detection of kernel modules in Linux hosts to prevent unnecessary rebuilds, fixes a display corruption on Linux Mint systems, and adds bindings support for Python 3.9.

The Shared Clipboard features saw some improvements in VirtualBox 6.1.28, such as the ability to prevent the reset of the guest clipboard when clipboard sharing is disabled and a couple of VRDP fixes to prevent a hang of the remote RDP client when the guest has no clipboard data to report, as well as to force the RDP connection to work even when the guest service reconnects to the host.

Some networking improvements are also present, including multiple updates in the virtio-net device support, which can now properly handle cable disconnection in saved VM state, as well as more administrative control over network ranges.

Audio support has been improved as well, and VirtualBox now allows resuming of playback of the AC’97 emulation when taking a snapshot, setting of the line-in volume in the HDA emulation on modern Linux guests, and no longer aborts the VM session after computer hibernation.

Other than that, VirtualBox 6.1.28 improve touchpad-based scrolling, addresses a VM black screen issue that occurred during the first resize after restoring the virtual machine from saved state, fixes a possible write error when using VHD images, and fixes a rare VM hang that could occur when changing settings at runtime.

For more details on the bug fixes and improvements implemented in this release, check out the full changelog. Meanwhile, you can download VirtualBox 6.1.28 right now from the official website for your favorite GNU/Linux distribution. Don’t forget to download the Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack too!

Image credits: Oracle

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Brave has launched its own search engine to topple Google

Tue, 19 Oct 2021 21:23:06 +0000

Brave Search has exited beta and is now the default search engine in Brave browser

Following a public beta for its new search engine back in June, Brave Software has announced that Brave Search is now officially available.

Beginning today, the company's search engine will be the default for new Brave Browser users in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company's search engine also replaces Qwant in France and DuckDuckGo in Germany as the default search engine for users of its browser in those countries.

While existing Brave users will keep their chosen search engine as the default, they can also set Brave Search as the default search engine if they prefer. To do so, users will need to manage their search engine settings on Brave for Desktop, Android and iOS.

CEO and co-founder of Brave, Brendan Eich explained in a press release how Brave Search provides a more privacy-focused alternative to other search engines, saying:

“Brave Search has grown significantly since its release last June, with nearly 80 million queries per month. Our users are pleased with the comprehensive privacy solution that Brave Search provides against Big Tech by being integrated into our browser. As we know from experience in many browsers, the default setting is crucial for adoption, and Brave Search has reached the quality and critical mass needed to become our default search option, and to offer our users a seamless privacy-by-default online experience.”

Web Discovery Project

In addition to making Brave Search the default in its browser, Brave Software is also launching a privacy-preserving system for users to anonymously contribute data to help improve its search index called the Web Discovery Project (WDP).

Users will need to opt-in to the WDP and the new project protects user privacy and anonymity by design so that contributed data cannot be linked to them or their devices as well as to a set of users to prevent deanonymization.

At the same time, the WDP represents a fundamental shift in how a search index is built to serve relevant results to Brave Search users. Unlike with other search providers, the WDP is designed in such a way that all of the data it receives is unlinkable which makes it impossible to build profiles or sessions of project contributors.

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