News: Software News

Microsoft posts a redesigned Outlook client screenshot in the Office Insider release notes

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 22:51:29 +0000

Microsoft posts a redesigned Outlook client screenshot in the Office Insider release notes

Microsoft is known to be working towards unifying Outlook across platforms, something that the company discussed during its Ignite conference last year. The email client is expected to move to a web-based platform powered by what the firm calls Outlook on the web Powered Experiences (OPX) and is rumored to be in the works under the Project Monarch codename.

While the app is expected to be released in preview form later this year and is set for a 2022 public release, Microsoft seems to have posted what looks to be screenshots of the possible offering in the release notes for the latest Office Insiders Beta Channel build.

The notes contain an image consisting of two Outlook windows, with the window in the foreground showing off the new Organization Explorer feature. The one in the background, however, sports a new design housing new icons, a refreshed left pane, and rounded window corners.

We can confirm from our testing that this is not something that is rolling out to Insiders, letting us believe that this is either a slip-up from the company or a mock-up of the upcoming email client, and not the finished product itself.

Additionally, the design in the image shares more in common with the desktop version of the client than the web app – which is what the unified version is expected to be based on. Though, there are the title bar icons like the web version, making the screenshots look like an amalgamation of the desktop and web clients.

It is possible that the Redmond firm is preparing a refreshed design for the desktop version to align with the rumored Sun Valley update for Windows 10 before moving to the OPX-based version. It is also not clear if the design is what is being readied for the next perpetual version of the productivity suite.

Microsoft posts a redesigned Outlook client screenshot in the Office Insider release notes

Microsoft fixes Microsoft Edge 91 nag screens and startup page bug

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 22:48:43 +0000

Microsoft fixes Microsoft Edge 91 nag screens and startup page bug

Microsoft has pushed out a fix for the Microsoft Edge 91 startup bugs and nag screens plaguing users since the new version of the browser was released.

Last week, Microsoft Edge 91 was released, and users immediately began reporting that the browser was not opening to their configured startup page, and a 'Use recommended browser settings' nag screen being shown too often.

Microsoft Edge nag screen

Soon after we reported on these bugs, Microsoft pushed out what appears to be a configuration change, and users are now saying [1, 2] that the bugs are fixed after restarting the browser.

When Microsoft Edge launches, it will connect to Microsoft servers and download a configuration file specific to your device.

This configuration file contains various directives regarding what features are enabled, what experiments you are enrolled in, and other settings.

A snippet of the Microsoft Edge configuration

As we were affected by the bugs in the release of Microsoft Edge 91, we were able to test the new configuration changes, and the issues have been fixed on our end.

While it is not clear what Microsoft changed to fix these issues, you can now close the browser and restart it again for the fix to go into effect.

Thx to Opera for the tip!

Microsoft fixes Microsoft Edge 91 nag screens and startup page bug

Firefox 89 ships with interface changes

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 22:19:50 +0000

Firefox 89 ships with interface changes

Firefox 89.0 is the latest stable version of the Firefox web browser. Released on June 1, 2021, it ships with major interface changes, a new custom theme, and more. The focus of the release is the interface redesign that is affecting major interface elements such as the main toolbar, address bar, menus, prompts that the browser displays, and tabs.

All Firefox channels are bumped a version at around the same time. Firefox 88 Stable receives the update to version 89, Beta and Developer editions are updated to version 90, and Firefox Nightly to version 91. Firefox ESR, the long-term support release, is updated to version 78.11.

Executive Summary

Firefox 89 fixes security issues.
Firefox 89 introduces an interface refresh that changes many elements of the web browser.

Firefox 89.0 download and update

Select Menu > Help > About Firefox to check the installed version and run a manual check for updates. The browser should pick up the new version when you run the check in the afternoon on June 1 or later.

Manual downloads are also available. The following pages list direct downloads for supported Firefox channels.

New features and improvements

Firefox's new interface

Firefox 89 features a new interface that is "easier to use" and modernized according to Mozilla. The browser has a new tab bar and address bar design, new menus and prompts. Some items have been removed or renamed. Users should see fewer interruptions and browse with fewer distractions in the new version.

Here are the main changes:

Number 1: The Tab Bar

Floating tabs neatly contain information and surface cues when you need them, like visual indicators for audio controls. The rounded design of the active tab supports focus and signals the ability to easily move the tab as needed.

The tab bar supports normal and touch densities only for new users. Existing users who have used the compact tab design should keep it when Firefox is updated. New users can restore the compact mode density by following our guide.

Density determines the height of tabs and the tab bar. Tabs are larger in Firefox 89 and display a second line on sites with media playback (see screenshot above).

Number 2: The Menu

Clear, streamlined menus: Re-organized and prioritized menu content according to usage. Updated labels and removed iconography.

Most icons have been removed from the main Firefox menu and some elements have been removed or changed:

Sign in to Firefox was renamed to Sync and save data.
Protection Dashboard was removed. A click on the shield icon on the left side of the address displays the link.
New Tab was added.
Zoom row has been moved down in the menu.
Edit row has been removed.
Library has been removed. Bookmarks, History and Downloads are now directly listed in the menu.
Logins and Passwords has been removed.
Add-ons is now called Add-ons and Themes.
Customize has been removed.
Open File has been removed.
Find in this Page is now called Find in Page.
More is now More Tools.
Web Developer is now found under More Tools.

Most of the removed options are accessible elsewhere in Firefox.

The right-click context menu has been redesigned as well. On Mac OS X, it has a native design now.

Number 3: Updated Prompts

Updated prompts: Infobars, panels, and modals have a cleaner design and clearer language.

Firefox displays all kinds of prompts to the user, e.g. when an extension is installed or when a site requests permissions to access the microphone or other devices.

Other changes

Total Cookie Protection is enabled in Private Browsing Mode to limit cookie-based tracking further.
PDF Files display signatures now when viewed in Firefox.
AllowedDomainsForApps policy added. Defines the domains that are allowed to access Google Workspace.
ExtensionSetting policy updated to disable updates for individual extensions.
Preferences policy supports preferences that start with gfx. or layers. now.
Firefox on Mac OS supports the system's elastic overscroll effect.
Support for smart zooming, by double-tapping with two fingers or "with a single finger" using a Magic Mouse.
Several fixes for Firefox on Mac OS X.

Developer Changes

Changes in the theme API by the redesigned interface. Affected are tab_background_separator and toolbar_field_separator, which are no longer supported, and tab_line and toolbar_vertical_separator, which behave differently.
Event Timing API is supported.
CSS forced-colors media query is supported.

Known Issues

None listed.

Security updates / fixes

Security updates are revealed after the official release of the web browser. You find the information published here after release.

Outlook

Firefox 90 will be released on July 13, 2021. It will be the first version of the browser that does not support the FTP protocol anymore.

Tip: check out our guide on fixing the Firefox 89 user interface in case you want to modify some of the elements or restore classic options.

Firefox 89 ships with interface changes

Linux Mint 20.2 'Uma' to get beta release by mid-June

Mon, 31 May 2021 22:42:41 +0000

Linux Mint 20.2 'Uma' to get beta release by mid-June

Clement Lefebvre, head of the Linux Mint project, has published a blog post revealing that Linux Mint 20.2 is codenamed 'Uma' and is set for a beta release by the middle of June. The new release will still be based upon Ubuntu 20.04 LTS but comes with an upgrade to the Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce desktops and comes with newer hardware enablement stacks that ship with Ubuntu LTS point releases.

Linux Mint 20.2 will feature a new XApp (apps made by the Mint team) called Bulky that allows the users to rename files in bulk on both the Cinnamon and MATE versions of Mint. On Xfce, the Thunar file manager already comes with an embedded bulk renamer so Bulky won’t need to be shipped with the Xfce edition of Mint.

Another change in Linux Mint 20.2 is the inclusion of Nemo 5.0, the file manager on the Cinnamon edition of Linux Mint. With Nemo 5.0, users can now perform a content search in addition to a file’s name. The new content search will look for search terms within documents and return the document to the user if the search finds anything relevant.

The local file-sharing program Warpinator, which was released with Linux Mint 20, has also been updated. Now, users can select which network interface they want to share files on if they have several available. Additionally, a new option to compress files that are sent has been added, this should reduce the amount of time it takes to send large files.

Finally, the NVIDIA Prime applet has been updated to fix an issue where the applet would disappear from the tray. It also contains support for computers with AMD/NVIDIA hybrids.

Linux Mint 20.2, just like the rest of the 20.x series, will be supported until around April or May of 2025. At that time, it will stop receiving software updates and users will need to upgrade if they want their system to stay secure.

Linux Mint 20.2 'Uma' to get beta release by mid-June

Windows 10 KB5003214 update causes taskbar display glitches

Mon, 31 May 2021 22:37:16 +0000

Windows 10 KB5003214 update causes taskbar display glitches

The latest Windows 10 2004, 20H2, and 21H1 preview update is causing display issues and glitches on the taskbar's system tray.

Last week, Microsoft released the optional Window 10 KB5003214 preview update so that users and the enterprise can test the fixes coming in the mandatory June 2021 Patch Tuesday updates.

This update also enables the new Windows 10 News and Interests taskbar news feed for all users of Windows 10 2004 and later.

Since installing this update, numerous users report that the system tray in the Windows 10 taskbar began having display glitches where tray icons disappear, get pushed to the right, overlay each other, or get pushed off the edge of the screen.

"I'm experiencing an issue that I've traced to the new "News and interests" taskbar feature. I got this feature recently - within the last few weeks, I don't recall exactly because I shut it off immediately - and things were fine," a user posted on Reddit.

"But after a few updates yesterday (21H1, KB5003214, KB5003254), the notification area in the far right edge of the taskbar began behaving strangely."

An example of these display glitches is shown below, where you can see the system tray icons all overlaying each other in a mess.

System tray display glitches
Source: Reddit

After users experimented with different settings, it was determined that the bug is caused by disabling the News and Interests widget on the taskbar.

Once disabled and a new system tray icon is shown, it triggers the glitch. Once you enable the News and Interests widget again on the taskbar, the icons begin to display correctly.

Windows 10 users affected by this bug found that it could be fixed by uninstalling the KB5003214 preview update, but unless Microsoft fixes the issue before June 8th's Patch Tuesday, all users will be faced with this issue.

H/T WindowsLatest

Windows 10 KB5003214 update causes taskbar display glitches

Microsoft teases next generation of Windows 10 — What to expect

Mon, 31 May 2021 22:34:49 +0000

Microsoft teases next generation of Windows 10 — What to expect

CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that Microsoft is working on the next generation of Windows, which features a new design language internally codenamed "Sun Valley" and is reportedly launching later this year.

During the Build 2021 developer conference, CEO Nadella explained that "Windows is implicit" and "it's never been more important." Nadella also highlighted the achievements of Windows and how developers are creating new experiences for 1.3 billion people to work, learn, connect and play.

"Windows brings together all developer and collaboration tools in one place. It lets you choose the hardware you want, works with Linux and Windows as one, and has a modern terminal. And soon we will share one of the most significant updates to Windows of the past decade to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators," Nadella said during Build 2021 conference.

Microsoft employees, including Nadella, have been self-hosting the preview build of the next generation of Windows that will be released to testers in June.

"We will create more opportunity for every Windows developer today and welcome every creator who is looking for the most innovative, new, open platform to build and distribute and monetize applications. We look forward to sharing more very soon."

Sun Valley is a sweeping revamp of the visual interface.

Internal documents and job listing describe the Windows 10 feature upgrade as a "reinvigorating" and "sweeping" revamp of the visual interface.

This update is also known as 'version 21H2,' and it will improve the File Explorer, Start Menu, Action Center, Taskbar, and other important elements of the OS.

Design improvements

With the Sun Valley update, Microsoft is planning to improve the legacy apps and settings and the modern features from Windows 8-era.

For example, Microsoft could update the existing File Explorer with additional improvements like dark mode support for the pop-up menus (properties tab). The company will not replace File Explorer with a modern version. Instead, the goal is to improve the existing Explorer with significant improvements.

On Github, Microsoft also confirmed that it's exploring new design ideas for app buttons, elements, ListView, buttons, sliders, etc.

Likewise, Microsoft is also introducing Segoe UI Variable to include an optical axis so that font outlines can scale seamlessly from small to larger display sizes. The feature is called "Segoe UI Variable," and Microsoft says it is a refreshed take on the classic Segoe.

It offers improved legibility at small sizes and much improved outlines at display sizes. Segoe UI Variable solves legibility issues on different form factors and resolutions by enabling support for a new feature that dynamically offer great legibility at very small sizes, and style at large sizes.

New animations, gestures

For the Sun Valley refresh, Microsoft is using WinUI, a new user interface layer that contains modern controls and styles.WinUI is not a replacement for Fluent Design, and it is supposed to improve the overall experience by enabling support for the same UI elements everywhere (legacy and modern).

Windows 10 Sun Valley update is built on top of the Fluent Design, which means Fluent Design is not going away.

Microsoft also plans to enable Windows 7-like rounded corners, transparent backgrounds, support for enhanced animations, motions, lighting, and more.

Cloud PC, Android apps streaming, and more

In addition to the Sun Valley update, Microsoft will also announce Cloud PC and streaming support for Android apps.

Microsoft is developing a new virtualized Windows PC experience called 'Cloud PC' that will allow business customers to run their personal desktop in the cloud and access it remotely using their devices.

Cloud PC is part of the company's "Windows as a Service" tagline, and it won't replace any existing services. Instead, it will be offered as a paid service for enterprise customers who want to access their Windows PC from anywhere at any time.

As mentioned, reports have suggested that Microsoft is creating an Android subsystem for Windows 10 based on the Windows Subsystem for Linux to enable native support for Android apps. Microsoft will launch a new developer tool to allow the distribution of Android apps via the Microsoft Store in the MSIX package.

Release date

Windows 10 Sun Valley update is likely to hit the RTM (release to manufacture) status in June 2021, but the update won't be released to the public until October.

Reports have suggested that Microsoft will be holding a new event, "What's next for Windows," in June to announce the "new Windows" or the next generation of Windows.

Microsoft teases next generation of Windows 10 — What to expect

New Windows Office Insider Preview Build adds Org Explorer app to Outlook

Sat, 29 May 2021 23:15:05 +0000

New Windows Office Insider Preview Build adds Org Explorer app to Outlook

Microsoft has released a new Office Insider Preview Build 14122.20004(Beta Channel) for Windows users. The new Office build adds Org Explorer to Outlook, making it easier for users to contextualize, visualize, and explore the people and teams around them. The new Office build also includes notable fixes for issues found in Word, Project, Outlook. You can read the full official changelog below.

Changelog

Outlook

Org Explorer

Outlook now features Org Explorer, a new app that enables you to contextualize, visualize, and explore the people and teams around you.? To give it a try, select the Org Explorer icon from the Home ribbon. You’ll see a pleasing visual display showing the people from your team or organization; select a person’s card or icon to view more details about them.

Notable Fixes

We fixed an issue where users were unable to move items across folders in “non-business” licensed Outlook versions.

Word

Notable fixes

We fixed an issue where some comments were not saved when exporting a document to PDF.

We fixed an issue that prevented the editing of a new comment in an unprotected area of a document when Restricted Editing is applied.

We fixed an issue related to unneeded scrolling animation.

We fixed an issue causing intermittent crashes in the comments pane.

We fixed an issue that was causing a mismatch between the Editor pane theme and the system theme.

We fixed a performance issue related to working with large documents.

Project

Notable fixes

We fixed an issue where assignments on manually scheduled tasks could be moved to an incorrect date.

We fixed an issue where the resource pool was unresponsive and couldn’t be opened.

We fixed an issue where an error was generated if you created a custom field formula that used the ProjectDate*/ProjectDur* functions with specific date or time parameters.

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

New Windows Office Insider Preview Build adds Org Explorer app to Outlook

Microsoft’s Your Phone app now allows you to run multiple Android apps simultaneously from the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, S20 and more

Sat, 29 May 2021 23:12:01 +0000

Microsoft’s Your Phone app now allows you to run multiple Android apps simultaneously from the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, S20 and more

In January Microsoft rolled out the ability to run multiple Android apps via the Your Phone app on your desktop.

The feature was limited to recent Samsung Android handsets, in particular, the:

Samsung Galaxy Note20 5 G
Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2 5G
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5G
Samsung Galaxy S20 5G
Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G
Samsung S20 Ultra 5G
Samsung Galaxy S21 5G
Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

Since that announcement, however, it appears Microsoft has added a few more devices to the list, including the popular Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series.

New handsets to the list include the:

Samsung Galaxy Fold
Samsung Galaxy Note10
Samsung Galaxy Note10+
Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite
Samsung Galaxy S20

To take advantage of the multi-app experience you also need:

Windows 10 May 2020 Update or later.
Only available on select Samsung devices (see list below)
Your Android device and PC need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

In the latest versions of Your Phone, the streaming app feature appears much improved, feels a lot smoother, with faster start-ups, and your handset can still be used for other activities even while an app is being streamed to your PC.

Microsoft’s Your Phone app now allows you to run multiple Android apps simultaneously from the Samsung Galaxy Note 10, S20 and more

Mozilla integrates Firefox Translations into Firefox

Sat, 29 May 2021 23:07:43 +0000

Mozilla integrates Firefox Translations into Firefox

Mozilla has integrated Firefox Translations, the upcoming privacy-friendly translation system, into the latest Nightly version of the Firefox web browser. Translations happen locally on the system, and not in the cloud; this is the main distinguishing factor between the translation feature and popular solutions such as Chrome's Google Translate integration.

We have followed the development of Firefox Translations, previously known as Project Bergamot closely, ever since the project was revealed back in October 2019.

The first usable Firefox extension was released last month. Then-called Project Bergamot, it introduced translation functionality in the browser. Earlier this month, a second version was released and with it came the name change to Firefox Translations.

The new version introduced several improvements that made the extension leaner and more useful in the process.

Today, still in May 2021, Mozilla included the latest version of the translation engine into the Firefox Nightly browser. The feature is not enabled by default, but all users who use the latest Nightly version can install it. The Nightly version on my test system had the version 90.0a1 (2021-05-29).

The translation feature supports only a handful of languages at this time, including English and Spanish. Support for more languages will be introduced soon.

Enable Firefox's Translation feature

Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.
Confirm that you will be careful.
Search for extensions.translations.disabled.
Set the preference to FALSE to enable translations in Firefox.
Restart the browser.

You will find Firefox Translations listed under add-ons in Firefox. The version is still the same as the version that we reviewed earlier this month.

You can disable the translation feature again by disabling the extension in the add-ons manager, about:addons, or by setting the preference to TRUE instead.

Using the built-in translation feature

Visit a website that is in a foreign language, which is not a system language on the operating system, and Firefox will display a small translation bar at the top. It offers the usual options, to translate the page, or to never translate the language or the site.

Closing Words

Integration in Firefox is a milestone for the project. While it is certain that the translations feature won't be included in Stable versions of the Firefox web browser anytime soon, it is clear that Firefox will get the long-awaited translation feature eventually.

Mozilla integrates Firefox Translations into Firefox

Microsoft Edge 91 brings new bugs and annoying popup messages

Sat, 29 May 2021 19:58:00 +0000

Microsoft released Microsoft Edge 91 yesterday, and since then, users have been reporting constant nag screens, bugs, and problems using the new version of the web browser.

Microsoft Edge 91 is a milestone release for the browser with numerous new features introduced, such as Price History, Cash Back & Rebates, Kids Mode, a new Pride theme, and personalized news.

New features in Microsoft Edge 91

Microsoft Edge 91 release marred with bugs

However, after upgrading to Microsoft Edge 91, users have been reporting numerous problems that BleepingComputer has reproduced on our own devices.

The most annoying issue that people are experiencing is a new Microsoft Edge nag screen continuously shown on startup asking users if they want to 'Use recommended browser settings.'

For some users, if they close the dialog or specify not to update the browser settings, the nag screen continues to show when they restart the browser.

Use recommended browser settings nag screen

In BleepingComputer's test, this only happened to us when Bing was not configured as the default search engine, but we cannot say for sure if that is the reason.

Microsoft Edge users have also reported on Wilder Security Forums, Microsoft Edge Insider forums, and the Feedback Hub, that the browser Edge is no longer honoring their configured startup page and is opening the New Tab page instead.

Feedback Hub report about ignored startup page

BleepingComputer was able to reproduce this bug after we changed the startup page to BleepingComputer.com, and the New Tab page continued to open when we relaunched the browser.

Finally, other users report stranger issues, such as a missing + symbol to open a new tab or unable to use the middle mouse button to open items in their Favorites folder.

Microsoft Edge 91 missing the new tab + dialog

Some users have reported that most of these problems go away after resetting Microsoft Edge to default settings.

Thx to Opera for the tip!

Source

Microsoft rolls out performance upgrade to Outlook for Windows, "biggest change" since 1997

Thu, 27 May 2021 12:40:57 +0000

Microsoft rolls out performance upgrade to Outlook for Windows, "biggest change" since 1997

Back in 2019, Microsoft announced that it is updating Outlook for Windows with a number of enhancements, but up until now, these were only available in preview and customers had to manually opt in. Upgrades primarily revolved around shared calendars, headlined by smoother and more reliable synchronization, faster editing of an event, and other changes to the default behavior.

Now, Microsoft has announced that these improvements have graduated from preview and are available generally.

While the company hasn't quantified it, it says that the enhancements "dramatically" improve the sync latency and reliability of shared and delegated calendars in Outlook for Windows. It is important to note that these performance benefits have been available on other Outlook clients such as those on the web, Mac, and mobile for quite some time, and are now being rolled out on Windows as well.

The Redmond tech giant has touted these upgrades as the biggest change to Outlook for Windows since its first release in 1997 and says that it collected feedback and fixed bugs reported by tens of thousands of users in the past couple of years before removing the preview tag.

Microsoft says that the update does not change anything visually but performance enhancements will be visible to delegates and other users of shared calendars in Outlook for Windows. As of today, the performance benefits are enabled for 10% of customers utilizing Outlook for Windows in the Current Channel version 2103 (March 2021 update), and the enhancements will be rolled out to all users in a staggered manner throughout the rest of the year.

Source: Microsoft rolls out performance upgrade to Outlook for Windows, "biggest change" since 1997

Windows Terminal can now be the default Windows 10 console

Thu, 27 May 2021 03:27:48 +0000

Windows Terminal can now be the default Windows 10 console

Windows 10 will soon let you configure Windows Terminal as the default terminal application to launch console and PowerShell programs.

When you launch a command-line console program in Windows 10, the operating system will automatically launch it in a Windows Console or PowerShell console displayed by the Windows Console Host (conhost.exe), as shown below.

An application running in a Windows 10 console

With today's release of the Windows 10 Preview build 21390, both PowerShell and console programs can be configured to automatically launch in Windows Terminal rather than using the Windows Console Host.

To use this feature, Windows Terminal Preview must be installed on the latest Windows 10 Preview 'Dev' build.

Once installed, users will see an option titled 'Default Terminal Application' in a console's properties that lets you choose whether to use the Windows Console Host or Windows Terminal to run programs.

Default Terminal Application selection in the console properties

Windows users can also configure the default terminal application from within Windows Terminal Preview by going to Settings > Startup and configuring it from there.

Configuring the default terminal application in Windows Terminal

It should be noted that Microsoft is still developing this feature and that there are some issues with its implementation.

For example, you can't configure different default terminal applications for PowerShell or the Windows Console, and whatever you select will be used for both consoles.

In addition, no matter what you set as your default terminal application, launching programs that require administrative privileges will launch in their regular consoles.

For example, if you run a console program or PowerShell as an Administrator, it will not be launched in Windows Terminal but rather in the Windows Console or the PowerShell console.

While still needing some work, this is an excellent addition for those who want a single console application, such as Windows Terminal, to manage all of their console applications.

To track this features development process and its open issues, you can follow the Area-DefApp issues tag on the project's GitHub repository.

Source

Microsoft releases first Windows 10 package manager stable version

Thu, 27 May 2021 02:43:35 +0000

Microsoft releases first Windows 10 package manager stable version

Microsoft has released the first stable version of the native Winget Windows 10 package manager that helps you manage applications directly from the command line.

Just as other package managers available on other platforms, Winget allows you to automate app management by enabling you to install, configure, upgrade, and remove Windows applications.

Microsoft first announced the first preview version of its Windows 10 package manager at Microsoft Build 2020 and has developed it as an open-source project on GitHub since then.

Today, at Microsoft Build 2021, the company announced Windows Package Manager 1.0, the package manager's first stable release after a year of development.

Windows Package Manager's help message (BleepingComputer)

How to install Winget now

Microsoft provides multiple ways to install the stable version of the Windows 10 package manager.

Windows 10 Insiders and those who have already signed up for the Windows Package Manager Insider group may already have it automatically installed on their systems.

Customers using release versions of Windows 10 can get it by installing the App Installer from the Microsoft Store.

You can also get it by downloading and installing the latest appxbundle from Winget's official GitHub releases page or just by directly installing the latest available version.

Windows Package Manager 1.0 will soon be delivered as an automatic update through the Microsoft Store on all devices running Windows 10, version 1809 or later.

Microsoft has also shared info on how IT professionals can manage and deploy the Windows Package Manager in their organizations' environments using group policies.

Windows 10 package manager features

To get the current list of commands available for Windows Package Manager users, you have to run it on the command-line using the Command Prompt, a PowerShell prompt, or the new Windows Terminal.

Winget also allows you to find packages (or apps) available for installation using info available in metadata fields such as its name, moniker, or tags) with the winget search command.

Windows Package Manager search (BleepingComputer)

To install an app on your computer, you need to use winget install , and winget upgrade to check for upgrades to already installed packages. To upgrade all installed packages at once, you can use winget upgrade --all.

You can get a list of all apps installed on your Windows 10 computer using winget list, and winget uninstall to remove a specific app from your system.

Windows Package Manager list (BleepingComputer)

Additional information on using the native Winget Windows 10 package manager is available on Microsoft's documentation site.

Source: Microsoft releases first Windows 10 package manager stable version

Task Manager is getting a new icon as part of Windows 10 revamp

Thu, 27 May 2021 02:39:45 +0000

Task Manager is getting a new icon as part of Windows 10 revamp

As part of Windows 10 Sun Valley Update, Microsoft is rolling out new branding for its core apps and productivity tools. Windows Task Manager, which is one of the most popular apps will be getting a new icon, with Task Scheduler and other tools also following over the coming weeks.

Later this year, users will see new Fluent icons for Task Manager and MSI installers (.msi setup file for apps like VLC). The new icons for Task Manager and MSI installers follow the design direction of modern Microsoft products, such as Photos, Maps, and Microsoft 365 apps.

In the Sun Valley update, the Task Manager icon still has the performance usage graph, but the Fluent Design shades are clearly visible as Microsoft moves away from accent colours in its apps.

This icon is flatter than before, lacking any shadows.

Meanwhile, MSI installer gets a similar treatment by dropping the computer box icon that was previously used. It’s now a LED monitor and blue is the primary colour

For those unaware, .msi installer or Windows Installer is used by developers for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software. For example, the VLC installer is offered in the .MSI format and its icon has now been changed, as shown in the below screenshot.

As we reported recently, the upcoming Windows 10 Sun Valley update looks set to overhaul the icons from Windows 95, and it will be removing icons that have remained part of the operating system since Windows 95. In the preview builds, Microsoft has changed the icon of File Explorer, folder, and other apps.

Microsoft has also modified the icons found in Shell32.DLL for things such as images of floppy disk drives, monitors, globe, internet, networking.

In the coming weeks or months, many of the icons will be modernized with a combination of flatter and colourful look.

Microsoft wants to improve design consistency

Windows 10 currently feels like it’s a mishmash of older versions of Windows. In addition to its own Fluent Design, Windows 10 also uses UI features and icons from Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows 7 and even Windows 95.

Sun Valley Update comes with new icons, other interface changes like rounded corners and a new Start Menu design. Combined with other unseen changes, it’s possible that Windows 10 will look very different later this year.

Source: Task Manager is getting a new icon as part of Windows 10 revamp

Microsoft rolls out Windows 10 build 21390 in the Dev channel with new icons

Thu, 27 May 2021 02:35:53 +0000

Microsoft rolls out Windows 10 build 21390 in the Dev channel with new icons

After a few weeks of not meeting the usual Wednesday schedule for new Windows 10 builds, Microsoft seems to be back on track this week, with build 21390 heading out to Insiders today. It's a small jump from build 21387 released last week, but that makes sense considering it was rolled out on a Friday.

Because there have been fewer internal builds since the last release, there are also even fewer changes than usual. Not that there's been a lot, as it appears that Microsoft is locking down feature additions for the next Windows 10 feature update, which is expected to arrive in the second half of the year. Builds have been coming from the co_release branch, and this week is no exception. There are only a couple of new things in this build:

As part of our ongoing iconography improvements, Task Manager and MSI installers now have new Fluent icons.

You can now set Windows Terminal Preview as your default terminal emulator on Windows – please see this blog post for details. This requires Windows Terminal Preview version 1.9 (or higher).

The build does have a fair amount of fixes, though. Here's the full list:

We fixed an issue causing the news and interests text on the taskbar to appear blurry on some resolutions and scaling factors.

We fixed an issue resulting in certain punctuation not being displayed correctly when the display language was Chinese.

We fixed a svchost.exe crash related to cdp.dll that some Insiders have been experiencing in recent builds.

We fixed an issue impacting Start reliability in recent flights.

We fixed an issue where when using dark mode, the text in the File Explorer search box would be black on a black background. Please note this only addresses this dark theme issue in File Explorer, we are continuing to investigate a second issue impacting dark theme when using Search in the taskbar.

We fixed an issue in recent flights where a folder might not retain keyboard focus after being renamed in File Explorer.

We fixed an issue resulting in Task Manager showing the incorrect icon for some processes.

We fixed a second issue causing some devices to fail when updating to this build with error code 0xc1900101. If you continue to receive this error code when attempting to update, please file a new feedback item.

There are still some known issues in this release, but the list has shrunken a bit more this time. Here's what you might still run into:

The Windows Camera App currently does not respect the default brightness setting set via the new Camera Settings page.

We’re investigating an issue where Search results are unexpectedly no longer following dark theme as of recent flights.

[News and interests] We’re investigating an issue where the flyout may occasionally flash in the top left corner of your screen after clicking the button on your taskbar.

Aside from what's new in the build, Microsoft also mentioned that in order to make feedback more relevant, feedback items that are over 15 months old will no longer be saved in the Feedback Hub app.

Reports have been cropping up that Microsoft is planning a major design change for Windows 10, with hints of what it might look like showing up here and there. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also said yesterday that he's very excited for the future of Windows. However, only some changes have been made so far, and it's looking like we may need to wait until 2022 for the bulk of those UI changes to make their way to the general public. Insider builds later this year should have more news, though.

Source: Microsoft rolls out Windows 10 build 21390 in the Dev channel with new icons

Google Chrome now lets you run more commands via the address bar

Wed, 26 May 2021 18:39:26 +0000

Google Chrome now lets you run more commands via the address bar

Google has added a new batch of Chrome Actions for early testing in the latest Google Chrome web browser releases before the feature's worldwide rollout later this year.

Chrome Actions is a recently introduced experimental Chrome feature that allows you to type in a command, causing an action to be displayed inline in the browser's address bar search results.

When clicked, the action will be automatically executed in the browser, helping you get more things done quicker and easier.

For instance, once you type 'delete history,' 'clear cache,' or 'wipe cookies' in the Chrome address bar, a 'Clear browsing data' action will appear as a search result styled as a button right under your query.

Google started progressively rolling out the first set of Chrome Actions (i.e., Clear Browsing Data, Manage Payment Methods, Open Incognito Window, Manage Passwords, Update Chrome, and Translate Page) in November with the release of Chrome 87.

Image: Google

Now, Google has added a new set of Chrome Actions, including:

Run Chrome safety check: Makes it simple for you to run a Chrome safety check, directly from the address bar. The safety check can help keep you safe from data breaches, bad extensions, and more (to use it, type “Chrome safety check” or “Run password checkup”)
Create doc: Makes it simple to create a new Google document, directly from the address bar. This saves time, so if you want to take notes or start an essay fast, you can do it quickly right from the address bar (to use it, type “New Google doc” or “Create Google doc”)
Manage Google Account: Makes it extra simple to control your Google Account, including personal info, payments and subscriptions, and more (to use it, type “Control my Google Account” or “Adjust my Google Account”)

How to enable Chrome Actions

Google has already started rolling out this feature and has announced today that it will be launching in Chrome for all users later this year.

However, it is still an experimental feature hidden behind Chrome flags that need to be toggled on to enable it.

To turn on Chrome Actions in Google Chrome, you have to follow these steps:

Go to chrome://flags in the Chrome address bar.
Search for '#omnibox-pedals' and enable the 'Omnibox Pedals Default Icon Colored' and 'Omnibox Pedal batch 2' flags.
After enabling both of them, relaunch the browser.

Once Google Chrome restarts, the Chrome Actions will automatically show up when you're typing the relevant terms into Chrome's address bar.

Chrome Actions flags (BleepingComputer)

Microsoft releases Windows 10 build 19043.1023 with News and interests

Wed, 26 May 2021 01:52:00 +0000

Microsoft releases Windows 10 build 19043.1023 with News and interests

As we near the end of the month, it's time for another set of cumulative update previews for Windows 10 to be released. Today, Windows 10 version 21H1, 20H2, and 2004 are all getting an update, and it's a pretty hefty one. As usual, this is an optional update, but all the changes here will be rolled into next month's Patch Tuesday, which is mandatory.

All three versions are getting the same update because they all have the same bits. The update is labeled KB5003214 and it brings the build number to 1904x.1023. You can download it manually here, and the biggest news is that News and interests is now available to everyone, and if you don't like News and Interests in your taskbar, you can disable it by following this guide. Here are all the highlights:

News and interests on the taskbar is now available to anyone who installs this update!

Improves the hover experience by adding the Open on hover option (checked by default) on the News and interests submenu that appears when you right-click the Windows taskbar.

Updates an issue that might prevent users from opening phone apps that are pinned to the taskbar. This issue occurs after they update to Windows 10, version 2004 and then use the Your Phone app.

Updates an issue that prevents a touch device from working as a serial mouse in multiple monitor situations.

Updates an issue that might display items on the desktop after you have deleted them from the desktop.

Updates an error that might cause video playback to fail when you switch from an external high-dynamic-range (HDR) display to a built-in non-HDR display.

Updates an issue that fails to apply the spatial audio effect to sounds when you enable spatial audio.

Updates an issue with noise when you enable spatial audio and use Bluetooth USB headphones.

Updates an issue that prevents users from receiving geographic location information.

There's also a long list of fixes in this one:

Addresses an issue with the just-in-time (JIT) behavior of jscript9.dll.

Addresses an issue that might prevent users from opening phone apps that are pinned to the taskbar. This issue occurs after they update to Windows 10, version 2004 and then use the Your Phone app.

Addresses an issue that prevents certain Win32 apps from opening when using the runas command.

Addresses an issue that prevents certain Win32 apps from opening when the “BlockNonAdminUserInstall” Group Policy is turned on.

Addresses an issue that displays progressive web application (PWA) icons as blank when you pin them to the taskbar.

Addresses an issue that fails to properly manage memory for touch input before a session ends.

Addresses a memory leak in ctfmon.exe that occurs when you refresh an application that has an editable box.

Addresses an issue that prevents a touch device from working as a serial mouse in multiple monitor situations.

Addresses an issue that unexpectedly displays the Settings page text "Let's finish setting up your device" at startup.

Addresses an issue that might display items on the desktop after you have deleted them from the desktop.

Addresses an issue that prevents users from viewing the Mouse settings page after the Settings Page Visibility Group Policy is set to "showonly:easeofaccess-mousepointer".

Addresses an issue in Safe Mode that prevents users from signing in if Web Sign-in is enabled.

Addresses an issue in Active Directory (AD) Admin Center that displays an error when it lists many organizational units (OU) or container objects and PowerShell Transcription is enabled. The error message is, "Collection was modified after the enumerator was instantiated".

Addresses an issue that causes Screen Readers to report the wrong UI information. This issue occurs because UI Automation reports inaccurate property information for some controls, such as IsDialog and IsControl.

Addresses an issue that fails to apply BitLocker encryption automatically using a Group Policy. This issue occurs on external drives that have a master boot record (MBR) active boot partition.

Addresses a memory leak issue in PKU2U that causes cluster nodes to run out of memory.

Addresses an issue with the Autopilot Reset command taking too long to process after it has been sent.

Addresses an issue that might prevent the Windows Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Server from offering a lease to a DHCPv6 client after the client moves to a different virtual LAN (VLAN).

Addresses an issue that prevents a task from working correctly when you set the condition “Start only if the following network connection is available” for the task.

Addresses an issue that might display the "Device Removed" error when Direct3D developers use the SetStablePowerState() API in Windows Developer Mode.

Addresses an error that might cause video playback to fail when you switch from an external high-dynamic-range (HDR) display to a built-in non-HDR display.

Addresses an issue that fails to apply the spatial audio effect to sounds when you enable spatial audio.

Addresses an issue with noise when you enable spatial audio and use Bluetooth USB headphones.

Addresses a metadata encoding issue that causes Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) music files to become unplayable if you change their title, artist, or other metadata. For more information, see FLAC encoded music file is corrupted when metadata is edited in Windows Explorer.

Adds support for the .hif file extension for High Efficiency Image File (HEIF) images.

Addresses an issue that might cause a system to stop working when using Remote Desktop for USB redirection of an Xbox One controller.

Addresses an issue that might cause a RemoteApp window to flicker or move to another area of the screen when using touch or pen input.

Addresses an issue with the PerfMon API that might cause handle leaks, which slow performance.

Addresses an issue that might cause endless replication when you promote a new domain controller and the Active Directory Recycle Bin feature is enabled.

Addresses an issue that sporadically prevents the Resource Host Subsystem (RHS) from registering network name resources in the Domain Name System (DNS). As a result, Event ID 1196 appears.

Addresses an issue with devices that were configured using mobile device management (MDM) RestrictedGroups, LocalUsersAndGroups, or UserRights policies. These devices incorrectly continue to receive the policy after you use MDM to remove the configuration profile that has the policy. As a result, users of the affected devices might have incorrect group memberships and UserRights assignments or other symptoms. This issue occurs after installing Windows updates from October 29, 2020 and later.

Addresses an issue that prevents users from receiving geographic location information even when all the geolocation UI settings are enabled correctly, and the device contains a location sensor.

Addresses an issue that fails to register a DNS update to an A record and a PTR when Azure virtual machines update against corporate DNS zones.

Addresses a timing issue that might cause a RemoteApp to intermittently duplicate characters that were entered on the local keyboard or pasted from the Windows clipboard.

Addresses an issue with the Magnifier that causes the mouse pointer to jump around the screen when you move the mouse.

There are some known issues with this update, which you can check on Microsoft's support article about it.

As a reminder, you can either download this update manually using the links above or you can use do it through Windows Update, where it will show up as an optional update. Otherwise, you can just wait for next month's Patch Tuesday when mandatory cumulative updates will arrive with these changes.

Last week, Microsoft released new optional cumulative updates for Windows 10 versions 1809 and 1909. The former got an update labeled KB5003217, which can be downloaded here, but this version is only supported if you're in the Long-Term Servicing Channel. Windows 10 version 1909 is still supported for Windows 10 Enterprise and Education SKUs, and it got the KB5003212 update, and you can download it here.

Source: Microsoft releases Windows 10 build 19043.1023 with News and interests

Here's what's new in Windows Terminal Preview 1.9

Wed, 26 May 2021 01:47:34 +0000

Here's what's new in Windows Terminal Preview 1.9

Microsoft has released Windows Terminal Preview 1.9 with new features including Quake Mode and the ability to set it as the default console on Windows. The Redmond firm has also bumped the stable version of Windows Terminal to version 1.8; you can grab that now from the Microsoft Store or the GitHub releases page.

With Windows Terminal Preview 1.9, you now have the ability to set it as your default terminal emulator, any command-line applications you choose to run in the future will automatically open with Windows Terminal. While this preview release supports this option, you need to also be running a Windows Insider Program Dev Channel build to find the setting, according to the release notes. To make it the default terminal application, open Command Prompt properties, go to the Terminal tab and then choose Windows Terminal Preview from the Default Terminal Application section.

Another new feature in this update is Quake Mode, using Win + ` from anywhere in Windows will bring up the quake window on the top half of your screen, you can dismiss it again using the same key combination. This will save you time when you want to run a command quickly but don’t want to mess around finding Windows Terminal in the Start Menu to open it. Microsoft has already updated the PowerToys FancyZones layout editor so that it can be opened with Win + Shift + ` instead of Win + `.

This update also improved the settings UI so that you can edit actions via the Actions page giving you the ability to create new keyboard shortcuts. It also introduces an italic variant of the Cascadia Code font and includes improvements for Arabic and Hebrew.

To get this update, head over to GitHub where you’ll be able to find a download link.

Source: Here's what's new in Windows Terminal Preview 1.9

Brit watchdog shows some teeth over McAfee antivirus auto-renewals

Tue, 25 May 2021 21:32:21 +0000

Brit watchdog shows some teeth over McAfee antivirus auto-renewals

Refund rights for customers

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reached agreement with antivirus vendor McAfee that means some customers whose software subscription was automatically renewed will be able to get a refund.

The deal follows a lengthy investigation into the antivirus sector that kicked off in 2018 amid concerns that "some firms in the industry may not be complying with consumer law."

It's quite the slap on the wrist for McAfee, whose software tends to be bundled with a large number of devices sold in the UK. Customers who signed up with the company may not have understood the ins and outs of auto-renewal, hence the CMA action.

Under the arrangement, the process for turning off auto-renewal "will be made more straightforward for customers in the future," said the regulator. Anyone already renewed will be entitled to end their contract and get a refund for the months remaining. Significantly, that refund right will be backdated for customers that were refused a refund in 2020.

Additionally, McAfee has been instructed to make its pricing clearer (including the part about year two pricing being higher than the price paid when the antivirus product was first purchased.) It must also make instructions on turning off auto-renewal and getting refunds clearer on its website.

The Register asked McAfee for its take on things and the company told us:

"McAfee is pleased to have reached agreement with the CMA on our shared goal of improving the ease, fairness and transparency of business-to-consumer practices and policies. Our work with the CMA aligned with our efforts to enable customers to maintain ongoing protection while retaining control over their McAfee subscription."

Antivirus rival Norton has also come unstuck at the hands of the CMA's investigation and was taken to court in March for "refusing to provide certain information for an investigation into auto-renewing contracts."

We asked the vendor for its take on the fate of McAfee and its own court case, but it has yet to respond.

While we have no doubt Reg readers will be well aware of what comes preloaded on their laptops (and the implications of signing up for a contract or replacing it with an alternative) other buyers may not be so familiar.

However, the sheer ubiquity of McAfee's products (a glimpse at the most inexpensive of Dell Inspirons shows customers needing to opt out of having McAfee's's products preinstalled) means many may have simply opted to register without realising the full implications of auto-renewal. We have asked Dell to comment on this.

The requirement to make this clear with an easy-to-find opt-out could have far-reaching consequences as other vendors ponder deals sweetened by a cheap first year followed by a subsequent quiet price hike. ®

Source

Microsoft says Edge 91 will be the best-performing browser on Windows 10

Tue, 25 May 2021 17:04:35 +0000

Microsoft says Edge 91 will be the best-performing browser on Windows 10

Microsoft's Build event for 2021 is about to kick off, and with it comes a torrent of announcements for developers and businesses. But there's also some news for Edge users, which are getting an update to version 91 later this week. Microsoft has said that, after the update, Edge will be the most performant browser on Windows 10, thanks to improvements made to two features: startup boost and sleeping tabs.

First off, startup boost will help Edge launch even faster by running some core Edge processes in the background. Microsoft says this doesn't use additional resources when Edge windows are open. Naturally, to keep background processes running, some resources do have to be used before the browser is opened, though.

As for sleeping tabs, Microsoft says it can help you save up to 82% in memory usage by putting inactive tabs to sleep. When a tab is put to sleep, Edge can do things like pause ads immediately, saving up resources right off the bat. There are also some Windows-specific improvements to save system resources in this update. You can customize sleeping tabs so they're put to sleep after a specific period of time, and protect certain websites from going to sleep if there's a risk of losing important content.

Edge 91 is currently available in the Beta channel, so we already have a good idea of what other features will be in the stable release, like new color themes available out of the box, a new price history feature, and a password monitor.

These user-facing announcements come on top of some developer news like the general availability of WebView2 in WinUI 3. Additionally, PWAs can now be submitted to the Microsoft Store.

Source: Microsoft says Edge 91 will be the best-performing browser on Windows 10

Java developers: Microsoft's OpenJDK build is now generally available

Tue, 25 May 2021 15:29:23 +0000

Java developers: Microsoft's OpenJDK build is now generally available

Microsoft's implementation of OpenJDK is now ready for developers who want to use Java on the Azure cloud.

Microsoft has announced general availability (GA) of the Microsoft Build of OpenJDK, the open source version of the Java development kit (JDK).

The release follows the April preview of the Microsoft Build of OpenJDK, a long term support distribution of OpenJDK. It's a tool that helps Microsoft's developers build its own software and could help other developers that write applications in Java. Microsoft announced GA for the Microsoft Build of OpenJDK at its Build 2021 conference for developers.

Microsoft is a major user of Java in Azure, SQL Server, Yammer, Minecraft, and LinkedIn, but it's only been supporting Java in Visual Studio Code tooling for the past five years.

"We've deployed our own version of OpenJDK on hundreds of thousands of [virtual machines] (VMs) inside Microsoft and LinkedIn. Across the board Microsoft has over 500 million VMs running Java at Microsoft," Julia Liuson, corporate vice president of Microsoft's developer division, told ZDNet.

"We're also providing that to customers as well for Azure."

Java is a relative newcomer to the world of Microsoft software development.

"We have a been an innovator for many programming languages in the past. Java is our latest language in our programming language support. If you think about history, we have been in C++, C#, TypeScript, and Python a lot earlier. Java is something we've been focusing on in the last few years," says Liuson.

Part of that support today comes in the form of the Java pack of tools for Visual Studio Code, such as Maven for Java, Red Hat's extensions, a debugger for Apache Tomcat, and support for Microsoft's AI-assisted IntelliCode code completion for Java.

Java remains one of the top three programming languages and on VS Code it's nearing one million users, but is less than the two million Python developers using VS Code.

"We believe Microsoft is uniquely positioned to be a partner in the language community. We can do a lot of direct contribution to the JDK community and we do world class tooling, which is VS Code," says Liuson.

Microsoft's contributions to OpenJDK — an open-source JDK for most popular Linux distributions — include work on the garbage collector and writing capabilities for the Java runtime.

The Microsoft Build of OpenJDK is available for free to deploy in qualifying Azure support plans. It includes binaries for Java 11 based on OpenJDK 11.0.11, on x64 server, and desktop environments on macOS, Linux and Windows, according to Microsoft.

Source: Java developers: Microsoft's OpenJDK build is now generally available

Chrome 91 is out today with enhancements to the File System Access and WebOTP APIs

Tue, 25 May 2021 12:36:25 +0000

Chrome 91 is out today with enhancements to the File System Access and WebOTP APIs

Chrome 90 was released over a month ago with support for new augmented reality (AR) APIs and an AV1 encoder, among many other things. Today, Chrome 91 is rolling out in the Stable channel, headlined by enhancements such as an improved File System Access API and support for the automatic transfer of one-time passwords (OTP) from SMS to cross-origin iframes on the web.

The WebOTP API has been enhanced to support transferring OTPs from SMS to cross-origin iframes on the web. Google claims that this request came from lots of developer communities including Shopify and iCloud which are interested in utilizing this capability for their own services.

Similarly, the File System Access API is receiving improvements to make it user-friendly. The aim is to enable websites to provide suggestions about the name of the file and its storage location when it is being saved or loaded.

Those who follow Chrome releases closely might remember that Chrome 90 was supposed to enable users to paste read-only files from the clipboard instead of having to rely on drag-and-drop, but this feature was removed from that release. This capability is rolling out as a part of Chrome 91 today.

Like it blocked port 554 for HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP server connections in Chrome 90, port 10080 will now be blocked for the same reason, which is mitigating the NAT Slipstream 2.0 attack. Meanwhile, support for secure WebSocket requests over HTTP/2 connections is now present.

Since Chrome apps are being deprecated in June 2021, new APIs are being introduced to enable developers to migrate their apps to the web while retaining their respective functionalities.

Expanding more on the developer side of things, the highly demanded CSS @counter-style rule is being introduced which allows the specification and use of counter styles in list markers and CSS counters. Furthermore, JSON modules are now supported. This allows developers to statically import JSON instead of relying on the fetch() function which dynamically retrieves it. Accordingly, the inline Import Assertions syntax is now present too, this enables passing more information in the import statement.

In terms of aligning with established web standards, most browsers don't respect the media attribute for link[rel="icon"], even though HTML specifications say they should. Chrome 91 will honor this attribute as per documented specifications moving forward. The browser will also host a flag which allows developers to utilize classic static initializer blocks. Furthermore, it will enable the capability for testing the presence of a private field in an object.

Interestingly, Chrome 91 may also boost certain WebAssembly applications in terms of performance by allowing them to utilize single instruction, multiple data (SIMD), which enables data-level parallelism. Additionally, the browser will feature the WebTransport protocol framework that sports a client-server API for secure multiplexed transfer of data. Chrome 91 will also enable ES modules in service workers.

Developers will now have the capability to enable or disable adaptive packet rate when streaming audio and video data from their applications to improve interoperability. Some non-standard JS events are being removed from Chrome, with Input Events being recommended as the alternative. Another enhancement for developers is the exposure of the GravitySensor API which does exactly what its name suggests on the x, y, and z axis. Although consumers and developers can utilize readings from other sensors such as the Accelerometer to get reasonably accurate readings, Google believes this API will be computationally cheap and provide more accurate values.

If Chrome on your device has not updated to version 91 automatically, head over to Help > About Google Chrome to trigger the update. Next up is Chrome 92 which is currently in the Dev channel, scheduled to hit Beta around June 3, with a Stable release expected on July 20.

Source: Chrome 91 is out today with enhancements to the File System Access and WebOTP APIs

Apple releases macOS 11.4 with expanded GPU support, Safari bug fixes, more

Mon, 24 May 2021 17:32:59 +0000

Apple releases macOS 11.4 with expanded GPU support, Safari bug fixes, more

Apple has officially made macOS 11.4 available to the public. The latest software enables support for several AMD GPUs as well as support for paid subscriptions in the Podcasts app, bug fixes for Safari, Preview, and more.

macOS 11.4 is available now for all users and should be showing up in System Preferences > Software Update soon if it’s not already. Apple’s also made the latest software available for iPhone, Apple Watch, and Apple TV.

macOS 11.4 is a more minor update after 11.3 added a range of new features. However, the latest release does bring a handful of changes.

One of the main features in macOS 11.4 is expanded GPU support for “cards based on the AMD Navi RDNA2 architecture (6800, 6800XT, and 6900XT).”

In the release candidate, we learned macOS 11.4 also includes support for paid subscriptions in Apple Podcasts along with a number of bug fixes:

Apple Podcasts subscriptions are available for purchase via monthly and annual subscriptions
Channels group together collections of shows from podcast creators

This release also fixes the following issues:

Bookmarks in Safari may get reordered or moved into a folder that can appear hidden
Certain websites may not display correctly after your Mac wakes from sleep
Keywords may not be included when exporting a photo from the Photos app
Preview may become unresponsive when searching PDF documents
16-inch MacBook may become unresponsive when playing Civilization VI

Notably, ahead of today’s 11.4 public release, Apple started testing with the first macOS 11.5 beta last week.

Source: Apple releases macOS 11.4 with expanded GPU support, Safari bug fixes, more

Microsoft releases Windows Office Insider Preview Build 14117.20000 (Beta Channel)

Sat, 22 May 2021 13:36:58 +0000

Microsoft releases Windows Office Insider Preview Build 14117.20000 (Beta Channel)

Microsoft has released a new Office Insider Preview Build 14117.20000(Beta Channel) for Windows users. The new Office build adds a new feature to Outlook. The new feature tells you when and where you last signed into your account. Also, users will get alerts when any suspicious activity is detected. Apart from that, it brings fixes for a plethora of issues found in Word, Excel, PowerPoint. You can read the full official changelog below.

CHANGELOG

Outlook

Sign in information

Outlook now tells you when and where you last signed into your account, and alerts you if any suspicious sign-in activity is detected. To check it out, click File > Info and look at the information provided under Most Recent Login.

Word

Notable fixes

We fixed an issue where a Save As error message was displayed even after a user chose to discard changes.

We fixed an issue where signing in with a different account could result in a crash.

We fixed an issue that prevented images from being posted in modern comments.

We fixed an issue where the Reviewing pane could scroll or appear to scroll but didn’t align with selected comment.

We fixed an issue that caused the selection in the document to not be cleared when clicking outside a newly created comment.

We fixed an issue where comments aren’t highlighted when selected.

We fixed an issue where the wrong field is getting updated when running a macro if editing restrictions are applied.

We fixed an issue where some files don’t open because of corrupt bookmarks.

Excel

Notable fixes

We fixed an issue where signing in with a different account could result in a crash.

We fixed an issue related to two-finger scrolling when using freeze panes.

We fixed an issue related to out of memory issues when printing on large-format printers.

We fixed an issue that impacted the performance of VLOOKUP and INDEX/MATCH when filling a large amount of data.

We fixed an issue that caused dynamic arrays to not update cell values when referenced by RealTimeData functions.

PowerPoint

Notable fixes

We fixed an issue where signing in with a different account could result in a crash.

We fixed an issue that prevented copying from the speaker notes pane while in Read Only mode.

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

Source: Microsoft releases Windows Office Insider Preview Build 14117.20000(Beta Channel)

Microsoft Math Solver will be available as a preview feature in Microsoft Edge 91

Sat, 22 May 2021 12:56:39 +0000

Microsoft Math Solver will be available as a preview feature in Microsoft Edge 91

Back in March, Microsoft started testing Math Solver feature in Microsoft Edge browser. Microsoft today announced that Math Solver will be available as a preview feature starting with Microsoft Edge 91 stable.

Microsoft Math Solver allows anyone to snap a picture of a math problem and get an instant solution with step-by-step instructions to help them learn how to reach the solution on their own. Math Solver also offers many options to continue learning with additional materials such as quizzes, worksheets, and video tutorials.

Microsoft Math Solver is available now in Microsoft Edge Canary, Dev, and Beta channels). You can go to the settings menu (…) in the top right corner of the browser, open More Tools and select Math Solver to use this feature.

Source: Microsoft

Source: Microsoft Math Solver will be available as a preview feature in Microsoft Edge 91