A new graphics driver has just been released for NVIDIA GeForce customers to use. The WHQL-certified 596.36 Game Ready driver is now live, and it's carrying support for the new Conan Exiles Enhanced upgrade, as well as the company's new RTX 5070 laptop GPU configuration.

Conan Exiles Enhanced, the free update for Funcom's eight-year-old multiplayer RPG, is bringing improved visuals, enhanced performance, and modern rendering technologies on May 5. With the latest driver, NVIDIA is adding day-one support for DLSS Multi Frame Generation, DLSS Super Resolution, and Reflex technologies as a part of its DLSS 4.5 upgrade.

The driver also brings support for NVIDIA's new GeForce RTX 5070 laptop GPU with a 12GB VRAM configuration.

"Demand for GeForce RTX GPUs remains strong, and memory supply is constrained. In order to maximize memory availability, we are releasing the GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU 12GB configuration with 24Gb G7 memory," explained the company. "This gives our partners access to an additional pool of memory to complement the 16Gb G7 supply that currently ships with most GeForce GPUs. The 12GB configuration will exist alongside the current 8GB configuration, and allows our partners to bring a broader range of GeForce RTX 5070 laptops to consumers."

These are the fixed gaming bugs in this release:

• God of War: Ragnarok: Certain textures may intermittently flash white during gameplay.
• Assassin's Creed Shadows: Flickering on the character model's clothing
• The Crew Motorfest: Grass and vegetation flickering

These are the general bug fixes:

• Blocky artifacts when playing back H.264 content with DXVA 2.0
• Blender 5.0.1 EEVEE: Non-shader nodes connected to the material output rendered as black (zero value)

The NVIDIA 596.36 driver is now available for download from the NVIDIA app. For those who want to download it directly, standalone links are here. Here are the official release notes (PDF).

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Posted Wednesday 29 April 2026 at 7:31 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft Teams is heavily used in enterprise environments, which is not surprising considering the breadth of functionalities that it offers, along with integration with other services in Redmond's ecosystem. However, a recent change has been annoying many Teams customers across the globe.

When you sign into a workplace Teams account, the app's title bar shows a three-dot icon from where you can access some broad settings like zoom level, pinning, feedback, and more. Nested inside it is also the option to unlock Teams Premium, a paid add-on which costs $10/user/month. This three-dot menu is not something that automatically grabs attention, which is good since it basically hides optional complexities behind its UX. This is how unnoticeable it looks, we have obscured parts of the UX to preserve privacy:

However, a recent update has modified the appearance of this three-dot menu with a rather distinctive change that has sparked customer backlash. Basically, if you open the Teams app as a full-screen interface, you'll notice that Microsoft has unnested the "Unlock Premium" option and is now showing it as a sort of a banner next to the three-dots, complete with a diamond icon. You can check it out below:

If you click on Unlock Premium option, you're presented with a pop-up that shows you all the benefits that you receive through this paid add-on license, along with the ability to utilize a 60-day trial for free without needing a credit card. If you sign up for the trial, it activates instantly.

There are a few problems with this approach. For starters, many people aren't happy that they're being asked to pay more in a software that they already pay for, via their organization. The second problem is that there is no way to get rid of the Unlock Premium text and just restore the three-dot menu. Finally, and most importantly, most Teams users obviously aren't really in a place to decide if they can enable Teams Premium within their entire organization. This is a decision that is primarily reserved for management and IT.

Of course, Microsoft's rationale behind this could be that if enough users within a tenant try out Teams Premium, they'll be impressed by it and convince their management to pay more for additional benefits.

That said, Teams customers really aren't happy with this "ad" for Teams premium, with the dedicated feedback portal filled with comments like:

• I WANT TO REMOVE THE UNLOCK PREMIUM BUTTON
• As everyone else has said, the majority of us are not in a position within our organization to authorize a premium subscription, so please remove it from the interface/allow it to be dismissed. It makes it difficult to find teams settings, because the "..." menu is attached to the unlock premium button. Delete delete delete.
• This is especially annoying because in most cases, it's a decision that would be made by one specific person or team. In other words, I'm not someone who can make that decision to "upgrade" anything within our company, yet I have to look at this stupid "ad" in Teams every single day.
• This is just bad UX that leads to mistrust. Most importantly, this advertisement makes settings very hard to discover - who would think to click "unlock premium" if they want to change notification settings? Second, "Unlock" implies that this is just a locked feature that can be unlocked. It is not, it is a subscription that must be purchased. Both of these feel like dark patterns that make my relationship with the product and with Microsoft feel more adversarial. Nothing new there, but market dominance only saves you for so long.
• STOP ALL POP UPS AND DISTRACTIONS
• This is rather annoying. It doesn't look professional, and it is a distraction for users.
• PLEASE!! the amount of hours i have to spend explaining to the staff we are poor and can't afford the product!!! please allow us to hide the up sell button!

Microsoft has been drawing criticism for this UX modification for the past month or so, ever since the change went public. However, it will be interesting to see if the company decides to reverse course or continue with its upselling tactics.

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Posted Wednesday 29 April 2026 at 7:30 am AEST (my time).

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Canonical has announced that Ubuntu 16.04 LTS has reached the end of standard Expanded Security Maintenance with Ubuntu Pro. Anyone still on this version wanting to keep using it must now buy the Legacy add-on via an Ubuntu Pro subscription to extend the life until April 2031.

Buying the Legacy add-on is quite an extreme measure and should only be used if you have some application that won’t work on newer versions. For everyone else, you’ll want to either do a clean install of Ubuntu 26.04 LTS or you can do progressive in-place upgrades through 18.04 LTS, 20.04 LTS, 22.04 LTS, and 24.04 LTS. The upgrade path from 24.04 LTS to 26.04 LTS is not open until later.

If you choose to go with the Legacy add-on, Canonical will provide security maintenance for binary packages across the main and universe repositories. You’ll get critical patches for essential packages such as MySQL 5.7, Python 2.7, PostgreSQL 9.5, and NGINX 1.10. The support also covers OpenStack Mitaka and key components like Ceph and Kubernetes where technically possible.

Explaining why you might want the Legacy add-on, Canonical writes:

"Migrating a decade-old infrastructure is a massive undertaking. Whether it’s due to complex troubleshooting, hardware compatibility, or strict regulatory requirements (like PCI-DSS or the EU Cyber Resillience Act), sometimes an immediate upgrade isn’t possible.

Legacy add-on allows you to:

• Keep mission-critical systems operational without the risk of unpatched CVEs.
• Continue meeting security standards while your teams focus on long-term migration planning.
• Receive ongoing security patches for your machines.
• Access 24×7 technical support for break fix and bug fix."

If you do not upgrade or buy the legacy add-on, then your system will be vulnerable to any new exploits that are released. For organizations, this will be a massive issue as it could lead to the loss of customer data. You can find out more in Canonical’s announcement.

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Posted Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 5:29 pm AEST (my time).

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Apple has introduced a new subscription option on the App Store to make the lives of developers and users a bit easier. The Cupertino giant will allow developers to offer monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment for their apps as a new payment option.

Annual plans are generally cheaper. The new option allows developers to transfer that benefit to those who want to pay monthly. In other words, people can have more affordable subscriptions by paying a smaller amount each month instead of a single payment.

"People can cancel their subscription at any time, which will prevent the subscription from renewing after they’ve completed their agreed-to payments to fulfill their commitment," Apple said. Your subscription will automatically renew into another 12-month commitment once all 12 payments are completed. You can cancel early, but your monthly payments will continue until the commitment period ends, or you will lose access to the subscription if your payment fails.

Developers can configure the new subscription option in App Store Connect and test it in XCode. Apple said that monthly subscriptions with a 12-month commitment will be available worldwide next month, with the release of iOS 26.5, iPadOS 26.5, macOS Tahoe 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5. However, it won't be available in the US and Singapore, and Apple hasn't revealed any possible release date.

The feature will be backward compatible with iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, macOS Tahoe 26.4, tvOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4 once it goes live. You can easily keep an eye on the number of completed and remaining payments for the subscription in your Apple account. Apple will send emails and push notifications ahead of the renewal date to remind you of the upcoming purchase.

Apart from that, Apple is going through a major transition this year. Apple CEO Tim Cook will step down after almost 15 years, succeeded by John Ternus, who is currently the SVP of Hardware Engineering. The iPhone Fold (and several other products) will mark Ternus' first major moment on the stage as the new Apple boss.

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Posted Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 5:28 pm AEST (my time).

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WhatsApp is reportedly working on a way to back up your chats in a place other than Google Drive or iCloud. Meta is now looking to host chat backups on its own servers where it will use end-to-end encryption to keep user data safe. It’s expected that there will be a free tier and a paid tier.

On the free tier, users are looking at getting 2GB of storage for their chat backups, while paid users will get 50GB of storage for $0.99 (it's unclear is this is per month or per year). In screenshots shared by WABetaInfo, users on Android will be given the choice of choosing a chat backup provider, either WhatsApp or Google. It reassures users that their data is safe, even from Meta.

The chats are protected with a passkey, so you’ll be able to access them with a fingerprint, face, or app lock–it’s your choice. The passkey is then stored in your password manager. The backups are encrypted with a secure 64-digit encryption key, which is very secure.

This move should come as a relief to users freeloading from Google and are constantly nagged to pay for extra storage for supposedly being near full capacity on their account storage as it’ll mean you can delete your WhatsApp backups from there, and store them on Meta’s infrastructure.

WABetaInfo also notes that it’s not known if the free storage will be for everyone, or just those subscribed to WhatsApp Plus. If it does end up being for everyone then perhaps the paid tier will be added to WhatsApp Plus, these are details we will learn after the feature is out.

Source and image: WABetaInfo

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Posted Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 5:27 pm AEST (my time).

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On Windows 11, Microsoft recently released build 26300.8289 in the new Experimental channel, and along with the overhaul to the Windows Update settings and changes, the company also quietly made available some additional improvements, including leaks for a couple of other features.

For instance, as spotted by @PhantomOfEarth, the latest preview quietly introduces the Run dialog redesign and the Storage settings add a new control to switch units when resizing a volume.

In addition, buried inside the operating system, it has been discovered that the company is already integrating an early preview of the new Taskbar with relocation support and a new login snipping animation, which are currently not available to Insiders.

Run dialog with new modern UI

It's not a secret that Microsoft has been working on modernizing the Run dialog with a new interface. However, the new design is now available in the Experimental channel without needing to enable the setting in the operating system.

In 2012, when Microsoft released Windows 8, the operating system received a major UI overhaul, and its bits and pieces remain in Windows 11 to this day. While Microsoft is slowly modernizing Windows 11 with updated user interfaces, some outdated stuff remains visible in plain sight. One of these outdated bits is the loading spinner that you see every time you sign in, sign out, or restart your computer.

Luckily, Microsoft is finally updating it with a newer spinner, the one that appears next to Windows 11 when your PC is booting. In the latest Windows 11 preview build from the Dev Channel, Microsoft quietly swapped the old Windows 8 spinner with the new one. The company has not announced it yet, and making it work requires the ViVeTool app, but we are finally getting there.

Here is the updated spinner in action:

In all seriousness, mismatched spinners are probably the least of Windows 11's problems. Microsoft has a long laundry list of fixes for Windows 11, and a redesigned spinner is just a small step on the long road to make the operating system more cohesive and consistent. More important things that Microsoft is fixing include Windows Update improvements, new taskbar features, faster File Explorer, a clearer Windows Insider program, more stable updates, and more.

If you are on build 26300.8289 (Dev Channel), you can try the updated loading indicator yourself using the ViVeTool app:

1. Download ViVeTool from GitHub and unpack the files wherever convenient.
2. Launch Command Prompt as Administrator and navigate to the folder containing ViVeTool files using the CD command. For example, CD C:\Vive.
3. Type vivetool /enable /id:59728252 and press Enter.
4. Restart your computer.

You can read about other changes in Windows 11 build 26300.8289 in our dedicated article here.

Source: @phantomofearth on X

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Posted Tuesday 28 April 2026 at 7:33 am AEST (my time).

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Recently, Microsoft has been making active strides to improve Windows 11, the company finally announced many Windows Update features that have been requested by users for a very long time, and the performance of the OS will also see some big improvements, according to its internal plan supposedly called "K2" that leaked out today.

Aside from those, the Redmond giant has also made improvements to Windows 11 sleep. That's because last year, Microsoft quietly introduced updated default power and sleep settings in Windows 11, refining how devices transition into low-power states. The changes were published in a support article that Neowin spotted while browsing today.

These are new default settings that affect both systems that support Modern Standby as well as those that still rely on the legacy S3 or deep idle sleep state, and help to shorten the time it takes for a device to turn off its display and enter sleep when idle. On Modern Standby–capable devices, the display now turns off after three minutes on battery power and five minutes when plugged in, with the system entering sleep after the same intervals.

For those who may not be aware, Modern Standby, introduced on Windows 8, is a power model that differs significantly from traditional sleep states. It operates within the system’s active power state (referred to as S0 low-power idle), allowing the device to remain in a low-power condition while still performing limited background tasks. This enables near-instant wake and an “always-on, always-connected” experience similar to what happens on mobile devices like phones.

Modern Standby includes a range of substates that allow the system to scale power usage dynamically, balancing responsiveness with efficiency. Systems can transition between more active and deeper idle conditions depending on workload and hardware behavior. Microsoft also provides diagnostic tools such as SleepStudy, which help analyze power consumption and activity during such standby sessions.

Aside from new default sleep timers, Microsoft has introduced several targeted changes to how Modern Standby handles wake behavior so as to improve battery life and reduce unwanted activity during sleep. These changes were introduced on Windows 11 24H2 which means they apply to Windows 11 25H2 as well.

If the system now detects excessive battery drain while in Modern Standby, most wake sources are automatically disabled. In this restricted state, the device can only be woken through deliberate user actions, specifically by pressing the power button or opening the lid. This limits background or unintended wake events that could otherwise consume power.

Another important update involves input and display behavior. With input suppression, which now works on both DC and AC power, the power button no longer triggers a wake when the lid is closed and no external display is connected. Likewise, if an external display is connected while the lid is closed, input suppression does not apply and the external display may turn on. Microsoft also changed voice wake support as it is no longer supported as a wake source from sleep.

Despite the shift toward Modern Standby, the legacy S3 sleep state remains in use on some systems, particularly older hardware and certain desktop configurations. In S3 sleep, most components are powered off with only system memory retaining the current session. This results in lower power consumption compared to lighter sleep states but typically comes with slower wake times.

For devices using the older S3 sleep model, the timers remain longer but have still been reduced, with sleep occurring after 10 minutes on battery and 15 minutes when connected to power. The table below details the changes:

New default settings for modern standby devices

New default settings for S3 devices

These adjustments are intended to reduce energy consumption and extend battery life by limiting idle power usage.

Source: Microsoft (link1, link2)

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Posted Monday 27 April 2026 at 5:30 pm AEST (my time).

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Linux founder, Linus Torvalds, has announced the release of Linux 7.1-rc1. It follows the closure of the merge window where developers frantically submitted the new features, patches, and removals they want to see in this upcoming release. Over the next few months, these changes will undergo rigorous testing before giving it to the public.

This is a important kernel update for anyone running legacy hardware as it begins the phase out of i486 suppor. So far, configs have been deleted, but code still needs to be taken out carefully, to ensure nothing snaps. Some really old networking hardware support is also being removed, as well as some System-on-Chip support for hardware that “never went anywhere.”

The removal of i486 support is what has been making headlines in recent weeks. Practically, most people aren’t going to be affected by this given that it was introduced in 1989 and discontinued in 2007.

Despite the removals, this kernel release is going to deliver, if you look at the logs, you will see that many more lines of code have been added. This is because new features are being added such as the ground-up reworking of the NTFS driver. This new feature alone will give Windows-Linux dual booters drastically faster and safer file transfers between OS partitions now that the FUSE-based drivers, with their extra overhead, are not being used.

There is also initial support for Intel Xe3P_LPG and Nova Lake P graphics, as well as support for NVIDIA GA100 accelerators in the Nouveau driver. For handheld gamers, there are also improved Lenovo Legion Go drivers for a better gaming experience.

In terms of the hecticness of this update, Torvalds reports that things look fairly normal right now, which is a good sign for a timely release in a few months. When things start to get hairy, that’s when delays happen, and we don’t want that!

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Posted Monday 27 April 2026 at 3:43 pm AEST (my time).

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In March, Windows president Pavan Davuluri confirmed plans to address serious "paint points" across Windows 11 that have eroded user trust and generated a wave of negative sentiment around the OS, spawned from Microsoft's relentless push into AI and enshittification while neglecting core Windows fundamentals such as performance and reliability.

Of course, what Microsoft says externally isn't always reflective of what it's really thinking internally, but in this case, my sources say the company is serious about turning Windows 11 into a platform that people are proud to use. By the end of 2026 and into 2027, Microsoft is striving to have Windows 11 in a much better place.

According to my sources, this effort is codenamed Windows K2. It’s a project that was put together in the second half of last year that addresses the biggest complaints that people have about Windows 11 today. Everything from an overabundance of AI features and bloat to performance issues and reliability mishaps will be tackled.

Windows K2 isn’t a dedicated release of the OS. Instead, K2 is an ongoing initiative that will ensure Windows quality remains both high and consistent across current and future versions, building an OS that is always focused on improvements to fundamentals to ensure foundational aspects of the platform are continuously strong.

Performance, Craft, and Reliability

These are the three core pillars of focus with the Windows K2 initiative.

These pillars are what drive the Windows experience. If one of these pillars falls behind, the entire product suffers as a result. With Windows K2, Microsoft is working to ensure these three pillars are strong by addressing feedback directly from users and Insiders, analyzing telemetry data, and conducting focus groups with customers.

I'm told that K2 also looks inward at the teams themselves. It's not just about addressing feedback and fixing Windows 11, but it's also about how teams internally can better contribute code to the Windows product. I understand there's a huge culture shift happening internally right now that drives the K2 initiative.

On Windows 11, I'm always looking for ways to make Windows Package Manager (winget) more practical for everyday use, especially for keeping apps updated without the constant manual work.

By default, you still have to run commands like winget upgrade --all, which works fine, but only if you remember to do it. And while the Microsoft Store handles updates automatically, that applies only to Store apps, not the majority of traditional desktop apps you may have installed via winget.

That's what led me to Winget-AutoUpdate (WAU), a tool designed to close that gap.

Instead of manually triggering updates, WAU automates the entire process. It runs in the background, installs updates on a schedule or at logon, and adds features like notifications, logging, and granular control over what gets updated. After spending some time with it, it's clear this isn't just a convenience tool. It actually changes how you maintain apps in the operating system.

The GUI makes WAU actually accessible

One of the biggest limitations with Winget-AutoUpdate is that it's primarily designed around scripts and configuration files. It works great if you're comfortable with the command line, but it can feel unnecessarily complex if you want to set it up and forget about it.

That's where the WAU Settings GUI makes a noticeable difference. This is the second part of the project, and the GUI adds a proper interface on top of the tool, allowing you to configure everything without touching scripts. Instead of manually handling scheduled tasks, you can manage the entire setup visually.

As you proceed with the installation, you'll set up the main tool (without a GUI), then the graphical interface (all in the same wizard). The installation is similar to installing any other application, but you'll be prompted to choose a folder to install the app and store app lists, which you may want to create at the root of "C:."

Configuring WAU using the GUI

Once in the interface, you can turn on or off automatic updates, set schedules, configure allowlists and blocklists for specific apps, control notifications and logging behavior, and change advanced options.

You can always click the "Run WAU" button to update all your winget applications. As apps receive their updates, the tool will pop up toast notifications to let you know which app has been updated.

ExplainingComputers (1.17m subscribers)

April 26, 2026

Video length: 25m 15s

Ubuntu 26.04 Linux distro introduction and review. If you are thinking of moving from Windows 10 Linux, Ubuntu is well worth considering.

00:00 Titles & Intro

00:43 Support & Download

03:30 Installation

08:45 Tour & New Features

14:13 Applications

18:40 Update & Driver Control

20:39 Ubuntu Haters

24:26 Wrap

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Posted Monday 27 April 2026 at 7:41 am AEST (my time).

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In late 2025, Google started rolling out new icons with a gradient design. Now it seems the new look is coming to the rest of Google’s apps. 9to5Google got its hands on images of the new icons that ditch the uniform circle design that tries to cram in every color of the Google logo.

In general, the looks are softer. Corners are rounder, the gradients gently transition from almost pastel to the more saturated Google primary colors. We’ve already seen this new design language show in updated versions of the Google G logo, as well as Gemini, Photos, and Maps. According to 9to5, this represents the presence of AI-powered features.

The new icons are more playful, vibrant, and varied, reflecting recent design trends that have moved away from the flat looks of the late 2010s and early 2020s. Google Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, and Keep all ditch the portrait-oriented sheet of paper look. Many of them shift to landscape layout, which is much more appropriate — when is the last time you saw a vertical PowerPoint presentation?

Image: 9to5Google

 

Most of the icons feel like an improvement. They’re more visually distinct and often embrace a single color, like Chat, which trades the four-color speech bubble outline for a green blob with a smile inside it that feels reminiscent of Google Hangouts icon. The one exception is the Keep icon which, personal opinion, looks like hot trash.

It’s not clear when the new look icons will start rolling out, but it will probably be sooner than later.

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Posted Monday 27 April 2026 at 7:40 am AEST (my time).

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After five months of development, Niri 26.04 released today finally bringing one of the most requested features: blur alongside other goodies like major screencasting improvements and pointer warping.

Version 26.04 now ships with support for the ext-background-effect Wayland protocol, which lets desktop shells like Dank Material Shell and Noctalia shell, along with apps like the foot and kitty terminals, request blur without any special configuration.

Two types of blur are supported: the non-x-ray (normal) blur, which is more expensive, and the cheaper x-ray blur. The default X-ray blur works by computing a blurred version of the wallpaper just once and reusing it as a static image behind windows, making it extremely efficient. In contrast, the normal blur mode reads pixels directly from what is rendered behind a window mid-frame.

When screencasting a specific window (via PipeWire), the cursor is now sent as metadata. This allows apps like OBS or browsers to cleanly draw the cursor on top of the window, and properly hide it when your mouse moves over an obstructing window. This release also introduces an IPC mechanism so that desktop bars can show a screencasting indicator, and a new command (niri mg action stop-cast --session-id ) allows you to force-stop a cast.

You can also now cancel an ongoing drag-and-drop operation by pressing the Escape button. There's a new "pointer warping" feature that makes the cursor jump from one side of the screen to the other during horizontal scrolling.

Other miscellaneous additions and fixes include:

• A VRAM leak that occurred after closing certain applications has been patched.
• Support for the ext-foreign-toplevel-list protocol was implemented.
• Error messages for duplicate keybinds now show where the first definition is located.
• The default configuration now binds Mod+M to maximize-window-to-edges and Mod+Shift+R to switch-preset-column-width-back.
• A new --path argument lets you switch to a different Niri config at runtime.
• Constant screen repainting while the overview is open was fixed.
• Hardware acceleration now works in nested Niri instances thanks to DMA-BUF support.
• Building on OpenBSD has been fixed.
• The Num Lock state is now correctly preserved when loading a custom keymap.
• Trackball scrolling is now functional in the overview.

Niri is one of the fastest-growing window managers (technically a Wayland compositor) for Linux out there. What makes it special is its infinite horizontal ribbon. When you open an app and then open a second window, it spawns to the right. Upon opening a third, the first window scrolls off the screen without resizing the others. You navigate through this endless row of open applications by scrolling left or right, using keyboard shortcuts or touchpad gestures.

The project has a reputation for great defaults and a well-documented configuration process. Speaking of which, the config file is written in KDL (located at ~/.config/niri/config.kdl by default). Any changes you make to this file are applied instantly. If you write a typo in your config file, Niri just warns you and keeps running your last working setup instead of crashing.

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Posted Sunday 26 April 2026 at 12:18 pm AEST (my time).

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This week, Microsoft released new Windows 11 preview builds with some pretty substantial changes, including new Windows Update features, reworked Windows Insider channels, and more. As usual, shortly after, enthusiasts started digging out hidden features and upcoming changes. One of those hidden features is the so-called "Screen Tint."

Screen Tint is an upcoming display feature that makes the screen easier on your eyes by applying a color filter. Microsoft says the feature "shows a color overlay on your display to reduce eye strain and improve viewing comfort." While Windows 11 already has the Night Light, which makes the screen warmer on schedule, it is limited to just yellow light. Screen Tint will let you pick among several tints, with each having its own purpose:

• Calm amber: Effective for long screen usage
• Rose tint: Reduces migraine triggers and fluorescent sensitivity
• Soft yellow: Helps with visual stress and reading comfort
• Cool blue: Useful for glare sensitivity, particularly in bright environments
• Gentle green: Relief from photophobia and white backgrounds
• Natural grey: Helps those who find stark black-white contrast fatiguing

Interestingly, Screen Tint is not limited to just six presets. There is also a dedicated "Custom tint" feature that lets you create a custom color overlay for your display. Additionally, you can adjust the filter intensity with a dedicated slider.

Screen Tint is not publicly available yet, so we have to wait for Microsoft to announce its rollout formally, but digging it out in the current build reveals that Microsoft plans to keep the new feature in the Accessibility section, right next to color filters, contrast themes, magnifier, and other screen-related assistive technology.

In case you missed it, release notes for the latest Dev, Beta, and Canary builds are available here and here.

Source: @phantomofearth on X

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Posted Sunday 26 April 2026 at 8:04 am AEST (my time).

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Microsoft has shared details on new Windows Update improvements that are rolling out to Windows Insiders now. Most of these features have been long requested by users and the company has finally listened. As it is in the Insider channel now, all Windows 11 users will receive them soon, later this year.

This is part of the tech giant's commitment in improving Windows 11 as well as its many components, and plans have already been underway and some of it should be in action in the upcoming KB5083631 release.

In a new blog post earlier today, Microsoft detailed all the new upgrades that are coming to Windows 11 Update. The biggest change is the ability to control updates better as the tech giant will now allow users to pause updates almost indefinitely with the ability to extend them "many times as you need" as you can you can now "re-pause for up to 35 days at a time, with no limits on how many times you can reset the pause end date."

Besides that, the ability to restart a system without updating has been added, and finally the option to skip updates during the Out of box experience (OOBE) or the initial setup is also coming with a new "Update later" button.

Microsoft explains: "Updates are an important part of keeping your PC secure and running smoothly. But at the wrong time, they can also critically break your flow. To make this a better experience, we are focused on giving you more control of updates in four key ways:

1. Skip updates immediately during the out of box experience (OOBE)
2. Extend update pauses as many times as you need
3. Always-available options to shut down and restart without updating
4. More insights on available updates so you can make more informed installation decisions

Aside from the above, Microsoft is also promising "fewer disruptions" by unifying the various software updates received via the Windows update so that there are fewer restarts and reboots going forward. The company says: "... as of today, we’re unifying the update experience to reduce the number of reboots you see every month. .. We are starting by coordinating driver, .NET, and firmware updates to align with the monthly quality update, reducing update experience to a single monthly restart. ... For users checking out the Settings > Windows Update page, you will see all of these updates collapsed into a single Available updates section."

You can check out the official blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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Posted Sunday 26 April 2026 at 8:00 am AEST (my time).

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The KDE team has released a new entry for its long-running "This Week in Plasma" series, covering notable work done across different components of the KDE ecosystem.

Starting with Plasma 6.7, Discover has been updated with "fancier application page headers" that feature more obvious install buttons. The Kicker Application Menu widget can now show a "Recent Locations" item, and network connections can be duplicated.

You can now also drag favorite apps out of Kicker to un-favorite them. If you're a gamer on an Intel GPU, the team finally switched on the "overlay planes" feature for you. Your battery will thank you, and you get better performance and lower latency.

KDE began aggressively rolling out support for overlay planes in Plasma 6.5, but the feature mostly benefited AMD users. Intel was left out because its GPUs use fixed plane positions, a technical limitation that meant developers had to write extra, complex logic to handle where the layers could be placed on screen.

In modern Linux display technology, the graphics driver exposes different hardware layers, known as planes, to assemble what you see on your screen. There are three main types: the Primary Plane for your main desktop, a Cursor Plane for the mouse pointer, and Overlay Planes, which are extra hardware layers on top.

Historically, your desktop compositor (KWin) would take every single window, video, and effect, process them all on your GPU, and crush them down into a single flat image to send to the Primary Plane. When you enable Overlay Planes, the compositor can offload content like a full-screen video directly to its own hardware layer.

Moving on to Plasma 6.6.5, when you drag a search result for a System Settings page to the desktop, it now creates a launcher for that page as you would expect.

Here's a list of the bug fixes slated for the upcoming version:

• A crash in the Plasma Login Manager that could occur when connecting and disconnecting multiple monitors is fixed.
• The Orca screen reader no longer has issues with key repeat, and various UI elements are now read properly.
• Spectacle's feature for automatically copying large images to the clipboard right after the app exits no longer fails.
• An issue where de-focused full-screen windows could inappropriately appear at the top of the window stack has been resolved.
• A layout glitch on the System Settings' Colors page that made UI elements overflow with certain fonts is corrected.
• Changing the screen brightness no longer terminates Spectacle's rectangular region recordings.

KDE Plasma 6.6.5 is coming on the 12th of May, while Plasma 6.7 is scheduled for a 16th June release.

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Posted Sunday 26 April 2026 at 7:57 am AEST (my time).

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Starting today, Windows Insiders are being shifted to the newly formed Experimental Channel and the revamped Beta Channel. Most Insiders in the Dev Channel will be placed in the Experimental Channel, while those in the Beta Channel will be in the updated Beta Channel.

Windows Insiders in the Canary Channel will be transitioned to either the Experimental (26H1) Channel or the Experimental (Future Platforms) depending on the Canary build their PC is on, but that transition will happen over the coming weeks.

Microsoft is rebooting the Windows Insider Program with a new focus, a clearer structure, and a deeper commitment to listening to feedback. Part of the change is a simplified channel strategy that reorganizes the Insider Channels in a way that makes sense.

The Experimental and Beta Channels will allow Insiders to test features and provide feedback without having to jump through hoops or use third-party tools to enable features. There's a clear separation between the channels that I'm excited to see.

Microsoft outlines the transition in a Windows Insider blog post:

"To ensure quality and reliability of the program changes, we will be rolling out the changes in a phased approach. Starting today, we will begin moving users in the Dev Channel to Experimental. Delivering on our promise to allow Insiders in Experimental to enable new experiences before they roll out to your device, if you are in the Dev Channel and do not see the new Experimental channel UI, you can enable it yourself by going to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Feature flags and toggling on the new experience."

The rollout will span the coming few weeks and eventually include Canary Channel Insiders as well.

Microsoft kicked things off with the first-ever Experimental builds and a Dev Channel Build. Here are some quick links to the change logs and a rundown of what's new in the first-ever Experimental build.

• Beta (Including Beta Channel): Build 26220.8283
• Experimental (Including Dev Channel): Build 26300.8289
• Experimental (26H1) – Including Canary 28000 series: Build 28020.1873
• Experimental (Future Platforms) – Including Canary 29500 series: Build 29576.1000

The biggest change is the ability to skip updates during the out of box experience. We knew this was on the way, and it's nice to see it hit the next phase of testing.

Before this change, users setting up a PC for the first time needed to sit through an entire update process, which could take up to half an hour. While it's important to keep systems up to date, having the option to skip those updates while setting up a PC is lovely.

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Posted Saturday 25 April 2026 at 8:01 am AEST (my time).

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Sitting down at your PC and realizing it needs an update is at least bothersome. At worst, it can derail your plans by requiring you to set aside time for the system to do its thing. But soon, Windows Update will be easier to control.

When you set up your PC, you'll be able to skip updates during the out-of-box experience (OOBE). There will also be the option to extend update pauses for as long as you'd like.

Windows 11 PCs will always present options to shut down or restart without updating, which is in contrast to current behavior where those options disappear.

Lastly, Windows 11 will provide more insights about updates, helping you stay informed on what's new and giving you the information you need to make an informed plan for updating your PC.

In addition to new Dev and Beta builds, Microsoft dropped two Canary updates for Windows Insiders to try. In today's releases, Windows 11 gets Xbox mode, sound improvements, Task Manager upgrades, and other enhancements across the operating system.

If you are in the Experimental channel, you can download build 28200.1873 with the following changes:

[Xbox Mode]

• Xbox full screen experience is now Xbox mode
• We’ve added an improved first-run experience when entering Xbox mode

[Touch Keyboard Experience for Voice Typing]

• We’re updating the experience when you use voice typing with the touch keyboard to make it feel more streamlined and intuitive. The new design  removes the previous full‑screen overlay and instead shows voice typing animations directly on the dictation key, helping you stay focused on what  you’re doing without extra visual distractions. 

[Storage]

• Improved the performance when navigating to see storage on large volumes via Settings > System > Storage > Advanced Storage Settings > Disks & Volumes.
• Updated Settings > System > Storage, so rather than seeing a UAC prompt immediately when you go to the page, you’ll only see it when going to view temporary files.

[Network]

• Fixed issue causing Settings > Network & Internet > Data Usage to show large unrealistic values in recent Insider builds.

[Other]

• Improved performance of launching startup apps after boot (apps which display under Settings > Apps > Startup).

As for Windows Insiders in the Experimental (Future Platforms) side of the Canary Channel, Microsoft released build 29576.1000 with the following:

[Sound settings]

We’ve been making some improvements to Settings > System > Sound in the latest Canary builds. This includes:

• We’ve updated the design of the volume slider, so now if there is audio actively playing it will be displayed on the side.

  

   

• If your audio device supports hardware acceleration, an option to allow hardware acceleration has now been added to the Advanced section in Properties for that device.
• Configuring exclusive mode for an audio device is now available in the Advanced section of the Properties for that device, so you don’t have to navigate to Control Panel to do it.
• Configuring adaptive communication sound levels (reducing the volume of other sounds when communication activity is detected) is now available directly in Settings, so you don’t have to navigate to Control Panel to do it.
• The option to set an audio device as the default sound device for communication will now always display in Properties, just greyed out if the device is already the default (rather than the control hiding in this case).

[Point-in-time restore for Windows]

• Point-in-time restore for Windows empowers you to quickly roll your device back to a previous state — helping minimize downtime and simplify troubleshooting when disruptions strike. Whether you’re dealing with a widespread outage or a one-off issue, point-in-time restore helps recover your system (including apps, settings, and user files) to get you back to productivity faster. For more details, check out our documentation.

[Task Manager]

We’re making a few improvements to Task Manager: 

• We’re updating Task Manager to provide better insight into NPU usage for PCs that include an NPU. New optional NPU and NPU Engine columns are now available on the Processes, Users, and Details pages. The Details page also adds NPU Dedicated Memory and NPU Shared Memory optional columns to give you deeper visibility into how workloads are using NPU resources. Additionally, if there are neural engines that are part of a GPU, they will now appear on the Performance page, providing a more complete view of AI‑related system activity.
• We’re also adding a new optional Isolation column to the Processes and Details pages, allowing you to see which apps are running in an AppContainer.
• Once these changes are available to you, you can add any of the new columns by right‑clicking a column header in Task Manager and selecting them from the menu.

[Other]

• Fixed an underlying issue causing some rendering issues in certain apps with recent Canary flights.

You can find release notes for build 29576.1000 here and for build 28200.1873 here.

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Posted Saturday 25 April 2026 at 7:58 am AEST (my time).

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This week's Windows 11 preview build in the Dev Channel delivers major updates to the operating system and changes that many users have long been asking Microsoft for. Build 26300.8289 is now available for download with a reworked Windows Insider channel system, new features for Windows Update, Start menu improvements, and more.

[Windows Insider Program channel movement]

• As announced in the Windows Insider Blog, we will begin moving users in the Dev Channel to the new Experimental channel. This will be a phased rollout, and Insiders who do not see the new experience on their device but want to can enable it under Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Feature flags.

[Windows Update]

We’re introducing new capabilities to enhance security and improve user control over the Windows update experience. This includes:

• Ability to skip updates immediately during the out-of-the-box experience (OOBE)
• Extend update pauses as many times as you need
• Always available options to shutdown and restart with updating
• More insight on available updates to make more informed installation decisions

[Print Drivers]

• The Internet Protocol Print driver (prnms012) has new hardware IDs (HWIDs) in preparation for upcoming changes in printer driver ranking order.

[Start menu]

• Improved detection of clicks at the leftmost edge of the taskbar to invoke the Start menu when the taskbar icons are set to left-aligned.

[Other]

• Removed an unexpected error that was showing when opening Group Policy Editor in the last couple of Insider flights.
• We’ve updated Times New Roman to improve support for combining diacritical marks across the Greek and Cyrillic Unicode ranges. If you notice any positioning issues with these diacritical marks, please let us know by filing feedback under Desktop Environment > Font Installation and Preview in the Feedback Hub – preferably with details about the specific Unicode character, and a screenshot highlighting the expected position.

Known issues include the following:

[Feature flags]

• Insiders who use Feature flags to enable the new WIP experience may see the feature state incorrectly marked as current; changing state and applying changes will work as expected.

You can find release notes here.

As for the Beta Channel, Microsoft is rolling out build 26220.8283 with the following changes:

[Print Drivers]

• The Internet Protocol Print driver (prnms012) has new hardware IDs (HWIDs) in preparation for upcoming changes in printer driver ranking order. See our third-party driver deprecation timeline: End of Servicing Plan for Third-Party Printer Drivers on Windows - Windows drivers | Microsoft Learn.

[Start menu]

• Improved detection of clicks at the leftmost edge of the taskbar to invoke the Start menu when the taskbar icons are set to left-aligned.

[Other]

• Removed an unexpected error that was showing when opening the Group Policy Editor in the last couple of Insider flights.
• We have updated Times New Roman to improve support for combining diacritical marks across the Greek and Cyrillic Unicode ranges. If you notice any positioning issues with these diacritical marks, let us know by filing feedback under Desktop Environment > Font Installation and Preview in the Feedback Hub – preferably with details about the specific Unicode character, and a screenshot highlighting the expected position.

You can find release notes here.

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Posted Saturday 25 April 2026 at 7:55 am AEST (my time).

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Canonical has reported started redesigning the series page of its venerable software collaboration and PPA hosting platform, Launchpad.

In the original Discourse post announcing the redesign, UX designer at Canonical Enzo Deng, referred to this redesign as the start of "the journey of modernizing the Launchpad user experience." He promised that this is just the "first milestone" in a planned revamp of the entire Launchpad web app.

For many, the classic Launchpad interface is a reminder of the early days of the project. However, we know that for many contributors, that same interface has become a source of friction. Managing complex tasks should be as intuitive as the operating system itself, not a legacy challenge. We recognized that to better support the community, we needed to bridge the gap between Launchpad’s powerful backend and a modern user experience

Here's a before and after of what the series page looked like:

Two years ago, Canonical redesigned the Launchpad home page, bringing the platform's fonts, button styles, padding, and color schemes in line with Canonical's other web properties. The change gave the landing page a modern, new look and introduced proper mobile responsiveness.

Launchpad was created 22 years ago, with its super-popular Personal Package Archive (PPA) service going live in late November 2007. For a long time, the platform's focus on Canonical's own in-house version control system, Bazaar, kept many developers on other platforms like GitHub. The company eventually added Git support in 2015. In September last year, Canonical completely discontinued Bazaar hosting, forcing all remaining repositories to fully migrate to Git.

Because anyone can create a PPA, the Launchpad PPA system has frequently been criticized as a security vulnerability for Ubuntu users. Bad actors can host malicious packages that overwrite core system files if an unsuspecting user adds the wrong software source.

The platform used to allow GPG keys for PPAs to be signed using RSA1024, a weak encryption standard that had been deprecated for years. But in 2024, Canonical began migrating PPAs toward stronger signing keys like RSA4096.

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Posted Saturday 25 April 2026 at 7:54 am AEST (my time).

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Earlier this week, we reported on a new built-in internet speed test on Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2. It is now rolling out to all users with the latest KB5083769 update. There is another major internet-related change in the new release wherein Microsoft has introduced new Remote Desktop safeguards. These are to protect against spoofing vulnerability (CVE-2026-26151) that can misuse RDP files.

However the new update has introduced a bug wherein it is causing some problems when opening Remote Desktop. The company has confirmed that the new warning window, which pops up after the new update, is broken. The enterprises have been already dealing with the BitLocker recovery issue.

Microsoft explains: "After installing Windows security update released on April 13, 2026 (KB5083769), the warning message that appears when opening Remote Desktop (RDP) files might not display correctly in some cases. ... This issue can occur when you use more than one monitor with different display scaling settings (for example, one display set to 100% and another set to 125%). When this happens, the warning window might show overlapping text or partially hidden buttons, which can make the message difficult to read or interact with."

Thankfully workarounds are available; the company has shared two of them which are given below:

To help the warning window display correctly, set the same display scaling on all monitors.

1. Open Display settings from the Start menu.
2. Select each display.
3. Under Scale & Layout, set the same Scale value for all displays.

Keyboard accessibility option

If buttons or text are difficult to select with a mouse, you can use the keyboard to interact with the warning message:

• Press the Tab key to move keyboard focus between options.

• When an option is highlighted, press the Spacebar to select it.

   

Microsoft says it is investigating the problem and will release a fix in a future update. Perhaps it will be published alongside KB5083631 that's expected to bring significant performance upgrades on Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2.

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Posted Friday 24 April 2026 at 4:24 pm AEST (my time).

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The 11th long-term support release of Ubuntu has just been made available for public consumption. This version is Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, codenamed Resolute Raccoon, and it will get standard support until 2031 and extended support until 2036. There will also be a purchasable add-on if you ever wanted to take support all the way up to 2041, but this will be geared toward organizations that need a legacy system to run certain applications.

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ships with the latest GNOME desktop environment and a modernized set of default applications. It also means that Ubuntu has completed its shift to Wayland which gives users smoother visuals, per-monitor scaling, native touch and gesture support, no screen tearing, and optimized performance across platforms, including support for the latest NVIDIA production drivers.

This update to GNOME also includes a broad set of accessibility fixes across the Shell and the default applications that Ubuntu ships with. The App Center has also been updated to feature improved Debian package support.

Another notable detail with this update is that Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is the first Ubuntu release to natively distribute NVIDIA CUDA as part of its software repositories. Users now also have the option to install NVIDIA DOCA-OFED for higher performance networking through an official PPA. Canonical, the maker of Ubuntu, said that the AMD ROCm software platform is also available. This open software ecosystem is used for hardware-accelerated AI, machine learning, and HPC workloads on AMD Instinct and AMD Radeon GPUs.

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS also ships with Linux 7.0, which just came out in the last few weeks. One of the biggest things in this kernel update is support for Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors (Panther Lake). It also brings targeted optimizations for Intel Xe3 integrated graphics and the integrated NPU, enabling strong AI performance and better power efficiency.

To get started with the new Ubuntu, head over to the Ubuntu download page. There you will find the desktop download file but also upgrade instructions if you already have Ubuntu installed.

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Posted Friday 24 April 2026 at 4:22 pm AEST (my time).

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