Some of the highlights from these releases, present in all of the versions, include out-of-the-box AppImage support, enhanced password security, a more optimized X11 experience (especially in Hyper-V), and more stable torrent downloads for each of the versions.

Out-of-the-box AppImage support is the real biggie here, this is an increasingly popular containerized app format that more and more developers are adopting. They’re similar to snaps and flatpaks in that they bundle many of the dependencies for the application, ensuring increased reliability that the program will run without issues. They can also be run on any Linux distribution that supports AppImages, helping with fragmentation.

AnduinOS 1.3.2

In 1.3.2, a standout feature is the inclusion of the deskmon.service, a systemd service that allows executing desktop files in the ~/Desktop directory. This should simplify the “Create Desktop shortcut” process for users.

For anyone installing this version cleanly, this version includes support for Intel’s latest audio devices through the thesofproject/sof-bin firmware. This has been tested on the Lunarlake CPU. It’s important to note that this is not available when upgrading, it’s only included if you perform a new install.

AnduinOS 1.2.5 and 1.1.5

The changes in these releases are a bit smaller but improve the overall user experience. One of the changes that is included in both of these versions is consistent installer theme integration. This addresses and fixes an issue where the ubiquity installer didn’t follow the system theme. Now it does, delivering a more aesthetically consistent installation experience.

Another small aesthetic change these two updates got included the text shown during the boot sequence on the grub menu. Instead of saying “Install AnduinOS”, it now says “Try and Install AnduinOS”. While users may appreciate this change, it’d be good if it could be improved upon further because right now it sounds like a challenge, “try and install AnduinOS… I bet you can’t.”

How to upgrade

Upgrades between major versions such as 1.2.5 to 1.3.2 are not currently possible, a clean install is needed for that right now. However, it is possible to upgrade between point releases, for example, 1.3.1 to 1.3.2.

To perform an upgrade like this, just run the following command:

• do_anduinos_upgrade

For a complete list of the new changes to these updates, check out the changelogs in the announcement. Anduin Xue also recently announced the plans for AnduinOS 1.4 and 1.5, be sure to check our coverage.

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Starting this month, Microsoft Edge will show more "productivity-related Copilot prompts" near the search box on the new tab page. Additionally, there will be a new Copilot button that will send your current search query to Copilot. These updates are available across all Microsoft Edge channels and are rolling out gradually to all users.

Here is what was fixed in Microsoft Edge 136.0.3240.92:

• Fixed an issue that may have affected extensions that bring up a window. Extensions designed to run continuously were being paused in the background when the window was minimized or occluded.

• Fixed an issue that caused the Microsoft Defender Application Guard window to automatically close 1 minute after launch without any user interaction.

• Fixed an issue that prevented text from being displayed and other rendering issues when viewing certain PDF files containing Japanese fonts.

   

Besides the stable release, Microsoft pushed Edge 137.0.3296.39 to the Beta Channel. It contains the same updates to the new tab page, plus a new Web Content Filtering (WCF) for Educational and SMB organizations. Microsoft announced this feature at Build 2025, and it is aimed to give IT admins an easy way block inappropriate websites to keep students and employees safe online. With WCF, Microsoft allows carpet-blocking millions of websites by simply selecting the needed categories. WCF in Microsoft Edge is currently a public preview, and you can learn more about it in the official documentation.

You can update Microsoft Edge by heading to edge://settings/help. The browser can also update itself automatically the next time you launch it.

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Additionally, the driver brings Monster Hunter Wilds performance improvements to systems with the Intel Arc B-series graphics cards. Intel claims users will get up to 9% higher average FPS at 1080p and up to 6% more average FPS at 1440p.

Other than that, the driver does not contain any fixes or additional changes. The list of known bugs, however, has a few new entries in addition to the bugs from the previous driver:

• Overwatch 2 (DX12) may experience an application crash while launching the game with High or Ultra graphics quality settings on systems with the Intel Arc A-Series graphics cards.
• Blender 4.4 may fail to complete rendering while using the Cycles render engine on systems with the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors.

You can install Intel 32.0.101.6795 non-WHQL driver on PCs with 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11 with the following graphics products from Intel:

You can download the driver from the official website here. Full release notes are available here (PDF). Keep in mind that this is a non-WHQL driver, which means it could be less stable than certified WHQL drivers.

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This Linux distribution has caught some significant attention recently. With the impending death of Windows 10, users that want to keep older devices running may choose to switch to Linux. With AnduinOS, they get a distribution that looks similar to Windows 11, reducing the learning curve.

AnduinOS 1.4, just like version 1.3, will not be an LTS, but AnduinOS 1.5 will be, so that’s going to be the best for people who don’t want to keep reinstalling the operating system. The developer said that he’s aware of the issues people have with AnduinOS, such as the inability to smoothly update from AnduinOS 1.2 to 1.3, but said resources are limited, though, we can expect improvements in the future.

This year, the project has extensive improvements planned, with the primary goal being to establish its own apt software repository that can manage all changes directly through dpkg. By doing this, it will simplify the process of using apt for system updates and will give users the option to smoothly transition to future AnduinOS releases. It’s expected that this will be available experimentally in AnduinOS 1.4 and fully implemented in AnduinOS 1.5.

AnduinOS is not only trying to become just another Linux distribution, it has ambitions to set itself apart too. One of its objectives is to modularize and consolidate system components so that users can pick to add or remove features such as app stores, GNOME Shell, professional tools, container technologies, and WSL through “layered combinations.” It will also compile more of the system core components to give users more customization options.

By the time of AnduinOS 1.5, it’s expected that there will be a Server and Lite Edition of AnduinOS. The Lite Edition will provide a basic GNOME Shell environment with only a little bit of pre-installed software so that it’s not bloated. There are no plans to charge for any of these editions and they’ll remain under the GPLv3 license.

Another feature AnduinOS could offer in the future is a versatile customization tool and builder for Linux distributions. It said that this could cater to users looking for an ISO that meets all their personal requirements within a Live environment; Live environments are run directly from the installation media without Linux being installed on your computer.

Regarding AI features, Anduin Xue said that they could be selectively integrated in future versions to give users more functionality. He specifically mentioned system-level MCP, which Microsoft recently added to Windows 11. For users who do not like artificial intelligence, AnduinOS says these features will be easily removable.

Due to the fact that Anduin Xue is based in China (he's also a Microsoft employee), some people have raised concerns about whether the project is linked to the Chinese government in any way. Here’s what he had to say about transparency:

“We are aware of concerns that AnduinOS might become influenced or controlled by particular governments or institutions. Therefore, transparency remains a top priority in our development process. We commit to fully disclosing all source code, development progress, planning, and even details about our team composition. Efforts will be made to establish a diverse, globally distributed team communicating primarily in English to foster open collaboration and community building.”

If this is the first time you’ve heard about AnduinOS, be sure to check out Neowin’s coverage of the latest version, AnduinOS 1.3.

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New GNOME Core App Updates

This week we got two enhancements for core GNOME software. GLib, a foundational GNOME library, has been improved so that journal messages output by apps are easier to find. For developers using GNOME Web, there is now a preferences page for tech preview builds, allowing you to test WebKit features at runtime. Those using the regular version of GNOME Web can access these new settings by opening Web from the command line with this command:

gsettings set org.gnome.Epiphany.ui webkit-features-page true

GNOME Circle and Tuner: A New Extensible GNOME Control Center

One of the GNOME-related apps that got a notable update this week was Deja Dup Backups. It now has an enhanced file restoration process that integrates with native file managers, giving you a more streamlined experience. This was achieved by adding support for the restic mount.

Next up, the image viewer Halftone, which is now on version 0.7.0, has just added the ability to zoom in on images. It also brings improved error handling to enhance user interaction and reliability. In earlier versions, users were not informed well about errors occurring during image loading, resulting in endless loading screens. This is fixed now.

The final update in this section is that a new extensible settings management center for GNOME, called Tuner, is now available.

It has been designed with flexibility and convenience in mind, allowing GNOME users to build a personalized control center using plugins. With this, everyone can have a settings center with options they find useful. It was developed with the help of ALT Linux developers.

The Tuner control center uses libpeas to deliver a dynamic and modular app allowing developers to build plugins for the community to install. While it doesn't do this yet, you could imagine in the future plugins being made available for Tuner to replicate the functionality of apps like GNOME Tweaks, as well as other settings, taking customization to another level.

Tuner doesn't only give users a modular settings app, it also allows GNOME-based distributions to use Tuner as a hub for distribution-specific settings. ALT Linux has already started using it in fact by including the TunerPanel module for managing panel mode. It'll be interesting to see if other distros pick it up.

One Linux distribution that could benefit from Tuner is Ubuntu which ships with a slightly tweaked version of the GNOME Linux desktop environment. Canonical could give users the options to disable its tweaks through Tuner if it ever decided to, which would appeal to fans of vanilla GNOME.

As a new piece of software, the developers are inviting people to contribute plugins. There is a quick guide available with an example using the Vala language. There are also template repositories for making plugins available in Vala and Python, plus documentation in Valadoc format.

Mobile Experience on GNOME

Finally, Phosh has been updated to version 0.47.0 this week bringing with it a "Do not disturb" toggle and improved on-screen keyboard. Phosh, for those that don’t know, is GNOME designed for the mobile phone. The devices that can run this are pretty limited as it’s aimed at devices that come with Linux out of the box such as Purism and PINEPHONE devices. Devices that support postmarketOS can also run it.

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Thanks to this new feature, Plasma will now automatically switch compatible wallpapers between their light and dark versions based on the day/night cycle. Visual polish also improves the previews of these dynamic wallpapers, making them look better and clearly marked as dynamic. Previously, users had to rely on third-party projects, clunky slideshow setups, or shell scripts via cron jobs to achieve this functionality.

Moving on to small improvements, the team has removed wallpapers and other add-ons from its search page. However, it is not gone entirely, as you can still find them as long as you initiate a search while on the "Add-Ons" page.

Next, the Audio Volume widget which got small textual headers for audio input and output device sections, last week, has received several small visual tweaks. For one, the mute button is now indented to align with the radio button's label.

The team also replaced the hamburger icon for item-specific menus in the Audio Volume widget with a three-dot/kebab icon.

Looking further out to Plasma 6.5.0, development continues on several UI enhancements. The Sticky Note widget is being reworked for panel use, with smaller resizing, context menu colors, and a true transparent background. System Settings will warn against using "Display" fonts for global settings, as they are poor for screen text.

The Emoji Picker (Meta+.) will now open showing all emojis on first launch, not an empty "Recent" page. The Networks widget's "Hotspot" button will always be visible, grayed out with a tooltip when unavailable, and debugging effects are moving to the KWin debug window.

Plasma 6.4.0 will also deliver many important bug fixes. A critical one addresses a rare flaw that could bypass the lock screen's password. System Settings stability will improve, fixing crashes from refresh rate changes or dragging LibreOffice content. A WINE application freeze with custom window decorations is also being resolved. The color picker gets more accuracy with features like Night Light or HDR, and custom panel resize handles will work better. System Monitor sees fixes for network speed sorting, data display, and widget configurations. Finally, wallpaper grid previews will adjust their aspect ratio in real time if the screen's aspect changes, complementing dynamic wallpapers.

Performance work continues. For Plasma 6.4.0, the clipboard popup (Meta+V) will appear faster, and non-native screen resolutions will see less performance penalty.

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First, the company is working on a new "Draft with Copilot in Word" Click to Do option. Essentially, Copilot will do the brainstorming for you when you are trying to quickly draft something up. Microsoft says it will begin rolling out "over the course of the coming weeks," but it will not be free and will require a Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.

With the latest build, Microsoft is also improving Widgets, which will now have multiple dashboards. If you don't like them already, this change will not change your mind; however, those who find widgets helpful and useful will likely enjoy the new additional boards.

In addition, more options for the lock screen are also rolling out so that users can have more control over what widgets appear there.

The new migration app that we reported on recently is also landing with this build. You can read this article to learn some of the details.

The activation dialog box for the Windows 11 product key is finally getting the Windows 11 visual style treatment to improve the consistency of the UI. Microsoft has made changes like these in the past, but they were not quite up to the overall aesthetics of the OS.

Finally, a new "Open with" dialog is being tested that will recommend Microsoft Store apps when you try opening a file.

Aside from these new feature additions, Microsoft is also making several subtle improvements across many of the other elements, such as an inconvenience with Account Manager sign-in, Task Manager CPU reading issues, and more.

The known issues are given below:

[General]

• After you do a PC reset under Settings > System > Recovery, your build version may incorrectly show as Build 26100 instead of Build 26120. This will not prevent you from getting future Beta Channel updates, which will resolve this issue.
• The option to reset your PC under Settings > System > Recovery will not work on this build.
• [NEW] Starting in the last flight, when Virtualization Based Security is enabled, applications dependent on virtualization, such as VMware Workstation, lose the ability to run unless the “Windows Hypervisor Platform” Windows optional component is installed on the system. Previously, installing the optional component was not required.

[Xbox Controllers]

• Some Insiders are experiencing an issue where using their Xbox Controller via Bluetooth is causing their PC to bugcheck. Here is how to resolve the issue. Open Device Manager by searching for it via the search box on your taskbar. Once Device Manager is open, click on “View” and then “Devices by Driver”. Find the driver named “oemXXX.inf (XboxGameControllerDriver.inf)” where the “XXX” will be a specific number on your PC. Right-click on that driver and click “Uninstall”.

[Click to Do (Preview)]

The following known issues will be fixed in future updates to Windows Insiders:

• Windows Insiders on AMD or Intel™-powered Copilot+ PCs may experience long wait times on the first attempt to perform intelligent text actions in Click to Do after a new build or model update.

[Improved Windows Search]

• [REMINDER] For improved Windows Search on Copilot+ PCs, it is recommended that you plug in your Copilot+ PC for the initial search indexing to get completed. You can check your search indexing status under Settings > Privacy & security > Searching Windows.

[Taskbar & System Tray]

• [NEW] In some cases, taskbar icons may appear small even though the setting to show smaller taskbar buttons is configured as “never”.

[File Explorer]

The following are known issues for AI actions in File Explorer:

• Narrator scan mode may not work properly in the action result canvas window for the Summarize AI action for Microsoft 365 files when reading bulleted lists. As a workaround, you can use Caps + Right key to navigate.
• When your Windows display language is configured with a right-to-left language, the action result canvas displays text from left to right for AI actions for Microsoft 365 files.

[Widgets]

• Until we complete support for pinning in the new widgets board experience, pinning reverts you back to the previous experience

You can find the blog post for build 26120.4161 (KB5058515) here on Microsoft's official website.

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Other changes in Windows 11 build 27863 include three fixes. One resolves error 0xc0370106 upon Windows Sandbox launch that occurred in the previous Canary build. Another fix patches the bug with core Windows surfaces not being able to load in safe mode. Those include File Explorer, Start menu, and other elements.

Finally, build 27863 fixes problems with the msftedit.dll library, which was causing apps like Sticky Notes and Dxdiag to crash on systems with certain locales, such as Hebrew or Arabic.

Known issues include the following:

• Improtant Note for Copilot+ PCs: If you are joining the Canary Channel on a new Copilot+ PC from the Dev Channel, Release Preview Channel or retail, you will lose Windows Hello pin and biometrics to sign into your PC with error 0xd0000225 and error message “Something went wrong, and your PIN isn’t available”. You should be able to re-create your PIN by clicking “Set up my PIN”.
• You may see an Administrative Templates error message when opening Group Policy Editor. If you click OK you should be able to proceed as normal. One of the causes of this is fixed with this flight – there’s a second fix we’re working on which will be included in an upcoming flight.
• We’re investigating an issue where the taskbar is unexpectedly not showing acrylic material after upgrading to this build.
• We’re working on the fix for an issue where audio devices with high sampling (like 192Hz) and multiple channels aren’t producing sound after upgrading to this build. Thanks Insiders that provided detailed information in your feedback!
• [Input]
  • Pen input may be non-responsive on some PCs that support pen for inking.
• [Task Manager]
  • Search and other options such as filtering in Task Manager does not work.

You can find the official announcement post here.

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Signal announced the news on its blog, highlighting the need for such a feature, to block Windows Recall from capturing snapshots of its app. This move aims to bolster privacy and security for users of the end-to-end encrypted messaging app. Windows Recall, which is currently available on Copilot+ PCs, captures snapshots of the screen every few seconds, allowing for the analysis of previously worked content via a searchable database save on the user's computer. However, concerns over privacy led Microsoft to make adjustments, including requiring Windows Hello for its use.

Signal's decision to implement the Screen security feature comes as a response to these privacy concerns. The privacy-focussed messaging service says that, even with Microsoft's changes to Windows Recall, content displayed in privacy-focused applications like Signal could still be at risk. To protect its users, Signal felt compelled to add an extra layer of security, even if that meant introducing some usability trade-offs.

Attempts to capture a screenshot when the feature is enabled will simply result in a black screen. The technology behind Signal's screen security is similar to the DRM protection that is used by streaming services like Netflix, which also blocks screenshots of protected content.

However, there are some drawbacks to this feature. Users who rely on accessibility tools such as screen readers or magnification software may find compatibility issues. The feature is rolling out to users, and is enabled by default. You may opt to disable it manually from the following location: Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen security. However, the messaging service also pointed out that since the option is hidden behind two menus, it is not easy to accidentally disable the screen security feature. The ability to disable or uninstall Windows Recall remains, as users can navigate through "Privacy & Security" settings to manage snapshot functionalities.

Signal criticized Microsoft for launching Recall without offering app developers options to granular settings to protect the privacy of users.

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@pahntomofearth discovered that Snipping Tool will soon allow saving screen recordings as GIFs. In its current form, the app saves recordings as videos, but a quick and lightweight GIF is sometimes a more efficient way to show something on your screen. Besides the new format, Snipping Tool will let you choose the output quality to reduce the file size or make the image clearer. Once the update is out, you will see a new GIF button in the upper-right corner of the window when saving the recorded video and a new Ctrl + G keyboard shortcut.

Microsoft has not announced the update yet, so full details remain unknown. The ability to save screen recordings as GIFs might show up alongside one of the future Windows 11 preview builds in the Insider program. If you are new to the Snipping Tool app, you might want to change where the app stores screenshots and screen recordings. Check out this guide to learn how to do that.

What other features would you like Microsoft to add to the Snipping Tool app? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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The announcement reveals that the updates come to the applications in Canary and Dev versions of Windows 11. It is likely that they will launch in stable versions of Windows 11 later this year, but Microsoft has not published a timeline at the time of writing.

Let's take a look at the three programs and the features that Microsoft is introducing, starting with the weakest of the bunch.

Notepad

Notepad, version 11.2504.46.0, received a few AI features in the past already. These allow users to rewrite existing content among other things. The latest version adds text generation to the mix. Write what you would like and Copilot creates text based on the instruction in Notepad.

The feature requires AI credits and works similarly to other AI tools, including free to access tools like the web-version of Copilot that do not require AI credits. To that extend, it is not particularly useful, unless you use Notepad frequently for writing and use AI tools for text generation as well.

How to use: Press Ctrl-Q, right-click and select write, or select Write from the Copilot menu.

Tip: you can restore classic Notepad in Windows 11, if you like.

Snipping Tool

The latest version of the Snipping Tool, the default screenshot app of Windows 11, comes with a new feature that Microsoft calls Perfect screenshot. It uses AI to create perfect screenshots in rectangle or region-picking mode. The main idea behind the feature is to make it easier to select a specific area on the display for capturing the screenshot.

Some users may find it difficult to create pixel-exact screenshots of elements shown on the screen. The AI helper makes that easier, says Microsoft.

How to use: Select the Perfect Screenshot button from the Snipping Tool toolbar to use the feature. You may also hold down the Ctrl-key when selecting a region on the screen.

Snipping Tool is also getting a Color Picker. It enables you to get the color code -- in HEX, RGB, or HSL -- of any pixel on the screen.

How to use: Select the Color Picker tool from the toolbar and then move the cursor over the pixel that you want to get color values of. Zooming using Ctrl+ or Ctrl- is supported as well.

Paint

Microsoft Paint is getting another round of AI tools in the latest update. The new Sticker Generator uses Copilot's image generation capabilities to create new stickers for you. Type dog on a surfboard, and Copilot creates four stickers for you that, hopefully, resemble what you typed.

This is not a particularly new feature, as Microsoft offered image generation for quite some time already, including on the Copilot website. Unlike text generation, the creation of images on the Copilot website requires an account.

More useful sounding than the sticker generator is the new object selector. It enables you to select any object on the screen for editing, e.g., copying or color changing.

So, if you had problems in the past extracting or selecting objects in images in Paint, this AI helper tool is there to make the process easier. Most users probably have used a different tool for the job, as Paint's bare bones functionality is often not well suited for complex tasks.

How to use: Click on the Object Select button in the toolbar and then on the element that you want selected. The AI handles the rest, according to Microsoft.

These features are only available on Copilot+ PCs according to Microsoft's announcement.

Closing Words

Object selector, Perfect screenshot and color picker sound like useful additions, provided that you use Paint or the Snipping Tool on Windows for these tasks. Windows users who have no need for AI in the programs may turn it off according to Microsoft to be done with it. Many AI features are reserved for Copilot+ PCs and it seems unlikely that Microsoft is going to lift those restrictions in the future.

Now You: do you use AI features in your operating system, in apps, or on the Web? If so, which features do you find useful? Feel free to leave a comment down below to join the discussion.

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Mozilla says it decided to pull the plug on Pocket due to how the internet and user habits have evolved over the years. Now, the company wants to streamline its resources and focus more on the Firefox browser. As such, it discontinues Pocket and Fakespot, a browser extension used to detect fake product reviews. Here is what Mozilla says in the announcement:

Firefox is the only major browser not backed by a billionaire and our independence shapes everything we build. This independence allows us to prioritize building products and tools, which shape the future of the internet for the better. And it means we have to be intentional about where we invest our time and resources so we can make the biggest impact.

Starting today, May 22, 2025, users can no longer download Pocket or purchase new Pocket Premium subscriptions. Existing Pocket Premium subscriptions are cancelled, and those on annual plans will receive automatic refunds starting July 8, 2025. As for the content saved in your Pocket, you can export it until October 8, 2025. After that date, everything will be deleted.

Fakespot, its extension, mobile apps, and the website are shutting down on July 1, 2025. Review Cheker (Fakespot built into Firefox) will stop working next month, on June 10, 2025. Interestingly, Mozilla acquired Fakespot two years ago, but according to the announcement post, it could not fit a sustainable model. Pocket, on the other hand, was purchased in 2017 for an undisclosed amount of money.

You can read more about the discontinuation of Pocket on the official Mozilla Support website.

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VMware's business model under Broadcom is "legally and ethically flawed," a group of cloud service provider (CSP) customers and partners alleged in a report released today.

The report (PDF) comes from the European Cloud Competition Observatory (ECCO), which describes itself as "independent monitoring body" composed of members of the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) trade association, "with the support—acting as observers—of European customer organizations." ECCO says its goals include "highlighting ongoing or new unfair software licensing practices from any software vendors in the cloud sector," and it has previously written similar reports about Broadcom and Microsoft.

In its announcement of the report, ECCO said that CISPE members have met with Broadcom once about the changes it has made to VMware's business model, which is now built around subscriptions of bundled products, but didn't see any changes.

The report says that VMware customers who have moved to subscriptions are enduring “substantial financial burdens and operational disadvantages" and pushes for regulatory action. The current subscription model "creates a material risk for the company and their shareholders should Regulators investigate and challenge the legality of such model," the authors added.

The report also laments Broadcom's "highly litigious approach to partners and customers," pointing to cease-and-desist letters that Broadcom sent to VMware perpetual license holders and since-settled litigation with Siemens that accused its US operations of pirating "thousands" of copies of VMware software. The report says VMware CSP partners fear becoming targets in Broadcom's VMware-related legal pursuits.

"In the absence of any critical changes and adaptations to its licensing terms, measures including the reinstating of previous contract, the suspension of ongoing litigation initiated by Broadcom as a result of change of terms, should urgently be considered by the Regulator," the report reads.

The report also points to a filing by the German IT customer association VOICE to the European Commission accusing Broadcom/VMware of antitrust violations.

"VOICE specifically accuses Broadcom of imposing exorbitant and unfair price increases by arbitrarily bundling products as part of the transition from perpetual licensing to subscription-based licensing," said a Google translation of the German press release announcing the filing from May 7. "This also makes it more difficult for Broadcom's competitors to sell their products to existing Broadcom/VMware customers. Only through these abusive practices is Broadcom able to achieve the sales and profit targets announced for VMware."

VOICE's filing "further emphasizes the need for definitive action to end these harmful practices," ECCO's report says.

Cloud partners under pressure

After Broadcom bought VMware, the virtualization firm's approach to working with resellers changed. Smaller partners weren't invited into Broadcom's partner program for reselling VMware, and Broadcom killed VMware's CSP-specific partner program. As a result, many resellers now opt to buy VMware support or services from larger resellers. Many small CSPs have found it financially unsustainable to continue working with VMware.

ECCO's report claims that while most CISPE members have entered new licensing agreements with VMware, "these agreements were often signed under significant pressure, influenced by a lack of alternatives, abrupt contract terminations, and financial incentives such as rebates for longer-term commitments."

“Broadcom can report that most have signed new contracts, but we know that these are punitive and threaten the viability of service providers locked-in to the VMware ecosystem," Francisco Mingorance, secretary general of CISPE, said in a statement.

ECCO also expressed concern about Broadcom's ongoing changes to its partner program, including "reassessing incentives, requirements, and tiering structures," as announced earlier this month.

“Urgent measures”

ECCO's report lists numerous "minimum urgent measures" that it believes Broadcom should take in order to make its VMware business model ethical, including guaranteeing at least "six months’ notice prior to any changes to contractual terms, pricing structures, or conditions applicable to renewals.”

However, given Broadcom's financial success since acquiring VMware, it appears improbable that the tech giant will overhaul its business strategy.

"Broadcom is unlikely to make any voluntary changes to its new commercial terms. On the contrary[,] we fear it may further tighten conditions, as shown by recent moves to raise the bar for eligibility in partner programs," Mingorance told Ars Technica via email, pointing to a need for "firm regulatory action."

ECCO's report also comes as many VMware customers, especially small to medium-sized businesses, have found alternatives to VMware, including other virtualization platforms, or are researching how to reduce their VMware dependence.

"Those who could leave have mostly done so, but they are the minority," Mingorance said. "The rest are effectively locked in until credible alternative virtualization solutions, including third-party certified options like SAP, become available. That’s not yet the case."

When asked for comment on ECCO's allegations of "legally and ethically flawed" VMware practices and putting customers at financial disadvantages, a Broadcom spokesperson shared a statement focusing on Broadcom's relationship with CSPs:

As a strategic partner with over 140 European [CSPs], of which more than 40 provide sovereign cloud services, Broadcom is working to advance the European Union's sovereign cloud objectives and enable enterprises of all kinds to accelerate innovation, provide more choice, and address their most complex technology challenges. We welcome the opportunity to have a constructive dialogue with CISPE on how our products can help their European members be more competitive and innovative.

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On Windows 11, you can use Copilot with the official native app or through integration within other apps, and in this guide, I'll help you get started with the chatbot.

When Microsoft first introduced Copilot on Windows 11, it was deeply integrated into the operating system to replace Cortana on laptops, tablets, and desktop computers. It was an experience planned to be an assistant, where you can interact with natural language to answer any question from any topic, with the ability to perform other tasks, such as changing system settings.

However, this experience never took off, and shortly after, the company removed it in favor of a native app since Copilot relies on the cloud to analyze queries and answer questions using up-to-date information from the web. As a result of this change, there were no more side panels on the desktop or the ability to change system settings with the chatbot.

In addition, Copilot is now also accessible from other experiences, including Notepad, Photos, Paint, Edge, File Explorer, and the Office apps. However, the capabilities of the chatbot will depend on the application.

In this how-to guide, I'll outline the steps to get started with the Copilot experience available on Windows 11.

How to navigate the Copilot app

On Windows 11, the Copilot app experience is minimal and straightforward. You can access the chatbot in multiple ways and configure a few settings.

Sign in account

To log in to your account (if required), use these steps:

Meanwhile, home users are also starting to debate how they would deal with this upcoming change. For those still on pre-2015 systems that can't officially run Windows 11, many feel that Windows 8/8.1 and not Windows 11 or even Windows 10, is the way to go, as the older OS feels snappier. Neowin readers also opined on the topic by sharing their thoughts. You can join the discussion in this article.

Bear in mind though that while it is a fun topic to talk about, Windows 8.1 support ended back in January 2023, so it's not a secure option to head back to.

A reason for the slowness and sluggishness of a system is often bad underlying code that is being run. Recently, an editorial titled "Sloppy software is why you think you need new hardware" authored by colleague David Uzondu, and it looks like a Microsoft employee would quite agree with the idea if he were to read it.

Matt Hamrick, a Senior Escalation Engineer at Microsoft, has put up a blog post on Microsoft's site regarding this. The topic covers memory leaks and out-of-memory (OOM) issues that Windows can encounter as a consequence of poor optimization.

In the post, Hamrick has used the example of an updated .NET 7 app to establish the premise explaining how a miscalculated ConfigurationBuilder entry for the reloadOnChange parameter can do this. By setting its value to "true" instead of "false", an app can run into memory-leaking scenarios, leading to a sluggish system or a program crash, if not a crash for the entire system.

For those wondering, the reloadOnChange parameter tells the system to watch a specified file for modified settings. It essentially helps in dynamic reloading as it automatically reloads the updated settings from memory. Thus parts of an app that reference the set configuration can see the new values immediately, without having to restart it. Hence, this is essentially what leads to the available memory pool filling up over time.

He explains:

The impact of this code will be greater the more often it is run. The problem is not apparent, but this is the trigger: reloadOnChange: true.

 

....

 

reloadOnChange: true ... is really only meant to be used during app startup if a custom config file is being consumed that ASP.NET itself does not already consume automatically (assuming those defaults haven't been changed).

 

Instead, as mentioned above, some folks have mistakenly used this code in something like a Controller action or middleware component to gain access to some needed config value, not knowing what it's doing under-the-hood (also not knowing that the config they typically sought was already loaded (and monitored) into the app's configuration system).

Matt Hamrick was able to pin down the problematic code by observing a memory dump from the GC (garbage collector) .NET memory manager using various tools like WinDbg, a Windows debugging utility, among others. You can find the full blog post here on Microsoft's Tech Community website.

Although the example highlighted here is about an app originally coded in .NET 7, Hamrick notes that the problem is not specific to it and can affect apps using newer .NET versions too, which are still supported.

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The new feature generates reports that auto-synthesize your plan progress, milestones, risks, and next steps in just one click. On top of this, you can highlight wins, surface blockers, and give data-backed snapshots of your project’s health for teammates, leadership, or customers.

If you are only interested in reporting on a certain timeframe, Status Reports lets you choose which period should be covered. You can also manually define the reporting goals, and adapt the tone for any audience with flexible parameters. Management of reports is easy too, you can instantly view reports generated by your team, manage or browse archived reports, and refine them together in real time.

If you ever want to share a report, Microsoft said “drop a Loop component in Teams, copy to Outlook, or transform the report into a SharePoint newsletter for regular updates and engaging communications".

To use the feature, open Microsoft Teams and open the Planner app. From there, open a Premium plan or a Plan with Project Manager that has at least ten tasks. You then need to make sure the plan is shared with a group, if not hit the Share button in the top right and do so.

Once shared, go to the Reports tab and select Get Started on the top banner. To add a reporting time period, go to Choose reporting period and select the dropdown to choose the period of time to cover. Under Provide more details, you can add specific details that should be included in the report.

Select Generate and the Project Manager agent will synthesize the information from the plan to make a tailored report. The report will be in a Loop Canvas to support co-editing and you’ll get an in-app notification with a link to the report. You can copy the Loop component to Teams or Outlook or choose Share as newsletter to generate a SharePoint email.

The feature will arrive in the Project Manager agent in the coming weeks for English-US customers. To use the feature, you must have access to Project Manager which is in public preview and requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot and a Microsoft Loop license. If you only have one of these, you can collaborate on plans, but you can’t interact with Project Manager to assign tasks to the project manager or generate a status report.

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The trade association backing some of the biggest news publishers in the US slammed Google’s newly expanded AI Mode, which trades traditional search results for an AI chatbot-like interface. In a statement on Wednesday, the News/Media Alliance said the new feature is “depriving” publishers of both traffic and revenue.

During Google I/O on Tuesday, the company announced that it’s expanding AI Mode to all users in the US, which appears in a new tab directly within Search. When users enter a query, AI Mode serves up an AI-generated response alongside a list of relevant links.

“Links were the last redeeming quality of search that gave publishers traffic and revenue,” Danielle Coffey, the CEO and president of News/Media Alliance, said in the statement. “Now Google just takes content by force and uses it with no return, the definition of theft. The DOJ remedies must address this to prevent continued domination of the internet by one company.”

This week, an internal document disclosed as part of Google’s antitrust trial over its search dominance showed that the company decided against asking publishers for permission to have their work included in its AI search features, as reported by Bloomberg. Instead, publishers must opt out of search results completely if they don’t want their work included in AI features.

Google Search head Liz Reid said during her testimony that allowing publishers to opt out of individual features would add “enormous complexity,” according to Bloomberg. “By saying a publisher could be like, ‘I want to be in this feature but not that feature,’ it doesn’t work,” Reid said. “Because then we would essentially have to say, every single feature on the page needs a different model.”

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Signal Messenger is warning the users of its Windows Desktop version that the privacy of their messages is under threat by Recall, the AI tool rolling out in Windows 11 that will screenshot, index, and store almost everything a user does every three seconds.

Effective immediately, Signal for Windows will by default block the ability of Windows to screenshot the app. Signal users who want to disable the block—for instance to preserve a conversation for their records or make use of accessibility features for sight-impaired users—will have to change settings inside their desktop version to enable screenshots.

My kingdom for an API

“Although Microsoft made several adjustments over the past twelve months in response to critical feedback, the revamped version of Recall still places any content that’s displayed within privacy-preserving apps like Signal at risk,” Signal officials wrote Wednesday. “As a result, we are enabling an extra layer of protection by default on Windows 11 in order to help maintain the security of Signal Desktop on that platform even though it introduces some usability trade-offs. Microsoft has simply given us no other option.”

When Recall was introduced in May 2024, security and privacy practitioners quickly warned that it created undue risks for both Windows users and those using other platforms who interact with Windows users. Many of the criticisms were based on specific designs. Recall was turned on by default. Screenshots and OCR data were stored in plaintext, where it could be accessed by any app with user system rights. It provided few granular tools to limit the type of content that was sucked into its massive vacuum bag of data.

After facing one of its worst PR disasters in recent memory, Microsoft pulled Recall out of Windows 11 previews a few months after adding it. Then, last month, Microsoft reintroduced a significantly overhauled version of the tool.

As Ars Senior Technology Reporter Andrew Cunningham painstakingly documented a few weeks later, the refurbished Recall went to great lengths to correct some of the poorly thought-through designs in the first iteration. Recall was now opt-in, rather than on by default. The database storing Recall data was now encrypted, with the keys secured in a secure enclave separate from Windows. And the tool now provided some level of user control to limit the type of content it indexed.

But the changes go only so far in limiting the risks Recall poses. As I pointed out, when Recall is turned on, it indexes Zoom meetings, emails, photos, medical conditions, and—yes—Signal conversations, not just with the user, but anyone interacting with that user, without their knowledge or consent.

Researcher Kevin Beaumont performed his own deep-dive analysis that also found that some of the new controls were lacking. For instance, Recall continued to screenshot his payment card details. It also decrypted the database with a simple fingerprint scan or PIN. And it's unclear whether the type of sophisticated malware that routinely infects consumer and enterprise Windows users will be able to decrypt encrypted database contents.

And as Cunningham also noted, Beaumont found that Microsoft still provided no means for developers to prevent content displayed in their apps from being indexed. That left Signal developers at a disadvantage, so they had to get creative.

With no API for blocking Recall in the Windows Desktop version, Signal is instead invoking an API Microsoft provides for protecting copyrighted material. App developers can turn on the DRM setting to prevent Windows from taking screenshots of copyrighted content displayed in the app. Signal is now repurposing the API to add an extra layer of privacy.

“We hope that the AI teams building systems like Recall will think through these implications more carefully in the future,” Signal wrote Wednesday. “Apps like Signal shouldn’t have to implement ‘one weird trick’ in order to maintain the privacy and integrity of their services without proper developer tools. People who care about privacy shouldn’t be forced to sacrifice accessibility upon the altar of AI aspirations either.”

Signal's move will lessen the chances of Recall permanently indexing private messages, but it also has its limits. The measure only provides protection when all parties to a chat—at least those using the Windows Desktop version—haven't changed the default settings.

Microsoft officials didn’t immediately respond to an email asking why Windows provides developers with no granular control over Recall and whether the company has plans to add any.

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Obsidian 1.9.0 (Desktop) is now available in early access and comes with some hefty updates. If you have not heard of it, Obsidian is a powerful tool for building a "second brain" right on your machine. Its whole deal is "file over app" – your notes are just plain Markdown files, stored locally. That means you own your data forever. No cloud lock-in; grab any text editor, and your note is still there, even if Obsidian disappears tomorrow.

The headline feature in the 1.9.0 update is a new core plugin called Bases. This tool lets you turn collections of notes into structured databases, which can be especially useful for organizing projects, managing research, planning travel, or tracking your reading list. With Bases, you can create custom table views, filter notes by specific properties, and define formulas to generate dynamic values. To support this functionality, Obsidian introduces a new .base file format and syntax. However, all your data remains stored in local Markdown files and YAML frontmatter, so nothing about your current setup changes in that regard. The Obsidian team notes that Bases is still in early beta, so you can expect more improvements and features over time.

Also included in this release is a new Footnotes view core plugin. This feature adds a dedicated sidebar tab for managing all footnotes within a document, which helps you stay focused without constantly scrolling through long texts. It is particularly useful for academic writing or any work that involves detailed citations.

One important note: this update includes some breaking changes. Obsidian has removed support for the singular forms of certain properties: tag, alias, and cssclass. You now need to use the plural forms tags, aliases, and cssclasses, and the values must be formatted as lists. If you have been using single text values, you will need to update your files to maintain compatibility.

A bunch of smaller tweaks landed, too. For example, fuzzy search for file suggestions is now a thing, making it easier to find what you are looking for, and dark mode text selection contrast got a boost. Other notable improvements include better whitespace handling in Sync history, and the "Export PDF" button now receives initial keyboard focus. Additionally, the "Move file to..." option now remains available even if the Files plugin is turned off. The "Save file" command will only appear in the Command Palette when a file is actually active, reducing clutter. And for those using the Unique Note Prefix plugin, there's a new "Add unique internal link" command that lets you quickly link selected text with a unique reference.

Lots of old annoyances got squashed. The command palette search results make more sense now, which was needed, and Canvas cards finally play nice with callouts, which is a relief for those who use that feature heavily. Other important fixes include consistent list numbering in callouts and the PDF view no longer stealing focus when opened in the background. Markdown tables that include partially complete HTML now render correctly, and autocompleting code blocks properly handle indentation as well as cursor placement inside list items.

Developers get some goodies too. For instance, ButtonComponent now automatically shows a loading spinner if the onClick event is asynchronous, and you can now bypass the Web viewer to specify that a URL is opened in the user's default browser.

Since version 1.9.0 is still in Early Access, you'll need a Catalyst license to use it. If you're not looking to test the latest release and just want to explore Obsidian, you can download the most recent stable version instead: Windows | macOS | Linux (AppImage | Snap | DEB). Obsidian is also available on mobile: Android | iOS.

You can check out the full version 1.9.0 changelog here.

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The feature in question is called Handoff. It lets you move a task from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac (and vice versa) and seamlessly continue where you left off. Handoff is a pretty old feature—Apple introduced it nearly 11 years ago in iOS 8, and Microsoft itself explored this concept many years ago. In 2017, Microsoft announced Project Rome to allow developers to build cross-device experiences that can be moved between devices, but not much has been heard about it ever since. Now, the idea appears to be back.

In a now-deleted demo, one of Microsoft's product managers demonstrated how the feature works. Once Windows detects that you opened a compatible app on your device (presumably an Android smartphone or tablet), a new icon appears on the taskbar, allowing you to quickly transfer the experience to your PC and continue where you left off.

Here is how Aakash Varshney, a senior product manager for cross devices and experiences, describes it:

It’s a visual nudge that when clicked launches your app directly into the task, delivering a smooth intuitive handoff from PC to phone. Spotify launches and I’m instantly back in the same song, now playing on my PC. No need to search or start over, it’s a smooth one-click transition that keeps the music and user experience uninterrupted.

This experience will require some work from developers. Attracting developers to implement new client features in Windows has been a challenging task for Microsoft for many years (especially on Windows Phone), so it will be interesting to see how many apps will offer this cross-device capability. That is, of course, assuming Microsoft will ship it. For now, this feature has yet to see its public announcement.

Source: @phantomofearth on X | The Verge

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First, the company announced new HLK and VHLK releases for May 2025. For those who may not be familiar, HLK or hardware lab kit updates help hardware vendors test their hardware for Windows in order to fine-tune driver software compatibility and performance aspects. You can read about the latest release in this dedicated article here.

Alongside that, Microsoft also announced the deprecation of Windows Device metadata and the Windows Metadata and Internet Services (WMIS).

Device metadata is the collection of additional, user-facing information that an OEM provides about a hardware device. The feature was introduced with Windows 7 and can include stuff like icons, logos, descriptive texts, among other things, that help the Windows UI display details about such devices in places like Task Manager or Device Manager, among other places.

The company will likely handle all this in a different way going forward as making changes to them is certainly important given that specifications reporting still need updates and improvements from time to time as in the case of RAM speed.

On the topic of hardware data and the spec details presented on Windows, Microsoft's Raymond Chen today in his The Old New Thing column, revealed the interesting reason as to why Windows often presents two separate clock speeds for a processor on the System "About" page within the Settings app which provides hardware-related information about your system (duh!!!).

Microsoft recently updated the About page with an FAQ section as it now tries to answer some basic questions about a PC spec that users may have.

About the dual CPU speed reporting, Chen explains that it is a result of relying on something quite "unreliable," CPUID function codes. Thus, Windows actually just guesses what the speeds of the processor are from the code as it tries to report a real-time value for the clock frequency spec.

This may explain why we get reports of misrepresented Task Manager specs for some of the hardware.

Chen adds that the second clock speed data Windows shows is included by the hardware vendor themselves as part of the processor information (via the processor brand string). This clock is what the base (and/or boost) speed the manufacturer intended to run the CPU at, and it's a static value that does not change.

Processor	Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790 CPU @ 3.60GHz	3.71GHz
	Processor brand string	Speed

This static clock spec information is also seen on Task Manager, MSINFO32 and DXDIAG. You can read Raymond Chen's new blog post here on Microsoft's website.

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A few days ago, Neowin reported that Microsoft was implementing post-quantum cryptography in Windows 11, ready for a future where quantum computers are able to break classical encryption. With RHEL 10, Red Hat is also preparing. The company said that it’s the first Linux distribution to integrate National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards for post-quantum cryptography.

Similar to Microsoft, Red Hat is looking to help you better defend against future “harvest now; decrypt later” attacks, as well as meet new regulatory requirements. Its measures include introducing quantum-resistant algorithms and post-quantum signature schemes to validate the integrity and authenticity of software packages and TLS certificates.

In terms of AI improvements, RHEL 10 ships with RHEL Lightspeed, a generative AI tool built into the platform that provides context-aware guidance and actionable recommendations in natural language. This is expected to help new and experienced IT pros manage RHEL environments more efficiently through the command line. The AI has been trained on RHEL-specific knowledge, making it an expert at managing systems.

Finally, RHEL 10 brings image mode, which lets you containerize more parts of the operating system, not just applications. One of the major benefits of image mode is that you can deploy the operating system across your servers and reduce drift as the image is identical on all of your systems.

These images also allow you to perform rollbacks if anything goes wrong without the need for external snapshots. As this works across major updates, organizations can spend much less time troubleshooting anomalies and have shorter maintenance windows.

RHEL 10 is now available through the Red Hat Customer Portal. Developers can also get access to it through free Red Hat Developer programs, which also give you plenty of resources to get started, including software access, how-to videos, demos, and documentation.

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The decision will see users on X11 moved to Wayland and X11 packages will be taken out of the Fedora repositories. As a bit of history, Fedora 25 was the first version to be released with Wayland as the default display server protocol and that came out all the way back in November 2016 - 9 years ago!

Since then, Canonical has also switched Ubuntu over to Wayland, so by now, it’s quite a mature technology that most works as users expect. It offers more modern features and it is more secure than X11.

According to Phoronix, the Fedora project’s decision aligns with what’s going on over at the GNOME project. It’s expected that GNOME 50 will drop its support for X11 sessions and it could even be moved forward to GNOME 49 if there is consensus.

Phoronix also points out that the decision made by Fedora to remove X11 session support will not impact XWayland, which lets you run X11 clients from within the GNOME Wayland session. This will be welcome news to people still running any apps that have not yet been updated to support GNOME Wayland.

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This search deal, along with Google's search deal with Apple, is now part of a major legal battle in the United States. While Google could face a break up of the company in the worst case, with Chrome one of the top applications to be split from Google, Mozilla could also find itself on the receiving end.

There is the possibility that Google is blocked by the court from making further agreements with third-parties to make Google Search the default. Mozilla, in that case, would have to find a replacement.

Problem is, there are not that many, at least not when you look just at traditional search engines. Microsoft with its Bing search engine is likely the only company with enough resources to make a deal with Mozilla. It would mean less money, likely, as Microsoft bid less than Google in the past already. With Google out, Microsoft would not have to worry too much about that anymore.

AI Search is rising

Traditional search engines like Google Search or Bing, existed for decades without much competition. If you wanted to look up information, you fired up Google or Bing, typed in a question, phrase, or word, and browsed the resulting webpages to hopefully find the information. Or, if you started your search from a browser, you would simply type in the address bar to redirect the prompt to the default search engine or another one installed in the browser.

The rise of AI and AI-based search threatens the traditional search model. Broken down to the core, this new type of search does not return a list of webpages ranked by secretive algorithms. These new search engines return information as text. The data comes from billions of websites and the sites do get a link if they are cited, but the searcher gets a direct response to the search query.

AI based search engines threaten the organic search model. They could capture a large percentage of the search market in the coming years, which threatens Google's main business model, but could also lead to new opportunities for organizations like Mozilla.

Mozilla did, in fact, test the integration of Perplexit AI search in Firefox recently. Apple revealed plans to integrate AI search engines into Safari as well this month.

Mozilla could, in theory at least, broker a deal with an AI search engine to replace Google Search. Most AI based search companies may not have sufficient financial resources to broker such a deal, but major organizations, like OpenAI or Perplexity, might.

The global AI search market is expected to reach 108 billion USD by 2032 according to an industry report by Coherent Market Insights.

Such a change would change search fundamentally in the browser. It would also raise questions, especially about privacy and transparency. Mozilla would need to take these into account to avoid severe backlash from the community.

Closing Words

Mozilla continues to diversify its income streams, but even though it has made progress in the past couple of years, more than 80 percent of revenue still comes from its search engine deal with Google.

Mozilla is trying out new options. The Perplexity test in Firefox shows that. Users remained in control, as Mozilla did display a prompt that they could simply dismiss if they had no interest in trying out the AI based search engine. Firefox users have options to set a custom search engine as well.

Now You: what would you suggest Mozilla should do if Google is prevented from renewing the search deal with the organization? Are AI based search engines an option? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

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Phone Link on Windows 11 syncs your phone with your PC very seamlessly. 

(Image credit: Future)

Microsoft has detailed a new feature coming soon to Windows 11 that will allow app developers to implement "Cross Device Resume" into their apps. This feature is very similar to Apple's "Handoff" feature available on the Mac and iPhone, which lets apps sync between both devices to easily continue where you left off.

The feature was revealed during a Build 2025 session titled "Create Seamless Cross-Device Experiences with Windows for your app," but the session has since been edited to delete the demo showcasing Cross Device Resume. @phantomofearth on X was able to spot the session before it was altered.

In the now deleted demo, Microsoft showcases Spotify as an app that will take advantage of Cross Device Resume. The demo starts on an Android phone that is currently playing a song in the Spotify app.

On Windows, the Spotify app appears in the Taskbar with a phone icon next to it. Hovering over the icon shows that Spotify is currently open on your phone, and clicking the icon will open the Spotify app on Windows and bring you to the same place in the app on your phone.