Tech News Weekly: Issue 147
Will the next generation lose critical Internet skills like researching thanks to the rise of AI? Windows 10 has just a few months left.
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Article(s)
AI-based Search may take away something very precious from the Internet
AI-based search looks like a solid upgrade on paper for some Internet users. Instead of having to check out several resources returned by a search engine, you get a result immediately.
It promises faster results that save you a lot of time. Some downsides of AI-based searches have been discussed to death already: answers may be wrong or constructed out of thin air, and the resources the answer are taken from are not getting nearly as many clicks as before, which endanger their shaky business model.
For Internet users, there is another downside: diminishing research capabilities. If AI is handing out answers on a golden platter, many might not run any researches or searches on their own anymore.
While that is a generalization, there is clearly a danger in outsourcing search and research to AI models.
It reminds me a bit on how the current generation grows up around electronic devices. The move from using a desktop computer to a mobile device is in full swing in that generation and a good portion may have big issues when they have to use a computer keyboard for input. They are used to typing on the screen or using their voice.
It is not a problem, until you have to use a dedicated computer keyboard, for instance at work. The same could happen here. The generation that grows up with AI tools being there for them to take over mundane tasks might become over-reliant on these tools.
We are seeing this in universities and schools already, where use of AI has skyrocketed for homework and other tasks. A study from 2024 claimed that 86 percent of students use AI in their studies already. Top tasks are 1) searching, 2) checking grammar, 3) summarizing documents, 4) paraphrasing a document, and 5) creating a first draft.
News
Operating Systems
A Windows-to-Linux migration tool is in development, which could help Windows 10 users migrate their data to Linux. Link
I have published a guide on extending Windows 10 support for a year by joining extended security updates. Link
Link to Windows, Microsoft’s linking of phones with Windows, is getting new features, including the ability to lock the Windows PC remotely. Link
Microsoft rolled out several new AI features for Windows 11, e.g., new Click to Do options, Relight option in Photos, stickers in Paint and more. Link
Windows 10 celebrated its tenth birthday this week. Has about two months left of official support, plus the extra year of extended supported, if you sign-up for it. Link
Windows 11, version 23H2 support is also ending later this year. If you have not upgraded your systems yet, you may want to do so before November 2025, as no new updates will be released after that month’s patch day. Link
Windows 11 is getting support for showing notifications on multiple displays. Long requested feature. Link
Mobile
Could Samsung ditch the Basic and Plus model of the upcoming Galaxy S26 series of Android phones? A deep dive into One UI 8 builds suggests that this could be the case. This would leave customers with Pro, Edge, and Ultra variants of the flagship phone. Link
WhatsApp is extending the reminder functionality to cover calls as well. It enables users to create notification reminders for missed calls, similarly to how users can create reminders for chat messages. Link
Browser
Firefox has a new add-on store layout. Good news is that Mozilla did not remove information from the pages, apparently. However, you may need to scroll more to obtain the information. Link
Google Chrome’s integrated AI may summarize store reviews now for users in the United States. A click on the icon on the left of the domain name shows the AI-generated summary of the reviews of the store (from Google Maps only, likely). Useful? Link
Google is adding PlayReady DRM to Google Chrome. This would allow Chrome users to play specific DRM protected content, e.g., 4K video on Netflix, which they can’t do right now. Link
Google released a security update for Chrome that fixes 4 security issues in desktop and the Android versions of the web browser. No mention of exploits in the wild, still recommended to update asap, if you have Chrome installed on your devices. Link
Microsoft introduced Copilot Mode to its Edge browser this week. This is the first step of turning Edge into a full-blown AI browser. Currently, it turns the new tab page into an interface for AI. Also adds new options to interact with Copilot and gives Copilot more control over data and tabs. Link
Next Brave Browser release will block Windows from taking screenshots automatically, when you enable the Recall AI feature. Link
Privacy and Security
AdGuard is also blocking Windows Recall’s ability to capture the screen. Brave Browser and Signal already announced similar features. Link
Dropbox Passwords, the company’s password manager, is shutting down in October 2025. You have until October 28, 2025 to export your passwords from the service. Link
Europe’s new age verification proposal for Android is under heavy criticism due to its dependency on Google. Considering that open source solutions from EU developers exist already, it is questioned whether the Google dependency is a good idea. Link
Software and Services
Flyby11 is now known as FlyOobe. It is an open source tool to upgrade to Windows 11 (from W10 or W11) bypassing most system requirements check. Useful tool, especially for Windows 10 users who would like to continue using their PCs. Link
A quick overview of the Backup App of Windows and its transfer feature. Link
Gaming and Entertainment
Google is testing floating ads on YouTube that show up while actual videos are playing. Clearly, Google is not done yet pushing more ads on its video streaming website. Link
Microsoft has started to roll out age verification prompts to Xbox users from the United Kingdom. Xbox users who do not verify that they are over 18 years of age will have certain social features limited as a consequence beginning in 2026. Microsoft is evaluating bringing age verification to more regions in the future. Link
Steam is testing a redesigned store menu, search and recommendations in its latest beta version. These are designed to help users discover new games, says Valve. Link
YouTube’s age verification system in the US will guess the age of users from August 13, 2025 on. It uses several signals for that, including the date of registration or activity on YouTube. Link (information in German)
AI
Anthropic is rolling out new limits for paid Claude Code plans, ranging between 40 to 480 hours in model usage for Sonnet 4 and between 15 and 40 hours for the top-tier Opus 4 model. Link
ChatGPT has a new Study Mode that “offers step by step guidance instead of quick answers”. It is designed to teach and available to all logged in users, including those on the Free plan. Link
Google added AI features to its Photos application that you can use to transform images to videos. Link
Google introduced a new option to search that gives AI control over the search results. The AI reorganizes search results using AI. Link
Google revealed that its AI Overviews feature of its search engine has over 2 billion users per month. Link
How good are humans at detecting AI-generated images? Not that great apparently. A study showed nearly 300,000 images for evaluation to global participants, and the success rate of determining whether an image was AI-generated was just 62 percent. Link
Proton launched its privacy-friendly AI Lumo this week. Free to use, even for non-registered users. Link
Hardware
Other
Did I miss something of importance this week? Let me and everyone else know in the comments!