News
Operating Systems
Microsoft added a new option in Windows 11 version 22H2 that delivers non-security updates faster to those systems, when enabled. It is available in the preview update for the operating system and will roll out on May 9, 2023 as part of the security update release.
Windows 11 users may receive a Create Event popup when they copy content to the Clipboard. I have published a tutorial on disabling the Create Event popup. To disable it, do the following:
Use Windows-I to open the Settings app.
go to System > Clipboard.
Disable Suggested Actions by toggling it to Off.
DirectStorage is a new API for games to speed up the loading times. The feature requires fast NVME drives and preferably Windows 11. You can find out if DirectStorage is supported on a Windows 10 or 11 device by pressing Windows-G to open the Game Bar, and selecting Settings > Gaming Features.
Mobile
Reddit plans to charge for API access in the future, which could end many free third-party Reddit apps and projects, or turn them into paid subscription projects.
If you want to try a rather special keyboard for Android, check out Thumb-key. It is designed to be used with two thumbs only and uses a 3x3 grid for that. The lesser used keys are activated with swipe motions.
Browser
Google released security updates for Chrome and Chromium. The update addresses a security issue that is exploited in the wild. Since it affects Chromium, updates were released for other major web browsers as well that are based on Chromium.
Opera launched a preview of Opera One, a redesigned web browser that will replace the Opera web browser later this year. It features a modular design, more AI, user interface performance improvements, and tab islands, a feature similar to tab groups to improve tab management in the browser.
Mozilla confirmed and fixed a memory leak in Firefox this week. It affected Firefox installations with Dynamic Themes installed, and only if the Firefox window was minimized or obstructed.
Privacy and Security
Recent versions of Microsoft Edge send the URLs of nearly any visited webpage to Microsoft Bing. Analysis concluded that this is part of Edge’s Follow Creators feature. Edge users who value their privacy may turn off the feature in the following way:
Load edge://settings/privacy in the address bar.
Scroll down to Services and toggle “Show suggestions to follow Creators in Edge” to off.
Password management service 1Password plans to end support for classic browser extensions, which would also disable the option to use local vaults, as the new extension that is available requires 1Password 8. The controversial version removed the ability to use local vaults.
Proton announced the launch of Proton Pass, a new password management service that uses the same infrastructure and security concepts as Proton’s other services, e.g. Mail and VPN. Proton Pass is available as a beta for Proton customers only at the time. Definitely one to keep an eye on, especially for existing Proton customers.
The EU has named 19 different companies and services that need to comply with stricter rules under the Digital Services Act. The companies and services are: Alibaba AliExpress, Amazon Store, Apple AppStore, Booking.com, Facebook, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, Zalando, Bing, and Google Search.
The rules aim to empower users, offer better protection of minors, reduce disinformation, and increase transparency and accountability.
The default Windows Weather app will soon display ads and MSN news as part of the experience.
The offices of the VPN provider Mullvad were raided this week by the Swedish police. They tried to obtain data, but had to leave empty handed, as no data could be provided by Mullvad, due to the way the VPN system has been set up.
Software Updates
Rufus 4.0 was released today. It is no longer compatible with Windows 7, and requires Windows 8 or newer.
Microsoft published “what’s new in Excel” this week, detailing new features that it integrated into Excel for the Web, Windows and Mac.
All three platforms get “Reducing Unwanted Fragmenting of Conditional Formatting Rules”. The web version got support for hyperlinks in comments and filtering improvements. The Windows version a preview of the Quick Access Toolbar.
With this newest update, the Quick Access Toolbar is now shown by default and includes the Undo, Redo, and Save commands, and the AutoSave has found its rightful place back on the title bar.
All features are explained on the linked webpage.
New O&O AppBuster update was released this week. The program may be used to remove bundled apps from Windows. The latest version supports desktop applications now, comes with a filter for Microsoft applications, and includes app details improvements.
Gaming and Entertainment
Winamp 5.9.2, the “real” Winamp desktop player and not the recently released web-based player, is now available. It is small update that fixes a few issues, improves Windows 11 detection and ensures that all DLLs are digitally signed. The full changelog and download links are available here.
Other
Netflix revealed this week that its Basic with Ads plan is performing better, revenue-wise, than its Basic plan. In other words, the revenue that comes from advertising plus the regular monthly cost of the Basic with Ads plan exceeds the money that Netflix earns from its Basic (without ads) plan.
The company plans to push the ad-powered plan further by unlocking features that make it superior to the Basic plan. The two announced improvements raise the image quality to 1080p and allow to watch Netflix on two devices simultaneously.
Article(s)
Microsoft is adding more and more Ads and MSN News to Windows
The Windows operating system is not Microsoft’s primary cash cow anymore. Other products and services, especially cloud-based services, have replaced Windows.
Microsoft is exploring new revenue opportunities to increase the revenue generated from its Windows division. It does so in a number of ways, all of which are not necessary customer-friendly.
The three main areas right now are the following ones:
Pushing Microsoft Account usage, e.g., by making it difficult to create a local account during initial setup, or placing ads for it in the Start Menu and elsewhere.
Pushing MSN News, which may contain ads. Users see it in the Widgets app, Microsoft Edge, and soon also in other apps, including the Weather app.
Pushing Ads not related to News.
Microsoft Account usage is essential to Microsoft. Customers who create an account or sign-in to one may buy additional services, e.g., more storage space or subscribe to Game Pass or Microsoft 365. It seems to be highly lucrative to Microsoft, and users should expect that ads or promotions for these services increase in coming years.
MSN News is another area that Microsoft is pushing right now. News come with ads, and Microsoft earns money from every view or click that these ads get on Windows.
It is a numbers game, but since Windows has hundreds of million of customers, it is highly lucrative.
More and more apps will be updated to include ads, promotions or news. One of the latest apps is the Weather app, which will soon have ads and news baked in. It does have a few additional features as well, but whether these are enough to appease users remains to be seen.
Are you still using the Start Menu to launch apps in Windows?
The Windows Start Menu has always been an essential tool for Windows users to launch programs, access system settings, or change the system’s power state.
Microsoft modified the Windows operating system significantly in the latest versions. Windows 10 introduced taskbar pinning, live tiles in the Start Menu, and several other changes.
Windows users could now pin apps to the taskbar, to access them directly from there. Start Menu and desktop were the two other locations for shortcuts, but many switched from using the Start Menu or the desktop to using the taskbar.
Not all apps can be placed on the taskbar, but the most essential five or ten can. It did not really help that Microsoft added lots of noise to the Start Menu in Windows 10 and removed functionality from the Start Menu in Windows 11.
My Start Menu usage has decreased significantly with the release of Windows 10. I have pinned apps that I use every day to the taskbar and use the Start Menu only for launching other apps. I do not have those pinned specifically, but use search to do so.
I never use search to find files, Everything is far superior to that, and use the Start Menu only for switching users or shutting down the PC. Settings can be opened with Windows-I, and there is little in the Start Menu that I use besides the two mentioned use cases.
It does not really help that Microsoft considers adding more ads to the Start Menu, and that you can’t even remove the Recommended section, which I consider absolutely useless, entirely.
Links
The War on Passwords Enters a Chaotic New Phase
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