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WhatsApp is making voice messages look more exciting
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Voice messages are, by their very nature, an audio experience – but this is something that WhatsApp is looking to change. When you receive a voice message form a contact (or, indeed, if you send one yourself), you will be used to seeing a progress bar during playback.

This is a handy visual aid that helps let you know how long a message is and how much more there is to listen to. But now the feature is getting a bit of an upgrade to make it more visually appealing thanks to voice waveforms.

We've seen WhatsApp playing around with waveforms previously, with Android users who are signed up for the beta program having been given a sneaky glimpse at the feature. But it was only a brief look, as voice waveforms were swiftly disabled without a word of explanation

However, they appear to be back. The fact that the new visual accompaniment to voice messages is now available for iOS and Android beta testers (but still only beta testers) could be indicative of the feature being almost complete and ready for an even wider rollout. But what's all the fuss about?

Sound and vision

On one hand, these are just pretty animations to watch while you listen to a message you have received. On the other, they are helpful visual tools that can be reassuring when there is a period of silence in a message; if there is no activity in the waveform, you can safely assume that there is no sound to hear, rather than there being a problem with your speakers… or ears.

As is often the case with WhatsApp, although this new feature is being made available to beta testers, it is not necessarily going to be available to all beta testers immediately. It's something that's controlled server-side, so while ensuring that you have the latest version of the app installed is undoubtedly a good idea, it's sadly no guarantee of getting access to voice wave forms right now.

WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp beta for Android 2.21.25.11 and WhatsApp beta for iOS 2.21.240.18 are compatible with the feature, so make sure that you have one of these installed for the best possible change of getting to try out the new feature.

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Microsoft Office has a fresh new look – here’s how to update
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If you've upgraded to Windows 11 and want Microsoft Office to match the look of the company's latest operating system, then you're in luck as Microsoft's visual update for its office software is now available.

Back in June, the software giant announced a new look for Office designed for Windows 11 though it will also improve your experience if you're running Windows 10 according to a new blog post from Microsoft. 

At its core, Microsoft's new visual update for Office delivers a simple and more coherent experience across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook. It's worth noting that the update isn't available for some of the company's other software including Access, Project, Publisher and Visio. 

Once enabled in one of the compatible Office apps such as Word, the visual refresh will also be applied to the others so Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook will have a new look as well.

Office Visual Update with Word Dark Mode

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Enabling the visual update for Office

Microsoft's new visual refresh for Office can easily be turned off or on using the Coming Soon feature which is located in the top right corner of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

To get started, simply click the megaphone icon to open the Coming Soon pane, navigate to the bottom and use the toggle to move between the new and current interface and apply the setting to all of Microsoft's compatible Office apps.

The biggest change in this visual update is the fact that Office now matches your Windows theme by default. This means you can experience it in whichever Windows theme you want including black with Word Dark Mode enabled, white, colorful or dark grey.

Another change is that the Quick Access Toolbar is now hidden by default to make the user interface of Office simpler. To display it again, just right-click the ribbon or click on the Ribbon Display Options icon and then click Show Quick Access Toolbar.

Microsoft's visual update is now now available for users running Windows 11 as well as for those running Windows 10 version 2110 and build 14527.20226 or later but if you don't see the update, restarting Office should make it appear.

We've also rounded up the best Microsoft Office alternatives, best free office software and best online collaboration tools to help you work more productively

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Microsoft Teams update will stop you annoying your colleagues
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Microsoft is working on a simple update for Teams that should help address common issues with international collaboration.

According to a new entry in the company’s product roadmap, Microsoft Teams users will soon benefit from a facility that highlights each users’ current time-zone.

“You can easily find out the local time of the people you collaborate with by checking the profile card,” the listing explains.

The feature is still currently under development, but should roll out to all Microsoft Teams users by the end of January, 2022.

Microsoft Teams on tour

Although small businesses are less likely to make use of the new local time feature, it could prove extremely helpful for employees at larger enterprises with colleagues scattered across the globe, or for anyone who travels regularly for work.

For example, the ability to quickly check which colleagues are online and when should make it easier for managers to schedule a cross-team meeting or determine to whom to delegate a time-sensitive task.

If someone has their notifications turned on, meanwhile, the new feature will minimize the chances of a colleague disturbing them at an inopportune time with an unimportant task or query.

Since the transition to remote working, many people have also developed the habit of leaving messages for co-workers to discover when they first log on in the morning. Although the utility of this practice is obvious, it has the effect of making the person feel bombarded before they’ve had a chance to get their feet under the desk.

While the new time-zone feature does nothing to disincentivize this practice, the likelihood of accidentally falling foul of the collaboration faux pas is lessened.

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Microsoft to stop forcing Edge on Windows 11 users
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Microsoft has changed the way Windows 11 handles switching default web browsers, thankfully, reversing an unpopular decision it made when the OS was still in pre-release testing (back in August).

A fresh preview (testing) version of Windows 11 (build 22509) now lets you switch the operating system’s default browser with a simple single click; which is just as it should be (and the scheme of things in Windows 10).

So, what currently happens in Windows 11? Well, Microsoft concocted a rather convoluted method in the guise of offering users more fine-tuned control over what browser opens what files, which was, as we observed at the time of its inception, basically a nightmare (and it remains so).

You get one chance to change your default browser away from Edge when you first install and fire up an alternative browser, like say Chrome or Firefox – and when you pick that alternative, you must remember to tick the ‘Always use this app’ box. If you don’t check the box, you won’t see this prompt again, and instead you’ll have to go into Settings yourself and manually change the default browser.

The problem is that currently with Windows 11, this involves having to stipulate Chrome (or whatever alternative you wish to use instead of the built-in Edge browser) for multiple file types: HTML, HTM, PDF, SHTML, WEBP, HTTP, HTTPS, and more. As we already noted, the theory pushed by Microsoft is that this allows for more granular control.

But what it really represents for the overwhelming majority is a lot of clicking and changing, but fortunately, as Rafael Rivera tweeted (via The Verge) to point out, in a new test build, Windows 11 now has a simple ‘Set default’ button for browsers, bringing things back in line with how Windows 10 works.

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Microsoft’s Aaron Woodman, VP of Windows marketing, told The Verge: “In the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509 released to the Dev Channel on Wednesday, we streamlined the ability for a Windows Insider to set the ‘default browser’ to apps that register for HTTP:, HTTPS:, .HTM, and .HTML.”

Analysis: This should never have happened in the first place

Remember, this new scheme is only in testing now, but with any luck, the change should come to the full version of Windows 11 eventually. As we touched on above, Microsoft’s argument about giving more fine-tuned control for default settings based on user feedback doesn’t wash, at all. Clearly, this was – well, still is for the time being – a way of making sure Edge keeps getting pushed to the forefront.

Along with all the various ads for Edge, which as we saw earlier this week, have reached new lows in terms of anti-Chrome pop-ups (including ‘that browser is so 2008!’).

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Microsoft, you aren’t going to nag people into using your browser (or anything else), it’ll just annoy them and likely have the opposite effect, if anything. Nobody would be too bothered about the occasional pop-up, perhaps, but the amount of promotional activity, combined with software changes like this whole debacle around defaults, is dangerous territory to be treading.

At least this Windows 11 default browser decision has now been reversed, and we hope that the change comes through sooner rather than later.

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Zoom could owe you a pay-out after court ruling over privacy breaches
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Zoom has settled a class-action lawsuit that alleged the company was in breach of privacy laws and put its users’ data at risk. As a result, it now needs to pay a small sum to all customers that can prove they were affected. 

The lawsuit alleged that the video conferencing app, Zoom Meetings, shared certain user information with third parties, did not do everything it could to prevent unwanted meeting disruption by third parties, and that the company falsely advertised its service as end-to-end encrypted.

In the legal notice of class-action settlement, which was published on the Zoom Meetings Class Action website, it was said that Zoom “denies any liability whatsoever, and believes that no member of the Settlement Class, including the Plaintiffs, has sustained any damages or injuries due to these allegations”.

However, because the company has decided to settle the suit, it is still required to issue compensation.

Who is eligible for compensation from Zoom?

Zoom will be paying out $ 85 million in total, and also agreed to change its policies and practices to benefit the members of the settlement class.

It seems that quite a large number of people are eligible to receive a small amount of compensation as a result. They fall into two categories: paying customers and those who use the free version.

Paying users that subscribed between March 30, 2016 and July 30, 2021 can file a claim for $ 25, or 15% of the subscription fee, whichever sum is greater. Those who used the free version by registering an account or downloading the Zoom Meeting app during the same time frame can file a claim for $ 15.

It’s important to keep in mind that the sum could change, depending on the number of people who file the claim. The claims must be submitted by March 5, 2022, with the final approval hearing scheduled for April 7, 2022.

Those who used an enterprise-level account or government account are not eligible for any compensation.

Claims can be filed here.

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You can now test WordPress 5.9 before its official release
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A new version of WordPress that's currently under development, WordPress 5.9, is now available in beta for testing purposes.

Given WordPress 5.9 Beta 1 is not a stable release, the developers recommend tests should be carried out on test websites rather than live sites, in case any issues reveal themselves.

WordPress has released a set of detailed instructions for users to follow in order to carry out the test successfully.

The final version of WordPress 5.9 is scheduled for release on January 25, 2022.

WordPress 5.9 Beta 1 testing 

With eight weeks left until the software goes live, WordPress has developed three different ways for users to test WordPress 5.9 Beta 1 on their sites.

The first option is to install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin, select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream. 

The second way is to directly download the beta version, and the third way is to use WP-CLI to test: wp core update –version=5.9-beta1. However, the third option is not advised for filesystems that are case-insensitive.

WordPress said in a blog post that the main reason for these tests is to polish the release in the beta stage. The release already contains 580 enhancements and nearly 450 bug fixes, and contributors have addressed 297 tickets for WordPress 5.9 so far, including 110 new features and enhancements.

This latest WordPress version will also introduce WordPress’ very first block-based default theme, Twenty Twenty-Two.

“It’s the very first theme that’s block based and needs thorough testing as a result,” said a WordPress contributor in the detailed guide.

WordPress also dished out extra tips for those who want to participate in testing the new version on their sites, which include testing across different browsers, testing in different languages, and seeing what the new features look like on different screen sizes.

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Microsoft Edge resurrects this classic Windows game when your internet dies
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Microsoft Edge’s mini-game which can be played as a diversion when the browser can’t get online has been given a snowy twist for winter, with the traditional ‘surf game’ being changed into a skiing challenge that’s a blast of nostalgia (we’ll come back to its origins later).

If you aren’t familiar with the surf game, it’s basically Edge’s equivalent of the dinosaur game in Chrome – a mini-game for the browser which you can play when your internet is offline (or when you’re bored at any time, for that matter).

Normally, the Edge game allows you to use the keyboard (or mouse, touchscreen, or controller) to guide a surfer down the screen, avoiding obstacles, hitting jumps, and sometimes being pursued by a deadly monster – the kraken.

In the new skiing version for Edge 96, spotted by German tech site Deskmodder, the ocean is replaced by a snowy slope, and the kraken becomes a yeti (aka the abominable snowman).

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Otherwise, it remains essentially the same, offering a few different modes of play (endless, time trial, and zigzag which is a slalom) and being more fleshed out than Chrome Dino (which is a pure side-scroller with the only control being space to jump).

If you want to play, simply open Edge and type in the following in the address bar:

edge://surf

Analysis: SkiFree returns after 30 years

The surf game for Edge came out in May 2020 (with build 83) and is based on Microsoft’s aged classic SkiFree game that was released way back in 1991. So in actual fact, this new winter-inspired version is a return to the original format of a skiing game.

It’s a fun distraction, for sure, and a more interesting game than Chrome Dino – plus also it’s less prone to giving us slight motion sickness, which the dinosaur game seems to do when it starts to speed up with ridiculously fast scrolling.

Those keen to find more of these kinds of efforts to play should check out our roundup of the best free browser games.

Via MS Power User

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Windows 11’s new emoji – including Clippy – won’t be coming to Windows 10
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Windows 11 has just got some nifty looking new emoji, as you may recall, which are Fluent-style and modern-looking affairs – but these won’t be coming to Windows 10.

They landed earlier this week as part of a preview update for Windows 11, so are officially still only in testing even on that OS, although Microsoft will send them fully live for Windows 11 in December (on Patch Tuesday, which will be December 14).

The emoji – which include the paperclip being replaced by Clippy, the iconic assistant who pestered, er, we mean helped us in Word back in the day – will not arrive in Windows 10, or at least that appears to be Microsoft’s plan as reported by Windows Latest.

The tech site claims that Microsoft has no intention of drafting the modern emoji over to Windows 10, and that they will remain exclusive to Windows 11, at least for the time being anyway. Windows Latest does further observe that Microsoft might change its mind in the future, though.

Analysis: Emoji aren’t high on most folks’ Windows 10 wish-lists

Of course, many Windows 10 users will say that they won’t especially be losing much sleep over the lack of refreshed emoji, and that’s a fair point. They aren’t a huge deal, and not a reason anyone would be upgrading to Windows 11, that’s for sure.

That said, they are nice to have, and it wouldn’t be much of an effort to pipe them over to Windows 10. Maybe Microsoft feels that they’d stick out a bit as odd, as the old operating system hasn’t had the benefit of the Fluent Design-style makeover that Windows 11 arrived with.

Whatever the reasoning right now, we could see them ported over eventually, as the report observes. In the meantime, Windows 10 users will just have to stick with their tired old vanilla emoji.

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Next WordPress release delayed after ‘large red flags’ identified
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The WordPress developers have decided to push back the release of the next major version of the popular content management system (CMS) to January, 2022, after some developers expressed concern about the pace of development.

“I think there are some large red flags here that some things are not ready for 5.9….Overall, it seems like right now we are rushing things in a dangerous way,” wrote Addison Stavlo, a contributor to WordPress’ Gutenberg editor.

The original plan was to release WordPress 5.9 in mid December, 2021. However, things weren’t smooth during the alpha release cycle, forcing core developers to make several changes.

Better late than sorry

Not impressed by the changes to “so many things at the last minute,” Stavlo wondered why delaying the release wouldn’t be a better idea than making “regrettable decisions.”

As she announced the revised schedule Tonya Mork, Core Tech Lead for the 5.9 release, shared that the team had two options; either move the major features that had unresolved issues to the WordPress 6.0 release, or delay the release of WordPress 5.9. 

After careful deliberation, the core developers decided that the issues would be best handled now than later.

“The 6.0 release isn’t due until April 2022—too long for the community to wait for them [the features]. After processing this list of issues, Core Editor team saw the features could ship in 5.9 with the revised schedule. This decision, to delay the 5.9 release, was not made lightly,” explains Mork.

5.9 is still in feature freeze, and Mork stresses that the developers will use the elongated development period to iron out the issues and help 5.9 get to a Stable state.

Build your websites with the help of these best WordPress website builders and use these best WordPress hosting providers to host them

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This new Microsoft Teams update will make things easier for guests
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Microsoft is working on a new update for Microsoft Teams designed to improve the guest user experience in its increasingly popular online collaboration tool.

For those unfamiliar, guest access allows businesses to provides access to teams, documents in channels, resources, chats and applications to those outside of their organization while still maintaining control over their corporate data.

Guests may include partners, vendors, suppliers or consultants and anyone with a business account like Azure Active Directory or an account for an email service like Microsoft Outlook or Gmail can participate as a guest in Teams.

Now tough, Microsoft will give guests even more control over their experience in Teams by allowing them to decline invitations, initiate leaving an organization and manage the guest tenant list.

Be our guest

In a new post on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the software giant has revealed that guests will now be able to do even more in Teams.

For instance, guest users will now be able to decline a pending guest invitation within the Teams app and when they click “Decline”, the Teams Tenant List will not show the tenant with the pending invitation in the Account Management tab. Guest users can now also initiate leaving an org and when they click on “Leave Org” they will be guided on how to leave a tenant from both Teams and the company's Azure Portal.

Finally, guest users can now manage the guest tenant list in Teams by choosing to hide or show guest tenants in the menu of Microsoft's video conferencing software.

Being able to collaborate with others from outside one's organization is one of the best features in Teams and through this new update, which is expected to roll out in December, guests will have more control over their experience when doing so.

We've also highlighted the best online collaboration tools and best video conferencing software

Via MSPoweruser

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