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Closing tabs in Chrome is getting much better on Android
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In a future release of Google's web browser on Android, you'll be able to avoid the mistake of closing all your tabs at once, thanks to an additional message box to confirm if you want to go ahead with it.

Google Chrome is the most widely-used web browser app on Android, mainly due to it being pre-installed on the majority of Android smartphones. But there may be an occasion when you've got multiple tabs open at once.

Some could be related to shopping, birthday ideas, or brainstorms for holidays in the summer for example. You may want to close all of these at once when you're finished.

In Chrome Canary, the test version of Google's web browser, you can enable a flag that will display a message box to confirm if you want to close all your tabs at once. This will help prevent occasions where you accidently close all the browser tabs when you didn't mean to.

How do you enable the message box confirmation?

By going to chrome://flags when running Google Chrome Canary 100 on Android, there will be a 'Close all tabs modal dialog' option.

Switching this on will make the message box appear when you're about to close all your tabs.

This can be useful if you've found yourself having mistakenly closed all your open tabs, and having to go through your history to open the links again.

This may sound like a very obvious feature, but if you mainly use Google Chrome on your phone as you're sharing links on social media and messaging apps, having all your tabs closed can be a huge annoyance.

Sometimes the little things like this can make a big difference, so it's encouraging that Google has this ready to go in its development releases for now.

Via XDA Developer

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Microsoft Teams is more popular than ever, so you’d better get used to it
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The success of Microsoft Teams just keeps on growing as more and more users around the world sign up to the platform.

The video conferencing service now boasts over 270 million monthly active users (MAUs) according to the latest figures released by Microsoft.

This is up from the 250 million Microsoft Teams MAUs that the company reported just six months ago, as the hybrid working age continues to drive the platform from strength to strength.

Record Microsoft Teams numbers

In its latest quarterly financial report, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella noted that although the growth of Teams has been encouraging, it does expect this to slow somewhat as usage begins to plateau.

Microsoft changed how it measures Teams usage last year, switching from daily active users to monthly active users, which again possibly suggested numbers may be slowing somewhat.

The company is still busy working on updates and upgrades for Teams, however, with recent releases including a way for users to hide their own video feed whilst on a call, apply an emoji as a reaction to chat messages, and even add its Cortana voice-recognition software to the platform.

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> There will soon be no escape from Microsoft Teams, even in the office

> Why Slack isn't afraid of Teams or any other competitor

> Microsoft Teams update lets you hide from your own face

Overall, Q2 2022 was an incredibly successful one for Microsoft, with the company beating analyst predictions to record another major quarter.

The company reported a 20% increase in revenues, which hit $ 51.7 billion, with net income up 21% to hit $ 18.8 billion. Windows OEM revenue increased 25% compared to the previous year, with Windows Commercial products and cloud services revenue increasing 13%.

“Digital technology is the most malleable resource at the world’s disposal to overcome constraints and reimagine everyday work and life,” said Nadella.

“As tech as a percentage of global GDP continues to increase, we are innovating and investing across diverse and growing markets, with a common underlying technology stack and an operating model that reinforces a common strategy, culture, and sense of purpose.”

Recent data collected by software firm StarLeaf found almost all (97%) businesses say that tools such as Zoom, Webex and Teams are now essential to their operations.

More than half (57%) of the 2,000 UK-based respondents claim their company would not be able to operate for more than an hour without access to their communications tools, while 27% admitted they would struggle to function for even 30 minutes.

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Windows 11’s best app is getting even better
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Microsoft is working on making the best app in Windows 11, Your Phone, even better in an upcoming update to the operating system.

The Your Phone app connects to your smartphone, allowing you to send and receive messages, access photos, drag and drop files and make and receive phone calls, all through Windows 11. Since its arrival in Windows 10, Your Phone has proved to be an incredibly useful app, especially if you have a Samsung smartphone, as Microsoft and Samsung teamed up to bring some exclusive features to the handsets.

When Your Phone came to Windows 11, Microsoft updated the interface to better fit in with its new operating system, while also making it less cluttered and easier to use.

However, as Windows Latest reports, Microsoft has made changes to how phone calls are handled and displayed in the app, with the changes showing up in an early version (Windows 11 Build 22533).

When making a call through the Your Phone app, the window that appears now has new icons and fonts that makes it fit in with Windows 11, while also giving you options that you’re used to seeing on your smartphone when making a call.

You’ll need to connect your smartphone to your PC via Bluetooth, which happens during the initial setup of the Your Phone app, then use your computer’s microphone and speakers for the call. Obviously, your PC will need those as well – the best webcams come with great built-in microphones these days, and we’ve also listed the best computer speakers as well.

Analysis: Work continues

As we had hoped, the launch of Windows 11 wasn’t the end of Microsoft’s work on the new operating system. Instead, the company has been adding new features and fixing bugs since Windows 11 launched last year.

While there is a danger that this makes Windows 11 feel a bit like a work in progress, it also means that if you’re patient, you should end up with an even better operating system. Hopefully the improved Your Phone app comes to all users of Windows 11 soon.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Alt+Tab in Windows 11 is about to get much better
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Microsoft is improving the appearance of switching windows using the Alt+Tab shortcut in Windows 11.

Switching windows through a keyboard shortcut has been a popular option with users, and it’s particularly useful if you’re using a full-screen app that becomes unresponsive. By pressing Alt+Tab on your keyboard, you can quickly switch out of the problematic app. 

Switching between apps in Windows 11 has seen the whole screen become blurred, while in Windows 10 you merely saw a menu of apps you could switch between to, without a blurred effect. This can look strange if you’re on a monitor bigger than 24-inches, and which will also hide the content you may have been working on.

In an upcoming build that’s in testing for Windows Insider users, which allows you to test upcoming Windows 11 features early, such as a refined taskbar, the Alt+Tab interface looks cleaner, with a blurred appearance around the feature itself, instead of taking over the entire screen.

Analysis: Another improvement for Sun Valley 2

Every major Windows update has had a codename attached to it. Windows XP had Whistler, for example, while Windows 8.1 was called Blue.

The codename for the next major Windows 11 update is Sun Valley 2. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the released version of Windows 11 had the codename Sun Valley.

This upcoming update will be full of refinements, but also improvements to what users have been getting used to for the last few months since the release of Windows 11 back in November. From the new looks of Paint, Clock and the upcoming reboot of Windows Media Player, Sun Valley 2 looks to be a significant update.

Alt+Tab already looks easier on the eye in this new build, so you can switch between apps and still see the content in the active window that you were previously looking at. 

Sun Valley 2 is scheduled for May, roughly one year since Windows 11 was announced, and we may finally see Android apps from the Amazon App Store appear on the Microsoft Store.

It’s encouraging that we’re already seeing these small improvements to many apps, alongside updates to the appearance of Windows 11, which will add up to a significant update in May that’s going to benefit users, even if you’re merely looking forward to using Notepad in dark mode.

Via Windows Latest

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One of the best Microsoft Edge features just got even better
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Microsoft is currently working on a new update for its browser that will add even more functionality to the Web Capture tool which first appeared in Microsoft Edge last year.

For those unfamiliar, Web Capture allows you to take screenshots of either an entire webpage or just a portion of it directly from Edge's three-dot menu at the top right of the browser or by using the keyboard shortcut  Ctrl+Shift+S. Once you've take a screenshot, you can then draw notes, save it or even add it to one of your Collections.

Previously, Edge users were unable to take screenshots of certain types of content using the tool, specifically PDFs. However, it appears that Microsoft is now partially testing out this functionality in the latest Edge Canary build.

Using Web Capture with PDFs

Up until now, the Web Capture button and the option in Edge's three-dot menu has appeared grayed out when a tab in the browser is displaying a PDF.

In a recent post on Reddit, Leo Varela revealed that he has discovered that this is no longer the case in the latest Edge Canary build. However, unlike with a normal Web Capture, the dialog to choose between “Capture area” or “Capture full page” doesn't appear. Instead, you only have the option to select a region of the screen.

Hopefully this will change once the ability to use Web Capture with PDF files rolls out to the stable version of Microsoft Edge soon.

If you haven't tested out Edge before or even recently, Microsoft has continued to add new features like Vertical Tabs to its browser in an effort to entice users to make the switch from Google Chrome.

We've also highlighted the best anonymous browser, best VPN and best proxy

Via Windows Report

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Disney Plus gets even better for families with Apple SharePlay on iPhone and iPad
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The Disney Plus streaming service now supports Apple SharePlay, meaning subscribers can sync up TV shows and films on the platform through a host of different Apple devices.

This latest update to the Disney Plus app has come into effect on iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS, meaning anyone watching on their iPhones, iPads or Apple TV 4K streaming devices can benefit. You will need to be running version 15.1 or above on these operating systems, though.

The update is a godsend for large families, or those hoping to connect virtually with friends and relatives over the holidays, supporting up to 32 simultaneous viewers. 

Each viewer will need to subscribe to Disney Plus separately, though, and obviously own a compatible Apple device. For those outside the Apple ecosystem, there's still a way to gain similar functionality.

Gather round, everyone

Disney Plus launched its own GroupWatch feature earlier in the year, which lets up to seven subscribers (or four profiles on the same account) co-watch a title at the same time – and it even works on non-Apple products.

The rise of co-watching has been a fascinating development in the world of TV streaming services. Platforms are increasingly offering their own official functionality, having seen after a surge in third-party browser add-ons that let users sync up their Netflix accounts and even message in a sidebar during streams.

Not everyone is catching up, though. Netflix has yet to support Apple SharePlay, despite no doubt being the most desirable place to get this kind of functionality. For big virtual gatherings, Disney Plus Christmas movies may have the advantage over Netflix Christmas movies.

Via Pocket-lint

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