Apple has only just dropped iOS 16.5, but already there’s a public beta for iOS 16.6, the finished version of which will probably land in the next month or so, based on past form. This doesn’t look to be one of the biggest iOS updates ever, but there’s one potentially very useful new feature.
That feature is iMessage Contact Key Verification, which Apple actually announced last year, but is only now activating. If you and the person or people you’re messaging both enable this feature, then you’ll be alerted if Apple detects a potential intrusion – for example, if the cloud servers your messages are carried on appear to have been breached.
Contact Verification Codes can also be compared and verified in person or over a FaceTime call. So, all this is essentially a way of verifying that you’re talking to the person you believe you’re talking to, and that no one is eavesdropping on the conversation.
(Image credit: Apple)
This is probably a level of security beyond what most people really need, especially as iMessage is already end-to-end encrypted. Indeed, when Apple announced the feature, it positioned this as something aimed at people facing “extraordinary digital threats,” such as journalists and government officials.
It’s a feature that’s designed to stop “an exceptionally advanced adversary, such as a state-sponsored attacker,” so this isn’t something you should – in theory – need to avoid garden-variety hackers. That said, it’s something anyone can enable, so if you want that extra peace of mind, the option is now there.
Or it will be, anyway – while the feature is now visible, it doesn’t appear to be functional yet, according to BGR.
Few features to find
Presumably, then, Apple is still getting it set up, but with it visible in this iOS 16.6 beta, it seems very likely that the iMessage Contact Key Verification feature will fully launch in the finished version of iOS 16.6.
This seems to be the only feature that has been found in this iOS 16.6 beta, and handily Apple hasn’t provided any release notes for the beta. So, there may be more features lurking in there, and there may be additional features added in subsequent betas or the finished iOS 16.6 release.
But as we’re not aware of any functional changes in this current build, there’s probably no need to download it. And while it will definitely be worth grabbing the finished version, we might not see many new features until iOS 17.
Microsoft has just made a pretty remarkable admission, essentially conceding that it doesn’t have a solution for some Windows 11 problems.
As Neowin reports, some people using Windows 11 and Windows 10 have found a bug which prevents the Start menu, Windows search bar and some Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps from starting or working correctly.
It appears that the bugs coincide with damaged registry keys and data related to Microsoft Office apps, and apps that are integrated with Office software, as well as Windows and Outlook.
The bugs don’t affect everyone, but those who are encountering them first noticed something wasn’t right back in January of this year. If you were hoping that during that time Microsoft had figured out how to fix the problem, then I have some bad news for you.
Giving up?
On Microsoft’s ‘Health’ webpage regarding the issue, Microsoft notes that the “Windows search, and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps might not work as expected or might have issues opening,” and in a recent update it has provided a workaround for the problem.
Not only is the lack of a definitive fix disappointing, but the workaround isn’t great, with Microsoft stating that to “mitigate this issue, you can uninstall apps which integrate with Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Calendar.”
Essentially, it seems like Microsoft is admitting that it’s as baffled as us by the problem, and that the only way to avoid the issue is to start uninstalling apps. That’s pretty poor, especially as Microsoft doesn’t list the apps that are causing the issue, just that they integrate with “Windows, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Calendar,” which doesn’t narrow it down at all.
It’s also not a great solution for people who depend on any of the apps causing the issue, as uninstalling them may not be a viable option.
Microsoft claims that it is working on a resolution, and I hope it's able to roll one out that fixes the issue without making users uninstall certain apps. It's concerning, though, that there seem to be areas where Windows 11 (and Windows 10, which is also suffering from this problem) is so broken that Microsoft simply can’t fix it.
Operating systems like Windows 11 are complicated pieces of software that have to work with myriad combinations of hardware and software, but this still doesn’t make it any less embarrassing for Microsoft. It also doesn’t give me a huge amount of confidence about Windows 12, which the company is rumored to be working on – I’d rather Microsoft concentrated on fixing the current versions of Windows first.
You may recall that when Windows 11 first emerged, late in 2021, there was quite a fuss about VBS (Virtualization Based Security) slowing down games – and heads up, here comes some more controversy around this security feature.
Enter stage left (accompanied by a rumble of thunder, perhaps) a report from Tom’s Hardware, with our sister site having recently done a whole load of graphics card benchmarking, making a realization afterward: namely that VBS was turned on.
Here’s the thing, the senior editor at Tom’s who wrote the report, Jarred Walton, had previously disabled VBS, but at some point, a Windows 11 update (presumably) had reverted the feature and turned it back on without Walton noticing. (Windows 11 has VBS on by default now for new installations of the OS).
Walton further observes that Tom’s Editor-in-Chief, Avram Piltch, runs Windows 10 Home and hadn’t touched VBS since clean installing the OS last summer – but VBS was switched on with that system, too. Again, we can guess this happened via an update at some point (though note, we don’t know this for sure).
The long and short of it is, Microsoft wants this feature on for tighter Windows security – clearly – and is seemingly defaulting to turn it back on with all PCs (during major updates, most likely). But if users aren’t aware that VBS is being reenabled, and it can have a negative effect on gaming frame rates, well, that’s a bit of a pickle, to put it mildly.
Back at the launch of Windows 11, we heard tales of VBS hamstringing frame rates in some cases, with frame rate drops of up to 30%. Now, that turned out to be very much a worst-case scenario, with Tom’s doing its own testing at the time which revealed that the drop, on average, was more like 5% (still an appreciable decrease in frame rate).
Bearing that in mind, what kind of impact does VBS have these days? Walton was curious, so ran a battery of tests to find out using an Nvidia RTX 4090 graphics card (at different resolutions and graphics settings over 15 games).
Would VBS have any noticeable impact on gaming performance with a new processor – Intel’s Core i9-13900K – and a cutting-edge GPU?
Apparently, performance drops remain at about the same level as seen with previous testing a year and a half ago, with VBS taking performance down by around 5% overall. At higher resolutions, the impact was less: only 2% when running ultra settings in 4K.
There were some games that fared worse, as you might imagine. Tom’s Hardware highlights Microsoft Flight Simulator which experienced average frame rate drops of around 10%. Far Cry 6 and Control also exhibited 10% or so drops (at 1080p resolution with certain graphics settings, anyway). Other games were much less affected, or saw no difference at all in some cases.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
Analysis: A difficult choice, perhaps – but one we should get to make ourselves
It appears that VBS is still pretty much the same as it was when Windows 11 first launched in terms of slowing down games by an average of around a 5% drop in fps (frames per second).
Nothing has changed in the broad overarching picture, then, but what has changed is that Microsoft is now apparently turning on VBS post-updates, at least in some cases (and this could be true for Windows 10 systems as well as Windows 11).
That’s worrying, because the choice of 'VBS or no VBS' should be yours – and you shouldn’t have to worry about the operating system maker deciding that you mustn’t be without this security feature, and turning it on without your knowledge. At the very least, if this is the route Microsoft feels it must take, the move should be documented in patch release notes somewhere, or some effort made to inform the user.
The question of whether or not you should disable VBS is a thorny one. On the one hand, it’s a security feature, and clearly one Microsoft believes that you’d be silly not to use; hence the switching back on. Arguably, too, the impact is fairly minimal for a lot of games (as we can see with Tom’s testing).
However, there is some impact, and a 10% slowdown in outlying cases is quite a penalty to pay. Particularly for keen gamers who are obsessed with tuning their PCs to eke out every extra frame – a drop of a tenth in fps is akin to a lead weight being tied to that kind of enthusiast’s feet.
Furthermore, while VBS might be indisputably important in business PC scenarios, for the average home user, there are those who argue it’s overkill – and indeed probably not even necessary. Again, on the flip side though, Microsoft has pointed out in the past how VBS can be a useful extra line of defense against some malware attacks.
Ultimately, this decision comes down to you, the types of games you play, and whether you play them competitively – and also how cautious you might be on the security front, too. But frankly, what is rather mystifying here is Microsoft seemingly making these decisions for users, as is apparently the case now.
Google Meet calls are about to get more serene for phone users, thanks to the expansion of the video conferencing software's noise cancellation feature.
Google says the technology “can remove background noises such as typing, closing a door, room echo, or the sounds of a nearby construction site” to enable the complete focus of participants without distraction. It will also make them easier to hear too.
Select customers
The tech giant says that it only filters out noises that are not clearly those of a human voice. So voices coming from other sources, such as a nearby TV or radio, or other people talking in the room, will not be filtered out.
It therefore advises that if other sounds are needed in your call, such as the playing of musical instruments, for example, then noise cancellation should be turned off in order for them to be picked up. This is perhaps why for those subscribed to one of the educational tiers of Google Workspace, the feature is off by default.
To toggle noise cancellation on or off on, you need to tap or click the cog icon that open up the settings when on Google Meet. For iPhone and Android device users, they should see a noise cancellation option that they can tap to activate or deactivate. Desktop/ laptop users will find this option under the audio section of the settings.
However, it appears that for those calling into a meeting with their phone, noise cancellation is activated depending on whether your organization has it turned on or off beforehand.
Noise cancellation for phone users is now available for the following Workspace customers only: Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Frontline”.
Noise cancellation in general is currently unavailable to those in “South Africa, UAE, and the immediately surrounding areas”. Google also mentions that those using an electrolarynx should have the feature turned off, and that Pexip device users have it on by default, and should refer to the device documentation to turn it off.
Google has announced that it's bringing end-to-end encryption to group chats in the Google Messages app. The security upgrade is heading to beta users first before being rolled out more widely.
End-to-end encryption means no one, not even Google, can read the content of messages. It's already supported in the Google Messages app for one-to-one chats, but now (via The Verge) it's going to be added to group conversations as well.
“End-to-end encryption is starting to roll out for group chats and will be available to some users in the open beta program over the coming weeks,” Google says. “This shouldn’t even be a thought – just an expectation and something anyone texting should not have to worry about.”
From SMS to RCS
In the same announcement blog post, Google revealed that the ability to quickly react to a message with any emoji is coming to Google Messages soon as well. At the moment, only a selection of emojis can be used as reactions.
Alongside a mention of these new features, Google also continued to push hard for RCS (Rich Communication Services) to become the new standard for everyone – the technology, an upgrade on SMS, is now widely available but has yet to be adopted by Apple on its iPhones.
Google's post also acknowledged the 30th anniversary of the SMS, a milestone which emphasizes how old the technology is as well as how overdue we now are for a standard that can fully replace it.
Analysis: SMS should really be history
The arrival of SMS three decades ago helped to transform the way that we communicate with each other – even if the messages were limited in terms of characters, and many phones could only store a limited number of texts at any one time.
Now, apps like WhatsApp and Slack have taken us far, far beyond those limitations. Messages can be much longer and include photos, videos or audio, and we can even tell when recipients have opened up the messages we send them.
It's benefits like these that make RCS a worthwhile upgrade, improving the security of messages and making features such as group chats much better. Google didn't create the standard, but it is heavily promoting it.
However, whenever an iPhone user texts an Android user, SMS is still the protocol used. Google wants that to change, but it's unlikely that Apple ever will – Apple knows that iMessage is one of the key reasons that people stick with iPhones.
Since Windows 10, Microsoft has had a consistent plan of updating Windows every six months with bug fixes and updates. This carried on for Windows 11 until Microsoft's recent event when it announced a bunch of features, such as tabs in File Explorer.
Four months into 2022, we've already seen two major updates. Normally, these would have arrived six months apart, usually named '2H22' to help reference the major update for that time.
There's been constant speculation on a big update to Windows 11 called Sun Valley 2. All these current updates, however, make us wonder if we should still expect a major update with a codename for Windows, or if “Sun Valley” is now irrelevant.
Sunset for the Valley
Back in the days of Windows XP and Windows Vista, major updates would be called 'Service Pack', with new features and a collection of bug fixes that would arrive a couple of years after the original Windows release, and that would be it.
However, the way we use PCs in recent years has prompted Microsoft, and other companies, to refine their software over time, often in response to customer feedback, and also to make some features more prevalent than they once were.
Microsoft had been following a six-month timeline for major updates in Windows 10, and then a yearly schedule for Windows 11. But it's telling that we're already seeing rumored features for Sun Valley 2 already arrive now.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
While we've reached out to the company to see whether the timeline of major updates has changed, it already looks to be happening. If you were waiting for a significant update to arrive, it's most likely coming in a smaller update in the coming weeks or months, instead.
It's a method that would be great for Apple to follow, as well. The era of yearly updates on macOS from WWDC has little meaning for anyone. Having a constant stream of minor updates could help users gain new features while keeping developers in the loop of what's coming up.
More incremental updates that are larger than the bug and relatively minor changes Apple delivers throughout the year could help Apple developers more effectively adapt their apps to these updates, as well. Otherwise, they're left scrambling to ready major changes in time for the typical September releases of the new macOS or iOS versions.
Such a change would be a good thing for Apple fans. On the Windows side, it's an adjustment in perspective. Sun Valley 2 has no meaning anymore – the new Windows 11 updates are either here already, or they're already in the Windows Insider program, which allows you to test features under development that may arrive in an official capacity.
It looks to be a new standard for Microsoft and Windows 11 as a whole, and we're all for it. Your move Apple.
Since Windows 10, Microsoft has had a consistent plan of updating Windows every six months with bug fixes and updates. This carried on for Windows 11 until Microsoft's recent event when it announced a bunch of features, such as tabs in File Explorer.
Four months into 2022, we've already seen two major updates. Normally, these would have arrived six months apart, usually named '2H22' to help reference the major update for that time.
There's been constant speculation on a big update to Windows 11 called Sun Valley 2. All these current updates, however, make us wonder if we should still expect a major update with a codename for Windows, or if “Sun Valley” is now irrelevant.
Sunset for the Valley
Back in the days of Windows XP and Windows Vista, major updates would be called 'Service Pack', with new features and a collection of bug fixes that would arrive a couple of years after the original Windows release, and that would be it.
However, the way we use PCs in recent years has prompted Microsoft, and other companies, to refine their software over time, often in response to customer feedback, and also to make some features more prevalent than they once were.
Microsoft had been following a six-month timeline for major updates in Windows 10, and then a yearly schedule for Windows 11. But it's telling that we're already seeing rumored features for Sun Valley 2 already arrive now.
(Image credit: Microsoft)
While we've reached out to the company to see whether the timeline of major updates has changed, it already looks to be happening. If you were waiting for a significant update to arrive, it's most likely coming in a smaller update in the coming weeks or months, instead.
It's a method that would be great for Apple to follow, as well. The era of yearly updates on macOS from WWDC has little meaning for anyone. Having a constant stream of minor updates could help users gain new features while keeping developers in the loop of what's coming up.
More incremental updates that are larger than the bug and relatively minor changes Apple delivers throughout the year could help Apple developers more effectively adapt their apps to these updates, as well. Otherwise, they're left scrambling to ready major changes in time for the typical September releases of the new macOS or iOS versions.
Such a change would be a good thing for Apple fans. On the Windows side, it's an adjustment in perspective. Sun Valley 2 has no meaning anymore – the new Windows 11 updates are either here already, or they're already in the Windows Insider program, which allows you to test features under development that may arrive in an official capacity.
It looks to be a new standard for Microsoft and Windows 11 as a whole, and we're all for it. Your move Apple.
Keeping in touch with your colleagues around the world could soon be a lot easier thanks to a new update to Google Chat.
The online collaboration service is now allowing users to create group chats (known as Spaces) within Google Chat that you can then share with others in your organization.
Much like Slack, once a new custom Spaces group has been created, you'll be able to share it with whoever you choose, with participants able to join by clicking on a custom link.
Google Chat or Slack?
“With this launch, Spaces are no longer restricted to only people added to the conversation,” Google said in a Workspace blog post announcing the news.
The company says the update will be particularly useful for creating and sharing “topic-based conversations” within your business, such as team discussions, how-to guides and mentoring opportunities.
(Image credit: Google Workspace)
The change could also help leaders or admins share organizational and policy updates, or gather together a particularly interested or skilled group, such as when investigating an outage. Or, it could be great for just finding those with similar interests to yourself, allowing for custom groups to celebrate anything from sports to cooking.
Spaces will only be able to be shared with those inside your organization, and will have to be entirely new groups created from this date forward.
The feature is available and rolling out now to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.
The news is the latest change to Google Chat to bring it more in line with some of its rivals, offering tools such as in-line replies and native content search, bringing Google Chat closer in line with services like Slack and Teams.
Google Chat officially replaced Google Hangouts earlier this year, with all enterprise and business users on “Classic Hangouts” having been upgraded to the new service by March 22, 2022.
The company says the move will ensure all Google Workspace customers are using the same platform, with anyone trying to access Hangouts being redirected across to Google Chat.
Top website builder Wix has upgraded its SaaS platform with the integration of Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) for ecommerce merchants to deliver orders within one to two days.
Using Amazon’s order fulfillment services, the redeveloped platform will now allow Wix ecommerce merchants in the US to download the Amazon MCF app to their Wix store and hopefully lower fulfilment costs.
Wix merchants will also be able to automatically see shipping speed options and real-time delivery dates from Amazon.
Wix Multi-Channel Fulfillment
Wix says the integration has also been introduced to reduce the complexities ecommerce website owners face fulfilling orders on their own.
“We’re constantly improving our platform to accommodate rising needs of business owners and to help them increase their Gross Payment Volume (GPV),” said Arik Perez, Head of Wix ecommerce.
“Today, seamless shipping and delivery are essential for businesses to succeed. In partnering with Amazon MCF, Wix merchants can be assured that top-of-the-line packing, handling and fast shipping is at their fingertips, which ultimately boosts the potential growth of their business.”
Some of the other key benefits for Wix ecommerce merchants using the Amazon MCF app include fulfilling orders 24/7 with fast shipping, leveraging Amazon MCF’s fulfillment network with over 200 fulfillment centers and automatic inventory placement.
“We’re continually listening to merchants and working backwards from their needs to develop solutions that help them delight more customers,” said Gopal Pillai, Vice President of Amazon Fulfillment and Distribution Solutions.
“The new Multi-Channel Fulfillment app easily integrates with Wix stores to help merchants make critical improvements to their customer experience, such as providing shoppers accurate delivery dates at checkout, automatic tracking emails, and on-time, low-cost delivery.
“With Multi-Channel Fulfillment, we make fulfilment so easy and seamless that merchants can focus more time on the growth and success of their business.”
Available now, the integration with Amazon’s MCF network will mean that Wix merchants will pay for fulfilment and storage, but not for commitment or app installation.
Top website builder Wix has upgraded its SaaS platform with the integration of Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) for ecommerce merchants to deliver orders within one to two days.
Using Amazon’s order fulfillment services, the redeveloped platform will now allow Wix ecommerce merchants in the US to download the Amazon MCF app to their Wix store and hopefully lower fulfilment costs.
Wix merchants will also be able to automatically see shipping speed options and real-time delivery dates from Amazon.
Wix Multi-Channel Fulfillment
Wix says the integration has also been introduced to reduce the complexities ecommerce website owners face fulfilling orders on their own.
“We’re constantly improving our platform to accommodate rising needs of business owners and to help them increase their Gross Payment Volume (GPV),” said Arik Perez, Head of Wix ecommerce.
“Today, seamless shipping and delivery are essential for businesses to succeed. In partnering with Amazon MCF, Wix merchants can be assured that top-of-the-line packing, handling and fast shipping is at their fingertips, which ultimately boosts the potential growth of their business.”
Some of the other key benefits for Wix ecommerce merchants using the Amazon MCF app include fulfilling orders 24/7 with fast shipping, leveraging Amazon MCF’s fulfillment network with over 200 fulfillment centers and automatic inventory placement.
“We’re continually listening to merchants and working backwards from their needs to develop solutions that help them delight more customers,” said Gopal Pillai, Vice President of Amazon Fulfillment and Distribution Solutions.
“The new Multi-Channel Fulfillment app easily integrates with Wix stores to help merchants make critical improvements to their customer experience, such as providing shoppers accurate delivery dates at checkout, automatic tracking emails, and on-time, low-cost delivery.
“With Multi-Channel Fulfillment, we make fulfilment so easy and seamless that merchants can focus more time on the growth and success of their business.”
Available now, the integration with Amazon’s MCF network will mean that Wix merchants will pay for fulfilment and storage, but not for commitment or app installation.
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