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Posts tagged "finally"

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Microsoft is finally introducing the feature that’ll make me upgrade to Windows 11
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Windows 11 is finally getting a feature I’ve been keenly awaiting since the OS was released – yes, a ‘never combine’ option is coming to the taskbar. Oh, a joyous and rapturous day indeed (ahem).

This is one of many changes brought forth with a new preview build (23466) in the Dev channel, and it has been previously speculated about in a number of leaks.

Turning on 'never combine' mode for the taskbar means that apps are always kept as individual entries on the bar, even when multiple copies of the same application are open at the same time.

With multiple instances of apps, by default Windows 11 stacks them up – combines them, so to speak – into one entry on the taskbar. Never combined, as the name suggests, means this doesn’t happen, and they all stay separate – and you can see the labels on those individual instances (telling you which web page is currently active, for example, in a browser window).

Not all testers will see this straightaway, Microsoft informs us, as it’s a gradual rollout. So even if you’re a Windows Insider hanging out in the Dev channel, it may still be some time before you receive the option.

Happiness is a non-combining taskbar

The introduction of the never combined option for the taskbar is a big one for me, as the lack of this feature is pretty much the biggest reason why I’ve not upgraded to Windows 11 yet. (There are other niggles, too, but let’s not stray off-topic).

That probably sounds a bit overblown, but seriously, stacking up apps on the taskbar is a deal-breaker as far as I’m concerned. I hate this way of working – it truly bugs me – so I was pretty mystified when Windows 11 turned up without never combine (as it’s known in Windows 10 – I’m not sure why it’s now ‘combined’ in Windows 11, but it doesn’t really matter).

It’s never a good idea to remove choice as far as I’m concerned, but Microsoft didn’t do this out of some arbitrary desire, we were told. The chatter from the usual insider sources suggested that adding what seems like a simple bit of functionality on the face of it was actually a pretty complex issue around how the interface of the latest OS was built from the ground up.

I’m not sure how far I buy into that, but I can accept the basic premise. I just can’t understand why it has taken so very long for Microsoft to introduce this for Windows 11 – clearly, it was pretty far down whatever interface priority lists were drawn up internally. 

But hey, it’s here now, if only in testing. Hopefully, Microsoft will manage to push this change through in the big update at the end of the year (23H2). After all, the groundwork should’ve been the hard bit here, so honing the feature shouldn’t be that much of a task. I hope.

Then I can fire up that Windows 11 upgrade, finally, and get with the OS times. This feels a bit more like a pressing need following the announcement that Windows 10 won’t get any more features at all (save minor tweaks – there’ll be no 23H2 update for the older operating system, as you may recall).

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Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are finally available on your iPad – here’s how to get them
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Just two weeks after the initial announcement, Apple's Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro editing software have made landfall on select iPad models.

Both apps function similarly to their desktop counterparts with some customizations so they can take full advantage of the hardware. As stated in our previous coverage, Final Cut Pro will feature a new jog wheel to make interacting with the touch screen easy to do. This includes smoothly navigating the Magnetic Timeline and moving clips for a video. Support for the Apple Pencil is present enabling Live Drawing so you can draw and write on top of content. Additionally, Final Cut Pro on iPad allows for multicamera editing so you can easily combine multiple angles into one timeline.

As for Logic Pro, the music editing software comes with Multi-Touch so you can use your hands to zoom in on tracks or scroll through them. Custom audio boards can be built thanks to Plug-in Tiles. All you have to do is drag audio control plug-ins together like a jigsaw puzzle. Apple Pencil support is here as well for “precision edits”. 

There are even a couple of new features not present on the desktop version. First, you have Beat Breaker, which lets “creators “reshape and shuffle sounds with a swipe of their finger or a pinch. There’s also Sample Alchemy for manipulating music samples with, as you can probably guess, just your finger.

Availability

The apps can do more than what we just described, but we think you get the picture. It doesn’t look like there will be any hiccups in the transition from desktop to tablet. So, how can you buy them?

Both Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are available through the App Store for $ 4.99 USD (£4.99 and $ 7.99 AUD) a month or $ 49 USD (£49 and $ 59 AUD) a year “with a one-month free trial.” As you can see, the iPad versions of these apps are much, much cheaper than on Mac. Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro will run you $ 299.99 (£299.99/$ 499.99 AUD) and $ 199.99 (£174.99/$ 299.99 AUD) respectively.

Do note there are some limitations. The software only works with select iPad models. To use Final Cut Pro, you need to own either a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th or 6th gen), 11-inch iPad Pro (3rd or 4th gen), or iPad Air (5th gen) with iPadOS 16.4 or later installed. For Logic Pro, the app will work on “any iPad with the A12 Bionic chip or later” like the 7th Gen iPad from 2019. The device must also be running iPadOS 16.4.

It’s worth mentioning there have been rumors of these two applications coming to Apple’s rumored VR headset. This information comes from notable industry insider Mark Gurman who claims “there’s a very real possibility” they’ll roll out to the headset at some point. Apparently, the xrOS platform can run iPad apps.

It’s unknown if that’ll actually happen, but our questions may soon be answered. The company’s big WWDC 2023 event will be held in less than two weeks on June 5. We do expect to see the long-awaited reveal of Apple's VR device among other high-profile gadgets.

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Microsoft has finally fixed a cool Windows 11 Spotify feature – so what took so long?
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Microsoft has just fixed one of Windows 11’s neatest features – one that Chief Product Officer Panos Panay called a ‘game-changer’ when it was first introduced back in 2021.

The pre-loaded Clock application in Windows 11 has long included a feature that allows you to link up your Spotify account and set it to play specific productivity-focused playlists while you’re employing the nifty Focus Assist feature.

However, as previously noted by Neowin, the functionality had been broken for months (since at least February 2023, potentially longer), and despite Spotify trying to rectify the issue, it turned out to be an expired certificate on Microsoft’s end breaking the feature. Users attempting to link their Spotify account to Windows Clock would be met with a blank screen and an endless “Connecting to a service” message.

Thankfully, it looks like the problem is now resolved – in part, it seems, due to Neowin’s diligent reporting. When Spotify confirmed that the bug was Microsoft’s fault, Neowin reached out to the Windows creator to report the issue. Lo and behold, a few weeks later, the problem has been fixed; you can now hook up your Spotify account to the Clock app with no difficulties.

Microsoft, please love all your children equally

However, it looks like the problem is still lingering in Windows 10 – when I tried to connect my Clock app to Spotify on my personal desktop PC (after checking for system updates), I got the same empty white window.

Microsoft has been getting more and more aggressive in its efforts to push users to upgrade to Windows 11, but this feels like a spectacular low point. If the problem is something as simple as an expired certificate for Spotify’s API access, why not fix it for both Windows 10 and 11?

Look, I don’t hate Windows 11 (although Microsoft’s recent boo-boo over ads in the Weather app did make me chuckle). I use it on my work laptop and it’s fine – in fact, it’s steadily improving, gradually adding great features and gathering pace among users. It’s been on the rise for a while in terms of adoption – a quick look at the OS section of the Steam Hardware and Software Survey shows that Windows 11 is now eating into its predecessor’s share of the PC gaming space with impressive speed.

But as my colleague Darren recently said, Microsoft should be using the carrot, not the stick, to boost Windows 11 adoption. I love Windows 10 – why don’t you, Microsoft? It’s one of the best operating systems ever made, and I don’t want to feel forced to abandon it because you’re not willing to fix simple bugs that can be fixed in its successor.

It’s also frankly not a good look that it took more than three months – and a direct complaint from a tech news site – to fix such a simple problem. Come on, Microsoft. Oh, and you can stop with all the Bing AI nonsense. If I wanted an AI on my desktop, I’d just use ChatGPT.

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Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar are finally going to play nice together
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Google and Microsoft have come a step closer to becoming amicable with the announcement that their respective calendar apps will become a whole lot more interoperable in a bid to keep users organized whichever service they decide to use.

A support page details how “users in both systems share their availability status so everyone can view each others' schedules.”

Furthermore, changes are being rolled out to how invitations are managed between the two rival companies.

Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook interoperability

In its announcement, Google explains that “Calendar Interoperability is the critical component to help ensure events created in one calendar system are accurately propagated for guests using different calendar systems.”

Taking a move to recognize and support third-party services will inevitably work in favor of the company, with many individuals and businesses preferring to split their digital footprint between multiple companies, all of whom have their own merits and preferred use cases.

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As part of the update, Outlook users who also have a Google Calendar with the same email address can receive Google Calendar invitations and RSVPs directly in Outlook without having to be in the Google ecosystem (which incidentally doesn’t have a dedicated desktop client). As standard, default reminders will also be created for Google Calendar invitations in Outlook.

On the flip side, non-Google Calendar recurring events are now hoped to be more “systematically and accurately” reflected in Google’s portal.

Unlike some changes, this is a Google-wide feature that applies to both business and individual customers, and is already available.

Having already announced other interoperability missions, like Meet and Zoom, it’s clear that Google is trying to broaden its appeal by more subtly integrating into third-party platforms, in turn giving customers a central ecosystem that they can work from with fewer limitations.

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Google Sheets thinks it might finally be smart enough to topple Microsoft Excel
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Google Workspace has announced an upgrade to its spreadsheet software that could make the tool more useful than ever before.

In its battle to take on great rival Microsoft Excel, the company's Google Sheets platform has enjoyed a number of recent updates to help users get more from their data.

This includes so-called “smart chip” technology, which lets users quickly access information or data from other Google Workspace files, bringing the likes of Slides, Docs and Gmail even closer together for the ultimate collaboration tool.

Google Sheets smart chip metadata

Following an initial rollout in February 2023, Google Sheets has already seen an initial smart chips upgrade, taking the form of richer experiences, including extra functionality when posting YouTube clips in a spreadsheet, further expansions have now been announced.

Going forward, the company says users will be able to quickly extract information from smart chips to give your work extra detail or analysis, pulling in information from people, file and event chips. It will also allow users you to pull out metadata associated with specific smart chips into its own cell, all whilst maintaining a connection with the chip it was extracted from. 

Google Sheets smart chips metadata

(Image credit: Google Workspace)

The company gave the example of making it easier to keep track of a set of documents, as well as who owns them and details such as creation time or who last modified the file, which can now be done by extracting those fields from the relevant file chips.

“Smart chip data extraction allows you to track and organize data more easily, and also perform deeper analyses using data that is derived from smart chips,” a Google Workspace update blog post announcing the change read.

“Useful actions include using file chips to understand when a document was last updated or using people chips to sort and filter employees based on job location to best delegate region specific tasks.”

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The feature is rolling out now for users on Rapid Release domains, with a wider release scheduled for June 14. 

The ability to extract data already stored in chips will be available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts, but some limits on extracting all available data will be placed on the latter, along with users with Google Workspace Essentials Starter, Business Starter, Frontline Starter, Frontline Standard, and Nonprofits accounts.

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Google Meet thinks it might finally be able to topple Microsoft Teams at last
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Google is looking to up its game in the video conferencing space with the launch of several new AI-powered tools and services.

The company has revealed that Google Meet is getting some new AI boosts, aimed at making it a core part of your everyday working life, but also one that reflects you.

Revealed at Google I/O 2023, the tools use the newly-announced Duet AI for Google Workspace platform to allow users to generate their own customized virtual backgrounds based on text descriptions, opening up a whole world of possibilities.

Google Meet Duet AI

Google had hinted at plans for generative AI backgrounds in Meet earlier this year as part of its big Workspace AI push, but this marks the first time we've seen the technology in action.

In a demo at Google I/O, the company was able to demonstrate how just a few words could generate detailed backgrounds that let users show off a bit more personality whilst on a call. The company also mentioned potential examples such as a salesperson tailoring their background depending on which prospective client they are meeting with, or a manager celebrating the employee of the month with a personalized background of their favorite things in a team call.

Google Meet duet ai

(Image credit: Google)

“It's a subtle, personal touch to show you care about the people you're connecting with and what's important to them,” a Google blog post announcing the changes noted.

Duet AI is already a central background presence across Google Workspace, working in the background to assist on tasks such as writing Gmail messages or giving you prompts in Google Docs.

Along with Meet, the system is also be geared up for use across other key Google Workspace services such as Slides and Sheets as the company looks to make all your working tools smarter and more intuitive.

Opinion – enough to triumph over Microsoft Teams?

AI is everywhere in the software world right now, as companies of all sizes scramble to include the technology in their processes and platforms.

Video conferencing should be an ideal place for AI to make a real impact, boosting signal strength and call quality. But personalization is also another way for this new era of technology to make a difference. Now we're all used to video calls, making them more bearable is the next step, and customized backgrounds could be a small step towards that.

Just days after Microsoft Teams announced a whole host of new virtual backgrounds aimed at enhancing collaboration and productivity, including collections aimed at boosting mental health, Google Meet will be hoping its generative AI offering will be enough to capture user's attention.

In the end, it remains to be seen – do you want your workplace calls to be unique, special and customized – or keeping to some veneer of professionalism?

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Apple Pay Later is finally rolling out for a chosen few across 45 US states
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After suffering through multiple delays, Apple Pay Later is finally touching down as it begins rolling out to randomly selected users across the United States.

Originally, the service was supposed to launch alongside iOS 16 back in September 2022, but developers ran into a variety of “technical setbacks”. Apple Pay Later allows people to apply for loans from $ 50 up to $ 1,000 to purchase whatever they want while avoiding paying the full price up-front. From there, users will pay off that amount in four separate payments across six weeks with no interest or extra fees slapped on top. $ 1,000 is a decent chunk of change, however, it's not a guarantee. Eligibility depends on your credit score; a history with low numbers will qualify for smaller loans. 

The feature will have its home in the Apple Wallet which comes with a detailed calendar that'll notify you of upcoming payments. If you're having a hard time paying, Apple will work with you to make up a new plan. And if you still can't pay off the bill, you won't be eligible for future loans. Customers must connect either a bank or debit card to their account to use the money. Credit cards cannot be used in order to, as Apple notes in its release, “prevent users from taking on more debt to pay back loans”.

Basic requirements

Before applying, you'll need to meet some basic requirements first. Currently, the feature is unavailable in Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Wisconsin plus all US Territories. Currently, Apple Pay Later is available in 45 states. People living in Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Wisconsin, or any of the US territories do not have access to the feature, at this time. You have to be at least 18 years old (19 if you live in Alabama) and living in a supported state with a valid physical address.

As for hardware, all you need is an iPhone or iPad updated to iOS 16.4 and iPadOS 16.4, respectively, with two-factor authentication enabled.

Once everything is squared away, you can apply through Apple Wallet via an option at the top. Be aware the company will run a “soft credit pull” to see if you’re in a “good financial position” to borrow the money. Those rejected will get an email from Apple explaining why you didn't make the cut.

Money rules

There are some rules regarding how you can spend the loan, however. 

The money will appear on the checkout page of a purchase under the Pay Later option where you’ll have 30 days to use everything. Past that time, you’ll have to reapply all over again. Whatever you get has to be used on one big order as leftover money can't be reused somewhere else. Additionally, the loan will only be accepted by online retailers and apps supporting Apple Pay, but you won't be forced to just buy Apple tech. It'll work for multiple products bought from a single retailer. Apple cannot see the details of that transaction (your purchase of an Xbox Series X and Sonic Colors Ultimate at Target.com will not be judged).

Pay Later is not currently supporting in-physical-store payments.

Apple Pay Later customers won't pay any fees, but Apple will be making some money off this program through its cut of the fees installment payment plan provider, Mastercard, charges retailers.

The company is pretty set on maxing out the loan at $ 1,000. For more expensive purchases, say a MacBook Pro, Apple recommends using something like the Apple Card to have payments across months instead of weeks. There are plans to expand support to all eligible customers in the US later this fall when Apple Financing, LLC, begins reporting to American credit bureaus. Unfortunately, there are currently no plans for a global launch.

Hopefully, there will be. Until then, check out TechRadar's list of the best iPhone models for 2023 if you're looking for a new device.

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Android’s answer to AirDrop is finally coming to your Windows PC
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Google’s answer to Apple’s AirDrop just got a big upgrade with the launch of its Nearby Share for Windows PC app beta.

Just like how you use AirDrop, Nearby Share lets you quickly and easily share files between nearby Android devices. This feature tends to be quicker than sending files via an email or Google Drive link, and is simpler than trying to transfer them over a typical Bluetooth connection. 

Nearby Share just got a lot better, however, as it now lets you do more than just ping files between the best Android phones, tablets, and best Chromebooks – you can now send files to your Windows PC, too. The introduction of the Nearby Share for Windows beta gives the feature a serious boost over AirDrop, as Apple’s feature is locked to its ecosystem of iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Best of all, you can join the beta right now and start sharing your phone files via the new Nearby Share for Windows app in no time.

A phone sending a file to a PC, then sending that file to another phone

(Image credit: Google)

How to download Nearby Share for Windows 

Unlike other recent Google betas – like the Google Bard beta – where you have to sign up and wait to be given access, you can get started with Nearby Share for Windows right now if you want.

You’ll first want to head to Google’s official page, and there you should see a “Get started” button near the top. Click and you’ll download the installation file for the Nearby Share PC tool – open it to begin the installation process.

Once the installation is complete, you should see a window pop up that asks you to sign in to Google and set your Nearby Share preferences. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be ready to share files using Nerby Share with your computer; if you ever need to tweak your settings, you can click the gear icon in the Nearby Share Windows app to change settings like your PC’s name, where files get sent to and its visibility to other devices.

There are a few limitations to what PCs can support Nearby Share – it’ll need to be running Windows 10 or later and it’ll need to support Bluetooth.

Elsewhere, Google isn't only gaining on Apple in the file-sharing world, its Google AirTags could take over the world, too. 

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Microsoft finally fixes annoying Windows 11 file copying bug
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Windows 11 is about to get the full fix for a bug that causes serious aggravation to some users when trying to copy big files.

This problem has been around for some time, but Microsoft has finally got a handle on it, because as Windows Latest points out, the cure is bundled up with the freshly revealed ‘Moment 2’ update for Windows 11 22H2.

That update is already available as an optional offering – still in preview, in other words, but up for grabs to all Windows 11 users (not just testers) – and it’ll be fully rolling out with the final deployment of Moment 2 which happens next Tuesday (March 14).

So, if you’ve been hit by this bug, the resolution is imminent, thankfully. The issue badly slows down the copying of larger files, with some reports we’ve seen in the past saying that hefty copy operations can actually take twice as long as they should. Nasty indeed.

Windows Latest made this discovery thanks to readers who informed the site that file copying had reverted to normal speeds following the installation of patch KB5022913 (Moment 2 preview).

A tech consultant told the website: “We ran into this problem in December when we upgraded our 100 devices to Windows 11 22H2. The files were taking a lot longer to copy over than they should. We noticed some file transfers were almost twice slower. Our users confirmed this is no longer the case after the KB5022913 update.”

Analysis: A long time in the making

As mentioned, this problem has been around for a while – indeed a fix was applied in testing way back at the start of December 2022. That means it will have taken three and a half months for the test patch to actually reach the release version of Windows 11. (Assuming that it is included with Moment 2 and doesn’t get ditched at the last, erm, moment, if problems have been encountered with the optional preview update).

When we first reported on this, we were keeping our fingers crossed for a swift fix, but that didn’t happen, so presumably this was a knotty problem that took quite some untangling. Granted, the bug mainly affects those on enterprise networks, but folks running small office or home networks have also been hit.

The Moment 2 update fixes a bunch of other bugs, as you might expect – including File Explorer glitches and a flaw with Bluetooth keyboards – and it adds a whole pile of features to Windows 11. That includes Phone Link for iOS (finally), improvements for touchscreen devices, and much more (we’ve got a deep dive on all the additions right here). Oh, and it’ll also usher in the Bing AI to the taskbar (sort of, from time to time – we talk about this further here).

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Microsoft could finally fix Windows 11’s strangest design choice
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Windows 11 might finally allow users to shift the taskbar to different orientations on the desktop – as you can do with Windows 10 – rather than having it locked to the bottom of the screen, if a new clue spotted in preview is anything to go by.

Well-known Microsoft leaker Albacore posted on Twitter to show that with Windows 11 preview build 25309 it’s possible to do a bit of tweaking and get the taskbar to appear at the top of the screen.

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As the clip in the tweet shows, though, you end up with a broken implementation of the taskbar. Yes, it’s at the top, but when you click on icons in the bar, their respective functions appear floating at the bottom of the screen (where they’d normally be with the taskbar in its default position at the bottom).

In short, it looks like Microsoft is putting in the initial groundwork for a movable taskbar in preview right now, but it is very early stages indeed. Whether anything will come of this, well, we’ll have to keep our eyes peeled and fingers crossed – or those who want the ability to shift the taskbar around will, at any rate.

Analysis: A challenging change for Microsoft?

There might be people out there shouting at their monitors – why on earth would you want the taskbar at the top? However, this has actually been a very commonly requested feature addition for Windows 11, with plenty of users voting for the functionality to be brought to the desktop.

And choice is never a bad thing – some folks want a vertical taskbar, that runs down the side of the screen, too, as well as the potential to sling the bar up top. It’s really down to allowing for more customization of the core desktop UI, and keeping the same features as offered by Windows 10, which allows the bar to be shifted about if you wish.

As MS Power User – which spotted Albacore’s tweet – observes, though, this is something Microsoft has indicated it won’t pursue. Despite the clamor for a more mobile taskbar, Microsoft has said there are a “number of challenges” wrapped up in its implementation, and that the percentage of users wanting this change is small compared to other features. The latter assertion is certainly arguable from what we’ve seen, but there you go…

The long and short of previous statements, then, seems to be that Microsoft thinks it’d be a lot of effort for not much return – but the sighting of the ability to move the taskbar to the top, in however rudimentary a fashion, certainly gives hope to the idea that a movable taskbar is coming.

Until then, if you really want to mess around with the Windows 11 environment in this kind of way, you’ll need to resort to a third-party customization app. (It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that these apps have been causing serious trouble with the latest big Windows update, ‘Moment 2’).

Meanwhile, Microsoft recently introduced a nifty ability to the taskbar (in testing), namely the ability to kill a process right there on the bar (rather than having to mess around taking a trip to Task Manager).

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