1 844.742.7448

Email Us

Remote Support

Contact

Posts tagged "last"

  1. Home
  2. Posts tagged last

Microsoft just rolled out the last big Windows 11 update we expect before Windows 12, Copilot in tow
  • No Comments

October 31 wasn’t just about Halloween – it was also Windows 11 2023 Update day. The update arrived with some big banner changes and features, making it one of the most interesting and ambitious Windows 11 updates yet. 

We’ve known about most of these features from an optional update, Windows 11 2023 Update (23H2), that was released last month. It packed a punch with features like the widely-publicized Windows Copilot artificial intelligence (AI) tool, Paint updates including the Cocreater generative AI bot, a revamped Snipping Tool app, a revised Photos app, RGB lighting support for gamer, a flashy new File Explorer, amongst other tweaks and changes. One other major update is the removal of the integration of Chat into Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams (free) in Windows 11 23H2

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Chat has now officially been absorbed into the free version of Microsoft Teams, which will now be pinned as a default app in your taskbar, as relayed by Microsoft’s VP of program management for Windows servicing and delivery, John Cable. 

He emphasized that Teams is now a more fully-fledged “mini communications experience” that allows for even more ways to connect and create community groups. This is a sensible move because Teams is widely-used and recognised, especially post-pandemic (where many people found themselves working from home, and used Teams to keep in touch with coworkers). 

Earlier iterations of the Microsoft Teams app also saw it included as part of Windows 11 and as a default app in the taskbar, but you wouldn’t be able to simply unpin it to remove it from the taskbar. Thankfully, that’s changed and you can now easily remove it if you don’t use it. 

Chat was a sort of FaceTime clone-app that clearly even Microsoft understood wasn’t seeing much use by many users. Chat was only available on the personal consumer version of Windows 11, so if users or organizations wanted to use it with or within Teams, there wasn’t a work or enterprise version to do that. 

More exciting changes coming to a Windows device near you

This Windows update also brings us some design changes to the user interface, specifically when it comes to app management. Windows 11 system component settings will now be grouped under a “System” label which can be found in the Settings app. Microsoft Store, Game Bar, Phone Link, and Tips apps will all be listed there, and The Verge speculates that Microsoft will allow users to remove these system components in a future Windows 11 update. 

This is likely the last major update to Windows 11, as we suspect we’ll see the next version of Windows, rumored to be Windows 12, soon. Exciting times for Windows fans ahead.

You Might Also Like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

The last Quest 2 update before the Meta Quest 3 launch is underwhelming
  • No Comments

Meta is rolling out update v57 to your Meta Quest Pro and Oculus Quest 2. This last patch before the Meta Quest 3 launch event later this month is underwhelming compared to previous ones, but it fixes a few snags that should make the Quest 3 feel super–smooth and intuitive on its release.

The biggest change coming in this update is to avatar customization, though Meta is only adding a few tweaks. After updating to v57 you’ll have greater control over your avatar’s skin tone, hair and eyebrow color, and the makeup they’re wearing. These changes should make it easier for your virtual representation to better match your IRL look and style. 

Meta’s avatars aren’t just used in its own suite of VR apps like its Horizon Worlds metaverse; they’re also used by a whole bunch of third-party experiences like ForeVR Bowl – a game this writer is a champion in. These new customization options will allow you to bring a more accurate representation of yourself to a wider range of VR activities – and these changes might encourage more devs to support Meta avatars in their software.

A large floating menu fills the screen. It shows a Meta avatar wearing a pop star outfit on the right, next to a massive range of color customization options for their hair and makeup.

(Image credit: Meta)

Another change is the ability to finally explore more of your Horizon Home – the VR space you first land into when you boot up your headset. Previously you’ve only been able to jump between preset hotspots in the VR space. While this fixed approach is accessible to new VR users, Meta admits that this restriction becomes more and more jarring as you explore other virtual reality experiences and get used to a high degree of freedom that isn’t present in your Horizon Home. 

With update v57, Meta is unlocking free-form locomotion, so you can teleport (almost) anywhere in the space. Just push the joystick forward on either controller and an arch will appear that shows you where you’ll travel to – release the joystick when the arch is white and you’ll teleport, but you won’t move if the arch is red.

Lastly, Meta is adding the ability to unsend image messages in VR and in the Meta Quest mobile app – at least for users in Australia, Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the US. To unsend a message you just have to hover over the image in VR (or tap on it in the Quest mobile app) and select Unsend to correct any mistakes you may have made by sending the wrong image to the wrong person. The only trace of the old message will be a notification that something was unsent, which the recipient will see instead of the image.

A conversation appears on a floating screen in a VR recreation of a home with chairs and rocky decorations. The user has highlighted an image and is hovering their cursor over the Unsend buton.

(Image credit: Meta)

More to come? 

This v57 update is a tad disappointing compared to some previous Quest updates that have brought direct touch for hand-tracking, vastly improved video settings, and major CPU and GPU performance upgrades. But with the Meta Quest 3 just around the corner, it makes a bit of sense. 

For one, Meta may be saving some big platform changes for an update that releases after the Quest 3 has launched, helping the new headset to feel fresh and exciting from both a hardware and software perspective.

Alternatively, by getting these minor annoyances fixed ahead of the Quest 3 announcement, Meta is leaving the Quest OS in a good spot for a few months while it works on developing any user-requested features that come in after launch.

Most Quest updates typically drop monthly, but the first Quest update after the Quest Pro launch (v47) was released roughly two months after the previous one. That’s likely due to Meta adding features like mixed reality capture and background audio playback that the Quest Pro community was clamoring for very vocally. But these kinds of reactive updates likely take a bit more time to develop, because Meta can’t start working on fixes until users tell it what they want changed.

The Meta Quest Pro on its charging pad on a desk, in front of a window with the curtain closed

The Meta Quest Pro got a major update two months after launch (Image credit: Meta)

Meta may be anticipating a similar update schedule for the Quest 3, and so it wants to get rid of some smaller snags now, so that it has the time and capacity to work on more major features that users request.

We won’t know exactly what Meta is up to until the Quest 3 release, however. To find out more about the new headset as soon as it’s announced, be sure to check back with us for our Meta Connect 2023 coverage when the event takes place on September 27.

You might also like

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Google Meet thinks it might finally be able to topple Microsoft Teams at last
  • No Comments

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?

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

This Google Sheets update should stop you messing up formulas at last
  • No Comments

Google Sheets is looking to help spreadsheet users everywhere with the launch of a new tool that will let you write formulas faster and better.

The company has launched “intelligent corrections” for formulas in Google Sheets, context-aware fixes that it says help you improve and troubleshoot many different kinds of formulas.

“Now, you can write formulas faster and with higher confidence with formula corrections,” the company wrote in a Google Workspace blog post announcing the news.

Google Sheets formulas

Going forward, when writing a formula into Sheets, the new feature will analyze it and see if any improvements could be made. If so, a suggestion box will appear with details on a new version that can replace the current formula, including the ability to accept or reject it.

Google says the new addition can help with a number of common formula issues, including VLOOKUP errors, missing cells in range input, and locking ranges when applying formulas across cells.

The new feature is rolling out now, and will be enabled by default for all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal Google Accounts. It can be disabled if it proves too much of a hindrance, by going to Tools > Enable formula corrections or from the three-dot menu of the suggestion dialog box.

Read more

> Google Sheets vs Microsoft Excel – pick the right spreadsheet app for you

> We've built a list of the best office software around

> Keeping track of your colleagues just got a whole lot easier in Google Sheets

The announcement follows a similar update in August 2021 which saw Google Sheets introduce intelligent formula suggestions, with the program able to offer ideas based on the data in question and the user’s initial input.

Google said that the new formula suggestions will make it easier to write new formulas accurately and help make data analysis quicker and easier.

The company also recently revealed that it was increasing the cell limit in Google Sheets from up to five million cells to up to ten million cells.

The new limit isn't just for newly-created files either, but also existing and imported files, meaning you can expand to your heart's content. 

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Adobe After Effects gets native Apple M1 support at last
  • No Comments

Adobe has announced native Apple M1 silicon support, hopefully meaning faster launch and rendering times for motion designers and video creators. 

In benchmark tests released by the company, running After Effects on a high-end M1 Ultra Mac is now up to three times as fast, and those using the video effects software on standard M1-powered devices should see performance jump to double the speed.  

According to Adobe, the power boost makes it easy for motion designers, “to explore ideas and iterate more quickly on their compositions.” 

Adobe benchmarks for M1 support

(Image credit: Adobe)

 What else is new in Adobe After Effects? 

Native support for Apple’s proprietary chip is just part of a wider package that’s being deployed by Adobe as it looks to better supply users across the world. 

 – After Effects and Premiere Pro subscribers now get free access to the Frame.io remote video collaboration service , which comes built into both the VFX tool and Adobe’s much-loved video editing software. 

– With 3D making (yet another) comeback, Extended Viewer and Binning Indicators for 3D layers now make it easier for designers to visualize compositions and move through three-dimensional spaces in real-time. 

– Scene Edit Detection finally makes the jump from Premiere Pro to After Effects. Powered by Adobe Sensei’s machine learning and AI, the new tool intelligently detects cut points in rendered footage and adds markers at edit points for more efficient creations. 

 The need for speed

Adobe clearly feels the need for speed – only last year, the software house unveiled Multi-Frame Rendering, boosting speeds by up to four times. This latest update continues a drive to improve motion graphics software performance and delivery for VFX artists. 

However, Adobe warns that certain new features and functionalities will be limited or unavailable when using incompatible third-party plugins, or plugins that aren’t ported for Apple silicon, with users seeing a warning pop up when the VFX tool spots an issue at launch. 

Read more

> Find out how to download After Effects for free 

> Mac sales fly as PC declines – did the M1 chip save Apple?

> Apple M1 Ultra is here – everything you need to know about Apple's powerhouse

Adobe also confirmed users can even use older versions of Adobe After Effects on M1 chips – but you’ll need Apple’s Rosetta 2 emulation software to get it running. 

The After Effects 22.3 update, which launches today (April 12 2022), is available to all users via a staggered roll-out from the Creative Cloud desktop app.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Adobe After Effects gets native Apple M1 support at last
  • No Comments

Adobe has announced native Apple M1 silicon support, hopefully meaning faster launch and rendering times for motion designers and video creators. 

In benchmark tests released by the company, running After Effects on a high-end M1 Ultra Mac is now up to three times as fast, and those using the video effects software on standard M1-powered devices should see performance jump to double the speed.  

According to Adobe, the power boost makes it easy for motion designers, “to explore ideas and iterate more quickly on their compositions.” 

Adobe benchmarks for M1 support

(Image credit: Adobe)

 What else is new in Adobe After Effects? 

Native support for Apple’s proprietary chip is just part of a wider package that’s being deployed by Adobe as it looks to better supply users across the world. 

 – After Effects and Premiere Pro subscribers now get free access to the Frame.io remote video collaboration service , which comes built into both the VFX tool and Adobe’s much-loved video editing software. 

– With 3D making (yet another) comeback, Extended Viewer and Binning Indicators for 3D layers now make it easier for designers to visualize compositions and move through three-dimensional spaces in real-time. 

– Scene Edit Detection finally makes the jump from Premiere Pro to After Effects. Powered by Adobe Sensei’s machine learning and AI, the new tool intelligently detects cut points in rendered footage and adds markers at edit points for more efficient creations. 

 The need for speed

Adobe clearly feels the need for speed – only last year, the software house unveiled Multi-Frame Rendering, boosting speeds by up to four times. This latest update continues a drive to improve motion graphics software performance and delivery for VFX artists. 

However, Adobe warns that certain new features and functionalities will be limited or unavailable when using incompatible third-party plugins, or plugins that aren’t ported for Apple silicon, with users seeing a warning pop up when the VFX tool spots an issue at launch. 

Read more

> Find out how to download After Effects for free 

> Mac sales fly as PC declines – did the M1 chip save Apple?

> Apple M1 Ultra is here – everything you need to know about Apple's powerhouse

Adobe also confirmed users can even use older versions of Adobe After Effects on M1 chips – but you’ll need Apple’s Rosetta 2 emulation software to get it running. 

The After Effects 22.3 update, which launches today (April 12 2022), is available to all users via a staggered roll-out from the Creative Cloud desktop app.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Microsoft Viva wants to make work training less painful at last
  • No Comments

Microsoft is looking to take some of the strain out of learning on the job with a new expansion to its Viva platform.

In a new entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the company revealed that users will soon be able to discover Viva learning content directly through SharePoint, Office.com and Bing.

Previously, users had only been able to access such content through the video conferencing platform Microsoft Teams, with the move now opening up a whole new range of opportunities.

Microsoft Viva expansion

Microsoft says that the new update is an integration between Viva Learning and Microsoft Search, meaning actually being able to find the right content that is applicable to your workers should also be a lot quicker and easier now.

The roadmap entry notes that the feature is still in development for the moment, but Microsoft has said it hopes to issue a release in March 2022. When complete, the feature will be available for all Microsoft Viva web users around the world.

Read more

> Microsoft Teams will make it easier to learn new skills at work

> Microsoft's latest acquisition wants to help your company hit all its goals

> Microsoft 365 review – Still the best when it comes to workplace productivity, collaboration, and communication

Launched in February 2021, Microsoft Viva integrates with Teams and other Windows software tools to operate as a kind of intranet that brings together knowledge, learning, and communication services.

The platform was launched with remote working policies in mind, and is made up of four main pillars, one of which is Viva Learning. Microsoft says the offering is geared towards employee development and allows members of staff to share, assign, and learn from an organization’s training material, helping speed up onboarding and training processes.

Asides from learning and training, Viva also looks to support employee wellbeing and combat issues such as loneliness and burnout.

Microsoft also revealed a series of guided meditations and mindful exercises for the platform which users will be able to access via Microsoft Teams as it looks to help workers de-stress and become more productive.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Google Docs update makes formatting on mobile easier at last
  • No Comments

Google is working on a new update for its office software that will make formatting documents in Google Docs even easier on mobile.

Last year the search giant added the ability to add a page break before paragraphs in Google Docs on the web and according to a new post in the Google Workspace blog, this same functionality is now rolling out to smartphones.

This feature is particularly useful for journalists and other writers that want certain paragraph styles to always create a new page such as titles, subtitles or headings.

Page breaks before paragraphs on mobile

Just like in Google Docs on the web, users will now be able to mark paragraphs to always begin on a new page with the new “Add page break before” option.

In addition to helping keep your formatting the same throughout a document, this feature will also allow users to import and export Microsoft Word and other third-party documents that have “Page break before” applied to paragraphs and Google Docs will retain that formatting.

While the ability to add page breaks before paragraphs is now rolling out to Google Docs users, it could take up to 7 days on Android and up to 15 days on iOS before it becomes available. Once it does though, a new formatting menu will appear at the bottom of your screen that will make it much easier to configure the style of your documents on the go.

We've also highlighted the best office software and best word processor

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More