Despite the fact that most users have moved onto Microsoft Teams, the software giant has released a new preview version of Skype which is now available to download for Skype Insiders.
Skype Insider build 8.82 includes a number of bug fixes and stability improvements as well as support for Google Play Store in-app billing to purchase credit, subscriptions and Skype numbers.
In addition to these performance improvements, the latest version of Microsoft's video conferencing software and VoIP service will also allow users to make free phone calls to Ukraine on all platforms. This means that those with friends and relatives in Ukraine will be able to call them without having to purchase credits though Skype users in Ukraine will also be able to make free calls to users in other countries.
In a forum post, Microsoft explained that it has added a list of non-profit organizations to the Skype Home Page so that people around the world can donate to help support the Ukrainian people.
Translated Conversations and Support Ukraine emoticons
Microsoft didn't stop at free phone calls to/from Ukraine though as the company has also added support for more languages in Translated Conversations on all platforms. With this feature, Skye users will be able to translate their phone calls to and from the Ukrainian language so that they can more easily communicate with people in the country.
At the same time, Microsoft has added “Support Ukraine” emoticons on all platforms and Skype users will now be able to use “Ukraine Heart”, “Ukraine Handshake” and “Ukraine Pray” in their chats.
In order to test out all of these new features and show your support for Ukraine, you'll need to be a Skype Insider first but you can become one by signing up here.
Throughout Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Microsoft has been working behind the scenes to support the Ukrainian government by fending off cyberattacks and the company recently suspended all new sales of both its products and services in Russia.
Microsoft is redesigning how you can open files in a different app for Windows 11, finally removing the confusion that the message box has been showing since Windows 8.
There's usually a time where you need to open a photo in another app that's not Adobe Photoshop, or a music file in an editing app, instead of Windows Media Player. This is where the 'Open With' feature comes in, to allow a different app to open a file.
This has been around since Windows 8, but its language was confusing when choosing an app; users weren't sure if selecting another app would make that the new default app to open from now on, or if the file was to be opened by the new app just that one time.
Fortunately, with an upcoming update to Windows 11, or Insider build 22563 and above – which allows you to sign up to features in testing that are not ready for a final release, not only is the appearance improving to the 'Open With' feature but the options as well.
Analysis: A long time coming for new files
(Image credit: TechRadar)
Refreshing the look of apps and menus across Windows 11 is thanks to two new design features – Fluent Design and WinUI. These are why you're seeing modern updates of Paint, Windows Media Player, and different menus across Windows 11. But alongside this, Microsoft is making sure that the new look efforts don't apply to only the apps and menus you use every day.
This is why it's a big finally that the 'Open With' feature is getting the same attention. It's never been clear as to whether the file you selected this feature with, would open with the same app in the future until you tested it a second time.
There's a checkbox and an 'OK' option, but while there's a prompt to open the file with another app, sometimes it would not work as intended.
It's a design that appeared in Windows 8, barely changed in Windows 10, and when Windows 11 was released in October 2021, it stayed the same. But with an upcoming update, we're finally going to see a clearer language for this box, with two options – 'Just Once' and 'Always'.
It's something that's going to help creatives and users who just want to open files in a different app that one time, without being confused by what the 'Open With' feature is trying to offer.
We may see this redesign arrive in Sun Valley 2, the first major update to Windows 11, which is scheduled to release in the second half of 2022. But for Windows Insider testers, you can reap the benefits of this now, as long as you're running build 22563.
Google has unveiled Roboto Serif, a new typeface for Android that it says should be ideal for reading text online.
Roboto Serif is available now via Google Fonts and will come included with Android as part of Google's Material Design ethos.
Google says it created Roboto Serif for reading because we spend around seven hours per day reading things online. Clearly, a font designed specifically to do so was needed.
(Image credit: Google)
“Roboto Serif joins the functional Roboto superfamily alongside Roboto Sans, Mono, Slab, and Condensed,” says Google font consultant Sarah Daily. “But unlike Roboto Slab, the design of which was derived directly from Roboto Sans, this newest serif brings its own identity to the collection.”
“We wanted it to feel comfortable next to a sans-serif, and not to feel cluttered. It doesn't need to have serifs everywhere to drive home the point that, ‘I am a serif and have serifs in all the places serifs go,” addec Google's Rob Giampietro.
According to 9to5Google, Roboto Serif has four axes: weight: 100–900; width: condensed, regular, extended; optical size: with or without size, 8–14; and grade: -50–100.
Google has also released a full typo specimen document detailing all of the technical details for Roboto Serif, including a range of examples of how the font can be applied in use cases from recipe books to music playlists.
“Google Fonts’ mission is to make web typography better for everyone,” the book added, “We’ve invested heavily in variable font typefaces, as well as in tools for their production, testing, and use, and we’re excited to see what creative designers and developers do with this technology.”
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.
Google is reportedly testing out a new feature for its browser that will make searching through your browsing history and bookmarks even easier in Chrome.
First spotted by Chrome Story, the search giant has added a new experimental flag to Chrome's omnibox that enables support for search keywords.
For those unfamiliar, Chrome's omnibox suggests potential queries when the “Autocomplete searches and URLs” feature is turned on in the browser's settings. This makes searching for information faster and easier as users don't have to type in an entire search query into the address bar to find exactly what they're looking for.
Search tags
The new experimental flag in question is called “Omnibox Site Search Starter Pack” and it enables @history, @bookmarks and @settings to be used as search tags when typing in Chrome's address bar.
By using these tags when searching in Google's browser, you'll be able to specify that you only want to search in your history, bookmarks or in Chrome's settings.
For instance, let's say you were reading a news article about Chromebooks on your smartphone but had to stop and do something else. If you want to find it again later, you can simply type Chromebooks @history to quickly bring up the article and continue reading.
According to Chrome Story, this new feature hasn't yet been enabled in the latest Chrome beta or Canary releases, so it might be a while before you get to try it out for yourself. Still though, search tags in Chrome's omnibox will not only help users save time but it may even make them more productive.
If you've ever felt frustrated trying to open a shared link from a music streaming service you don't use, you're not alone. But sharing the next best Holly Humberstone song doesn't have to be difficult. A new app, launching today (December 12), is making it easier than ever to share and play your favorite tracks.
MusicMatch, developed by Patrick Hardy and Arthur Van Siclen, is a free app now available on iPhones running iOS 15. The app allows music lovers to open shared song links in either Spotify or Apple Music within the app. You can also play song links utilizing a Safari extension, without opening the MusicMatch app.
While the app sounds simple enough, we spoke to Hardy and Van Siclen to find out what motivated them to develop MusicMatch. Here's what we know about this new music app.
How to use MusicMatch
MusicMatch is free in the App store and available to download for devices running iOS 15. Copy your song, album, or artist link to your clipboard and then open the MusicMatch app. Select where the link will open, whether Apple Music or Spotify.
A Safari extension will provide the same convenience, but within the Safari web browser. To enable this, go to Settings > Safari > Extensions > MusicMatch > Enable All Websites > Enable MusicMatch.
(Image credit: MusicMatch)
At this time, only links from Spotify that open in Apple Music will work with the Safari extension, but Hardy and Van Siclen are working on making Apple Music links work in Spotify on the web browser as well.
Where does MusicMatch fit on iOS?
As far as creating the app, Van Siclen handled the design and development of MusicMatch while Hardy focused on the integration of Spotify, Apple Music, and the Safari extension.
We asked them why they created the app in the first place.
“I’ve clicked so many Spotify links, found the song or artist name, then searched on Apple Music so many times. Every day.” Van Siclen explains.” Every time someone sends me a link I have to go through those steps. It’s onerous. I’m almost mad thinking about it now.”
“Arthur and I have been sharing music with each other for years, but Arthur has always been on Apple Music and I've always preferred Spotify. We would go through the process looking up a track on the other's service then searching for that same content on another platform.” Hardy continues. “When Apple announced that Safari Extensions would be available on iOS 15, we realized that there was a pathway to make this process painless and automatic. We knew the pain first hand and were sure it would be useful to a lot of people who share music with their friends.”
(Image credit: MusicMatch)
While the app is a simple way of opening a music link, the two developers also discovered Safari Extensions on iOS 15 as another use-case for MusicMatch.
“When we heard about Safari Extensions coming to iOS we quickly identified this as an opportunity to solve this problem once and for all.” Van Siclen continues. “We made the Safari Extension, but understanding that extensions are kind of an esoteric, “pro” thing to set up, we decided to make the app fully functional itself. That was a good decision – my mom was able to use the app the first time she needed it.”
To macOS and beyond?
It’s only the first day of the app’s launch, but Hardy and Van Siclen aren’t stopping there. As you will see music links shared to you on other devices such as a Mac, there’s plenty of use cases where MusicMatch can help.
“Yes, we architected the app with cross-platform applications in mind,” Hardy explains. “We would love for MusicMatch to solve this problem no matter where customers are at. Our iOS app is just the start.”
“MusicMatch will soon come to macOS as both an app and Safari Extension. It is built with SwiftUI and has great access to Apple’s modern cross-platform infrastructure.” Van Siclen adds.
(Image credit: Apple)
But if you only have an iPhone, the two devs have plans for a future update on iOS.
“We’re also excited to add support for Tidal, YouTube Music, Pandora, and the other popular streaming services.” Van Siclen continues. “The key goal we identified is to be reliable, so for the first few updates we are focused on ensuring MusicMatch does its job flawlessly for everyone.”
Finally, we wanted to know if Hardy and Van Siclen were big music users on iOS.
“Yes! I listen to jazz, and when we work together, we put on London Grammar, Javiera Mena, Kamasi Washington, and a lot of cross-genre artists.” Van Siclen explains.
“Music has always played an important role in our lives.” Hardy adds. “Sharing music that's inspiring, songs to practice on the guitar, or artists to learn from has always been at the core of a rich and connected life for us.”
Laptops with large screens are usually considered unwieldy and cumbersome, unless you're talking about Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro.
However, the LG Gram 17 is an exception, giving even Apple's slimline device a run for its money. Weighing only 2.95 pounds, it's hailed the lightest 17-inch laptop ever made.
In designing a super thin and light laptop with a 17-inch screen, LG has succeeded where all other have failed. The device has been so well received that retailing giant Costco even commissioned an exclusive version for its customers.
The older and cheaper version ($ 1,200/£929 at Amazon) comes with an 8th generation Intel Core i7 GPU, 16GB memory, and a 256GB SSD. It also has a battery LG says will power your device for nearly 20 hours – yes, 20 hours.
It's not waterproof or shockproof, but its magnesium alloy chassis makes it more resistant than most laptops of this size. It also boasts a dedicated numeric keypad and adheres to the rigorous MIL-STD-810G standards.
The 17-inch display (which has a resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels) is the cherry on the rather large cake.
It's worth noting UK customers will also be able to purchase the Gram 17 straight from Amazon, but should be wary of additional taxes levied.
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