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Microsoft shares some good Windows 11 news we’ve all been waiting for

February 4, 2022
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If you were worried that you’d have to wait a while before Windows 11 gets any major new features, then Microsoft has just shared some good news, which means the new operating system will get updated and improved far more regularly than first thought.

Microsoft had initially said that it would be only releasing a single annual feature update for Windows 11 each year, which led some people to worry that they would have to wait 12 months for new features to come to their PCs.

However, as ZDNet has discovered, in a new blog post about the Windows Insider program, Microsoft states that: “We will deliver updates to features and experiences in builds from the Dev and Beta Channels by releasing Feature, Web, and Online Service Experience Packs on top of these builds too.”

This means there will be three ‘Experience Pack’ updates alongside the annual feature updates. Rather than bringing a range of features, bug fixes and security upgrades across the whole of the Windows 11 operating system, as a major feature update does, these new Experience Packs will focus on adding or expanding features for particular aspects of the operating system.

So, Online Service Experience Packs will focus on adding features related to how Windows 11 manages online services and accounts – such as changing or improving the ‘Your Microsoft Account’ settings page.

Web Experience Packs will add features to do with browsing the internet, as well as features within Windows 11 that use the internet to bring you news and information. ZDNet spoke to Microsoft, which clarified that “the Web Experience Pack is updated through the Microsoft Store (while the Feature Experience Packs and Online Service Packs will be updated through Windows Update). The Web Experience Pack will allow Microsoft to update things like the Widgets experience in Windows 11.”

Finally, Feature Experience Packs will contain more broader features, such as updates to legacy apps to make them feel more modern.

Analysis: Keep the improvements coming

These new Experience Packs will be released independently of the annual major operating system updates, and this is good news for several reasons.

As we mentioned earlier, it means that you don’t have to wait a year for new features to be added. While in our Windows 11 review we said there’s a lot to like about the new operating system, it’s still not perfect. By having a regular new features coming to the operating system, Windows 11 will continue to evolve, while feeling fresh and exciting.

There’s another benefit as well. Microsoft’s move to single annual major updates for Windows 11 (and Windows 10, which is getting the same treatment) is a welcome move in many respects. It should reduce the number of times a user gets bugged to download, install and restart their PC. It’s also no secret that Microsoft has having some pretty major issues with recent Windows 10 updates. By focusing on a single update, there’s a hope that Microsoft will be able to ensure these updates are much better built and tested, hopefully reducing any potential problems.

However, if Microsoft kept all of its updates to a single download once per year, that could lead to very large and complex updates. By separating features to their own updates, this will reduce the size of the annual update.

Adding new features to an operating system is also fraught with complexities, and this is where issues sometimes arise. If a new feature is added that doesn’t work as expected – or ends up breaking other parts of the operating system – it should hopefully be easier for Microsoft to identify and fix if it’s part of a smaller Experience Pack update, rather than causing issues in a major annual update (which will also inevitably lead to bad PR).

So, this is good news from Microsoft regarding Windows 11. Hopefully the days of major issues after updating Windows are behind us.

These are the best laptops of 2022

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January 27, 2022
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Top website hosting service Squarespace has announced a range of new video tools that it thinks will greatly please creators.

Although embedding video, such as from YouTube, has always been possible on Squarespace, the new additions are focused on hosting and monetizing that video content, such as its relatively new Member Areas service.

Broadly, the new tools let website owners sell access to video content, host video content directly, and upload up to 30 minutes of high-res content. There are also new tagging and merchandising tools.

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Squarespace video hosting

The company has also rebuilt its video player from scratch to accommodate the new features, which includes playback, speed, and resolution controls alongside deep integration with the Squarespace platform.

“We launched Member Areas in 2020 to provide creators with a new way to sell content through memberships,” said Squarespace. “Since then, we’ve seen an increase in video content being utilised, and to help customers better leverage this medium, our latest releases offer a seamless way to monetise video content such as classes.”

Hosting video, and offering extensive tools to manage it, puts Squarespace more directly in competition with the likes of Patreon and YouTube, both of which offer options to monetise content. OnlyFans is also now a direct rival, although it remains unclear what Squarespace's content moderation policy says about adult content.

In recent days, Substack, the newsletter platform, has also added the ability to host video for creators in beta, a feature that will be well-received by those with many subscribers already paying for their services.

These are the best small business website builder tools around

Via Engadget

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

January 26, 2022
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Some Windows 11 users are running into trouble with sporadic stuttering issues (accompanied with audio glitches), which according to reports are related to AMD processors and the necessary TPM security required by Microsoft’s newest operating system.

Specifically, on AMD PCs, there’s an implementation of TPM which is fTPM – meaning it’s integrated in firmware, rather than on a separate TPM module – and this is what folks who are affected believe is causing the issue, finding that when it’s turned off in the BIOS, the stuttering disappears.

Unfortunately, some people don’t have the option to turn off fTPM – that switch simply isn’t present in the BIOS – so they’re out of luck on that score. The other alternative solution appears to be installing a discrete TPM module, rather than relying on the firmware integrated functionality, and this also works to fix the issue – at least according to reports. Assuming you have the ability to install a separate TPM module in your PC.

As various reports detail, on Reddit, the Linus Tech Tips discussion boards and Lenovo’s forum to point out a few which Windows Latest flagged up (not to mention Microsoft’s feedback hub), the stuttering frame rates hit at random times and last for a few seconds in some cases – longer in others – and audio is garbled at the same time.

If that should occur, say, during a crucial moment of an online game you’re about to win, that’s going to be pretty frustrating (and doubtless it’ll be a serious annoyance as part of your everyday computing life, too).

Analysis: Losing TPM on Windows 11 is possible, but is it wise?

Note that this problem also occurs on Windows 10 PCs, the difference there being that enabling TPM isn’t part of the system requirements. So, while it’s fine to turn off fTPM on Windows 10 – assuming your BIOS allows for this as noted above – on Windows 11, that comes with its own potential problems.

Now, while it is possible to install Windows 11 and then turn off fTPM, that could cause issues with things like BitLocker drive encryption, or have other side-effects, like not being able to play some games (as Windows Latest observes, Valorant is one such game – and there will likely be more in the future). The biggie, of course, is that it could also interfere with receiving Windows updates, or so Microsoft says – though updates still appear to be delivered up to now.

Essentially, turning off fTPM is something of a minefield of possible collateral damage on Windows 11, and that’s why some of those who want to get around this stuttering glitch are downgrading to Windows 10.

This issue is hopefully something both Microsoft and AMD are putting their heads together to attempt to fix, so we can keep our fingers crossed that a proper resolution is delivered in the near future. If the glitches aren’t disrupting your computing experience too much, likely your best bet is to sit tight and hope for the timely delivery of a patch.

By the way, for all manner of troubleshooting help with Windows 11, you should check out our full guide to common problems with the OS.

Find out where to buy Windows 10

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

January 20, 2022
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Back in December, it was revealed that Google had plans to bring Android games to Windows 11 and Windows 10 systems in 2022. The company is ready to show more of its hand, with a small beta release of the Google Play Games service.

This means that eager gamers in Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan have the chance to sign up and play their favorite Android games on Windows.

It's a move that sees Google competing directly with the Windows ecosystem for the Android component of Windows 11 that, in conjunction with the Amazon Appstore, gives users of the latest version of Windows the opportunity to install Android apps and games.

Google has developed a unique app that can be used to access a growing catalog of games, which includes Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Summoners War, State of Survival: The Joker Collaboration, and Three Kingdoms Tactics. Although the app has not officially launched just yet, there is a beta program underway that can be used to get early access to it.

Cross platform gaming on Windows

With the app installed on a Windows PC, gamers will be able to play the cream of the gaming crop across mobile, tablet, Chromebook, and Windows PC devices – complete with the benefit of playing with a mouse and keyboard.

While sign-ups for Google Play Games beta are now open, they are only open to people in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, so if you have accounts based in these countries, you're in luck. Otherwise, you may have to wait.

There's more information available here – otherwise, you'll just have to wait until Google launches Google Play Games to PC users worldwide.

As the company has confirmed that more countries having access will be announced soon, we suspect a bigger announcement of the service will come at this year's Google I/O, where Android 13 will most likely be announced.

Google has shared a video, showcasing what you can expect from Google Play Games:

While Google does promise that it “will have more to share on future beta releases and regional availability soon”, it's an intriguing stance from the company in avoiding the Microsoft Store completely, and it may lead to more categories from the Google Play Store, arriving on Windows 11 soon after.

Our picks of the best cheap laptop deals for January 2022

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December 28, 2021
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Windows 11 suffers from a bug which is causing colors to be rendered incorrectly – with the most common error cropping up being white showing as yellow – at least with some HDR monitors when running certain image editors.

As Tom’s Hardware spotted, this is something Microsoft is actively investigating, and the software giant has flagged it up in the support document which lists the current known issues with Windows 11.

Microsoft observes: “After installing Windows 11, some image editing programs might not render colors correctly on certain HDR displays. This is frequently observed with white colors, which could display in bright yellow or other colors.

“This issue occurs when certain color-rendering Win32 APIs return unexpected information or errors under specific conditions. Not all color profile management programs are affected, and color profile options available in the Windows 11 Settings page, including Microsoft Color Control Panel, are expected to function correctly.”

The color glitch affects those running Windows 11 version 21H2, and Microsoft says it is working on a fix right now, with the expected timeframe for delivery being late January.

Analysis: Not so mellow yellow, but at least that fix is coming swiftly

The expected arrival date of late in January could mean we see this fix bundled in the cumulative update in preview (testing) for that month, which will see a full release come Patch Tuesday in February. So, if this bug is one which is plaguing you at times – and we imagine seeing white as ‘bright’ yellow (not even just a faint yellow) would be pretty jarring – at least you won’t have to suffer with this for much longer (assuming the cure arrives as planned and is successful, naturally).

While annoying, at least this particular bug is confined to a fairly limited subset of Windows 11 users in terms of it just affecting some image editors, and only with certain HDR monitors.

It’s a fairly niche problem, then, but more widespread Windows 11 bugs are an ongoing theme for Microsoft, and as we recently pointed out, it’s disappointing to see quite a lot of glitches popping up. Particularly ones which pertain to fundamental parts of the interface like File Explorer, as these contribute to the general impression of the new operating system being released before it was fully ready. Before it came out, we felt Windows 11 was a good opportunity to change the perception of Windows 10 being bug-ridden, but thus far, that hasn’t panned out.

Find out where to buy Windows 10

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December 22, 2021
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Picture this: You're driving along and your passenger asks a question you don't know the answer to. Now, most people would pull out a smartphone and Google it, but not Vivaldi: the privacy-focused browser company is putting its software in cars.

Through a partnership with Swedish electric carmaker Polestar, Vivaldi will become the first browser available on Android Automotive OS, starting now in Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific, beating even Chrome to the punch.

“We have listened to our owner community, and it’s great that we could answer their desire for a browser with Vivaldi as a nice Christmas present,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. “Now there is basically no limit to the web content you can explore in Polestar 2 – even some of your favourite streaming platforms.”

Has science gone too far?

This is all well and good until you consider the fundamental strangeness of having a fully capable web browser in your car, a vehicle that is mostly meant to get you from A to B. Vivaldi says the browser can only be used when parked, but it seems like it could be a temptation too far.

According to Vivaldi CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, the partnership came about due to the synergies between Vivaldi and Polestar making sense.

“We are really proud to introduce our browser to a car for the first time and specifically with a brand like Polestar. Our technological and sustainability ambitions are well aligned,” he said.

“We value transparency, privacy, and responsible innovation – including the fact that we have our servers in Iceland, one of Polestar’s newest markets. Like Polestar, we are a challenger brand, and we take a Scandinavian approach to design, that is based on trust and listening to our users.”

Here’s our pick of the best anonymous browsers around

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

December 2, 2021
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Facebook is finally making 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) the rule for some of its most-at-risk accounts.

It’s a smart move, protecting venerable Facebook users, especially those who are looked to for responsible and accurate information – think journalists, politicians, celebrities, and you'll get the idea. Someone gaining access to any one of these accounts and masquerading as it could have wide-reaching, damaging effects. The company made the announcement on Thursday, pre-briefing some reporters and then directing them to a full story on Wired.

Why I wonder has this taken so long?

Stories of people, in all stations of life, who’ve had critical accounts hacked are all too commonplace. I usually find out when someone sends me a separate email or text exclaiming, “Help! I’ve been hacked!” Worse yet is when they don’t know and I spot the bizarre activity on their Facebook account and send a private note through other channels: “Hey, I think your Facebook’s been hacked.’

2-Factor Authentication is a simple idea that few people adopt because they see it as annoying or overly complicated. Put simply, whenever you log into a system, you have to prove it’s really you through a secondary device or system, one that can give you a code to apply to that first system.

Some 2FA systems use SMS texts to your phone (or a voice call), others use proprietary hardware that spits out unique, time-sensitive codes that also get entered into the original system.

For most people, the primary device handling 2FA is their smartphone. Most security system managers figure that if you have your phone with your SIM and unique phone number on it, that’s about as good as it needs to get for verification. Looked at another way, how likely is it that someone trying to use your email and maybe a password they found on the Dark Web to log into your Facebook will also have your phone in their hands?

Inside Facebook Protect: What's new?

The system in question, known as Facebook Protect, was designed originally as an opt-in for political figures. In addition to 2FA, there’s a Page publishing authentication system to ensure that nobody publishes offensive material on a candidate’s pages, and the requirement that Page managers use real names.

The new plan takes Facebook Protect further, with Facebook proactively identifying at-risk users or groups of users and targeting them to enroll in Facebook Protect. Personally, I’d like to see Facebook follow Google’s plan and require 2FA for all users.

It’s not a perfect system, and there are reports of phone scammers convincing unsuspecting service users (banks, cryptocurrency wallets, Venmo, PayPal, and other accounts that also use 2FA) to share the 2FA SMS codes. Still, it’s better than a single, poorly crafted password, or one that’s being passed around on the Dark Web like so much gossip.

Facebook’s plan, which sounds small and almost tentative, might still be a rude awakening for at-risk users who missed the memo and, after ignoring multiple prompts to enable 2FA, may find themselves locked out of their own accounts.

Facebook's Head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher, however, told me via Twitter that the “Number of warnings will vary by country/context — we're adjusting to make sure people have the time they need. So far, we've seen the overwhelming majority (90%+) enroll on time w/out trouble!”

Getting locked out of Facebook would not be a great situation. But it's definitely better than a hacker or prankster taking over and posting things in your account that no one wants to see.

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October 12, 2021
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Windows 11 security is something of a hot topic, as the revamped OS comes with much tighter defenses than Windows 10, but with the side-effect of creating controversy and confusion on the system requirements front (and indeed for gamers – more on that later).

However, Microsoft recently produced a video to show how Windows 11’s new protective measures – which include TPM (Trusted Platform Module), Secure Boot and VBS (Virtualization-Based Security) – help to make systems safer against hackers. Furthermore, it reminds us these moves are an extension of what was already happening with Windows 10 (but crucially, not on a compulsory level).

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The clip stars Microsoft’s security expert Dave Weston who explains more about why this higher level of security, which entails the aforementioned raised hardware requirements – including support for TPM 2.0, which rules out a fair number of not-all-that-old PCs – is required to defend against some potentially nasty security breaches.

Weston shows how this nastiness could play out in real world situations, first of all demonstrating a remote attack leveraging an open RDP (remote desktop protocol) port, brute forcing the password, and then infecting the machine with ransomware. This was on a PC without TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot, and naturally, wouldn’t be possible on a Windows 11 system.

The second attack used for demo purposes is an in-person one using a PCI Leech device to access system memory and bypass fingerprint recognition to login. VBS stops this kind of attack being leveraged against a Windows 11 system, and the former remote attack is prevented by UEFI, Secure Boot and Trusted Boot (in conjunction with TPM).

Analysis: Land of confusion

This is an interesting look at the nuts-and-bolts of how these security countermeasures work against real life attacks. Clearly, in some scenarios there are good reasons for mandating TPM and the other mentioned security technologies to help keep a PC safer against a possible attack, whether that’s a remote or local intrusion.

No one is going to argue against better protection, but the issue with making these pieces of security tech a compulsory part of the system requirements is the confusion around whether or not a PC has these capabilities.

In some cases, newer machines do indeed have TPM on-board, it just isn’t enabled – leading to a frustrating situation where the owner of a modern device could be told it isn’t compatible with Windows 11. And while it might just be a case of switching TPM on, which isn’t difficult for a reasonably tech-savvy person, it could be very intimidating for a novice user (involving a trip to the BIOS, a scary place for the untrained eye).

VBS or Virtualization-Based Security has run into further controversy, as well, given that while this isn’t an issue for upgraders from Windows 10, it will be enabled by default on new PCs that come with Windows 11 – and it causes slowdown with gaming frame rates. By all accounts, VBS can be a pretty serious headwind for frame rates, too; and again, this adds to the confusion around what’s going on with Windows 11 machines in general.

Having a more secure PC is great, without a doubt, but there are costs here which have a potentially negative impact on the experience of some users adopting (or trying to adopt) Windows 11.