Techtonic

  Microsoft Is Killing Internet Explorer in June 2022 In August last year, Microsoft announced its plans to  drop Microsoft 365 support for Internet Explorer 11  from August 17, 2021. And today, Microsoft has revealed the retirement timeline for the Internet Explorer browser on Windows 10. Microsoft to Retire Internet Explorer According to Microsoft’s new blog post, the Redmond giant will  retire Internet Explorer on most versions of Windows 10 on June 15, 2022 . The company clarifies that this retirement does not affect in-market Windows 10 LTSC or Server IE 11 desktop apps and the MSHTML (Trident) engine. Microsoft has detailed the platforms that will be affected by this retirement in a  separate post . Here’s where Microsoft will no longer support IE 11 after June next year: Internet Explorer 11 desktop application delivered via the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC): Windows 10 client SKUs (version 20H2 and later) Windows 10 IoT (version 20H2 and later) And the retir...

Microsoft Edge Chromium Starts Rolling Out Via Windows Update By Techtonic group The  Chromium-based Microsoft Edge  has been  available as a standalone download  on Windows for a while, but it has now started rolling out via Windows Update. It replaces the old, EdgeHTML-based version as the default browser on the system. In an official blog post announcing the update, Microsoft said:  "This new version provides best in class compatibility with extensions and websites.  Additionally, this new version provides great support for the latest rendering capabilities, modern web applications, and powerful developer tools across all supported OS platforms". Updating to Chromium Edge should be a seamless process. Microsoft says that all Start Menu pins, as well as Taskbar pins and shortcuts, will migrate to the new version. All data from earlier versions of Edge, including passwords, will be available in the new version. Additionally, most protocols that...

Edge PWAs Can Now Auto-Run on Windows Start-Up By Techtonic group Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome will soon allow Progressive Web Apps (PWA) to run alongside Windows Start-up. As spotted by  Techdows , the  feature is live on the Canary builds of Edge and Chrome . As of now, the feature exists behind an experimental flag. Once enabled,  you will get an option to start the PWA when you sign in to your computer . The option exists in the installation prompt of the PWA. You can try out the feature right now if you use the Canary builds of these browsers. To do so, access 'edge://flags' or 'chrome://flags' based on your browser of choice,  enable 'Desktop PWAs run on OS login' flag , and restart your browser. Although these browsers don't have a user interface to control startup of PWAs just yet, you can go the old-fashioned Task Manager way to control Startup applications. However,  managing startup apps can get quite tricky as the entry doesn'...

Microsoft Blocking Windows 10 May 2020 Update on Some PCs Following Criteria Issues By Techtonic group Microsoft is blocking the  Windows 10 May 2020 Update  on a large number of devices after discovering a series of critical issues. The company has published a list of at least 10 known issues that it says it is investigating, while one of the bugs have already been mitigated. Some of the problems include unexpected BSODs or reboots, inability to connect to more than one Bluetooth device, intermittent mouse input with certain apps and games, and more. Some Windows 10 users who are unable to update to the latest version, are reporting that Windows Update is notifying them if the new software is unavailable for their device. According to Redditor,  u/ThrowYourDreamsAway , the update notification on their PC  reads :  "The Windows 10 May 2020 Update is on its way. We're offering this update to compatible devices, but your device isn't quite ready for it...

Windows 10 May 2020 Update Rolling Out; Brings Chromium Edge, New Cortona UI; and More By Techtonic group The much-awaited  Windows 10 May 2020 update has just started rolling out via Windows Update . It is currently only available to a small number of users, but is expected to be eventually rolled out to all compatible Windows 10 devices in the coming weeks. It is a pretty important update in terms of new features, and is the  first stable version of Windows to come with the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge built-in . Chromium-based Microsoft Edge The Windows 10 May 2020 Update comes with the  Chromium-based Microsoft Edge , and it brings significant improvements to how it uses system memory. According to Microsoft, the browser uses up to 27 percent less RAM than before, and the company claims that users will notice the change while using other apps simultaneously with Edge. New Chat-based UI for Cortana Microsoft may have  discontinued Cortana on mobile , ...

Microsoft Edge Can Now Sync Your Extentions Across Devices By Techtonic group Microsoft has today started rolling out an update to Edge that brings in a much needed feature — extension syncing. With the latest update, Edge can now automatically sync extensions across devices. This new feature was teased alongside all the improvements Microsoft announced for  Edge at Build 2020 , and today it's finally rolling out. The update v83.0.478.37 of the browser brings this new feature in tow. Basically what this means is that when you install Edge on a new machine, your extensions will automatically be there. That's great, specially for someone like me who switches between devices a lot. This isn't the only feature that Edge now has by the way. The update also brings some improvements to how Collections work in Edge. Notably,  you can now drag and drop content into a collection . This is really handy, and makes collections a more intuitive feature. The update also brings...

Microsoft Adds Improved Accessibility Features to Windows 10 By Techtonic group Microsoft is improving Windows 10's accessibility features with the  Windows 10 May 2020 update . The improvements are mainly focused on Text Cursor, Magnifier, and Narrator. Text Cursor Improvements The most notable improvement with text cursor is the  addition of a text cursor indicator . This should help people with visual impairments find the cursor without much strain. The  text cursor indicator's size can be tweaked  based on your preference. These customizations are already present in the regular mouse pointer. Image: Microsoft The Redmond giant has added the ability to  change the thickness of the cursor , along with a color picker to quickly find the cursor on the screen. You can also pick a custom color for the text cursor. Magnifier Improvements Magnifier currently follows the mouse pointer so that users don't have to spend time locating the pointer in the disp...

Build 2020: Microsoft is Adding Support for Linux GUI App to Windows 10 By Techtonic group At its  Build 2020  developer conference, Microsoft  announced plans to add support for Linux GUI apps  in Windows 10. With this addition, full-fledged Linux apps will run alongside Windows apps via the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). "Our goal is for you to be able to run Linux GUI apps on your desktop seamlessly alongside your Windows apps. This will enable you to use Linux apps to edit, build, and run your code, visualize data plots in Python, or even use applications that are optimized for a Linux environment.",  wrote Microsoft's Craig in a blog post. Microsoft demonstrated a few sample Linux GUI apps running from WSL such as Eye of Gnome, gedit, and the mpv media player. The apps are connected to a wayland server that is running inside the WSL. They communicate with a remote desktop client on the Windows host. The ability to  run GUI-based Linux a...

Build 2020: Microsoft Announces New Teams Features By Techtonic group Microsoft Build 2020 has taken on an online format this year, but that doesn't mean the company is slowing down. The Redmond giant has announced a bunch of  new features for Edge , and also for Teams — it's  Slack alternative . First up, in order to make it easier for users to create new workspaces in Teams, Microsoft is adding 'templates' to the platform. These templates will come with pre-made channels, pre-installed apps, and more. There will even be instructions on how to use Teams properly. The Redmond giant is also adding support for admins to create custom templates so they can fine tune the workspace creation process across their company. Some of you may not know this, but Microsoft has a 'Bookings' app. This lets users manage and schedule appointments. In fact, the company says, Bookings has been used for over 34 million meetings in just the past month! Now, Bookings is be...

Microsoft Progresses in 64-Bit Windows App Emulation for ARM PCs By Techtonic group Late last year,  Neowin   reported that Microsoft is working on bringing 64-bit emulation to ARM PCs running on  Windows 10 . A recent GitHub commit that dates back to March this year spotted by Twitter user Longhorn who is part of checkra1n jailbreak team hints that Microsoft has progressed towards achieving that goal. As of now, Windows 10 ARM PCs can emulate 32-bit Windows apps, thanks to Windows on Windows abstraction layer. With this addition,  users may finally be able to run full-blown 64-bit versions of Windows applications, say Adobe Premiere Pro, in emulation . Longhorn @never_released Windows architectures: _M_ARM64EC: x86_64 on Arm64 machine type. 69 2:54 AM - May 18, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Longhorn's other Tweets The commit was authored by Kenny Kerr, a software engineer part of the Windows team and it reads "Add linker support for x64 code emul...

Microsoft Fight Simulator Looks as Real as Their Real-World Counter Parts By Techtonic group Microsoft is yet to release the amazingly realistic game from its Flight Simulator series of games later this year. We saw  the company send out confirmations to selected Microsoft Insiders  late last year. Now, a user playing the closed alpha has shared some screenshots of the locations in the game and compared them with the real locations on which they are based and I cannot differentiate them. Imgur user, Utherellus recently shared an album of 8 images that compares the screenshots of the simulator game with the real-world locations side-by-side.  The locations include some of the iconic landscapes, monuments and aerial views of cities  which look absolutely stunning. Now, the amazing part is that the screenshots from Microsoft Flight Simulator show some of these locations exactly like the real-world counterparts. The game locations look so real that I could no...

Microsoft Brings Split View to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint on iPad By Techtonic group Apple introduced the split-screen in iPad back in 2015 with iOS 9 and has improved the feature over the years. However, users could not view two files from the same app in the split-screen mode up until now. Microsoft, with a recent update to its Office apps for iPads, has given the Split View support to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for  iPad . The  Split View mode essentially lets users view two documents from the same app simultaneously , making multitasking a breeze. The  Office  apps from Microsoft are some of the most popular apps in the market and these are used extensively by users on all platforms. Now, with a recent update from the Redmond-based company,  iPad users will get the advantage of using Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint in Split View mode . Now, to access the Split View mode,  users just need to use the drag and drop feature in the ...

Microsoft's Your Phone App Let's You Easily Copy Text from MMS Images By Techtonic group Microsoft has made a myriad of amazing features available via its Your Phone app. It enables you to view notifications,  answer or place calls , view photos, and even  control music playback  on your smartphone. While all this is great and bridges the ecosystem gap between Windows 10 and Android, a new feature of the Your Phone app has been revealed online today. Roberto Bojorquez, Product Manager, Your Phone app at Microsoft took to Twitter to share an easter egg with Windows 10 beta testers. As seen in the image below, you can now  copy text from images  received via text simply by right-clicking and selecting the 'copy text from picture' option. Roberto Bojorquez [Microsoft] @bojorchess What about a little # yourphone "easter egg" for # WindowsInsiders on a Friday afternoon? You can right click on any MMS and extract the text into clipboard and paste it an...

Microsoft Edge Gets Free NewsGuard Access to Fight Fake News By Techtonic group Microsoft has partnered with fact-checking website NewsGuard to now  provide free access  to its service for Microsoft Edge users. NewsGuard is available at a $2.95 monthly subscription fee for customers using other web browsers. NewsGuard was previously integrated into the mobile version of Edge and this agreement brings the same to the recently-launched  Edge browser based on Chromium . On top of this, Microsoft's Bing search engine will now have access to real-time NewsGuard data. "We are delighted to be able to expand our relationship with Microsoft, which is a leader among companies in taking steps to address the unforeseen, unintended consequences of new technologies,"  said NewsGuard co-CEO Gordon Crovitz.  "The internet has empowered people around the world with unprecedented access to information, but the internet has also made it easier than ever for misinform...

Microsoft Surface Duo Specs Leak: Snapdragon 855, Single 11MP Camera, & More By Techtonic group While Microsoft may have  delayed its foldable PC plans , we recently learned that the company still  aims to launch  its Android-powered dual-screen smartphone - Surface Duo later this year. Microsoft simply  showed off  a prototype of the Surface Duo at its hardware launch event last year, with no concrete word on the official specs. But now, a fresh report with rumored specs of the Surface Duo has emerged online and it does not look pretty. Surface Duo: Specs and Features Windows Central today  reports  that the hardware specs of the Surface Duo have been finalized and Microsoft employees are testing the device - ironing out the kinks at the moment. One of the impressive things about the Duo will be its sleek design. It will be around 9.6mm thick when closed and only 4.8mm thin when opened in tablet form. Surface Duo will feature  two...

Microsoft's Ai Generates To-Do Lists from Emails By Techtonic group Microsoft's AI research team has collaborated with researchers from the University of Washington to develop a novel smart to-do feature that  automatically generates to-do lists from emails . As simple as that sounds, this technique would help people streamline their workflow and minimize the efforts taken to put all tasks and deadlines together to keep track of them in a more efficient manner. For instance, say you've sent an email to your coworker or guide proposing a deadline for submitting a project. The AI will automatically detect the instance from your email and create a to-do entry corresponding to the context. This means you will be able to take a peek at this auto-generated to-do list and know when a deadline is creeping up on you. As per the research paper of the project spotted first by  The Next Web , the researchers have developed a  two-stage framework based on neural text gener...

Microsoft Adds Dual-Screen Emulation to Cromium Ahead of Surface Duo Launch By Techtonic group With dual-screen devices like the  Surface Duo expected to be launched this year , Microsoft is trying to ensure that developers can add support for the new form-factor to their websites, apps and services with relative ease. The company has now  added dual-screen support to the built-in F12 emulator in Chromium as an experimental feature  that can only be activated by a flag. According to notes on the Chromium Gerrit, the feature currently supports only the Microsoft Surface Duo and the  Samsung Galaxy Fold , but works irrespective of whether the two screens are spanned horizontally or vertically. To implement the dual-screen functionality, the Emulation Bar now comes with an extra button to extend the device view from single-screen to dual-screen. What's more, the feature works with both hinged (dual-screen) and unhinged (folding-screen) devices. 2 Microsoft m...

Microsoft Released a 4K Wallpaper Pack to Celebrate the World Ocean Day By Techtonic group Our oceans have suffered enough over the past few decades as they became littered with garbage that humans created. This affected the marine life as a whole and now organisations like  NASA are trying to keep them safe . Since 1992, World Oceans Day is celebrated all around the world annually on the 8th of June. Now, as it is nearing us, Microsoft has released an amazing wallpaper pack in the Microsoft Store to celebrate this year's World Oceans Day. The "World Oceans Day PREMIUM" is  a wallpaper pack of 10 4K resolution wallpapers of exquisite images of beaches, storms, marine life and sunsets . The pack of wallpapers is currently  available in the Microsoft Store with an approximate size of just 28.51 MB . It consists of some really cool and high-quality images that look quite mesmerising. Now, the important thing to note here is that  the "World Oceans Day PREMIU...

Hacker Stole 500GB Of Data From Microsoft's Private GitHub Repos: Report By Techtonic group  A hacker called Shiny Hunters claims to have  stolen over 500GB of source code and other confidential data from Microsoft's private GitHub repositories . According to  Bleeping Computer , the hacker got access to the data after breaking into the GitHub account of a Microsoft employee. The account is since believed to have been secured and the hacker apparently no longer has access to it. The breach is believed to have happened in late March, but only came to light on Thursday after the alleged perpetrator started contacting media outlets with evidence about the hack. According to the report, the hacker initially planned to sell the private source codes on the  Dark Web , but eventually changed his mind and is looking to give it away for free. While some fellow hackers on the dark web initially refused to believe that the leaked data was authentic because of refere...

Microsoft "To Do" Updated With New Features As Wunderlist Shuts Down By Techtonic group In a bid to attract users migrating from the popular productivity app  Wunderlist  that Microsoft finally shut down on Wednesday, the Redmond giant has updated its own Microsoft To Do with new features. Below are the new features available on To Do. See all your tasks in one view Microsoft has finally added the option to see all the complete and incomplete tasks in one place. The new smart list can be switched on from To-Do's Settings. Notably, the app will categorize the tasks into lists instead of presenting all the tasks available which may become overwhelming and could take a hit on productivity. Also, completed tasks can be viewed at the bottom. Updated Today and Week view With the new update, users will be able to quickly glance at Today, Tomorrow, and Week views in the Planned section. This could help users keep track of due dates and deadlines in a more efficient ma...