Google agrees to delete user data it secretly collected from Incognito Mode browsing sessions
It has been known for some time that Chrome's Incognito Mode is nowhere near as private as many people still believe it to be. Despite assumptions made -- largely due to strong suggestions -- Google was able to collect private browsing data and has faced lawsuits as a result.
As part of a class action settlement, the company has agreed to delete "billions of data points" despite having previously said that this was not possible. The change of heart means that Google should be able to avoid a damages payout in the billions of dollars.
Microsoft finally listens to feedback and improves taskbar Widgets and Explorer in Windows 11
It is easy to complain about Windows 11; oh, so very, very easy. But while there are many reasons for feeling frustrated at the operating system, there is also cause for hope -- not least of which is that Microsoft appears to be paying heed to feedback from users.
This is evident in the latest beta build of Windows 11 released to Windows Insiders where the company has made important changes to Explorer and Widgets in the taskbar. Explorer improvements sees the return of drag-and-drop functionality to breadcrumbs.
Microsoft uses KB5035941 update to bring new features to Windows 10
Windows 10 may be in the later stages of its life, but Microsoft has still not given up on it. With just 18 months of support left, the company has released the KB5035941 update which adds Windows Spotlight to your desktop background as well as new lockscreen widgets.
The new additions come despite Microsoft's previous assertion that nothing new would be added to Windows 10. This non-security update also includes a number of fixes and changes, such as updates for Windows Hello for Business.
Install the KB5035942 update for Windows 11 to gain all of the Moment 5 features right now
It is the time of the month when Microsoft releases preview versions of the next month's updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11. And for Windows 11 users, the newly launched KB5035942 update is an exciting one.
As this is an update preview, there are no security fixes included in the patch but there is a lot more. With the KB5035942 update, Microsoft is enabling all of the features of the Moment 5 update for all users by default. There are also fixes for a range of non-security issues.
Microsoft may be making it easier to install Linux distros in Windows 11 with a new UI for WSL
While Windows Subsystem for Linux is widely recognized as being one of Microsoft most impressive achievements in recent times, WSL is not without its flaws.
Now in its second iteration, WSL makes it possible to install Linux distros within Windows 11 but it has a major obstacle that is stopping it gaining mass appeal -- it remains a text-based tool. But this could be about to change. Microsoft is exploring the possibility of introducing a new GUI to simplify the installation and management of distros.
Windows 11 still features a developer's 'temporary' UI from 30 years ago
Despite all of Microsoft's talk of it being a modern operating system, Windows 11 remains firmly rooted in the past. There are numerous elements of the interface that have not changed in years, and there remain options that are only accessible though the old-fashioned Control Panel.
But there is a surprising hangover from days of yore that has just been highlighted by the developer who created the interface for the Format dialog. The design of the UI, the list of options, and even the 32GB size constraint of a FAT volume, were only ever meant to be temporary -- and yet they are still here three decades on.
Microsoft is fixing a long-standing Chrome text issue in Windows 10 and Windows 11
Microsoft -- yes, Microsoft -- is set to address an issue that has plagued the look of text in Chrome running on Windows 10 and Windows 11. While this is not a problem that affects everyone, there are large numbers of people who have long-complained about strange-looking fonts in Google's web browser.
The font troubles stem from a font rending incompatibility which Microsoft is finally getting around to fixing. The ClearType Tuner of Windows is ignored by Chrome, but Microsoft's tweaks mean that the browser rendering will be noticeably improved.
Microsoft cites continuous innovation of Windows 11 and app compatibility improvements as it kills Test Base for Microsoft 365
Microsoft has announced that is it transitioning Test Base for Microsoft 365 to end-of-life in just a few weeks. The EOL process for the service started at the beginning of March and will be complete by the end of May.
As Test Base for Microsoft 365 is not something that everyone will have heard of, Microsoft explains that it is "a cloud-based app testing service on Azure that evaluates the compatibility of applications with new Windows releases or updates". The company has decided that it is no longer needed because so much work has been done with Windows 11 that app compatibility issues are rare.
Microsoft releases out-of-band KB5037422 update to fix Windows Server memory leak
Not for the first time, Microsoft has released a patch-for-a-patch after a recent update was found to cause memory leaks in Windows Server.
The problems stemmed from the KB5035857 update -- the March 2024 security update -- for Windows Server, which Microsoft acknowledged as having known issues. Now the company has released the out-of-band KB5037422 update which affected users will have to manually seek out and install.
At long last, Spotify Miniplayer launches on the desktop
It has been an extraordinarily long time coming, but Spotify has finally launched the miniplayer that users have been requesting for years.
The arrival of Spotify Miniplayer sees the music streaming service catching up with the likes of Apple Music. The new discreet player floats over other running apps, and gives users a choice of UI designs to switch between.
Microsoft launches .NET Smart Components to give developers AI-powered UI controls
There is just about no field of technology that is not somehow being enhanced by artificial intelligence. Microsoft has already shown its own love of AI by introducing it to various aspects of Windows and other products, and the latest release from the company is .NET Smart Components.
These are described as "AI-powered UI controls" that Microsoft says can be quickly and easily add to .NET apps. Billed, unsurprisingly, as "genuinely useful", the company says the components remove the need to "spend weeks of dev time redesigning your UX or researching machine learning and prompt engineering".
Meta enters the fediverse by allowing some users to cross post between Threads and other platforms such as Mastodon
The groundswell of interest in the fediverse really kicked off when Elon Musk took over at Twitter, renamed it X, and made a seemingly endless series of controversial changes and decisions. A large number of users sought new homes, and the likes of Bluesky and Mastodon reaped the benefits.
Another recent entrant into the social arena is Threads -- Meta's answer to X. For quite some time there has been talk about plans to plug Threads into the fediverse, much to the disgust of many Mastodon users. Now this day has rolled around, with Mark Zuckerberg announcing that fediverse integration is now available to some users in beta.
Microsoft confirms that KB5035857 update is causing serious memory leak problems in Windows Server
Following complaints from large numbers of system administrators, Microsoft has finally acknowledged that there are problems with the recently released KB5035857 update for Windows Server.
The March 2024 security update was released 10 days ago, and it did not take long for users to start experiencing problems. Now Microsoft has confirmed that it is aware of an issue with Kerberos requests on domain controllers which may cause LSASS memory leaks. [UPDATE: there is now a fix available]
Microsoft is finally adding a spell checker to Notepad in Windows 11
While Microsoft is keen on deprecating features and apps, it has also been engaged in injecting new life into legacy apps in recent years -- just look at how Paint has evolved, for instance. The company has also been slowly but surely updating another software stalwart, Notepad.
Having already added a tabbed interface, an auto-save feature and, of course, a dash of AI, Microsoft is a now set to add a spell checking. It does not end there, though. In addition to a highly customizable spell checker, there will also be an autocorrect feature -- and considerations have been made for developers and coders.
Surprise! Customization tool ObjectDock updated so you can add a macOS dock to Windows 11
Here's a blast from the past for you -- ObjectDock. After lying dormant for several years, the customization utility has suddenly been updated by Stardock to add support for Windows 10 and Windows 11.
This is great news for anyone who is not a fan of the Windows 11 Start menu and taskbar, as it adds a macOS-style dock to the desktop which can be used instead. The newly updated app is now 64-bit and it's a welcome -- and surprising -- return almost a decade after the last release.
Sofia Elizabella's Bio
Sofia Wyciślik-Wilson is a queer, transgender journalist based in Poland. She has been writing about technology for more than two decades, and after years working for magazines, her writing moved online. She is fueled by literature, music, nature, and vegetables. You can find her on Bluesky and Mastodon. If you like what you read, you can Buy her a Coffee!
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