Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Microsoft has updated the free virtual machines it makes available for download as Windows 11 development environments.

In addition to Windows 11, the virtual machines also include various other developer-centric tools such as Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition and Ubuntu pre-installed in Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. In a nod to the fact that people work with different virtualization platforms, Microsoft has produced VMWare, Hyper-V (Gen2), VirtualBox and Parallels versions of the free VMs.

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Microsoft has been somewhat indecisive with regards to the Mail and Calendar apps for Windows 10 and Windows 11, changing the deadline for a switching to Outlook for Windows more than once.

But now the company has confirmed that it plans to go ahead with its plans to kill off Mail and Calendar -- and it has also revealed that users will be forcibly switched to Outlook for Windows. The timescale for the switch is still slightly hazy, but it is definitely coming... starting later this year.

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In typically swift and spontaneous fashion, Elon Musk has effectively killed off Twitter after promising over the weekend to ditch the bird logo. The new X logo is in the process of rolling out, and X Corp CEO Linda Yaccarino says that "X will be the platform that can deliver, well….everything".

At the moment it is not clear whether the name X will be used to completely replace the Twitter moniker, but this is certainly what has been suggested. The logo that has been chosen is the same one that Musk hinted at on Sunday, and he tweeted a photo of the company headquarters with a large X projected onto the side.

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Since Elon Musk's arrival at Twitter, it has been difficult to keep track of the fast-paced changes. The latest signals from the billionaire owner indicate that even more dramatic changes are afoot -- including ditching the Twitter brand and all bird-related imagery.

In a series of tweets, Musk said "soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds". Indicating that the change could happen very quickly indeed, he added: "If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow".

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The popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT led to a seemingly endless stream of fake mobile apps popping up in Google Play. Now, a couple of months after the official app was released for iOS, ChatGPT for Android is due to land in the coming days.

OpenAI has announced that the Android version of the ChatGPT app is launching in the last week of July, but the company has not revealed a precise date. If you want to be sure to get hold of the app as soon a possible, you can pre-register, and it will be installed the moment it is released.

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Microsoft recently unveiled a new default font for Microsoft 365 in the form of Aptos, and now the company has announced that Office is getting a visual refresh with a new default theme for Windows, macOS and Android users.

The theme is gradually rolling out, starting with Microsoft 365 insiders, and it is about more than just a new typeface. With a firm focus on accessibility, the new look means a change of color palette across all Office apps. There are plenty of other visual changes too, including increased line weights and new default styles in Word and Outlook.

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The number of formats for ebooks is a little bewildering. While PDF may be queen, there are plenty of other formats vying for attention. Some are proprietary, but others are open -- including the widely used EPUB format, which Microsoft Edge can now open.

In the very latest build of its web browser, Microsoft has re-introduced EPUB support having removed it a few years ago. The feature is not enabled by default, and there are steps you need to take if you want to use Microsoft Edge as an EPUB reader.

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Privacy-centric firm Proton has announced that its password manager, Proton Pass, is now more than just open source. The company has had the code of its apps, browser extensions and APIs subjected to an independent security audit by German security specialists Cure53.

With passwords providing access to some of the most value and sensitive personal information imaginable, reliable security is essential. The auditors' assessment that Proton has a "commitment to maintaining a high-level of security" and that "the state of security across Proton's applications and platforms is commendable" will serve as helpful recommendations for anyone looking for a safe and secure password manager.

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As Microsoft, like just about every other technology company, continues to embrace artificial intelligence, there is a lot of interest in the slew of AI-powered tools that are emerging. One of the most intrigue-inspiring tools is Microsoft Copilot.

We've already seen signs of this generative AI utility in the preview builds of Windows 11, and while there is a great deal of anticipation from home users, Microsoft is setting its sights on businesses and the enterprise. At its Inspire 2023 event, the company has revealed more about its plans, including details of pricing.

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For those of a nostalgic bent, the recent revival of Winamp caused flutters of excitement. But for anyone who is uninterested in whippin' that llama' ass, Plex has just announced that its own music player, Plexamp, is now available free of charge.

Previously only available to paying Plex subscribers, the Winamp-inspired Plexamp was the fruit of Plex Labs -- the company's experimental playground for its developers. The standalone music player app has now been unshackled, and is free for all Plex users on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and even Linux.

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It is several weeks since Microsoft finally gave Windows Insiders on the Canary and Dev channels access to an updated version of its Paint app. Now the company is making the new edition of the beloved graphics tool available to more people.

The big news in this latest release is that, at long last, Paint supports dark mode. But there are other additions and improvements includes new keyboard shortcuts and a wider adoption of the Windows 11 look.

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Windows 11 is getting a new recovery feature lets you repair with losing files, apps or settings. Microsoft is currently testing the "Fix problems using Windows Update" option in preview builds of Windows 11.

The feature is an alternative to completely reinstalling Windows 11 from scratch and having to reconfigure all of your software and settings. It is also more advanced than a typical in-place reinstallation of the operating system and is -- in theory, at least -- more likely to fix issues. Here's everything we know about the upcoming "Fix problems using Windows Update" recovery feature.

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The rollout of Windows 11's Moment 3 update may only just have made its way to most users, but Microsoft already has other updates in the pipeline. Coming up later this year is Windows 11 23H2. We've come to expect that this will not be an update that's packed with new features, but that's not to say that it is not significant -- expect to see the update enabling Windows Copilot as Windows 11 enters the AI era.

Microsoft has now revealed more information about the upcoming release, including the fact that it is scheduled to rollout to users in the fourth quarter of the year -- effectively making it Windows 11 23Q4. What's important, though, is that users have to prepare for the launch.

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It is a little over a month since Apple made a developer beta version of macOS Sonoma available for download. Now the company has released the first public beta of the operating system, making a more stable -- but still early -- build available to a wider audience.

With the recent release of the developer beta, Apple had already dropped the requirement to have a paid-for developer account, but the fact that there were still a few hoops to jump through was off-putting to some. Now anyone with a compatible Mac is free to install the macOS Sonoma beta; here's what you need to do.

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First detailed last year, Microsoft Dev Box is now finally generally available. This is Microsoft's "ready-to-code, cloud-based workstation optimized for developer use cases and productivity" and it comes from years of development building on Visual Studio Codespaces.

These preconfigured, container- and Linux-based dev environments served their purposes in 2019, but the demands of developers forced Microsoft to push things further. The result is Microsoft Dev Box, combining developer-optimized capabilities with the enterprise-ready management of Windows 365 and Microsoft Intune.

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