Apple and Qualcomm bring their global legal fight to an end
Apple and Qualcomm have been suing each other since January 2017. The iPhone maker first sued Qualcomm for over $1 billion, contending that the chip maker was overcharging for its patent licenses, and in response Qualcomm counter-sued and tried to get iPhones banned in a number of countries, siting patent infringement.
In total, there were over 80 ongoing lawsuits in effect globally between the two tech firms, and yesterday saw the start of what was expected to be a three-week trial in a federal court in San Diego.
New Kodi 18.2 'Leia' RC arrives -- download it now!
The Kodi Foundation released Kodi 18 'Leia' three months ago, bringing a number of big new features to the hugely popular home theater software, including a new Games area, updated and improved PVR backend clients, and a redesigned Music section.
A month later, a bug fix release candidate -- Kodi 18.1 -- arrived, and today there’s another new release available to install.
Microsoft releases cumulative update for the Windows 10 May 2019 Update
Microsoft has pushed out the next big feature update for Windows 10 to the Release Preview ring, but it will be a while yet before it’s properly available for prime time.
It’s only just been declared ready for serious testing, but already the software giant has issued an update for it, and identified a known issue.
How to get the Windows 10 May 2019 Update now
As part of efforts to avoid repeating the sort of mess we saw with the October 2018 Update, Microsoft last week announced that its next big Windows 10 feature update would first be pushed out to the Release Preview ring, where it will spend an extended time in testing.
If you’re interested in installing the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (Build 18362.30) you can do so now. Here’s how to get it.
First official builds of Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge browser now available to test
Four months ago, Microsoft announced that it planned to switch to the open source Chromium for its Edge browser, and two weeks ago we got a sneak glimpse at it.
Today, the software giant unveils official previews for the Chromium-based Edge browser, and you can download Dev and Canary builds of it now.
Windows 10 users will get to choose when they install the May 2019 Update
It was generally assumed that the next big Windows 10 feature update -- codenamed 19H1 -- would be the April 2019 Update available later this month, but it turns out it will actually be the May 2019 Update, and users will have quite a wait before they can install it.
Microsoft says the OS update will undergo additional testing before it’s made available to everyone. A smart move, given the October 2018 Update debacle. But that’s not all.
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You can now buy an official Raspberry Pi keyboard and mouse
The beauty of the Raspberry Pi is you don’t need to spend a fortune to get the barebones computer up and running. Once you’ve bought the Pi itself, you can use your own keyboard, mouse, monitor, power supply and so on, and spend as little (or as much) as you want to get any items you require but don’t currently have.
Raspberry Pi owners have been able to buy official Pi cases for a while, and now they can add an official keyboard and mouse too, so everything matches.
How to enable Ultimate Performance power plan in Windows 10
Windows 10 offers a number of power plans you can switch to, depending on your needs. 'Balanced' is the recommended choice, but if you have a high-end system and want to really get the most out of it, it’s worth activating the Ultimate Performance power plan.
This plan is really designed for workstations, but gamers and video editors will benefit from it too. It likely won’t be available to simply switch to on your PC, but you can enable it with this simple hack.
Windows 10 makes large share gains, while Windows 7 declines significantly
It took quite some time for Windows 10 to overtake Windows 7, but it finally did it in December 2018, at least according to NetMarketShare’s figures.
In February however, Windows 10 actually lost share, while Windows 7 gained some, narrowing the gap between the two operating systems once more. In March though, roles were reversed, as Windows 10 made some big gains, and Windows 7 lost a sizable chunk of its share.
Nearly three quarters of Windows 10 users still don’t have the October 2018 Update
The October 2018 Update, or Windows 10 1809, has been nothing short of a disaster for Microsoft. It was so buggy it had to be pulled shortly after its release last October, and it only began to be pushed out as an automatic update a week ago.
AdDuplex, which monitors the share of each version of Windows 10, has been reporting for months on the incredibly poor adoption of Windows 10 1809, and March was another month in which the update gained hardly any additional share. With the next big feature version scheduled to arrive next month, it looks as if most people will be skipping the older update.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18865 to the Skip Ahead ring
If you opted to join the Skip Ahead ring, bypassing the 19H1 builds, you are currently being served up flights from the 20H1 branch -- the feature update that Microsoft is set to release a year from now.
Today the software giant rolls out Build 18865 which fixes numerous problems, including multiple issues affecting Narrator.
Leaked Chromium-based Microsoft Edge works great on Windows 7
Back in December 2018, Microsoft announced that it would be moving its Edge browser over to Chromium, with the intent being to align its web platform with both the main web standards and other Chromium-based browsers. Microsoft also said at the time that Edge would be made available for "all supported versions of Windows", not just Windows 10.
Last week, an early version of the browser leaked onto the web, and while most people who tried it would no doubt have done so through Windows 10, it does indeed run on Windows 7 (and Windows 8.1).
Hey Google! This is the modern YouTube we need
YouTube has never had the best layout. Despite going through numerous design changes over the years it’s always looked a bit of a muddle, and unearthing great content to watch has never been as easy as it should be.
What Google’s video site has needed for quite some time now is a fresh take to bring it more in line with its newer rivals, like Instagram and TikTok. Something like this.
Apple unveils Apple TV+ for all its original content
Earlier today, at a special event hosted at its the Cupertino campus, Apple took the wraps of its paid news subscription service, but it was really the tech giant’s rumored TV service that everyone was waiting to hear about. And that wait is finally over.
Apple’s new TV and movie steaming service goes by the name Apple TV+ and it will be home to a wide selection of original Apple content.
