Apple launches surprise all-new iPad Air and iPad mini
Apple’s online store partially closed down earlier today, suggesting new products were about to be released, even though no one was really expecting anything, given there’s a big Apple event happening next week.
It turns out that Apple does indeed have new hardware to share -- refreshed versions of both its 10.5-inch iPad Air and the 7.9-inch iPad mini.
New Windows Defender Application Guard add-ons for Chrome and Firefox open untrusted sites in Microsoft Edge
If you attempt to visit a bad site in Firefox or Chrome, your browser will often warn you, so you can decide whether or not to take the risk and continue to your destination.
Microsoft has joined the fight to prevent users unwittingly visiting bad sites by creating new extensions for Google and Mozilla’s browsers which automatically redirect users from untrusted sites to Windows Defender Application Guard for Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 19H1 Build 18358 to the Fast ring
As we enter the final stretch for the next big feature update of Windows 10, Microsoft is rolling out new builds for Insiders to test at a much faster rate.
The latest new flight, the second of the week, is Build 18358, and as you’d expect the focus now is on fixing bugs and improving the user experience.
Apple bites back at Spotify's damning claims against it
A couple of days ago, Spotify filed a complaint against Apple with the European Commission (EC), the regulatory body responsible for keeping competition fair and nondiscriminatory. It claimed the tech giant has, over the past few years, "introduced rules to the App Store that purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience -- essentially acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers".
Understandably, Apple is none too happy with Spotify’s claims, and today hits back, addressing the music streaming service's key grievances.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 20H1 Build 18855 to the Skip Ahead ring
Yesterday, Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 Build 18356 for Insiders on the 19H1 branch and today it follows it up with a new 20H1 build for those testers in the Skip Ahead ring.
As a reminder, builds from the 20H1 branch are for the version of Windows 10 due out in a year’s time.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 19H1 Build 18356 to the Fast ring
It’s Tuesday, which usually signals the arrival of a new Windows 10 build for Insiders, and right on cue here comes Build 18356 for the Fast ring.
With the next big feature update expected to begin its rollout next month, the focus here is naturally on fixing problems, but Android-owning Insiders can also look forward to using the You Phone app’s latest feature -- screen mirroring.
Microsoft starts testing Android screen mirroring on Windows 10
Microsoft first introduced its Your Phone app late last year, and Windows Insiders running a 19H1 build can now try out a brand new feature -- screen mirroring.
This new addition lets users mirror an Android phone’s screen directly on a Windows 10 PC, but -- as you might expect -- this feature isn’t available to all.
New Google extension for Chrome filters out toxic comments
BetaNews has what we like to call a rather rowdy comments section. Any post to do with Windows 7 and Windows 10 usually sparks a commenting war that can run for weeks and get very heated at times.
We’re far from alone here though. Plenty of sites have similarly unruly comments sections, and the situation has got so bad that a growing number of popular websites have turned off commenting altogether, which is a shame.
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Your home can be bad for your health. Not only do more accidents happen in the house than anywhere else, but the quality of the air you breathe can cause health issues, with allergens, dust, pet hair, and other tiny debris to worry about.
An air purifier can clean up the air around you, monitoring pollution and filtering it out. Coway make a number of such purifiers and four of the top models are on sale at Wellbots right now, and BetaNews readers can make even greater savings.
Get 'The Cyber Risk Handbook -- Creating and Measuring Effective Cybersecurity Capabilities' ($43 value) FREE for a limited time
Cyber risk is a fast-growing enterprise risk, not just an IT risk. Yet seldom is guidance provided as to what this means.
This ebook is the first to tackle in detail those enterprise-wide capabilities expected by Board, CEO and Internal Audit, of the diverse executive management functions that need to team up with the Information Security function in order to provide integrated solutions.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 19H1 Build 18353 to the Fast ring, with multiple Sandbox improvements
Windows Insider builds for the next big feature update of Windows 10 are coming thick and fast now, with the focus on fixing bugs and improving performance.
Today Windows 10 19H1 Build 18353 arrives on the Fast ring with quite a long list of fixes -- including many for Windows Sandbox -- and a dwindling amount of known issues.
Confused about what Windows 10 test builds are in which Insider ring? There's an easy way to find out
The Windows Insider program is a mess. It used to be as an Insider you got to test just early versions of the next big OS feature update, but now -- depending on which ring you’re in -- you might be testing versions for the first Windows 10 update of 2020, due out over a year from now.
As if that’s not bad enough, Fast ring Insiders are currently receiving new builds at a rate of two a week -- which hardly provides enough time to install and test them -- while Slow ring Insiders get only very occasional updates. It’s no wonder some of Microsoft’s loyal legion of unpaid testers are confused.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 19H1 Build 18351 to the Fast ring
Not many Windows 10 users have upgraded to the October 2018 Update yet, but Microsoft is still hard at work on finishing the next big feature update, codenamed 19H1, which is due out next month.
New builds are coming out thick and fast, and today sees the release of Build 18351 to Fast ring Insiders.
Windows 10 loses share as Windows 7 makes significant gains
There are lots of ways to measure Windows share including StatCounter and Steam. Like most other tech sites, BetaNews has always focused on NetMarketShare, and at the start of the year the analyst firm finally reported that Windows 10 had overtaken its main rival, Windows 7 (a move that was a long time coming seeing as others had reported this happening months earlier).
In January, the new OS consolidated its lead, but in February things were far less rosy for Windows 10.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 19H1 Build 18348 to the Fast ring
The idea behind the Windows Insider program is members get to test out preview versions of forthcoming Windows 10 builds.
However, quite how much actual testing can get done when the builds are rolling out thick and fast is a matter for debate. Windows 10 Build 18348 is the second 19H1 build to be rolled out this week, and the fourth build in total, when you factor in Slow and Skip Ahead releases. If it's Microsoft's aim to confuse people, the software giant is doing a bang up job here.
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Williams is BetaNews' managing editor. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for over 20 years now. He’s written for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a fair few of them in his time also. If you like what you read, you can Buy Me a Coffee!
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