Apple unveils macOS Big Sur with a new look, Control Center, privacy improvements, and more
In addition to revealing iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and watchOS 7, at WWDC 2020 Apple also gave us a look at the future of macOS -- Big Sur.
This is a significant upgrade to the operating system, significant enough for Apple to move away from calling it macOS X, and jumping up to macOS 11. There has been a significant redesign to the interface, icons and apps, bringing macOS much more in line with iPadOS and owners of an upcoming ARM-based Mac will be able to run iOS apps natively). But Big Sur is about more than just aesthetics.
Microsoft flushes more money down the toilet by killing Mixer
Microsoft has a lot of successes, but also, the company has countless failures. With that said, failing in a business venture isn't entirely a bad thing -- it means you at least tried something. A company like Microsoft needs to take risks, but damn, sometimes it just feels like the company flushes cash down the toilet.
Case in point, back in 2016, Microsoft bought a game-streaming service (a Twitch clone) called "Beam." In 2017, the Windows-maker renamed that service to what it is known as today -- "Mixer." The company even paid millions of dollars to popular video game players to get them to stream elusively on the service. Hell, it was less than a year ago that Microsoft signed popular player "Ninja" for more than $20 million! And now, in 2020, Microsoft has killed Mixer, essentially burning many millions of dollars. Yup, the company announces that it will shutter Mixer on July 22 and then move all of its users to the Facebook Gaming platform.
Win a TCL 10 Pro Android smartphone in the BetaNews 'Welcome To Summer' giveaway!
Summer is here, but sadly, so too is COVID-19. True, much of the country is starting to "open up," but still, it is probably a good idea to limit your exposure to the public. Don't let that get you down, however, as there is plenty of summer fun to be had at home. If you have a yard, for instance, you can sunbathe and read books while laying on the grass. If you are lucky enough to own a pool, you can swim from the safety of your own property. Apartment dwellers can get in on the action too -- if you have a bathtub, you can sit in it and use your imagination to be transported to a tropical island (in your mind, at least).
Of course, just because it is the summer season, you don't have to do summery things. In fact, if you just want to sit on the couch with your smartphone and play games, watch movies, or listen to music, that is cool too. But what if your current smartphone stinks? Maybe it is slow, has bad battery life, or a cracked screen. If that is you, but you can't afford a new phone, don't worry -- we at BetaNews have five smartphones to give away! Best of all, it is a great smartphone -- the TCL 10 Pro. It has a beautiful screen with HDR support that is just perfect for watching Netflix!
Macs will use ARM-based Apple processors instead of Intel -- is Hackintosh dead?
Today at WWDC 2020, Apple confirmed the rumors -- the company is ditching Intel processors for future Mac computers. While there are technically still some future Intel-powered Macs in the pipeline, Apple intends to eventually switch to its own in-house chips exclusively. The company expects it will take two years for the transition to complete. The last time Mac made such a switch, it was PowerPC to Intel.
Obviously, these ARM-based chips will not be able to run current versions of macOS, so Apple has also announced the next version of the OS that will be compatible. Called "Big Sur," this upcoming version of macOS will also be able to run legacy third-party x86_64 programs through its Rosetta compatibility layer. All Apple programs will be designed for the ARM chips directly.
Apple reveals iOS 14 -- here's what's new
Apple's WWDC 2020 event was held virtually, open to everyone around the world to view for free. Among the many announcements to come from the event was iOS 14 -- and there's a lot to look forward to for iPhone owners.
What can you expect? Major improvements and changes are being introduced to the home screen and the way app pages work, and widgets are getting a serious overhaul. Siri sees a number of improvements, as does messaging. There's also an entire new type of apps called App Clips. Let's take a closer look.
US taxpayers think filing returns online is risky -- but they do it anyway
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and extended tax filing deadline for 2020 its likely that people will be submitting their returns over a longer period this year.
New research from information security company Shred-it shows that most Americans file their tax returns online, even though many believe this puts them at greater risk of fraud.
Adobe Flash Player dies this year and you'll be told to uninstall it
Adobe Flash Player has been a blight on the internet for more years than most people care to think about, but its days are finally numbered.
We've known for a number of years that the software is reaching end of life (EOL) at the end of this year, and Adobe will stop distributing it after this date. But Adobe is going further, and will soon start to prompt people to uninstall Flash Player from their computers.
How to deregister your phone number from Google RCS chat
With absolutely zero fanfare, Google has rolled out a system that lets you turn off RCS chat features to help avoid problems such as missing messages.
The simple form that has appeared online is very similar to the one used by Apple. The online system can be used even if you do not have your previous phone with you, so you can deregister your phone number from your computer.
How to watch Apple's virtual WWDC 2020 for free -- iOS 14 and new hardware expected
Later today, Apple will host its first virtual Worldwide Developers Conference. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, WWDC 2020 is an online-only event, and you can tune in to see all of the new announcements.
Things kick off at 10:00 AM PDT with a special event keynote speech from company CEO Tim Cook. As ever, we don't know for sure what will be revealed at the event, but we can expect to learn about iOS 14, WatchOS 7 and macOS 10.16, as well a new hardware including Arm-based Macs.
HUAWEI launches AMD variant of the MateBook 13, but there’s a huge catch
I’m a huge fan of AMD desktop processors and GPUs, but the company’s mobile chips? Not so much. Don’t get me wrong, there have been some decent AMD-powered laptops over the years, but historically, Intel processors have been the best for notebooks.
Until recently, that is. AMD’s new mobile Ryzen 4000 processors have received universal acclaim thanks to impressive performance and long battery life. The new Ryzen mobile chips are a legit alternative to Intel.
Microsoft pushes new Edge browser to Windows 8 and the unsupported Windows 7
Having already started to push the Chromium-based version of Edge to Windows 10 users, Microsoft is now doing the same for older versions of Windows.
With the KB4567409 update, Microsoft is bringing the new version of Edge not only to people who are still using Windows 8.1, but also those who are still on Windows 7 -- which is interesting because Windows 7 is no longer supported.
The hidden value of historic communications in email security
Very rarely in life is certainty guaranteed. Almost every decision we make is made imperfectly, without complete knowledge and based on a gut-checked risk assessment. When it comes to protecting your organization from phishing attacks, this still rings true. Yet, most email security providers still see through a black-and-white lens and act in terms of absolute certainty. As a result, they effectively protect against the known bad, but let unfamiliar threats slip right through.
Employees at every level of your company are making hundreds of email decisions every day -- open this, delete that, respond to this, leave that for tomorrow. With so much inbox noise, a potential phishing email can infiltrate easily -- and can impact an entire organization profoundly.
Cloud computing in Europe: Speculations on EU cloud tech in post-pandemic era
We see the European market today as the hottest area of the global cloud in a pivotal moment. While US cloud giants battle for world domination, China is building its "Great Cloud," Russia is testing its sovereign internet, and Europe is busy creating its own digital sovereignty.
The EU recently declared a massive digital transformation for its economy in the next decade where cloud and AI technologies will play an essential role. So what exactly can we expect from the European cloud industry in the short term?
Microsoft releases Windows Terminal Preview 1.1 and it's packed with new features
It's only a month since Microsoft released the first completed version of Windows Terminal and just a week since the company published its roadmap for Terminal 2.0. Starting the journey towards version 2, a preview version Windows Terminal 1.1 is now available.
While this is only a x.1 version increase, Microsoft has actually added quite a lot to the utility with this update. In keeping with Microsoft's release schedule, assuming no problems crop up, all of the features found in this preview release will migrate to the main release version next month. So what is there to look forward to? Highlights include the ability to rename tabs, and support for a new batch of command line arguments.
Best Windows 10 apps this week
Three-hundred-and-ninety-one in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Microsoft Store in the past seven days.
Microsoft's latest feature update for Windows 10, Windows 10 version 2004, has quite a few bugs. The company announced plans to change the names of the Windows Insider channels from "ring" to "channel" to better reflect the expected release quality of each channel.
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