Early adopters of iOS 14.2 report iPhone battery drain
It's only a matter of weeks since Apple agreed to pay out $133 million following the batterygate scandal that saw the performance of older iPhones being throttled. Now it looks as though the company could have another battery issue on its hands.
An increasing number of users who jumped to install iOS 14.2 are reporting that their iPhones are losing battery power very quickly. A similar problem is also being reported by people who have installed iPadOS 14.2.
PowerToys v0.28 has a great new utility for Windows 10
With the recent release of PowerToys v0.27, Microsoft managed to both excite and disappoint users. While there was a lot to explore and enjoy in that build, the newly released PowerToys v0.28 is even more impressive.
What is there to look forward to? Well, the arrival of the lauded video conference mute feature is something that people have been waiting for for a while... and now it's finally here.
Create your own functions from formulae in Microsoft Excel using LAMBDA
Microsoft has launched a new feature for Excel which it says will revolutionize formulae. Called LAMBDA, the new capability is being made available to Beta users for now, and it introduces the ability to create custom functions using Excel's formula language.
The company points out that Excel formulae are the world's most widely used programming language, and now it has gained the option of defining custom, reusable functions. There's no need to learn a complex programming language, making LAMBDA accessible to all.
Make your own emoji with Google's Emoji Kitchen
Emoji are well-loved, and every time new ones are released, they are received with much excitement. But how about the idea of creating your own emoji?
This is what Google made possible earlier this year when it released Emoji Kitchen. While this does not let you design your own emoji from scratch, it does give you the chance to combine existing emoji to create new, strange and funny creations. Now the tool has been updated to make it even better than ever.
Developers manage to run Windows 10 and Linux on M1 Macs
The launch of Apple's new range of Macs with its own M1 chips was met with excitement -- and benchmarks showed great performance even from base models. There was just one problem for some people: an inability to run Windows.
For anyone used to running Windows alongside macOS -- and, for that matter, Linus Torvalds and his desire to run Linux on an M1 MacBook Air -- there's good news. A team of developers have been able to get both Windows 10 and Linux running on Apple silicon.
Microsoft releases the much-improved PowerToys v0.27.0
Only yesterday we wrote about some of the exciting changes coming in PowerToys v0.27.0. Microsoft had teased upcoming improvements to the much-loved utilities but gave no hint of just when this particular build would be released.
As it turned out, we did not have to wait long. PowerToys v0.27.0 is now available to download and in includes not only numerous bug fixes, but also various improvements and enhancements. Oh... and if you were wondering if you'd somehow managed to miss a build, Microsoft explains "we skipped 0.26's release for higher priority work". And this is the result.
Microsoft makes changes to Productivity Score over privacy concerns
Microsoft has announced that it is committed to privacy as the company introduces changes to its Productivity Score tool that raised concerns recently.
The tool is part of Microsoft 365 and was designed to help employers analyze the performance of teams working on projects. But privacy advocates said that the ability to monitor employees on an individual basis amounted to it being a "full-fledged workplace surveillance tool". With the newly announced changes, Microsoft is hoping to allay such fears.
Here's how to get a longer timeframe to remove Windows 10 feature updates
When you install a feature update for Windows 10 -- the likes of Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2), for instance -- Microsoft does not give you very long to change your mind and uninstall it. If you decide you don't like the changes introduced by a feature update, you have just 10 days to easily remove it without having to go down the route of using a backup.
It might not just be the fact that you don't like changes that have been made to the way Windows 10 works. There have been numerous updates to the operating system that have been problematic and buggy, but Microsoft still only gives you 10 short days to go back to your previous version of Windows 10. But there is a way to get yourself more time to play with.
Microsoft is using Windows Feature Experience Pack update to add great new features to Windows 10
Normally when Microsoft adds new features to Windows 10, it does so using the twice-yearly Feature Updates -- such as Windows 10 May 2020 Update and Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2). But this is changing.
We have seen references to Windows Feature Experience Pack updates in preview builds of Windows 10, and now Microsoft is starting to test out the feature. Using the new method of delivering updates, the company is bringing some interesting new features and options to the operating system.
PowerToys is making it easier to manage open windows across multiple monitors -- UPDATED
Microsoft has been gradually developing PowerToys for Windows 10, and the collection of tools is growing. While still in its relative infancy -- we're a long way from version 1.0! -- there are already some PowerToys that are proving firm favorites.
One of the most popular is FanzyZones. It offers a great way to quickly organize a large number of open programs and windows into preset layouts... and it's about to get even better.
Project Latte could see Android app support coming to Windows 10
Having already embraced Linux with WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux), Microsoft looks set to do the same with Android. The company is said to be working on a project which will make it possible to run Android apps in Windows 10.
The arrival of a new subsystem in Windows 10 is something that will be welcomed by Android fans looking to enjoy mobile apps on the desktop. While Microsoft is yet to confirm its plans, Project Latte could see the light of day as soon as late 2021.
Microsoft 365's 'Productivity Score' raises serious privacy concerns
Microsoft has attracted the attention of privacy campaigners over the Productivity Score feature of Microsoft 365. The tool uses telemetry to enable employers to track the activities and performance of workers.
The analytics tool has been criticized for being a serious invasion of privacy, as it gives employers the ability to closely monitor individuals. One data privacy researcher describes it as "turn[ing] Microsoft 365 into a full-fledged workplace surveillance tool".
If you're still using Windows 7, you need to install this important, free 0-day patch
Windows 7 may be rather long in the tooth, but there are still millions of people using it globally. And just because the operating system has been around for years, that does not mean all of the bugs and security issues have been ironed out; far from it, in fact.
Earlier this month a security researcher discovered a local privilege escalation vulnerability in both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. There's no indication that Microsoft will issue a patch even for organizations the paid for extended support, but the vast majority of Windows 7 users will be left vulnerable. Or at least that would be case if it wasn't for 0patch stepping up to the plate and making a micropatch available for free.
You can make unlimited Zoom calls for free this Thanksgiving
Like many things happening in 2020, Coronavirus means that Thanksgiving is going to be very different to previous years. While friends and family would normally gather together, COVID means that more of this year's celebrations will be held remotely.
And with this in mind, Zoom is here to help. Over the Thanksgiving period, the company is lifting its 40-minute limit on calls and will let everyone -- all over the world -- make calls of unlimited length for free.
Baidu apps with 6 million US downloads found to be leaking sensitive user data
Security researchers from Palo Alto Networks have discovered that apps produced by Chinese firm Baidu have been leaking sensitive data about users.
Baidu Search Box and Baidu Maps -- which have been downloaded more than six millions times in the US alone -- were found to be sending details such as MAC addresses, phone models, IMSI and IMEI to a server in China. The researchers warned Google about the activity of the Android apps which were then removed from the Play Store.
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!
© 1998-2026 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.