If you are unfamiliar with the Insider Program, its core ambitions are clear. It was set up for Microsoft to leverage Windows users to make the platform better. It is a crowdsourcing initiative that relies on a pact between the company and users. Windows 10 users get to see early builds and features through various stages of development. These are typically in raw form and not fully functional for a full release....

In another evolution of Windows Search, Microsoft has now released a new Windows 10 tool. Specifically, this is a diagnostic tool designed to analyze issues in search indexes. The new application shows data from search indexing problems and lets users troubleshoot them. On the homepage, more information is presented, such as pending issues that need to be resolved and how many indexed items there are. Furthermore, users can also see the status of the indexer, and usage stats broken down by week, day, and hour....

“While some gamers and small companies have engineered hacks, major gaming companies have largely remained on the -sidelines—until now. Inspired by an internal hackathon and informed by work with groups like the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Microsoft developed the Xbox Adaptive Controller ($100), an oversize version of its classic rig designed to empower as many gamers as possible,” said the publication. Microsoft spent two years on the development of the Adaptive Controller, working with focus groups from SpecialEffect, Warfighter Engaged and more to get it right....

Xbox Game Bar is a central hub for controlling games on Windows 11, and indeed on Windows 10. It has been around for several years, providing widgets and tools for checking game performance, using social abilities, taking screenshots, and more. Now Microsoft is adding the Xbox Controller Bar as part of Windows 11 Insider Preview build 22618 and the Xbox Insider Program. Designed for PC users who play games with the Xbox gamepad on their PC, the features act in a similar way to the Xbox logo button on a controller....

You probably won’t find amazing audio quality in the 2-watt speaker, but it does have an array of six microphones, allowing for a five-meter activation distance. It also uses echo cancellation and beamforming technology. It features a Cortex-A53 quad-core CPU, 256 MB of RAM and 256 MB of internal memory. In comparison, the Invoke uses seven microphones, utilizing echo cancellation and noise reduction for clear voice input. It features three woofers and three dome tweeters but comes in at $100+....

OEM drivers are generally preferred because they’re customized for the system. This can reduce compatibility and stability issues while adding additional features. However, that’s only good if your OEM is actually timely, which is often not the case. Intel’s release gives a bit of a buffer. “We heard how much our users want the freedom to upgrade their systems to our regularly released generic graphics drivers and enable our latest game enhancements, feature updates, and fixes,” said Intel....

Called the Zoom Hardware as a Service, the platform is an important step for the company. Zoom is the clear in the ongoing Communication App Wars. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company saw its daily users soar from 10 million to over 300 million. Rival services like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet have also thrived, but not to the same degree as Zoom. However, unlike those rivals, there is a limit to how far Zoom can go....

Tech giants and brands from other fields have combined to create “choice and flexibility” to consumers. To reach this goal, the companies want to create intelligent assistants that are integrated. Signatiories of the Voice Interoperability Initiative are many, including Baidu, BMW, Bose, Cerence, Ecobee, Harman, Logitech, Microsoft, Salesforce, Sonos, Sound United, Sony Audio Group, Spotify, and Tencent; telecommunications companies Free, Orange, SFR, and Verizon; hardware manufacturers like Amlogic, InnoMedia, Intel, MediaTek, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, SGW Global, and Tonly; and systems integrators like CommScope, DiscVision, Libre, Linkplay, MyBox, Sagemcom, StreamUnlimited, and Sugr....

Call it paranoia or a wise move, either way, Apple is ramping up its secrecy. The company is now clamping down on overflying drones around its Apple Park campus in California. According to Apple Insider, security guards are tasked with telling drone operators that UAVs cannot be used in the airspace around the campus. It is hardly a surprise the company would do this. Not even to just protect secrets, but to also keep out the media....

However, times are changing, and Apple will reportedly kill off iTunes this year. It had been predicted the suite would be available with macOS 10.15, but that now seems unlikely. A report we made in April saying Apple will split iTunes into standalone apps seems to be moving beyond mere conjecture. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says iTunes will not be part of macOS 10.15 when it is launched at WWDC 2019 next week....

The pre-built solutions make it easier for organizations to create chatbots and other AI services. Both services are available through the Azure cloud platform. Microsoft introduced Azure Bot Service a year ago, and opened it in preview in November. Based on Microsoft’s Bot Framework, Bot Services is the first public bot service for the cloud. It allows developers to build and deploy intelligent bots to services such as Slack, Skype, Office 365, and Facebook Messenger....

The title was announced at E3 2016 and was developed by Dishonored creators Arkane Studios. Players control Morgan Yu and must explore space station Talos I where an alien called the Typhon has escaped. It’s your job to stop the collective reaching earth using alien abilities. No Early Review Copies However, the real question is whether Arkane has produced a better game, or just cashed in on nostalgia. As per their new policy, Bethesda hasn’t given the press a copy of the game in advance....

Indeed, Bill Gates he never usually recommends gifts, but these books are an exception: “I usually don’t consider whether something would make a good present when I’m putting together my end-of-year book list,” Gates points out, “but this year’s selections are highly giftable.” The former Microsoft CEO posted the video on his Gates Notes blog. Each year, he names his list of five best books. In his list of best books of 2018, Bill Gates explains why he chose the books and even mentions some things he does not like about the reads....

Broadcom, a leader in wired and wireless chips, says it has now tabled a final offer for Qualcomm, following a December escalation of its pursuit. The company had previously offered Qualcomm stockholders per share. $60.00 in cash and $10.00 in Broadcom shares. Qualcomm’s Board of Directors quickly and unanimously rejected those terms, saying its business had been undervalued. Today, Broadcom is back with improved terms that it insists represent a final offer....

The re-released version of Windows 10 October 2018 Update is making file extractions fail. Redditors report the problem happens when extracting files from a zip archive. Specifically, when extracting a file that may already have an example on the system, Windows 10 is not providing the duplicate warning. Normally the platform would tell the user what they want to do with the existing file, delete it or keep it and rename the new extraction....

Thankfully, you won’t have to wait for much longer. The MyBuild website now contains a note telling users to check back on the week of April 23. We should see more exact timings, as well as more sessions. What We Know So Far That said, we have a rough idea of major events thanks to the agenda released already. There will be discussions, demos, and sessions from Microsoft experts, and likely a look at Windows 10’s upcoming features....

CERT is the Computer Emergency Response Team, based at Carnegie Mellon University. The team is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Cybersecurity and Communications. CERT says the only way to properly bypass the flaw is a processor switch. “The underlying vulnerability is primarily caused by CPU architecture design choices,” CERT researchers say in a blog post. “Fully removing the vulnerability requires replacing vulnerable CPU hardware.” The Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaw is embedded in the kernel operations within a system....

Version 78.0.276.8 is now available and is based on Chromium 78. As you may know, the Canary channel issues daily updates and the Dev channel issues weekly updates. In other words while waiting for this first Beta update, there have been several upgrades sent out on the Dev channel. Some of the improvements from those Dev updates are now coming to the Beta channel. Chromium Edge now has a better dark theme, with a toggle in settings to turn it on or off....

It seems Microsoft is planning to integrate its Outlook email client with Cortana on iOS. Elsewhere, the upcoming update will also add more voice options, including a male voice for the first time. Let’s start with Outlook, with an integration that is called “Play My Emails”. As that name suggests, this will allow Cortana to offer users a brief voice overview of their unread emails. During this readback, users will be able to flag conversations and sort mails through voice commands....

Even if you do not know anything about them, drivers are fundamental to the functionality of Windows. Whether you’re on Windows 11, Windows 10, or even older versions, drivers give the OS the ability to connect with hardware and control settings. In other words, drivers provide the core of your day-to-day Windows experience. So, driver updates are hugely important because they improve stability, security, and performance. And that is why tools like IObit Driver Booster are helpful....