Month: January 2022

WinRAR now works better with Windows 11 but removes support for XP

WinRAR, one of the most trusted and popular file compression programs in the market today, just received a new update that improves support for Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 desktop operating system.

WinRAR 6.1 dropped in January 2022 and it’s the first version that adds integration with the OS’ new context menu. It has also changed its list of supported iterations that will now only include Windows Vista and up moving forward. Unfortunately, this means that XP has officially been dropped.

A new contextual menu

The newly designed contextual menu in Windows 11 is now bigger and more legible. It places the most used functions like Copy, Paste, and Delete at the top to make it easier to find and use them. This move is also to address the issue of congested context menus that have plagued Windows since its XP days. The problem with this new implementation, though, is that it now hides other important application functions and options behind a “Show More Options” button.

For most users, this just means that they’ll need a few extra clicks to access their favorite application’s menu. For developers, though, they will need to push new updates to take this new layout into account if they want their programs to be listed properly in Windows 11’s context menu. Fortunately for users of WinRAR, its creator has been quick to adapt to this change. It has pushed out a speedy release for those who have already migrated to Windows 11.

It has only been a couple of months since Windows 11 was officially released to the public. But developers are keenly aware of the changes it brought and how they might affect how their programs look and behave to users and the issue with the new context menu is one such example. As a result, developers will need to act fast to push out updates, and with WinRAR 6.1, things are moving in the right direction.

Google Cloud launches team to expand blockchain efforts

Last week, an announcement by Google Cloud’s vice president of financial services, Yolande Piazza, confirmed that the firm has set up a digital assets team to help clients navigate the waters of blockchain-based operations. The team was set up to assist clients with the creation, trading, and storing of value, as well as aiding them in launching new products across blockchain-based platforms. 

Google Cloud furthermore promised to give clients access to infrastructure that is scalable, secure, and sustainable. A blog post highlighting the company’s efforts to make blockchain a more accessible platform also pointed to several organizations that have already implemented Google Cloud, such as Hedera, Dapper Labs, and Theta Labs. 

Piazza’s announcement also expressed the desire to develop systems that let Google Cloud clients make and receive payments through various cryptocurrencies. 

This isn’t the first time Google has dipped its toes into the world of cryptocurrencies. Recently, Google developed Google Pay with the help of a PayPal veteran to facilitate smoother and faster financial transactions. Google also entered a partnership with Coinbase in June last year, enabling Coinbase customers to make payments for goods and services using Google Pay. 

Ultimately, Google Cloud infrastructure will ensure that developers can deliver software and data faster on the blockchain and thus give users faster access to applications. Piazza hopes that this new innovation will go a long way in helping users understand and be a part of tomorrow’s blockchain ecosystems.

Warframe Players prepare for Angels of the Zariman expansion

Digital Extremes held a developer live stream a few days ago in which it outlined how it was going to make good on promises to make 2022 its best year yet. Part of this live stream was new updates on the next Warframe expansion, Angels of the Zariman. 

Warframe hasn’t seen an expansion or major update since The New War was released for the live-service phenomenon. While the expansion expanded on major storyline threads, fans are already clamoring for the next piece of the puzzle. Angels of the Zariman seeks to satiate this hunger for all things Warframe with no less than two new game modes, a new Warframe, a new quest, and a few notable reworks of Warframe’s quality of life. 

The dev team at Digital Extremes hasn’t elaborated much more on what else players could see in the upcoming update 31.5, but the dev stream in February will likely be a deep dive into what it will entail. @PlayWarframe has, in the meantime, taken to Twitter to release the first piece of concept art and a confirmation that Angels of the Zariman is coming ‘soon.’

We look forward to the next dev stream on Twitch, but in the meantime, we wait for February 9th, which will see the 31.1 Echoes of War update released globally. It will let players replay The New War and will also add ‘quality-of-life’ changes and the much-anticipated return of the annual Valentine’s Day event Star Days. 

The excitement for the next chapter of possibly the best ninja game on PC is palpable. While you wait for more information about the coming updates, check out our list of the best free-to-play games on Steam. Spoiler alert: Warframe is one of them. 

Windows 11 is being adopted much faster than Windows 10

Windows 11 was released in October 2021. Following the slow adoption following its predecessor’s release, new data is showing that it looks like Windows 11 is being taken to much more quickly.

A January usage report published by AdDuplex on XDA Developers noted that Windows 11 has nearly doubled its users since November 2021. In the two months since the original report, its usage share has increased to 16.1%. This is compared to the mere 8.6% that was reported in November.

This trend shows that users are adopting Windows 11 much faster than they moved to Windows 10. Along with these stats, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, also revealed that there are currently 1.4 million active Windows 10 and Windows 11 users worldwide.

According to Windows, this newest release of Windows 11 includes many powerful new features. This version is geared towards anyone, whether you are working on a school project, collaborating on work presentations, building a new app, or just planning your next big idea.

Some of the biggest changes include a redesign of the taskbar icons and start menu as well as support for Android apps. Then users will also note rounded corners on all program windows. There is also a built-in Teams chat option available with Windows 11. Finally, Windows 11 also now supports DirectStorage. This feature was first on Xbox Series X and S consoles and, due to the increased popularity, made its way to the latest Windows operating system. These are just a few of the improvements that come with this newest version.

If you haven’t made the change yet, you should consider upgrading to Windows 11 now. The stats don’t lie, and it seems like Windows 11 will be much more popular than its predecessor.

Spotify in hot water over Covid-19 misinformation

The Joe Rogan Experience is a popular podcast hosted on Spotify that is now synonymous with misinformation and public outcry, as well as the rapid decline of the leading music and podcast streaming service. Rogan’s podcast in which he reportedly spread misinformation surrounding Covid-19 vaccinations and government mandates has hit Spotify hard, even resulting in trending hashtags #DeleteSpotify #SpotifyDeleted.

Rogan has since addressed the controversy with a 10-minute video posted to Instagram. He has promised to ‘balance things out’ by including a more diverse range of guests on his Spotify podcast. This will be done in an attempt to furnish his podcast with a greater variety of opinions and points of view. Joe Rogan placed considerable emphasis on wanting to merely find out what the truth about the vaccines and government mandates is. 

The mass outrage sparked by Rogan’s latest podcasts prompted major musicians like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell to pull their music from Spotify. The leading music streaming platform now reports a loss of more than $2 Billion in market value. In not taking down The Joe Rogan Experience podcast as a result of Young ending his contract with Spotify, the music streaming service is seen as siding with Rogan, even though it has committed to adding content advisories to any podcast episodes relating to the pandemic and vaccines and linking those posts to more authoritative and scientific sources on the matter. 

Embattled US private citizens and prominently controversial members of the British Royal Family Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are also on record as having expressed concerns to Spotify about its affiliation and support of Joe Rogan amidst the controversy. Spotify is yet to give in to mounting public pressure to remove the controversial podcast. 

While more musicians and notable podcast creators are rumored to be next in line to boycott Spotify, no concrete evidence exists to prove that Spotify is losing its strong foothold on the music streaming scene and remains one of the foremost music and podcast services in operation. 

Elden Ring warped George R.R. Martin’s story, but to what effect

The creators from FromSoftware sought the help of the famous author, George RR Martin, to create the world and heroes of Elden Ring. The creator of Game of Thrones was sure to bring his flair to this new game, but recent news releases hint that many of George RR Martin’s contributions were warped and twisted. But to what effect?

Elden Ring is set to be released on February 25 and was on the top of the Most Wanted list in the Golden Joystick Awards in 2021. From the developers that brought us Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro, the newest release, Elden Ring, aims to create a much more open-world game than any of its predecessors. 

Elden Ring is based on the Dark Souls universe, but knowing how important the story and worldbuilding for this game would be, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki got George RR Martin on board to help in the creation process. However, in a recent interview, Hidetaka Miyazaki announced that the world and heroes created by George RR Martin were before the shattering of the Elden ring.

It was up to the developers to interpret how this would affect the heroes and the world. The developers had to decide how the mad taint of the shattered shards would affect the universe. As such, they made some changes to the original heroes by distorting and misshaping them into monsters. 

However, it would appear that George RR Martin isn’t too bothered by this change in his characters. He’s been reported admiring how good the game looks on several occasions. Could this be due to the open-ended agreement between both parties? 

Hidetaka Miyazaki reported in another interview that from the start, George RR Martin wasn’t hired to write the story for Elden Ring but rather create the basic world and histories that influence the game. This was also done in an unrestricted way to ensure that the author could give as much of his creative input as possible, with the developers having the same input.

So far, it doesn’t seem like there are any hard feelings about the changes that have been made. Could it be that we’re looking at the perfect combination of all the best from Dark Souls and Game of Thrones in a new game? Exciting times await us as we count down to the game’s release.

iOS 15.4 lets you unlock your iPhone with a mask

Face ID has been a standard feature of Apple’s iPhone since the release of the iPhone X in 2017. Once the preferred method of unlocking your iPhone, Face ID has become a little less convenient since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the dawn of the age of masks in 2020. Luckily, Apple’s latest OS update released to developers circumvents the need to remove your face mask to use the Face ID utility.

Users can currently unlock their iPhones with a mask on if they have the Apple Watch, but the new iPhone 12 and up feature eliminates their need for the watch. The new Face ID With a Mask feature operates by recognizing the face area around the eyes when you’re wearing a mask. This feature is arguably not as secure as unlocking your phone without a mask, but it is more convenient when you’re out and about.

It is not clear why the feature isn’t available to Apple users with an iPhone 11 or earlier, but some users took to the comments section of MacRumors to debate the issue. A user named ‘Anshuvorty’ proposed that the machine learning chip on older iPhones isn’t powerful enough to run the new feature.

‘Alchemistmuffin’ agreed, attributing the issue to hardware limitations regarding the Neural Engine on the Ax Series chip and the fact that the newer iPhones have superior face-mapping sensors.

iOS 15.4 lets you unlock your iPhone with a Mask

Factoring in how technology often filters down into older or less powerful models as time progresses, we might see a similar feature release for iPhone 11 and earlier. If the compatibility of the new Face ID with a mask feature is to do with software, we might very well see it filter down to older models.

However, if the issue is hardware-related, older phones would need a complete hardware reconfiguration to run the new feature, which would be costly to implement and ultimately pointless. Studies find that users typically upgrade to newer devices every two years.

For now, it seems, if you have an iPhone 11 or earlier, you’re stuck with having to use your Apple Watch to unlock your phone with a mask on. While this isn’t exactly the biggest problem the modern world faces, it is inconvenient.

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel heads to Android and iOS

Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel has already proven itself a post-launch success, having surpassed 262,333 players on Steam in its first week. This number doesn’t include duelists on console platforms like Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo, which would push the total players to far over 400,000. Now, the game has found a new home on both the AppStore and Google Play as Konami officially starts rolling out the game’s mobile port across the globe. 

Konami designed Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel to develop into its own platform for casual and competitive gaming within the Yu-Gi-Oh-verse. This latest port to mobile promises to open up a massive new market and introduce the platform to millions of new users. Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is unavailable in many regions as Konami implements a staggered release to the different areas. The regions where Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel is currently available to play on Android and iOS are:

  • Algeria
  • Austria
  • Brazil
  • Egypt
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Portugal
  • Switzerland 
  • Turkey

There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason behind the countries chosen as the first choices, but the official Konami website states that the game will be ‘launching in other countries’ soon‘. 

While you wait for Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel to be released in your region, we’ve put together a short tutorial on what an APK is and how to install it in preparation for the game’s arrival. 

In summary, APK, or Android Package Kit, is the format in which Android apps are packaged, downloaded, and installed on mobile devices. This is typically used for leaked or modified versions of an Android app. To let your phone install APK’s you’ll need to allow it to install apps from unknown sources. This basically means anywhere that isn’t Google Play. 

Once you’ve changed your phone’s permissions, it’s as simple as heading to Softonic.com, finding the app you want, and clicking download. From there, you’ll be able to access the APK through a mobile file explorer and install it onto your phone. 

Google back-pedals on its G-Suite Legacy ultimatum

Last week, Google LLC made an announcement concerning their G Suite Legacy utility that shocked users. The tech conglomerate announced that G Suite accounts set up before the utility became a paid service would be shut down unless users started paying the per-user monthly fee. Previously, users who had signed up in the utility’s early days had been given legacy status and were exempt from monthly payments. The mass outcry from legacy users has now led Google to reconsider its harsh ultimatum. 

Although the matter is now under consideration after Google was apparently shocked by legacy users’ reaction to the news, this doesn’t necessarily mean the decision will change. Google LLC has essentially said it plans to launch a survey into affected G Suite users, but it hasn’t promised an agreeable outcome. In the meantime, Google has attempted to soften the heavy blow by promising a no-cost data transfer option before the shutdown takes effect. The data eligible for this transfer is outlined as ‘non-Google Workspace paid content.’ 

No complete list of applicable data has been provided yet, so we can only assume that ‘non-Google Workspace paid content’ means everything from apps and games to movies and TV products purchased across the Google Play platform. 

A survey entry on an FAQ sheet pertaining to Google Legacy Free Edition may hint at the possibility of a free or low-cost option for users who don’t use Google Workspace for business. This survey is aimed at users whose accounts have 10 seats or less and who are interested in receiving future updates on ‘G Suite Legacy Free Edition special offers.’ 

Given that Google is offering a free transfer option to legacy users of G Suite, it’s unlikely that the decision to shut free accounts down will be overturned. Instead, Google LLC seems to be investigating a way to fill the gap that the free legacy G Suite utility will undoubtedly leave.

Nvidia GeForce now released AI Upscaling to Shield TV and PC

Nvidia has released a nice update to the Shield TVs. With the latest refresh, content can be upscaled to 4K quality. This feature has just arrived on GeForce Now and PCs that have Nvidia GPUs from the 10-series upwards.

The Nvidia update v2.0.37 available for GeForce Now allows all users to start streaming content in higher quality on their machines. This is made possible with the new ‘AI Enhanced’ mode and is built on similar technology that Shield TV debuted years ago. At the time, though, this feature was only available for video. This feature works by using on-device processing to improve the quality of the stream.

This AI-upscaling feature is only available for GeForce Now on Nvidia Shield TVs (2019 or newer) and computers equipped with Nvidia GPUs from the 10-series and newer. Also, AI-upscaling isn’t the only feature available with the latest version.

GeForce Now players can now also stream games in advanced quality with the new ‘Enhanced’ mode. This mode will use the Lanczos filter to improve scaling. However, the ‘Standard’ mode will still be available for those that prefer it.

Nvidia also recently announced that GeForce would also be releasing more custom streaming quality alongside these features. This update to the web experience will pick up the resolution on the specific device you’re using and adjust the streaming quality accordingly. This week, GeForce Now will also be released as a stable app on LG TVs.

Nvidia GeForce now released AI Upscaling to Shield TV and PC

Finally, Nvidia also released the latest games coming to GeForce Now. They are:

  • Mortal Online 2 
  • Daemon X Machina 
  • Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition
  • Tropico 6
  • Assassin’s Creed III Deluxe Edition

These improvements are set to change how viewers and players experience the graphics quality. We look forward to seeing exactly how this feature works and how it develops in the future.