Author: batteryforpc

Google has added virtual desktops to its Chrome OS, used in Chromebooks, enabling users to create multiple workspaces and switch between them.

The virtual desktop feature is the biggest of several updates. Once the update is installed, a New Desk icon appears in the top right corner of the desktop. You can display virtual desktops full screen or side by side, and drag windows between desktops. These operations can be done with touch, mouse, trackpad or using keyboard shortcuts.

Virtual desktops have been available in Windows 10, macOS and Linux for some time so Google is catching up with these established operating systems.

Another new feature is the ability to right-click a phone number in Chrome and send it to an Android phone. This requires enabling sync between the Chrome browser on both devices.

A printer auto-detect feature means that compatible printers will automatically appear in a printer list without needing setup.

Google’s Chrome OS has moved some distance from its original concept of a browser-based operating system when launched in 2011. The biggest changes were in 2016 when Android app support was added, and in 2018, when Linux application support appeared.

Chrome OS uses container technology to run Android and Linux in order to keep the operating system isolated and protected. With Microsoft taking a similar approach to running Win32 applications in Windows 10X, the gap between traditional PCs and Chromebooks is narrowing. You can even run some Windows applications on a Chromebook via the Wine compatibility layer.

Chromebooks have a small market versus traditional PCs. Chrome OS accounts for around 1.6 per cent of active operating systems, according to Statcounter, up from 1.2 per cent a year ago.

That said, Chromebook sales increased by double digits in the first quarter of 2019, according to Gartner, and the devices are particularly strong in education, where the combination of low price and a locked-down operating system is appealing. In early 2018 Google reported over 60 per cent market share in North America and over 30 per cent in the UK.

Less attractive is that a Chromebook is tightly bound to a Google login, raising concerns about privacy and data collection, and devices lose support automatically after a pre-defined period.

Still, with both Apple and Microsoft also increasingly insistent that you sign into their cloud accounts in order to use macOS or Windows 10, Google’s approach is more absolute but, regrettably, no longer so distinctive. 

The Pavilion Gaming 15 series includes 15.6-inch gaming laptops with midrange graphics chips. The series sits below the HP Omen series. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX GPUs are exclusive to the latter, however. Our test device is powered by a Ryzen 7 3750H APU and a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q GPU.

The performance of the hardware matches our expectations: All of the games in our database run smoothly. Usually, Full-HD resolution and medium to high settings can be chosen.

Surprisingly, the battery life is very good. The Pavilion lasts much longer than most office laptops. However, the gaming laptop lacks a Thunderbolt 3 port. HP also only grants users a warranty period of one-year.

More information and measurements can be found in our review of the HP Pavilion Gaming 15-ec0017ng.

After testing the feature on beta users for a little while, WhatsApp is now rolling out fingerprint unlock to all Android users. It brings biometric security to Android some 8 months after similar options landed on iPhone.

The Fingerprint Lock security feature is available in version 2.19.222 of the Android WhatsApp app, and it gives Android users a security option that is more in line with what is available in the iOS version of the app. iPhone users already have Touch ID and Face ID support, and now WhatsApp says: “today we’re introducing similar authentication, allowing you to unlock the app with your fingerprint, on supported Android phones”.

For now, at least, fingerprints are the only security options available. WhatsApp has not enabled face unlocking for Android users, nor suggested that it will in the future.

Once enabled, the feature prevents other people from accessing WhatsApp and reading your messages. The only way to get into the app is to scan a registered finger. The description of the setting within the app explains: “When enabled, you’ll need to use fingerprint to open WhatsApp. You’ll still be able to answer calls if WhatsApp is locked.”

Touch to unlock

To enable Fingerprint lock, just head to Settings > Account > Privacy > Fingerprint lock. Turn on Unlock with fingerprint, and confirm your fingerprint.

You can also choose how long WhatsApp should wait before it locks – either immediately, after a minute,or after 30 minutes.

Following version 78’s release on Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux, the next beta release of Google’s browser is rolling out. The Chrome 79 beta features tab freezing on desktops to conserve resources, shared clipboard, and a trial of DNS-over-HTTPS.

A new “tab freezing” feature in Chrome 79 works to save memory, CPU, and battery life. This feature is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux browsers, as well as Chrome OS. Tabs that have been in the background for over five minutes will be frozen and not able to perform tasks. There is an exception for audio and video, while sites can experimentally opt out.

Google is working on a shared clipboard between computers and Android that’s available from the right-click menu. Copied text can be shared on devices that are logged into the same Google Account and have Chrome Sync enabled. Text is end-to-end encrypted and Google notes how it can’t see the contents. It began rolling out earlier this month for a “limited number of users” and will be “released to all users in a future version of Chrome.”

Originally planned for the previous release, Chrome 79 will feature an experiment for 1% of users that enables secure DNS connections with DNS-over-HTTPS. This prevents user tracking and malicious redirects. A new flag allows you to opt out of the DoH test: chrome://flags/#dns-over-https.

Chrome will check if the user’s DNS provider is among a list of participating DoH-compatible providers and if so, it will enable DoH. If the DNS provider is not on the list, Chrome won’t enable DoH and will continue to operate as it does today.

Chrome will begin marking sites that use TLS 1.0 or 1.1 as “Not Secure” and remove the lock symbol. This measures starts in January 2019 as Google encourages sites to move away from legacy TLS.

The WebXR Device API is now shipping in Chrome, and allows developers to create web-based virtual reality experiences for smartphones and head-mounted displays. This spec will soon be supported by Firefox Reality, Oculus Browser, Edge, and the Magic Leap Helio browser for a consistent experience. Moving forward, the API will allow for augmented reality and other rich interactive experiences.

Progressive Web Apps help online experiences feel like any native client. A part of this is appearing in the launcher and getting a homescreen icon. On Android, Chrome 79 allows adaptive icons to “automatically mask irregularly shaped icons to fit properly” and not just be circular.

An Intel Wi-Fi adapter bug is causing headaches for Surface Pro 7 and Laptop 3 users, but there’s a possible temporary workaround.

Over the past week, several Reddit users have reported issues with their Surface Pro 7 and Intel-based Surface Laptop 3 devices have suffered from an issue that causes Wi-Fi speeds to tank after waking them from sleep. Microsoft has yet to acknowledge the issue, but there is currently an open thread on the Microsoft Answers forum as well.

According to another Reddit post, the issue appears to be related to how the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi adapter handles connectivity when entering and waking from sleep. When the Surface Pro 7 or Surface Laptop 3 is put to sleep, it disables one antenna while putting the other into a low-power state, which is meant to save battery life. The problem is that the disabled antenna doesn’t appear to be activated and the other remains in low power mode when waking the device from sleep, cutting Wi-Fi connection speeds.

In the same post, the poster, Wiidesire, has posted a potential workaround:

Go to the hardware manager -> network adapter -> Intel AX201 -> Advanced -> MIMO power save mode -> Change “Auto SMPS” to “No SMPS”. While this resulted in the bug occurring less frequently, only changing the setting to “Static SMPS” (-> disabling MIMO) eliminated the problem entirely for me.

(Optional) Go to the Windows Settings App -> System -> Power & Sleep -> When my PC is asleep and on battery power, disconnect from network -> Change “Never” to “Always”

The issue appears to be related to driver version 21.40.1.3 for the Intel AX201 adapter.

Presumably, we’ll see Microsoft push out a fix in the coming days or weeks. However, if you’ve encountered this bug, you can attempt to temporarily work around it by trying the steps above. Importantly, you should avoid installing Intel’s generic AX201 drivers, as they are likely to introduce further issues.

We’ll update this post if and when Microsoft acknowledges the problem and provides a timetable for an update.