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Google: New Chrome OS can turn your PC or Mac into a Chromebook

 Chrome OS is coming to PC and Mac devices for the first time after Google launched a new platform, hoping to expand the reach of its software to more devices. Designed to run on older machines, the new Chrome OS Flex is designed to give businesses and schools more flexibility in software choice.

The “cloud-first” software looks similar to the equivalent software already seen on Chromebook devices, offering a simplified way to access Google Workspace tools such as Gmail, Meet, Google Docs, and thousands of apps from the Play Store program.

Chrome OS

“End-user computing is complex. For businesses and schools, it’s even more complex,” Thomas Riedl, director of Google Cloud products, enterprise and education, wrote in a blog post announcing the news. “Slow boot times, intrusive updates, security plug-ins, and heavy management of older devices take up valuable time from employees, students, and IT.” “Chrome OS Flex modernizes the devices you already own, allowing you to experience the benefits of Chrome OS.”

Google says that Chrome OS Flex “launches in seconds,” meaning your device doesn’t have to wait long to get ready, and system updates download in the background.

Admins can install Chrome OS Flex on business or school devices via USB or network for rapid deployment, download user profiles via the cloud, and automatically sync their settings, policies and bookmarks.

Chrome OS Flex will also benefit from Google’s regular security updates for the latest threats, and Google also points out that because of its less demanding specs, using Chrome OS Flex means you can keep your existing device for longer, helping reduce electronic Rubbish.

The launch was aided by Google’s 2020 acquisition of Neverware, whose Chromium-based CloudReady operating system helps businesses around the world switch to the company’s software, Riedl noted.

Google says Chrome OS Flex isn’t a finished product yet, but users can now try the new software for free ahead of a wider release later this year.

>>>>>>>>>>Google battery

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Google: Urgent update to Google Chrome fixes annoying security flaw

 Google has released a fix for a high-severity zero-day vulnerability in its Chrome browser, which it claims is being abused in the wild.

“Google is aware of reports that the CVE-2022-0609 vulnerability exists in the wild,” the company’s security advisory said. Google described the vulnerability as “free to use in animations,” but didn’t elaborate on what that meant or how extreme the risk was.

Abuse of flaws

The company said the flaws are being abused in the wild, but declined to share any details on how or by whom they were abused. It’s hard to say whether malware was developed to abuse the vulnerability, and whether it would be noticed by antivirus solutions.

Still, that should be enough to motivate most people to update their browsers right away.

Chrome version 98.0.4758.102 is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. To apply the patch, Chrome users can navigate to Chrome Menu > Help > About > Google Chrome, or they can wait for the browser to automatically update on the next restart.

“Access to bug details and links may be limited until most users update to fix it,” Google said. Google frequently patches and upgrades Chrome. Last month, it added new features to avoid the Y2K-style bug that broke many sites years ago. Google Chrome is currently in its 98th iteration and will reach the 100th version milestone sooner or later. If history is any indication, that may cause some sites to not display properly.

Google cautions that when Chrome first jumped from single-digit to double-digit versions (versions 9 to 10), it wasn’t suitable for some older sites. For version 100, it is designed not to repeat the same mistakes.

The current v98 also comes with additional tweaks and improvements, such as support for COLRv1 color gradient vector fonts, as an additional new font format. In the v98 beta, the company also introduced Origin Trials, a feature that allows users to test new features and provide feedback to the web standards community on usability, usability, and effectiveness.

>>>>>>>>>>>>Google battery

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Windows 11 finally adds Android apps. Here’s how to download them

 Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 11, is finally starting to roll out one of its expected features, an Android app for PCs, according to a press release from Microsoft. The Amazon Appstore in the Microsoft Store, where you can download Android apps, will be available in preview in the United States.

Accessing Android apps for PC with Windows 11 has some hardware requirements, such as at least 8 GB of RAM, a solid-state drive, and a supported processor. Here’s how to see the preview:

1. Open the Microsoft Store (make sure it’s up to date by opening the store and clicking Get Updates > Library).

2. Search for your favorite app or game.

3. Download them through the Amazon Appstore.

With the Amazon Appstore preview, users can explore an additional 1,000 apps, including Audible and Kindle, as well as new categories of mobile apps and games in partnership with Intel, according to Microsoft.

“These apps feel like part of Windows, integrating naturally with Windows input and windowing experiences, such as Snap layouts,” Panos Panay, Microsoft’s chief product officer, said in a statement.

In addition to the Amazon Appstore preview, Microsoft is also rolling out improvements to the taskbar. The enhanced taskbar adds the ability to share windows from open apps, weather reports, the clock on a second monitor, and mute/unmute functionality, making video calls easier. Users can also explore the redesigned media player and Notepad versions.

Microsoft has been rolling out Windows 11 in stages, but support for Windows 10 will continue for several years. If you’re still using Windows 10, and you’re a Samsung Galaxy owner, you can use Android apps on your PC.

>>>>>>>>>Laptop battery

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Windows 10: The most common glitches and how to fix them

 I believe you are also facing the problem on your Windows 10 machine. Microsoft does release twice-monthly security patches and larger feature updates for the more than 1.3 billion devices running its software around the world, but there are still annoying issues. How should it be solved?

Below are instructions on how to fix common Windows 10 issues, let’s take a look!

Issues updating to the latest version of Windows 10

Microsoft’s major feature updates roll out twice a year and include changes like multi-camera support for Windows Hello and improvements to Windows Defender Application Guard. Typically, though, you should be notified when an update rolls out to your device. Or you can go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and click Check for Updates. If available, you’ll see feature updates for Windows 10, version 21H1. Click to download and install.

According to Microsoft, if you’re having issues or update errors, you can try the following:

1. Make sure your device is connected to the internet (you need an internet connection to update).

2. Try to install the update manually following the instructions above.

3. Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter: Select Start > Settings > Update & Security > Troubleshoot. Under Get up and running, select Windows Update.

Insufficient storage space to complete update

Windows 10 updates can require a lot of drive space. If you encounter errors due to insufficient drive space, Microsoft recommends that you do the following:

1. Save your unwanted files on an external hard drive or thumb drive on your desktop, or in a cloud account like Google Drive or OneDrive.

2. Consider turning on the Storage Sense feature, Windows will automatically free up space by deleting unneeded files whenever disk space is low or every so often. To turn on Storage Sense, go to Start > Settings > System > Storage, open Storage Settings and turn on Storage Sense. Choose to configure, or run it now.

If your device doesn’t have Storage Sense, you can use Disk Cleanup to delete temporary and system files. In the taskbar search box, type disk cleanup and select it from the results. Check the boxes next to the file types you want to delete – Downloaded program files, temporary internet files, and thumbnails are selected by default.

The mouse cursor starts to move on its own

Sometimes your Windows 10 laptop or desktop cursor starts moving on its own, interfering with your work or browsing. Here are a few potential ways Microsoft can fix it.

Method 1: Run the hardware troubleshooter. Press Windows + X and select Control Panel. Go to Troubleshoot and click View All Items on the left panel. Select Hardware and Devices troubleshooter and follow the instructions.

Method two: Update mouse and other pointing device drivers. Press Windows + R, type devmgmt.msc and press Enter. Expand Mouse and other pointing device drivers. Right-click the mouse driver and click Update.

Uncontrollable scrolling…and scrolling…

Even if you don’t move your mouse, your device scrolls all the way to the bottom of every menu and page. There are a few different ways to solve this problem. First, try unplugging the mouse or turning off its Bluetooth connection, then plugging it back in.

You can also see if it’s a browser issue. For example, in Chrome, you can try going to Preferences > Advanced > Accessibility and opening Navigate pages with text cursor.

You may also need to update your mouse or touchpad drivers. Go to Device Manager and see if there are any warnings next to the mouse name. If so, you will be able to fix them there.

Another potential workaround: try creating a new local user. This often appears on message boards as a solution to many problems. You don’t have to move all your projects to the new account, but the act of creating a new user, logging into that account, and logging back into your account seems to help. To create a new user, go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users. Click Add someone else to this PC, and then click the “I don’t have this person’s sign-in information” link. Click Add a user without a Microsoft account and enter a new username.

Cortana stopped working

Start by going to Start > Cortana > Settings, then turn it off and back on. Then, check your microphone under Settings > Sound – if you’re not using your default computer, it’s probably disconnected. You can also try restarting your device and checking for updates that may have fixed the problem.

>>>>>>>>>Laptop battery

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Apple updates AirTags with new privacy warnings, smarter Find My Tracks

 Apple is adding new privacy warnings, audible alerts and tracking codes to its AirTags sensors, the latest in a series of efforts to improve the security and privacy of devices and its Find My network.

The software update will display new warnings to people who set up AirTags, reminding them that using the technology to track people without their consent is a crime in many parts of the world. It also noted that Apple built AirTags so that law enforcement could request identifying information about the owner.

“We design our products to provide a great experience while also keeping security and privacy in mind,” Apple said in a statement announcing the changes. “We are committed to listening to feedback and innovating to make improvements that continue to prevent unnecessary tracking.”

Apple‘s tweaks to its AirTags and Find My technology mark its latest attempt to strengthen device privacy and security. Apple is positioning the half-dollar-sized device as an easy way to find lost keys, school bags and other items using Apple’s Find My web technology. Apple also touted the security of AirTags, saying each device uses frequently-changing identification codes and encrypted communications to deter hackers and accidental tracking.

However, privacy and victim rights advocates are concerned that AirTags could and are being abused despite Apple’s best efforts. Critics point out that because Apple’s Find My network has more than 1 billion active iPhones and other devices that quietly share the location of any AirTags or other Find My devices nearby, it may have more coverage than any other device tracking service. be big.

Apple updated its AirTags with new software designed to deter abuse by changing the amount of time the AirTags alert non-owners of their existence. Apple has cut that time from the originally designed three days to between 8 and 24 hours. In December, the company took it a step further, releasing a free Tracker Detect app for Android phones that allows people to actively scan for nearby Find My devices that have been separated from their owners for at least 10 minutes.

With an upcoming software update, Apple says it will also be easier to find unwanted AirTags using its Pinpoint Find technology, which displays a compass-like arrow on your phone’s screen when you search for a device. More “loudest tones” will make devices easier to spot.

The company also addressed the “unknown attachment” warning that sometimes appeared on people’s phones. Apple said it found that AirPods were sometimes responsible for those warnings and would now identify themselves as AirPods rather than an “unknown accessory” to help better identify what might be nearby.

To help people learn more about the privacy of AirTags, both on their own and when they discover unwanted AirTags, Apple has updated its online support documentation to help people control location settings on their phones and understand what they may receive Different types of alerts from AirTag or other Find My Device.

>>>>>>>>>Apple battery

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Apple: Do AirPods work with Android?

 Apple’s AirPods line of true wireless earbuds and headphones is one of the most popular. This means that using AirPods with your iPhone, iPad or Mac is easy; but what if you want to use Apple headphones or earphones with your Android phone? Well, you’ll be happy to know it’s possible — but be warned, you might miss out on some AirPods features, like support for spatial audio and super-fast pairing.

Fortunately, there are some workarounds you can take advantage of, including apps that restore some AirPods features that Android users typically don’t have access to. Here’s everything you need to know about using AirPods with Android.

How to connect AirPods to an Android phone

If you’re using AirPods with your Android phone for the first time, you might be wondering how to pair earbuds or headphones with your device.

AirPods 2019, AirPods 3 and AirPods Pro

First, open your AirPods’ charging case, then open the Bluetooth settings on your Android phone by going to Settings > Connected Devices > Bluetooth. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on. Now press and hold the pairing button on the back of the AirPods case – the LED on the front of the case should flash white. Find your AirPods in the list of Bluetooth accessories and tap Pair. Your AirPods should now be connected to your Android phone.

AirPods Max

The pairing process for AirPods Max is exactly the same as for true wireless AirPods, except you need to press and hold the noise control button on the earphones instead of the pairing button on other AirPods charging cases. This button is on the top of the right earcup, on the side of the headband opposite the Digital Crown. The status light on the bottom of the earcups should flash white, and once the AirPods Max appears in the Bluetooth device list on your Android device, press Pair.

Which AirPods features don’t work with Android?

simple setup

Pairing AirPods with your Mac requires you to go into system settings and manually select AirPods. There’s no workaround to make pairing faster on Android devices – but luckily the process is pretty quick anyway.

Siri

Android devices don’t come with Apple’s voice assistant, so don’t expect to be able to summon Siri with your voice while wearing AirPods. However, you can download an app for free called Assistant Trigger, which lets you squeeze the lever on your AirPods to summon Google Assistant.

Check the battery

When you pair your AirPods with your iPhone, you’ll see an animation showing the battery status of the earbuds or headphones. While this won’t happen on Android, the aforementioned Assistant Trigger app can also display remaining playback time.

auto switch

You can automatically switch your AirPods between different iOS devices – so if you’re listening on your iPhone, all you have to do is start playing music on your iPad to switch to your tablet.

custom control

On iOS devices, you can change the function of double-tapping the AirPods’ touch case—for example, you can set it to skip music to the next track. This is not possible on Android devices.

dialogue enhancement

AirPods Pro can help you hear face-to-face conversations by boosting volume using computational audio and beamforming microphones. Android users won’t be able to use this feature because you need the latest version of iOS or iPadOS to use it.

>>>>>>>>>Apple battery

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How to use Microsoft Office on a Chromebook

 I’m sure there’s still one thing you can’t use on Chromebooks: installing Windows or Mac software directly on them. That’s a big hurdle for people considering switching from a traditional Windows laptop or MacBook to a Chromebook. Especially if you want or need to use Microsoft Office, as the desktop version cannot be installed on Chromebooks.

Also, while Chromebooks have access to the Google Play Store and can run millions of Android apps, Chromebooks no longer support Android versions of Microsoft Office, Outlook, OneNote, and OneDrive. However, when Chromebooks stopped supporting Android apps, another option—and, in my opinion, a better one—replaced them. You can find Microsoft Office 365 PWAs including Outlook and OneDrive that work well on Chromebooks. Find and install them here so you can still use Office on your Chromebook.

Sign in to Office 365

Open a Chrome browser and go to Office.com, the landing page for Microsoft Office 365 Online. You can use any personal email you want for your account, and setting it up is a simple process: enter your email, set a password, verify your email, and prove you’re not a robot.

Install Office 365 PWAs

After you sign in to Office 365 in Chrome, the installation icon will appear in the upper right corner of the address bar. It looks like a computer monitor with a down arrow. Click on it and it will pop up a prompt to install Office 365. Also, if you only want one application, like Word or Outlook, the same installation options will appear in the address bar when you point your browser to a specific application. Installation is quick and takes only a few moments; a window opens that looks exactly like the online version of Office 365. It’s essentially a browser window, but with the functionality of the Microsoft Office mobile app.

ready to work

Because PWAs behave like installed software, you can do things like pin them to the taskbar, get notifications, work offline, and easily resize. The rest of the experience is the same as using the web version. Now, if you’re missing the look, feel, and tools of desktop software after using PWAs, you still can’t install them directly on your Chromebook. However, you have other options for running Windows software on your Chromebook.

>>>>>>>>Laptop battery

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How to install MacOS apps that Apple doesn’t want you to install

 We all know that Apple takes privacy and protection very seriously, and that always includes keeping malware and viruses out of MacOS desktops and laptops. Installing apps from Apple’s own Mac App Store is one way to minimize risk, but not everything you might want is available there. It’s also easy to install software downloaded directly from one of Apple’s “identified” developers (as its term is called), though there’s also a settings menu to turn the feature off and on.

But you may come across an app that Apple doesn’t think is from an identified developer, and you want to install on your Mac. This is where it gets tricky. MacOS comes with a feature called Gatekeeper. It helps protect your Mac from applications that can adversely affect system stability. Gatekeeper verifies downloaded applications before allowing them to run. By default, if you try to install an application that Gatekeeper does not recognize, it will not install.

Before MacOS Monterrey, there used to be an option in settings that would let you bypass Gatekeeper and install unrecognized apps. In addition to allowing apps from the App Store and Identified Developers, the third option is Anywhere, which is exactly what it means. But since MacOS Monterrey, the Anywhere option is gone. You can still do this, but it requires a few unobvious extra steps. Let’s take a look below!

Start by opening System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. Click the lock icon at the bottom left of the page (it reads: “Click the lock to make changes”). You must enter your system password. If not already checked, check the boxes that say App Store and identify the developer.

Now, if you install a downloaded application (usually a .dmg file) and get a message: “[This program] cannot be opened because the developer could not be verified”, this is what you do. Go back to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. You will now see a new option on the page asking if you want to open the app anyway. Click that and you should be good to go. It is worth noting that please be careful to install any unverified software on your computer!

>>>>>>>>>Apple battery

Thanks for reading, hope it helps!

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Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra is missing something important?

 Samsung’s new Galaxy S22 Ultra features a number of tweaks to its predecessor, most notably the addition of the S-Pen stylus from the now-discontinued Galaxy Note line. While the Ultra versions of the flagship Galaxy S series have been focused on bringing cutting-edge camera tech to the table, the S22 Ultra doesn’t seem to have any major camera upgrades.

Key camera specs for the S22 Ultra include a 108-megapixel primary sensor, along with 10x optical zoom and support for 8K video. They’re also the same as we had on the S20 Ultra from the previous year. Rumors of the S22 Ultra hint at a 200-megapixel sensor for better magnification quality, as well as an innovative continuous zoom lens instead of switching between fixed zoom lenses. So where are they?

The S22 Ultra and S21 Ultra have the same image sensor size and the same lens aperture—both of which can take sharper, brighter photos, along with improved dynamic range and better low-light images. Instead, the promised Night Mode improvements appear to be coming entirely on the software side through “upgraded AI algorithms” and pixel binning, which combines nine pixels into one larger pixel to better capture light. Sure, this might make night shots look a little sharper, but it’s not a feature that’s going to make the hearts of Instagrammers and other mobile enthusiasts.

Other new camera upgrades are said to include better portrait mode AI and the ability to automatically zoom in and out on video to keep all your friends in the scene. Again, this is not a revolution in mobile photography.

Then there’s the computationally primitive multi-cloud problem. Apple introduced the ProRaw feature on the iPhone 12 Pro, which enables the phone to combine multiple exposures into a single DNG raw file. This gives you the better dynamic range you get from the merged image, but with the editing flexibility of DNG raw files.

Confusingly, this raw shot is only available when using the dedicated Expert Raw app, which you have to download separately from the Samsung Galaxy Store. On the iPhone, you can simply tap the button that says “raw” in the main camera to open ProRaw, making it easy to improve image quality when taking quick shots.

All of this means that, on paper at least, the S22 Ultra’s camera setup seems disappointingly similar to the phone’s last two generations. The biggest upgrades come on the cheaper end, with the base S22 and S22 Plus getting more camera boosts than their predecessors. But the Ultra is a flagship, so it needs to push the boundaries further and give people reason to be excited compared to the competition.

With both Apple and Google struggling to push the incredible images on the iPhone 13 Pro and Pixel 6 Pro, Samsung needs to step up its offerings this time around. Instead, its tired camera specs make it hard to get excited about this phone, or see it as an upgrade over previous generations.

>>>>>>>>>>>Samsung battery

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4 Windows 11 tips and tricks to help you maximize your computer’s battery life

 If you’ve ever left your computer charger aside, you know the sense of hopelessness that sweeps you over when you watch its battery drain. If you’re watching a movie or even using an application that requires a lot of processing power, your battery probably won’t last long. But it’s even worse if your computer’s battery runs out while you’re working and haven’t had a chance to save. There are many reasons why your battery might drain quickly, but if you’re using Windows 11, Microsoft’s new operating system has several settings you can configure to help prolong battery life.

Here are some tips and tricks to help extend the battery life of your Windows 11 computer. Let’s take a look below!

Prevent apps from refreshing in the background

Apps on your computer run in the background and continue to work even when you’re not actively using them. However, you don’t always need to refresh apps, especially when the battery is low, which is why you can stop them from doing so:

1. Open the Settings app and go to System.

2. Click Power & Battery.

3. Click on now under battery (you must unplug it).

When enabled, certain notifications and background activities will be suspended to help preserve battery life.

There are also some settings you can use to improve battery saver: you can change the battery percentage when battery saver is enabled, and reduce screen brightness when battery saver is in use.

Decrease the refresh rate of the monitor

The refresh rate is how often the image on the screen is refreshed per second: the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the action on the screen. For example, if you’re playing a video game, you want the highest possible refresh rate. Unfortunately for your battery, a higher refresh rate also means more power. If you don’t need a high refresh rate, you can lower it to help save battery:

1. Open the Settings app and click System.

2. Next, go to Display, then Advanced Display.

3. Finally, change the number displayed next to “Choose a refresh rate.”

Depending on your laptop or desktop, you may see different default refresh rate numbers. If you only have one refresh rate option, unfortunately you can’t lower it.

Also, it’s important to note that if you lower the refresh rate, it will affect your computer’s performance. In some cases, this can make it more difficult to perform routine tasks.

Use a dark background or theme

If your Windows 11 computer has an OLED display, it can take advantage of dark backgrounds or themes to help extend battery life. Unlike older LCD/LED displays, each pixel on an OLED display emits light individually, which means if the background is black, those pixels won’t light up and use battery.

1. Open the Settings app and click Personalize.

2. At the top of the page, select a dark theme.

There are some dark themes to choose from. Each of them will dim your background and all the windows and certain apps you can use in Windows 11. If you already have a personalized dark background, you can go to Settings > Personalization > Colors > choose your mode and choose Dark from the options that appear.

Decrease lock screen timeout

The longer the screen is on, the more energy it uses, which is why you might want to quickly turn it off when you’re away from your computer, whether it’s a few minutes or an hour. The operation is as follows:

1. Open Settings and go to System.

2. Next, click Power & Battery.

Below Power, you’ll find settings for turning off the display after a certain amount of inactivity. You can change the minutes from whatever default you have to a lower number such as 1 or 2 minutes. However, you should only change the battery power settings for the times when you need to save battery the most.

>>>>>>>Laptop’s battery

Thanks for reading, hope it helps!

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