It'll be some time before we have a full picture of what the next version of Windows looks like, but that's not stopping Microsoft from rolling out a few updates to Windows 11 amid this year's Build developer conference. Today the company announced a list of feature updates for the operating system focusing on privacy, security and accessibility. Although most of the new tools are aimed at businesses and IT departments, there are some handy features average users may want to know about.

To start, Microsoft says that Bluetooth Low Energy Audio is coming to compatible devices, starting with the May 2023 non-security preview release. The company said its working with Intel and Samsung to bring the audio standard to the PC ecosystem for the first time, specifically calling out the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro as a potentially compatible set of earbuds.

Speaking of audio content, you'll be able to understand more of it than ever. Starting this week, live captions for Windows 11 will support 10 new languages, including simplified and traditional Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portugueses and Spanish.

Most of the update focuses on "new and improved features for businesses," but there's still one last item you might want to pay attention to: the glanceable VPN icon. This feature will be available in the quick settings menu, and enables a new shield icon that will hover over the active network connection in the taskbar to help users check to see if they're connected to a recognized VPN service.

Other new features hitting Windows soon include a larger widget page, a Windows 365 boot feature that automatically logs users into Cloud PCs, new privacy controls for managing presence sensor data, QR code verification for document printing, autopatch updates and new messaging tools for IT teams. You can check out the full rundown of the new features on the Microsoft Blog.

ChatGPT no longer needs to rely on its own models or plugins to provide information to users: Microsoft has announced Bing Search is integrating into ChatGPT to provide more relevant — and potentially newer — responses. Bing will act as the "default search experience," allowing ChatGPT to pull answers from the internet and provide citations.

Microsoft and OpenAI have worked together closely over the last few months, with Bing, itself, running on GPT-4 (with some tailoring for searches). Bing works by displaying responses in detailed or summary form and sources facts and suggestions with footnotes of sorts — features it can bring to ChatGPT to, possibly, provide more precise information. Previously, ChatGPT relied solely on individual plugins to access any recent information.

Other new Bing updates are plugin-centric, including a single platform for developers to create and submit them for ChatGPT, Bing, Microsoft 365 Copilot and more. Bing is adding a slew of companies to its in-chat plugin options, such as Expedia, Zillow and Klarna, for targeted communication on topics like travel and shopping. The common plugin platform is also being natively integrated into Microsoft Edge — where Bing is already built-in.

The exact timeline for each of these developments isn't entirely clear beyond Bing's immediate integration into ChatGPT for Plus subscribers. According to Microsoft, free ChatGPT accounts will be able to access Bing through a plugin "soon," and company plugin experiences will become available in the "coming weeks."

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly mixed its revenue with customer funds at a US bank in 2020 and 2021. A source said to have direct knowledge of company finances told Reuters that commingling happened almost daily in Binance accounts at Silvergate Bank and concerned sums that ran into the billions.

The news agency said it reviewed records showing that, in February 2021, Binance mixed $20 million from a corporate account with $15 million from one into which customer funds were placed. Reuters noted that it found no evidence of client funds being stolen or lost. Still, under US financial regulations, customer money must be kept separate from business revenue.

Binance has denied commingling customer funds and its revenue. “These accounts were not used to accept user deposits; they were used to facilitate user purchases” of cryptocurrencies, Binance spokesperson Brad Jaffe told Reuters. “There was no commingling at any time because these are 100 percent corporate funds.” Jaffe added that users weren't depositing funds when they sent money to the account, but instead were purchasing BUSD, a stablecoin issued by Binance and Paxos that's pegged to the US dollar.

However, in late 2020 and during 2021, Binance's website is said to have stated that customer dollar transfers were "deposits" that were credited to trading accounts in BUSD. The site also reportedly informed users that they'd be able to "withdraw" deposits in USD. Former US regulators suggested to Reuters that the language "created the expectation that clients’ funds would be safeguarded in the same way as traditional cash deposits."

Binance is already in hot water with US authorities. In March, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission accused the company of operating in the US illegally and said it had broken several financial laws. In its complaint (PDF), the CFTC said Binance had "commingled funds." The agency is seeking permanent trading and registration bans against the defendants, who include Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. In a blog post, Zhao claimed that Binance blocks US users on several bases, including nationality, IP address (including common VPN access points) and mobile carrier.

Earlier this month, reports suggested the Justice Department was investigating the company over potential violations of sanctions imposed on Russia. Binance also recently said it would exit Canada due to tighter cryptocurrency regulations.

If the prospect of a cryptocurrency exchange mixing customer and company funds sounds familiar, that's because it's one of the many crimes US authorities have accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of. Bankman-Fried has claimed he didn't knowingly commingle funds and has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. On Tuesday, it emerged that federal prosecutors have accumulated over 6 million pages of evidence (including emails and Slack messages) as part of their criminal case against Bankman-Fried. 

FTX’s collapse late last year was triggered by a bank run on the company that Binance initiated. Binance planned to snap up FTX but pulled out of the deal after taking a look at the latter’s books.

Apple's long-expected switch to internally developed 5G modems is clearly moving forward. The iPhone maker has struck a "multibillion-dollar" deal that will have Broadcom develop components for 5G and other wireless connectivity. Some of the parts will be made in American facilities, including a key Broadcom manufacturing base in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The companies didn't say which products would use the 5G tech, but the arrangement isn't necessarily limited to the iPhone. Apple is believed to have started work on in-house 5G in 2020, a year after buying the majority of Intel's phone modem business. The company hasn't been shy about its plans, as it has recruited 5G developers and set up shop in Qualcomm's hometown of San Diego. It also established a wireless-focused office in Munich.

Rumors suggest Apple's 5G modems will first reach shipping products in late 2024 or early 2025. Neither Apple nor Broadcom has confirmed this, but Qualcomm told CNBC in March it assumes it won't provide iPhone modems in 2024.

This could be a significant blow to Qualcomm. While the company has diversified its chipmaking with in-car tech and low-power hardware, it's still heavily dependent on cellular modem sales and counts Apple as one of its largest customers. It will have to lean more on Android phone makers to bolster its bottom line. Qualcomm chips for Windows PCs have struggled to compete against x86-based equivalents.

Apple's anticipated move isn't surprising. The company has long tried to reduce its dependency on third parties, most notably switching to its own CPUs starting with the A4-based iPad in 2010. While Apple may need Broadcom's help, it won't be closely tied to Qualcomm's hardware release schedule — and might not risk expensive patent disputes, either. In theory, Apple could claim a technological edge by building 5G modems uniquely optimized for its devices.

After Google I/O and ahead of WWDC, it's Microsoft's turn to step up to the plate and host a developer conference. We'll learn a lot about where the company plans to go in the coming months, with the keynotes covering many of the major updates. The first keynote starts at noon ET today.

It won't be a surprise to anyone who's paid attentionto Microsoftthis year that AI is the focus of Build 2023. Today's keynotes will take place across three back-to-back sessions: "Microsoft Build opening," "The era of the AI Copilot" and "Next-generation AI for developers with the Microsoft Cloud." 

In the first 25-minute session, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will discuss some of the ways in which the company "is creating new opportunities for developers across our platforms in this new AI era." The second session will feature Open AI president and co-founder Greg Brockman. You can watch today's keynotes right here:

Microsoft has lined up another keynote for Wednesday, titled "Shaping the future of work with AI." Again, the keynote will start at noon Eastern Time. Microsoft executive vice president and chief product officer Panos Panay will take the stage along with Rajesh Jha, executive vice president of experiences and devices. They'll discuss "how developers can shape the future of work with Microsoft 365 Copilot and unlock a new era of AI and productivity with Windows 11." You'll be able to check out that keynote below:

It’s hard to believe, but iconic synth manufacturer Moog is turning 70. Synthesizers didn’t become mainstays in popular music until the 1970s, but Bob Moog started manufacturing and selling theremins in 1953, with actual synths following in 1963. To celebrate the anniversary, the company launched a web app filled with interactive experiences for music historians and casual fans alike.

The app places a distinct focus on the company’s iconic Model D synthesizer, which was first released in 1970 and recently reissued for $5,000. To that end, there’s a jukebox with nearly 50 of the most influential songs that feature the synthesizer, including disco, reggae, hip-hop, pop and more. The theater page goes a step further by showing a full range of videos of the 50-year-old synth in action, with both live stage performances and in-studio sessions. The archives section is for true historians, with interactive information chronicling the entire history of the Model D and the people who designed it.

History is nice and all, but synthesizers are made to be played. The app’s practice room let you do just that, choosing from famous leads, bass sounds and percussion sounds via a faithful digital recreation of the Model D. You can fool around with sounds, sure, but the app even lets you save and share original recordings using riffs from famous songs as a starting point. These creations can only be around a minute long. For the ultimate digital Model D experience, there’s a $30 app for iOS devices, though it sometimes goes on sale.

Finally, the app includes a couple of quirky little add-ons. You can print out a PDF for making your own Minimoog decoration, so long as you have enough tape. The Instagram filter, codenamed Face Synth, quite literally turns your face into a musical instrument. Use facial expressions and body movement to trigger the Model D’s control parameters. The web app’s available today, so have at it.

Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized Twitter alternative, isn’t even out of beta yet but it’s already drawing the attention of more mainstream platforms. Now, Flipboard is adding Bluesky to its news reading app so users can browse their feeds alongside the app’s curated magazines.

The update is part of a broader effort by the company to embrace the growing crop of decentralized social media platforms in the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter. The company released a similar integration with Mastodon earlier this year, and will soon add PixelFed, an open source Instagram alternative, to its app as well.

At a basic level, the changes make Flipboard an increasingly useful utility for people who want to keep up with the happenings on decentralized platforms like Mastodon and Bluesky. Flipboard, which has long been praised for its design, could also serve as a more intuitive way to browse newer services that are sometimes criticized for being confusing to newcomers. It could also help increase the visibility of posts on Bluesky, which is still limiting new sign-ups, as users can “flip” content from their Bluesky feeds into Flipboard magazines.

But for Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, embracing these upstart social platforms — sometimes collectively referred to as the Fediverse — is also a more fundamental shift. McCue, an early Twitter advisor and board member, has become disillusioned with the company he once advised. He now believes that decentralized platforms, and the protocols that power them, will define the future of social media just as closed platforms like Twitter and Facebook did more than a decade ago.

“I was one of the early people helping to build the business model, and was a big believer in Twitter, and I think it's very sad,” McCue says of the current state of the Musk-owned company. “On the other hand, I think that this kind of change is extremely positive for the industry.”

Among Silicon Valley insiders, McCue may be one of the most vocal advocates for this vision. But Flipboard isn’t the only legacy social app paying attention to the rise of decentralized platforms. Tumblr has said it plans to adopt ActivityPub, the protocol that powers Mastodon, PixelFed and other federated platforms. Meta, known for watching potential rivals closely, is also working on a decentralized Twitter alternative that will tie into Instagram. The effort, reportedly codenamed P92, is rumored to run on ActivityPub. Meanwhile Bluesky is building out its own protocol, the AT Protocol, which could eventually power multiple other services as well.

All of these efforts are still in a very early stage, but it could be the start of something much bigger. “This is a really important moment when the death of Twitter is going to lead to the birth of the social web,” McCue says.

The UK ordered Meta to sell Giphy at the end of 2021, and now the social media heavyweight is following through. Stock photo provider Shutterstock has reached a deal to buy Giphy from Meta for $53 million. Notably, this won't break compatibility — Meta is entering a programming interface agreement that ensures Giphy's GIFs work properly across services like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The sale is expected to close in June. Shutterstock says the purchase will boost its stake in "casual conversations" by adding GIFs and stickers to its catalog, not to mention Giphy partners like Microsoft, TikTok and Twitter. The buyout will also help foster Shutterstock's generative AI strategy, particularly in mobile, and should help the company reach more advertisers.

Meta (then Facebook) bought Giphy in 2020 to fold its GIF library into platforms like Instagram. The deal was reportedly worth $400 million. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) soon launched an investigation to determine if the acquisition would hurt competition, though, and fined Meta $69.6 million for continuing with merger plans without the regulator's approval. A year later, the CMA told Meta to sell Giphy after finding that the takeover would unfairly cement Meta's market dominance.

We've asked Meta for comment. The firm fought the CMA, arguing that Giphy neither operated in the UK nor counted as display advertising that justified a split. Meta also contended that Giphy and users alike were better off with its resources at their disposal.

The swap shouldn't change things much if you use Meta's social networks. This may affect Shutterstock's customers, though. Chief executive Paul Hennessy hopes Giphy will help commercialize Shutterstock's GIF collection — don't be surprised if animated images play a prominent role in Shutterstock's offerings.

While the performance of its gaming chips often steals most of the attention, AMD's processors have made some serious jumps in power efficiency over the past few years. And as part of the company's goal to bring even better battery life to mobile devices, today AMD is announcing a handful of new 6nm Ryzen and Athlon 7020 C-series APUs for Chromebooks. 

The two fastest new chips will be the Ryzen 3 7320C and Ryzen 5 7520C which both feature four cores and total of eight threads with 6MB of cache, a 15-watt TDP and Radeon 610M graphics. Meanwhile, the new Athlon Gold 7220C and Athlon Silver 7120C will sport slightly slower performance with either 2-core/4-thread or 2-core/2-thread chips with up to 5MB of cache and the same 15-watt TDP and Radon 610M graphics.  

AMD

On the Ryzen 3 7320C, AMD is promising up to 1.8 times faster performance compared to rival ARM-based chips or around 15 percent better performance versus similar x86-based silicon from Intel. More importantly, the new C-series processors should also deliver a significant boost in longevity with AMD claiming upwards of 17 hours of battery life for the Ryzen 3 7320C chip, which is about three and a half hours longer than what you'd get from either MediaTek's Kompanio 1380 or Intel's Core i3-N305.

In addition to extended battery life and improved performance, AMD's new Chromebook chips come with support for Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2 and faster memory bandwidth for LPDDR5 RAM. And thanks to AMD's Radeon 610M graphics, devices based on these chips should also be capable of sending video out to three 4K/60Hz external displays. 

AMD

But perhaps the best news is that for anyone who might be shopping for a new Chromebook in the not-too-distant future, systems featuring AMD's latest 7020 C-series processors should be available soon. Dell and ASUS already have plans to release new Chromebooks sometime in Q2, with Dell's Latitude 3445 Chromebook sporting a standard clamshell design, a range of new C-series silicon and up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Alternatively, ASUS' Chromebook CM34 Flip will be a 2-in-1 with a 360-degree hinge, a 16:10 14-inch touchscreen, a built-in fingerprint sensor and up to a Ryzen 5 7520C processor, and later this year we're expecting to see even more systems with these chips from Acer and ECS. 

To say that I loved NVIDIA's RTX 3060 Ti is an understatement. It was the ideal balance of price and performance — something that became even more true when GPU prices fell back down to Earth. With NVIDIA's RTX 40-series cards skyrocketing to pricey new heights, I began to worry that the company was drifting away from affordable GPUs. Well, worry not. The $399 RTX 4060 Ti proves that NVIDIA can still deliver plenty of value under $500.

To be clear, it's not the dramatic leap forward that the 3060 Ti was (and if you have one of those cards, just sit tight for now!). But if you're still running an RTX 2060 GPU, or something older, the 4060 will be a worthwhile upgrade. It excels at gaming in 1080p with ray tracing at high framerates, and it can also handle 1,440p decently in less demanding games.

We reviewed the 8GB 4060 Ti, but there's also a model with 16GB of VRAM coming in July for $499. And if you're looking for the cheapest option, there's also a $299 plain 4060 on the horizon too. Judging from the current Steam stats, I'd wager that card will end up being the most popular. But the $399 model may make sense if you want to future-proof a bit, even if you don't plan to move beyond 1080p gaming.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The Founder's Edition 4060 Ti we're reviewing has the same basic cooling setup as the rest of the 40-series: A premium metal case surrounding a bevy of heatsink fins, along with dual rear fans. The GPU is noticeably lighter than the RTX 4070, and its dual-slot design makes it ideal for small-form factor systems. Under the hood, the 8GB 4060 Ti is powered by 4,352 CUDA cores, and it can reach up to 2,535 MHz boost clock (up from a 2,310 MHz base clock). One major upgrade is its 32MB of L2 cache, a huge step forward from 4MB on the previous two generations of '60 cards.

I knew the RTX 4060 Ti was a winner as soon as I started benchmarking Cyberpunk 2077. It averaged 86.4 fps in 1080p with ultra ray tracing settings and DLSS 3 enabled. That's smooth enough to look great on any monitor, especially if it supports NVIDIA's G-SYNC frame synchronization, which would help to reduce screen tearing. Without ray tracing, Cyberpunk hit an impressive 158 fps. (I'd rather take the ray tracing over those extra frames for a single-player game, though.)

In 1,440p, Cyberpunk hit a steady 60fps with ultra ray tracing settings and DLSS 3. That would still look great on most screens if you're not chasing the dream of high frame rates. The 4060 Ti clearly isn't meant to be a 1,440p card with ray tracing, but it's capable in a pinch.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

I saw similar results in Halo Infinite: The 4060 Ti averaged 148 fps in 1080p with maxed out graphics settings, and a serviceable 83 fps in 1,440p. If you think you'll be spending more time in 1,440p, you may want to consider going straight to the $599 RTX 4070. (While the extra RAM on the 16GB 4060 Ti sounds nice, I wouldn't bet on that making a dramatic difference in 1,440p.) Thanks to its excellent cooling setup, the GPU never went beyond 65 Celsius after extensive benchmarking. 

In most tests, the 4060 Ti performed slightly better than the two and a half-year old RTX 3070. That card retailed for $499, but its street price was far higher long after its debut. The 4060 Ti makes a more impressive performance leap when compared to the 3060 Ti, but again it's not big enough to demand an immediate upgrade.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

For the most part, the RTX 4060 Ti seems like a reward to gamers who stuck with their older GPUs for years. It'll be a welcome introduction to the world of ray tracing for GTX 1060 owners. And for people upgrading from the RTX 2060, the performance leap with DLSS 3 will be dramatic. If you're on the fence, though, it may be worth waiting to see how the rest of AMD's Radeon RX 7000 family looks. Recent rumors point to more of those Radeon cards appearing next month.

While I'm more excited to see what NVIDIA can eke out from its $299 RTX 4060, the 4060 Ti remains a solid ray tracing performer that many gamers can actually afford.