Apple Music and Apple TV apps have quietly arrived as preview versions on Microsoft Windows 11, according to a tweet from @ALumia_Italia seen by Thurrott. It's now possible to download the apps from the Microsoft Store, along with another preview app called Apple Devices that lets you "manage Apple devices from your Windows PC," according to the description.
At its 2022 Surface event, Microsoft announced that the apps would be coming to Windows 11 this year, so the news isn't a huge surprise. Apple's standalone Windows media apps have been a long time coming — it was recruiting engineers to build them as far back as 2019. Those apps replaced iTunes on Mac, and the aim is to eventually replace them on Windows as well.
Apple TV Preview, Apple Devices Preview and Apple Music Preview (for Windows) coming soon to the Microsoft Store pic.twitter.com/wcNYJlMdKK
All the apps appear to require Windows 11 Build 22621 or higher, but they seem to function well, according to 9to5Mac. Apple TV works much like the app on Xbox or Smart TVs, giving access to Apple TV+ and Apple TV Channels, along with movies and TV shows from the iTunes Store. Apple Music is missing the lyrics feature, but is otherwise the same as the macOS version.
As for Apple Devices, it also replaces iTunes for sync and backup. It'll allow you to back up Apple devices, sync local media and restore firmware without the need for iTunes.
When launching them for the first time, you'll be warned that iTunes for Windows will stop working (you need to uninstall the apps to continue using iTunes). That's not necessarily a bad thing, as iTunes for Windows doesn't exactly offer a terrific user experience.
Google has broken out some Android accessibility features into a separate app. Switch Access has graduated from the Android Accessibility Suite and it's now available through the Play Store. Offering Switch Access features via a separate app could allow Google to roll out more frequent updates instead of having to do so at the OS level.
The move could also let Google offer Switch Access features on older devices too. The app is available on 2017's Android 8 (aka Android Oreo) and later.
Switch Access enables users to operate their phone or tablet using means other than the touchscreen, as Android Policenotes. They can use the front-facing camera to control the phone with face gestures or external devices such as a keyboard or buttons connected via USB or Bluetooth. The on-board volume buttons can be used to control other aspects of your phone too.
Users can set up one or more switches (i.e. the front-facing camera and/or other devices) through the app. They'll be able to define how the app scans their screen for actions they're able to carry out. The app can move between all items one at a time, scan a single row at a time or select a location on the screen using moving lines.
Switch Access can also assign groups of actions to different switches. Press the corresponding switch for the color around the action you want to access, then keep narrowing things down until you get to the correct element. As 9To5 Google points out, once you select an item, several interaction options will be available, such as select, scroll, copy and paste. A menu at the top of the screen provides access to system-wide settings, notifications, the home screen and a way to record shortcuts for frequent and more complex actions.
Twitter has started to roll out a big change on iOS by replacing the "sparkle" button that switches between the algorithmic and reverse chronological feeds. Now, you swipe between two tabs called "For You" and "Following," to change your timeline, and you'll always see the For You tab first when you open the app.
The company more or less stole the For You name from TikTok, rather than using the Home moniker it had before. As with Home (and TikTok), it shows tweets from accounts you follow out of order, along with algorithmically-selected tweets from others you may like.
Engadget
In fact, Twitter introduced a very similar feature earlier this year, letting you swipe between "Home" and "Latest Tweets" to switch timelines. However, it abandoned the idea days later after a chorus of complaints from users who didn't like the fact that Home was basically foisted on them.
The company seems set on implementing it again anyway with a different name, and it may generate the same gripes, judging by the replies to Twitter Support. On the web or current Android app, selecting the chronological feed is a permanent choice, and stays even if you close the app. With the new iOS version, however, For You always appears when you close and reopen the app, so you'll have to switch your timeline to Following every single time.
Elon Musk promised to make this change late last year, tweeting that "main timeline should allow for an easy sideways swipe between the top, latest, trending and topics that you follow." With two of those now implemented, we could see further changes down the road .
Parler parent company Parlement Technologies has cut the “majority” of its staff in recent weeks, according to a new report. The Verge reports that the company has slashed close to 75 percent of staff, including several executives, in recent weeks with “approximately 20” workers remaining between both entities at the end of 2022.
Parler didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the layoffs or how many staffers remain. The layoffs seem to roughly coincide with other difficulties for the “free speech” social media app. Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, had struck a deal to buy the service for an undisclosed amount in October. In December, Parlement Technologies announced the deal was off, with a Parler rep claiming the decision had been made in mid-November due to Ye’s “ongoing business difficulties.” Layoffs began shortly after, at the end of November, The Verge now reports.
Parler was originally launched in 2018, but rose to prominence in 2020 as several high profile Republicans announced they were leaving Twitter in favor of Parler. The app billed itself as a “free speech” social network that eschewed the “censorship” of mainstream social media platforms like Twitter. It gained popularity as a free-wheeling alternative that had few rules or moderation policies.
That changed after January 6th 2021, when Amazon, Apple and Google all cut off the app from their services over the company’s inability to address violent threats on the platform. The app eventually made its way back to Apple and Google’s app stores after implementing substantial changes to its content moderation practices.
Citizen, the provocative crime-reporting app formerly known as Vigilante, is in the news again for all the wrong reasons. On Thursday evening, it doxxed singer Billie Eilish, publishing her address to thousands of people after an alleged burglary at her home.
Shortly after the break-in, the app notified users of a break-in in Los Angeles’ Highland Park neighborhood — including the home’s address. As reported by Vice, Citizen’s message was updated at 9:41 PM to state that the house belonged to Eilish. According to Citizen’s metrics, the alert was sent to 178,000 people and viewed by nearly 78,000. On Friday morning, Citizen updated the app’s description of the incident, replacing the precise address with a nearby cross-street.
Although celebrity home addresses are often publicly available (usually on seedy websites specializing in such invasive nonsense), a popular app pushing the home address of one of pop music’s biggest stars to thousands of users is... new. Unfortunately, it’s also just the latest potentially destructive move from Citizen.
When Citizen launched as Vigilante in 2016, Apple quickly pulled the title from the App Store based on concerns about its encouraging users to thrust themselves into dangerous situations. So it rebranded as Citizen with a new focus on safety, and Apple re-opened its gates. The app began advising users to avoid incidents in progress while providing tools to help those caught in a dangerous situation. Although that sounds reasonable, at least one episode reveals an overzealousness company prioritizing attention and profit over social responsibility.
Citizen
In May 2021, CEO Andrew Frame ordered the launch of a live stream, encouraging the app’s users to hunt down a suspected wildfire arsonist (based on a tip from an LAPD sergeant and emails from residents questioned by police). He offered a $10,000 bounty for finding the suspect, which grew to $30,000 later in the evening. As the hunt continued, the CEO reportedly grew more frantic, with one of his internal Slack conversations encouraging the team to “get this guy before midnight” in an ecstatic, all-caps message.
A staffer was ignored in a Slack chat when they warned the team about breaking the app’s terms of service, which prohibit “posting of specific information that could identify parties involved in an incident.” When police announced that night that they had made an arrest, the team celebrated, believing their feverish hunt for notability had led to the capture. The only problem? Citizen had the wrong guy. In Frame’s apparent eagerness to legitimize his app’s purpose with a high-profile citizen arrest, he placed a public bounty on a wrongfully accused suspect.
Zoom announced human avatars today for its video meeting app. Like Apple’s Memoji or the humanoid cartoons Mark Zuckerberg wants us to use in the metaverse, the customizable virtual characters mirror your movements and facial expressions. The idea is to inject zaniness into less formal meetings, letting you be present without appearing on camera as your (flesh and blood) self.
The human avatars follow Zoom’s release of animal avatars earlier this year. The company suggests using avatars when you are eating, don’t want to use a static profile pic or feel like livening up the mundane. The feature is available to beta testers, which requires a paid account. Zoom adds that it will roll out new facial features, hairstyles and customization options as the beta progresses.
Zoom also announced templates as shortcuts for various meeting types. You can now create your own templates or choose from three out-of-the-box setups. These include large meetings (automated captions and automatically recorded content), seminars (tighter crowd-control settings with screen-sharing disabled) and K-12 (enabled polls and quizzes while limiting distracting features). You can learn how to create templates by following these instructions.
Zoom
The company is also soon adding threaded messages and reactions for in-meeting chats. Similar to what you’d see in Slack, Facebook Messenger or iMessage, message threads make it easier to figure out which message someone is replying to. Similarly, emoji reactions help clean up the chat and pair the response with the original message. Zoom says threads and emoji reactions will arrive later this month.
Finally, Zoom is adding Q&A in meetings. The idea is for meeting hosts to stay organized, confining group questions to one area of the app. The Q&A pop-out lets meeting hosts view, answer or dismiss queries. They can also choose whether participants can view all questions or only answered ones. However, hosts will need a premium plan to use the feature.
Apple's Find My app alerts iOS and Mac users when they've left an item behind or helps them locate something they've lost. Later this year, you'll be able to do just that with Ember's heated travel mug. A new version, dubbed the Travel Mug 2+, is on the way this spring. Inside, updated firmware enables the cup to show up inside Apple's app. The Travel Mug 2+ is also equipped with a speaker, so if you lose it you can make it play a sound like you would for lost AirPods. Like other products that work with Find My, the new mug will show up in the app on iPhone, iPad or Mac and you can also locate it via the Find Items app on Apple Watch.
Ember's current model, the Travel Mug 2, is available for $199.95 and keeps beverages hot for up to three hours with a 12-ounce capacity. It can also keep things warm all day if you keep it on the charging dock. A touch display allows you to adjust temperature right on the cup within a range of 120-145 degrees Fahrenheit. And like other Ember models, you can make that temp change inside the company's app. The company says that despite the added functionality, the Travel Mug 2+ won't cost more and it will eventually replace the Travel Mug 2.
Of all the new products HP is showing off at CES this year, arguably the most noteworthy is a pair of new Dragonfly laptops. Adapted from the enterprise-centric Elite Dragonfly series, the new Dragonfly Pro and Dragonfly Pro Chromebook are designed for consumers who are overwhelmed by specs. HP believes that for some people, having to choose from 30 different laptop configurations of RAM, storage and other options is a deterrent. For that reason, the Dragonfly Pro and Pro Chromebook come in preset configurations and you really only need to decide whether you want the Pro or the Chromebook (though for the Pro you can choose one of two preconfigured models).
Both notebooks have 14-inch screens, with the Chromebook for some reason featuring a higher resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. The Windows machine, meanwhile, runs at 1,920 x 1,200. Both systems are also fairly similar in size, measuring almost exactly the same, though the Chromebook is 0.2 pounds lighter.
Frankly, I was a little underwhelmed by the design of both new Dragonfly laptops. I’ve grown used to the sleek chassis, premium finishes and attractive design of the Elite Dragonfly series, and the consumer models are just a little less refined. Put it this way: If the Elite Dragonfly devices were Hermes bags, then the Dragonfly Pro and Pro Chromebook are Michael Kors purses. Still good-looking, but not quite as high-end.
The two machines are different in quirky ways. For example, the Chromebook has an 8-megapixel webcam and has an LCD that gets as bright as 1,200 nits, while the Windows version packs a 5MP IR camera with a shutter and only goes up to 400 nits. The Pro also has a haptic trackpad and a fingerprint scanner, as well as Gorilla Glass on its screen.
The Chromebook doesn’t have any of those, but it sports an RGB keyboard that offers customizable colors. Using HP’s software, I could pick any shade on a spectrum or use the rainbow template, which is the only way to get the keyboard to show more than one color simultaneously.
HP also collaborated with Google on the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook’s software to incorporate an element of the Material You UI from Android. Using the laptop’s specific software, you can pick one of a selection of wallpapers and have the system determine what the image’s dominant colors are. It will then generate some hues for you to set as the computer’s color scheme.
Sam Rutherford / Engadget
While the Pro Chromebook comes with a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, the Windows version exclusively uses AMD processors. In fact, HP worked with AMD on a custom Ryzen 7 chip for the Dragonfly Pro, using the chip maker’s adaptive platform management framework to balance power consumption and speed boosts when necessary.
Possibly the most interesting feature of the Dragonfly Pro lies on its keyboard. Specifically, HP added a column of four hot keys to the right, offering shortcuts to a new control center, 24/7 dedicated tech support, camera settings and a programmable button. The control center is a portal containing various different settings that used to exist in separate HP apps, while the company is launching a support concierge service just for Dragonfly owners to answer questions specific to the series. These are staffed by actual people who HP says will have been trained on the Dragonfly Pro machines.
The camera settings button pulls up HP’s as-yet-unnamed app that offers system-level controls over the feed that apps like Zoom, Meet or Teams receive. I was able to use the app to tweak the intensity of the background blur, compensate for low light or backlighting or keep a subject in frame. I was particularly impressed by the key framing tool that basically acts like a green screen to remove parts of the background. Since the software at the demo wasn’t final, I can’t vouch for its performance, and I didn’t use it on an actual call.
Finally, the programmable key can be set up to launch an app like Excel or Outlook, or go straight to a website on the default browser or open a file or folder. There’s no option to stack actions at the moment, so the usefulness of this button feels fairly limited. Still, it’s nice to have an option for frequently used programs.
Both the Dragonfly Pro and Pro Chromebook's batteries should last up to 16 hours depending on how you use them, and support fast charge to get you to 50 percent in 30 minutes. The Dragonfly Pro and Pro Chromebook will be available this spring, and don't supplant the company's existing flagship Spectre series. HP hasn't shared pricing information yet, so we'll likely have to wait till closer to retail availability to find that out.
Welcome, reader, to 2023! While some of us are still musing on New Year’s resolutions (we have the tech to help you right here), will 2023 be the year you finally break up with Twitter? There’s never been a better time. All this Elon Musk-induced chaos has breathed new life into the numerous Twitter alternatives. Of all of them, Mastodon has probably benefited the most. The open-source service gained notoriety back in 2017 when some Twitter users were upset with changes the company had made to the functionality of @-replies. (Back then, that was a big deal.) Mastodon isn’t the only app to get a boost from the turmoil at Twitter, though. Other apps like CounterSocial, which has a Tweetdeck-like interface, and Tribel have also seen increased user numbers. There are some new upstarts, too. Post News, a new service from former Waze CEO Noam Bardin, has also tried to capitalize on Twitter’s current state.
Meanwhile, Twitter hasn’t been paying its office rent in San Francisco. According to Bloomberg, Twitter was told on December 16th that it would default on its lease for the 30th floor of the Hartford Building. So far, it’s failed to pay $136,250 in rent.
– Mat Smith
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After completing its 1.4 million mile trip to the Moon and back at the start of last month, NASA’s Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft has returned to the Kennedy Space Center. The homecoming occurred on December 30th. Artemis 1’s record-breaking journey began on November 16th, launching atop NASA’s next-generation Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket. NASA will now conduct an “extensive analysis” of the component and determine precisely how it fared during atmospheric reentry. The agency will also remove Moonikin Campos, the test dummy NASA sent aboard Orion to collect data on how travel to the Moon might affect humans.
The app previously added age restrictions to some "mature" content.
TikTok is launching a new version of its “borderline suggestive model,” which the company uses to automatically identify “sexually explicit, suggestive, or borderline content.” According to a TikTok spokesperson, the new model can better detect so-called “borderline content,” videos that don’t explicitly break the app’s rules but may not be suitable for younger users. Elsewhere, the app is also allowing creators to restrict their videos to adult viewers.
The Attorney General’s office accused the company of using deceptive techniques.
Washington DC Attorney General Karl Racine has announced that his office has reached an agreement with Grubhub "for charging customers hidden fees and using deceptive marketing techniques." The company was sued earlier this year, accused of charging hidden fees and misrepresenting Grubhub+ subscription's offer of "unlimited free delivery" since customers still have to pay a service fee. The DC Attorney General's office also accused the company of listing 1,000 restaurants in the area without their permission by using numbers that route to Grubhub workers or creating websites without the eateries' consent. Under the settlement terms, Grubhub will pay affected customers in the DC area a total of $2.7 million.
Samsung’s mobile division has a new design chief. The company announced Hubert H. Lee would head up its mobile design team, the unit responsible for designing some of Samsung’s most important products, including its flagship Galaxy S series of phones. Lee joins the electronics giant after a stint as the chief design officer of Mercedes-Benz China.
The time has come to say goodbye to Dark Sky. Nearly two years after Apple purchased the much-loved weather app, and more than a year after announcing its impending shutdown, Dark Sky is about to stop functioning. Since September, an in-app notification has warned iOS users the software would no longer work come January 1st, 2023. In September, Apple also removed Dark Sky from the App Store (following an earlier delisting from the Play Store).
If you’re looking for an alternative, it’s worth revisiting Apple’s own Weather app before turning to the App Store. Since iOS 14, the company has gradually integrated Dark Sky’s technology into its native offering. For instance, the Weather app now includes next-hour precipitation alerts, which is a feature that was directly inspired by Dark Sky. That said, if you’re set on trying a third-party alternative, a few that are worth checking out include AccuWeather and Carrot Weather.
