Mozilla has finally named the end of support date for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Firefox 115 will be the last version to support these OSes. With it, the company will move its users to the ESR branch, that will receive security updates until September 2024. There will no longer be any updates for the unsupported OS users after that time.
Author: Sergey Tkachenko
Firefox may soon get AI Chatbot integration
According to reports, Mozilla is getting ready to add a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence into its Firefox browser. At present, the company is weighing up its options between OpenAI/ChatGPT and Google/Bard, and has not yet made a decision on which technology to choose.
Windows XP activation algorithm has been cracked and reprogrammed
After more than two decades since its launch, one of the most popular Microsoft's operating system, Windows XP, got a brand new unofficial activation method. A post on tinyapps reveals that the algorithm used by Microsoft to verify product keys for the outdated OS has been cracked and reprogrammed.
Windows 11 will unpack RAR/7z files staring this Fall, will create such archives in 2024
Microsoft has shed some light on the upcoming advanced archive format support in Windows 11. At Build 2023, the company announced native support for several popular compressed file formats, including RAR, 7zip, and TAR. Although the company has now specified the time of the feature's release to users.
Bing has become the default search engine for ChatGPT
Microsoft's Bing search engine is now the default search experience for ChatGPT, thanks to their partnership with OpenAI. ChatGPT Plus subscribers will have access to the new search engine, which provides more accurate and up-to-date answers with web data and citations. A plugin will also be available soon for free users to enable Bing on ChatGPT.
Windows 12 will not support ARM32 apps
At the Build 2023 event, Microsoft revealed that forthcoming Qualcomm Oryon processors and the next iteration of Windows, unofficially widely dubbed "Windows 12", will not be compatible with apps designed for the ARM32 architecture. This decision is reasonable, given that most programs have already adopted ARM64, with the remaining few running through x86 emulation.
Windows 11 Beta Build 22631.1825 will show the full amount of OneDrive capacity
Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22621.1825 and Build 22631.1825 (KB5026440) to the Beta Channel. This time both builds share the changelog, which comes mostly with fixes. The only change is the Settings app that is now able to display the full amount of storage capacity of all your OneDrive subscriptions.
Windows 11 Build 25375 (Canary) adds support for Microsoft Endpoint DLP on ARM
Microsoft has released a new build for insiders running Windows 11 in the Canary channel. The changelog is very compact and doesn't highlight many changes. Microsoft Endpoint DLP support in Windows on ARM (ARM64) builds is the key feature of this release.
Windows 11 build 23466 showcases AI-powered depth effects for wallpapers
As you may remember, Microsoft is working on Depth effects for desktop backgrounds. As discovered earlier, when the feature is enabled, Windows will generate a stack of layers from your desktop background. The layers will shift accordingly based on accelerometer/mouse data. Windows 11 build 23466 is the first build to demonstrate these effects in actions.
Windows 11 Build 23466: Enable taskbar labels, new File Explorer, and more
The latest Dev channel release, Windows 11 Build 23466, comes with plenty of hidden features. With little effort, you can enable taskbar button ungrouping and labels, new File Explorer design, suggestions to disable notifications for select apps, and even the ability to get rid of the Chat app. While some features have been announced in the official change log, Microsoft rolls out most of them gradually. So there is a high chance that they remain hidden for you.
