There is speculation about the possibility of a native version of Minecraft for Xbox Series X and S consoles following the game’s recent classification in Germany. This information was observed on Twitter.
Minecraft for Xbox Series has been rated in Germany (USK).
There is currently no native Xbox Series X or S version of the game. This suggests a current-gen upgrade for the game is imminent. pic.twitter.com/r1tHEL4LOr
Based on the screenshot shared in the tweet, the game appears to include comic book-style violence, tension, and potentially scary moments. However, it has been deemed safe for children aged six and up.
Currently, players have to play the Xbox One version of Minecraft on the newer Xbox Series X/S consoles through the backward compatibility feature. Backward compatibility lets you play classic games on new hardware with the latest features and performance improvements—no need to worry about old games becoming obsolete when upgrading your console.
However, the possibility of an optimized version of Minecraft tailored explicitly for the Xbox Series X/S hardware might have one of the exciting features that could be included in this optimized version: ray tracing.
What’s ray tracing?
Ray tracing is a cutting-edge graphics technology that enables highly realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows in video games.
There was a notable occurrence last year when developer Mojang accidentally included prototype code for ray tracing support in a preview build of Minecraft available to Xbox Insiders.
Minecraft with raytracing on Xbox? The latest Minecraft Preview is optimized for Xbox Series S / X and has early raytracing support ???? pic.twitter.com/cqH0cuGbtS
The new Microsoft Teams Play Together feature on the Xbox Game bar is here, and today we will let you know how to stream games using it. Microsoft Teams Play Together is a way for gamers to share their gameplay experiences and communicate with friends simultaneously, similar to Discord. In this guide, we will show you how to stream games using Microsoft Teams Play Together.
While Microsoft’s acquisition of Discord in 2021 didn’t materialize, it’s not uncommon for companies to continue developing their features and services to compete in the market. Microsoft Teams Play Together might indeed be aimed at providing a gaming-centric communication and sharing platform as an alternative to Discord.
How to stream your game using Microsoft Teams Play Together:
1. Visit the widget’s page on the Microsoft Store and click Get to install it.
2. After installation, use the shortcut Windows + G to open the Xbox Game Bar.
3. Click Get Started and follow the sign-in process.
4. If you don’t see the Play Together window, access it by clicking on the Widget Menu and then selecting Play Together.
5. Press Start Playing.
6. Choose whether to stream your entire screen or a specific app. Click on the chosen display, then select Go Live.
7. Tap the Copy Link button and share it with friends or online contacts you want to invite to the stream.
8. To conclude the stream, click the hang-up button.
What’s the difference between Microsoft Teams Play Together and Discord?
Simply put, Teams Play Together alone matches only a fraction of Dicord’s functionality. But it all changes completely when the functionality of Microsoft Teams Play Together, and Microsoft Teams are combined, and then it fulfills most of the functionalities of Discord.
Whether this move is a direct response to the failed acquisition or simply a part of Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to enhance its gaming offerings is speculative. Discord and Microsoft are active players in the tech and gaming industries.
They will likely develop and innovate in response to market trends and user demands. Competition in the tech industry often leads to improved products and features for consumers, so this development could benefit gamers using Windows.
If you’re in the habit of connecting your devices to public Wi-Fi in shopping malls and other unknown Wi-Fi networks, you definitely need a random hardware address. Otherwise, your private data is at risk from all kinds of cyber threats.
Still, this is not the only reason you might need it for. Below, we delve into all the nitty-gritty of what they are, why you need them, and how to manage them.
What are Random Hardware Addresses?
A random hardware address is a MAC address that is not associated with any specific hardware. It is assigned to each device when making a network connection.
Each device has its unique MAC address that a manufacturer assigns to every device with internet connectivity. If discovered, hackers can track your location, among other private details.
The main difference between the two is that the random hardware address is a random number that your OS assigns to the device. It is not unique and will change from one boot to another. The MAC address is the physical address of your network adapter and is unique for all devices.
Now that you know the differences between the two MAC addresses, find out how to best manage it.
How can I manage Random Hardware Addresses in Windows 11?
The process of MAC address randomization in Windows 11 allows you to easily edit your privacy settings. You can turn the feature on for all your connections or for a specific Wi-Fi connection.
You can also decide whether to change your random address daily or maintain one whenever you connect to untrusted connections.
This is particularly important because even though you may have turned it on, you may still be a target for cybercriminals if you frequent a specific public Wi-Fi network.
And if your random MAC address is the same each time your device scans for networks, you could easily be a victim. This is why you may need to edit the settings for the address to change at least once daily.
While you can make these changes within your Windows PC, it’s important to note that not all network cards support this feature. Ultimately, you may have to access public Wi-Fi with your real MAC address.
Most manufacturers are highly against it, so we’d advise you to find alternate ways to mask your identity online, such as using VPNs or setting up a proxy.
Should I have Random Hardware Addresses turned on?
Random hardware addresses are a double-edged sword. On one side, you enjoy the benefits of anonymity on public networks. But on the downside, you may be blacklisted from accessing certain networks.
However, as you understand how they work, you’ll realize they serve you much better in certain situations. And in others, you’d rather have this feature turned off.
Let’s start off with the scenarios where you’d reap the benefits of having it turned on:
Randomizing your address makes it harder for hackers to find you. That’s why gamers use alternate mac addresses in Xbox because it’s a highly targeted platform.
You are able to mask your browsing activity and prevent marketing sites from tracking your behavior and later sending you ads.
Onto the issues that may arise from turning on random hardware addresses:
Some applications may not work as intended because they rely on a specific MAC address for their functionality.
You may experience inconsistent performance between different Wi-Fi access points and routers.
Some networks only allow connections from whitelisted devices. So, chances are that unknown devices with random hardware addresses will not connect to their network.
And that’s how you can manage your Wi-Fi settings to ensure your private information is not at risk. You can also learn more about software that helps you rotate or mask your network identity by checking our guide on MAC address changer tools.
Have you set up random hardware addresses on your PC? We’d like to get your opinion on their performance thus far, so leave us a comment down below.
Emails contain a lot of information, most of which is embedded into the source code. While you can check the message body or open any attachments with the conventional approach, users often need to view the message source in Outlook emails.
The option is available on pretty much every email client, but Outlook has simplified the process, another reason why many are switching to the email service. So, let’s find out how you can view email headers in Outlook.
How can I find the source of an email?
You can find the source of an email by opening Outlook’s settings and checking the email’s properties. Every piece of information pertaining to the email is listed under Internet Headers.
Here are a few entries you commonly encounter when checking the Internet headers or the message details:
Delivered-To: Lists the email address that receives the email.
From: Displays who sent the email. This usually includes both the sender’s name and email address.
Received: Lists the servers that processed the email.
Return-Path: This shows the address where any replies to the email will be sent. The same information can be found next to Reply to.
Authentication-Results: Lists whether the sender’s credentials were verified and to what extent. You will find the results here.
Subject: You will find the email’s subject here, though this information is easily accessible in the email body.
Date: This lists the date and time when the email was initially sent. In Outlook, you will also find the day of the week here.
Message-Id: This lists the tracking number unique to the email.
List-Unsubscribe: You will find the email address that can be used to unsubscribe from the mailing list used by the sender, if one is available.
MIME-Version: Lists the MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) version used by the email. It’s usually 1.0. MIME headers come into play when sending data, including pictures, audio files, or infographics, over emails.
How do I view message source in Outlook?
1. View the Internet Headers
Open Outlook and then double-click on the relevant email.
Now, click on the File menu from the top left.
Click on Properties.
You will now find the source code and the headers under Internet headers.
Since it’s not very clear in the Properties window, we recommend pasting the Internet headers into the default text editor, preferably Notepad, and then inspecting the complete message source.
When you want to view email header in Outlook 365, an easy option would be to check the email properties. You can check the entire headers, both for incoming messages as well as those sent to others.
Go to Quick Access Toolbar from the navigation pane, and select All Commands in the Choose commands from dropdown menu.
Select Message Options from the list and then click the Add button.
Now, click OK to save the changes.
Head back to the email list, select one, and then click on Message Options in QAT.
It will directly open the Properties window, and you can view the message headers.
If you regularly inspect the message source code of an Outlook email, it’s wise to add the functionality to the Quick Access Toolbar. This way, you can view the message source without opening the email.
How do I configure Outlook to store complete source and message headers?
Tip
Since the steps require editing the Registry, we recommend you create a restore point. This will allow you to revert the changes in case anything goes wrong.
Press Windows + R to open Run, type regedit in the text field, and hit Enter.
Click Yes in the UAC prompt.
Paste one of the following paths depending on the installed version of Outlook and hit Enter:
Outlook 2016 and 2019:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
Outlook 2013: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
Outlook 2010: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
For 64-bit versions of Outlook, right-click on the empty portion, hover the cursor over New, select DWORD (32-bit) Value, and then name it SaveAllMIMENotJustHeaders. For 32-bit versions, create a QWORD (64-bit) Value with the same name.
Double-click the DWORD you just created, enter 1 under Value data, and then click OK to save the changes.
Outlook, by default, doesn’t store all the message headers. Even the headers are not stored along with the message body. This leads to incomplete information being presented when you view the source code.
To fix things, simply reconfigure the Registry and add a new key, which will force Outlook to store the entire email message along with entire message headers.
That’s all! You now know how to view the message source in Outlook. This information will help regular users as well as those in the field of cybersecurity or IT services.
We all know that AI has become a very popular choice when it comes to content creation. Bing Chat, for example, can generate images for you, if you ask it to do so. Other AI tools, such as Runway Gen-2 will generate entire videos for you with a simple script. You still have to edit them, of course.
Just earlier this year, GPT-4 promised that it can create video content just from texts, and in the following months, a lot of other tools were able to do the same thing.
Generative AI models, such as DALL-E 2 and Midjourney are able to easily generate images at your own whim. And images created by these models ended up winning photography competitions, stirring up a debate on just how ethical it is to use AI to generate art.
However, in just 18 months, AI has produced over 15 billion images so far, according to statistical research done by Everypixel Journal. The statistic also states one important fact: AI has already generated as many images as photographers have taken in 150 years.
Here’s what the statistics are saying when it comes to AI image creation
According to the research:
Text-to-image algorithms have created more than 15 billion images, since 2022. In comparison, it took photographers 150 years, from 1826 to 1975, to reach the 15 billion mark.
People are creating an average of 34 million images per day, mainly using DALL-E 2.
Adobe Firefly is the fastest generative AI: it produced 1 billion images in just three months from launch.
Approximately 80% of the images (i.e. 12.590 billion) were created using open-source generative AI models, services, and platforms.
Even though many of the AI images are coming from open-source models, the paid generative AI tools are also incredibly popular. For example, Midjourney has the largest community of users, with over 15 million.
In comparison, Adobe Creative Cloud, which includes the AI image generator, Adobe Firefly, has a community of 30 million. So it’s safe to say the AI tools might actually have a chance against the manual tools of creation.
If it’s ethical or not to use AI images in your work, then that’s up for debate. But AI surely does democratizes content creation. However, in many cases, human input is still required.
But what do you think about these AI image statistics? Let us know in the comments section below.
You may grow worried if you realize just how much information about you may be out there on the web.
It’s really hard to tell on your own who has your data, and even harder to get rid of it, but there are specialized services to help you with that.
Today we’ll review Deleteme, an anti-tracking tool that promises to erase your digital footprint.
We’ll explain everything from how DeleteMe works to whether is it safe or not, and much more.
Let’s get started.
What is DeleteMe
DeleteMe is a service that helps individuals remove their photos, names, ages, locations, emails, occupations, marital statuses, and so much more from apps and websites.
Here’s how DeleteMe achieves this:
The company’s team of experts works by contacting data brokers on your behalf and requesting that they remove your personal information.
Once this is done, DeleteMe will send you a report that shows which data brokers have removed your information and which ones have not.
It doesn’t stop there! These experts will also continue to monitor the data brokers and request that they remove your information if it is ever re-posted.
What are data brokers?
Are you wondering who the data brokers are?
A data broker is a company that collects and sells personal information about individuals. They get their data from a variety of sources, including:
Public records: Information like your name, address, and date of birth. Data brokers get this information from government websites and so on.
Commercial data: This includes data about your spending habits, interests, and online behavior. They get these from retailers, credit card companies, and websites.
Surveys: Data brokers sometimes conduct surveys to collect information about people’s opinions and habits.
Web tracking: These brokers use web tracking technologies to collect information about the websites you visit, the pages you view, and the links you click.
Let’s paint a picture of how data brokers operate:
→ When you create an account on a website the site has access to various information such as your name, email address, phone number, home address, and so on.
Also, like any person who’s used the internet, you probably agree to a privacy policy within seconds, without really knowing what kind of data you give access to.
Or if you don’t you may have done it at some point.
Do that a few times, and tons of info about you is on the web. Then, the data brokers get hold of your data or purchase it from some websites and sell it to companies.
Then, these companies can use your data for various purposes, including targeted advertising and risk assessment.
If you don’t want something of such to happen, that is where DeleteMe comes in.
How does DeleteMe work?
DeleteMe uses a simple yet detailed process to erase your digital footprint off the web.
Below is a breakdown of how DeleteMe works:
Sign up: In this phase, you will provide your name, email address, phone, and some basic information about yourself.
Submission of details: Then you will submit the data you want DeleteMe to remove from search engines.
Removal process: DeleteMe has a team of experts who will contact data brokers and websites to request that your information be removed from the internet.
Once DeleteMe has finished removing your data, you will receive a detailed report within seven days. It will show you which websites and the type of information that was removed.
It doesn’t stop there:
Unless you unsubscribe from the service, DeleteMe will continue to monitor and scan the internet for your info every three months.
If the team finds that your data has been re-posted, they will work to remove it again.
DeleteMe reports review
The company sends a standardized type of report to its users.
Let’s discuss each part of the DeleteMe report in detail:
1. The introduction
Here, the company submits an overview of the action it took after your submission, how long the process lasted, and what you should expect in the report.
It goes ahead to inform you about the listings that are pending and the duration of time your information on these sources will clear out.
Moreover, DeleteMe assures you at the end of the introduction that it will continue to do everything to protect your data and privacy.
This is what the introduction would look like:
2. Listing statistics
This part is a summary of the report in numbers. It displays the year you joined DeleteMe, your plan type, your privacy advisor, and for how long the company has protected your data.
Furthermore, it shows whenDeleteMe carried out the last scan, the total number of your listing and the brokers that have your information, and the broker with the most information about you.
It also informs you about both the time saved searching and removing your data from online sources. Finally, it contains the sum of all your Personal Identifiable Information (PII) it discovered.
3. Changes from the previous report
This section only shows you the changes since the last time DeleteMe scanned and deleted your information. It also informs you of the new brokers that were added to your list.
4. Report findings
The report findings section carries the results of the scanning and deleting of your data from public record sites like Truthfinder, Vericora, and so on.
It shows you detailed reports of all the websites, brokers, and online sources it extracted your information from and the type of information – whether it was your address, name, or email.
DeleteMe also goes ahead to tell you about the pending deletion and when you should expect total removal for some of the brokers and websites.
5. What’s next
At the end of the report, you will see the day your next report will be sent to you and a link to a relevant blog post or news on data privacy.
DeleteMe privacy and security review
Due to the nature of their service, DeleteMe has to collect information like your number, contact, address, email, online activity, and so much more.
This is why many people are skeptical and wonder if DelteMe is legitimate and can be trusted with your data.
DeleteMe assures users that it does not sell their details as it is not a data broker but describes in its privacy policy how it uses customers’ information.
For example, DeleteMe mainly uses your information to offer its services, for research, and also to send you marketing and promotional communications.
However, it doesn’t end there:
To comply with the law, prevent fraud, and safety, DeleteMe may, without your consent, share your data with the government, and authorities on request if you are suspected of a crime.
DeleteMe recommends that users manage access to the computer and devices where they logged in to the DeleteMe app.
Although DeleteMe implements technologies meant to protect users’ information, it cannot guarantee that the data will not be hacked or intercepted by others.
Under California law, California residents are entitled to ask DeleteMe for a notice identifying the categories of personal customer information that they share with certain third parties.
There’s also a part of this policy document that is dedicated to European users. This part of the policy respects the GDPR law and users have the right to their information.
DeleteMe pricing review
There’s something you should know:
DeleteMe does not offer free trials andits price is relatively high compared to similar services like Incogni and Kanary.
However, it allows users to carry out a free scan to see if any of their information will come up in the 40 most popular data brokers. But, it will not conduct any removal for you afterward.
In addition to these, the company awards its customers a $50 Amazon gift card for every successful referral.
Additionally, DeleteMe can refund you if you end your subscription before getting your first report.
DeleteMe subscriptions
Now, let’s review the pricing of this service. DeleteMe operates using three basic plans that it bills both monthly and annually.
Here is the list of all the basic plans:
Standard Protection (1 year, 1 person) – $10.75 per month, $129 per year.
Most Popular (1 year, 2 persons) – $19.08 per month, $229 per year.
Best Value (2 years, 2 persons) – $14.54 per month, $349 per two years.
In addition to these plans, DeleteMe has premium offers users can only get by requesting them from customer support. They are the Gold, Diamond, Platinum, and VIP.
Below is the breakdown for each of them:
Gold – $180 yearly (addition of 60 extra sites and sends report six times a year)
Diamond – $425 yearly (extra 65 websites, data masking controls, and reports six times a year).
Platinum – $1000 yearly ( includes 75 more brokers, a Google search scrub by a professional in the DeleteMe team, and reports once a month).
The VIP membership comes with all the offerings of the Platinum plan with an additional 100 data brokers.
Whichever subscription you choose would depend on how far you want DeleteMe to go in sniffing out your information.
DeleteMe
Don’t let your personal information linger online! Use DeleteMe to erase all of your data for increased privacy!
If you are stuck on how to withdraw yourself or information from data brokers on your own or through DeleteMe, this section covers that thoroughly.
Let’s dive right into it:
How to opt out of data brokers using DeleteMe
It’s super easy to opt out of websites that sell your information through DeleteMe. All you have to do is submit the details you wish to remove to DeleteMe and the company will take it from there.
It will reach out to different data brokers and ask them to delete whatever personal data of you they have in their possession and boom! You don’t exist on the internet anymore.
How to opt out of data brokers manually
Maybe you don’t have extra money to spare for DeleteMe services and you want to take on the task by yourself. It is still possible.
Firstly, you have to find all the data brokerage websites that have your information. Then, you opt out of each of them by clicking on the control information or opt-out button.
The downside of this option is that it will waste your time and you may end up not knowing how many data brokers have your information. Also, you won’t have a detailed report like the one from DeleteMe.
DeleteMe customer service review
Without proper support, any business is sure to have confused customers and a truckload of bad reviews. DeleteMe understands this concept and does its best to respond to its users fast.
The company’s support team is always available between Monday-Friday from 9 am to 8 pm Eastern Time and typically responds within 24 hours.
Although DeleteMe has a social media presence on LinkedIn and Twitter, it responds to issues faster through phone calls or email. Its support team can also set up a live chat when there are so many customers in the queue.
Also, it is worthy of note that the company will take time to respond if you reach out to them outside the specified work hours.
In conclusion, DeleteMe customer support is reliable when you are in dire need of guidance while using this service.
Conclusion – Is DeleteMe worth it?
Despite DeleteMe’s high subscription cost and the company requiring your personal information to effectively carry out its services, it is worth it. That’s because, at the end of it all, your data would be off the internet.
Apart from that, it would not keep you in the dark about its activities as you’ll receive reports monthly or quarterly depending on your plan. Now, with this DeleteMe review, you’ll get to know the pros and cons of the service.
Launched in 2011 by Albine Inc., DeleteMe has been on a mission to help its customers reduce the risk of identity theft, credit card fraud, robocalls, spam, stalking, and cybersecurity threats.
Aside from that, the company has hit major milestones since its inception. For example, in 2012 it contributed to the development of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights Act.
If you are worried about grammatical and spelling errors while sending professional emails, you must turn on spell check in Outlook.
Once enabled, Outlook checks spelling automatically and spots the mistakes in the entire email when you click Send.
In this guide, we will explore step-by-step instructions to enable the feature to ensure your emails are free from grammatical errors.
How do I turn on auto spell check in Outlook?
On the Outlook window, go to the File tab.
Select Options to open Outlook Options.
Select Mail from the left pane, locate Compose Messages, and place a checkmark next to Always check spelling before sending.
Next, click the Spelling and Autocorrect button.
On the Editor Options window, select Proofing from the left pane.
Under When correcting spelling in Outlook, place a checkmark next to Check Spelling as you type, and Mark grammar errors as you type in the Spelling tab.
Click OK to save the changes.
This is how you can quickly enable spell check on the Outlook desktop app. However, if you are using the Outlook web app, you must ensure the spell check for your browser and OS is enabled.
There could be various reasons why the feature may not be working on Outlook; some of the common ones are:
Incorrect language – If the grammar checker on Outlook does not support the language of the email, the spell check will not work. Check the proofing language.
Feature is disabled – Spell check might not work or respond if the feature is disabled. Check the Outlook options to confirm if it is working.
Outlook app corrupted – If the Outlook app files are damaged, you might face many issues, including this one.
Outdated app – An outdated version of the app could be the reason for many problems, such as this. Check for app updates to ensure that’s not the case.
Now that you know the causes of the issue, let us check the common solutions to the problem.
Microsoft 365: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16
Locate SCANPST.EXE and double-click it to open the Microsoft Inbox Repair tool.
Click Browse to select the .PST file from your computer.
Now click Start.
Once scanned, click Repair if the scan shows errors.
You will get the Repair complete window, click OK, and relaunch Outlook.
So, this is how you can turn on spell check on Outlook and deal with the issues if the feature is not working. You can also make this change system-wide by enabling the autocorrect feature in your Windows 11.
Notepad++ is an editor that serves as an effective replacement for the classic Notepad, a built-in utility in Windows. The former offers advanced options and a wide array of customizations. And many use Notepad++ to compare two files.
While Notepad++ has gained popularity across the spectrum, be it amongst regular users or programmers, the ability to compare 2 files in Notepad++ and save the differences makes it stand out.
When should I use file comparison in Notepad++?
File comparison is beneficial in several situations where you must highlight the differences. For instance, if you plan to merge two files, it’s imperative to identify what’s different between them before proceeding.
Also, when transferring files from one location to another, certain parts may be left out; to verify this, a simple side-by-side comparison should do. Besides, programmers may need to compare two versions of the same file. All this is possible using Notepad++.
How do I compare text files in Notepad++?
Tip
When comparing two text files in Notepad++, you have the option to use a plugin or do the job manually. We recommend the former since it’s more accurate and minimizes manual effort.
1. With plugin
1.1 Install the Compare plugin
Launch Notepad++, click on the Plugin menu, and then select Plugins Admin.
Locate the Compare entry, tick the checkbox next to it, and click on Install.
Click Yes in the confirmation prompt.
After the plugin is installed, Notepad++ will relaunch automatically.
You have now completed the first step to compare two files in Notepad++ with a plugin on 64-bit. With the plugin installed, all that’s left is to select the files and compare them.
1.2 Comparing two files in Notepad++
In Notepad++, click on the File menu, and select Open.
Now, navigate to the location where the previous file is stored, select it, and click Open.
Do the same thing, and this time, open the new (other) file you want to compare in Notepad++.
Once the two files are open, click on the Plugins menu, hover the cursor over Compare, and again select Compare. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + Alt + C to trigger the plugin.
Notepad++ will now compare the two files and highlight the differences. You will find several symbols and colors for easy representation. These are:
Added: Denoted by a + sign or a green line, this shows parts that are included in the second file but not in the first. Only used in the second file.
Removed: Denoted by a – sign or a red line, this shows parts that are included in the first file but not in the second. Only used in the first file.
Moved: Denoted by a double-sided vertical arrow, this highlights parts that are present in both files but at different locations.
Changed: Any changes you make are denoted by ≠, and it could be both red or green in color depending on whether the part was removed or added, respectively.
Open both the files you want to compare in Notepad++.
Now, right-click on the tab for one, hover the cursor over Move Document, and select Move to Other View.
The two files will now be visible side-by-side, and you can start comparing them.
When you compare two files in Notepad++ without a plugin, the results aren’t as clear, requiring more manual effort and time. Besides, the lack of color coding and symbols might result in missing important differences. So, it’s recommended that you install the Compare plugin.
And once you know how to compare two or more text files in Notepad++, do not forget to check the best PDF compare software for Windows.
For any queries or to share your feedback on the process, drop a comment below.
With the massive shift in working models from offline to online and increased reliance on digital platforms, most of us depend on our computers & other electronic devices to stay productive.
Therefore, the need for an efficient and productive digital workplace is necessary; that’s where Lakeside Software can help!
Lakeside Software’s SysTrack is a cloud-based platform that helps you get insights into the digital environment of your organization. Let’s check out what more it can offer.
Why do I need a Digital Employee Experience (DEX) tool?
Productivity, consistency, and satisfaction of employees can bring success to a business. As digital transformation is reshaping the workplace model, Digital Employee Experience (DEX) tools have become necessary. Here are some of the advantages of using it:
Data-driven insights – Provides invaluable data & analytics, including application performance, device health, and more, which helps IT admins to handle issues proactively.
Enhanced employee productivity – Detects the issues affecting employee systems, reduces downtime, and ensures seamless access to tech resources.
Proactive resolution – Enables IT teams to automatically identify & remediate potential issues before they escalate, reducing disruption in employee workflow and resulting in user satisfaction.
Optimized app performance – Monitors app performance, identifies bottlenecks and optimizes resources to ensure smooth operations.
Enhanced employee engagement -Promotes a positive work environment with qualitative feedback collection of employee wellbeing and satisfaction.
That’s why you need an intelligent and powerful cloud-based solution like Lakeside Software to get complete visibility into your IT infrastructure & digital workplace performance.
What are the best features of Lakeside Software?
1. Continuous, real-time system visibility
Lakeside Software is pivotal in improving end-user productivity, providing detailed insights to optimize digital experience.
The DEX tool continuously monitors the performance of applications and endpoints in real-time. This allows IT admins to detect & proactively manage issues that could hamper user productivity, thereby minimizing downtime, reducing disruptions, and ensuring employees can work without interruptions.
Its unique functionalities include real-time visibility into the endpoint, automated diagnosis for more than 1,200 common problems, and automated, one-click fix remediation.
2. Comprehensive incident response workflows
Real-time visibility enables organizations to gain continuous insights into their digital environment, providing IT teams with comprehensive health, performance, and usage of endpoints, apps, & networks.
The platform collects data, like app usage, user interactions, device performance metrics, network connectivity, etc., from various endpoints, devices, and apps within the organization network.
It uses interactive and user-friendly dashboards & reports to represent the digital environment’s health and performance.
Lakeside Software can trigger real-time alerts for specific events or thresholds, which lets IT teams respond promptly to crucial situations to prevent any negative impact on end users.
Lakeside Software provides valuable insights into Microsoft Office apps, offering a detailed analysis of how employees interact with these productivity tools.
It monitors the performance of these apps in real time, including tracking load times, response times, and resource consumption, which provides IT teams understanding of how apps function.
This enables analyzing usage patterns, identifying which Office applications are most frequently used & by whom, which, in turn, helps organizations optimize licensing based on usage.
This is additionally useful in resource allocation decisions and specifying if any app requires additional resources.
4. Migration and optimization insights for Windows Endpoints
Lakeside Software has analytics capabilities that permit IT teams to monitor Windows endpoints’ performance metrics, including memory usage, CPU usage, disk activity, and network usage.
It helps identify potential performance bottlenecks and take measures to ensure optimal endpoint performance.
The User Experience Scoring measures the quality of user experience, which lets IT admins prioritize optimization efforts, measure the impact of improvements, and identify new opportunities for refinements.
The platform also provides a detailed list of hardware and software installed to help track device configuration, ensuring adherence to compliance policies.
The solution can even help IT teams plan, execute, and report on migration or optimization projects for Windows 11 and virtual desktops.
Lakeside Software
Empowers productivity, elevates the end-user experience, and unlocks digital potential!
Evaluating apps’ performance, & device usage, pinpointing potential bottlenecks, and resolving issues proactively to avoid any workflow disruptions, Lakeside Software empowers you to optimize all aspects of your digital ecosystem.
Still unsure whether Lakeside Software is right for your business? Then, try it out, then decide. Get the Demo today and see how it can help enhance the digital experience, improve productivity & employee satisfaction.
What do you think about a DEX tool? Was the information helpful for you? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
At the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 and Starfield Direct event, there were a lot of exciting announcements. The Game Pass is coming to NVIDIA GeForce Now, meaning you can easily play games available on GeForce Now pretty much on every supported device.
Over 5000 new games are in development for the Xbox, and games such as Forza Horizon and Senua II are coming soon to Xbox as well. But the star of the event was, obviously, Starfield.
Developed by Bethesda, Starfield is an upcoming role-playing game that will take you to space, across a vast distance with hundreds of locations to visit.
Microsoft and Besheda both expect Starfield to become a commercial sensation and a cultural phenomenon. As a result, the video game will be available in the Game Pass catalog right at launch.
However, it seems that Starfield is taking quite the storage on your system. According to a Reddit user, Microsoft Store has listed the amount of space needed for the game. And it’s a lot.
How much storage will Starfield take up? [System requirements]
Microsoft Store says you’ll need at least 125 GB of free storage to be able to install Starfield. To play it, however, you’ll likely need much more. So brace yourselves, and upgrade your systems/storage, if you want to play this exciting video game.
Starfield will be available to Windows systems, and Xbox consoles this fall, in September 2023, so if you don’t have that enough space, there is more than enough time to upgrade your system.
Either way, you’ll be needing additional SSD space for patches, possible expansions, and so on. As the game looks and feels beautiful, it will ask for a lot of resources from your system, especially if you plan to play it on a PC.
Below are the System Requirements for Starfield.
Minimum Requirements:
OS: Windows 10 version 22H2 (10.0.19045)
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, Intel Core i7-6800K
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700, NVIDIA GeForce 1070 Ti
Note that while you won’t need much RAM, as 16 GB is the standard now, you will need to be up to date with your Windows. So head over, and update it too while we’re at it.
Starfield might not have a physical disk copy
According to a now-deleted tweet from Bethesda Support, it seems that Starfield might not have a physical disk copy at all.
It will most probably have a box with a code in it, which you can use to download Startfield onto your device. However, the tweet was deleted, so take this update with a pinch of salt. There is still some time until Starfield hits the digital stores, in September, so Bethesda might change their mind.
Update: Starfield has gone gold and you can now preload the game on your Xbox X/S
According to Bethesda, Starfield has gone gold, meaning that now the game is ready to release. Even more, starting today, you’ll be able to preload Starfield on your Xbox S/X, and Windows, and on August 30th, it will be available to preload on Steam.
What are your opinions on this video game’s requirements? Are they ok, or is it too much? Let’s hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
A Windows Cabinet (CAB) file, earlier known as Diamond files, is a single file that stores various compressed files in a file library and usually comes with a .cab extension.
The file is similar to ZIP files as they both use DEFLATE, Quantum, and LZX compression algorithms to compress the files in them. If you want to open and install a .cab file on Windows 11, this guide can help!
What should you do before starting the .cab installation?
Back up your important data.
Create a restore point to roll back to the last known good configuration if there is any mishap.
Ensure you download a compatible file from a reliable source.
Learn about the components of the file so that you are aware of the changes it will make.
Check if you have Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell installed.
Ensure you invoke these CLI tools with admin privileges.
After making these checks, you can continue with the installation process.
How can I install .cab files on Windows 11?
Press Windows + E to open File Explorer. Locate the .cab file setup you want to install, right-click it, and choose Copy as path.
Press the Windows key, type cmd, and click Run as administrator to launch Command Prompt.
Type the following command to install the .cab file using the DISM tool after replacing PATH with the file location you copied and press Enter: DISM /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:" <PATH>"
Once completed, restart your PC to see the changes.
You can use the same command to install the .cab file on an earlier version of Windows and to extract a .cab file on Windows 10/11.
Remember that installing the .cab files manually has its risks. Even if you are sure you are using the correct file format with the right version, keep the recovery options ready so you can either roll back to the previous version or perform a clean installation in case of emergencies.
Updating Windows – Distributes updates and patches required to add updated components & fixes to the existing installation efficiently, even to a large number of users.
Installing component or software – As it may contain files like DLLs, images, configuration files, fonts, and other essential resources, Windows use it to install software or component.
Storing components or updates – Stores and deploys components and updates, which allows better control over the modular structure of the operating system.
Installing device driver updates – Driver updates are also packaged and distributed in the .cab format for installation for better efficiency.
What can I do if the .cab file doesn’t install?
Try restarting your computer; it can be a neat trick to make the problem disappear.
Ensure you have downloaded the .cab file correctly, or try downloading it again.
If these didn’t help, move to the steps mentioned below.
1. Run SFC & DISM scans
Press the Windows key, type cmd, and click Run as administrator to launch Command Prompt.
Copy & paste the following command to fix system file corruption from the Windows Component Store and hit Enter: sfc /scannow
Wait for the command to run, then type the following command to repair Windows system image corruption using Windows Update and press Enter: Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
Upon completion, reboot your computer.
2. Disable Windows Firewall temporarily
Press the Windows key, type windows security, and click Open.
On the Windows Security page, select Firewall & network protection from the left pane.
You will get three profiles, Domain network, Private network, and Public network.
Go to each profile, locate Microsoft Defender Firewall, and toggle off the switch to disable the Firewall.
Once you install the file, don’t forget to turn the Firewall back on using the same steps.
If you are still unable to install the .cab file and facing errors like 42127 cab archive is corrupted, it could be because the file is corrupt or not downloaded properly.
How can I check if a .cab file is installed correctly?
1. Use Command Prompt
Press the Windows key, type cmd, and click Run as administrator to launch Command Prompt.
Copy & paste the following commands to get the list of installed components & packages on your device and press Enter: dism /online /get-packages
Go through the list and check if you see the one you installed.
You should choose this method if you have used the DISM command to install the file.
2. Check the packages list from Registry Editor
Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.
Type regedit and click OK to open Registry Editor.
Navigate to this path: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Component Based Servicing\Packages
You will get the list of packages on your computer; go through it and check if the package related to the .cab file is there to ensure it is installed correctly.
You can also check the Event Viewer logs to locate the file installation event or run an SFC scan to verify the system files’ integrity.
If you have installed the Windows 11 Update manually using the .cab file, the quickest way to verify the successful installation would be to check the Windows Update history.
To conclude, remember always to restart your PC after the installation and test the file (if it’s meant to fix an issue) to ensure everything is as intended. If you bump into any issues or need more info about .Cab files, don’t hesitate to comment in the section below.
The Paint app has received a bunch of upgrades in the recent iterations of Windows, and its UI has been drastically changed altogether. While some find it friendlier, given the 3D capabilities, others want to download Classic Paint for Windows.
The Classic Paint app has been a part of Windows for as long as we can remember. It was simple to use, and over the course of time, we got hooked on it for basic editing needs. So, if you are planning to install Classic Paint in Windows 10, keep reading for the exact steps!
How do I get classic MS Paint?
1. Modify the Registry Editor
Tip
This method works on the previous versions of Windows. Make sure to create a restore point before you start editing the registry. Also, if you have upgraded to the latest iteration, head to the next method.
Press Windows + R to open Run, type regedit in the text field, and hit Enter.
Click Yes in the UAC prompt.
Paste the following path in the address bar and hit Enter:HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Paint
Right-click on the Paint key in the navigation pane, select New, choose Key, and name it Settings.
Now, select Settings, right-click on the empty portion, hover the cursor over New, select DWORD (32-bit) Value, and then name it DisableModernPaintBootstrap.
Double-click the DWORD you just created.
Enter 0 under Value data, and click OK to save the changes.
Finally, restart the computer for the changes to come into effect.
Launch the Paint app now, and the classic version should open up.
2. Download MS Paint from a third-party website
NOTE
Windows7Games is a third-party website and not an official source. You can download the file at your own risk, as WindowsReport is not affiliated with it in any way. Be sure to scan the file for malware using an effective antivirus solution before running the installer.
Go to Win7Games’s official website, scroll down to the Classic Paint (mspaint) section, and click the Download Paint button here.
Once done, head to the location where the downloaded file is stored, right-click on it, and select Extract all.
Make sure the extraction path is as per your choice, and click the Extract button.
When the extracted files open, run the ClassicPaint setup.
Click Yes in the prompt that appears, and then on Next in the subsequent windows.
Click the Open Settings button.
Now, click on App execution aliases.
Disable the toggle for mspaint.exe and pbrush.exe.
Once done, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.
Finally, to open the Paint app, search for it, and click on Paint (classic) from the results.
While the solution requires you to download Classic Paint for Windows from a third-party website, it’s safe, as confirmed by many. This works best if you want to get the Classic Paint app for a PC running Windows 11.
Also, the downloaded app doesn’t have the Edit with Paint 3D option, and most users are happy about it. Besides, it won’t affect the present Paint installation or any of the system files. Classic Paint will be installed as a separate app.
Is the new Paint app good?
The MS Paint app has been the go-to solution for a long time, be it to edit, crop, or resize images. Also, the classic Paint app loaded faster and worked much better with the keyboard and mouse. Besides, who hasn’t used it to create paintings?
And while the new Paint app in Windows is as good, it’s the interface that bothers users. The features are all there, but it’s their positioning that seems to trouble most. Perhaps we weren’t ready for the changes.
It’s best that Microsoft left a few classic apps untouched or at least shouldn’t remove them from the OS altogether!
If you’re unsure of the Classic Paint download & install process, or maybe you want to try something different alongside it, we’ve gathered the best painting apps you can use on your Windows PC.
Check them out, and be sure to tell us in the comments below which one best fits your needs.
Microsoft announced today that the Paint app is getting a small update for Windows 11 Insiders in the Dev and Canary channels. With this update comes support for a centered canvas, and “some small UI optimizations in the toolbar.”
This follows the introduction of dark mode and other improvements to the Paint app, first showing up in the Dev and Canary channels back in early June, and then rolling out to all users this week.
Are you a Paint user? Are you excited for these changes? Let us know in the comments below.
In a testament to the cloud market’s unparalleled growth potential, Acceleration Economy’s Cloud Wars Top 10 companies are poised to generate a staggering $359.4 billion in cloud revenue during 2023, marking a remarkable 19.1% increase despite a challenging global economic climate. This growth defies economic headwinds and underscores the cloud’s pivotal role in modern business dynamics. A report last month revealed that the top 5 public cloud services providers capture over 41% market share with 27.3% YoY growth.
Despite economic uncertainties, customer expectations continue to escalate. The cloud’s ability to provide enhanced experiences and diverse choices positions it as the conduit for meeting these demands. New cloud-based tools, especially ones with Gen AI, are becoming essential for getting the best employees and making them happy.
Many businesses worldwide are just starting to use cloud technology. This shows that there’s a lot of room for growth in the cloud market, and the expected increase in revenue might be even bigger than what’s predicted.
The rise of Gen AI has become a transformative force, capturing the attention of CEOs. They have a choice: they can either take the lead in using this technology or be cautious and wait. This choice is crucial for the future of their companies.
Within the Top 10, a spectrum of performances emerges. Microsoft is predicted to make the most of it, accounting for almost 30% of the total revenue. However, some companies at the forefront of cloud services, like AWS and Salesforce, are growing slower, around 13.7% and 12%, respectively. And a comparatively more minor player, Oracle, is growing much faster, with almost 40% growth. This shows that the competition in the cloud industry is changing, and adapting quickly is essential, as the growth rates of the big players, who were leading at first, have slowed down.
Here are other estimates:
The discoveries emphasize that the cloud market is strong, showing its ability to handle economic difficulties and drive growth. All this makes it clear that the cloud market is still changing a lot, and this is something that business leaders need to pay attention to as they navigate through these changes.
Xbox Free Play Days returns for another round of free games for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to try out. This week’s Xbox Free Play Days event runs from today (Thursday) through Sunday, August 20.
There are four games on this week’s slate, including a very high-profile open-world racing title from Xbox Game Studios. It’s already available on Game Pass, which admittedly does dampen some of the excitement for its inclusion in the lineup, but its a great addition nonetheless.
Cast devastating spells in this fast-paced, shoot ‘em up metroidvania adventure. Explore a beautifully hand-drawn world and forge close bonds while on the quest to save your home from the Golem invasion. Out now on Xbox with 33% off.
Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant and ever-evolving open world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars. Jump in, have fun, and make this the best road trip that never ends by upgrading to the full game. All your gameplay progress will seamlessly carry over and you can play new content every week in the Festival Playlist
Let out your wild side, and create your own animal empire with this cute, expansive management sim. Import and breed rare creatures, hire the right staff, keep your visitors happy, and deal with plenty of weird and wonderful events. Let’s Build a Zoo lets you import a variety of animals from other Zoos around the world! Breed your animals and start families to expand your wildlife and fill your enclosures. Grab the full game for 50% OFF!
Explore the nightmare world of Cvstodia in this brutal hack’n slash action-platformer. Perform savage executions on hordes of enemies that stand between the Penitent One and their quest to break eternal damnation. Out now on Xbox with 75% off.
Learn more about Xbox Free Play Days
Nearly every week, Xbox Free Play Days delivers a lineup of Xbox games for members to try out. It’s a great way to discover something new and maybe even find a new favorite. Learn more about the program by heading over to the Xbox Free Play Days FAQ page.
Globant, LaLiga, and Microsoft are partnering to create AI services for the sports industry. LaLiga and Microsoft have collaborated, who have teamed up in the past, with Globant to work on LaLiga Tech, which is LaLiga’s tech division that uses AI and data analytics to improve the sports industry.
LaLiga is Spain’s top professional football (soccer) league. It’s the same league where Inter Miami’s Messi used to play for FC Barcelona. The other notable teams competing in LaLiga are Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid, Villareal, etc.
The partnership aims to develop AI tools for coaching, fan engagement, and broadcasting. Starting with soccer, the focus will later expand to sports like basketball, rugby, and tennis. Microsoft’s Azure platform, including OpenAI GPT-4, will support LaLiga Tech.
The collaboration combines sports industry knowledge and IT expertise. Globant also collaborates with FIFA and the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers in utilizing technologies like AI and blockchain in sports.
The projects involve:
Develop AI tools for coaching, fan engagement, and broadcasting to enhance the sports industry.
Increase fan engagement through AI-generated content and real-time statistics.
Improve accessibility with multilanguage subtitles for live events, benefiting fans with hearing impairments.
Break language barriers via automatic sports content translation, expanding audience reach.
Generate revenue by licensing LaLiga’s innovations to other sports entities.
Combine IT expertise and sports insights for tailored solutions.
Use AI to reshape sports coaching, experience, and sharing, potentially influencing other sectors.
LaLiga Tech, launched in 2021, aims to license its innovations to other sports entities like Liga Portugal and MotoGP.
Gaming on the go has always been a topic of debate and innovation. As technology advances, the gap between gaming PCs/consoles and mobile devices continues to narrow. Enter Lenovo’s latest creation, the Legion Go, a gaming handheld device that aims to redefine portable gaming.
Here are the rumored specs and features of the Lenovo Legion Go:
Display:
8-inch display.
Touchscreen interface for Windows 11 compatibility.
Operating System:
Expected to run Windows 11.
Provides a complete operating system experience.
Design:
Inspired by Nintendo Switch design.
Detachable controllers like the Switch’s Joy-Cons.
Right-side touchpad, similar to Valve’s Steam Deck.
Connectivity:
Two USB-C ports for peripherals and charging.
Standard headphone jack for audio output.
MicroSD storage expansion slot.
Display Design:
Lower screen-to-body ratio than competitors.
Potentially larger screen with minimal bezels.
Handheld gaming consoles are unique for on-the-go play. Still, their compact sizes require a lot of compromises, resulting in drawbacks. Here are potential disadvantages that handheld gaming devices, in general, might have and how the Legion Go could potentially address them:
Game Library and Compatibility: Running Windows 11 could enhance compatibility by allowing Legion Go to run various PC games.
Performance and Cooling: The large air vents suggest improved cooling, potentially minimizing performance throttling during intensive gaming.
Input Options: Removable joy-cons and additional back triggers could offer diverse control options suitable for different game genres.
Ergonomics and Comfort: Lenovo’s design choices, including button placement and potential ergonomic considerations, could lead to a more comfortable gaming experience.
Touch Interaction: Support for touch input, driven by Windows 11, might enhance interaction with specific game genres and user interfaces.
Gaming Performance and Flexibility: With AMD’s new Phoenix processors, the Legion Go might deliver competitive gaming performance and handle demanding games effectively.
With Windows 11 and AMD’s new processors, Lenovo Legion Go could offer a solid gaming experience. As more information surfaces and its release approaches, the Legion Go’s impact on portable gaming will become more apparent.
The AI Hub section and AI-generated review summaries seem valuable additions to enhance the user experience. The AI-generated review summaries are handy for users who want to gauge the overall sentiment and opinions about an app or game without sifting through numerous reviews. This feature could save users time and help them make more informed decisions about which apps or games to download and use.
The idea seems to streamline the user experience by condensing numerous reviews into informative snippets. This aids users in making well-informed decisions about app downloads. Ultimately, this innovation appears to address user needs and underscores the growing role of AI in optimizing digital platforms.
However, at the moment, this feature seems to be limited to Windows 11 users in the United States. Users outside the United States might not have access to this feature yet. It’s hoped that Microsoft will eventually expand this feature to users in other countries.
IBM has announced a collaboration with software giant Microsoft. The partnership will focus on integrating and scaling the powerful capabilities of Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft’s robust and fully managed AI platform.
The move will equip businesses to innovate and optimize processes via carefully curated AI applications.
IBM will intensify its collaboration with Microsoft and dedicate resources to help clients implement Azure OpenAI Service on a wider scale. Furthermore, a newly introduced offering available on the Azure Marketplace will extend the reach and power of generative AI in business applications and processes.
The addition is aimed at helping businesses identify potential benefits, formulate an adoption strategy, and target generative AI use cases that can add substantial value to their core operations.
IBM and Microsoft have unified their expertise and experience around AI to devise potential solutions that specifically address business pain points:
Procurement and sourcing automation: The combination of Microsoft Power Platform and Azure OpenAI Service provides a solution to automate complex sourcing and procurement processes, providing actionable supply chain insights.
Content generation and summarization: Financial institutions can leverage generative AI to automate the creation of personalized content for customers.
Streamlining Healthcare procedures: IBM Consulting uses Azure OpenAI Service to reengineer the process of ingesting and analyzing complex medical records and policy documents.
Enterprise search and knowledge base: IBM Consulting and Microsoft collaborated to develop a knowledge extraction tool to simplify search and data retrieval across dispersed organizational data banks.
“The collaboration between IBM and Microsoft is a testament to our commitment to an open ecosystem model that amplifies the value to our clients,” said Francesco Brenna, Global VP & Senior Partner, Microsoft Practice at IBM Consulting. “This collaboration makes it possible for clients to responsibly scale generative AI across their businesses.”
Expressing enthusiasm about this venture, Dinis Couto, GM Global Partner Solutions, Microsoft, noted, “Together, Microsoft and IBM are collaborating to deliver innovative solutions, that will help customers responsibly accelerate deployment of generative AI. As a leader in the delivery of generative AI and data solutions, we believe that partners like IBM are critical to enabling customers’ successful use of generative AI to advance business transformation.”
Notably, the partnership builds on both companies’ intent to revolutionize businesses, leveraging AI and data solutions to fuel progress and productivity. Let us know your view on this in the comments section below.
Once again, FiFine is cornering the market for beginner and mid-level audio recording hardware with a pair of budget-friendly reference cans that offer quality sound and comfort for less than $40 with the H8 Studio Monitor headphones.
The Fifine H8 looks remarkably like standard bearer Audio-Technica headsets but it has more elongated ear pads with a signature smiley-face marker on both earpieces. Unlike Audio-Technica, the Fifine H8 lacks the same level of heft associated with the well branded competitor.
The H8 is lighter and more flexible than Audio-Technica’s and the cushions on the earpads are a bit shallower than most alternatives. The headband, which is reminiscent of the HyperX headsets, is thicker than seen in images and offers a nicely weighted counterbalance to the light feeling earpieces and rests on the top of the head well for longer recording and editing sessions.
Due to the thinner cushioning on the earpads, noise isolation takes a bit of a hit for users who have slightly larger heads which shifts the cups around the ear. Fortunately, the earpads look replaceable those seeking a specific comforted fit.
The H8 comes with both 3.5mm and 6.35mm connectors attached to long bungy curled rubber cables and can be swapped out at the base of the right ear cup. Rather than opting for a single piece adapter or dongle, Fifine includes a fully dedicated cable to switch out depending on your recording and editing setup.
As is standard for the industry, the H8 comes in matte black with only the white smiley-face with dimpled dots in white as the only accented color on the headphones.
Performance
With a 50-millimeter dynamic driver passing over a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range supporting 32ohms, the sound is very crisp but neutral and devoid of the typically punchy stage of other competing headphones in price ranges just above the H8’s.
As a pair of studios monitoring/refencing headphones, the flat sound with an emphasis on upper and mid sound beds is appreciated for audio podcasters, streamers, and audio engineers who focus on vocals over all other sounds elements in a recording.
Regarding the bass, without pumping up the sub and mid bass sectors, the Fifine H8 doesn’t fall into muddy sounding references that would need later editing to lift. On the flipside, recorders to speak close to microphones may still sound a bit tiny overall when listening through the H8.
In the mid-section, voices are highlighted overall and helps to separate ambient noise during recordings but can be exhausting when listening to soundscapes with lots of integrated sounds like a Fall Out Boy composition at elevated levels.
The overall treble is level but can help audio engineers isolate pops and peaks for editing. The pairing of the onboard drivers and the equalized treble are great out the box and offer one of the best-balanced soundstages for a pair of headphones for under $40.
When using the H8 for gaming, the experience is a bit more muddled without noise cancellation most 3D audio support software fall flat but still offer great clarity over voice integrated scenes during games. Editing gaming audio can also be a bit taxing on the ear as many lean heavy on the low and mids.
Without any additional firmware updates, attached software or driver updates, the plug-n-play nature of the H8 is a refreshing change of pace. While some users may appreciate or even crave the customization offered by competing headsets, for $36.99 the H8 offers a streamlined listening and editing experience right out of the box.
Summary
The H8 isn’t designed to be used like regular headsets that punch up the bass and offer fuller sound reproduction. Instead, the H8’s are meant for beginning podcasters, streamers and audio engineers who are looking to dabble in professionally editing their sounds.
For less than $40, Fifine offers a great pair of cups that can be worn for hours on end for long editing sessions while also providing a neutral soundscape that provides a more accurate sound representation.
If you’re looking to get into podcasting or elevate your production level, the Fifine H8 should be next on your list of items to pick up, they compete with both the MAONAO and Samson headsets which are roughly around the same price and the more expensive Senneiser HD600’s all for $36.99.
To the delight of many—and perhaps to the dismay of a few—Windows has recently announced it will now offer native support for RAR, GZ, 7-Zip and other file compression formats.
For you, this means that you won’t need to install additional third-party apps like WinRAR to extract or run these compressed files; you’ll be able to do that through your Windows itself. Interesting, right? So, how exactly do you do that?
Let’s look at how you can enable and use archive support on Windows 11.
How to Enable and Use Archive Support on Windows 11
To enable and use archive support on Windows you’ll first have to install the Windows Insider build 23493 of the Dev channel. So, to access the archive support system, you’ll first have to get enrolled in the Windows Insider Dev build Dev build 23493 channel.
After you’ve enrolled yourself in and are using the 23493 build, you can now easily extract your compressed files without any third-party apps (you can also remove any third-party apps from here on).
Now head to the file, right-click on it, and click on the Extract all option from the context menu.
Finally, select a place where you’d like your extracted files to go and click on the Extract button.
Enabling and Using Archive Support on Windows PC
At least in the Windows environment, you don’t have to rely on third-party apps to extract your compressed files anymore. With the advent of Windows Insider build 23493, you can take care of compressed files from your Windows operating system itself.
Hopefully, you successfully enabled and are now using the archive support system on your Windows.
Windows Terminal is a multiple-tabbed terminal emulator that was released in 2019 and comes preinstalled with Windows 11.
In this guide, we will discuss some easy ways to open Terminal on Windows 11 with or without administrator rights.
How can I open the Terminal in Windows 11?
1. Use the Power User menu
Press Windows + X to open the context menu.
You will see two options: Windows Terminal and Windows Terminal (Admin).
Choose any of the two to open Terminal.
2. Use the Run window
Press Windows + R to open the Run window.
Type wt.exe and click OK to launch Terminal on Windows 11.
To run it with admin rights, type the command, press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.
3. Use the Search bar
On your Windows desktop, locate the Search box, click it, and type windows terminal or terminal.
Under Best match, you will get Terminal, and on the right pane, you will get options, including Open, Windows PowerShell, Command Prompt, & Azure Cloud Shell.
Choose any to launch Terminal on Windows 11.
To open it with admin privileges, right-click the app name under Best match and choose Run as administrator.
4. Use the Taskbar
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
Click Run new task.
Type wt.exe and click OK to launch the Terminal.
To access it with admin rights, place a checkmark next to Create this task with administrative privileges, and then click OK.
On the Windows desktop, right-click in the empty space.
From the context menu, select Open in Terminal.
6. Use the Windows button
Press the Windows key and click All apps.
Scroll down to find Terminal and click it to access the app.
To open it with a specific command line, right-click Terminal and choose from the options.
To run the app with admin privileges, right-click it, select More, then click Run as administrator.
7. Use Command Prompt or Windows PowerShell
Press the Windows key, type cmd, and click Run as administrator.
On the Command Prompt window, type wt, and press Enter. This will open Windows Terminal with admin rights as you opened Command Prompt as admin.
You can use Windows PowerShell the same way to access Windows 11 Terminal through it.
8. Use Windows File Explorer
Press Windows + E to open File Explorer.
Go to the address bar, type wt, and press Enter, and it will open Windows Terminal.
What is the Windows Terminal in Windows 11?
Windows Terminal is a modern feature-rich host application capable of running any terminal in a separate tab.
It is pre-configured to run command-line tools like Command Prompt, PowerShell, SSH, bash, Azure Cloud Shell Connector, and Windows Subsystem For Linux (WSL).
Some of its essential features are multiple tabs functionality, panes, GPU-accelerated text rendering engine, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, and more.
It allows you to create themes, customize text, change backgrounds, colors, & styles, and add configurations & shortcuts. Here are some advantages of using Windows Terminal:
Customization options
Multi-tab feature
Support for different command lines
Enhanced performance
Unicode & emoji support
This will add the app to the Taskbar, and you can access it whenever you want with a single click.
What are the shortcuts to accessing Windows Terminal?
There is no shortcut key assigned to launching Terminal on Windows 11, but if you create a desktop shortcut for the app, you can add a hotkey or pin the app to Taskbar.
1. Create a desktop shortcut
Go to Windows desktop, and right-click in the empty space to get the context menu.
Select New, then Shortcut.
On the Create Shortcut window, type the following path under Type the location of the item and click Next: %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\WindowsApps\wt.exe
On the next page, type in the shortcut name and click Finish. Once created, it will appear on your desktop; double-click it to launch Terminal.
To assign a keyboard shortcut key, right-click the desktop shortcut and select Properties.
Go to the Shortcut tab, locate the Shortcut key option, type the letter you want to use, and click Apply. Here we have used T, and the keyboard shortcut key for the Terminal is Ctrl + Alt + T. You can use any letter of your choice.
To run the app always with admin rights, go to the Compatibility tab, locate Settings, and select Run as administrator. Click Apply, then OK.
2. Pin the app to Taskbar
Press the Windows key, and type terminal.
Under Best match, right-click Terminal and select Pin to taskbar.
Why can’t I open Windows Terminal in Windows 11?
There could be various reasons why you can’t access Windows Terminal; some of the common ones are listed here:
Application is not installed – If you don’t have Terminal installed on your PC, you might get a response when you try to launch the app. Go to the Microsoft Store and install Windows Terminal.
App is corrupted – Terminal might not open if the app is damaged or missing some files. Try reinstalling the app to fix the issue.
Damaged system files – If the system files related to the app are corrupted, the app won’t open. Try running an SFC scan to restore the files.
Pending Windows updates – Outdated operating system could cause issues like this one. Check for updates; if available, install them, then try to open the app.
App is disabled – If the Terminal app is not enabled on your computer, it will not work. Go to Settings, check the App execution aliases list, and click the toggle next to Terminal to enable it.
So, these are the probable causes of the Windows Terminal not opening issue, along with fixes to handle the situation.
To explore more about Windows Terminal features, including its customization options and advanced tools, check out our detailed guide on Windows Terminal Features.
Knowing the way to open Windows Terminal quickly can help you streamline workflow and productivity. The Terminal window always opens with Windows PowerShell, but you can change the default terminal window to Command Prompt or Azure if you like.
Have we missed some of your preferred ways to access the Terminal on Windows 11? Feel free to mention them in the comments section below, and we’ll include them in the article.
Lenovo is working on a gaming handheld called Legion Go, which might be the best on-the-go gaming device yet! And if you think this is just another rumor like Lenovo’s Legion Play from a few years back (as we also did), think again. We’ve obtained some super exclusive images with the device, which looks fantastic!
Before we go into more detail, let’s circle back a bit. Handheld gaming was and still is a controversial topic for some time now because it has to fill in a very important gap: between a gaming PC/gaming console and your mobile phone (or maybe a retro handheld, if that’s your vibe). And that’s pretty tough to achieve, especially today when streaming gains more and more ground.
Lenovo had plans to release the Lenovo Legion Play, but it never got officially launched. The company had bigger plans to take on the competition, as the rumors about the Legion Go started to pop up almost a month ago. Now it seems that most of the things Windows Central uncovered back then will most likely become a reality.
To date, we have at least 3 big players in this space: Valve’s Steam Deck, ASUS’ Rog Ally, and AYANEO’s top-of-the-line consoles. They all go for the same market; they’re similar to some extent but have some not-so-easy-to-dismiss drawbacks. Lenovo’s Legion Go addresses some of those drawbacks, at least from what we can tell right now.
These are the first official photos of the Lenovo Legion Go!
Lenovo Legion Go Front View
At first glance, it doesn’t look that much different from its competitors, but the thing that sets it apart (we think) it’s the similarities with another huge player in this space, the Nintendo Switch.
Why is that important? Well, because it’s more of a cherry-picked design that combines the best features of all of its competitors: starting with the removable joy-cons (or however Lenovo will call them), then the placement of the buttons similar to Rog Ally and a supposedly bigger screen of 8 inches, finishing up with a trackpad like on the Steam Deck.
And that’s not even the best part! It will sport Windows 11, which means that it has the potential to replace your gaming PC fully, and you’ll be able to play your triple-A titles on the go. Pair that with the fact that its heart and soul will allegedly be AMD’s new Phoenix processors, and you’ll get a fully-fledged gaming experience right at your fingertips whenever you want it!
Another thing that hints at Legion Go’s power is these huge air vents on the back of the device, alongside a stand that will help when you want to pair another controller. We can’t say anything about the noise levels yet, but we’ll surely test it as soon as it will be available, so stay tuned for that!
Lenovo Legion Go Back View
Regarding the IO, the shoulder buttons and side triggers aren’t anything new for this kind of device. The back triggers are a welcomed addition, while maybe the most interesting thing hidden on the back of the right joy-con is a wheel. We also see 2 USB-C ports (one at the bottom and one at the top), a power button, a headphone jack, + and – buttons for adjusting the volume, and (thanks to the gaming Gods!) a micro-SD slot.
In conclusion, Lenovo’s Legion Go looks like a complete package that promises to address some of the issues with the other big players in this market. Can you imagine opening Steam or any other platform on your way home, playing your favorite game, then removing the joy-cons and browsing through YouTube on your crisp, touchscreen device? And all of that without breaking a sweat!
That’s a cool promise, and if Lenovo can deliver, it won’t just be another handheld but a way to push the competition to improve and offer a better gaming experience for everyone.
Password stealing is one of the easiest ways a bad actor can get access to your personal data. Every day, we see reports of social media accounts (be it Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat) or other websites being hacked. The attackers use different methods to gain access to your password, and today we will look at Password Spraying and Brute Force.
Though platforms have developed protocols to improve security and mitigate risks, hackers always manage to identify loopholes and vulnerabilities to exploit them. But there are some measures that will protect you against Password Spraying and Brute Force attacks.
Most of them are simple to implement, and we think that they’re absolutely necessary for good online hygiene.
For those wondering what a brute force attack is, it is a technique hackers use to bombard the authentication server with a range of passwords for a specific account. They start with the simpler ones, say 123456 or password123, and move on to the more complex passwords until the actual credential is found.
Hackers basically use all possible character combinations, and this is achieved through a set of specialized tools.
But there’s a downside to it. When employing brute force attacks, it often takes a long time to identify the correct password. Also, if websites have additional security measures, say, it blocks accounts after a series of incorrect passwords, hackers find it difficult to use brute force.
Though a few attempts every hour won’t trigger an account block. Remember, just like websites enforce security measures, hackers, too, devise tricks to bypass these or find a vulnerability.
About password spraying, it is a type of brute force attack wherein, instead of targeting an account with a wide array of password combinations, hackers use the same password on different accounts.
This helps eliminate a common problem faced during a typical brute force attack, account blocking. Password spraying is highly unlikely to raise suspicion and is often found to be more successful than brute force.
It’s typically used when administrators set the default password. So, when hackers acquire the default password, they will try it out on different accounts, and users who haven’t changed theirs would be the first to lose account access.
How is Password Spraying different from Brute Force?
Brute Force
Password Spraying
Definition
Using different password combinations for the same account
Using the same password combination for different accounts
Application
Works on servers with minimal security protocols
Employed when many users share the same password
Examples
Dunkin Donuts (2015), Alibaba (2016)
SolarWinds (2021)
Pros
Easier to perform
It avoids account lockout and doesn’t raise suspicion
Cons
It takes more time and can result in the account being blocked, thus negating all the efforts
Often quicker and has a higher success rate
How do I prevent password brute force attacks?
Brute force attacks work when there are minimal security measures or an identifiable loophole in place. In the absence of the two, hackers would find it difficult to employ brute force to find out the correct login credentials.
Google disabling sign-in after multiple failed attempts
Here are a few tips that would help both the server administrators and users prevent brute force attacks:
Tips for administrators
Block accounts after multiple failed attempts: Account lockout is the reliable method to mitigate a brute force attack. It could be temporary or permanent, but the former makes more sense. This prevents hackers from bombarding the servers and users don’t lose account access.
Employ additional authentication measures: Many administrators prefer relying on additional authentication measures, say presenting a security question that was configured initially after a series of failed login attempts. This will stop the brute force attack.
Blocking requests from specific IP addresses: When a website faces continuous attacks from a specific IP address or a group, often blocking them is the easiest solution. Though you might end up blocking a few legitimate users, it will at least keep others safe.
Use different login URLs: Another tip recommended by experts is to sort users in batches and create different login URLs for each. This way, even if a particular server faces a brute force attack, others largely remain safe.
Add CAPTCHAs: CAPTCHAs are an effective measure that helps differentiate between regular users and automated sign-ins. When presented with a CAPTCHA, a hacking tool would fail to proceed, thus stopping a brute force attack.
Tips for users
Create stronger passwords: We can’t emphasize how important it is to create stronger passwords. Don’t go with simpler ones, say your name or even commonly used passwords. Stronger passwords may take years to crack. A good option is to use a reliable password manager.
Longer passwords over complex ones: As per recent research, it’s significantly more difficult to identify a lengthier password using brute force than a shorter but more complex one. So, go with longer phrases. Don’t just add a number or character to it.
Set up 2-FA: When available, it’s important to set up multi-factor authentication as it eliminates the over-reliance on passwords. This way, even if someone manages to acquire the password, they won’t be able to sign in without the additional authentication.
Change the password regularly: Another tip is to regularly change the account password, preferably every few months. And do not use the same password for more than one account. Also, if any of your passwords feature in a leak, change it immediately.
When talking of Brute Force vs Password Spraying, preventive measures remain pretty much the same. Though since the latter works differently, a few additional tips might help.
Force users to change the password after initial login: To mitigate the problem of password spraying, it’s imperative that administrators get users to change their initial passwords. As long as all users have different passwords, the attack won’t succeed.
Allow users to paste passwords: Manually entering a complex password is a hassle for many. As per reports, users tend to create more complex passwords when allowed to paste or auto-input them. So make sure that the password field offers the functionality.
Don’t force users to periodically change passwords: Users follow a pattern when asked to change their password periodically. And hackers can identify this easily. So, it’s important to let go of the practice and let users set a complex password in the first go.
Configure the Show password feature: Another feature that prompts users to create complex passwords and prevents genuine failed sign-ins is when they can view the password before proceeding. So, make sure you have that set up.
Show password on Facebook
Now that you know more about Password Spraying and Brute Force attacks, keep in mind that the best practice is to create stronger passwords, no matter the method.
This alone can prevent and block most of the vulnerabilities of your accounts. Pair that with an effective password manager, and that will solidify your security and ease of access even more.
While Xbox has become a very popular console, especially in the US region, its popularity also comes with a lot of cyber abuse and virtual attacks. Microsoft products, per se, are known to be prone to attacks, phishing, and other unlawful intentions.
But as always, Microsoft is taking the means to reduce them as much as possible. For example, recently, the Redmond-based tech giant stated an Xbox banning tool rumored to be true, is, in fact, false, and promised people that nobody, aside from Xbox, can ban them.
The new Xbox Enforcement Strike System works similarly to a driver’s license suspension. The more you violate Xbox policies, the more strikes you get, up to a total of 8. When you reach 8 strikes, you’ll get a one-year suspension from Xbox.
Players have a total of eight strikes and, once reached, will be suspended from Xbox’s social features like messaging, parties and party chat, multiplayer and others for one year from the enforcement date.
Xbox
Avoiding the Xbox Enforcement Strike System 1-year bans
It’s good to know that you won’t be instantly banned from Xbox if you break the rules. However, Xbox will ban you gradually. As we mentioned earlier, the more strikes you have, the more time you’ll get.
So this is what you need to know:
Starting now, you’ll begin your Xbox journey with 0 strikes.
You can receive a total of 8 strikes, and, important to remember, each strike remains on record for six months. This means that if you broke the law 5 months ago, that strike will still follow you today, until next month.
The number of strikes also increases the number of suspended days, as follows:
1 strike – 1 day
2 strikes – 1 day
3 strikes – 3 days
4 strikes – 7 days
5 strikes – 14 days
6 strikes – 21 days
7 strikes – 60 days
8 strikes – 365 days
Important! However, you can also get multiple strikes at once, so you’ll have to take this into account:
Profanity – 1 strike
Cheating – 1 strike
Sexually inappropriate – 2 strikes
Harassment or bullying – 2 strikes
Hate Speech – 3 strikes
Microsoft says this system will greatly reduce abuse of any kind on Xbox. In fact, in 2022, fewer than 1% of all players received a temporary suspension, and only 1/3 of those received a second suspension. And according to their data, players typically stop inappropriate behavior after one enforcement.
But if you get a strike, and you think it’s not justified, then you can appeal it. If you’re right, then the enforcement will be reversed and the strike will be removed.
However, to surely avoid the 1-year ban by Xbox Enforcement Strike System, we recommend you should read the Xbox Community Standards, and make sure not to overstep with your reactions. After all, kindness goes a long way, indeed.
Accessing the internet from virtually anywhere with satellite is fascinating, right? But it suffers from one major problem – high ping time.
That’s due to the distance the signal travels between you and the orbit. Moreover, other factors like the weather, terrain, and equipment quality impact transmission.
Accordingly, you won’t be able to get the best out of your service. You’ll encounter lagging when engaging in online gaming, streaming, video/VOIP calls, etc.
But it doesn’t have to be like this.
Today, we’ll show you how to improve your satellite internet ping using our proven and easy-to-follow solutions. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy a lag-free browsing experience.
Let’s dive in!
How to optimize your satellite Internet connection
Here are quick fixes for resolving high ping issues with your satellite internet:
1. Inspect your setup
Cross-checking your whole setup should be the first step. Begin by inspecting the satellite dish for fine dust, debris, and bird droppings.
Use a microfibre material to gently clean the surface if any are present. Likewise, you should repeat the same steps with the feedhorn receiver.
Cleaning the satellite removes any material that might be interfering with your connection. It also improves transmission quality resulting in lower ping.
Additionally, check the wiring of your setup for visible cracks and entanglements. Both can cause poor signal transfer from the dish to the router.
Consider reaching out to a qualified technician to repair such issues. You can also do it yourself if you have some technical know-how.
2. Reduce interference
Satellites must be in a clear line of sight with receivers for better performance. Obstacles like buildings, trees, and hills can affect signal quality.
As such, you need to check your surroundings and remove any blockades. Or move your dish to an open area for a better outcome.
3. Use a wired connection
One more thing you can try to decrease ping with satellite internet is using a wired connection to reduce the sluggishness associated with WiFi networks. You’ll benefit from a fasterandmore stable connection than a wireless hotspot.
You can opt for a fiber optic Ethernet cable that offers ultra-low ping times. Still, even a copper version will give you a slight performance boost.
4. Adjust router settings
Routers come with basic configurations that work pretty okayish. But there’s room to adjust them to your liking.
The process requires you to have some technical knowledge. Check if you can adjust traffic shaping, signal compression, data usage, etc.
Furthermore, never shy away from referring to the owner’s manual for guidance. Should you get stuck, contact your service provider for advice.
5. Update your firmware
Always keep the firmware of your router up to date. Regular updates offer fixes for bugs, misconfigurations, and security issues.
Doing it over time will bring improvements to your satellite internet service, like enhanced signal reception for fast speeds.
How to choose the right gaming server for best performance?
Sometimes, the high-ping problem might arise from choosing an overloaded gaming server. As such, picking the right one can have significant improvement in performance.
The first thing to consider is going for servers that aregeographically closest to you. This reduces the distance data travels, minimizingpacket loss and connectivity time.
Tools for testing ping, like Host-Tracker, can be helpful as well. You’ll need to obtain a server’s IP address or hostname to perform the checks.
Go for those with response times of around 100ms for exceptional performance. Moreover, ensure the packet losses are less than 5% to benefit from improved reliability.
But there’s more:
Check theserver’s status before joining. As a rule of thumb, avoid those with a high player count.
Servers filled to the brim tend to process enormous traffic, which results in slower ping times. Moreover, they occasionally experience glitching due to the exhaustion of available resources.
You can also ask around for recommendations from other players. Reach out to gaming forums on the web, social media, and local communities for insights.
However, get dedicated gaming servers if you have some extra cash to spare. These offer resources that are entirely yours for top-notch ping performance.
And we’re not done yet!
Use network optimization tools and a VPN
If you’re still wondering how to decrease ping with satellite internet, worry not. Below are additional suggestions using different software solutions on the market:
TCP Optimizer
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a standard that enables devices to communicate over the web. Most systems, including yours, provide default settings that are complex to modify.
The good news?
You can use Speed Guide TCP Optimizer software to optimize your internet. It’s easy to tweak the default values, thanks to its simple interface.
Once you install it:
check the General Settings and increase the connection speed to 100Mbps. Choose Optimal at the bottom, Apply changes, and restart the application.
Next, go to the Advanced Settings tab and switch to the Custom options. This activates the edit option to modify the default values.
Now, Disable the Network Throttling Index and set System Responsiveness to zero. Doing so prioritizes your computer’s internet and resources for gaming.
Skip to optimizing Nagle’s Algorithm to reduce data packet delays over the network. Disable TcpAckFrequency, set TcpNoDelay to one, and switch TcpDelAckTicks to zero.
Apply the changes and reboot your device for the customizations to take effect.
From here, you’ll appreciate faster connectivity and ping times during gaming.
Easy, right?
Let’s move on!
Quality of Service (QoS)
Quality of service (QoS) is a technique that some routers and PCs use to optimize traffic. It offers settings that you can tweak to prioritize appson your network.
For example, you can set tasks like gaming, streaming, and video conferencing to use more data. That way, your system/modem won’t prioritize other activities outside the specified categories.
This nifty tool throttles the apps that would otherwise hog your traffic. For this reason, you’re bound to experience faster connectivity and ping time.
Sadly, QoS comes in-built into select high-end routers and Windows operating systems (OSs). And even if your device has it, the configuration is not straightforward.
But do you know what is?
Using a VPN
You can avoid all the hassle of tweaking system settings by getting a virtual private network (VPN). This tool comes fully featured with network optimization tools out of the box.
Top of that list includes a wide range of protocols for security and stable connectivity like OpenVPN, IKEv2, Lightway, WireGuard, SSTP, and more.
VPNs also have a vast network of strategically positioned servers around the world. This ensures you get incredible ping speeds and less packet loss during gaming.
Speaking of which:
Why not arm yourself with ExpressVPN? It consistently stands out in our benchmarks, delivering superior performance even in slow networks.
The service also shines when it comes to speeding ping times during gaming. That’s because it has over 500 VPN data centersacross90+ countries.
This broad coverage brings gaming services closer regardless of your location. Moreover, it guarantees ultra-low ping during gaming on the ExpressVPN network.
Not to forget, the service offers a clean and easy-to-use application. You also get a dedicated toggle to optimize the network on your computer.
ExpressVPN
Supercharge your internet speeds with this high-performing VPN.
Bonus tips for decreasing ping with satellite internet
Here are additional tips for boosting your satellite internet’s ping.
We assure you, they’re super-easy to follow:
Limit background activities: Disabling non-essential tasks can free up your internet connection resulting in lower ping times. Schedule OS updates, limit app background data, download files when necessary, etc.
Get a firewall: Use a firewall to limit apps from accessing the internet on a case-by-case basis. This should prevent non-essential tasks from hogging your internet.
Adjust your DNS settings: Configure your satellite to use faster DNS services. Free ones include Cloudflare, Google, and Control D.
Debloat your device: Uninstall unnecessary software you don’t use. This will eliminate non-priority apps that jam your network all the time.
Upgrade your hardware: Service providers issue customers with pretty basic equipment. As such, you may need to upgrade your hardware to benefit from better connectivity.
Summary
Satellite internet and high ping times go hand in hand. That can result in a poor web browsing experience.
Your gaming will lag, streaming buffer, video calls hang, and so on. But as you’ve seen, solutions exist – tons of them!
Overall, we’re glad you now know how to decrease ping with satellite internet. All that remains is for you to jump into action and speed up your connectivity.
Xbox has been enjoying a lot of success lately, from its popular Xbox Game Pass to bringing old games back to the console. With titles such as the old Call of Duty games, and the original Gears of War trilogy, Xbox has managed to become the top-selling console in some regions, while its popularity has grown.
But now, it seems that Xbox will have some new competition in the industry. We’re talking about Netflix Games. Yes, the streaming giant is coming to dominate the gaming industry, as well. In a recent announcement, Netflix said it’s testing games on more devices with two games.
Today, we’re taking the first step in making games playable on every device where our members enjoy Netflix — TVs, computers, and mobile.
Netflix
The two games, Oxenfree and Molehew’s Mining Adventure will make their way to Windows 11 PCs and Macs, TVs, and mobile phones, to play on Netflix. They are part of a Beta phase which is live to a limited number of users in the US and the UK regions.
The Beta phase is testing Netflix’s streaming-based gaming technology is meant to improve the experience on multiple devices. The streaming giant already has the support of many brands, including Amazon Fire TV Streaming Media Players, Chromecast with Google TV, LG TVs, Nvidia Shield TV, Roku devices and TVs, Samsung Smart TVs, and Walmart ONN. And new devices will be added ongoingly.
So, the question is somehow natural. Is Xbox Game Pass in danger now that Netflix Games will be an active player on the market? Well, let’s take a closer look.
Will Netflix Games and Xbox Game Pass really be in a competition?
Well, Netflix is already known for one thing: its streaming content. From movies to series, and reality shows, the streaming giant is all about relaxing. But not just any kind of relaxing, but the one that doesn’t involve a lot of mental action.
Users usually watch Netflix when they want to relax, that’s why the streaming platform is so popular. And the Netflix audience is also well-defined. There are people who love passive entertainment, and visual stories that are told with as little interaction as possible. The popular Netflix and Chill is a testament to that.
On the other hand, people who are subscribed to an Xbox Game Pass are gamers most of the time. Gaming is their hobby, and they tend to do it in their free time. They also love interactive stories, and they spend quite the time figuring out easter eggs, collecting items, or gearing up.
Whether we talk about hardcore gamers or casual gamers, these people are individuals who love video games and not just the relaxing part of it, but as a whole. Microsoft even released consoles for each of these types of gamers, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X, and most people purchased both versions.
Plus, with an already huge library of games and thousands of other games coming up specifically for Xbox, it might seem hard for any other gaming platform to compete with it.
Not necessarily a platform for gamers
For Netflix Games to really compete with Xbox Game Pass, the streaming giant would have to somehow convince a majority of its audience that video games are also as potent as movies and series are. This is true, sure, but they’re a different medium altogether.
Netflix actually tried this sort of thing with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, which is an interactive Black Mirror episode that requires the viewers to make their own choices. The episode was well received, but its interactivity was criticized as being too wearisome, and it can easily ruin the viewing experience.
By the way it looks, Netflix Games can end up being the platform where people play games while they wait for the food to arrive for a TV binge. Or playing something very fun with friends on a hangout. But for a gamer that loves playing video games? Much less likely.
And its streaming-based gaming technology, while very similar to Stadia, will allow you to play games on every device. However, Stadia is gone, and similar platforms are already here, such as GeForce Now. So there’s little chance Netflix Games will actually be an important player on the market. For now, it seems aimless, without a specific target in mind.
However, time will prove if these words are true or not, but until then, if Netflix really wants to take a bite from the gaming industry, then it has to deliver.
So, you were enjoying dark mode on Microsoft Edge but somehow it’s not working and you need a quick fix so that you could go back to your personalized settings. Well, fret not as it’s pretty easy to bring back the Microsoft Edge dark mode.
Microsoft Edge browser lets you enable dark mode easily using settings, just the way it allows other customization things like ADMX templates to personalize your browser experience.
Dark Mode is nothing but a mere cosmetic change that alters the appearance of your browser. It changes the background color of your homepage, toolbar, settings, and even web pages you visit to black or dark grey.
Dark Mode saves the battery, and reduces eye strain and fatigue, especially when using devices for extended periods.
Alternatively, you can bypass all the fixes and choose a different browser altogether. Opera is one such browser that also offers customizations.
Opera Browser
Try the new Opera instead and explore new features and customizations!
Before we dive into the solutions to Microsoft Edge Dark Mode not working issue, let’s know first why the setting has stopped working for you.
Well, there can be several reasons why the Dark Mode is malfunctioning on the Microsoft Edge browser. We are enlisting a few of them here.
Bug in the browser.
Outdated browser version.
Incorrect Settings – browser is set to switch to light mode automatically based on the time of the day.
Bad user experience due to stored caches with outdated or corrupted data.
While the dark mode is available on all versions of the browser, it’s still possible to experience certain malfunctioning. Take, for instance, you have turned on dark mode on Edge browser but some websites aren’t turning dark.
Microsoft is also experimenting with a darker mode on Edge, which should arrive soon.
How do I fix dark mode not working properly on Microsoft Edge?
We are enlisting the top 5 fixes for the Microsoft Edge Dark Mode issue on Windows 11. You can implement them and check if it starts working again.
Update/Reset
One of the main methods you can implement to bring the dark mode back to working is updating Edge to the latest version. Most of the problems are tied to an older version of browsers. So, it’s better to stay on the updated version and keep bugs at a distance.
To update – Go to Settings and look for About Microsoft Edge. A new page will open that will tell if your browser is up to date. If the About page shows An update is available. Select Download and Install to proceed. To Repair – Alternatively, you can also try to repair or reset the Edge to get things back to work. Follow this path – Settings > Apps > Installed Apps > Microsoft Edge > three-dot menu > Modify.
It’s worth mentioning that resetting Microsoft Edge clears all data and browsing history. It also disables any installed extensions. So, take a backup if you don’t want your data to vanish.
Force Dark Mode
Another common method to fix the dark theme setting not working issue is to simply force the setting on Microsoft Edge. Again, you have to be on one of the latest versions of Microsoft Edge to bring the feature back.
Microsoft lets you enable some of the features via its edge://flags settings page. You just have to look for the right setting. For instance, here in this case, you can find the dark mode setting by entering edge://flags/#enable-force-dark into the address bar of Microsoft Edge.
The flag will pull up the “Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents” setting by highlighting it.
Click on the drop-down menu next to the setting and select “Enabled.”
Click Restart in the lower right corner to apply all the changes.
Note that this feature made its way with Microsoft Edge v84. So, make sure you’re using this version or above.
Windows Color Settings
If Microsoft Edge settings didn’t work out for you, try enabling the dark mode by going into the Windows color settings. However, the change will also affect all Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps into dark mode instead of just Edge.
Go to Windows Settings or press Windows+I key combinations
Select Personalization
Tap on the Colors tab
Under Choose your mode, select Dark.
Restart your PC if the applied settings don’t seem to work.
Time Zone Setting
You will need to check whether the Time Zone is correct if you’re using the Custom Color Mode feature on your Windows 11 PC,
Go to Settings
Click on Time and Language
Select the Date and Time
Click on the toggle next to Set Time Automatically turned on.
Under Additional Settings, click on Sync Now button.
Close the window and open Edge to check if the problem is solved.
Use Extensions
Interestingly, you can install a third-party extension if nothing seems to work, and switching to a completely new browser looks too much.
You can install extensions like Dark Reader to enable dark themes on all the websites you visit on Microsoft Edge. However, you may not see the changes on the toolbar.
You can also adjust the brightness and contrast of the web pages using the Dark Reader extension.
To enter into the extension –
First off, add the extension to the toolbar for quick access.
Click on the Extensions icon provided on the toolbar.
A list of installed extensions will open. Click on the eye icon next to the Dark Reader extension to view it on the toolbar.
Now, click on the Dark Reader extension to open the menu.
Toggle On or Off. Choose between Dark and Light.
You can tweak more settings and play around.
There are many other extensions available on Microsoft Edge that can help you enjoy dark themes on the browser. Just write dark mode in the search box on the Microsoft Edge Add-ons page and select the ones based on the latest updates and reviews.
It’s worth mentioning an extension might affect page loading speed on the Edge browser.
So, these were the methods using which you can make dark mode work again on Microsoft Edge. Let us know which method worked for you.
If you use Microsoft Outlook on a daily basis and you’ve run out of space, want a backup, or just to create a portable archive of your information, then creating and saving a PST file is the quickest solution.
The process of doing that isn’t too complicated, and it involves some basic steps you can follow directly in Outlook.
What’s a PST file in Outlook?
PST stands for Personal Storage Table. It is a file format used to store data in Microsoft Outlook. It can be used to store emails, address book contacts, and calendar entries.
This file is created automatically when you add an email account and makes it easier to back up your data. If you have multiple accounts set up in Outlook, each one will have its own personal folder on your computer, provided it’s an IMAP or POP3 account.
Data files are stored on the server for server-based accounts like Microsoft 365, Exchange, and Outlook.com. Their offline files are stored on your PC in the OST format.
The default location for this file varies depending on your Windows version so for newer versions on Windows 11, you’ll probably find it in the following path unless you manually changed it: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
The main reason why people use these types of files is to keep their emails safe from any loss or corruption. Unexpected events like data theft or hardware failure can cause issues with Outlook hence why they become a safety net.
However, the bad outweighs the good. Since this file type is uncommon, you can’t simply access its content in another email client without first converting it. You may also encounter compatibility issues when you cannot open a PST file created in older versions of Outlook.
Another disadvantage is that they aren’t searchable unless you index or convert them into another format. You’ll keep getting the PST cannot be found error message even though you had created it.
The best way to ensure that your Outlook data files are stored in a format that can be read by future versions of Microsoft Office Outlook is to save them in a more convenient file format, such as an EML file instead of a PST.
How do I create a PST File in Outlook?
1. Use Outlook’s built-in settings
Launch your Outlook app.
Click on the New Items option, select More Items from the drop-down menu, and Outlook Data File from the pop-out menu.
Type a name in the file name box. Check the Add Optional Password box if you want to password-protect the file, then hit OK.
Follow the prompts to create the security credentials in the next prompt and hit Enter.
2. Use the Import and Export feature
Launch your Outlook app.
Click on the File menu at the top left pane, select Open & Export, and click on Import/Export.
Hit Export to a file and click Next.
Click on Outlook Data File (.pst) and hit Next.
Select all folders you wish to create PST files from and click Next.
Next, click on Browse to select a folder location to save, then hit Finish.
It is important to note that newer Outlook accounts such as IMAP, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Outlook.com use the OST format. However, this does not mean you cannot create PST files. You’ll have to use the export method to achieve this.
Navigate to Cleanup tools, and in the drop-down menu, select Archive.
Check all folders you wish to export from the folder list, then hit Browse to set up the Outlook PST file location and hit OK.
4. Use Account settings
Launch your Outlook app.
Navigate to the Filemenu at the top left pane, and click on Info.
Click on Account settings and select Account settings.
In the Account settings dialog box, navigate to the Data Files tab and click on the Add button.
Choose a name for this file, and under the file type, select .pst, then hit OK.
When you encrypt PST files, they can only be opened with a password. This helps keep sensitive information safe from prying eyes, especially when using shared computers.
How do I save an Outlook email as a PST file?
Launch your Outlook app.
Right-click on your Inbox folder or any other and select New Folder.
Enter a name for the newly created folder.
Go back to your Inbox, open the email message, and drag it to the folder you created in 3 above.
Click on the File tab at the top left pane, select Open & Export, and in the drop-down menu, select Import/Export.
Hit Exportto a file and click Next.
Click on Outlook Data File and hit Next.
Select the folder created in 3 above and click Next.
Click on Browse to select a folder location to save the PST file, then hit Finish.
With time, as you accumulate lots of emails, calendar events, and other data, your PST file can become too large and lead to performance degradation. The risks of ending up with a corrupt PST file are also higher with such a voluminous file.
This necessitates you to reduce the PST file size to take charge of your storage and minimize any app crashes.
Users with old versions of Microsoft Office may find that the app doesn’t support PST files. In this case, you won’t see any options to import PST files into Outlook. If this is the case, we recommend upgrading to a version that does.
With the options discussed above, you should have no problems with PST file creation in Outlook mail. Just remember to back up your Outlook data before creating a PST file.
Do let us know which method you found easy to follow in the comment section below.
As trivial as it looks, Microsoft Paint is still an essential tool for whatever reason you use it. Now, if you’re still a user, we’ve come with some good news: Paint is getting dark mode, and you can activate it right now.
That’s right. The feature used to be live for insiders in the Canary and Dev channels through their respective builds. Paint will seamlessly adapt to dark mode if your system is already set to dark mode.
But now, it seems that the dark mode in Microsoft Paint is live on all Windows servers. However, even though the feature is available to non-Insider Windows users, dark mode is still rolling out in the live Windows 11 servers, so you might not get it right away.
Assuming by stable you mean retail/non-Insider – it's rolling out but not yet available to everyone yet so your VM isn't being weird, just not lucky enough yet to get it.
However, if your system is not in dark mode, you have the option to manually enable dark mode in Paint through the Settings menu.
Dark mode has gained popularity for its ability to reduce eye strain, improve readability, and conserve battery life on devices with OLED displays. By incorporating this feature, Paint aims to cater to the diverse needs and preferences of its user base, offering a more immersive and visually appealing editing experience.
How to activate dark mode on Microsoft Paint.
Windows 11 settings
1. Go to the Settings app.
2. Click Personalization ➜ Colors.
3. Next to the Choose your mode option, select Dark from the toggle. If your device is eligible, the Paint app will automatically be in the dark mode.
Paint settings
1. Open Paint.
2. On the top right of your screen, click on the gear icon to access Settings.
3. Choose Dark mode.
Besides the highly anticipated introduction of dark mode, a number of users have also discovered an enhanced zooming experience. Presenting a fresh and intuitive interface, a new zoom control now accompanies the familiar slider. This updated feature enables users to zoom with greater precision, offering predefined zoom levels ranging from 12.5% all the way up to 800%.
What do you think about this dark mode option on Microsoft Paint? Let us know in the comments!
If you have multiple email accounts configured in your Outlook, each would have a separate Inbox. You need to juggle between the inboxes to keep a check on the incoming emails and stay updated with the communication.
To reduce the hassle, you can create a unified inbox in Outlook to combine all inboxes from different email clients.
In this guide, we will discuss methods with step-by-step instructions to merge Outlook accounts to streamline communication.
What is a unified inbox in Outlook?
A unified inbox in Outlook is a common inbox with all of your email accounts, where you’ll receive messages from all of your email addresses. The benefits of having one are:
Saves you time – Allows you to check all the emails in one place so you don’t miss anything important, saving your time and effort.
Helps you prioritize – With a unified view, you can check all emails, decide the priority and respond to them accordingly.
Enhance cross-account visibility – Helps you get all important communications immediately if you have different projects and responsibilities.
Focus on the content – A unified inbox helps reduces the cognitive load of managing multiple accounts and enables you to focus on the emails’ content.
Organized inbox – Being able to check all the email messages in a single view helps you sort and categorize them in a better way.
In Outlook 2016 and later versions, there’s also a similar feature called Focused Inbox, but it works for one email address at a time. Here’s how to enable or disable it.
How can I create a unified inbox view in Outlook?
If you are looking for ways to combine inboxes in Outlook, know that there is no straightforward way to do it, but there are various workarounds to get the Outlook combined inbox view for better email management.
1. Use the Search bar
Press the Windows key, type outlook, and click Open.
On the Outlook main window, select any of the inboxes. Go to the Search bar, and type folder: Inbox.
Click the downward arrow at the left, and change the Current folder option to All Mailboxes. This will show you the emails from all the email accounts at once.
Click the downward arrow to the right of the search bar and filter the list further by selecting fields like Date, Subject, Size, etc.
Once you have input a search query, you can access it in the future by clicking the Search bar, and choosing the Recent Searches option, thereby merging your inboxes on Outlook whenever you want.
First, you will have to create a folder. Here’s how to do that:
Press the Windows key, type outlook, and click Open.
Go to the Folder tab, and click New Folder.
Once the New Folder window appears, name it Unified Inbox and click OK.
Now after creating a folder, you can create a rule with these steps:
Go to the Home tab, and click Rules.
From the drop-down menu, select Manage Rules & Alerts.
Click New Rule from the Rules & Alert dialog box.
On the Rules Wizard dialog box, place a checkmark to Apply rule on messages I receive and click Next.
On the next page, place a checkmark next to through the specified account, and on this computer only, click Next.
Once it appears under Step 2, click the hyperlink on the specified and select an email address and click OK.
Now, select move it to the specified folder, and once it appears in Step 2, click the hyperlink on the specified.
Choose Unified Inbox from the pop-up window, and click OK; then, on the main window, click Next.
You can add exceptions if you like or leave it as it is and hit Next.
On the next page, name the rule and place a checkmark next to Run this rule on messages already in Inbox, and check the Review rule description for errors field. Once you think everything is in place, click Finish.
Click OK on the Rules and Alerts window to close it.
The rule will be applied to the selected email account in a couple of minutes. Follow Step 1 to 10 to add all the email accounts you want to get a unified view.
Once done, all the Inbox emails will sync and appear in your Unified Inbox folder; you get to see all the important emails in the folder even if the Inbox button is not working for you.
First, you will have to change the Macro settings:
Launch Outlook, and go to the File tab.
Click Options to open the Outlook Options window.
Click Trust Center from the left panel, then click the Trust Center Settings button.
Next, select Macro Settings, click the radio button next to Notifications for all macros, and click OK.
Again click OK.
After changing the settings, you can use the VBA, here’s how you can do that:
On the Outlook main window, go to the Developer tab.
Click the Visual Basic option to open Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications.
Go to the Insert option, and select Module.
Copy and paste the following code to the module and press Crtl + S to save it, then close the window.
Sub UnifiedInbox()
Dim xExplorer As Outlook.Explorer
Dim xSearch As String
On Error Resume Next
xSearch = "folderpath:Inbox"
Set xExplorer = Outlook.Application.ActiveExplorer
xExplorer.Search xSearch, olSearchScopeAllFolders
Set xApp = Nothing
End Sub
In the end, after changing the Macro settings and using VBA, you can run the code with the next steps:
On the Outlook main window, go to the Developer tab.
Select Macros, then from the drop-down, choose the one you saved.
The action will run the query, and you will see all the inbox emails from multiple accounts displayed.
The results displayed would be similar to the ones that we saw in the Search bar method. You can use either of them.
However, with time the query from the search bar will drop off the list as you search for other things. Therefore, the macros method is useful as it saves the query, and you can run it whenever you want.
But keep in mind that using macros in Outlook can sometimes lead to small errors, such as Outlook is not updating inbox, but we have dedicated guide addressing that.
If you are facing any problems or have any questions while following the instructions, feel free to mention them in the comments section. We will be happy to help!
Microsoft Copilot will mark a revolution in the world of emails. It will simplify composing new emails or replying to one. Copilot will provide suggestions, inputs, and draft responses as an AI-powered virtual writing assistant. But how do you enable Copilot in Outlook?
The feature has been rolled out and is available to select Microsoft 365 users. So, let’s get to the details and learn more about Microsoft 365 Copilot and how to get it!
Is Copilot for Outlook available?
Copilot is available for Outlook and other Microsoft 365 apps, including Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The feature is integrated into Outlook, though you must manually enable Copilot to make the most of it.
Remember, Copilot is available on computer and mobile devices, offering pretty much the same features.
How do I turn on Microsoft Copilot in Outlook?
Launch Outlook and then click on the File menu.
Click on Options near the bottom left.
Under Compose messages, tick the checkbox for Enable Microsoft 365 Copilot.
If you can’t find the option, click the Editor Options button.
Now, in the Proofing tab, tick the checkbox for Use Copilot to help me write better emails, and then save the changes.
Make sure to restart the computer in case the changes don’t reflect immediately.
You can similarly enable Copilot in Outlook on mobile and Mac. But keep in mind that Copilot isn’t the only AI-enabled assistant. There are a lot of options nowadays, some of which are open-source.
You can also use Copilot on Word starting this November if your organization has a Copilot license. To learn how to use it, read this guide.
We’ve researched the topic and come up with a list of the best AI content generators, in case Copilot isn’t available for you or if you just want to check out the competition.
How do I use Copilot in Outlook?
Now that you know how to activate Copilot in Outlook, let’s find out how to employ it on the email client. Press the blue Copilot icon or press Ctrl + Spacebar to view the automated suggestions. Also, you can enforce them directly from the suggestions window.
Here are the primary benefits of using Copilot:
Prioritize emails: Many receive hundreds of emails daily, and finding the relevant one is often challenging. Copilot in Outlook will look through the email contents and present the ones that require immediate attention or are on priority.
Choose from different writing styles: Copilot offers several writing styles to match the tone you need for a particular email for better results. This includes
Professional
Neutral
Casual
Make it a poem
Import data from other sources: You can add data from an Excel sheet or other sources to an email using Copilot. It will automatically analyze the content and then present it in a readable format. This also includes adding graphs and other visual representations.
Change the email length: When drafting emails using Copilot, you can always change the email’s text length. If you need to add more context, go with Long, use Medium for regular emails, and for emails of urgency, select Short.
Condense information: Got a lengthy email to look through? You can get Copilot in Outlook to present a condensed summary and quickly browse through the information.
Copilot hasn’t yet been released for everyone and is still in testing. Microsoft initially released it to a handful of users, and it should be rolled out for the general public soon.
Besides, ensure you have a Copilot subscription priced at $30 and an active Microsoft 365 subscription plan.
Remember, no AI-based tool is perfect and can’t be relied on blindly. And with Copilot in the early days, this verification should be all the more stringent.
As per Microsoft’s official blog, the AI-based Copilot is learning from user feedback. So make sure the email’s content adheres to your requirements before hitting that Send button.
Another great AI assistant available in the preview for Microsoft Security Copilot explains Microsoft is all about adapting the latest technology to help people and enterprises.
And there are a lot more features coming up in the following months. Subscribe to our Newsletter to ensure you’ll be the first to discover what’s coming, and don’t forget to share your experience with Copilot in the comments section below!
Plain text emails have been the standard of email communications for a long time. Luckily, GIFs are slowly taking over and breaking the monotony of all the seriousness in a 10-paragraph email.
Perhaps you want to add that key ingredient to your emails, or someone has finally convinced you to use them. Whatever the case, most people don’t know how to insert a GIF in Outlook, so here’s the rundown on how to do it.
How do you insert a GIF into an email?
1. Use the drag-and-drop feature
Log into your email account on a web browser (We’ll use Outlook web for this step).
Click on New mail and type in your message.
Locate the GIF file on your PC and drag and drop it into your message body.
2. Use the insert option
Launch your email desktop app or log in via your browser (We’ll use Outlook for this step).
Click on the New Mail option to create a new email message.
In the email body, place the cursor where you’d like to insert the GIF in Outlook, click Insert, select Pictures then choose your GIF.
Some email clients, like Yahoo, have a GIF button with pre-downloaded static images in the library. You can search for GIF files without downloading them.
Log into your email account on your web browser (We’ll use Yahoo for this step).
Click on the Compose button and draft an email.
Now click on the three ellipses and select the link icon.
Copy and paste the GIF’s link in the required field, then press Enter.
We hope we’ve set you on the path to sending GIFs in your emails and then used it to liven up an interesting point in an email or an otherwise boring conversation. Outlook supports other formats that work with gifs, and we have a great guide on how to insert HTML to Outlook emails.
How do I enable animated GIFs?
If you’re wondering if GIFs play in Outlook, the answer is yes. When you receive an animated GIF image, it will play automatically when you load your email. It will then loop three times, and the play button will appear if you want to replay it.
The caveat for this is that not all Outlook versions have GIF support.
Supported versions are as follows:
All Outlook versions after 2021.
Outlook for Office 365.
Outlook’s web version.
All older versions from 2019 and below will only display the first frame, which is basically a frozen moment of the GIF. This beats the whole point of sending a GIF if it won’t load on the other end or display as a static image.
You’re better off marking all your emails as read if you were looking forward to getting some fun email content. The only workaround is to open the GIF in a browser.
Now, let’s look into how you can enable animated GIFs on your devices and email clients.
Launch your Outlook app.
Click on File and select Options.
Select the Advanced tab, then check the Play animated GIFs box.
These settings allow you to play GIF format when you receive such files in your email for older versions of Outlook. Newer versions and Outlook Web already have this feature built-in, so you won’t need to perform this step.
If you’re already using GIFs in other tools like PowerPoint, there’s a quick way to save gifs from PowerPoint for later use. But remember that GIFs are animations, alongside many others that are already native in Windows.
Using too many at once might be overwhelming so check out how to react to Outlook messages instead. And if you find that GIFs slightly slow down your PC, you can disable animation effects to leave more space for your awesome GIFs.
Incase your message fits better in a video, perhaps we may entice you to play Microsoft Streams on Outlook. You can play videos directly without leaving your inbox.
Well, there you have it. In a few easy steps, you can also send GIFs in emails. Which email client do you find easier to send out GIFs? Let us know in the comment section below.
In the fast-paced digital landscape, maximizing productivity is key. Whether you’re a casual user or a tech enthusiast, navigating your computer efficiently is crucial. If you’ve ever found yourself frustrated by Windows 11 apps in the Task Manager randomly shifting around, you’re not alone. However, there’s a hidden keyboard shortcut that can revolutionize your Windows experience, called the Windows Task Manager Pause Shortcut. This shortcut allows you to pause the Task Manager, halting app chaos with a simple key press. Today, we unveil this incredible technique that has the potential to reshape the way you interact with your Windows device.
Discover the hidden shortcut to halt app chaos
It’s often the simplest solutions that have the most profound impact. Imagine a scenario: you’re knee-deep in tasks, trying to manage various applications in the Windows Task Manager, only to have them constantly shuffling around, making your workflow a nightmare. The frustration is real, and you might be wondering if there’s a way to put an end to this chaos.
Did you know that if you hold CTRL it will pause Task Manager updating, which means the process names don't move around and are easier to select when you're sorted by resource usage? ????
Jen Gentleman, a Microsoft employee on the Windows engineering team, has brought to light a game-changing technique that has eluded many users. By holding down the CTRL key while the Task Manager is open, you can pause its contents in their tracks. This remarkable discovery applies not only to Windows 10 but also to Windows 11 and potentially even older Windows versions.
Enhance your Windows experience with expert tips
Efficiency is the cornerstone of a seamless computing experience. For over two decades, Windows has been an integral part of our digital lives, and yet, there are hidden gems waiting to be uncovered. The Windows operating system boasts a plethora of keyboard shortcuts and tricks that can significantly enhance your productivity beyond.
As a Windows user for over 25 years of experience, I realize that the earning never stops. Each month brings forth new ways to perform tasks within the operating system. What’s fascinating is that these shortcuts often remain concealed until they’re shared by experts like Jen Gentleman. This continuous learning journey underscores the dynamic nature of technology.
The Power of the CTRL key in the Windows Task Manager
While the CTRL key’s magic in pausing the Windows Task Manager is undeniably valuable, the Windows ecosystem is ever-evolving. Microsoft, in its pursuit of seamless user experiences, is tirelessly working to introduce features that streamline processes. One noteworthy development is the force quit option in Windows 11. Soon, users will be able to close apps without relying on the Task Manager, thanks to a convenient right-click option in the taskbar. This advancement showcases Microsoft’s commitment to user-centric innovation.
However, even with the forthcoming enhancements, the hold CTRL option to pause the Windows Task Manager retains its significance. For users who have yet to transition to Windows 11, this technique remains an indispensable tool. Its simplicity and effectiveness make it a timeless asset in your digital toolkit.
Unveiling the hidden delights of Windows 11
Windows 11, the latest iteration of Microsoft’s operating system, brings a fresh wave of innovation and user-centric features. Beyond the functional improvements, Windows 11 introduces delightful additions that enhance your overall experience. One such gem is hidden within the Notepad app.
If you right-click the gear in Windows 11’s Notepad app, you can spin it much like a digital fidget spinner. This seemingly playful feature highlights Microsoft’s attention to detail and commitment to injecting moments of joy into your computing journey. These thoughtful additions, or “Easter eggs,” have been a part of Windows for decades, embodying the brand’s ethos of innovation and surprise.
Empower your Windows experience
In the ever-evolving realm of technology, there’s always something new to learn, explore, and optimize. The Task Manager pause shortcut is a prime example of how a simple, yet powerful technique can significantly enhance your productivity. From the seasoned Windows user to the novice, everyone stands to benefit from this revelation.
As we embrace the future with Windows 11’s advancements, it’s crucial to remember that some techniques, like the hold CTRL option, remain timeless and universally applicable. Microsoft’s dedication to refining user experiences is evident in both its functional innovations and delightful Easter eggs.
So, the next time you find yourself grappling with apps rearranging themselves in the Windows Task Manager, remember this hidden shortcut. Embrace the power of the CTRL key and witness the transformation it brings to your workflow. Welcome to a world where chaos takes a pause, and you take control.
Importing Outlook contacts to your iPhone can help you manage your professional and personal contacts and sync them across your devices.
In this guide, we will discuss some easiest methods with detailed instructions to sync Outlook contacts to iPhone.
Why won’t my Outlook Contacts sync with my iPhone?
There could be various reasons why you can’t import contacts from Outlook to your iPhone; some of the common ones are mentioned here:
Outlook app is outdated – If your Outlook version is not up to date, the contacts might not sync to your iPhone. Go to App Store and ensure the app is outdated.
iOS is not updated – Outdated iOS software might make your device run slower and interrupt normal functionality, causing issues like this. Make sure you have an updated iOS version installed.
Weak Internet connection – You need a steady Internet connection to sync the contacts to your phone. If the internet is slow, the issue might occur. Check your Wi-Fi connection or talk to your ISP.
Save contacts option is disabled – If the feature is not enabled, the iPhone can’t allow the sync to happen, hence the issue. Check if the Outlook account has the Save Contacts feature enabled.
You can also try restarting your phone, resetting your Outlook account, or making Outlook your default email account to fix the problem.
If you are looking for ways to import your Outlook Express emails to Outlook 2010, we recommend you read this guide to know the process.
How can I import Outlook contacts to iPhone?
1. Use an Exchange account on iPhone
On your iPhone, go to Settings, and tap Contacts.
Locate the Default Account option and ensure iCloud is selected.
Next, tap Accounts.
In case you don’t have it on the list, click Add Account.
Select Outlook.com or Microsoft Exchange.
Enter your email address and password to complete the process.
Once done, tap on the Microsoft 365 account.
Locate Contacts, and tap on the switch next to it to turn it on.
Now check your contacts in iPhone and Outlook to ensure the Outlook contacts are imported to your iPhone using your Exchange account.
2. Use the Outlook app
Launch the Outlook app on your iPhone and tap on the profile icon.
Select Settings.
Locate Email Accounts, and select the email account.
Next, toggle on the switch for Save Contacts.
Tap on Save to my iPhone to confirm the action.
Click OK if you get a prompt Outlook asking permission to access your contacts.
3. Use iTunes
Download iTunes on your computer if you don’t have it installed.
Connect your iPhone to your computer using USB; once connected, launch iTunes.
On your iPhone, you will get a prompt about the connection; click Trust.
Locate and click the Device icon.
From the left panel, under Settings, click Info.
Place a checkmark next to Sync Contacts with, and from the dropdown menu next to it, select Outlook.
On the prompt asking to confirm the action, choose Switch.
Next, click Apply, then Done to initiate the sync of Outlook contacts to iPhone using iTunes.
On your iPhone, go to Settings, and tap on your name.
On the next screen, tap iCloud.
Under Apps Using iCloud, tap Show All.
Locate Contacts and toggle on the switch next to it.
Launch Microsoft Store and search for iCloud and click Get to install it.
Launch the iCloud app and log in using the Apple ID that you use on your iPhone.
On the primary window, place a checkmark next to Contacts, and Calendars and click Apply.
Once completed, you will get a dialog box informing the same; click Done to close it.
5. Use a third-party tool
If everything seems too complicated or you want to take control of what gets synced on your devices, then we suggest using a third-party tool like TouchCopy to copy contacts from your iPhone to Outlook without syncing. Here are the steps to do so:
Download TouchCopy on your computer. Double-click the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.
Launch the app, and connect your iPhone via a USB cable. Ensure you have iTunes open in the background.
Click Contacts from the left corner, and select the contacts you want to copy to your Outlook account.
Next, click the Copy to Outlook option.
Using a third-party tool is easier, but it involves downloading and installing it, and not everyone is comfortable with that.
Besides, some online tools can also pose security risks; that’s why we recommend checking the source before downloading.
Importing and exporting Outlook contacts isn’t that hard, and it can even work from Windows 7 to Windows 10 or even Windows 11. It’s just a matter of patience and a few easy steps.
But if you encounter any problems or if you have any other questions, leave them in the comments section below, and we’ll be sure to answer them.
Microsoft has re-released the August 2023 Security Updates (SUs) for Exchange Server, aimed at addressing a critical issue that was identified in the original release. The initial release, which took place on August 8, 2023, encountered a localization problem on Exchange Servers running non-English operating systems. This problem led to the Setup process unexpectedly halting, leaving Exchange services in a disabled state.
The updated SUs, referred to as “Aug SUv2,” have been meticulously designed to rectify this localization issue. It is imperative for those who were affected by this issue and resorted to the workaround to install the original release to take necessary actions.
To simplify the process for users, Microsoft has introduced a naming convention to differentiate between the two versions of the August 2023 SUs:
Aug SUv1: Original August 2023 SU (released on 8/8/2023)
Aug SUv2: Re-released August 2023 SU (released on 8/15/2023)
Here is what you need to do based on your environment:
If you have Aug SUv1 installed…
And you…
Your recommended action is…
…via manual installation without any issues
(no specific action taken)
You can optionally install Aug SUv2 or wait for later SUs.
…through automatic installation (Microsoft / Windows Update) without any issues
(no specific action taken)
Aug SUv2 will be automatically downloaded; install later SUs.
…but its Setup failed, leaving Exchange services disabled
…restarted Exchange services using ServiceControl.ps1 AfterPatch (or other methods), without installing Aug SUv1
Install Aug SUv2 and await later SUs.
…but its Setup failed, leaving Exchange services disabled
…restarted Exchange services using ServiceControl.ps1 AfterPatch (or other methods), and used the workaround to manually create a “Network Service” account before installing Aug SUv1
1. Uninstall Aug SUv1, then reboot.
2. Remove the created “Network Service” account (if it still exists).
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