navigation experience Archives

Winsage

March 28, 2025

Microsoft might finally get me to use Xbox Game Bar with its latest update

The Xbox Game Bar has been updated with an improved design for easier controller navigation, featuring a new Compact Mode optimized for controllers. This mode offers a user-friendly interface that allows for seamless cycling through widgets and settings. Additionally, a new widget store enables users to browse and install widgets directly using their controllers, which is particularly beneficial for portable Windows devices. The update enhances the overall gaming experience, especially for handheld gaming devices.

Winsage

March 25, 2025

Windows 11’s Photos app is about to get a big update, and it’s all about AI

The Photos app on Windows 11 is undergoing significant updates, currently available for Windows Insiders in the Release Preview Channel. Key features include Optical Character Recognition (OCR) supporting over 160 languages, allowing users to extract and search text from images. A new "Search in Web" function enables users to find online results for selected text. The update also introduces a Copilot button within the Photos app for image enhancement tips, insights, and framing suggestions. Additionally, new shortcuts in File Explorer provide direct access to AI editing and Visual Search, allowing users to create with Designer and erase unwanted elements. The app now supports JXL files and includes bug fixes for improved performance. Users can enable the "Show subfolders" option to view images and videos from subfolders in the Gallery.

Winsage

March 14, 2025

5 reasons why Linux Mint is the best distro for Windows converts

Transitioning from Windows to Linux can be overwhelming due to concerns about software compatibility, gaming capabilities, and the learning curve. Recent advancements in Linux distributions, particularly Linux Mint, have made this shift more accessible. Linux Mint features a start menu for easy navigation, is built on Ubuntu with Debian foundations, and offers a graphical user interface for installing applications through an integrated software store. It is compatible with a wide range of hardware, requiring only 2 GB of RAM and 20 GB of disk space, making it suitable for older PCs. Gaming on Linux has improved significantly with Valve's Proton, allowing many Windows games to run smoothly on Linux, sometimes even better than on Windows.

Winsage

February 24, 2025

Microsoft changes Windows 11’s Start menu for the better (gasp) while introducing nifty new file sharing options

Windows 11 is testing a new preview build (22635.4950) in the Beta channel, featuring enhancements for user experience. Notable updates include a revamped file-sharing feature that allows drag-and-drop functionality to applications like WhatsApp, My Phone, and Microsoft Teams. The Start menu is being redesigned with options for a grid view and a category view in the 'All apps' section. The grid view expands horizontally to display more apps, while the category view organizes apps into groups based on function. The update also improves accessibility support in File Explorer and addresses several bugs. These features are expected to appear in Dev builds soon and are nearing public release.

AppWizard

February 12, 2025

Google Maps tests new weather-related incident reports on app & Android Auto

Google Maps has enhanced its incident reporting feature by expanding the types of incidents users can report, now visible to select users on mobile and Android Auto. The new reporting options include flooded roads, low visibility, and unplowed roads, appearing after the "Stalled vehicle" option. The "Police" report has been moved out of the main view. This update follows a previous enhancement in November that simplified the reporting of speed traps.

AppWizard

December 18, 2024

Android 16 Developer Preview 2 is here with battery life and performance upgrades

Google has released the second developer preview of Android 16, one month after the first, indicating a faster rollout with a stable version expected in Q2 2025. The update enhances app performance, battery life, and provides new tools for developers to diagnose issues like slow startups and app freezes. It includes a built-in photo picker for cloud images, Wi-Fi 6 integration for location-based functionalities, tools for monitoring activity intensity and managing health records, and custom animations for navigation. The first beta is anticipated in January 2025, and Google plans two major Android updates in 2025, with the first introducing significant changes and the second focusing on smaller improvements. Incremental updates will continue to be released quarterly.

Winsage

December 11, 2024

Windows 11 build 27764 is out with Start menu improvements and more

Microsoft has released a new preview build for Windows Insiders, designated as 27764, in the Canary Channel. Key enhancements include: - Start Menu: Users can access jump lists by right-clicking pinned apps. - Dynamic Lighting: A placeholder message appears when no compatible devices are connected, and new directional options have been added to the Wave and Gradient effects. - Input: The IME toolbar will be hidden in full-screen mode for Chinese or Japanese typing. - Narrator: New shortcuts allow users to skip links and jump to lists in scan mode. - Speech in Windows: Improvements to speech-to-text and text-to-speech functionalities, with prompts for manual language file updates. Resolved issues include: - A bugcheck issue causing PAGEFAULTINNONPAGEDAREA errors. - File Explorer improvements to prevent hanging with numerous media files. - Fixes for widget text overlapping on secondary monitors. - Resolution of mouse cursor visibility issues when pointer trails are enabled. - Corrections for HDDs being misidentified as SSDs in Task Manager. - Addressing lag and screen tearing on secondary monitors. - Fix for Excel hanging when opening certain files. Known bugs include: - Issues with Windows Hello PIN and biometrics for users transitioning to the Canary Channel. - Rollbacks during installation of Canary builds. - Ongoing work to resolve issues with accent-colored window borders, window shadows, and animations.

AppWizard

December 4, 2024

Google Maps also showing Waze reports on Android Auto

Google has begun integrating data from Waze into Google Maps, enhancing the driving experience with real-time reports from users. This integration is available on Android Auto, CarPlay, and Android Automotive. Users have started noticing these updates as of late November, which provide a more interactive navigation experience. The Google Maps application on Android Auto now displays Waze reports, indicating their origin from Waze drivers. This feature may also extend to Google Maps on Apple CarPlay. Additionally, Google has improved the reporting system on Android Auto, allowing users to report police activity more easily while ensuring Waze reports remain visible even if new reports cannot be submitted.

Winsage

October 29, 2024

Asus Z890 motherboards update the BIOS without unzipping the file — EZ Flash 4 comes with support for ZIP files

Asus has introduced a streamlined BIOS update process with its EZ Flash 4 utility, eliminating the need to unpack compressed update files. This feature is available on Asus Z890 motherboards and is designed for users of all technical levels. The BIOS interface has been revamped to operate at a native resolution of 1920 x 1080. Additionally, the Z890 motherboards include a PCIe Slot Q-Release button, allowing users to easily remove GPUs or other PCIe add-in cards without reaching deep into the motherboard.

Winsage

October 24, 2024

The ultimate Windows 11 upgrade guide: Everything you need to know

Windows 11 was launched in October 2021 and is now a significant operating system on hundreds of millions of PCs worldwide. It features a redesigned Start menu, taskbar, and Settings app, along with a Widgets pane, tabbed File Explorer, and AI-powered Windows Copilot. The operating system requires hardware-assisted security features, including Secure Boot and device encryption, and mandates specific hardware compatibility, such as a 1GHz processor, 4GB RAM, and TPM version 2.0. Support for Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025, after which it will not receive updates unless users subscribe to Extended Security Updates. Windows 11 is available as a free upgrade for licensed Windows 10 users, and the installation process includes various options for upgrading. Microsoft reports higher customer satisfaction with Windows 11 compared to previous versions.