Tech

proxmox-gives-vmware-esxi-users-a-place-to-go-after-broadcom-kills-free-version

Proxmox gives VMware ESXi users a place to go after Broadcom kills free version

Biz & IT, Broadcom, esxi, proxmox, Tech, vmware / /

time to migrate —

Proxmox is a Linux-based hypervisor that could replace ESXi for some users.

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Proxmox gives VMware ESXi users a place to go after Broadcom kills free version

Broadcom has made sweeping changes to VMware’s business since acquiring the company in November 2023, killing off the perpetually licensed versions of VMware’s software and instituting large-scale layoffs. Broadcom executives have acknowledged the “unease” that all of these changes have created among VMware’s customers and partners but so far haven’t been interested in backtracking.

Among the casualties of the acquisition is the free version of VMware’s vSphere Hypervisor, also known as ESXi. ESXi is “bare-metal hypervisor” software, meaning that it allows users to run multiple operating systems on a single piece of hardware while still allowing those operating systems direct access to disks, GPUs, and other system resources.

One alternative to ESXi for home users and small organizations is Proxmox Virtual Environment, a Debian-based Linux operating system that provides broadly similar functionality and has the benefit of still being an actively developed product. To help jilted ESXi users, the Proxmox team has just added a new “integrated import wizard” to Proxmox that supports importing of ESXi VMs, easing the pain of migrating between platforms.

The announcement claims that an imported ESXi VM will have “most of its config mapped to Proxmox VE’s config model” to minimize downtime. The documentation indicates that the import wizard is still “in tech preview state” and “under active development,” though it’s also said to be “working stable.” The importer works with VMs made in ESXi versions 6.5 through 8.0, which was the most recent version available before Broadcom discontinued the software.

A wiki article from Proxmox also provides more information about preparing your VMs for the move. The article recommends uninstalling guest tools made to work with ESXi, noting network configuration settings like MAC addresses or any manually assigned IP addresses, and disabling any full-disk encryption that stores its keys in your hypervisor’s virtual TPM. It’s currently not possible to migrate vTPM settings from one hypervisor to another, so booting up a VM with disk encryption enabled will require a recovery key before the machine will boot.

Like the free version of ESXi, the free version of Proxmox VE doesn’t include technical support beyond what is offered in Proxmox’s community forums. For people who use Proxmox VE and want to deploy it more widely in a business, Proxmox does offer a few subscription tiers that provide access to its more stable Enterprise Repositories and actual technical support from the software’s developers.

Proxmox gives VMware ESXi users a place to go after Broadcom kills free version Read More »

oregon-governor-signs-nation’s-first-right-to-repair-bill-that-bans-parts-pairing

Oregon governor signs nation’s first right-to-repair bill that bans parts pairing

Apple, Oregon, parts pairing, right to repair, serialization, Tech, US PIRG / /

Right to repair —

Starting in 2025, devices can’t block repair parts with software pairing checks.

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Cables emanating from an iPhone under repair, with gloves hands holding a tweezer over the phone

Enlarge / Oregon’s repair bill prohibits companies from implementing software locks that prohibit aftermarket or used parts from being installed in their devices.

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek today signed the state’s Right to Repair Act, which will push manufacturers to provide more repair options for their products than any other state so far.

The law, like those passed in New York, California, and Minnesota, will require many manufacturers to provide the same parts, tools, and documentation to individuals and repair shops that they provide to their own repair teams.

But Oregon’s bill goes further, preventing companies from implementing schemes that require parts to be verified through encrypted software checks before they will function. Known as parts pairing or serialization, Oregon’s bill, SB 1596, is the first in the nation to target that practice. Oregon State Senator Janeen Sollman (D) and Representative Courtney Neron (D) sponsored and pushed the bill in the state senate and legislature.

“By eliminating manufacturer restrictions, the Right to Repair will make it easier for Oregonians to keep their personal electronics running,” said Charlie Fisher, director of Oregon’s chapter of the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), in a statement. “That will conserve precious natural resources and prevent waste. It’s a refreshing alternative to a ‘throwaway’ system that treats everything as disposable.”

Oregon’s bill isn’t stronger in every regard. For one, there is no set number of years for a manufacturer to support a device with repair support. Parts pairing is prohibited only on devices sold in 2025 and later. And there are carve-outs for certain kinds of electronics and devices, including video game consoles, medical devices, HVAC systems, motor vehicles, and—as with other states—”electric toothbrushes.”

Apple opposed the Oregon repair bill for its parts-pairing ban. John Perry, a senior manager for secure design at Apple, testified at a February hearing in Oregon that the pairing restriction would “undermine the security, safety, and privacy of Oregonians by forcing device manufacturers to allow the use of parts of unknown origin in consumer devices.”

Apple surprised many observers with its support for California’s repair bill in 2023, though it did so after pressing for repair providers to mention when they use “non-genuine or used” components, and to bar repair providers from disabling security features.

According to Consumer Reports, which lobbied and testified in support of Oregon’s bill, the repair laws passed in four states now cover nearly 70 million people.

Oregon governor signs nation’s first right-to-repair bill that bans parts pairing Read More »

intel,-microsoft-discuss-plans-to-run-copilot-locally-on-pcs-instead-of-in-the-cloud

Intel, Microsoft discuss plans to run Copilot locally on PCs instead of in the cloud

AI, chatgpt, copilot, intel, microsoft, Tech / /

the ai pc —

Companies are trying to make the “AI PC” happen with new silicon and software.

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The basic requirements for an AI PC, at least when it's running Windows.

Enlarge / The basic requirements for an AI PC, at least when it’s running Windows.

Intel

Microsoft said in January that 2024 would be the year of the “AI PC,” and we know that AI PCs will include a few hardware components that most Windows systems currently do not include—namely, a built-in neural processing unit (NPU) and Microsoft’s new Copilot key for keyboards. But so far we haven’t heard a whole lot about what a so-called AI PC will actually do for users.

Microsoft and Intel are starting to talk about a few details as part of an announcement from Intel about a new AI PC developer program that will encourage software developers to leverage local hardware to build AI features into their apps.

The main news comes from Tom’s Hardware, confirming that AI PCs would be able to run “more elements of Copilot,” Microsoft’s AI chatbot assistant, “locally on the client.” Currently, Copilot relies on server-side processing even for small requests, introducing lag that is tolerable if you’re making a broad request for information but less so if all you want to do is change a setting or get basic answers. Running generative AI models locally could also improve user privacy, making it possible to take advantage of AI-infused software without automatically sending information to a company that will use it for further model training.

Right now, Windows doesn’t use local NPUs for much, since most current PCs don’t have them. The Surface Studio webcam features can use NPUs for power-efficient video effects and background replacement, but as of this writing that’s pretty much it. Apple’s and Google’s operating systems both use NPUs for a wider swatch of image and audio processing features, including facial recognition and object recognition, OCR, live transcription and translation, and more.

Intel also said that Microsoft would require NPUs in “next-gen AI PCs” to hit speeds of 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS) to meet its requirements. Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and others sometimes use TOPS as a high-level performance metric when comparing their NPUs; Intel’s Meteor Lake laptop chips can run 10 TOPS, while AMD’s Ryzen 7040 and 8040 laptop chips hit 10 TOPS and 16 TOPS, respectively.

Unfortunately for Intel, the first company to put out an NPU suitable for powering Copilot locally may come from Qualcomm. The company’s upcoming Snapdragon X processors, long seen as the Windows ecosystem’s answer to Apple’s M-series Mac chips, promise up to 45 TOPS. Rumors suggest that Microsoft will shift the consumer version of its Surface tablet to Qualcomm’s chips after a few years of offering both Intel and Qualcomm options; Microsoft announced a Surface Pro update with Intel’s Meteor Lake chips last week but is only selling it to businesses.

Asus and Intel are offering a NUC with a Meteor Lake CPU and its built-in NPU as an AI development platform.

Enlarge / Asus and Intel are offering a NUC with a Meteor Lake CPU and its built-in NPU as an AI development platform.

Intel

All of that said, TOPS are just one simplified performance metric. As when using FLOPS to compare graphics performance, it’s imprecise and won’t capture variations in how each NPU handles different tasks. And the Arm version of Windows still has software and hardware compatibility issues that could continue to hold it back.

As part of its developer program, Intel is also offering an “AI PC development kit” centered on an Asus NUC Pro 14, a mini PC built around Intel’s Meteor Lake silicon. Intel formally stopped making its NUC mini PCs last year, passing the brand and all of its designs off to Asus. Asus is also handling all remaining warranty service and software support for older NUCs designed and sold by Intel. The NUC Pro 14 is one of the first new NUCs announced since the transition, along with the ROG NUC mini gaming PC.

Intel, Microsoft discuss plans to run Copilot locally on PCs instead of in the cloud Read More »

wwdc-2024-starts-on-june-10-with-announcements-about-ios-18-and-beyond

WWDC 2024 starts on June 10 with announcements about iOS 18 and beyond

AI, Apple, generative ai, ios 18, Tech, wwdc, WWDC 2024, WWDC24 / /

WWDC —

Speculation is rampant that Apple will make its first big moves in generative AI.

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A colorful logo that says

Enlarge / The logo for WWDC24.

Apple

Apple has announced dates for this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). WWDC24 will run from June 10 through June 14 at the company’s Cupertino, California, headquarters, but everything will be streamed online.

Apple posted about the event with the following generic copy:

Join us online for the biggest developer event of the year. Be there for the unveiling of the latest Apple platforms, technologies, and tools. Learn how to create and elevate your apps and games. Engage with Apple designers and engineers and connect with the worldwide developer community. All online and at no cost.

As always, the conference will kick off with a keynote presentation on the first day, which is Monday, June 10. You can be sure Apple will use that event to at least announce the key features of its next round of annual software updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS.

We could also see new hardware—it doesn’t happen every year, but it has of late. We don’t yet know exactly what that hardware might be, though.

Much of the speculation among analysts and commentators concerns Apple’s first move into generative AI. There have been reports that Apple may work with a partner like Google to include a chatbot in its operating system, that it has been considering designing its own AI tools, or that it could offer an AI App Store, giving users a choice between many chatbots.

Whatever the case, Apple is playing catch-up with some of its competitors in generative AI and large language models even though it has been using other applications of AI across its products for a couple of years now. The company’s leadership will probably talk about it during the keynote.

After the keynote, Apple usually hosts a “Platforms State of the Union” talk that delves deeper into its upcoming software updates, followed by hours of developer-focused sessions detailing how to take advantage of newly planned features in third-party apps.

WWDC 2024 starts on June 10 with announcements about iOS 18 and beyond Read More »

chrome-launches-native-build-for-arm-powered-windows-laptops

Chrome launches native build for Arm-powered Windows laptops

ARM, Google, google chrome, Tech / /

Firefox works, too —

When the big Windows-on-Arm relaunch happens in mid-2024, Chrome will be ready.

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Extreme close-up photograph of finger above Chrome icon on smartphone.

We are quickly barreling toward an age of viable Arm-powered Windows laptops with the upcoming launch of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite CPU. Hardware options are great, but getting useful computers out of them will require a lot of new software, and a big one has just launched: Chrome for Windows on Arm.

Google has had a nightly “canary” build running since January, but now it has a blog post up touting a production-ready version of Chrome for “Arm-compatible Windows PCs powered by Snapdragon.” That’s right, Qualcomm has a big hand in this release, too, with its own press announcement touting Google’s browser release for its upcoming chip. Google promises a native version of Chrome will be “fully optimized for your PC’s [Arm] hardware and operating system to make browsing the web faster and smoother.”

Apple upended laptop CPU architecture when it dumped Intel and launched the Arm-based Apple Silicon M1. A few years later and Qualcomm is ready to answer—mostly by buying a company full of Apple Silicon veterans—with the upcoming launch of the Snapdragon X Elite chip. Qualcomm claims the X Elite will bring Apple Silicon-class hardware to Windows, but the chip isn’t out yet—it’s due for a “mid-2024” release. Most of the software you’ll be running will still be written in x86 and need to go through a translation layer, which will slow things down, but at least it won’t have to be your primary browser.

Google says the release will be out this week. Assuming you don’t have an Arm laptop yet, you can visit “google.com/chrome,” scroll all the way down to the footer, and click “other platforms,” which will eventually show the new release.

Chrome launches native build for Arm-powered Windows laptops Read More »

flying-coach?-at-least-you’ll-be-able-to-watch-movies-on-an-in-seat-oled-tv-soon

Flying coach? At least you’ll be able to watch movies on an in-seat OLED TV soon

#4k, Astrova, HDR, Icelandair, oled, panasonic, Panasonic Avionics, Qantus, Tech, United Airlines / /

In-Flight Entertainment —

Who needs legroom when you have 8.3 million individually emissive pixels?

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  • This is one of the Panasonic Avionics Astrova in-flight entertainment systems, set to debut in Icelandair, Qantus, and United Airlines flights in the next couple of years.

    Panasonic

  • The goal doesn’t seem to be to keep them in first class; economy seats will get them too, albeit in smaller sizes.

    Panasonic

Flying on commercial airlines today might be a lot more of a pain than it used to be, but new tech is going to bring some improvement to one part of the experience—in-flight entertainment. Panasonic Avionics’ brand Astrova in-flight entertainment systems are starting to roll out on commercial flights on certain airlines, promising 4K HDR TVs and other features to the backs of seats that should be a huge upgrade over the abysmal screens we normally watch in-flight movies on.

Look at most commercial airlines today, and you’ll find a tiny, terrible LCD TV embedded in the seat in front of you. These HD, standard dynamic range screens have terrible contrast and poor viewing angles, and they aren’t bright enough to achieve a good viewing experience when the overhead lights are on.

They’re bad enough that I always bring my own hardware for flights—most recently, I took three flights with Apple’s Vision Pro headset, which I plan to write about later this week. But most people just bring a tablet.

Astrova is Panasonic’s name for an in-flight entertainment system that aims to improve things dramatically. The OLED screens have 4K resolution and support HDR+. They also have two USB-C charging ports built in that can charge at up to 100 W, and they support Bluetooth, so you can use AirPods or Sony’s popular WH-1000 over-ear headphones.

With current systems, you have to bring an adapter to make that happen, if it’s possible.

Panasonic has paired the screens with new colored LED lighting systems that aim to make it so the bright overhead cabin lights don’t have to come on, washing out the image.

The screens come in 13-, 16-, 19-, 22-, 27-, 32-, and 42-inch variants. “How would you fit a 42-inch screen in an airplane seat?” you might ask. Well, that size is likely for ultra-high-end international flights where people can pay thousands and thousands of dollars for private cabins. Those aren’t the only types of seats that will get some kind of Astrova OLED system, though.

The rollout begins this year with Icelandair and Qantas planning to install Astrova systems in 2025 and late 2024. Icelandair will be first; new Airbus A321neo LR craft will see 16-inch screens in business class and 13-inch ones in economy. Qantas will install Astrova as part of its retrofit of its A330-200 fleet of planes and in newly ordered A350-1000 craft. The emphasis for Qantas is on long-haul flights, specifically those between Australia and Europe or the United States.

Last summer, US-based United Airlines announced many of its longer international flights would see these systems installed in 2025, with some domestic flights to follow, so it won’t be limited to intercontinental flights.

It’s doubtful that these screens will hold a candle to the latest high-end OLED TVs from LG and Samsung, and it looks like it will be a few years before they’re widespread in domestic flights. But any improvement is welcome on the terrible in-flight entertainment systems we’re using now. Now, if only another company could invent some way to use new tech to make the seats 20 percent bigger—I can dream, anyway.

Listing image by Panasonic

Flying coach? At least you’ll be able to watch movies on an in-seat OLED TV soon Read More »

mozilla’s-privacy-service-drops-a-provider-with-ties-to-people-search-sites

Mozilla’s privacy service drops a provider with ties to people-search sites

brian krebs, data brokers, data privacy, dimitri shelest, Firefox, krebs on security, mozilla, mozilla monitor, mozilla monitor plus, onerep, online data privacy, people search, Tech / /

People search —

Owner of Onerep removal service launched “dozens of people-search services.”

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Mozilla Monitor Plus dashboard

Mozilla

Mozilla’s Monitor Plus, a service launched by the privacy-minded tech firm in February, notes on its pitch page that there is “a $240 billion industry of data brokers selling your private information for profit” and that its offering can “take back your privacy.”

Mozilla’s most recent move to protect privacy has been to cut out one of the key providers of Monitor Plus’ people-search protections, Onerep. That comes after reporting from security reporter Brian Krebs, who uncovered Onerep CEO and founder Dimitri Shelest as the founder of “dozens of people-search services since 2010,” including one, Nuwber, that still sells the very kind of “background reports” that Monitor Plus seeks to curb.

Shelest told Krebs in a statement (PDF) that he did have an ownership stake in Nuwber, but that Nuwber has “zero cross-over or information-sharing with Onerep” and that he no longer operates any other people-search sites. Shelest admitted the bad look but said that his experience with people search gave Onerep “the best tech and team in the space.”

Brandon Borrman, vice president of communications at Mozilla, said in a statement that while “customer data was never at risk, the outside financial interests and activities of Onerep’s CEO do not align with our values.” Mozilla is “working now to solidify a transition plan,” Borrman said. A Mozilla spokesperson confirmed to Ars today that Mozilla is continuing to offer Monitor Plus, suggesting no pause in subscriptions, at least for the moment.

Monitor Plus also kept track of a user’s potential data breach exposures in partnership with HaveIBeenPwned. Troy Hunt, founder of HaveIBeenPwned, told Krebs that aside from Onerep’s potential conflict of interest, broker removal services tend to be inherently fraught. “[R]emoving your data from legally operating services has minimal impact, and you can’t remove it from the outright illegal ones who are doing the genuine damage.”

Still, every bit—including removing yourself from the first page of search results—likely counts. Beyond sites that scrape public records and court documents for your information, there are the other data brokers selling barely anonymized data from web browsing, app sign-ups, and other activity. A recent FTC settlement with antivirus and security firm Avast highlighted the depth of identifying information that often is available for sale to both commercial and government entities.

Mozilla’s privacy service drops a provider with ties to people-search sites Read More »

macos-sonoma-1441-released-to-fix-the-stuff-that-the-14.4-update-broke

macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 released to fix the stuff that the 14.4 update broke

Apple, macOS, macOS 14, macos sonoma, Tech / /

doing better, thanks —

The 14.4 release introduced a number of problems the new update claims to fix.

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An M3 MacBook Air running macOS Sonoma.

Enlarge / An M3 MacBook Air running macOS Sonoma.

Andrew Cunningham

Apple has just released version 14.4.1 for macOS Sonoma, a small-but-significant patch that claims to fix several issues with third-party software and accessories that cropped up in the 14.4 update. The 14.4.1 release also includes a pair of security fixes.

Apple’s release notes highlight fixes for three major problems:

  • USB hubs connected to external displays may not be recognized
  • Copy protected Audio Unit plug-ins designed for professional music apps may not open or pass validation
  • Apps that include Java may quit unexpectedly

Users and companies began noticing problems shortly after the macOS 14.4 update was released earlier this month. Reports of broken USB hubs cropped up on Reddit, the Apple Support Communities forums, and elsewhere within the first couple of days, and issues with Java and iLok audio software DRM devices were reported later on. Some users also reported broken printer drivers and deleted file revisions in iCloud Drive, though Apple’s release notes don’t mention those problems.

At least some of these bugs reportedly weren’t present in preview builds of the 14.4 update, which could explain why they weren’t discovered during the public beta period.

Both of the security patches are for so-called “clickless” exploits that can allow remote code execution after a system displays a compromised image. Apple has also released macOS Ventura 13.6.6 to patch the security vulnerabilities for Macs that haven’t upgraded to Sonoma (or can’t upgrade to Sonoma).

Apple released other minor updates to iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS last week to patch the same security vulnerabilities. None of those updates listed any specific non-security bug fixes in their release notes beyond the broad “important bug fixes and security updates” boilerplate that accompanies most minor OS updates from Apple.

macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 released to fix the stuff that the 14.4 update broke Read More »

where’d-my-results-go?-google-search’s-chatbot-is-no-longer-opt-in

Where’d my results go? Google Search’s chatbot is no longer opt-in

Google, Tech / /
Google's generative search results turn the normally stark-white results page into a range of pastels.

Enlarge / Google’s generative search results turn the normally stark-white results page into a range of pastels.

Google

Last year Google brought its new obsession with AI-powered chatbots to Google Search with the launch of the “Search Generative Experience,” or “SGE.” If you opted in, SGE intercepted your Google search queries and put a giant, screen-filling generative AI chatbot response at the top of your search results. The usual 10 blue links were still there, but you had to scroll past Google’s ChatGPT clone to see them. That design choice makes outgoing web links seem like a legacy escape hatch for when the chatbot doesn’t work, and Google wants to know why more people haven’t opted in to this.

Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Land reports that Google is going to start pushing SGE out to some users, even if they haven’t opted in to the “Labs experiment.” A Google spokesperson told the site SGE will be turned on for a “subset of queries, on a small percentage of search traffic in the US.” The report says “Google told us they want to get feedback from searchers who have not opted into SGE specifically. This way they can get feedback and learn how a more general population will find this technology helpful.”

Citing his conversation with Google, Schwartz says some users automatically see Chatbot results for queries where Google thinks a chatbot “can be especially helpful.” Google will turn on the feature for “queries that are often more complex or involve questions where it may be helpful to get information from a range of web pages—like ‘how do I get marks off painted walls.'”

I don’t think anyone has spotted one of these non-opt-in SGE pages in the wild yet, so it’s unclear what the presentation will be. As an opt-in, SGE has a huge explanation page of how your search results will change. The chatbot is easily Google Search’s biggest format change ever, and having that happen automatically would be awfully confusing!

It’s also unclear if you can opt out of this. Today SGE is not compatible with Firefox, so that might be one way to skip Google’s AI obsession for now. Google Search has recently undergone a big leadership shuffle, with Liz Reid taking over as the new head of Search. Reid previously led—wait for it—the SGE team, so the prevailing theory is that we’re going to get way more AI stuff in search going forward.

Where’d my results go? Google Search’s chatbot is no longer opt-in Read More »

“temporary”-disk-formatting-ui-from-1994-still-lives-on-in-windows-11

“Temporary” disk formatting UI from 1994 still lives on in Windows 11

Tech, Windows 11, windows 95, Windows NT / /

some things never change —

“It wasn’t elegant, but it would do until the elegant UI arrived.” It never did.

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If you've formatted a disk in Windows in the last 30 years, you may have come across this dialog box.

Enlarge / If you’ve formatted a disk in Windows in the last 30 years, you may have come across this dialog box.

Andrew Cunningham

Windows 11 has done a lot to update and modernize long-neglected parts of Windows’ user interface, including many Settings menus and venerable apps like Notepad and Paint. But if you dig deep enough, you’ll still find parts of the user interface that look and work like they did in the mid-’90s, either for compatibility reasons or because no one ever thought to go back and update them.

Former Microsoft programmer Dave Plummer shared some history about one of those finely aged bits: the Format dialogue box, which is still used in fully updated Windows 11 installs to this day when you format a disk using Windows Explorer.

Plummer says he wrote the Format dialog in late 1994, when the team was busy porting the user interface from the consumer-focused Windows 95 (released in mid-1995) to the more-stable but more resource-intensive Windows NT (NT 4.0, released in mid-1996, was the first to use the 95-style UI).

Formatting disks “was just one of those areas where Windows NT was different enough from Windows 95 that we had to come up with some custom UI,” wrote Plummer on X, formerly Twitter. Plummer didn’t specify what those differences were, but even the early versions of Windows NT could already handle multiple filesystems like FAT and NTFS, whereas Windows 95 mostly used FAT16 for everything.

“I got out a piece of paper and wrote down all the options and choices you could make with respect to formatting a disk, like filesystem, label, cluster size, compression, encryption, and so on,” Plummer continued. “Then I busted out [Visual] C++ 2.0 and used the Resource Editor to lay out a simple vertical stack of all the choices you had to make, in the approximate order you had to make. It wasn’t elegant, but it would do until the elegant UI arrived. That was some 30 years ago, and the dialog is still my temporary one from that Thursday morning, so be careful about checking in ‘temporary’ solutions!”

The Windows NT version of the Format dialog is the one that survives today because the consumer and professional versions of Windows began using the NT codebase in the late ’90s and early 2000s with the Windows 2000 and Windows XP releases. Plenty has changed since then, but system files like the kernel still have “Windows NT” labels in Windows 11.

Plummer also said the Format tool’s 32GB limit for FAT volumes was an arbitrary decision he made that we’re still living with among modern Windows versions—FAT32 drives formatted at the command line or using other tools max out between 2TB and 16TB, depending on sector size. It seems quaint, but PC ads from late 1994 advertise hard drives that are, at most, a few hundred megabytes in size, and 3.5-inch 1.44MB floppies and CD-ROM drives were about the best you could do for removable storage. From that vantage point, it would be hard to conceive of fingernail-sized disks that could give you 256GB of storage for $20.

Plummer was involved with many bits and pieces of ’90s- and early 2000s-era MS-DOS and Windows apps, including the Task Manager, the Space Cadet Pinball game, and the first version of the product activation system that shipped with Windows XP. Plummer left Microsoft in 2003.

Listing image by Getty

“Temporary” disk formatting UI from 1994 still lives on in Windows 11 Read More »

samsung-users-ask,-“why-does-the-s-pen-smell-so-bad?“

Samsung users ask, “Why does the S-Pen smell so bad?“

S Pen, samsung, stylus, Tech / /

Smells bad, tastes fine! —

Apparently the “Ultra” phone’s S-Pen often smells like burning plastic.

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The Galaxy S24 line.

Enlarge / The Galaxy S24 line.

Samsung

Electric design is a field full of varying opinions and trade-offs. Companies agonize over the physical shapes of their devices and the materials used, all trying to create a high-quality, premium-feeling device that fits with the constraints of mass production. Material choices usually center around cost, feeling, and durability, but how often do manufacturers take into account smell? Samsung users are finding that if you pop out the Galaxy S24 Ultra’s “S-Pen” stylus and give it a whiff like you’re huffing a marker, you’ll find that it… smells bad?

9to5Google found the following incredible post from Reddit user “LatifYil” titled, “Why does my s pen smell so bad?” The post has almost 250 comments of users all mostly agreeing with the post’s sentiment that “the S-Pen in my Galaxy S24 Ultra absolutely reeks. Either I have a sensitive nose or this thing is being barbequed by the internals while it’s unsheathed.” The top-rated, very-online comment is, “Op got me to smell my pen. Can confirm it’s a stinky boi.”

Those describing the smell all seem to agree Samsung’s stylus often smells like an electrical fire. One user writes that it’s “a very burnt and plastics smell.” Another says the S23 Ultra stylus “smells like new tech with a hint of burning.” A more descriptive commenter says it smells like “an electric mixer that’s turned on, but the beaters are jammed up and can’t turn, so the motor is overheating.” The S-Pen is mostly plastic but has a soft rubber tip, and a lot of users identify that soft bit as the smelly part.

One user baselessly suggested that the bad smell was due to a bitterant added to the S-Pen, similar to what is used on Nintendo Switch cartridges to make them taste bad, so babies don’t put a potential choking hazard in their mouths. But then another user admits to licking the S-Pen and reports that it tastes fine! Don’t you just love the Internet?

The issue of the smelly S-Pen was recently raised on the Samsung community forums, too, and Samsung employee “AndrewL” gave a statement on the issue:

This isn’t anything to be concerned about. While the S Pen is in its holster, it is close to the internal components of the phone, which will generate heat while in use, and cause the plastic to heat up. This can smell like burning, but it is similar to the smell you might experience after leaving your car in the sun for a few hours. The seats and plastic fittings in the vehicle might smell hot, but this will diminish after it cools.

If you don’t like the smell of the S-Pen, you can always just not smell it. It’s not like the pen has a room-clearing stench—most users didn’t notice until someone pointed it out.

Samsung users ask, “Why does the S-Pen smell so bad?“ Read More »

windows-notepad’s-midlife-renaissance-continues-with-spellcheck-and-autocorrect

Windows Notepad’s midlife renaissance continues with spellcheck and autocorrect

notepad, Tech, Windows 11 / /

noteworthy —

Now Windows’ only built-in text editor, there’s more room for Notepad to grow.

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Enlarge / “Notepad.exe but with spellcheck” looks pretty much exactly like you’d expect it to.

Microsoft

Whatever else you can say about Windows 11—and whatever you think about its pushy tendencies and the Copilot feature that has been rolled out to pretty much everyone despite being labeled a “preview”—the operating system has ushered in a bit of a renaissance for decades-old built-in apps like Paint and Notepad.

Notepad’s development in particular has been striking; it had gotten small under-the-hood updates over the years, but in many ways, the version that was still in Windows 11 at launch in 2021 was the same app that Microsoft shipped with Windows XP, Windows 95, Windows 3.1, or even Windows 1.0.

An updated version of Notepad currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev channels is adding two more modern features to the old app: spellcheck and autocorrect. Per usual, spellcheck in Notepad highlights misspellings with red squiggly underlines, and right-clicking the word or pressing Shift + F10 will pop up a short menu of suggested fixes.

Recognizing that Notepad is often used to view or edit log or config files, Microsoft says that spellcheck “is off by default in log files and other file types typically associated with coding.” Spellcheck can be enabled or disabled for any given file type (or for individual files) in Notepad’s settings. Individual words can also be ignored in that document or added to your dictionary so they’ll always be ignored in every document you open.

If you’re upgrading from the Windows 10 version of Notepad, the spellcheck and autocorrect features join the tabbed interface, redesigned Settings screen, an auto-resume feature, and a handful of other tricks that the app has learned throughout Windows 11’s development.

Notepad is still well short of becoming a rich text editor, but there’s room for it to pick up a few more basic text and document editing features since Microsoft formally killed off WordPad in a recent Windows 11 update. Unlike Notepad, WordPad had been mostly left alone since a Windows 7-era refresh that added a user interface ribbon like the one in the (then-current) Office 2007 update. For free-of-charge rich text editing, Microsoft pushes users toward the online version of Microsoft Word instead.

Microsoft is currently testing Windows 11 24H2 in the Canary and Dev Windows Insider channels, a preview of this fall’s major update that will mark the operating system’s third anniversary. Updates to Notepad and other apps could roll out before then, though, in keeping with Microsoft’s “release them when they’re ready” approach to feature additions in the Windows 11 era.

Windows Insiders also got some new Paint features earlier this month; Microsoft tweaked the way the brush size selector works and has added the option to designate one of your image layers as the background layer. Wonders never cease.

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