Software

Noteworthy software industry news, key players and software releases, patches, and features transforming our digital experiences.

mpc-hc media player

Software Download of the Week

Open-source media player MPC-HC gets UI overhaul, adds HDR support

MPC-HC now allows you to stream videos directly from YouTube and other websites. Notable improvements include light/dark UI modes, and HDR video playback using the MPC Video Renderer or madVR.

By Ivan Franco, March 11, 2024, 6:38 PM

microsoft onedrive windows europe windows 10 big tech windows 11 digital markets act

Software Microsoft

Microsoft says users can now uninstall OneDrive in Windows for good

There's a way out from the intrusive cloud service

In a nutshell: Microsoft has been pushing OneDrive as the standard cloud storage solution for Windows for quite some time, to the point of user annoyance. The company usually tries everything it can to hinder user's choice on how to deal with the service, but things are seemingly starting to change.

Full story By Alfonso Maruccia, March 11, 2024, 1:01 PM 31 comments

biden tiktok china united states social privacy politics legislation joe biden bytedance

The Web Tech Culture

Biden backs bill that could kill TikTok in the US, TikTok fights back

"If they pass it, I'll sign it"

By James Miller, March 9, 2024, 12:08 PM 22 comments

helldivers multiplayer helldivers 2

Gaming Software

Helldivers 2 players liberated a mech factory in record time, causing more server capacity issues

Arrowhead's CEO said players accomplished the mission 4x faster than anticipated

By Jimmy Pezzone, March 9, 2024, 10:40 AM 7 comments

visual studio code coding

Software Download of the Week

Visual Studio Code now lets you use dictate directly in the editor

The latest version of VS Code brings many useful updates including voice dictation with multi-language support, multi-cursor inline suggestions, and Copilot suggestions for dev containers.

By Ivan Franco, March 9, 2024, 10:33 AM

amd gpu radeon large language model lm studio

AMD promotes third-party app for running AI chatbots on local hardware (that works with Radeons, too)

No coding skills, proprietary apps, or Nvidia hardware required

By Alfonso Maruccia, March 8, 2024, 8:55 AM 8 comments

monitor core temp hardware monitor cpu

Download of the Week Hardware

Monitor your CPU's temperature in real time with Core Temp

Core Temp is a free program that reads information directly from the digital thermal sensor in each CPU core, allowing accurate readings in real time.

By Ivan Franco, March 8, 2024, 6:13 AM

windows media player y2k38 32 bit bugs

Software Tech Culture

Your outdated version of Windows Media Player 6 will still work after the Y2K38 bug ends civilization

Embedded systems pose the greatest risk of failure after 2038

By Cal Jeffrey, March 7, 2024, 5:58 PM

european union

Apple EU updates: Switching to Android made easier, regulators investigating Epic Games ban, and more

Third-party app stores stop updating if users leave the EU for more than 30 days

By Daniel Sims, March 7, 2024, 5:13 PM

vmware virtualization broadcom vulnerability

Security Software

VMware forced to patch dangerous vulnerabilities in discontinued products

Flaws so severe, the company felt the need to update the now-abandoned ESXi hypervisor

By Alfonso Maruccia, March 7, 2024, 12:48 PM

Software Tech Culture

Linux market share on desktop computers reaches an all-time high

Is the "Year of the Desktop Linux" finally to become a reality?

By Kishalaya Kundu, March 7, 2024, 11:33 AM 42 comments

whatsapp messenger signal european union meta

The Web Software

WhatsApp and Messenger will become interoperable with third-party apps using the Signal protocol

The interoperability, however, is only meant for EU residents

By Kishalaya Kundu, March 7, 2024, 8:42 AM

researchers atari atari 2600 retro gaming entombed maze

Software Gaming

Google's new AI tool can turn images into playable mini-games

Tool can use AI-generated content to create more AI content and train other AIs

By Daniel Sims, March 7, 2024, 7:41 AM

apple revenue epic fortnite topped million epic v apple fortnite app store ios

Apple bans Epic Games again, ending its third-party app store ambitions

Apple cites Epic's past behavior and Sweeney's comments, calling the company "verifiably untrustworthy"

By Daniel Sims, March 7, 2024, 6:15 AM 10 comments

windows iphone cloud remote desktop apps microsoft azure microsoft 365 windows 11

Software Microsoft

Windows 11 Android support ends next March

Amazon Android app support went public in early 2022

By Daniel Sims, March 6, 2024, 6:25 AM

nintendo yuzu switch 3ds

Gaming Software

Yuzu developer pays Nintendo $2.4 million to settle lawsuit, ceases all Switch and 3DS emulator operations

Nintendo got what it wanted, as usual

By Rob Thubron, March 5, 2024, 5:16 AM 29 comments

starfield gpu benchmark fsr starfield bethesda gpu hardware gaming pc performance benchmark pc gaming graphics card amd radeon nvidia geforce review

Gaming Software

AMD to introduce AI-based upscaling, potentially matching DLSS

Something to look forward to: AMD's FSR image upscaling technology has avoided using AI until now, which has been a double-edged sword in its competition against Nvidia's DLSS and Intel's XeSS. A recent interview with AMD's CTO indicates that the company plans to pivot sharply toward AI in 2024, with gaming upscaling as one area of focus.

Full story By Daniel Sims, March 4, 2024, 10:26 PM 10 comments

powertoys

Software Download of the Week

PowerToys brings custom keyboard shortcuts and a redesigned Color Picker

PowerToys 0.79 introduces a new Keyboard Manager that allows you to create your own keyboard shortcuts to open applications, URLs, and more.

By Ivan Franco, March 4, 2024, 10:11 PM

github malware python

Security Software

More than 100,000 GitHub repositories found spreading malicious packages

An effective way to compromise the software supply chain with developers' help

By Alfonso Maruccia, March 4, 2024, 9:53 AM

microsoft copilot windows

Software Microsoft

Microsoft is adding a Copilot icon to Windows 11 taskbar, here's how to hide it

Not everyone is a fan of Microsoft's latest AI tool

By Kishalaya Kundu, March 4, 2024, 8:04 AM 9 comments

steam windows valve windows 10 steam survey graphics card windows 11

Software Gaming

Windows 10 sees resurgence in Steam survey, English is no longer the top language

Windows 10 was the only version of the OS to experience gains last month

By Rob Thubron, March 4, 2024, 6:55 AM 8 comments

whatsapp software encryption

Software Security

WhatsApp scores major legal victory over Pegasus spyware maker, forcing it to provide closely-guarded code

Pegasus is thought to have been used by governments around the world to spy on political dissidents, journalists and human rights activists

By Erika Morphy, March 3, 2024, 8:39 AM

unreal tournament unreal rtx nvidia modding ray tracing with video

Gaming Software

Unreal Tournament and the original Unreal receive RTX path tracing mods

Modifying the DirectX 9 renderer to enable RTX Remix on Unreal Engine 1

By Daniel Sims, March 2, 2024, 11:04 AM 21 comments

personal usb-c european union european commission regulations charging charging cable

Hardware Software

Windows 11 now supports USB4 at 80Gbps, also known as USB4 2.0

Faster USB4 devices could start appearing in 2024

By Daniel Sims, March 2, 2024, 8:03 AM 17 comments

microsoft copilot financials

Software Microsoft

Microsoft wants to supercharge financial applications with Copilot for Finance

In a nutshell: Microsoft has just introduced yet another feature for its Copilot service, an extension designed to provide "intelligent" advice and automations based on a company's own financial data. Privacy and data security have been taken into account, the company vows.

Full story By Alfonso Maruccia, March 1, 2024, 2:02 PM