Author: Martin Brinkmann

When I was young, I studied German, History and English at Essen University in Germany. I worked in computer support for several years at the time to help other computer users when they ran into issues. Writing started out as a passion project, as I wanted to help more users and not just the ones that I handled in support. This lead to the founding of Ghacks Technology News in 2005. First, as a side-project, but shortly thereafter as a full-time project as the site's popularity exploded. I sold Ghacks to Softonic some years ago, but stayed on as Editor. You can still read my articles on the site. I do publish on Betanews as well. In recent years, I started to write and publish technology books, including my latest book "Windows 11 From Beginner to Advanced", which is available on Amazon. I'm also a freelance writer for the German publisher Gamestar. Chipp.in is my newest project. I want to use it to talk about my book projects, sell my books directly, and write about technology, as this is what interests me.
Firefox

Mozilla updated its Terms of Use again to address concerns

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Wow, this week has to be one of the worst for the people over at Mozilla. There has been tremendous backlash to the organization’s updated Terms of Use.

Maybe not has big of a deal to Mozilla’s Mr. Robot blunder or the announcement to drop Firefox’s custom extensions system for that of Chromium, but still.

To recap: Mozilla announced terms of use and an updated privacy notice for Firefox on Wednesday. These were worded in lawyer-speak and included the following sentence:

When you upload or input information through Firefox, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to help you navigate, experience, and interact with online content as you indicate with your use of Firefox.

Tech sites wrote about it and users were up in arms over the wording. Mozilla tried to calm users in an update, stating that the new terms did not give it ownership over user data or the right to use it for anything, even things not mentioned in the privacy notice.

It appears to have helped little. Mozilla published a new statement yesterday saying that it has updated the wording in the new terms of use to make things clearer for users.

The new wording includes the following paragraph now:

You give Mozilla the rights necessary to operate Firefox. This includes processing your data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also includes a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license for the purpose of doing as you request with the content you input in Firefox. This does not give Mozilla any ownership in that content. 

Mozilla says it has also removed the “reference to the Acceptable Use Policy” because it seemed “to be causing more confusion than clarity”.

The Privacy FAQ was updated as well to better provide information on terms like “sells” according to the update.

This is a fairly common statement. Google, for example, has a big section of its terms of service dedicated to the worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license that users give it.

If you check the terms of other browsers, you probably encounter something similar.

Was it an overreaction? Even with all the explaining, it seems likely that Mozilla won’t convince everyone that it was.

What is your take on this? Do you use Firefox currently? Let everyone know in the comment section below.

Microsoft is shutting down Skype: wants you to use this software instead

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The writing has been on the wall for a long time: Microsoft plans to shut down the communication software Skype in May 2025.

While Microsoft has yet to formally announce the end of the once-popular communication software, a notification about the end of Skype was found in the latest preview of the software.

The discovered string says: “Starting in May, Skype will no longer be available. Continue your calls and chats in Teams.”.

Microsoft wants to move customers to Teams, the video conferencing, calling, and meetings software that it favors now.

Skype has been around for quite some time. It was launched in 2003, but Microsoft did not acquire it until 2011. Paid a pretty sum for it, $8.5 billion at the time.

Microsoft discontinued Windows Live Messenger a few years later and tried to make Skype its next billion users product by integrating it in the-then new version of Windows, Windows 10.

This did not work out too well and the launch of Microsoft Teams in 2017 put Skype on the backburner soon thereafter.

As Microsoft has not confirmed the end of Skype yet, there is a theoretical chance that Skype could once more jumping off a scaffold. Microsoft has a few months left to make an announcement either way.

Even if Skype is put to rest, there is a good chance that it could stay around for a while to make sure most users and businesses migrate to Teams in an orderly fashion.

On a personal note, I never warmed up to Skype and have not used it much, even though I had an account for what seems forever.

Now it is your turn. Do you use Skype or have you used it in the past? Feel free to leave a comment down below about that.

Google Translate may get an AI infusion soon: here is what it does

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Millions of Internet users use Google Translate as their daily driver for translations. Google has integrated the service into its Chrome browser and it is also available as an application for Android.

Soon, Google may introduce new AI functionality in Google Translate. Here is what you need to know about that.

The details:

  • The new functionality was discovered during a code analysis of the Android Google Translate APK by Android Authority.
  • It is not available yet.

Good to known: Google Translate is a cloud-based service. Means, you need an active Internet connection to use the service. This means as well that Google is informed about your translations. If you want a privacy-friendly option, check out the Firefox Translate feature instead, as it runs locally.

Main AI feature: Ask a follow-up question

At the center of the new AI functionality is the ask a follow-up option. This enables users to interact with AI to use a range of different options.

These include the following:

  • Get information about the translation. Google Translate informs you about translation nuances for instance, according to Android Authority.
  • Ability to get the translation modified, e.g., to take regional variations into account or changing the tone or style.
  • Listen to the translated text with a click on the sound icon.
  • Ability to provide feedback using thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons.
  • Additional insights, e.g., cultural notes or grammar explanations.

Some of these features could be interesting to some users, provided that features like support for regional variants truly work. With AI, it could be difficult to tell whether there is an error in the regional variant or not.

Android Authority found the functionality in Google Translate 9.3.78.731229477.7 for Android. While included, it appears that it has not started to roll out yet or only to some users.

Closing Words

Some users of Google Translate will certainly like the new functionality. The ability to ask follow-up questions could give users a better understanding of the translation, especially if some things are unclear.

Google has not announced the new feature yet officially.

uBlock Origin working in Chrome

More Chrome users are getting “this extension was turned off” notifications

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google has been hard at work to establish Manifest V3 as the new and only set of rules for Chrome extensions. Report suggest that Google has shifted the process into a higher gear and is disabling classic extension support for more Chrome users.

The effect is the following: any extension that is not compatible with Manifest V3 will be disabled. Chrome displays “was turned off” messages to users in that case on start. A check of the extensions management page reveals a similar message: “This extension was turned off because it’s no longer supported”.

Most Chrome users will probably experience this with the popular uBlock Origin extension. It cannot be ported fully to Manifest V3, as Google changed core functionality.

In other words, the change has a very positive effect for Google, as it gets rid of what is probably the most popular content blocker for Chrome.

While there is uBlock Origin Lite by the same developer, it is limited in some regards to the classic version. It is better than no content blocking, but still inferior.

Users who really need to use Chrome can postpone the death of uBlock Origin and other Chrome extensions that are not compatible with Manifest V3 by setting a policy. This will work only until mid-2025 though, unless Google pushes the change back a bit.

Your options

In the end, it may be better to switch to a browser that is still offering support. If you prefer Chromium, you could give Brave or Opera a try. Both companies have pledged to support Manifest V2 extensions, at least some of them, even after Google ends support in Chrome.

Another option is to switch to Firefox or a Firefox fork, like Mullvad Browser. Mozilla said that it is going to support Manifest V2 extensions and V3 extensions at the same time in Firefox. Means, you can run good old uBlock Origin in Firefox without having to worry about it suddenly being turned off.

ThisIsNot11: another open source Windows tweaker for

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

There is certainly no shortage of tweaking tools for Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system. If I had to guess, Windows 11 is probably the Microsoft operating system with the largest number of programs of this kind ever.

Serial developer Belim has created a new tool. It is a bit difficult to keep track of all of Belim’s tools. First, because there are so many, and second, because Belim loves to change the names of his tools.

Windows 11 Tweaker: ThisIsNot11

ThisIsNot11 is a small open source tool. Designed as a follow-up tool after using the developer’s FlyBy11 tool to upgrade systems to new Windows 11 versions — even those deemed not compatible — it is quite easy to use. At the same time, it is not as feature-rich as crowd-favorite tweakers such as WinAero Tweaker.

When you run the tool after you have downloaded it, you are asked to give it quick access to the Start menu. It scans installed apps and settings, and bases its suggests on that scan. The app resembles the Windows 11 Start menu, which is intentional according to the developer.

From here on, it is just a matter of selecting tweaks to apply them. For apps, you need to check them and hit the “remove selected” button to uninstall them.

Important tweaks are included. You can use the app to disable advertisement, remove individual apps from the system, hide Copilot and other icons on the taskbar, or enable the full content menu of File Explorer.

All tweaks have a description, which helps identify what they do, especially for regular users who are new to optimizing Windows 11.

Verdict

ThisIsNot11 is a tiny less than 100 kilobyte tool to tweak Windows 11. It is an easy to use tool, which is great for less-experienced users. The app explains the tweaks that it supports well and everything is accessible on a single screen. While you do need to scroll a bit to access all tweaks, it is one of the easiest tools to use.

Part of that comes from the limited number of tweaks that it supports at this stage. If you want to quickly apply many important tweaks, it may be worth a shot. If you want the largest number of tweaks possible in a tool, you need to look elsewhere.

Now you: do you use tweaking tools for Windows? Or do you prefer to apply tweaks manually instead? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Google Search

Just block third-party cookies

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google is apparently testing a new privacy feature in Chrome that blocks third-party cookies by default in the browsers Incognito mode.

While that is great that Google is introducing the change, most Internet users may want to take matters into their own hands instead.

Why not block third-party cookies altogether? Yes, there is a tiny-tiny chance that some services may not work correctly anymore when you make the change. Most users on the other hand should not notice any ill-effects.

Here is the main benefit: advertisers and sites can no longer use third-party cookies to track you on the Internet.

One of the biggest offenders is Google, as it operates ads and other services on the majority of websites.

While disabling third-party cookies won’t do you much good in regards to Google, as you are using Chrome and therefore likely an open book to Google anyway, it does against many other firms on the Internet that track users for financial gains.

Here is how you disable third-party cookies in Chrome:

  1. Load chrome://settings/cookies in the Chrome address bar. You may also select Menu > Settings > Privacy and security > Third-party cookies to get there manually.
  2. Enable “Block third-party cookies”.
  3. Disable “Allow related sites to see your activity in the group”.

The change is active right away. Use the browser normally and take note of any issues that you may encounter. This can be login related issues or other issues, such as missing functionality on websites.

You may add sites to an allow list. If you notice that a site misbehaves after you switched third-party cookies off, you may add it to the list of exceptions to see if that resolves the issue.

Here is how that is done:

  1. Load chrome://settings/cookies again in the address bar.
  2. Click on the add button under “Sites allowed to use third-party cookies.
  3. Add [*.]domainname to add an exception for the entire site. Replace “domainname” with the name of the actual domain, e.g., chipp.in.

Verify that the change has fixed the issue that you have experienced.

Clearly, you’d also want to install a content blocker to speed up web browsing and improve privacy further.

Google about to roll out YouTube Lite plan in select regions

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube users who do not want to see ads have three main options until now: subscribe to YouTube Premium, use a content blocker, or a third-party app that does away with ads as well.

Most YouTube users would probably agree that there are too many ads on the site. This hurts the viewing experience and wastes a lot of time. Google is also finding new ways to show ads to users. Recently, it introduced pause ads on YouTube.

YouTube Premium Lite

Recently, Google has tested YouTube Premium Lite in select regions. Not available for everyone, the plan offers a cheaper subscription with limited functionality.

The main differences to YouTube Premium are that there are still some ads, notably on music videos, and that YouTube Music is not included. There are a couple of other restrictions. There is no option to download and play videos offline and no background play either.

Bloomberg reports today that Google plans to roll out YouTube Premium Lite in select regions. Means, anyone may subscribe to the new plan once it becomes available in a region.

YouTube Premium is available for $13.99 per month in the US currently. Pricing varies from region to region. The price of YouTube Premium Lite was about half of that during the test phase. Google has not yet announced the final price for the product. Since it is a subscription, you can be sure that it will be raised regularly.

YouTube Premium Lite will become available in select countries, including the United States, Germany, and Australia.

Who is it for? YouTube Premium Lite is for users who want an ad-free experience on YouTube, do not watch many music videos, do not need offline playback or background playback.

Yes, third-party apps like NewPipe offer all of this for free.

Now it is your turn. Is YouTube Premium Lite something that you would subscribe to? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Vertical Tabs in Firefox

Firefox: give vertical tabs and tab groups a try in Firefox Stable

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla is working on two highly requested features, tab groups and vertical tabs, for its Firefox web browser. These features are still in active development at the time of writing, but that does not mean that you can give them a go already in stable Firefox.

This guide provides you with everything you need to get started. It explains how to enable the features and highlights the current functionality.

Vertical Tabs in Firefox

What is it? Vertical tabs move the tab bar from the horizontal placement to the sidebar. Firefox users can display tabs on the left or right side of the browser.

Why do some users prefer vertical tabs? Vertical tabs give tabs more room in the browser window. This gives users more control and an improved overview, especially on widescreen monitors.

How to enable it? Here is how you enable the functionality:

  1. Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.
  2. Confirm the security page that is displayed.
  3. Search for sidebar.verticalTabs.
  4. Click on the toggle-icon to set the preference to True.

To disable, set the preference to False.

Firefox switches to vertical tabs right away. The default displays just icons, but you can use the Expand Sidebar button to display page titles as well. There is also a shortcut, Alt-Ctrl-Z, to switch between icon and expanded view.

A click on the settings icon in the sidebar displays a few related options. There you find the option to move the sidebar to the right side, if you prefer that.

The implementation supports several features already:

  • Create or close tabs.
  • Move tabs using drag & drop.
  • Right-click on open tabs to get he tab context menu.

But it is beta, right? Yes, Mozilla has not enabled the feature yet in Firefox Stable. It worked without any issues in my preliminary tests though.

Tab Groups in Firefox

Firefox Tab Groups

What is it? The ability to group tabs together. This improves organization and management of tabs in the browser.

How to enable Tab Groups in Firefox? Here is how that is done:

  1. Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.
  2. Confirm that you will be careful.
  3. Search for browser.tabs.groups.enabled.
  4. Use the toggle to set the preference to True.

To disable, set the preference to False.

Firefox enables the tab grouping functionality right away. It works with horizontal and vertical tabs, which is great.

You can create a new group by right-clicking on a tab and selecting the “Add tab to group” option. You get the option to create a new group or add the tab to an existing group.

Each group has a name and a color.

The following functionality is supported at the time of writing:

  • Create and delete Tab Groups in Firefox.
  • Move tabs into groups or remove them from groups.
  • Change the position of groups on Firefox’s tab bar.
  • Save and close tabs.
  • Move tab groups to new windows.
  • Collapse tab groups to show only the icon/title.

The feature is also in development. It worked well and without any hitches during tests in Firefox Stable.

Closing Words

Mozilla is playing catch-up in regards to the two features. Chromium-based browsers have supported tab groups for ages and more are starting to support vertical tabs.

While that is the case, it is still welcome that Mozilla is implementing the features finally in Firefox, as they may improve usability when used.

Now it is your turn. Vertical or horizontal tabs? Tab groups or individual tabs? What is your preference in this regard and why?

Facebook changes Live Video policy to the detriment of its users

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Facebook users have plenty of options to communicate with friends, other Facebook users, and the entire world via the platform.

One of these options is via live video. These are recorded and shown on Facebook. The recorded videos were stored by Facebook indefinitely, but this changes with the new policy.

Here are the details:

  • Live video is stored for 30 days only on Facebook.
  • Any Live video that is older than 30 days will be deleted.
  • This applies to all live videos retroactively.

In other words: Facebook will soon start deleting old live videos from its users en masse.

Thankfully for users, this is not done automatically. Facebook says that it will inform users with live videos about the new ruling by email and in the app. Facebook users have 90 days from that day to download or transfer their content for safekeeping.

Facebook explains that users have several options to save videos. There is a single download option, which is listed under the three-dots menu when selecting Menu > Activity log > Live videos.

This is probably not very practical for most users, unless only a few videos need to be saved.

There is also a bulk download option according to Facebook. Note that this requires the notification that informs you about the deletion of the videos.

Here is how that works:

  1. Click or tap on the notification to get started.
  2. Select “Download live videos”.
  3. Pick a location to download and a date range for the live videos.
  4. Select “Create File”.

There are other options, including transferring videos, e.g., to Google Drive, and to convert parts of live videos to reels.

Facebook explains both options on its website.

Why is Facebook making the change?

    Facebook has a simple explanation for limiting storage of live video on its network:

    People all over the world use Facebook Live to share their experiences with their communities in real time. Because most live video views occur within the first few weeks of broadcasting, we’re updating how long live videos can be stored on Facebook.

    In short: storing live video indefinitely is not financially viable. Facebook has to pay for storage and the earnings from the videos do not justify indefinite storage.

    Closing Words

    If you do broadcast live on Facebook and want to keep your videos, you may want to start downloading or transferring them as soon as you get the notification that the content will be deleted.

    Facebook does not really say when content will get deleted, only that it can be deleted at any time after day 91. Users may also request an extension.

    In about a week, Amazon is removing the ability to download Kindle ebooks to non-Amazon devices

    Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

    Ebooks can be a great alternative to traditional books. They do not weight anything, which means that you can carry around hundreds if not thousands of books effortlessly. They also come with extra features, like the ability to search books.

    If you have bought ebooks in the past, you may know that you do not really own the books. Like most digital content, you get a license to use the book. This license can be revoked at any time and you do not have any say in the matter. If you are lucky, you get a refund. Besides outright removal, rightsholders may also update books at any time.

    You are probably wondering what this has to do with Amazon. Well, Amazon is taking away a fundamental feature of its ebook store that existed for a long time: the ability to download your ebooks to your PC, Mac, and other devices that are not owned by Amazon.

    Here is why that is bad. Currently, you have an option to download any ebook you bought from Amazon to a computer, say, a Windows PC. When you do that, you store the book in a place that Amazon has no control over. It cannot remove the book from the computer nor can it updated the book. Even if the book gets removed from Amazon’s ebook store, you retain that copy on your device.

    This option is removed on February 26, 2025. Means, you only get the option to load ebooks onto Amazon Kindle devices. Amazon does have control over these. It can remove books from Kindle devices or push updates to the devices.

    Another example of why that is bad for you. If you get locked out of your Amazon account, close it, or get banned by Amazon for whatever reason, you will lose access to all of the books that you bought.

    So, if you own Kindle ebooks, you may want to download them before February 26 to a device that Amazon has no control over. You can do that by accessing the Content Library on Amazon’s website, selecting the “more actions” option, and then download & transfer via USB.

    Note that you cannot do so anymore when you buy books after February 26th, as Amazon is removing it.

    Now it is your turn. Do you buy digital content or prefer to buy physical content, if possible? Let us know in the comments.