I use the Windows Start menu a few times per year. It is been replaced by the taskbar and other means to launch programs. While I run a few searches per year, which open in the Start menu, I do not really use it for anything else. Also, I prefer to use the third-party tool…
Author: Martin Brinkmann
Google is testing a compact mode in Chrome
Whenever there is an option to turn on a compact mode, I pick it. The main reason for that is that compact mode removes whitespace so that more content is displayed on the screen at the same time. Google is testing a compact mode for its Chrome web browser. An experimental flag was added in…
X’s AI Grok uses your data for training by default – here is how you can turn that off
If you use X, you may have heard about the AI Grok already. Currently, xAI and Grok are playing catch-up with the current AI allstars. Plans are to push Grok to first place by the end of the year. Whether that is going to happen or not remains to be seen. What is clear is…
Microsoft working on next step to make AI centerpiece of Bing Search
In some years from today, search engines will likely look completely different. The traditional way of showing links to websites that match the search query best, at lest according to the search engine that you are using, is being phased-out. The replacement comes in form of AI generations. AI takes the user’s query, generates a…
AMD released a new open source tool that works on Windows PCs, even those with NVIDIA cards
AMD has released the first version of Frame Latency Meter, an open source tool for Microsoft Windows devices that is measuring the latency of the mouse. Technically, Frame Latency Meter helps getting insights into a system’s performance by measuring the mouse’s response time from the moment it is moved to the moment the frame is…
Windows 11: Microsoft bundling controls for recommendations and offers
One of the main points of criticism in regards to the ever increasing number of recommendations and offers in Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system is that they cannot be managed from a central location. If you want to turn them all off elegantly, you either have to go through various sections, or use a third-party…
This free Windows app promises to make your PC run cooler
Heat is a major problem for electronic devices, especially in the Summer months. Overheating may lead to a whole range of issues, including crashes or reduced performance. To combat this, PC users have discovered thousands of solutions. From pointing a fan at the PC during the hottest hours to liquid cooling systems or reducing the…
Microsoft continues to abuse Windows for advertising
If you’d ask a 100 Windows users whether they wanted ads displayed to them on a regular basis, chance is that the vast majority would answer with “no”. This is not keeping Microsoft from pushing the boundaries and introduces more ads in Windows. While Microsoft uses terms such as recommendations, many of them are at…
Android: Google plans to remove substandard apps from Google Play
Google is updating the Android spam and minimum functionality policy to weed out low-quality apps in the Google Play store. Here are the details: Google lists several examples of app types that it considers substandard: In other words: Google is expanding the classification of substandard Android apps to include static apps and apps that do…
How to turn your Android device into an Internet hotspot
Lately, we have been having some problems with our local Internet provider. Internet goes down unannounced at times or it is barely usable. That is a big issue if you need the Internet to make a living. For some time now, I have been using Android’s mobile hotspot feature to regain access to the Internet….