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.
Spotube open source Spotify client

Spotube: open source Spotify client without ads

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

You have plenty of options when it comes to listening to music. From traditional radio and Internet radio to locally stored music, music CDs, or online services such as Spotify or YouTube.

If you like Spotify, but do not like the advertisements that come with a free account, then you might like what the open source software Spotube has to offer.

It uses music information from Spotify, but links all the music to YouTube. Means: you get most features that Spotify offers, including popular radios, mixes and whatnot, but without ads, as music is streamed from YouTube.

Spotube is a cross-platform application. It is available for the desktop systems Windows, macOS and Linux, and also the mobile operating systems Android and iOS.

Installation is straightforward. First thing you may do is sign-in to a Spotify account. You can create one or sign-in to an existing one. This is not a requirement, but your playlists, artists that you follow and albums are carried over, which means that you get direct access to them.

You may also browse Spotify’s selection of radios, mixes and other content. The only features that are not supported are Spotify Podcasts and Shows. These are only available on Spotify and require a premium subscription.

Click on the play button and music starts to play. There is a noticeable delay. It may take a few seconds before you start to hear the music, but playback was reliable during tests. Never got the wrong song or no song at all while testing the application and its features. There is an alternative track sources feature, which may help if a song is wrong or not of the best quality.

Speaking of which, features do not end here. You can create or generate playlists, like tracks, follow artists, and even download music to the local system for offline playback.

Closing Words

Spotube is an excellent option when it comes to playing music on your devices. It uses Spotify’s vast database of music, mixes, radios, and such, and combines those with freely streamed music from YouTube to avoid advertisement entirely.

Do you listen to music on your devices? If so, which services do you use? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Migrating from Skype to Microsoft Teams

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft plans to retire the communication software Skype in May 2025 and recommends that users switch to Microsoft Teams for all their communication needs.

You may ask yourself now how that works. How do you get data like your contacts migrated to Microsoft Teams? This guide walks describes what Microsoft has in store for you and how to export your Skype data manually as well.

First, the information that Microsoft provided so far:

  • Skype users will be able to sign into Teams using their credentials.
  • Chat and contacts will automatically appear, according to Microsoft.
  • During a transition period, calls between Teams and Skype users will be supported.

This makes the migration to Microsoft Teams quite convenient, provided that you want to migrate to the new application.

Note that it may take days before you are able to sign in to Microsoft Teams with your Skype credentials. Microsoft says that this will happen “over the coming days”, but does not provide additional details.

Skype users may export their data. This can be useful if Microsoft Teams is not an option, or if you prefer to switch to a different communication platform altogether.

Important: Skype remains available until May 5, 2025. It is advised to export the Skype data before the date to avoid disruptions or issues.

Export Data from Skype

Here is how you export your Skype data manually:

  1. Sign-in on the web-based version of Skype.
  2. Locate settings and preferences on the page that opens.
  3. Click on “export contacts (.csv)” to export all contacts.
  4. Click on “export files and chat history” to save it to the local system.
  5. Click on “export caller ID numbers” to save the data locally.

Not all third-party communication services may support Skype imports, but you can also open the files manually to access the information whenever you require it.

Now it is your turn. Did you use Skype in the past or are you using it still? What is your take on Teams? Is it a good replacement? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft is finally giving Edge Game Assist a necessary feature

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you do play games on your computer, you may have tabbed out of the game before to launch a web browser and run a search for clues or information. Steam users can use the integrated browser for that, which has been around for a long time.

Game Assist is Microsoft’s universal answer to the Steam browser, at least on Windows. It is an in-game browser that is available as a preview currently. It uses Microsoft Edge to render webpages and browse the Internet without leaving the game.

While that is theoretically also possible without the browser, as you can tab-out of most games to use other programs, some gamers may find the integration useful.

One of the most interesting features up to this point is the ability to display Game Assist information while you are playing. You can watch a video or display guides while playing the game.

One major downside up until now was that Game Assist did not support extensions. This meant that you had to endure ads and other unwanted elements while using it.

This changed with this week’s Game Assist update. The major addition is support for extensions. Install extensions in Edge and you can use them on Game Assist as well. Most extensions should work according to Microsoft.

Microsoft writes:

We heard your feedback that ad blockers are crucial, so we’re thrilled to bring initial support for extensions to Game Assist! Game Assist currently supports many extensions that automatically run on the webpage, like ad blockers. Extensions can be installed and managed using the desktop version of Microsoft Edge.

It is a good addition to Game Assist. The release notes highlight several other features of interest. More games are supported, there is a new menu that offers common browser controls such as opening a new tab, right-click support for certain page elements, an option to pin the current tab, and more.

The list of supported games is still relatively short. To become a truly universal option, Microsoft needs to improve game support significantly.

4K Video Downloader+ Review: solid program with a big weakness

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Internet users have plenty of options when it comes to the downloading of videos. From online services over browser extensions to programs.

Problem is: not all of them have the best interest of the user in mind. Some may be riddled with ads, track users, or limit downloads in one way or another.

You may be especially wary when it comes to programs to download. There are malicious programs out there that claim to be downloaders.

My favorite program is Internet Download Manager, but it is a commercial application. 4K Video Downloader+ offers an alternative. This review looks at the feature set and compares it to Internet Download Manager.

4K Video Downloader+ is the successor of 4K Video Downloader, which has been retired this year. The version has been around for some time. It is a freemium program that limits free use, but it does not contain any ads.

Let’s talk about the limitation first: you can use it to download 10 videos per day. All paid versions do away with the limits. A lifetime version is available for about $30.

Why download videos? Downloading videos offers several advantages:

  • Offline playback: watch videos, even if there is no Internet.
  • Backup: videos may get pulled or deleted, but offline copies remain.
  • Bad Internet reception: if Internet connectivity is not great, you may have a bad experience with stutters and pauses.
  • Save bandwidth: watch videos over and over again without using bandwidth.

4K Video Downloader 4K+: the features

The video downloader is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. You can start using it right after installation and do not need to create an account first. I used the Windows version exclusively for this review.

As far as features are concerned, there are plenty. You can paste video URLs into the interface or use the integrated browser to pick videos while you browse.

The app supports “all popular sites” according to the website. This includes YouTube, but also sites such as Facebook, SoundCloud, and others. The list of supported sites is relatively short and there is just one adult site supported. Limited support may not be a problem for some users, but it may be a dealbreaker for others.

The default configuration downloads video in best quality. You can modify the preference, for instance by switching to audio-only or a specific quality that you want downloaded to the local system.

Apart from the base functionality, 4K Video Downloader+ supports a few nice-to-have features.

Here are the highlights:

  • Subscribe to YouTube playlists or creators, and download new videos automatically as they are published.
  • Download entire YouTube playlists or channels.
  • 3D Video download support.
  • Support for login-protected media (by signing in).
  • Extract annotations and subtitles and download them along with YouTube videos.
  • Download dubbed audio on YouTube.

Free users are limited to downloading 10 videos per day. If that is not enough, you either have to wait a day or purchase a license to download an unlimited number of videos.

Verdict: 4K Video Downloader+ is an easy to use download app. The integrated browser makes downloading videos a breeze, as you do not have to juggle around with video URLs. Main downside is the 10 video limit for free accounts and the fairly limited list of supported sites.

Lack of site support is a deal-breaker for my use cases. Internet Download Manager supports hundreds if not thousands of video and audio sites. But, if all you need is support for a site that 4K Video Downloader+ supports, then it may be worth a try.

Now You: do you use video downloaders at all? If so, which is your favorite app or extension for the job and why?

How to add HEIC image file format support on Windows 10

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system does not support the HEIC image format natively. The same is true for Windows 11. You can check out my guide on adding HEIC and HEVC support to Windows 11, if you run that operating system.

Microsoft is offering a paid extension to add support, but there is a way to add support for free. This guide explains how to do that.

Note that this still installs an official Microsoft extension and does not rely on third-party codec packs at all.

Here is how you go about it:

  1. Open the Adguard website in a web browser.
  2. Set the first field to ProductID.
  3. Paste the following string into the second field: 9n4wgh0z6vhq
  4. Keep the third field at RP.
  5. Click on the checkmark icon on the right.
  6. Wait for the results.
  7. Right-click on “Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_2.2.33.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.appxbundle” in the results and select the save option of the browser.
  8. Pick a directory.
  9. Double-click on the file after it has been downloaded to install the extension.
  10. Click on the install button to install it.

Note: Some browsers may refuse to download the file as it is delivered via a regular (insecure) HTTP connection and not HTTPS. You may need to open the download manager of the browser and select the “Keep” option or something similar.

This depends largely on the browser, but if no file is downloaded after you have selected the save option, then this is your best bet to get the file downloaded.

Once installed, many programs are capable of opening HEIF and HEVC media files. This is true for all built-in image viewers, e.g., Photos or the preview of File Explorer, but also third-party apps such as Paint.net or Adobe Photoshop.

KeePass 2.58

KeePass 2.58 password manager is out

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

A new version of the password manager KeePass for Windows is now available. KeePass 2.58 is the first release of the password manager in 2025. The last version, KeePass 2.57.1, was released in October 2024.

The update is a smaller one. It introduces a few minor features and changes. Good news is that no security issues needed fixing, which is why this is a non-security update for the password manager.

The list of changes is relatively long, and it may be confusing to navigate the listing. Here is a quick overview of the most important or useful changes in the release:

  • You may now use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-H to toggle password visibility in report dialogs. Note that this works when viewing passwords in the table-like interface, but seemingly not, when you display a single password.
  • The preview tab of the password generator displays the average estimated quality of the passwords now and has the number of passwords increased to 50.
  • KeePass will abort the preview generation of passwords if the operation is taking too long.
  • User-Agent header for web requests added.
  • On systems with Microsoft Edge uninstalled, the browser no longer appears in the URL(s) menu.

Again, there is more to discover but these look to be the highlights of the release.

How to update KeePass: this is relatively easy. Since there is no integrated update system that you may use to download and install updates, you need to visit the developer website, download the latest release, and install it manually.

If you like winget, you could also run winget upgrade DominikReichl.KeePass to download and install the latest version using the built-in software package manager.

Now it is your turn. What is your favorite password manager right now and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Opera’s AI Browser Operator: AI in the browser acts now in your name

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Most interactions with AI follow a chat-like system. You write or say something, and the AI responds. This may go back and forth, for instance when you have follow-up questions or need corrections.

Opera Software unveiled AI Browser Operator today. The integrated AI agent is more capable than traditional AI, as it is designed to act on your behalf.. You could, for instance, ask the Browser Operator in Opera to find and buy something for you on the Internet.

So, if you forgot to buy your significant other an anniversary gift, you could let the AI do all the heavy lifting. What could possibly go wrong.

While you could argue that other AIs can also point you at products on the Internet, Opera’s implementation is not done at that point. It supports you from start to finish according to Opera Software

Here is how Opera Software describes the functionality:

So how does it work? Browser Operator understands your written instructions in natural language using your browser client’s local resources, and our AI Composer Engine processes this information to complete tasks in the browser. Browser Operator will pause and ask you to take action whenever it needs you to fill in a form, confirm an order, or perform some other sensitive task. In this entire process, you are in control and can take over at any moment from Browser Operator, while you can also review all the steps it took to perform the task you requested.

Opera Software says that Browser Operator has been designed with security and privacy in mind. The AI agent does not use screenshots or video captures of the browsing session, and it is not running in the cloud either according to Opera Software.

Browser Operator “runs natively inside your browser” according to the blog post on Opera’s website. It “uses a textual representation of the webpage” for its activity.

Browser Operator is available as a preview at this stage. I checked several Opera installations, including the latest development builds, and did not find it in the sidebar or when using the command line.

Here is the demo video:

Closing Words

The example that Opera Software provided, the buying of socks, is probably not the best when it comes to the capabilities of AI agents. While some Internet users may appreciate that mundane tasks are taken over by AI agents, human interaction is still required throughout the process.

You need to confirm that you want to buy the product the AI found for you, sign in or create an account, enter payment details, and more.

AI agents may shine when it comes to tasks that do not require user confirmation or input after the task has been given. You can let your imagination run wild at this stage. It is fairly certain that agentic AI will play a large role in the coming months and years.

What is your take on this? Would you use an AI agent in the future for certain tasks? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Nvidia releases patch for GeForce black screen issues

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Nvidia released an unscheduled hotfix driver that it says is fixing black screen issues on older generation GeForce graphics cards.

The details:

  • GeForce Hotfix display driver version 572.65 is available for 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and 11.
  • It is designed for non-RTX 5000 graphics cards.
  • The patch is only available as a direct download.

Nvidia fixed black screen issues in the Game Ready driver 572.60 last week, but only for RTX 5000 graphics card. The hotfix fixes the issue for older video cards now as well.

The hotfix driver is available here. It makes a single change according to the release notes: “PC may boot to a black screen when connected via DisplayPort with certain monitors [5131002]”.

This update should only be installed on Windows PCs that are affected by the black screen issue. Users who do not experience black screens after booting should not install the update according to Nvidia. This hotfix driver is considered beta by Nvidia, and it may may be integrated into future GeForce drivers as a final update.

Nvidia users plagued by the black screen issues should fix it by installing the new driver. It is recommended to create a system backup before installing new drivers on Windows systems.

The GeForce Game Ready Driver 572.60 included the following changes:

  • Improved gaming experience for DLSS 4 games such as NARAKA BLADEPOINT or Monster Hunter Wilds.
  • Fixed apps stuttering on GeForce RTX 50 series cards.
  • Fixed two issues in Adobe Substance 3D.
  • Fixed black screen issues on systems with GeForce RTX 50 series cards.
  • Fixed an audio issue.
  • Fixed an image corruption issue in apps.

You can check out the full changelog here.

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.