Batteries

Windows 11 is getting a better battery indicator on the taskbar finally

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When you use a mobile Windows device, you see a battery icon on the taskbar that ideally should indicate the remaining battery live before the device needs to be charged.

Problem is, this icon is so bad on Windows, that it is barely workable. To get a true reading, it is necessary to hover the mouse cursor over the icon or dive deep into the Settings or other apps.

All other major operating systems support detailed battery indicators already. Microsoft is late to the party, but work has begun to change that in the near future.

The latest Developer build of Windows 11 adds an option to enable battery percentages on the taskbar next to the battery indicator. This is how that looks like.

As you can see, Microsoft is also adding a splash of color to the icon. Each color indicates a different state of the battery:

  • Black — Regular use.
  • Yellow — Energy saver mode is enabled.
  • Green — Battery is charging.
  • Red — Battery is critically low.

The percentage next to the icon displays the load state of the battery. It is not enabled by default, which means that you need to become active and enable it to get the detailed listing.

Here is how that is done:

  1. Open the Start menu.
  2. Select the Settings application.
  3. Go to System > Power & battery.
  4. Enable Battery percentage on the page to display the new information directly on the taskbar.

Microsoft is rolling out the feature to Windows Insiders in the Dev channel currently. Means, it will take some time before regular users will get it. It could be rolled out with the 2025 feature update for Windows 11, but Microsoft has not made such an announcement at this stage.

You can check out Microsoft’s announcement of the feature and the other changes of the release here.

What is your take on this change? If you use a mobile Windows 11 device, will you enable the new indicator once it becomes available?

Google Search

Google Search: mobile results get simplified URL views

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The URL, which is the site address of webpages, offers essential information to Internet users. It allows Internet users to verify that they are on the right website or verify links before they are visited.

The details: Google announced that it is stripping the address of results on Google Search on mobile so that only the domain name is shown.

Here is how this looks like on mobile now:

Google Search on mobile shows the domain name only.

Google Search displays the domain name only from now on. Google reasons that the full URL is not that useful on mobile devices anyway, as it is cut off usually because of limited space on the screen.

The change applies to mobile search only. Desktop users continue to see the full address using breadcrumbs.

Notably, this comes just a week after security researchers uncovered a malvertising campaign on Google Search that allowed threat actors to display fake source domains in Google ads.

Can you still check the address in Google Search on mobile?

Google Search on mobile: display address

Google has not implemented a straightforward option to display the address of a linked resource before visiting it.

A tap on the menu icon next to a result displays various information about the source that Google collected, but not the full address. It is only displayed when you activate the “more about this page” link.

The page that is loaded then displayed the linked URL, but often cut off.

Two workarounds remain at this point:

  • Long-press on a result to display to display various options. These differ from browser to browser, but they may display the address fully or at least partially.
  • Use share functionality by long pressing on a link in the search results. You can then share the link or use other options, such as copying the link.

The better option, if you want full addresses shown on mobile, is to switch to another search engine. Most display the full address.

Closing Words

It is true that the full address is usually not displayed on mobiles. While the new results page looks more pleasing to the eye, it strips users of a way to verify the target of a link displayed on Google Search.

Google could at least have added the full address to the summary page that users can open when they tap on the three dots next to a result. It would even be possible to display it on multiple lines, so that it is visible in full.

Alas, no such option has been implemented.

What is your take on this? Do you mind the removal off the information on Google Search? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Brave personalized search

Brave Search: raise or discard domains in search for custom results

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Brave launched a new search feature today that introduces reranking options. The core idea is to give users of the search engine an option to see more results of websites they like or prefer, and less or nothing at all of sites that they do not like or want to see.

This is especially useful if you come upon sites that you do not value highly regularly, or miss articles or information from a site that you do value.

Brave notes that rerank only applies to the current user. It has no impact on a site’s presence on the search engine, other than for the user who made the change. The feature does not require an account, which is another plus.

Denoted sites do not appear in search results any longer on Brave Search. This works similarly to the extension uBlacklist, which works on Google Search only though.

Raised sites get a new ranking signal that boost their ranking. While they may still not be shown in the first few spots in the results, their rank should be higher than before.

Brave Search’s AI component takes the new signals into account, which means that you should see sites mentioned more often or less there as well.

Good to know: the feature uses Brave Goggles, a feature that Brave introduced in 2022. It allows users to create custom filters that change search result rankings.

How to use the new feature on Brave Search

You can access the new feature after you run a search. Click on the new rerank icon in the top right corner to display the options. There you may:

  • Raise any listed site to strengthen it in Brave Search.
  • Discard any site to make sure it won’t show up in the search results anymore.

The listing changes when you switch pages in the results.

There is no option currently to add custom sites. If you want to get rid of a site or promote one, you need to run a search that includes it. The best way to do that is to search for the name of the site, as it will likely appear in the results in that case.

The finetuning applies to any search. If you raise a site, it will rank higher regardless of search term. That’s important to note, as it may catapult sites that cover anything to the top of the results regularly, if you raise them.

A click on the edit button displays options to remove sites again.

Closing Words

Rerank is an excellent feature that may improve Brave Search for users who use it. While I wish it would include an option to add a site manually, it is possible that it will come at a later point.

It is still possible to run default searches using a browser’s private browsing mode.

You can read more about the new feature on the Brave website.

European Consumer Organization renews criticism of Meta’s “pay-or-consent” policy

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Meta’s attempt to appease consumer rights organizations in Europe continues to draw sharp criticism from consumer protection groups.

The company introduced a pay-or-consent policy on its main platforms as a response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.

The policy gives users of its platforms two options: give Meta consent for advertising and tracking, or pay a monthly subscription fee to avoid that.

The European Data Protection Board rejected Meta’s initial model. Meta launched a second version of its policy in late 2024. While Meta made some adjustments, the underlying principle remained the same. Users still had to choose between ads and being tracked, or a paid subscription.

According to the European Consumer Organization, the second version of Meta’s pay-or-consent model falls short again.

Key Criticisms:

  • The subscription model appears to be a superficial compliance attempt
  • Users are not provided a genuine choice about data usage
  • Meta continues to collect excessive user data
  • Alternative service options remain fundamentally unequal

The new version of Meta’s pay-or-consent policy fails to address the fundamental problems consumer groups identified in the tech giant’s pay-or-consent initial approach.

Agustín Reyna, Director General of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), describes the changes as cosmetic only and that the revised version is not giving users “a fair choice” either.

The new policy breaches EU law in “numerous counts” according to the BEUC.

  • Using misleading practices and unclear terms and confusing interface design to steer users towards Meta’s preferred option;
  • Not giving to users the possibility to consent fully freely to their data being processed, while the tech giant does not minimise the data it collects from users;
  • Meta degrades the service to users who do not consent to the use of their personal data.

BEUC calls on several European Institutions and organizations, including the Irish Data Protection Commission, the PCC-Network and the European Commission, to take action against Meta.

The full report is available here.

Like Clockwork, Netflix is rising prices again

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Years ago, I predicted that streaming companies would raise subscription prices regularly, maybe even yearly. Today, news broke that Netflix is raising the price of subscriptions again.

The details:

  • The new prices affect viewers from the United States, Canada, Portugal, and Argentina.
  • In the US, the price of a subscription rises between $1 and $2.50, depending on the plan.
  • The changes take effect on the next billing cycle.

Here is the new price structure in the United States:

  • Standard with Ads is now $7.99 (up $1)
  • Standard is now $17.99 (up $2.50)
  • Premium is now $24.99 (up $2)
  • Adding an extra member is now $8.99 (up $1)

This is the first price increase since October 2023, when Netflix increase the price of Premium from $19.99 to $22.99 in the United States. It also increased the price of its Basic plan back then, but this plan is no longer available.

There you have it. Disney increased pricing last August already in the United States.

My 2023 article on the matter still stands. I predicted regular price jumps, and more and more ads on the platforms. Ads would bring in revenue, but also make the pricier plans more attractive. It is a page directly out of Google’s playbook on YouTube. Make ads insufferable and you will increase subscriptions to more expensive plans that promise fewer or no ads.

I will continue what I have been doing for years: subscribe to a streaming service for just a month, if they have something that I’m interested in. Do that once a year, and you save a lot of money. Yes, you won’t be the first to watch a new show, but that is not really important to me.

Now it is your turn. Are you subscribed to streaming services? If so, to which and how much do you pay currently for the subscription?

Firefox 134.0.2

Firefox 134.0.2 is here with a few non-security corrections

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Mozilla plans to release a second point update for Firefox 134 later today. Firefox 134.0.2 is another non-security update that addresses a few pressing problems in the browser that had to be fixed early.

Most Firefox installations will be upgraded automatically once the update is released. As this does not happen in real-time, some users may want to trigger the update manually instead.

How to update Firefox: One easy way of doing so is to select Menu > Help > About Firefox. The browser displays the current version and runs a check for updates. It should pick up the latest, download it and install it. A restart is required to complete the process.

Good to know: Firefox 134.0.1, released last week, fixed an issue on YouTube and a crash issue.

Firefox 134.0.2: the changes

The official release notes are not available yet. Mozilla will publish them later today on this page.

Here is a quick overview of the included fixes:

  • After a crash, the crash reporter was not displayed for some localized builds.
  • Anchored links in HTML framesets pointing to local files did not work.
  • Network requests could not be resend in the Developer Tools when debugging extensions.
  • Data consumption from service works could unexpectedly halt.

Most Firefox users should not be affected by any of these issues, as they apply mostly to edge cases or development related cases.

Suggested course of action: Since the release does not fix any security issues, most users should not feel pressed to install the update immediately.

The next major release happens on February 4th, which is about two weeks from today.

Google Needs to Strengthen Ad Security After Latest Malvertising Incident

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

A recent incident has shown another security vulnerability in Google’s advertising platform: advertisers can display URLs of legitimate websites in their ads while redirecting clicks to malicious destinations.

This deceptive practice has recently been exploited in a concerning incident. Here is what happened.

The popular macOS package manager Homebrew became the target of cybercriminals in a sophisticated phishing campaign. Developer Ryan Chenkie discovered a fraudulent website being promoted through Google Ads that impersonated the official Homebrew platform.

The attackers employed a classic typosquatting technique, registering the domain “brewe.sh” to mimic Homebrew’s legitimate domain “brew.sh.”.

The cybercriminals booked ads on Google’s advertising platform to lure unsuspecting users into their trap. While the target URL was different, the ad on Google Search showed the address of the legitimate website to searches.

In other words: A glance at the address would show the correct address to searchers. A click on the ad, however, would load the malicious website instead.

The fraudulent site was professionally designed to appear identical to Homebrew’s official website. However, instead of providing legitimate software, it distributed malware through compromised cURL downloads. According to reports, the malware specifically targeted user passwords.

The main takeaway for users: do not trust the address, title, or ad text that Google displays on Google Search. Better yet, use a content blocker to get rid of these ads entirely.

Google has apparently reacted to this particular ad and plans to “stop similar patterns in the future”.

Closing Words

One of the main problems of advertisement on the Internet is that it is regularly abused by cybercriminals. Even Google, with all its money that it earns from advertising, seems uncapable of putting an end to this abuse.

It is a trust issue and the only way of protection is to use content blockers. The added benefit of this is that users save potentially gigabytes of data each month,, speed up browsing on the Internet and improve your privacy.

This is why my website does not have any ads. You can still support me though, for instance by subscribing to my newsletter here.

YouTube Premium Lite Check

Here is how you find out if you can subscribe to YouTube Premium Lite

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube Premium, Google’s subscription-based plan for its video streaming service YouTube, is either quite expensive or a great deal, depending on who you ask.

If you are just after getting rid of ads on YouTube, it is quite expensive in the eyes of many. One reason is that Google added YouTube Music to the subscription. That’s great for users who use it, but not so much for everyone else.

That is probably the main reason why Google tested various YouTube Premium Lite offers in the past. Currently, Google is testing YouTube Premium Lite again.

YouTube Premium Lite

Here are the main differences to YouTube Premium

  • No access to YouTube Music.
  • No downloads (offline watching).
  • No background playback in YouTube apps.
  • Mostly ad-free (some ads may be shown when watching music videos).

The price of a YouTube Premium Lite subscription is less than half of a YouTube Premium subscription. In the European Union, you pay €5.99 (which is roughly $6)

Find out if you can subscribe to YouTube Premium

All it takes is to click on this link to find out. You either get “this offer is not available” or an option to subscribe to Premium Lite (maybe even with a trial month for $0).

Tip: do not use the the iPhone app to subscribe to YouTube Premium or YouTube Premium Lite. You will pay a “premium” because of Apple App Store fees.

Good to know: Premium Lite is in testing at the time. Google could shutter the service at any time or make it available to more or even all Internet users.

There is another way

As you all know, Google is battling content blockers on YouTube as well as third-party YouTube clients. While the battle is raging, most content blockers and apps continue to work at the time of writing.

You could, use an app like NewPipe or a browser like Brave or Firefox (with uBlock Origin extension) on mobile to access YouTube.

Microsoft starts automatic (forced) upgrade to Windows 11, version 24H2

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you still run an earlier version of Windows 11 on a PC that meets the minimum system requirements, then you may have the latest version of Windows 11 installed automatically on your PC.

Microsoft says that Windows 11, version 24H2 has reached a new stage of distribution. Previous stages required manual interaction with Windows Update or intervention of the administrator to install the upgrade.

Tip: if you run Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, you may check out this free software to make upgrades dead easy.

This changes now, as Windows 11 may be installed automatically on most non-managed devices.

Microsoft writes:

We have reached a new stage in the phased rollout of version 24H2. Eligible devices running Home and Pro editions of Windows 11, versions 23H2 and 22H2 will be gradually updated to version 24H2.

There are good reasons for not wanting the latest version of Windows 11 on a device at this time. Several issues exist that Microsoft has confirmed but not resolved. For some, mitigations may exist.

As always, you can check all issues on Microsoft’s release health website for Windows. There you see all the confirmed issues.

For Windows 11, version 24H2, these are:

  • Some ASUS devices might fail to install Windows 11, version 24H2
  • Camera use might cause some applications to become unresponsive
  • Safe Exam Browser application might fail to open
  • Some devices using Easy Anti-Cheat stop responding and receive a blue screen
  • Wallpaper customization applications might not work as expected
  • Compatibility issues with Intel Smart Sound Technology drivers
  • Asphalt 8 might periodically stop responding
  • Issues might occur with media which installs the October or November update
  • Auto HDR might cause games to stop responding or display incorrect colors
  • Some devices that have Dirac Audio with cridspapo.dll might lose audio output
  • Date & Time in Window Settings might not permit users to change time zone
  • Disk Cleanup might incorrectly report space available for cleanup

Good news is that Microsoft is blocking the upgrade to the latest Windows 11 version on PCs that are affected by a known issues.

Windows 11 users who run version 23H2 should not feel any rush to upgrade to the latest version. The version is supported until the end off the year and there is little that the 2024 release offers that justifies a quick upgrade. Even the promised AI functionality is not there yet to a large degree.

Now it is your turn. Do you run Windows 11 already? When do you upgrade your Windows PCs to a new version usually?

Linux Mint 22.1 is available with a big list of changes

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

A new version of the Linux distribution Linux Mint is now available. Linux Mint 22.1 is a long term service release that will be supported until 2029. Downloads are already available on the official website and various mirror servers.

As always, Linux 22.1 is available in three editions: Cinnamon, Xfce, and MATE. Cinnamon is the most popular version, Xfce is a lighter version that does not support some of the Cinnamon features, but is lighter on resources because of that. Mate is a traditional edition that continues to be supported.

Tip: check out the list of known issues here before you start the upgrade or installation.

Linux Mint 22.1 improvements (Cinnamon)

The official release notes reveal what is new and changed. Here are the highlights:

  • APT dependencies modernization, which lays the groundwork for future improvements.
  • Night Light support, which “adjusts the screen to help reduce eyestrain, headaches, and improve sleep quality”. You can configure it under Settings > Night Light.
  • New default theme with “smoother, rounded elements and darker tones”, and cleaner, modern dialogs.
  • Wayland compatibility improvements by using native dialogs for better integration.
  • Software manager optimizations (“better speed, ensuring faster application browsing and installations”).
  • Nemo actions support for keyboard shortcuts.
  • Improved Alt-Tab experience.
  • Support for notifications on fullscreen windows.

Now it is your turn. Have you tried Linux Mint before or this particular release already?