Tag: windows 11

WingetUI 3.0 Stable is now available

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

A new version of WingetUI, a universal UI for package managers, is now available. WingetUI 3.0 features a fully redesigned interface that the developers promise is more responsive and visually pleasing.

Packages should load faster under in the new version, and the application’s package importing and exporting functionality has also been improved.

You can check out my review of WingetUI to find out more about the software. Only this much: the app gives you access to several popular package managers, including winget, but also others such as Chocolatey. You may use these to install new programs on Windows machines, upgrade installed programs, and also uninstall applications.

These operations work in batch mode or for individual apps.

Note: the application will be renamed to UnigetUI in the future. This is done to reflect that it supports multiple package managers and not just winget.

WingetUI 3.0

WingetUI 3.0

The latest version of the open source tool requires .NET 8. Missing components will get installed on Windows machines during installation.

The new interface looks different when compared to the old. The main access points were moved from the top to the sidebar. There you find the options to discover packages, view installed packages and package bundles, check software updates, and more.

Some sections displays filters when opened. When you launch discovery, which you use to find new apps, you get a list of filters to customize the output. These allow you to change the search mode and filter by package manager.

It still takes just a couple of clicks to install one or multiple applications. The assortment of optional actions does not appear to have changed and is still displayed at the top. You may use them to install apps as an administrator or skip integrity checks. These may still look confusing to new users, as only a few have text labels. You may hover over them to get a tooltip though.

One of the best features of winget, and thus also WingetUI, is the ability to upgrade all supported applications at once. WingetUI checks for updates on launch and displays all of them in the update section.

Closing Words

The new version of WingetUI worked well during tests. It had a slight display problem on a laptop that used the recommended 200% scaling. If you check the screenshot, you will notice that the sidebar’s scrollbar overlaps it slightly.

Other than that, it worked well during tests. You may still use winget for all the operations, but this requires running commands from Terminal. Also, you do not get extra access to other package managers and tools.

In closing, WingetUI 3.0 improves the application further without taking anything away from it. You can download the latest version from the project’s GitHub repository.

Copilot key

Windows 11’s AI Explorer could be a useful tool and a privacy nightmare

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

We do not know much about Windows AI PCs, AI Explorer, or other plans of Microsoft to bake more AI into its operating system.

The only thing we do know is that the upcoming feature update for Windows 11 will focus strongly on AI. At least some of these AI features may require special hardware, a neural processing unit to be precise.

The latest feature that may be introduced in Windows 11 2024 Update, also known as Windows 11 version 24H2, is AI Explorer.

Windows Central posted about AI Explorer citing unnamed sources at Microsoft. According to the site, AI Explorer is an “advanced Copilot” feature that separates AI PCs from non-AI PCs.

The feature tracks what a user does on the PC, everywhere, including in third-party apps, and makes all of this searchable using natural language.

One example: you could ask the AI to find all restaurants that a specific person liked. It will then go ahead and try to retrieve the information using the data that it collected in the past.

You could also ask the AI to return everything about dinosaurs, and it will return text, images, websites and pretty much anything else that matches the query.

That is the theory at least.

Privacy nightmare in the making?

This feature is unconfirmed. Windows Central is usually well informed, but things may change before an official release.

Microsoft declined to comment, which also means that we know little about the feature. How is the data collected? Do users get options to block data collecting in apps? Where it is stored? Does it require an active Internet connection? Is data submitted to Microsoft?

AI Explorer could be an interesting feature if everything is processed and stored locally. It could also be a privacy nightmare, if data is processed and/or stored remotely.

Would you trust a company with access to everything that you do on your computer?

The NPU requirement could mean that everything is handled locally on the system. If true, it could fizzle out the privacy fears of many users. Who knows, Microsoft might even turn Windows Copilot into a useful tool by enabling local processing of Windows-specific tasks and commands.

Not so fast

These AI features will be introduced in development builds before the final release. The integration will provide answers to some of the questions.

Microsoft is extremely tight lipped about its vision for AI PCs. First Surface devices that are AI PCs will become available later this month. These won’t include the functionality yet, as this will come later this year in the 2024 update for Windows 11.

In other words, you get an AI PC that works similarly to non-AI PCs for the time being.

Now You: what is your take on AI Explorer?

Amazon Appstore Windows 11

Microsoft announces retirement of Windows Subsystem for Android

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft announced the retirement of the Windows Subsystem for Android today. The subsystem was heralded as one of Windows 11’s upcoming features prior to the launch of the operating system more than 3 years ago.

The store allowed developers and users to run certain Android applications directly on Windows 11 machines. Microsoft partnered with Amazon to bring the Amazon Appstore to Windows 11. This limited availability of apps on Windows 11, as Google Play was not supported.

The announcement on the official Windows Subsystem for Android website offers the following information on the retirement.

Microsoft is ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android™️ (WSA). As a result, the Amazon Appstore on Windows and all applications and games dependent on WSA will no longer be supported beginning March 5, 2025.

Microsoft ends support for the Amazon Appstore and all apps and games that depend on the Windows Subsystem for Android on March 5, 2025. Windows 11 users who installed Android apps or games on their devices will have continued access to these through March 5, 2025.

Installations of the Amazon Appstore are still available at the time of writing. Microsoft Store will prevent installations starting March 6, 2024.

Microsoft offers no reason for the deprecation of the feature. Windows Subsystem for Android was available in a few dozen countries only including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. The feature had specific system requirements on top of that: a 64-bit processor, virtualization support, 16 GB of RAM and a Solid State Drive. The last two requirements were recommended but not enforced.

The deprecation of the entire Windows Subsystem for Android puts an end to any Microsoft Store application that used it to install Android apps on the Windows device.

The last update of the Windows Subsystem for Android was released less than a year ago. It introduced file sharing capabilities between the subsystem and the Windows 11 host machine.

Alternatives to the Amazon AppStore

One alternative that continues to work for developers and users is BlueStack. It is a third-party solution that focuses on bringing Android games to PC. BlueStack claims that it offers more than 2 million Android games to PC players.

Google launched Google Play Games recently to bring a selection of Android games to PC. The software is still in beta at the time of writing and limits games to a fraction of what is available on Google Play.

Slow

Does it work? Trick promises to speed up folder opening in Windows’ File Explorer

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

We have probably all been there. The gigantic folder full of — insert a data type here — is taking ages to display all files that it contains. It does not matter if we are talking about pictures, videos, audio files, documents, or a mix of files.

Sometimes, File Explorer seems to take ages to open large folders on Windows devices. While this is caused by hardware limitations at times, a slow CPU, a tiny amount of RAM, or a slow hard drive may be blamed, it is sometimes Windows that is causing the delay.

Microsoft introduced folder types in earlier versions of Windows. The main idea behind the feature is to display data in specific ways. A folder full of images shows thumbnails of these images, which many users like.

To get there, File Explorer needs to analyze the files. If it finds a dominating type, it may set the folder to that type. Problem is, this analysis is automated and it takes time.

A solution (via Deskmodder) that promises to fix the issue has been making the rounds lately. It blocks this auto discovery from happening basically.

The solution

This solution is not new and it may come as a surprise to some that it is making the rounds again. Then again, these tricks rarely get old, but new generations may not know them at all.

About 14 years ago, I published several articles on the matter. Fix slow folders in Windows 7 recommended changing the folder type to “general items” to avoid any loading issues.

I mentioned the trick that is now making the rounds in the same year. Back in August 2010 I explained how you could enable a single view mode for all folders in Windows Explorer to speed up the loading of files and folders. Windows Explorer is the previous name of File Explorer in case you are wondering.

Registry Editor: set folder type to unspecified
File Explorer Slow Folders tweak

This tweak still works in Windows 11. Here are the steps:

  1. Open the Start Menu, type regedit.exe, and press the Enter-key on the keyboard.
  2. Confirm the prompt by selecting Yes.
  3. Paste the following path into the address field in the Registry Editor window, or go there manually: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\AllFolders\Shell
  4. Check if FolderType exists. If it does not, right-click on Shell and select New > String value. Name it FolderType.
  5. Double-click on FolderType and set its value to NotSpecified.
  6. Close the Registry Editor.
  7. Restart the Windows PC.

The effect

The change sets the default folder type for all folders to general. In other words, File Explorer does not need to parse the files in the folder anymore to determine its type. This should speed up the opening of folders.

You may still customize certain folders by changing their folder type.

To answer the question: yes it does work in many cases. While it cannot do anything about hardware-related slowdowns, it will speed up the loading of large folders on Windows.

Several programs are available that help you do that. You may use Nirsoft’s ShellBagsView or the free software WinSetView for that. The latter comes with options to reset the views to their defaults as well.

Closing Words

If you experience issues opening folders on Windows regularly, then you may want to give this tweak a try. It may resolve the issue on your end and there is little drawback to the method.

Now You: did you know about this tweak?

Windows Copilot upload files

Windows Copilot: file uploads enabled. Painful, but a glimpse of the future

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windows Copilot supports file uploads now. The functionality extends the AI’s capabilities. Users could only upload images previously.

The new file upload capabilities limit file types that you may upload. Included are many plain text formats and also Microsoft Office document formats.

Uploading works by clicking on the attachment icon in the Copilot interface on Windows. A file browser opens with a filtered list. Only supported file types are listed here.

Select a file and it gets uploaded to Copilot. Note that there is no information on privacy or how the file is used by the AI or Microsoft. Better be careful what you upload.

You may then ask Copilot about the file. It may provide a summary or extract data or information from the file.

First Test: Security Spreadsheet listing February 2024 Microsoft security updates

Windows Copilot upload files

I uploaded an Excel spreadsheet that listed the February 2024 security updates that Microsoft released.

The task I gave Copilot was simple: return all vulnerabilities with a maximum severity of critical.

The AI did return three vulnerabilities rated critical but missed the other 68 vulnerabilities rated critical. A reminder to check the max severity column resulted in the listing of 8 critical security issues. Better, but it still missed 63 others.

I decided to try another approach. This time I submitted the following command:

Check the max severity column of the Excel spreadsheet. Return product and Details information of each that has the value critical. There are 71 in total. Return all.

This time, Copilot returned 8 again, but stated that there were “many more”. Still not very helpful. I asked it again to return all 71 entries and not just the 8 it returned.

Copilot apologized for the oversight and returned 8 again only.

Second Test: Shipping label PDF document

For the second test, I decided to feed Copilot a PDF document with shipping information.

Any question I asked Copilot was met with a “cannot do, sorry” response. I uploaded a different document to see if it could provide information in that case.

This time, Copilot was able to return the correct information. It also managed to return other information, such as the ID of the shipment, correctly.

Thoughts on the current state regarding file uploads

My experience with Copilot’s file upload feature was mixed. It did well in one of three cases. While that is not enough to judge it based on that performance, it highlights on the one hand how useful AI tools can be, and on the other how far away from “trusting” an AI’s output we are.

This is not even taking into account any privacy reservations that you may have about AI.

Still, file analysis could become a huge tool for computer users and organizations. From returning vital information from spreadsheets to all sorts of post-processing and data linking features.

It is not there yet, though.

Speak

Windows 11 may soon use your voice for speech output

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Microsoft is working on a new accessibility feature in Windows 11 that it calls Speak for Me. Here is what it does: the main idea behind the accessibility tool is to have text that you type spoken aloud using either integrated voices or your own.

Twitter user Phantom spotted the integrated feature in Windows 11 build 26063. It is not enabled by default in the build, but interested users may enable it using ViVeTool.

Here are the required steps to unlock it:

  1. Download the latest ViVeTool release from GitHub.
  2. Extract the archive to the local system.
  3. Open an elevated command prompt, e.g., by opening Start, typing CMD and selecting “run as administrator”.
  4. Navigate to the ViVeTool directory.
  5. Run the command vivetool /enable /id:44950080,47123936,47405131,47976395,48002155,48339425,48624087,48812316,48900033
  6. Restart the system.

Speak for Me should now be accessible via Settings > Speak for Me.

Speak for Me

image source Phantom

Toggle the Speak for Me preference to On to enable the feature. The keyboard shortcut Windows-Ctrl-T turns the assistive speech feature on and off then.

Windows 11 gives you two voice options: pick a natural voice that is provided by the operating system or use your own voice. Using your own voice requires giving Microsoft permission to record the voice.

Note all Windows 11 users may like the idea. Those who do not, may want to pick natural voice instead. Once you have given Microsoft permission, you need to read phases and sentences aloud. This takes some time, but progress is saved.

Microsoft uses your voice data then to create a personal voice. This takes about 2 hours according to Microsoft. The company promises that it will inform users once the voice is ready for use.

Use the keyboard shortcut to display the interface. It opens a text field. Anything you enter there may be read aloud using the selected voice.

Closing Words

The option to create a personal voice is interesting. Microsoft has not revealed plans to extend the feature, but it is just a small step to integrating a user’s recorded voice as one of the available voices on Windows.

This would allow Windows 11 users to use the voice in Narrator and other areas of the operating system.

Speak for Me is an interesting feature, but it is limited at this point. Microsoft has not said anything about the target release for the feature. Windows 11 version 24H2, or Windows 11 2024 Update, is the most likely target at this point

PC Gaming

NVIDIA App: new unified app for NVIDIA graphics cards

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

NVIDIA unveiled the NVIDIA App yesterday. The new application is available as a beta release at the time of writing. It promises to unify functionality that NVIDIA’s current generation of programs offer.

The company plans to replace these programs, notably GeForce Experience, NVIDIA Control Panel, and RTX Experience, with this one in the future.

The public beta of the NVIDA app is available already. It does not include all features yet. NVIDIA notes in the announcement that it does include “many of the top features” from the existing apps already.

NVIDIA App system requirements

The beta application is compatible with Windows 10 and 11 operating systems only at the time. It requires 600 MB of disk space, 2 GB of RAM, and the GeForce 551.52 or later driver.

The app has the following CPU and GPU requirements:

GPU:

  • GeForce RTX 20, 30, and 40 Series GPUs
  • GeForce GTX 800, 900, 1000, 1600 Series GPUs
  • GeForce MX100, MX200, MX300, 800M, and 900M GPUs

CPU:

  • Intel Pentium G Series, Core i3, i5, i7, or higher
  • AMD FX, Ryzen 3, 5, 7, 9, Threadripper or higher

The NVIDIA App: functionality

NVIDIA App graphics settings

One of the core features of the app is the discovery and installation of drivers and related NVIDIA software. It allows users to install the latest graphics card driver on their devices and also other NVIDIA software, including GeForce NOW or NVIDIA Broadcast.

Driver releases provide summaries of new features and fixed issues. These help users find out more about a release without having to read the full documentation.

All driver related articles are accessible from a single entry point in the NVIDIA app.

NVIDIA App Drivers

The NVIDIA App introduces a new game overlay, which provides access to “gameplay recording tools, performance monitoring overlays, and game enhancing filters”. Filters include new filters powered by AI, but these are limited to GeForce RTX users and about 1200 games at the time.

Filters like RTX Dynamic Vibrance or RTX HDR promise to improve the visual quality of games using AI.

Microsoft is also working on integrating AI into Windows to improve graphics. Called Super Resolution, it promises to improve performance and visuals of games on Windows devices.

Gamers get a new performance overlay, which they may customize. They may add or hide certain performance metrics in the new software.

There is also the new GPU Control Center. This allows users to tune games and driver settings from a single location. Customizations support making global changes and also specific changes to specific applications or games.

Other options include signing-in to redeem bundles and rewards. NVIDIA says that this is optional.

The future

NVIDIA is working on integrating features of the NVIDIA Control Panel that are not yet available in the NVIDIA App. The new app will also get features from GeForce Experience and RTX Experience. These include GPU overclocking and driver rollback options.

The classic NVIDIA programs remain available throughout the beta period. NVDIA appears to have plans to drop support for these apps eventually, but has not yet announced an end of support date.

Some features won’t make the cut. NVIDIA lists Broadcast to Twitch and YouTube, Share Images and Video to Facebook and YouTube, and Photo Mode 360 & Stereo captures specifically.

Closing Words

The new application promises to unify NVIDIA’s offerings for Windows. It is too early to say how good it really is at this point. It should be clear that it will include Telemetry as well. NVIDIA will likely continue to release standalone drivers for its graphics cards.

How to zoom in on any video in Windows

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Windows users have several options when it comes to zooming in on any video. This guide lists two of the best options to zoom videos on Windows. The first works for any local video file, the second for any video that you play on Windows.

Zoom is a useful feature to enlarge an entire video or part of it. It is ideal for looking closer at details in a video among other things.

It may come as a surprise, but many video players do not support zoom at all, or only in a way that is not very useful.

The new Media Player in Windows does not support zoom. The classic Media Player does, but it is only a matter of time before it gets removed. Popular apps like VLC Media Player support zoom functionality, but it too is lacking.

There is one video player on the other hand, that supports zoom in a user friendly way. All you have to do is hold down a key to draw a rectangle around the area that you want to zoom in. Or, and that is another option, you may tap on a key on the keyboard to zoom in or out at any time. Very convenient.

Zoom in on any video using PotPlayer

PotPlayer is a free media player for Windows. You can download it from the developer website or the Microsoft Store.

The media player is powerful; it offers lots of features and options. While that is great, it may also discourage some users.

PotPlayer supports major video formats out of the box. Just install the app on your device and make it the default media player to get started.

Videos play in windowed mode by default, but you may change that if you want. You can use zoom in and out functionality right away by pressing 9 or 1 on the numerical keypad.

A tap on 9 zooms in on the entire video. You may press 5 at any time to reset the zoom level.

To get the rectangle zoom option, do the following:

  1. Select PotPlayer in the top left corner and then Preferences from the menu. You may also press F5 directly to open the options.
  2. Switch to the Mouse tab in the Preferences.
  3. Check “Activate Alt, Ctrl, Shift + Mouse Drag to Pan, Zoom and Stretch the image”.
  4. Select OK to complete the process.

Once done, hold down one of the modifier keys, e.g., Ctrl, before drawing a rectangle on the video to zoom in that specific area.

You may then hold down the Ctrl-key while using the Numpad keys 2,4,6, and 8 to move around on the screen. Note that the zoom level is extreme, and that you may get better results using the Numpad to zoom in on a video.

Using the built-in Magnifier tool to zoom in on videos

Magnifier is a built-in accessibility tool that you may run with the keyboard shortcut Windows-+ (Windows-key and Plus-key). It opens the Magnifier interface, which you may use to change the zoom level and make some other changes.

You may want to open Start > Settings > Accessibility > Magnifier first to customize the zoom level. It defaults to 100% steps, which may be a bit much. You may change the steps on the page and make some other adjustments as you see fit.

Note: To exit Magnifier in Windows, press the Windows-key and the Esc-key at the same time,

Magnifier zooms in anywhere on the screen. This makes it a good tool for zooming in on videos. Just play a video in a browser or locally, and use Magnifier to zoom in or out while the video plays or is paused.

Now You: do you use zoom functionality on your systems?

Uninstalr review: powerful Windows software uninstaller

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Uninstalr is a free Windows software uninstaller. You may download a portable version or installer from the developer website. It runs on Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows.

The application supports several features that are often only found in commercial uninstallers: monitor software installations, deep cleaning, batch removals of apps and support for a variety of software stores and distribution platforms.

Uninstalr: the basics

Windows software uninstaller Uninstalr

The Windows software uninstaller scans the system on start. This may take a moment, depending on the number of installed programs and the system’s performance.

The list includes installed programs but also leftovers from apps that were previously installed on the device.

Tip: open the program preferences first and uncheck the automatic system restart option after software uninstallations.

Each program is listed with its name, developer, size on disk and type. Filters at the top give you options to create custom lists. You may display only leftovers or only programs from Steam, among other options. Microsoft apps are hidden by default, but you may enable these as well.

Removing programs is easy. Select one or multiple of the listed apps with a left-click and activate the uninstall button afterwards. You may also select “show data” first. Show data lists all found locations, files, folders, and Registry, of the selected apps.

The program lists the information when you active the uninstall option. The removal deletes the programs entirely from the system. It is recommended to restart the Windows PC afterwards.

Core features of the Windows software uninstaller

Uninstalr’s core feature is the removal of one or multiple programs from Windows PCs. Additionally, it supports monitoring software installations for easier cleaning in the future.

Using the program is simple. Run it, wait for the scan to complete, and select apps to remove. This process worked well during tests.

I still recommended that you create a system backup of the main partition for safety reasons.

Besides cleaning leftovers from the Windows PC, you can also use it to find and uninstall large programs. Note that the sort options appear bugged at the time. The sort by size option did not work correctly during tests. It allows you to sort apps by size.

Select “New Software Monitoring” in the interface to monitor a software installation. The Windows software uninstaller monitors installs automatically at this point.

It lists the program when you run its installer. Note that this does not work for portable apps. Some installations were not detected by the application either while running. Still, you do benefit from the leftover scan option in any event.

Should you use Uninstalr immediately?

Should you use Uninstalr immediately to remove Windows programs, or the default Windows uninstaller first?

This depends. If you used uninstaller to monitor software installs, then you may use the program immediately for the removal. if you did not, use the Windows tool first and then Uninstalr to take care of leftovers.

You should not run into any issues removing apps with Uninstalr directly either.

Comparison to WinGetUI

WinGetUI is a user interface for winget. It allows you to install and uninstall Windows software. A core difference between the two apps is that WinGetUI does not scan for leftovers.

It is still useful, for instance for installing programs on Windows or removing bulk programs. After using it to remove apps, you may want to run Uninstalr to benefit from its leftover removal functionality.

Closing Words

Uninstalr is a powerful software uninstaller for Windows. The program is ideal for removing leftover files and Registry entries from already removed software installations or portable app installations.

Resolutions

Super Resolution promises better game graphics on Windows 11

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Automatic Super Resolution is a new Windows graphics feature that is currently in development. The main idea behind it is to use artificial intelligence to “play games more smoothly with enhanced details” according to Microsoft.

Modern PC games may tax a system’s hardware. If the system is older, users may notice slowdowns or reduced graphics details. One way of dealing with this is to reduce the resolution of the game or its graphics details.

While that may improve frames per seconds, it also reduces the visual quality of the game.

Super Resolution

Automatic Super Resolution

Automatic Super Resolution is a new feature that is in testing right now. The experimental feature was spotted by Twitter user PhantomOcean3.

The support page returns a 404 error at the moment, which is why we know little about the actual functionality of the feature. What we know is that Windows may use AI to improve the performance and visual quality of games.

It is unclear if this is marketing-speak for upscaling, a technology that has been around for a long time.

A second screenshot shows some of the available options. Besides on and off toggles, Super Resolution supports enabling the feature while keeping the display resolution and configuring the feature for individual games and apps.

Super Resolution preferences

Super Resolutions everywhere

Several companies announced similar features in the past. Qualcomm announced Game Super Resolution back in April 2023, which, as Qualcomm put it, promises “increased battery life, higher resolutions and improved frame rates on mobile devices”.

Qualcomm’s solution uses upscaling to achieve this; the company avoided the term AI entirely during the announcement.

NVIDIA’s RTX Super Resolution technology is designed specifically for videos. It upscales videos up to 4K, but requires modern NVIDIA video cards for that.

Microsoft introduced Turing Image Super Resolution back in 2022 in Microsoft Edge. The company cut the “Turing Image” part of the name later that year. It too promises to upscale low resolution images to higher resolutions.

Closing Words

Playing games smoothly at higher resolutions is something that most gamers will be interested in. The main question is how effective Microsoft’s solution is. Another, if it requires certain hardware features to work.

While it is not possible to upscale games beyond the supported resolution of the monitor, Super Resolution could help gamers on older devices especially. If, and that is a big if, the feature does not require specific hardware.

The functionality may also be of interest for classic computer games. Older games may support resolutions of 800×600 or even lower only. These do not look good on modern displays with 1080p or 4k resolutions, usually.

If Microsoft gets this right, it could give certain older PC games a much needed visual boost.

As for when Super Resolution lands. The most likely target is the 2024 feature update for Windows 11.

Now You: would you use the feature to play games on your devices?