Inhoudsopgave van November 2024 - Tech Advisor

Last month, Microsoft released the KB5043076 update for Windows 11 (fave.co/3XvcwKK) on Patch Tuesday (the second Tuesday of every month). This update is a mandatory security update that’s being delivered to all users. Overall, it’s a beneficial update for many users, one that brings several improvements and even a performance boost in some cases. But for some other unfortunate users, the update has brought issues and headaches, including serious problems like crashes. KNOWN PROBLEMS The September update is, unfortunately, causing serious problems for some users. Some are unable to install it at all, while others are dealing with crashing systems after installation. Others report frequent crashes of File Explorer when it’s started via the taskbar. This issue has apparently been fixed by Microsoft, but it’s currently only available to Windows…

Microsoft has updated a support page that tracks deprecated Windows features with a new announcement: legacy DRM services will no longer be available in Windows Media Player along with Silverlight, Windows 7 and Windows 8. DRM, short for digital rights management, is a technological measure used to protect intellectual property from infringement. It mainly works by encrypting media (for example, DVD and Blu-ray discs) in a way that restricts who can access said DRM‑protected media. With this deprecation of legacy DRM services, you will no longer be able to play DRM‑protected media of any kind in Windows Media Player, Silverlight, Windows 7, and Windows 8. That also means no more streaming of DRM content to Xbox 360. If you’re still on Windows 7 or Windows 8, you’ll have to upgrade…

At the ‘It’s Glowtime!’ today, Apple unveiled the latest updates to its line of smartwatches. The all-new Apple Watch Series 10 features a major redesign and new health features, while the Apple Watch Ultra 2 from last year gets a new colour finish and new accessories. RELEASE DATE The Apple Watch Series 10 is available to buy now. DESIGN: BIGGER, BUT SLIMMER The most obvious update for the Apple Watch in 2024 is a major redesign – perhaps the most comprehensive redesign in the product’s history. This has three main strands: the Series 10 has a bigger screen, it has a thinner body, and it’s lighter. First, the display. It’s the biggest ever on an Apple Watch – even (only just) beating the Ultra, which doesn’t get a redesign this…

Price: £1,049 from fave.co/4fAmkLL It’s a new era for Windows PCs. The latest Microsoft Surface Laptop (alongside the revised Surface Pro) ditches Intel and AMD hardware for Qualcomm chips. This isn’t a first, as previous Surface devices like the Surface Pro 9 5G also used Qualcomm. But those devices were introductory sideshows to the main event. The new Surface Laptop is available only with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip. No Intel or AMD variants are available or planned. This bold move helps the Surface Laptop achieve strong performance and outright spectacular battery life in a thin laptop, in addition to standing as Microsoft’s debut AI-infused Copilot+ PC. DESIGN It’s easy to mistake the new Surface Laptop for an older model at a glance – and I mean that as a…

Price: £999 from fave.co/3WUaoMb The iPad Pro offers a simple deal: pay more, and get the best possible performance and the widest range of functions. The new iPad Pro M4 also fulfils this promise. It is exclusively equipped with Apple’s most modern chip and offers an impressive OLED display with HDR support for the first time. I don’t want to dwell on the question “Can an iPad replace a MacBook?” for long, as it’s been discussed far too often. (Many users long ago decided that it can.) Complaining about the high price is also pointless; it’s simply very expensive. The more interesting question is how much better the new iPad Pro is than its predecessor from 2022 and the new iPad Air, and whether it justifies that high price. We…

In August, Microsoft announced a doozy of a bug: just typing in Word, Outlook, or OneNote could crash the app. Microsoft has published a fix that will solve the problem. On 15 August, Microsoft disclosed that a version mismatch in Microsoft 365’s Office apps could have catastrophic consequences. “After updating to Version 2407 Build 17830.20138 or higher, you find that Outlook, Word or OneNote may unexpectedly close when typing or doing other authoring tasks such as spell check,” Microsoft had said. Now, Microsoft has finally diagnosed the problem. “The crash issue is caused due to version mismatch between Office 2016 proofing tools in coexistence with Office language packs (M365 apps for Enterprise),” reads Microsoft’s support note. “These proofing tools are probably old traces from previous installs or part of Office…

We’re in the middle of an arms race at the top end of the phone market, with Samsung, Google, Huawei, and others all duking it out for the most eye-catching foldable design. But if rumours are to be believed (and yeah, that’s a big ‘if’), Samsung is working on a rolling screen phone that could bring the stuff of science fiction to your very real pocket. The rumour is that Samsung is bringing the Rollable Flex OLED concept display it showed off in 2023 to a mass market design. It’s been reported that this phone would start off with a typical ‘candybar’ form factor, but roll out to a massive 12.4-inch display. That’s about the same size as an iPad Pro, in a gadget you can fit in your pocket.…

Apple unveiled new AirPods models during the firm’s ‘It’s Glowtime’ event. The new AirPods 4 and AirPods Max are available to buy now. Apple also revealed new hearing health features for the AirPods 2. Here’s everything you need to know. HEARING PROTECTION Apple did not release a hardware update to the current AirPods Pro 2. Instead, the company announced major new features centred around hearing health, building upon Apple’s initiative to use its devices to promote and maintain proper health habits. These new hearing health features will become available later this autumn in a software update and include: • Hearing Protection: Performs passive noise cancellation and is on by default. Initially, this will be available only in the US and Canada. • A new clinically validated Hearing Test where a…

Price: £1,749 from fave.co/3zqElfc Google’s original Pixel Fold was a bit of an outlier, launching separately to the brand’s other devices, in between the Pixel 7 series and Pixel 8 series. It was Google’s most premium and expensive handset ever, yet only a few months after its launch, it already felt outdated. It was rocking the Tensor G2, while the Pixel 8 devices had the Tensor G3. Then there was the design, which was unlike any other foldable on the market, with a wide, squat cover screen that was almost passport-shaped. Not to mention some massive bezels on the inside screen. Some loved it, but many weren’t so convinced. With the introduction of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, everything has changed. It’s now part of the mainline Pixel 9 family,…

In recent years, innovation might’ve slowed when it comes to regular smartphones, but foldables continue to improve at a rapid rate. Since Samsung launched the original Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold in 2020, dozens of different companies have experimented with versions of their own, creating devices that offer some extra benefits compared to standard smartphones. In the case of the modern flip phone, the folding screen enables large handsets to become much more compact, giving you at-a-glance information via a smaller cover screen. Meanwhile, book-style foldables aim to replace both your phone and tablet, with a regular-sized device that opens to reveal a much larger screen inside. As you might be aware, all of the current foldable phones are Android devices. Despite a few rumours, Apple is yet…

Chromebooks and Google’s ChromeOS that runs them are getting a long-overdue PC-like feature: Snap groups, which allow you to ‘snap’ app windows to various sides of your screen. The new feature is part of ChromeOS M128, the stable version of the operating system. It should automatically roll out to all Chromebooks soon, including yours, if it hasn’t already. In ChromeOS, Snap groups allow you to ‘snap’ ChromeOS apps to various parts of your screen, but you can also save the configurations, much like the virtual workspaces that Microsoft includes in Windows. For me, Snap groups aren’t enough to overcome the productivity advantages of connecting a Chromebook or PC to multiple displays. But I’m using the equivalent of a ChromeOS Snap group right now on my Windows laptop: one app pinned…

The new iPhones are here, and they’re all about two things: Apple Intelligence and improved camera capabilities. And while Apple is focusing on those things first and foremost, you can expect better performance, battery life, and loads of other upgrades as well. These are the most significant upgrades to iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro. APPLE INTELLIGENCE Apple Intelligence was announced at WWDC in June, but these new generative AI features coming to iOS 18 (over the course of several updates) could previously only run on the iPhone 15 Pro. That is, until the iPhone 16 line. Tim Cook said multiple times that the iPhone 16 family was “built from the ground up for Apple Intelligence”. Apple didn’t announce any new features, instead reminding everyone of all the Apple Intelligence…

Berlin’s annual IFA electronics show isn’t typically a hotspot of PC news, since it follows hot on the heels of the computer-centric Computex in June. Instead, it’s usually more of a mobile and smart home event. But not this year! Intel used IFA to launch its hotly anticipated ‘Lunar Lake’ Core Series Ultra 2 processors, packing a radical new architecture and seriously improved graphics chops. Not to be out-gunned, Qualcomm revealed new 8-core variants of its Snapdragon X PC chips, aiming to bring multi-day battery life to sub‑£900 laptops. The result? A flood of laptop announcements at IFA 2024. With so many notebook reveals crammed into such a short time span, however, the deluge felt a bit same-y at times – but not with the delightfully unorthodox systems below, which…

Price: £1,099 from fave.co/47zeuys If you remain unconvinced that Google is serious about taking the smartphone fight to Apple and Samsung, the Pixel 9 range should leave you in no doubt. This expanded line-up has a purposeful (if rather familiar) new look and an extra ‘Pro’ option, both of which closely mirror Apple’s approach. Sitting atop this new range is the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. While the name might be new, in practice this phone is the direct successor to the Google Pixel 8 Pro, which we liked rather a lot. The Pixel 9 Pro is the real new phone in the range, providing the same features as the XL in a much smaller package. Once again, you’re looking at a large flagship phone with a well-stocked triple-camera system,…

Two years ago I weighed 330 pounds. That’s just shy of 150kg, if you’re not using Freedom Units. On 7 August my scale showed 229.4 pounds (104kg). While that’s by no means slim for a 5-foot-10 man, and I intend to lose more, I think it’s fair to say I’m now closer to ‘chunky’ than obese. And a small but meaningful part of that weight loss is thanks to a VR game. Since I know a lot of you are scanning this article and just want me to get to the point: It’s Ragnarock. That’s the VR game. You can buy it on Steam, the Meta Quest Store, or the PlayStation Store. There are demos to try out on all platforms. Now stick around if you want the details. HOW…