Microsoft is once again trying to push people to adopt its newest operating system via full-screen pop-ups.

As Windows Latest reports, the Windows 11 ad has been popping up for folks who installed the optional Windows 10 January 2024 update. You have to click through four pages that talk up the benefits of Windows 11; at the end, you can upgrade or keep Windows 10.

The pop-up extols the values of Windows 11, including more functions, better gaming experiences, and a new look and feel. It says the OS is "more fun" than Windows 10 and promises that all of your apps, games, and files will come with you when you upgrade.

As Windows Latest notes, Microsoft did the same in February and May 2023. Neither attempt moved the needle much. Worldwide Windows 11 market share inched up from about 19% to 24% between February and June 2023, according to Statcounter.

Currently, Windows 10 is the dominant OS with 66.45% global market share, followed by Windows 11 at 27.83%, and Windows 7 at just over 3%, Statcounter says.

Official support for Windows 10 ends on Oct. 14, 2025. Microsoft will offer a Windows 10 Extended Security Update (ESU) program to individuals and businesses for up to three years, though pricing has not been announced. Windows 12 is also potentially on the horizon.

PC Magazine

Apple is officially launching its Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Devices apps on Windows this week. The apps were originally launched in preview last year, but Apple has now removed the preview tag after working with Microsoft to launch the apps.

The trio of apps, in combination with an overhauled iCloud for Windows app, are designed to move Windows users away from the reliance of iTunes, according to MacRumors. If you use Apple TV, Apple Music, and Apple Devices then iTunes is only required for access to podcasts and audiobooks on Windows.

The Apple Music app provides access to the iTunes library, alongside song and album purchases. Apple TV also lets Windows users watch movies and TV shows from their iTunes library, along with subscription streaming content. Apple Devices lets PC owners backup or restore iPhones and iPads, as well as sync content to those devices.

Microsoft has been working with Apple on the apps, and even welcomed their launch this week. Microsoft also previously rolled out iCloud Photos integration in Windows, enabling the ability to link an iCloud Photos library straight into the built-in Photos app on Windows 11.

Apple’s new Windows apps are only available on traditional x86-based PCs running Windows 10 or Windows 11, and there are no signs yet of ARM64 versions for Qualcomm-powered Windows devices.

The Verge

Google will no longer be keeping a backup of the entire Internet. Google Search's "cached" links have long been an alternative way to load a website that was down or had changed, but now the company is killing them off. Google "Search Liaison" Danny Sullivan confirmed the feature removal in an X post, saying the feature "was meant for helping people access pages when way back, you often couldn't depend on a page loading. These days, things have greatly improved. So, it was decided to retire it."

The feature has been appearing and disappearing for some people since December, and currently, we don't see any cache links in Google Search. For now, you can still build your own cache links even without the button, just by going to "https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:" plus a website URL, or by typing "cache:" plus a URL into Google Search. All of Google's support pages about cached sites have been taken down.

Cached links used to live under the drop-down menu next to every search result on Google's page. As the Google web crawler scoured the Internet for new and updated webpages, it would also save a copy of whatever it was seeing. That quickly led to Google having a backup of basically the entire Internet, using what was probably an uncountable number of petabytes of data. Google is in the era of cost savings now, so assuming Google can just start deleting cache data, it can probably free up a lot of resources.

Ars Technica

Universal Music is set to pull its millions of songs from TikTok after a breakdown in talks over payments.

The move would mean the social media platform would no longer have access to songs by artists including Taylor Swift, The Weeknd and Drake.

Universal accused TikTok of "bullying" and said it wanted to pay a "fraction" of the rate other social media sites do for access to its vast catalogue.

TikTok said Universal was presenting a "false narrative and rhetoric".

Music companies earn royalty payments when their songs are played on streaming and social media platforms.

Although TikTok - which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance - has more than one billion users, it accounts for just 1% of Universal's total revenue, the label said.

In an "open letter to the artist and songwriter community" Universal - which controls about a third of the world's music - claimed that "ultimately TikTok is trying to build a music-based business, without paying fair value for the music".

Universal also said that along with pushing for "appropriate compensation for our artists and songwriters", it was also concerned about "protecting human artists from the harmful effects of AI, and online safety for TikTok's users".

The company said it would stop licensing its content to TikTok when its contract expires on 31 January.

In response, TikTok said: "It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.

"Despite Universal's false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent," it added.

This is the first time that Universal has taken the major step of removing its songs from a technology firm's platform.

BBC News