According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a major redesign of its venerable iMac all-in-one desktop computer. Gurman says the company will release two new models later that year that will feature a design similar to Apple’s Pro Display XDR. They’ll do away with the current iMac’s ample display bezel, oversized chin and curved back. Naturally, they’ll also include the company’s next-generation of ARM-based processors, continuing Apple’s move away from Intel.

There’s more good news for Mac fans. Apple is also reportedly working on a more affordable monitor to complement its Pro Display XDR, which starts at $5,000 and comes sans $1,000 stand. The display wouldn’t offer the same image quality as its monitor for professionals. Apple hasn’t made a monitor explicitly for consumers since it discontinued its Thunderbolt Display in 2016.

Gurman also provides an update on the company’s Mac Pro plans. As things stand, he says Apple now plans to release two new versions of the Mac Pro. The first will feature the same design as the company’s current model and include a new Intel CPU. The other, more interesting variant, will reportedly include Apple Silicon and come in at about half the size of the current model, with a mostly aluminum exterior that will make it reminiscent of the Power Mac G4 Cube.

As usual, keep in mind the company’s plans could change at any point. But between the rumored MacBook Pro refresh and now this, 2021 is shaping up to be an exciting year for macOS users.

Engadget

Concerned at private group chat links being available on Google Search, WhatsApp on Monday said that they have asked Google not to index such chats and advised users not to share group chat links on publicly accessible websites.

Google had indexed invite links to private WhatsApp group chats, meaning anyone can join various private chat groups with a simple search.

The indexed WhatsApp group chat links have now been removed from Google.

Independent cybersecurity researcher Rajshekhar Rajaharia on Sunday shared screenshots with IANS showing indexing of WhatsApp group chat invites on Google.

"Since March 2020, WhatsApp has included the "noindex" tag on all deep link pages which, according to Google, will exclude them from indexing. We have given our feedback to Google to not index these chats," a WhatsApp spokesperson told IANS.

"Links that users wish to share privately with people they know and trust should not be posted on a publicly accessible website," the company spokesperson added..

The issue was first cropped up in February last year when app reverse-engineer Jane Wong found that Google has around 470,000 results for a simple search of "chat.whatsapp.com", part of the URL that makes up invites to WhatsApp groups.

Journalist Jordan Wildon also discovered that WhatsApp's "Invite to Group Link" feature lets Google index groups, making them available across the internet since the links are being shared outside of WhatsApp's secure private messaging service.

The WhatsApp spokesperson further said that as a reminder, "whenever someone joins a group, everyone in that group receives a notice and the admin can revoke or change the group invite link at any time".

Danny Sullivan, Google's public search liaison, had tweeted earlier: "Search engines like Google & others... [Read More]

Microsoft is finally fixing an annoying Windows 10 bug that causes a random reboot on some devices running the October 2020 Update. The tech giant has also removed the ‘compatibility hold’, which should allow more users to install the upcoming feature updates.

In November 2020, Microsoft confirmed that some of Windows 10’s most recent updates result in critical problems with the Local Security Authority Process for some configurations.

If your device is affected, Windows will start to randomly reboot with a cryptic error message that states your “PC will automatically restart”. You’ll have less than one minute to save your work. It could lead to data loss if you don’t quickly save any work you’ve open in the background.

The good news is that the issue is rare and a fix is now available, according to a new message posted to the support document.

The documentation states that the fix is bundled with the latest updates and users won’t encounter the critical error as long as they’re using the most recent version of Windows 10 version 20H2.

Microsoft has also lifted the upgrade block, which prevented the October 2020 Update (version 20H2) from being offered on some PCs. This move will also allow the tech giant to deliver the next update codenamed ’21H1′ to more users.

In addition to the forced reboot bug, Microsoft has also started rolling out a fix for an issue that deletes your passwords. When this happens, Windows will automatically delete your login sessions in apps and websites after rebooting your computer.

Anyone suffering from authentication and browser cookies problem will be hoping that the resolution comes soon. However, Microsoft has clarified that it’s still testing the fix with Windows Insiders and the patch... [Read More]

Amazon has officially shut down its single large box service known as Pantry (also referred to as Prime Pantry) and shifted all the household goods it offered on to the main Amazon website instead.

Pantry launched back in 2014 and offered consumers a way to stock up on bulky, non-perishable household items including food, snacks, and cleaning products. There were some rules, though. A Pantry order had to fit within a single large box, with every item added to the order taking up a percentage of the space and then a set delivery fee of $5.99 paid. It therefore made sense to fill the box as best you could to offset the delivery cost. In 2018, a $5 subscription option was added for non-Prime members.

As to why Amazon decided to shut down the service, a spokeswoman explained in an email to Bloomberg that, "As part of our commitment to delivering the best possible customer experience, we have decided to transfer Amazon Pantry selection to the main Amazon.com store so customers can get everyday household products faster, without an extra subscription or purchase requirement."

A lot has happened since Pantry launched nearly seven years ago, which accounts for why Amazon questioned the continuing value of the service. We now have Amazon Fresh for grocery deliveries and Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market, which offers many of the same goods. Regular Pantry users can still buy all the same products direct from Amazon, but without the limit of a single box and many will now be saving $5 a month on the subscription they were paying to use it.

PC... [Read More]

Microsoft is building a universal Outlook client for Windows and Mac that will also replace the default Mail & Calendar apps on Windows 10 when ready. This new client is codenamed Monarch and is based on the already available Outlook Web app available in a browser today.

Project Monarch is the end-goal for Microsoft's "One Outlook" vision, which aims to build a single Outlook client that works across PC, Mac, and the Web. Right now, Microsoft has a number of different Outlook clients for desktop, including Outlook Web, Outlook (Win32) for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Mail & Calendar on Windows 10.

Microsoft wants to replace the existing desktop clients with one app built with web technologies. The project will deliver Outlook as a single product, with the same user experience and codebase whether that be on Windows or Mac. It'll also have a much smaller footprint and be accessible to all users whether they're free Outlook consumers or commercial business customers.

Windows Central

Microsoft is making a big change to its Windows 10 taskbar soon, with the addition of a news and weather widget. The new feature is available to testers today, and it will allow Windows 10 users to access a feed of news, stocks, and weather information straight from the taskbar. You’ll be able to quickly glance at the weather without having to open the Start menu, install a third-party app, or check online.

The taskbar feature will pop out into a mini feed of content that can be personalized with the latest sports news, headlines, and weather information. Microsoft is using its Microsoft News network to surface news and content from more than 4,500 sources. The company has been curating this through artificial intelligence in recent months, and this particular feature will also learn what news is relevant to you when you dismiss or like stories in the feed.

Microsoft is starting to test this new feature with its Windows Insiders on the dev channel of Windows 10, and it will likely be available to all users later this year. It will only be initially available to testers in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and India.

This new taskbar feature will also require Microsoft’s Chromium-based Edge to be installed on a PC. That means any link you click within the feature will force you into Edge to read it, and Microsoft is presenting content in the reading view by default.

You can of course disable this new taskbar feature, and Microsoft says it will be an ad-free experience. It does appear to be more useful than the People Bar that Microsoft built into Windows 10 a few years ago. The People Bar acts as a quick way to access contacts, but it only supports apps like Mail and Skype and not big third-party messaging services.

... [Read More]