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Google plans to roll out new alerts in search for extreme heat events, the company announced in a blog post today. Eventually, users should be able to find important information about extreme temperatures in their area when they search relevant terms like “heatwave.”

The alert will bring up information like when a heatwave is forecast to start and end in an area, local news on the event, and recommended actions to stay safe. The feature is expected to be available in the US and “a number of countries” including parts of Europe in the second half of the year, according to Hema Budaraju, senior director of product for health and social impact at Google search.

“We feel a great sense of responsibility as we continue to scale this work building on this type of alert,” Budaraju said in a press briefing yesterday. “Climate change is the defining challenge of our generation, which brings new and extreme weather events that many of us are learning how to adapt to.”

The plan builds on the company’s previous attempts to help people stay informed about wildfires and floods in their area. Google has a wildfire tracking tool in Maps that’s available in several countries, and has another tool called FloodHub that shares flood information in 20 countries.

Extreme heat is another disaster that climate change is making worse. Search interest in heatwaves hit a record high globally in July 2022, according to Google. That month, the UK suffered a record-smashing heatwave, with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius (over 104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions for the first time in recorded history. It would have been “virtually impossible” for the typically cooler UK to reach temperatures that high without climate change, scientists found.

Authorities advised people to avoid traveling, stay out of the sun and avoid physical exertion during the hottest parts of the day during the July heat spell. By the end of the sweltering summer, England and Wales had recorded more than 3,200 excess deaths. Hundreds of thousands of people die each year from heat-related causes around the globe. But heat-related deaths and illness can be prevented if people can find safe ways to stay cool.

The Verge

WhatsApp has rolled out a new desktop client for Windows that brings its calling features up to par with its counterpart for mobile. In an announcement, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said the new app enables users to host end-to-end encrypted video calls with up to eight participants. For audio calls, up to 32 people can participate, making it a viable choice for company meetings and family reunions where all the aunts, uncles and extended relatives can join in. WhatsApp says it will increase these limits further to allow for even larger calls in the future.

In addition to announcing the new client's improved calling features, it also touched upon some of its other recent upgrades. The messenger updated its multi-device capabilities to make it easier and faster to link new devices to user accounts. WhatApp also enabled better syncing so that people can simultaneously access their chats on up to four linked devices.

The service launched true multi-device syncing in 2021, allowing people to access their accounts even if their phone is offline or nowhere nearby. After that, WhatsApp must have recognized the need for better apps on different platforms for users to be able to enjoy using the messenger on multiple devices. WhatsApp first released a native app for Windows 10 in 2022, and back in January, it made the beta version of its native app for Mac available to all users.

Engadget

FrostWire is a free, open source BitTorrent client, first released as a fork of LimeWire. In version 5, Gnutella support was dropped entirely, and now FrostWire only uses the BitTorrent network.

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A Windows update is causing major issues for some of those who've downloaded and installed it. Reported problems include massive drops in SSD speeds (more than half), Blue Screens of Death, and apps not working correctly.

The KB5023706 update for Windows 11 22H2, codenamed Moment 2, brought the usual improvements, fixes, and features to Microsoft's OS, including a search bar in Task Manager and a tablet-optimized taskbar. As is par for the course for Windows updates, it also introduced unwelcome elements.

The most significant problem stemming from the update is its impact on certain SSDs, with some reports claiming their speeds dropped by half or worse. More than one user said the update crushed the performance of their laptop's Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB SSD; it appears that the problem is limited to this model of Adata SSD. A Redditor said that their boot time more than doubled to 31 seconds after the update was installed but returned to normal after they uninstalled KB5023706.

Microsoft says the impacted SSD speeds are one of update's known issues. It writes that "Copying large multiple gigabyte (GB) files might take longer than expected to finish on Windows 11, version 22H2. You are more likely to experience this issue copying files to Windows 11, version 22H2 from a network share via Server Message Block (SMB) but local file copy might also be affected. Windows devices used by consumers in their home or small offices are not likely to be affected by this issue."

Microsoft says those experiencing the issue can mitigate it by using file copy tools that do not use cache manager (buffered I/O). It also published two "built-in" command-line tools that can be used as a fix until it releases an official solution:

robocopy \\someserver\someshare c:\somefolder somefile.img /J
xcopy \\someserver\someshare c:\somefolder /J

The slow SSD speeds aren't the only problem the update is causing. Some people have found they are running into errors when downloading or installing Moment 2. There are also reports of users encountering constant Blue Screens of Death, broken apps, and slow WiFi connections after they install the update.

If you're experiencing any of these issues, the best option would be to uninstall the update until Microsoft addresses the bugs.

TechSpot

WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow group chat memberships on the encrypted platform to expire after a set period of time.

A large part of what makes the Meta-owned messaging service so popular is its continual development of new group chat features, and the latest one aims to be a solution to the common problem of so-called "zombie groups."

The term refers to groups that have been set up temporarily to organize a one-off event like a birthday, and end up outlasting their usefulness after the event in question. Such groups can cause redundant clutter in the app and become a distraction to members if others in the group are still in conversation.

WhatsApp is clearly aware of the problem, as indicated by another beta discovery courtesy of WABetaInfo. A new "Expiring Groups" setting will let users set a specific expiration date for their WhatsApp groups. "When enabled, you will be prompted to clean up groups on their expiration date," reads the explanatory text for the UI option.

"When this feature is released, users will be able to choose from various expiration options such as one day, one week, or a custom date, and they will also have the ability to remove an expiration that was previously set in case they change their mind," explains WABetaInfo, who adds that the option is for individuals, "as it will not apply to other group participants."

The feature appears in a version 23.5.0.71 submitted by WhatsApp developers through the TestFlight Beta Program. It's not clear when it will be ready to go live, but the fact that it is in active development is likely to come as welcome news to users with lots of group memberships.

MacRumors