Apple announces iPad mini 7
Apple surprised everyone by announcing ipad mini 7 out of the blue. The compact tablet is powered by the A17 Pro chip with a 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 8GB RAM, and 128GB storage. It will run on iPadOS 18 out of the box, and is compatible with Apple Intelligence and all its AI features from generative languages, image creation models, and more. Apple's new iPad is equipped with a 12MP rear camera and a 12MP ultra-wide. front camera. The iPad Mini 7th generation supports the Apple Pencil Pro and Apple Pencil USB-C models. The company says that the tablet will provide up to 10 hours of battery life.
In terms of connectivity, the tablet supports Wi0Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and an eSIM mobile for 5G data networks. The iPad mini 7 has a USB-C port (3.1 Gen 1) that supports 10 Gbps data transfer speeds. Apple has priced the iPad Mini 7 at €599 / $499.
Firefox 131 lets you remove the List All Tabs button
When Mozilla released Firefox 131 it faced criticism, as users did not like the huge list all tabs button. Many users found this distracting and were angry that there was no option to remove the button. The developers soon recovered from their mistake, and released a patch to Firefox 131.0.3 updatewhich allows users to List all tabs Delete buttonThe need for the button has been debated by users, as some of its features are also available through the Firefox View button.
Speaking of Firefox 131.0.3, the update fixes another major security issue. previous version of the browser, firefox 131.0.2Which was released just a few days before the latest version, included a fix for a security vulnerability that was exploited in the wild and patched. Firefox 131.0.3 also comes with fixes for crash issues related to Avast and AVG antivirus software, improvements to Advanced Tracking Protection, which broke some bank websites, and a fix for a rendering issue on YouTube.
Google Shopping will display the feed for you
Google is changing the way its search engine displays results. google shopping The tab will now display the feed for you, providing a tailored experience based on the user's interests. How does this work? Well, Google uses your search history and YouTube video history to determine your preferences, and uses the data to personalize your experience.
It is very similar to the For You feed that is used by TikTok and Instagram. Google Shopping will also list discounted products under the Personalized Offers tab. Interestingly, the Shopping tab will also display AI-generated summaries related to products, and provide shopping tips to assist users in their purchasing decisions. Personalized results are available on shopping.google.com on desktop and through the Google mobile app.
YouTube Premium Lite relaunched with limited ads
Google has reintroduced youtube premium lite Membership. The bad news is that it bears almost no relation to the older version that was discontinued last year. Unlike regular YouTube Premium that offers an ad-free experience, YouTube Premium Lite comes with limited advertisements that may be displayed on licensed music content, or while browsing or searching. Subscribers cannot download videos or watch them offline, or enable background play. YouTube Music is not included as part of the Premium Lite version.
YouTube Premium Lite is only available to users in Australia, Germany, and Thailand.
Apple tackles spam calls with new iOS feature
Apple has announced a new feature called business connectWhich will stop spam calls on iOS. As the name suggests, this feature will be for businesses only, i.e. individuals will not be able to use it.
Business Connect is a call identification feature available through the Business program, when activated, the iPhone's lock screen will display the identity of the business that is calling the user. Business caller ID includes additional information such as the company name, logo, and department or even the area where the caller is located. These measures are designed to protect business users from spam, fraud, and phishing attacks.
An interesting fact about Business Connect is that it not only blocks spam via phone calls, but also supports the Mail app, so it can combat scam emails as well. Apple Business Connect will be available for iOS 18 in 2025.
Windows 10 support will end in a year
Microsoft will end support for Windows 10 14 October 2025That's a year from now. Users must update to Windows 11 to continue receiving security updates. There are some major hurdles for users who want to upgrade to Windows 11. Microsoft's latest operating system has restrictive system requirements for Windows 11, which may prevent PCs with older hardware from receiving the update.
Buying a new PC can be a very expensive task for many users. A cheaper, if not free, option would be to switch to a Linux distro, but this has its own complications. However, users can bypass the Windows 11 upgrade restrictions to install the operating system on their computers. When a new feature update is released it may cause problems. Another option is to extend Windows 10 support by using some third-party tools, or by purchasing a subscription to Microsoft's Extended Security Updates program. The latter is only available to business users at the moment, and can be quite expensive.
Google Chrome removes uBlock Origin and other manifest V2 extensions
Many users have started seeing pop-up notifications telling them that some of their extensions have been disabled. This includes uBlock Origin. The removal of the popular ad blocking extension has raised privacy concerns among users.
Why is this happening? If you see a warning that says “This extension is no longer supported” or “These extensions are no longer supported”, it is because those extensions are out of date and do not support the Manifest V3 API. Google has made the API mandatory, and the new permissions are restrictive, especially for ad blockers. there are ways to enable extensions again.
The first method is to select the Keep Now option under Chrome's Menu > Extensions > Manage Extensions. Another solution is to extend enterprise support for Chrome. Some users have switched to Firefox, as the browser supports uBlock Origin and other extensions removed by Chrome. Other Chromium-based browsers like Vivaldi or Brave have confirmed that they will continue to support uBlock Origin in the near future.
