Windows 8 Sales are actually Amazing - 40 million sold


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It is not just about search. The fact that I need to change my workflow when using the Adobe products that I use the cool feature to detach the dialogs, means desktops apps DO NOT operate the EXACT SAME WAY as in Windows 7. Or was the charms and app switcher hot corners in Windows 7 as well?

I am not alone on this. I talked to several people who use Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects (though not so much on this one). Those that upgraded to Windows 8 say the same thing I do: "I keep activating the charms bar!". Some do not though. It depends on how you use the software.

I do not want to turn this into another Windows 8 hate thread, I actually like Windows 8. In fact that is the ONLY....ONLY issue I have with 8. Granted it is a big issue to me and many others. But come on, why is it you guys jump down our throats when we want an option? The way I, and many others, use the Adobe programs (by detaching some of the dialogs to give us more room and a better workflow), Windows 8 drives me crazy. Not everybody uses software and computers the same way.

My friend keeps activating the app switcher when he is browsing in Chrome. Every time he shuts down, he says "This is so stupid" because he needs to go to the charms bar instead of Start - Shut Down

The attitude here seems to be like "You are using your mouse incorrectly". I said it before, I like Windows 8 and think it will be a success. But for somebody that uses things in a productive way, probably more so than most of the people here, Windows 8 is a mess. If there was just ONE OPTION to disable the hot corners and COMPLETELY disable those bars while on the desktop, I would be very happy. Businesses would be happy (though most will be if there was an option to boot directly to the desktop). Everybody I know would be happy. You will be happy because you can ignore that option and use Windows 8 like it is now.

What is so horrible about an option?

The problem with options is that everyone tends to use (or not use) those options differently - you get TOO wooly with different methods of doing things and you wind up with Linux distributions. (I have nothing against Linux distributions per se - if I did, I wouldn't run them even in virtual machines, or recommend them for particular users OR uses. The sheer myriad of different ways of doing things has largely worked AGAINST Linux; worse, it has begun to infect UNIX and even the BSDs.)

And that is the criticism that is being laid *against* Windows 8. Not necessarily that the changes aren't necessary for the future of the survival of the OS itself - any IT follower with eyeballs and a brain HAS to see the approach of Android and iOS from underneath and start sweating - but it's that the changes are happening *now*. It's like replacing the lime sorbet with pistachio at Haagen Dasz; while both are green, they taste radically different from each other.

It's far from even being a Windows-only (or even OS/distribution-only) dilemma - look at the earlier-in-this-thread comparison between Adobe Creativity Suite (CS) products and Microsoft Office products; even on OS X - which has far greater UI cohesiveness than even Windows pre-8; look at how the Adobe CS products behave within that UI compared to Microsoft Office products. Different approaches to the same problem. Heck - just look at the differences between Pagemaker and Word (again, on OS X, not Windows).

The anger with Windows 8 is not necessarily that it's *bad* or that it's less-compatible with either hardware OR software than Windows 7 (which, as I have been pointing out, has gone nowhere; in fact, it will be supported until 2020 at the absolute earliest) - it's that it's too different from what the mass of the masses is used to. People find it far EASIER to accept a completely different paradigm altogether as opposed to a change in an existing one.

windows8 will remain a flop. even i havent been tempted to buy it, problem with Windows8 atm AFAICT is there still aint a lot of programs that work correctly with 8, take a look at Firefox, there still in the middle of making that fully work under 8.

those figures might be a lot of windows8 licenses sold but how many people have gone back to windows7 if not back to XP from the disaster of 8? . M$$$ dont say that do they.

Horsefeathers.

Firefox (even Pale Moon and Waterfox) works just as well in Windows 8 (or even Windows Server 2012, which i dual-boot with 8 Pro) as they do in Windows 7. You are confusing the ModernUI version of FIrefox with the desktop browser you are used to. The bigger issue (with all three) is the interact5ion between the Plugin Container and Adobe Flash - a crash in either can be enough to bring the whole browser down around my ears (which is rather embarrassing when that happens on a server OS) and that is NOT OS-specific. If anything, any of the three browsers is more stable (desktop mode vs. desktop mode) on 8 (or 2012) vs. 7.

  • Like 3

Actually, folders first appeared in Windows 1.1/286 - in File Manager; they have remained in Windows ever since. (It was File Manager that Windows Explorer would replace; the desktop - a modified version of the Workplace Shell from the IBM/Microsoft OS/2 joint venture (which would give way to OS/2 (IBM only), LAN Manager and finally Windows NT (Microsoft)) would replace Program Manager - in both Windows 3.x and Windows NT 3.x. From the Strange But True Factoid Department: Both Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0 retained Program Manager and File Manager for backward-compatibility reasons - and one early piece of Windows 95 freeware - it actually launched simultaneously with Windows 95 - was the Workplace Shell for Win32 - an alternative to the desktop/Windows Explorer combo written by a group of IBM Austin employees. Therefore, even in the early days of Windows 9x, the Start menu/desktop/Explorer troika was FAR from universally loved.)

I meant Folder the term/name not Folder the concept.

There is the whole debate on whether or not people need to shutdown at all, but the reality is they should be allowed to do whatever they want easily. The shutdown/sleep/hibernation option should have been placed on the charms bar directly and not buried.

You realize that this same logic ("people should be allowed to do whatever they want easily, therefore option X shouldn't be 'buried') could be applied to argue that literally everything a user might want to do should be a top-level charm. e.g., I use Notepad a lot, therefore I should be allowed to use it more easily than having to go to the start screen and click a tile, therefore there should be a Notepad charm. The reality is that not everything can be made equally prominent, so at some point you have to make a design decision about which functions should be prioritized over others in the UI. They decided that shutdown/restart should be more prominent than, say, checking for updates - hence it's at the top level of the Settings flyout and not 'buried' under Change PC settings - but not as prominent as, say, searching the current app or going back to Start. If you disagree with this, it's because you think they should treat shutdown/restart as more important than they do, or maybe you just don't think Settings is a good place for it, but it can't be because of a generic argument that 'burying' functions is always bad.

I have never been more annoyed by an OS as I have been by windows 8. I would recommend Windows ME before this. Windows 8 is beta at best showing a complete lack of regard for design and workflow with a poor attempt to make two paradigms work at the same time

I have never been more annoyed by an OS as I have been by windows 8. I would recommend Windows ME before this. Windows 8 is beta at best showing a complete lack of regard for design and workflow with a poor attempt to make two paradigms work at the same time

so in other words ypur just mad they took away your precious start menu..

and that you are a crotchety old man resistant to change and you were "doing it wrong"

and just simply didn't try hard enough to like the newer system.

You should have been taking a class on evenings and weekends learning keyboard combo's...

you should also be reminded that you are in an extreme vocal minority and there for

your opinion his little value.. besides the only opinion that matters is Microsoft's..

they know what is best for you and it is bad business to listen to their customers

*IF they do not like something you did..

I should probably just tell you that no one is forcing you to upgrade to windows 8

so don't use it ! ..even if they discontinue support to what you are using and

people here at neowin on other topics are making fun of you for using an older OS

and blaming you for doing damage to the safety security and reliability of the internet.

so sorry but your not allowed to be anoyed ;)

oh and on topic ?

M$ could say anything they want what does that really prove ?

so in other words ypur just mad they took away your precious start menu..

and that you are a crotchety old man resistant to change and you were "doing it wrong"

and just simply didn't try hard enough to like the newer system.

You should have been taking a class on evenings and weekends learning keyboard combo's...

you should also be reminded that you are in an extreme vocal minority and there for

your opinion his little value.. besides the only opinion that matters is Microsoft's..

they know what is best for you and it is bad business to listen to their customers

*IF they do not like something you did..

I should probably just tell you that no one is forcing you to upgrade to windows 8

so don't use it ! ..even if they discontinue support to what you are using and

people here at neowin on other topics are making fun of you for using an older OS

and blaming you for doing damage to the safety security and reliability of the internet.

so sorry but your not allowed to be anoyed ;)

oh and on topic ?

M$ could say anything they want what does that really prove ?

it's not just the start screen. it's metro apps in general. The messaging map give you absolutely no option to turn it off. it's on perpetually and everytime someone sends me a message it give me no way to stop the annoying pop-up box on the desktop informing me I have a message. Trying to uninstall that particular app uninstalls 3 or 4 others including the calendar and mail, and people apps. This is a product that Microsoft should truly be sorry for. This is the 'batman and robin' of OS's. I get why they tried to do and I think that's cool. It was executed so horribly

it's not just the start screen. it's metro apps in general. The messaging map give you absolutely no option to turn it off. it's on perpetually and everytime someone sends me a message it give me no way to stop the annoying pop-up box on the desktop informing me I have a message. Trying to uninstall that particular app uninstalls 3 or 4 others including the calendar and mail, and people apps. This is a product that Microsoft should truly be sorry for. This is the 'batman and robin' of OS's. I get why they tried to do and I think that's cool. It was executed so horribly

You can actually turn notifications on/off for any new-style app including Messaging, or turn them on/off globally, in PC settings -> Notifications. You can also temporarily turn them off for a set amount of time via settings charm -> Notifications. Additionally any app can be prevented from running in the background via settings charm -> Permissions

it's not just the start screen. it's metro apps in general. The messaging map give you absolutely no option to turn it off. it's on perpetually and everytime someone sends me a message it give me no way to stop the annoying pop-up box on the desktop informing me I have a message. Trying to uninstall that particular app uninstalls 3 or 4 others including the calendar and mail, and people apps. This is a product that Microsoft should truly be sorry for. This is the 'batman and robin' of OS's. I get why they tried to do and I think that's cool. It was executed so horribly

Actually, there's a couple ways to disable notifications from the Messaging app.

They're listed right under "PC Settings, and "Notifications". Makes sense right?

GVpy3.png

Also, you're wrong about not being able to turn it off. You can also disable the Messaging app right inside the app itself.

8Gd1x.png

Actually, there's a couple ways to disable notifications from the Messaging app.

They're listed right under "PC Settings, and "Notifications". Makes sense right?

GVpy3.png

Also, you're wrong about not being able to turn it off. You can also disable the Messaging app right inside the app itself.

8Gd1x.png

thanks for the tip.. but isn't that just a tad cryptic? Why isn't the setting attached to the program? Why is it in the freaking control panel? As I said. Poor design, Poor Workflow.

You can change it from within the app too under Settings -> Permissions, same applies to any app that pops up notifications.

yeah. I just realized that too. I'd never looked in the permissions tab because I thought it was the same as every other OS... that it would be permissions for file access and execution for different users and groups. it's just yet another example of poor execution. The word "permissions" have been used in OSs in one way for decades and suddenly we're using it in a completely different way which should be handles in the normal settings

thanks for the tip.. but isn't that just a tad cryptic? Why isn't the setting attached to the program? Why is it in the freaking control panel? As I said. Poor design, Poor Workflow.

You're welcome.

I think it makes sense to manage notifications from the system using the system's control panel. I also think it's not so much poor workflow as it is predictable workflow, which is actually pretty good, unless one considers predictability in a workflow bad (And I acknowledge, some might think so for whatever reason.). Now the user can manage the notifications of any application from one place, no matter the app.

This, as opposed to navigating the different settings layouts of different apps. Doing it that way did work before, but I think this is better.

yeah. I just realized that too. I'd never looked in the permissions tab because I thought it was the same as every other OS... that it would be permissions for file access and execution for different users and groups. it's just yet another example of poor execution. The word "permissions" have been used in OSs in one way for decades and suddenly we're using it in a completely different way which should be handles in the normal settings

It seems that you are just angry at MS from changing things up. You have to re learn how to do certain things and you are not happy about that.

Everything you complained about in the last few posts are all things that were possible in the OS but you just do them differently then in Win7.

So it all comes down again to not liking change.

So it all comes down again to not liking change.

Change is one thing, screwing with what has worked for years just to grab a slice of the mobile market, is another. Choice of whether to use that god damn awful UI would have been preferable, and more widely accepted by the good majority of Desktop users. There would have been no harm in doing so, pleasing both types of user, those who love it, and those who hate it, instead of ramming it down peoples throats regardless. After all, its really two UI's miss-mashed together to form a monster that Frankenstein would have been well proud of anyway.

  • Like 3

Change is one thing, screwing with what has worked for years just to grab a slice of the mobile market, is another. Choice of whether to use that god damn awful UI would have been preferable, and more widely accepted by the good majority of Desktop users. There would have been no harm in doing so, pleasing both types of user, those who love it, and those who hate it, instead of ramming it down peoples throats regardless. After all, its really two UI's miss-mashed together to form a monster that Frankenstein would have been well proud of anyway.

well said..

And i wanna add that i think if they gave the UI option it would have been smart because

it would have provided a transition to what we all must agree is drastic and major change(s)

if you think about that with out just writing me off and ignoring me, i think people would see

the oportunity with the idea that many people could transition at their own pace and for Microsoft's point of view

they would have the product in peoples hands AND still have a sale with the customer !

I could dig deeper into that concept but ir REALLY should go with out saying..

I usually see (@neowin) comments like if you don't like it (Win 8) then shut up and jump off a bridge etc

and i see some guys here making excuses as to why any and all decisions on a product should be left to the company

because they know whats best and its bad business to give customers what they want in the long run..

I want to remind the so called "vocal majority" that M$ is not in a position to tell their cutomer base

that if they don't like it then shut up and quit complaining and don't use it. They are a business trying to sell a product

and lets face it people, most of us are ALREADY existing customers so this boils down to convincing existing users

corp or private they should upgrade. Sadly M$ has little competition other wise there would be some other companies

out there with a massive grin on their face ready willing and able to pounch on this oportunity..Its basic business sense..

if a company x won't give people what they want then company z will step in (gladly) and give peopel what they want and make $

I can't fathom the endless stream of bull that roll out of fanboys and cheerleaders mouths.. 99.9% seems like insane excuses

desperatly grasping at straws to defend windows 8 at any cost, like their lives depend on it or something.

Like a PR dept. trying to make a train accident that killed people seem not so bad ! and yeah i used that analogy for a reaon..

Windows 8 is a train wreck !

This story and just about anything we here about windows 8 is a dramatised load of propaganda..

The sales are close enough thta the difference means nothing.. there is no huge massive difference.

Also things like the many people that are always claiming WIndows 8 is way faster (never stated with facts of any kind)

And lets face it at best WIndows 8 is aprox the same as windows 7 in speed terms in various factors

and when Windows 8 IS faster is not by much, proving all the people wrong who say its some revolutionary dramatic difference.

Once again people say crap like that because they WANT to push their agenda and reality will not get in there way !

Its not about running around the net spreading windows 8 hate

it's about keeping things real !

It bothers me when people spread misinformation on the net regardless of the topic.

So yeah i dislike windows 8 but i have nothing against people that want to use it.

That is not what peeople are always trying to draw people like me into.

The core concept isn't that bad an idea and for many people the concept is an ideal solution for improvement etc.

But to make a sweeping major change and then force it on everyone is dumb,

EVEN if the new changes were not ugly or a functionality nightmare.

We can try and supress the complainers or over shadow them with stories like this but it won't change what is.

Reality is what it is and I see a TON of people having a lot of complaints with this "high" selling OS.

Too many for symantecs to really mean anything. the writing is on the wall and cheerleaders or fanboys are gonna

have to face facts eventually whether they like it not..

well said..

And i wanna add that i think if they gave the UI option it would have been smart because

it would have provided a transition to what we all must agree is drastic and major change(s)

if you think about that with out just writing me off and ignoring me, i think people would see

the oportunity with the idea that many people could transition at their own pace and for Microsoft's point of view

they would have the product in peoples hands AND still have a sale with the customer !

I could dig deeper into that concept but ir REALLY should go with out saying..

I usually see (@neowin) comments like if you don't like it (Win 8) then shut up and jump off a bridge etc

and i see some guys here making excuses as to why any and all decisions on a product should be left to the company

because they know whats best and its bad business to give customers what they want in the long run..

I want to remind the so called "vocal majority" that M$ is not in a position to tell their cutomer base

that if they don't like it then shut up and quit complaining and don't use it. They are a business trying to sell a product

and lets face it people, most of us are ALREADY existing customers so this boils down to convincing existing users

corp or private they should upgrade. Sadly M$ has little competition other wise there would be some other companies

out there with a massive grin on their face ready willing and able to pounch on this oportunity..Its basic business sense..

if a company x won't give people what they want then company z will step in (gladly) and give peopel what they want and make $

I can't fathom the endless stream of bull that roll out of fanboys and cheerleaders mouths.. 99.9% seems like insane excuses

desperatly grasping at straws to defend windows 8 at any cost, like their lives depend on it or something.

Like a PR dept. trying to make a train accident that killed people seem not so bad ! and yeah i used that analogy for a reaon..

Windows 8 is a train wreck !

This story and just about anything we here about windows 8 is a dramatised load of propaganda..

The sales are close enough thta the difference means nothing.. there is no huge massive difference.

Also things like the many people that are always claiming WIndows 8 is way faster (never stated with facts of any kind)

And lets face it at best WIndows 8 is aprox the same as windows 7 in speed terms in various factors

and when Windows 8 IS faster is not by much, proving all the people wrong who say its some revolutionary dramatic difference.

Once again people say crap like that because they WANT to push their agenda and reality will not get in there way !

Its not about running around the net spreading windows 8 hate

it's about keeping things real !

It bothers me when people spread misinformation on the net regardless of the topic.

So yeah i dislike windows 8 but i have nothing against people that want to use it.

That is not what peeople are always trying to draw people like me into.

The core concept isn't that bad an idea and for many people the concept is an ideal solution for improvement etc.

But to make a sweeping major change and then force it on everyone is dumb,

EVEN if the new changes were not ugly or a functionality nightmare.

We can try and supress the complainers or over shadow them with stories like this but it won't change what is.

Reality is what it is and I see a TON of people having a lot of complaints with this "high" selling OS.

Too many for symantecs to really mean anything. the writing is on the wall and cheerleaders or fanboys are gonna

have to face facts eventually whether they like it not..

What the hell you just said, I have no clue, but not one ounce of it was based off any sort of facts whatsoever.

well said..

And i wanna add that i think if they gave the UI option it would have been smart because

it would have provided a transition to what we all must agree is drastic and major change(s)

if you think about that with out just writing me off and ignoring me, i think people would see

the oportunity with the idea that many people could transition at their own pace and for Microsoft's point of view

they would have the product in peoples hands AND still have a sale with the customer !

I could dig deeper into that concept but ir REALLY should go with out saying..

I usually see (@neowin) comments like if you don't like it (Win 8) then shut up and jump off a bridge etc

and i see some guys here making excuses as to why any and all decisions on a product should be left to the company

because they know whats best and its bad business to give customers what they want in the long run..

I want to remind the so called "vocal majority" that M$ is not in a position to tell their cutomer base

that if they don't like it then shut up and quit complaining and don't use it. They are a business trying to sell a product

and lets face it people, most of us are ALREADY existing customers so this boils down to convincing existing users

corp or private they should upgrade. Sadly M$ has little competition other wise there would be some other companies

out there with a massive grin on their face ready willing and able to pounch on this oportunity..Its basic business sense..

if a company x won't give people what they want then company z will step in (gladly) and give peopel what they want and make $

I can't fathom the endless stream of bull that roll out of fanboys and cheerleaders mouths.. 99.9% seems like insane excuses

desperatly grasping at straws to defend windows 8 at any cost, like their lives depend on it or something.

Like a PR dept. trying to make a train accident that killed people seem not so bad ! and yeah i used that analogy for a reaon..

Windows 8 is a train wreck !

This story and just about anything we here about windows 8 is a dramatised load of propaganda..

The sales are close enough thta the difference means nothing.. there is no huge massive difference.

Also things like the many people that are always claiming WIndows 8 is way faster (never stated with facts of any kind)

And lets face it at best WIndows 8 is aprox the same as windows 7 in speed terms in various factors

and when Windows 8 IS faster is not by much, proving all the people wrong who say its some revolutionary dramatic difference.

Once again people say crap like that because they WANT to push their agenda and reality will not get in there way !

Its not about running around the net spreading windows 8 hate

it's about keeping things real !

It bothers me when people spread misinformation on the net regardless of the topic.

So yeah i dislike windows 8 but i have nothing against people that want to use it.

That is not what peeople are always trying to draw people like me into.

The core concept isn't that bad an idea and for many people the concept is an ideal solution for improvement etc.

But to make a sweeping major change and then force it on everyone is dumb,

EVEN if the new changes were not ugly or a functionality nightmare.

We can try and supress the complainers or over shadow them with stories like this but it won't change what is.

Reality is what it is and I see a TON of people having a lot of complaints with this "high" selling OS.

Too many for symantecs to really mean anything. the writing is on the wall and cheerleaders or fanboys are gonna

have to face facts eventually whether they like it not..

There's a big problem with that; if Microsoft does NOT change, or accept that they may well HAVE to change how Windows works, then they may well be consigning themselves, and Windows, to becoming a niche OS.

You (and the rest of the detractors) are basically betting (and worse, demanding that Microsoft bet) that they can stay unchanged for eternity. Has ANY company managed to make such a bet work - in any field?

IBM tried to make such a bet with OS/2 - and failed.

They tried to make a similar bet with the mainframe - and failed.

Both Amdahl and Digital Equipment Corporation thought they could stay the same forever - neither exists today.

You can't stay on the royal barge on the Egyptian River for eternity; reality has a nasty hapbit of swamping the barge and drowning the oarspeople.

PG, you forgot Kodak. ;) They didn't change either, and now they're basically dead too.

and I'm stuck with one of thier pain-in-the-ass printers. :( EVIL EVIL EVIL KODAK!

:D im using windows 8 and i love it ..for those who are complaining they just dont know how to use it ..it does take days to get used to ir ..once you get full control of it ..you will love it .thats all i can say..and some people says it takes extra clicks to get this done like opening programs or settings :shifty: ..in my opinion that statement is so wrong..

Change is one thing, screwing with what has worked for years just to grab a slice of the mobile market, is another. Choice of whether to use that god damn awful UI would have been preferable, and more widely accepted by the good majority of Desktop users. There would have been no harm in doing so, pleasing both types of user, those who love it, and those who hate it, instead of ramming it down peoples throats regardless. After all, its really two UI's miss-mashed together to form a monster that Frankenstein would have been well proud of anyway.

What worked for years? There was no system-wide notification feature in Windows 8 before this. In this particular case, it was just usual complaining about something the user didn't know could be done in a certain consistent manner.

App > settings > permission to show notification

System > settings > permissions for all apps

doesn't get any simpler than that.

On a more general term, nothing has changed for desktop users except the start menu, which I could easily adjust to within few mins without using any 3rd party stuff.

PG, you forgot Kodak. ;) They didn't change either, and now they're basically dead too.

Kodak should have been the most OBVIOUS example of what happens when a company ignores a trend.

It was competition in FILM photography that may have been obvious (in particular, from Fuji) - however, it was inexpensive DIGITAL photography that did Kodak in. (It's also largely in the process of screwing over Fuji's Film Products Division as well.)

Kodak is a company I deliberately did not refer to - because we all SHOULD have seen what happened to Kodak. (Amazingly - but far from amusingly - nobody did, let alone the screwing repeat itself with Polaroid and - eventually - Fuji itself. Fuji is about to become as irrelevant to photography as Kodak.).

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    • WhatsApp is getting usernames, and you can reserve your preferred one now by Fiza Ali Sharing your phone number isn't always something you want to do, especially with people you've just met. Whether it's someone from a class, a local community group, or a sports team chat, handing over your number can feel like giving away more personal information than necessary. That's exactly the problem WhatsApp is trying to solve with its upcoming usernames feature. The company has announced that users can now reserve a unique WhatsApp username ahead of the feature's wider rollout later this year. Once usernames become available, they'll let people connect without revealing their phone numbers. It's a change that makes a lot of sense for group chats. Right now, everyone in the group can see your phone number. With usernames enabled, that won't necessarily be the case when someone contacts you for the first time. WhatsApp says it's opening username reservations early because more than three billion people use the app, meaning plenty of people are likely to want the same usernames. Reserving one now gives users a better chance of securing the name they actually want before the feature launches more broadly. If your preferred username is already taken, WhatsApp will also offer a built-in username generator to suggest available alternatives. The feature isn't only aimed at individual users. Creators, businesses, and organisations will be able to claim the same username they already use on Instagram or Facebook, making it easier to keep a consistent identity across Meta's apps. Furthermore, privacy is a big part of how WhatsApp is introducing usernames. There won't be a public directory where people can browse or search for usernames. Instead, people will need to know your exact username before they can start a conversation with you. Additionally, users can also choose to enable a username key, which adds another layer of control by requiring people to enter that key before sending a message. Once the feature rolls out, people who choose to use a username will no longer have their phone number shown when messaging a person or business for the first time. If you want to reserve a username, make sure you're running the latest version of WhatsApp, then head to Settings > Account > Username. The tech giant says usernames will roll out gradually over the coming months, and users will receive an in-app notification when the feature becomes available in their country.
    • When I think about a network, there are really two aspects, the hardware and the wiring. So here is what I would do for both. Wiring: Use Cat6A for the patch panel, outlets, and all structured cables (cables installed in walls). Run plenty of Wireless Access Point (WAP) cables, as a general rule, assume a signal can only pass through 2-3 walls and can't pass through a floor (that is conservative, but trust me on this if you want strong WiFi)  Cat6 patch cables are fine for now if you don't plan to run 10gig, those are easy to replace later if needed. Run OS2 single-mode fiber to anywhere you think you may have a server or sub-switch. (yes, single-mode for everything on a small network, don't mess with multimode unless you are at a scale where that minor cost and power savings will matter). If you really want to future proof, also run fiber to any high density WAP locations, it is likely that WiFi 8 and beyond WAPs will push the limits of 10g. Run 6-12 pairs of single-mode fiber between your MDF and the building's MDF, even if you only need 1 or 2 pairs now, those extra pairs will pay off down the road. Hardware: (its easy to say "get all the features incase you need them", so instead of futureproofing, I am going to take approach of suggesting areas worth investing in, and areas you can save money). Don't overspend thinking you need every feature on every port. You don't need 10g on every port, you don't need PoE on every port. Don't overspend on redundancy either, unless you are ready to buy two of everything, don't waste money buying two of some things and not others. Dual power supplies are worthwhile, but probably not HA or multi-path redundancy.  Get 1 "distribution layer" switch that your router/firewall will connect to as well as all your access layer switches below. This should be a fully managed 10g+ switch with a combination of copper and SPF ports, a few 25g uplink ports are nice for this switch. Given that you said it is a small network, I suggest also using that distribution layer switch for servers and WAPs, meaning it will need PoE. Speaking of wireless, get good professional tri-band WAPs, and either turn on the band stirring options, or limit 2.4 to an IoT only SSID. This will provide a solid WiFi capable nearly everything but the highest of bandwidth clients...you could even consider skipping wiring workstations depending on usage. Access layer switch for workstations and printers can be cheaper switches, 2.5g is a good sweet spot between price and future proofing, but even 1g is fine for most individual clients (the kind that could probably be fine on WiFi). You can consider saving a little on access layer switches by only getting 1 PoE switch for whatever needs it (remember your WAPs are connecting to the distribution switch, not here), and non-PoE for your workstations, because desk phones are falling out of favor. You can also save money here by not buying managed switches if you don't need them--but really do some soul searching there, if you go this route, then anything that isn't on your workstation VLAN would either need to be connected to the distribution switch, or its own access layer switch. Also, don't feel like you need a fancy fabric stacking switches for your access layer, that is the point of the higher-end distribution layer, to remove the need for things like that at this level. Home Hardware: I'm realizing the above assumed an office setting, if this if for your house and home lab then the above still applies, but you'll probably want everything managed and PoE, just because, but you probably also don't need multiple access layer switches. If your total port count is below 24, just skip separating distribution layer and access layer and just get one nice switch with the features you want. If you are at the point of considering a 48-port switch, I would instead get a nice high-end distribution switch for things that need it, and cheaper access layer switches with specs based on the needs of connected devices. For home use, don't worry about home running every device to the main switch, there is nothing wrong with running sub-switches for your media areas and office, those essentially become your access layer, just look for sub-switches with a 10g uplink so sharing bandwidth isn't an issue. Just make sure you always connect them to your distribution/main switch, don't daisy chain, the path should never have more steps than Client>Access>Distribution>Firewall>Internet or Client>Access>Distribution>Server if it is local.
    • Google Meet brings Gemini note-taking to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers by Karthik Mudaliar Google's Gemini-powered "Take notes for me" feature inside Google Meet is now available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. The features work on Google Meet for web as well as on mobile, and Google says that subscribers can use it for meetings they host in many supported languages. As the name suggests, "Take notes for me" allows Gemini to listen to a meeting, generate a summary, identify action items, and save the notes as a Google Doc in the user’s Drive. After the meeting, the organizer receives an email recap with the summary and action items, while the notes can also be attached to the related Calendar event depending on the meeting setup and sharing settings. The feature isn't automatically turned on for everyone, though. Google says that all meeting participants are notified when note-taking is turned on, and users can start it from the pencil icon in Meet or enable it for future calls through Meet’s meeting records settings. For work or school accounts, administrators can also control whether the feature is available and may require explicit participant consent for note-taking, recording, or transcription features. The feature first launched back in 2024, when it was available just for selected Workspace users. Over the years, Google added refinements and more options, including the ability to enable it when scheduling meetings via Google Calendar. Google's support docs say that the feature currently supports English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, but only one language at a time. Meetings with multiple spoken languages are not currently supported, and Google recommends using the tool for meetings between 15 minutes and eight hours. The new feature makes Google Meet closer to its rivals that have AI tools already built in. Microsoft Teams has recently started offering Copilot and intelligent recap features that summarize meetings, surface highlights, and help with follow-ups, while Zoom’s AI Companion can also generate meeting summaries from desktop and mobile meetings.
    • GnuCash 5.16 by Razvan Serea GnuCash is a personal and small business finance application, freely licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. It’s designed to be easy to use, yet powerful and flexible. GnuCash allows you to track your income and expenses, reconcile bank accounts, monitor stock portfolios and manage your small business finances. It is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports. GnuCash can keep track of your personal finances in as much detail as you prefer. If you are just starting out, use GnuCash to keep track of your checkbook. You may then decide to track cash as well as credit card purchases to better determine where your money is being spent. When you start investing, you can use GnuCash to help monitor your portfolio. Buying a vehicle or a home? GnuCash will help you plan the investment and track loan payments. If your financial records span the globe, GnuCash provides all the multiple-currency support you need. Between 5.15 and 5.16, the following bugfixes were accomplished: Bug 421610 - RFE: Include logical dates for View->Filter by "date range"The Select Range section of the Date tab of the register's Filter By dialog box is changed to provide relative, specific date, or days ago options for the start and end of the filter range. The Show number of days item label is changed to Show from days ago to better reflect what it does. Bug 436105 - esc key not working as expected in register: Enable the escape key to cancel a field edit. Bug 797384 - Gnucash doesn't handle commodity prices with big numerator/denominator properly. Bug 798004 - Next gen UI for stock transactions Bug 799314 - Add "enter now" option in scheduled transaction editor. tab to allow users to select the scheduled transactions to be included in a “Since Last Run…” window. If there are no instances of a selected transaction triggered by today’s date, the next instance is triggered. Bug 799751 - autocomplete crash Bug 799759 - Users can't Enable entries via Checkboxes on Scheduled Transactions PageAllow the Enabled box in the list of scheduled transactions to be operated instead of having to open the transaction editor dialog and change the Enabled checkbox. Also added use of the Name column as the secondary column sort for all the other columns. Bug 799762 - Poor handling of cases where hidden/placeholder accounts are used in the account register Bug 799766 - Double line preference not respected in search register Bug 799767 - POST /accounts in bindings/python/example_scripts/rest-api is broken Bug 799777 - `xaccSplitSetParent`: reparenting a committed split silently drops its KVP slots (online_id, cap-gains links) Other changes & improvements: Numeric values may now be selected to copy in the Accounts page. Add new Finance::Quote source Finnhub.io: Free API key (personal/non-professional use) available at https://finnhub.io. Set FINNHUB_API_KEY environment variable to API key to use this source. As of June 2026, free tier API limit is 60 API calls/minute. The Investment Lots report has new optional columns for Computed Annual Growth Rate. Python Bindings: Improved translation of primary object (Account, Transaction, Split, etc.) so that they can be treated as normal Python objects. This is accomplished with SWIG magic so no existing code is obsoleted. Python Bindings: Better conversion of GLists to Python lists. Python Bindings: Destroy the QofSession in the Python Session dtor to prevent leaving the database locked. [engine] Add first-class online_id accessors for Split and Account and make them available to Python bindings, removing the unused Transaction online_id property. Improve C++ implementation of QofBook. Correct the Doxygen doc for qof_instance_get/set_kvp. [gnc-log-replay.cpp] fix incorrect guid dump Add some Boost library requirements needed by libgnucash-guile to CMakeLists.txt so that missing feature will fail at configure time. Use Compile-time Regular Expressions instead of std::regex in gnc-filepath-utils.cpp and instead of boost::regex in the CSV importer, with the CTRE v3.11.1 header added to borrowed [gnc-filepath-utils.cpp] null check char* arguments Add ChartJS licenses. Removed AEX from list of commodities. euronext.com is now using JS based anti-webscraping. [report-core] always offer options summary in reports. This is useful to debug reports. The Add options summary option is removed because it's no longer optional. Remove remaining obsolete IMContext from sheet Fix blurry text in HiDPI offscreen-rendered widgets Add port field to database connection dialog: The convention of appending the port number after the host isn't obvious. When editing a split in the register treat the account as being changed only if it isn't the one selected before editing instead of if the user performed an edit Return immediately from qof_book_destroy if hash_of_collections is null. If qof_book_destroy is called on a QofBook* freshly created with qof_book_new (usually because it was used to create a session that now must be destroyed) it would try to empty the non-existent hash tables, crashing. Clean up Flathub metadata to solve warnings at flatpak build time. Be consistent in naming GncPluginPage and GncPluginPageRegister HTML: Remove unimplemented function declarations. [gnc-html.cpp] remove unused buggy string conversion functions Convert libgnc-html to C++ Apply -Wall -Werr -Wmissing-prototypes to C++ compilation on Windows and fix the resulting errors. New and Updated Translations: Arabic, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, German, Finnish, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian-Bokmal, Spanish Download: GnuCash 5.16 | 176.0 MB (Open Source) Links: GnuCash Home page | Other Operating Systems | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
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