Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Microsoft is vocal about the importance of ensuring that Windows users have all of the latest security updates installed, and rightly so. Now the company has warned that using certain installation media to install Windows 11 24H2 could result in not being able to receive any further security updates.

The root cause of the problem has not been revealed as Microsoft is still investigating, but the issue can occur when using media such as CDs or USB drives to install the latest version of Windows 11. While the cause is not known, and there is no specific fix, there is a workaround.

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Reaction emoji are a quick and easy way to respond to a message in WhatsApp with an absolute minimum of effort. Whether you simply can’t be bothered to type a message, or you’re already multi-tasking several things, the option to just send a thumbs up to a message is a handy option to have.

While there is nothing to stop you from sending any emoji you want as a response, there are several default options made available for easy access -- such as a heart or a sad face in addition to the thumbs up. For some time there have been six default emoji, but now WhatsApp is adding another to the family to make a septet.

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Apple looks ready to continue its foray into the smart home market with a new doorbell to rival Amazon’s Ring. Driven by Face ID, Apple’s upcoming device is set to be more than just a doorbell -- facial recognition will be used to unlock the door as well.

But if you are looking for a smart doorbell right now, Apple may not be the choice for you. The company’s work is said to be in the preliminary stages, with products unlikely to emerge until at least the tail end of 2025, but likely some time in 2026.

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The number of issues standing in the way of people hoping to update their computers to Windows 11 24H2 just seems to keep on growing. The latest problems confirmed by Microsoft are an issue with Auto HDR, and another relating to Dirac Audio.

In both cases, Microsoft has implemented a compatibility safeguard hold that prevents automatic upgrades to Windows 11 24H2; the company also strongly recommends against forcing a manual upgrade because of the severity of the issues. So, what are the details?

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There are always lots of financial scams running online, and pig butchering is currently one of the most commonly used techniques for parting victims from their money.

But INTERPOL doesn’t like the term, saying it is shaming and puts people off reporting crime. The international crime-fighting agency believes that a shift to the rather fluffier sounding “romance baiting” is important.

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Intel’s recently released Arrow Lake processors were notable for the wrong reasons. Performance was found to be more than a little disappointing, particularly for gamers. A fix was promised, and one has been delivered.

The fix takes the form of a not only an update to Windows, but also a BIOS update. But it does not end there. Intel says that it will be releasing a further update in January which will introduce additional performance optimizations.

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Webcam users rejoice: the end of the “Another App Is Using the Camera Already” error message could be nigh.

People have been asking for the ability to use a single webcam in two or more apps at the same time for what feels likes forever. Built ostensibly as an accessibility feature, Microsoft is finally bringing what it is calling “Multi-app camera” to Windows 11.

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There have been rumors circulating for some time that creating an email service to compete against Gmail was on Elon Musk’s to-do list. While concrete details about what it might look like and when it might appear have been elusive, Musk has started to give something of an idea of his vision.

The billionaire has said on multiple occasions, including in the last few days, that X Mail is on the cards, but now he has given a clearer indication of what it might involve. The question is -- are people ready for it?

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There are so many classic scenes from shows and movies and, just like music fans like to share amazing drum solos, guitar riffs and lyrics with friends, there is something joyous about connecting over a shared video clip.

YouTube has long made it possible to share snippets of a videos, and earlier this year, Netflix introduced a feature called Moments to iOS. This provides a way to share a meaningful, impactful, funny or beautiful scene from a Netflix show or movie, and now the same feature is available globally on Android.

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One of the changes in Windows 11 that continues to generate lots of complaining is the removal of a vertical taskbar option. Microsoft decided that it wanted everyone to have their taskbar anchored to the bottom of the screen, and that was the end of that.

But not anymore. Now there is a way to vertically align your taskbar in Windows 11, giving you the chance to make better use of a widescreen/ultra-widescreen monitor’s available space. It doesn’t matter whether your preference is for the left or the right -- both are possible.

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Introduced a couple of years ago, the Suggested Actions feature of Windows 11 was designed to make life easier, simplifying dealing with information encountered on websites, in documents and so on. Now the feature is being ditched.

Microsoft introduced Suggested Actions as a productivity-enhancer that worked across all aspects of Windows. While the company has said nothing about why it is killing off what is ostensibly a useful tool, the answer can probably be summed up in two letters: AI.

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There are still various obstacles in the way of updating to Windows 11 24H2, but Microsoft has just removed one of them. Until now, systems with a USB scanner that used the eSCL scan protocol were blocked from installing the update, but this block has now been lifted.

This is not all that is to be found in the update, of course. There is a somewhat controversial switch to a shortened date format in the taskbar as well as a batch of important security fixes.

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Mozilla has removed support for Do Not Track from Firefox, with the company stating that it was a setting that was largely ignored by websites anyway.

More than this, Mozilla believes that Do Not Track sometimes served to reduce privacy, rather than increasing it. The suggestion for affected users is to start using options within Global Privacy Control (GPC) which are legally enforced in some countries, and far more widely respected by websites regardless of legislative requirements.

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We’ve reached that point of the year. Spotify Wrapped has happened, and now it’s time for endless ‘year in review’ and ‘best of 2024’ outpourings. Not wanting to miss out, Google has revealed the top trending searches of 2024.

The very nature of listing the top trends is that they are popular, and therefore predictable. As such, the appearance of searches relating to the US election was to be expected, as was people looking up the meaning of “demure”. So what else does Google have to share with us?

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For all of the focus on AI, for many people, the future lives in quantum computing. Google is among those who agree, and the company has just unveiled its latest advancements in the field -- its quantum chip, Willow. Like quantum physics and quantum mechanics, the numbers and concepts involved in quantum computing are extraordinarily difficult to imagine.

Revealing its advancements, Google says that its quantum chip took less than five minutes to perform tasks that would take even the fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. Providing some sense of perspective, Google points out that this is “a number that vastly exceeds the age of the Universe”. So what is it that makes Willow so special -- and so fast?

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