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Confusing notification mistakenly warns users of outdated Windows version

Update KB5046633 triggers a misleading pop-up, incorrectly telling users their system is outdatedThe “Learn more” link redirects to a Windows 10 support article, adding to user confusionMicrosoft has yet to address this issue and Windows 11 users don’t need to worry about end-of-support

A new Windows 11 update, KB5046633, has introduced a peculiar glitch that causes a message to pop up and tell users that their version of Windows ‘has reached the service’ , and encourages them to ‘get the newer version of Windows to stay up to date.’

This could cause undue worry for people, as it implies that their system is outdated a even though there’s no cause for alarm and their PC actually is up to date (especially right after downloading and installing this update).

In a screenshot demonstrating the glitch on the Windows Update page provided by Neowin, you can see a ‘Learn more’ link, which apparently takes people to a Windows 10 support article.

This only adds to the mystery and Neowin speculates that the notification was intended for an update like KB5001716, applicable to other versions of Windows 10 and 11, which is meant to remind users that their version will soon no longer be supported. Microsoft doesn’t appear to have acknowledged the hiccup yet.

Waiting for answers to come out in the wash

It’s not totally unusual for Microsoft to issue reminders like this as Windows 10’s end-of-life date is coming up in less than a year. For users of operating systems which will soon stop being supported, these are important reminders. KB5046633 is for Windows 11 users, however, who don’t need to worry about their operating system no longer being supported.

Hopefully, Microsoft will acknowledge the blip and put out corrective measures soon, as spooking its users with false alarms won’t go down well – and could even lead to a ‘boy who cried wolf’ scenario in the future.

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SWS uses silver halide emulsion for tamper-proof data preservation

New storage method inspired by antique photographic techniquesSWS technology preserves data for centuries without powerNASA tests confirm SWS’s resilience in extreme conditions

Veteran engineers Clark Johnson and Richard Jay Solomon are tackling a major challenge in data storage: keeping information safe and intact for centuries without using energy.

An article on IEEE Spectrum reports how Johnson, a key figure in HDTV’s development, and Solomon have pioneered new archival technology that merges elements of antique photography with modern data needs.

Their standing-wave storage (SWS) system, developed at Wave Domain, offers a resilient, tamper-proof solution for safeguarding digital information in a tiny format.

Writing data in color waves

Inspired by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Gabriel Lippmann’s emulsion technique, the technology stores data by capturing color waves in a durable silver halide emulsion. Johnson’s path to this innovation began with his HDTV work, which he developed with Solomon and a team at MIT in the late 1980s.

This work led Johnson and his team to become experts in optics and digital imaging – a skillset that now informs their latest creation. Collaborating with emulsion expert Yves Gentet, they adapted Lippmann’s method to store multiple colors per pixel, creating a high-density archival medium.

The SWS technology is designed for applications where data needs preservation over long periods without power or copies.

“The data that we read is coming off the plate at such a high bandwidth,” Solomon told IEEE Spectrum. “There is no computer on the planet that can absorb it without some buffering.” Using LEDs and a specially formulated silver halide plate, the system “writes” data in color waves that, once processed, are immune to moisture, radiation, and cosmic rays.

NASA tested the storage medium’s durability by sending 150 SWS samples to the International Space Station in 2019, where they were exposed to cosmic radiation for nine months.

Upon their return, Solomon reported “absolutely zero degradation” in the data. This resilience, even in space’s harsh conditions, supports the technology’s potential for data centers, scientific research, and space applications requiring minimal energy.

“The idea is to use readily available parts,” Johnson said, when talking about the practicalities of SWS. With low costs and no power needed to preserve data, Johnson envisions uses beyond space, especially in data-heavy fields.

Now aged 94, Johnson told IEEE Spectrum that he isn’t looking to create a startup based around the technology but rather is seeking a successor to lead Wave Domain’s SWS to mainstream adoption.

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Bluesky Social has gathered millions of new users since the US election – if Musk’s political appointments are putting you off Twitter, here’s the easiest way to join them.

Bluesky has seen a million new users join since the US electionTwitter (now known as X) is losing hundreds of thousands of usersA Chrome extension lets you to find your friends from Twitter on Bluesky

Bluesky may become the micro-blogging social media app of choice for disillusioned Twitter users, if current trends continue.

Hundreds of thousands of people are seemingly fleeing X (formerly Twitter) in the wake of the US election, according to The Economic Times.

It’s possible X chairman Elon Musk’s subsequent appointment to a new position in Donald Trump’s incoming government has pushed some politically conscious users away from the site.

The Verge reports that Bluesky Social has attracted more than a million new users to its decentralized micro-blogging service since the presidential election took place on November 4, suggesting some level of migration between the two social media services is possible.

After all, Bluesky is a remarkably similar platform to X, having begun as an experimental spin-off of what was then Twitter in 2019 under the leadership of founder Jack Dorsey.

As TechCrunch reports, Dorsey no longer sits on the board at Bluesky, and the company is now an independent public benefit corporation with CEO Jay Graber at the helm.

The Bluesky user base now stands at more than 15 million total users – a fair few less than the 586 million monthly active users on X, but still impressive for a platform that is technically independent of major social media companies.

What is Bluesky?

Bluesky offers a decentralized social media platform – that means the platform is not entirely controlled by one server or corporation.

When you log on to Bluesky, you also choose which instance you’re signing in to.

Like fellow Twitter-like platform Mastodon, Bluesky can exist in multiple instances – meaning a version of the site can be set up to cater to certain communities.

(Image credit: Bluesky)

Otherwise, it’s essentially very similar to X, with short text-based posts, image and video sharing, liking and reposting, and individual profiles.

Its former relation to Twitter and ease of use have made Bluesky a prime candidate for those looking for X alternatives post-election.

How do I switch to Bluesky from Twitter?

You can join Bluesky by downloading the app from the App Store or Google Play Store, or heading to bsky.app, and setting up an account with an email address.

Migrating an X account to Bluesky is a larger task that takes a bit more work – and there are no official channels that enable this.

The Sky Follower Bridge extension for Chrome and Firefox enables users to find the users they previously followed and were followed by on X on Bluesky.

Adding the extension, and then running it while signed in to Bluesky and with Twitter open to either the Following, Followers, List or Blocked pages, returns a list of matched Bluesky accounts, produced by scraping information from the Twitter page.

As ZDNet reports, Twitter has taken action to block apps and processes from using screen scraping, so there’s no saying how long Sky Follower Bridge will actually work for.

There’s no simple way to import X posts (tweets) to Bluesky, but Wikihow details a rather complex method to import posts by using Python and Terminal on a Linux or Mac computer. There doesn’t seem to be a way to import posts to Bluesky on mobile yet.

Bluesky seems poised to become an important player in the social media space as users, and even news outlets, leave X. For the latest updates as we hear them, be sure to keep up with our social media coverage.

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ChatGPT has made the Windows app free for all users, and updated its Mac app, too.

ChatGPT Windows app now free to all usersIt’s the quickest way to use ChatGPT on WindowsChatGPT Mac app can now talk to other apps

In a move that puts ChatGPT into direct competition with Copilot, the ChatGPT app just got easier to use for Windows users, and even more powerful for Mac users. On the Windows front, the app now works for all users on the free tier, and on the Mac version, the latest beta of the app now works with developer tools like VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, and iTerm2, with more coming soon.

The Windows version of the ChatGPT app launched on 18 October, and was initially for subscribers to ChatGPT Plus, which costs $20 a month (£16/AU$30) or Teams, but now it will work for all users on the free tier too. The app gives you faster access to ChatGPT because it can be activated with the Alt + Space keyboard shortcut, making it easier to launch and because it works in a window, it’s easier to pick up from where you left off. The app also contains access to the new ChatGPT search feature.

If you’re a subscriber to ChatGPT Plus then you’ll find that ChatGPT Advanced Voice mode, which gives you the ability to talk to ChatGPT in real time, is also available in the Windows app.

To use the ChatGPT Windows app you need to be running either Windows 10 or Windows 11.

Using Advanced Voice mode in the ChatGPT app running on Windows. (Image credit: OpenAI)

Return of the Mac (app)

The ChatGPT Mac app launched back in June and very quickly became available to free-tier users. From today the latest beta version of the Mac app will now work with developer tools like VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, and iTerm2, with more apps being added soon.

What this means in practice is that instead of copying and pasting code into ChatGPT for it to analyze, you can manually connect your IDE or terminal to the macOS app and ChatGPT will be able to look at the content in the app when it answers your questions.

If you’re concerned about security, this new feature is opt-in meaning you will have to explicitly enable this function for it to work

You’ll need to be a ChatGPT Plus or Teams user to use the new features in the Mac app. According to OpenAI, Enterprise and Edu users will get access “in the next few weeks” and the company “plans to rapidly improve its capabilities.”

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Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is the latest game to receive PlayStation 5 Pro support.

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster now has PS5 Pro supportThe update adds a new ray tracing feature and a new Casual ModeCapcom’s zombie game is the latest game to receive a PS5 Pro update

Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster is the latest game to receive PlayStation 5 Pro support.

Capcom made the announcement on X / Twitter, where it shared comparison images between the PS5 and PS5 Pro versions of the game, before and after the update.

With the latest update, PS5 Pro owners will be able to experience the new toggleable ray tracing feature, which can be found in the settings, offering “more realistic reflections on glass and water surfaces”, while also “giving a more immersive experience in journey[ing] through Willamette Parkview Mall”.

Not only that, the update also adds a brand new Casual Mode for all users across all platforms, a difficulty “recommended for players who have problems with action games.”

Frank also levels up much faster in this mode but it doesn’t impact players’ Challenges, Trophies, or Achievements.

Plenty of PS5 games have received the PS5 Pro treatment now that the mid-generation has officially launched.

Most recently, a new patch for No Man’s Sky added new PS5 Pro enhancements, including PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), allowing the game to run at 4K resolution at 60 fps, as well as a host of other features.

Among other PS5 Pro-enhanced games, Arrowhead Game Studios has confirmed Helldivers 2 will also receive PS5 Pro support in the future but has yet to share the details.

Alan Wake 2 also just received Quality and Performance mode upgrades with its Pro patch.

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Netflix has reportedly renewed Selling Sunset for a ninth season.

Selling Sunset has reportedly been renewed for season 9Netflix has not officially confirmed the newsA Selling Sunset star seemed to confirm the new season in a TikTok video

Most rumors are bad, but this is definitely a good one in my eyes as one of my favorite reality shows Selling Sunset has reportedly been renewed for a ninth season.

Selling Sunset is one of Netflix‘s biggest reality TV juggernauts and has birthed spin-offs such as the canceled Buying London, Selling the OC, Selling Tampa, which was also axed after one season, and the upcoming New York-based show Selling the City.

Netflix hasn’t officially confirmed whether the property reality series will return for another season, but What’s On Netflix has reported that Selling Sunset season 9 is in production and expected to air on the best streaming service in 2025.

What’s On Netflix first reported on the rumor as Selling Sunset star Amanza Smith posted a TikTok video with the caption “and we’re back”, alongside the hashtag #sellingsunsetseason9, seemingly confirming that the realtors are back for more mammoth mansions and sky-high heels.

@amanzasmith

♬ original sound – Kardashian clips 🎬

What can we expect in Selling Sunset season 9?

*Spoilers follow for Selling Sunset season 8*

Selling Sunset follows a group of glamorous female realtors as they sell mega mansions to the mega rich in the Hollywood Hills and Sunset Strip. The drama has been as huge as the houses with fierce rivalries, fiery gossip and new alliances throughout the eight seasons.

We’ve also waved goodbye to cast members like Christine Quinn, Maya Vander, Davina Potratz, and Vanessa Villela and welcomed new real estate agents Bre Tiesi, Emma Hernan and the latest newcomer Alanna Gold since the show debuted in 2019.

While the brokers still worked hard to sell the luxury life to high flyers in Selling Sunset season 8, most of the series was focused on the personal issues of the cast like Chelsea Lazkani’s heartbreak after her now ex-husband reportedly cheated on her and Nicole Young spreading a rumor about Emma amongst many other things. Let’s just say a lot happened in season 8, so much so that there wasn’t a reunion show due to tensions between the cast.

Although there hasn’t been any plot details announced for the supposed upcoming season, we can guarantee that there’s going to be more tears, tantrums and mansion envy in Selling Sunset season 9.

If this rumor turns out to be true, the renewal would make it one of Netflix’s longest-running series alongside Virgin River, which has been renewed for season 7.

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American Associated Pharmacies has not yet confirmed the attack, but the hackers claim it paid up.

American Associated Pharmacies allegedly fell prey to a ransomware attackThe attackers are saying the company paid for the decryptorThe group is asking for more money, to keep the stolen files private

American Associated Pharmacies (AAP) is joining the ever-growing list of American healthcare organizations to have suffered a ransomware attack.

Following the likes of Change Healthcare, Henry Schein, CommonSpirit, and many others, AAP appaears to have suffered the classic double whammy – having its sensitive data stolen, and its systems encrypted.

A report from The Register claims the company is yet to make an official statement regarding the attack, having only force-reset passwords for all of its users, and notify them of the change.

Say hi to Embargo

“All user passwords associated with both APIRx.com and RxAAP.com have been reset, so existing credentials will no longer be valid to access the sites,” the company said in a short announcement. “Please click ‘forgot password’ on the log in screen and follow the prompts accordingly to reset your password.”

At the same time, the group that assumed responsibility for the attack is called Embargo. You can be excused for not hearing about them, as they’re a relatively new group. ESET seems to be the first to spot the new actor, when it used endpoint detection and response (EDR) killing tools to drop its payload, last June. It also observed the group using a Rust-based ransomware kit.

New or not, Embargo claims to have stolen almost 1.5TB of sensitive data. It also claims that AAP paid $1.3 million to have its systems restored, and that it needs to pay an additional $1.3 million to keep the stolen files off the dark web.

We don’t know what kinds of documents Embargo stole from the company, but if the Change Healthcare attack was any indication, they could be highly classified information whose leak could lead to class-action lawsuits and regulatory pressure.

We have reached out to AAP with additional questions and will report if we hear anything back.

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Prime Video could be getting a great tool for watching sports streams: multiview.

Prime video app code tease ‘Multiview’YouTube TV multiview lets you watch several sports games at onceNo official word yet on when or if it’ll arrive in the app

Prime Video could be getting a YouTube feature, which will be perfect for its expansion into live sports. Leaked code suggests the best streaming service could soon be adding multiview.

That’s according to Android Authority, who dug through the code of the Prime Video app – specifically v3.0.389 – and found several strings referencing “multiview”. Such as:

Set up your multiview
Pause unavailable during multiview
Rewind unavailable during multiview

Beyond setting up a multiview it appears that Prime Video’s version of the feature won’t let users pause, rewind, or fast forward while it’s active.

What is multiview?

While a name alone isn’t much to go on, we can turn to Prime Video competitors to learn what multiview might entail. YouTube TV’s multiview version of the tool allows you to watch four sports live streams at the same time.

The advantage of this is if there are several matches on at the same time that you’re keen to tune into you can do it all on one screen without ever needing to change channel.

In some versions of the tool, you could even throw on an entirely different video feed – perhaps in Prime Video’s case a new episode of a show you love – so you can watch that with sports happening in the background. Perfect for when a game gets stale, or if you can’t agree who should control the TV.

All of this is speculation for now. There’s no word yet on when Prime Video will get multiview – assuming it even does at all – and if multiview does arrive we’ll have to see what form it takes. It would make a lot of sense, so hopefully it does land in the near future, but we’ll have to wait and see.

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Fitbit may soon be adding some more strings to its sleep analysis bow.

Fitbit has a Sleep Journal feature in the worksAn APK Teardown revealed the feature under constructionIt could be an AI-powered feature

According to a recently-unearthed bit of code, Fitbit is looking at introducing a new sleep feature soon to Fitbit Premium subscribers. A Sleep Journal functionality would allow users of the best fitbit trackers and smartwatches to log their sleep as usual, and make notes in-app when prompted, about any sleep problems they had via text or even a voice note. The Fitbit app then uses this information to generate more personalized sleep tips.

Discovered by Android Authority during an APK teardown (a process that looks at unfinished app code) the feature is still bare-bones and under construction, but it looks as though the feature will be AI-powered. Fitbit may plan to use generative AI to pick up on key words and phrases in your journal entries, offering you advice based on those key phrases.

The feature was found by Android Authority in the Fitbit app (version 4.30.fitbit-mobile-110146981-694155636), and it allegedly “appears to be early on in development”. The UI is apparently quite basic at the moment, although the development team is clearly keen for Fitbit’s big userbase to engage with the feature – one message suggests “To get deeper insights and more personalized suggestions for better sleep, complete your journal each day.”

If you don’t submit an entry, a reminder pops up saying “Sharing what impacted your sleep helps create more personalized insights and tips”, with an option to go back if you decide not to fill in the Sleep Journal feature.

This is likely to be a Fitbit Premium feature, based on the pricing schemes for other experimental AI services like Oura Advisor. Given that it’s fairly early on in development, we wouldn’t expect it to land until 2025.

Analysis: generative AI is coming to Fitbit

I imagine this service will be similar to Oura Advisor, the experimental generative AI service used by the Oura Ring companion app, in that it uses text prompts to summon the correct wellness advice, personalized to your needs by cross-referencing your sleep and exercise data. If you sleep poorly and do a lot of exercise, you might be encouraged to dial it back in the evenings. Such is the power of generative AI.

We may be jumping ahead of ourselves (after all, there’s no hard evidence it will be an AI feature) but entering your sleep data into an artificial intelligence owned by Google, a company with a notoriously loose grasp on data privacy, may be a sticking point for some users.

Some, but not all; for others, the convenience will be worth it. A report from the National Institutes of Health found that “sleep diaries are the gold standard for subjective assessment of sleep variables in clinical practice. Digitization of sleep diaries is needed, as paper versions are prone to human error, memory bias, and difficulties monitoring compliance.” This live, responsive version of a sleep diary could be just what the doctor ordered.

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With 279,300 EVs set to come off lease in the US by 2026, it’s set to be a buyer’s market for affordable, used electric vehicles.

A spike in returning lease volumes will peak in 2026Market could be flooded with cheap used EVs, new report claimsUncertainty about tax credits could upset the supply/demand balance

According to a recent study from J.D Power, which forms part of the 2024 E-Vision Intelligence Report, there will be a 230% spike in returning lease volumes of electric vehicles in 2026, potentially opening the floodgates to a swathe of cheap, second hand EVs.

It goes on to state that nearly 280,000 EV leases will end in the next two years in the United States, but thanks to the falling prices of recently introduced EV models (or those about to be launched) it means that for many, it will make more financial sense to simply lease a new car rather than buying out their current lease vehicle.

According to J.D Power, it would cost the average returning lessee in the electric compact SUV segment $477 per month to buy out the lease, while the average lease payment on a new EV in the same category would be just $457 per month.

This is based on the fact that the average buyout price for most electric compact SUVs is higher than the $25,000 threshold that would qualify for the used EV tax credit.

Although this is potentially good news for those in the market to make the switch to an electric vehicle, seeing as there will be plenty of affordable used stock in two years, it also presents numerous complications for the used car market as a whole.

J.D Power says that uncertainty about whether the federal EV tax incentive will continue and how long high manufacturer incentives will last, concern about long-term battery health, and a shortage of used gas-powered vehicles will complicate the traditional balance of supply and demand.

Analysis: Disastrous depreciation doesn’t help

(Image credit: Porsche)

So far, electric vehicle sales have been skewed towards the premium end, targeting early adopters with deep pockets. For years, they have been seen as overpriced and out of reach for many mainstream buyers.

Although that is now changing, with a slew of more affordable models hitting both the US and Europe, it is already presenting a problem for the used car market.

Put simply, depreciation of some premium EVs has been huge, with models like the $130,000 /£120,000 Porsche Taycan dropping to as little as $35,000 or around £40,000 for three-year-old examples in some markets.

An investigation by Wired earlier this year found that some premium EVs, including the Mercedes-Benz EQE, Audi e-tron GT and Polestar 2, could lose up to half of their value in the first year of ownership.

The reasons for this worrying trend are numerous, from the lingering range-anxiety among buyers to the fact that battery technology is moving at such a rate that older models are being updated or replaced at a much faster pace than their internal combustion engine counterparts.

Rather than a mild mid-life facelift, as was the way with older ICE cars, today’s electric vehicles are having battery packs replaced and improved, offering much greater range and improved performance.

It’s potentially putting off private buyers of new electric vehicles, worried that their latest ride will be worth a fraction of the cost that they paid for it in a couple of years.

The world of used EVs is going to create a buyer’s market in the coming years, which is great news for those holding off and waiting to make the switch, but not particularly positive for those struggling automakers, such as Ford and Volkswagen, that so desperately need to sell new cars to stay afloat.

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