Software

A new update to Battlefield 1 has officially removed Steam Deck compatibility from the online FPS, despite the game launching as long ago as 2016. This move comes after a similar decision was made with GTA Online last month. Unlike GTA Online, there doesn't seem to be any hope for redemption for Battlefield 1.

While there are multiple guides on manually bypassing the TPM, Secure Boot, or processor compatibility checks performed when installing Windows 11, Flyby11 does everything automatically. With the help of this straightforward patcher, users with outdated hardware can effortlessly transition to Windows 11 24H2.

Covered by the terms of the Apache 2.0 license, the IBM Granite 3.0 family of AI models targets enterprise customers and provides top performance alongside (allegedly) the most comprehensive set of risk and harm detection capabilities on the market. Those interested can download the models from Hugging Face.

A new update has landed for several of Garmin's mid-range smartwatches. Distributed through its beta channel for now, the update contains important bug fixes aimed at resolving GPS and Connect activity issues present in earlier software.

Less than two months since the release of version 1.6, PorteuX 1.7 arrives with several fixes, sub-500 MB ISOs, as well as updates to most of the seven desktop environments supported. The seven are GNOME, Cinnamon, KDE, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, and Xfce. The Linux kernel 6.11.4 is used for all these flavors.

Unity has launched the Unity 6 game development engine for Windows, Macs, and Linux computers. The new version adds a native Windows on Arm editor and app compilation, an updated Sentis AI library, and better graphics with improved performance.

CheckMag Nintendo has a long history of screwing over its fans, whether it’s releasing underpowered hardware, suing fan projects, shutting down services older consoles rely on, and constantly re-selling its back catalogue of games to people who have bought these same titles over and over. But where Ryujinx and Yuzu are concerned, it’s not hard to see why these projects got shut down.

ASUS has brought a new set of bug fixes and enhancements to the ROG Ally and ROG Ally X. Introduced globally, the new updates should arrive as Armoury Crate SE and MCU packages that contain various refinements for both gaming handhelds.

Although it has been present in Firefox for ages, the "List all Tabs" button recently got a bigger icon, so it became more visible. However, Firefox 131 came with a minor change, now labeled by Mozilla as a bug, which consisted of the users' inability to remove the button. Now, that option is back.

Sony has quietly brought a new set of features to several of its recent wireless audio devices. Introduced via firmware updates, the new features make the WF-1000XM5, WH-1000XM5 and LinkBuds S compatible with Google's Find My Device service, Google Fast Pair and Sony's Auto Switch software.

Baseus has launched new Bowie 30 Max headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC). They are rated for up to 65 hours of battery life with ANC off. The new headphones feature Baseus’s in-house head-tracking spatial audio technology, a foldable design with 120-degree rotatable earcups, and the latest Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. They are available at an affordable price via Amazon and Baseus’s official website.

Based on the barely released Ubuntu 24.10, Voyager Live 24.10 comes to add a stylish twist to the live distro paradigm by combining GNOME and Xfce while including out-of-the-box visual elements and Conky widgets. This update includes the Linux kernel version 6.11 beneath a redesigned layout designed for both PCs and tablets.

This month, Blizzard is back with a series of hotfixes for issues that were plaguing The War Within, Cataclysm Classic, Season of Discovery, WoW Classic Era, and Hardcore. In addition to the multiple adjustments across all classes, there are also fixes in several dungeons, raids, and quests.

The first-ever AI agent for PCs such as the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 10 has just been introduced at TechWorld 2024 in the form of Lenovo AI Now. Based on an up-to-date form of Meta's Llama LLM, it is rated to help automate PC management as well as act as a local or cloud-based personal chatbot. It has debuted alongside the OEM's new equally AI-powered educational platform.

Released yesterday, the third point update for Firefox 131 follows last week's critical security update, which addressed a critical flaw. Now, Firefox 131.0.3 comes to fix no less than five problems, including a crash that occurred when AVG and Avast Windows users visited certain websites.

Hailing from China, Pyramid Flow is an open-source AI model capable of creating virtual hi-resolution (768p) videos. According to the team behind it, this model can generate a five-second 384p video in less than a minute. The MIT License covers Pyramid Flow, which underwent training on open-source datasets.

Not long after it revealed its plans to unify all its software under the One UI umbrella, an update that brings One UI has begun rolling out to some Samsung smart TVs. The underlying OS is still Tizen but there are now some design similarities with One UI on mobile.

Sony has announced that it has improved the connectivity options of its latest flagship. Specifically, software version 69.0.A.2.44 should bring Wi-Fi 7 connectivity to the Xperia 1 VI, which is now rolling out globally.

Hailing from Germany and based on Arch Linux, Bluestar is a distro that comes in three editions (Desktop, Deskpro, and Developer) and has just been updated to version 6.11.3. The list of changes consists mostly of updated packages, as well as a series of tweaks and fixes.

MIT researchers have created the Future You web service where young users can chat with 60-year-old AI-versions of themselves. Wallowing Gen Zs and Alphas can improve their well-being by talking to themselves, which would have been a crazy idea in the past, but not with the effective AI simulacrums.

Stardock announces the release of its Multiplicity 4 software KVM to turn spare laptops into monitors and control mutliple PCs with one keyboard and mouse. The software can help improve gaming rig performance by remote-controlling secondary PCs where non-essential apps have been moved to.

Google is looking to offer a native Terminal app for Android, possibly with Android 16. The Terminal app will allow installation of a Linux VM with full GUI and GPU acceleration along with other sysadmin features including disk resizing, port forwarding, and partition recovery. This is an extension of Google's earlier project of allowing Chrome OS to run on Android using the Android Virtualization Framework.

The Epic Games Store offers new free games each week, but accessing these titles on the Steam Deck requires a third-party launcher. Installing these third-party tools often requires extra steps, but it seems that will change soon as the Junk Store app is coming to the official Steam store

Microsoft continues to improve Windows 11 by rolling out fresh new features. A notable recent addition that is currently being tested is the "Copy as Table" feature in the Snipping Tool which enhances its existing optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities.

The paid PoGoskill app makes it possible to trick Pokémon GO into believing the user is going places without ever leaving their couch, thus eliminating the legwork needed to collect virtual Pokémon.

It looks like the popularity of the Lenovo Legion Go, Asus ROG Ally, and their stablemates has finally forces Microsoft to realise that gaming handhelds are here to stay. In the latest Windows Insider Preview, Microsoft has added a new on-screen game keyboard that uses an optimised layout and a mixture of touch and controller input to increase typing speed.

The excruciatingly long road to the release of GIMP 3.0, along with its revolutionary new non-destructive editing features, is finally drawing to a close. The GIMP development team has announced that it only has eight bugs reports left to resolve before the first release candidate goes live.

Steam recently updated its store checkout page to clarify that gamers are buying licenses for games, instead of the games themselves — along with all the content removal and malarkey that accompany these distribution strategies. GOG sarcastically responded to Steam's new storefront disclaimer, reminding us that GOG's offline installers "cannot be taken away from you."

Yesterday, Ubuntu 24.10 finally came out of beta. Codenamed "Oracular Oriole," it sports the latest kernel (version 6.11), expanded toolchains with versioned Rust and Java TCK, tighter security controls via improved permissions prompting, GNOME 47, support for OpenVEX and OSV vulnerability reporting, and more.

It looks like Microsoft's Recall push is back in full swing with Windows 24H2. A recent technical analysis revealed that disabling Recall also disables the modern File Explorer interface. Currently, it is unclear whether this is a bug or intended behaviour, but it's indicative of Microsoft's AI-encrusted future.

A new stable update has landed for all of Garmin's recent Forerunner smartwatches. Rolling out now globally, the update is said to resolve one area that could have caused issues in some cases on older software.

Garmin has finally released a massive update for the Enduro 3, Fenix E and Fenix 8 that it has been teasing on its Beta Program for weeks. Rolling out now as System Software 11.89, the update contains a whopping fifty changes, including almost a dozen new features.

Released yesterday, Ubuntu Budgie 24.10 will receive nine months of support. This update focuses on refining the Budgie desktop while paving the way for Wayland. Consequently, the developers removed the X11 plank dock, defaulted the top bar to a dark theme, and added support for Apple HEIF image files.

Adobe has killed perpetual licenses for its Elements software lineup with the launch of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements 2025. After three years of use, users will be blocked from launching and using the Elements 2025 software. The 2025 software adds more features and Apple M3 CPU support.

The X200 series is currently touted to comprise the most modern (as in, most iPhone-like) flagship smartphones released by Vivo to date very soon. Now, the version of Android with which they will hope to take iOS on has been previewed on Weibo. OriginOS 5 is now slated to debut with its own version of the Dynamic Island, Google Gemini and Circle to Search.

In an unusual turn of events, Garmin has started rolling out a fresh batch of updates for some of its older mid-range smartwatches. Arriving as a beta update for now, the same firmware should soon reach all eligible models as a new stable build.

Google's Imagen 3 was initially available through the company's AI Test Kitchen in the US, but starting today, all Gemini users can access the text-to-image model. Google says the new AI image generator model can offer more photorealism and produce fewer artifacts than its predecessor.

Garmin's latest smartwatch releases have received another new update. This time, it seems that the company is preparing to issue a more substantial stable update, which will follow on from Beta Version 11.88 if all is well.

Apple has announced the Swift Student Challenge 2025 for student programmers to showcase their app ingenuity to win prizes from Apple. Fifty distinguished winners will spend three days at Apple HQ networking with peers and meeting Apple staff.

WhatsApp users looking for an alternative to Meta AI now have the power of Microsoft Copilot at their fingertips that can be harnessed just by typing a query into a WhatsApp chat.

Turkey has now banned Discord after they denied the authorities' request to share private user information. The court decision was caused by "child sexual abuse and obscenity" suspicions pointing at some users of the platform. The ban comes shortly after Discord was blocked in Russia, but for different reasons.

The Volkswagen Tayron has now been introduced to the European market as a more premium SUV than the Tiguan thanks to its seven-seat layout. It has diesel, petrol and mild hybrid variants as well as two eHybrid options with an estimated range of 100 kilometers (km, or ~62 miles). The Tayron also boasts a 32-centimeter (~12.6-inch) infotainment screen and light-up badges.

Boasting AI features and a focus on privacy and security, Gnoppix comes in both a community-supported free version (Core) and a Pro flavor that includes several premium features for a moderate fee. Based on Debian and Kali Linux, Gnoppix 24.10 comes with multiple updated packages, as well as various tweaks and fixes.

Samsung has recently confirmed that the One UI 7 update will land alongside the Galaxy S25 series next year. There were some concerns about public beta availability, which Samsung has now cleared up.

It looks like the promised SteamOS ISO release is closer than we might have thought. Valve's Gamescope microcompositor recently received support for the Asus ROG Ally and Ally X displays and making them fully compatible with the SteamOS overlay and refresh rate slider.

The 24H2 update for Windows 11 is now being rolled out, and some users are encountering a frustrating bug causing the cursor to disappear in certain scenarios. Thankfully, an easy way of dealing with the issue has already been discovered.

Succeeding the now ancient Microsoft Write, which was released in 1985, WordPad arrived with Windows 95 almost three decades ago. Sadly, Windows 11 24H2 will remove this app once it gets installed, and no successor is planned. In the future, Microsoft suggests users to replace WordPad with Notepad or Word, but those who want can keep using it.