Tag Archives: New Technology

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Chromebook Users Will Get New Tools And Features Soon

Do you own a Chromebook?  If so, be aware that version 100 of the Chrome OS and Chrome Browser boasts a new launcher.  Simply press the “Everything” button which is located on the left-hand corner of your screen to open the Chrome OS launcher.

Like the Windows Start button and the macOS “Spotlight” feature, the new launcher helps users search for files, system settings, and apps.

Just so it doesn’t take you by surprise also be aware that the new launcher opens on the side of your screen rather than from the bottom.

The re-vamped launcher displays more information inside the Launcher context, and it has an appearance that will remind you of ‘Snippets’ in Google Search results.  The old launcher only showed a sometimes-cryptic summary when displaying web search results.  With more information at the user’s fingertips, fewer actions should be required when searching for people, places, or weather updates from the launcher. So the overall user experience should be improved.

We like the left-side launcher placement because it gives more screen real estate to apps you’ve already got opened. It boasts another cool improvement.  Users can now organize apps by name or color or if neither of those options are exactly what you’re looking for you can manually organize them as you see fit.

On top of that, Chromebooks are also getting a new GIF-creation tools that allows users to create custom GIFs from inside the Camera app.  Just select “Video” and toggle the “GIF” setting to the on position to create a five-second video that is automatically converted to GIF format for sharing on social media.

Finally, Google has also made changes to the Chromebook Dictation feature, which legions of Chromebook users rely on to dictate emails or other documents.  Now, you can also edit text with voice commands which is beyond handy.

Great news all around for Chromebook users.  If you don’t have one yet, you may want to consider investing in one if for no other reason than to have a cool backup device.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

File Explorer May Get Tabs In Windows 11

Are you a Windows Insider?  If so, be aware that the company is testing a “hidden” new feature you’re probably going to love.

It’s a small change but its impact is enormous. The feature is the Tabbed File Explorer!

The experimental feature must be explicitly enabled but once it is it works a lot like tabbed browsing does.

If you right click on a drive, you’ll see a new menu option “open in a new tab.”  Left clicking that option will open the drive in a new tab adjacent to the current File Explorer tab. That part of the new feature is working smoothly, but the company hasn’t yet worked out the particulars of reordering tabs.

It’s worth mentioning that not all hidden features wind up being officially released features. The company has said exactly nothing about it so this may or may not wind up being an integral part of the Windows 11 user experience.

We certainly hope so because it’s a spectacularly useful addition.

If you’re interested in playing around with it, here’s what you need to do:

First, join the Dev channel of the Windows Insider program and install the latest build.  Then download the Vive Tool which enables hidden developer features in both Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Open an “Elevated Command Prompt” and make your way to the folder where the Vive tool has been extracted.

Finally, type the following command:

  • vivetool addconfig 34370472 2

After you enter this commend, you’ll get a confirmation response from the Vive tool.  At that point, you’ll need to restart your computer to start experimenting with the tabbed File Explorer.

When you’ve finished testing the feature or if you decide it’s not to your liking, simply enter the following command (same process as described above):

  • vivetool addconfig 34370472 0

Restart your computer and the tabbed browsing feature will no longer be enabled.

It’s a fun, cool feature and you’ll almost certainly enjoy playing around with it.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Clipchamp Will Soon Replace Movie Maker For Windows 11

If you’re an early adopter playing with the Windows 11 builds as they come out and you are a “Windows Insider,” then you probably already know this.

In the latest build, users were treated to a raft of new improvements and enhancements including a new Windows 11 video editor called Clipchamp.  The build with the Clipchamp addition is 22572 and is now available in the Dev Channel.

The Windows 11 Development Team had this to say about the new feature:

“Clipchamp is equipped with all the basic tools you’d expect, like trimming and splitting, as well as more pro-style features like transitions and animated text. For real-time content capture, there are also built-in webcam and screen recorders.

But what really sets Clipchamp apart from other video editors is its timeline. We’ve kept all the best parts of timeline editing — the flexibility, the ability to fine tune details — and done away with the rest.”

The new software comes with a stock library of more than a million royalty-free videos, audio tracks, images, and a powerful text-to-speech generator with support for more than 70 different languages. The generator will be powered by the company’s Azure technology.  Anyone making use of the new tool can easily connect with users’ OneDrive accounts to import files or save videos quickly, safely, and securely.

It’s a significant change and according to the company, it may well be a permanent one.  Knowing that Microsoft invested significant resources into Clipchamp, there’s very little reason to keep Movie Maker around. However, if the company faces an open rebellion like they did when they tried to retire Paint, it may be possible to change their mind.

Users should get used to the idea that there’s a new sheriff in town when it comes to video editing in Windows called Clipchamp!

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

New Archive Feature Helps Mobile Users Save Space

The problem with smartphones is that they eventually run out of room.  Honestly it’s a wonder the issue isn’t even bigger than it is.  After all, miniaturization isn’t cheap but smartphone manufacturers have been able to cram incredible amounts of storage into tiny spaces.

The day is coming when you’re going to run out of room on your trusty Android phone and Google knows it.

That’s why they’ve been working hard to come up with a solution. A few years ago, Google made a change to their Android OS and the OS began making helpful suggestions regarding apps you almost never use.  If you get rid of those you save some space, and that helped.

Unfortunately, some apps are important even if you don’t use them a lot and it forces users into a bit of a tricky spot. Uninstalling apps is a good start but it’s far from a perfect solution.

The good news is that Google has another idea that will be making its way to the Android OS in the months ahead.  They’re testing out a new feature called ‘Archiving’ where apps are only partially uninstalled rather than completely uninstalled.

Archiving keeps the user’s data intact and gets rid of everything but that.  Then if the user decides they need to run that app again they can restore the app and continue on with minimal fuss.

That combined with linking your phone to your cloud account and offloading your pictures and videos at regular intervals will go a long way toward freeing up space on your phone.

We’re not saying you’ll never have space issues again. However, if you do all three (uninstall apps you’re not using, archive apps you use infrequently, and regularly offload your photos and videos), you’ll get a lot more mileage out of your phone.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Google Messages Users On Android Get New Features

Do you use Google Messages?  If so, there’s good news!  In recent months, the company has taken steps to bridge the Windows and iOS ecosystems the Android ecosystems and the iOS ecosystems.

They’ve been creating a more seamless user experience and allowing users from those various ecosystems to communicate and share more easily.

The latest update to Google’s Messages app for Android includes a whole raft of new features. Of special significance, users will now have access to iOS reactions.  If you’re not familiar with these, they are a small handful of Emojis that capture the essence of the most common reactions people tend to have toward messages they receive.

In addition to that, Google’s latest update also adds support for sharing links to Google Photos into Messages and allowing the sending of full-quality photos and videos to non-RCS users on iOS.  In a similar vein, if you send a Youtube video link from an Android device to an iPhone the recipient will now get a preview of the video.

The latest version of Messages also includes several “quality of life” enhancements. These include the ability to automatically delete one-time password messages after 24 hours and the option to sort your inbox into personal and business-oriented massages to help you stay organized.

If you haven’t updated to the latest version of Google Messages and are excited to give these new additions a try, just head to the Google Play Store and download the latest for free.  It’s a very good update that gives you some fun new capabilities you’ll enjoy playing with.

It’s also worth mentioning that Windows users can access their Android messages on their PC from a browser tab. So the company really has come quite a distance in terms of tying the ecosystems together.  Kudos to Google for their continuing efforts!

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