The combined address bar and search box in Google Chrome has been improved to allow you to search your bookmarks, history and tabs, as well as the Web. Here’s how to do it:

To activate this new feature in Chrome 105 (released in September):

– Type chrome:flags into the address bar of Chrome (also known as the ‘Omnibox’), and press enter.

– In the page that opens, click on ‘Omnibox Site Search Starter Pack.’

– Click on the menu, choose ‘Enabled’ and re-launch Chrome.

Use the following commands in the Omnibox:

– Type @bookmarks to search your bookmarks, @history to search your history, and @tabs to search your open tabs.

With the news that as of 20 September 2022, the new Windows 11 update started its rollout in 190+ countries, we look at what it includes and how these elements could benefit your business.

The Focus 

Microsoft says that the new Windows 11 22H2 update takes account of the move to flexible work, and is focused on the four key areas of:

1. Making the PC easier and safer to use.
2. Empowering people to be more productive.
3. Making Windows the best place to connect, create and play.
4. Added security, management, and flexibility to the workplace.

Examples 

Examples of some of better features in the latest Windows 11 22H2 update include:

– The updated Sound Recorder App. This replacement for Voice Recorder, enables users to record a meeting or make a podcast, for example. A graphical waveform format is displayed while it is in operation (record and play audio) and users can put markers on the waveform at places of interest in the recording. The app is designed to be just a recorder, so it doesn’t have a built-in editing program, although users could use a free one, such as Audacity. The Sound Recorder App also offers Auto, Medium, High, and Best audio settings, allowing the user to choose which one is most appropriate, e.g. a higher quality setting (which takes up more space) for important recordings.

– The ability to group program icons together in start menu folders. This time-saving feature can help users to be more organised and allows users to organise their apps in the “Pinned” section as folders, rather like the feature in Windows 10 and on mobile devices – Android and iOS.

– A redesigned Task Manager with a more convenient sidebar menu rather than tabs, and the inclusion of an ‘Efficiency Mode’ button.

– The ability to drag files pinned to taskbar icons. This gives users a fast, handy way to choose which program to quickly open file with.

– The ability to drag files from the main area of the File Explorer window into the Quick Access area of the sidebar, thereby making it easier and faster reach important, and current files.

– Greater versatility and improved touch navigation for Snap Layouts to help improve productivity, and the introduction of Focus sessions and a Do Not Disturb mode to minimise distractions.

– The addition of Windows Studio Effects, with a new Windows Studio camera which incorporates Voice Focus (to filter out background noise), a background blurring tool, Eye Contact, and Automatic Framing, all of which can improve the quality of video calls.

– The addition of video-editing app Clipchamp. This enables users to cut videos, add filters and templates, and export them as 1080p files, thereby giving users much more control over their videos.

Security 

The new Windows 11 update includes a number of improvements to boost security, including:

– Expanding the number of devices for which security is enabled by default. For example, devices with Intel 8th generation chipsets and higher will have virtualisation-based security (VBS) and hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI) enabled by default. Also, devices running Windows 11 Enterprise, will have Windows Defender Credential Guard enabled which uses virtualisation-based security to provide greater protection from operating system vulnerabilities.

– Enhanced phishing protection (Microsoft Defender SmartScreen) by automatically detecting when a user types a password into any app or website, determining in real-time if that app or site has a secure connection to a trusted site, and immediately warning the user in the moment if they need to change their password. This feature also automatically reports unsafe password usage to IT admins through the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint portal so the incident can be tracked.

– The AI-powered ‘Smart App Control’ feature, which improves security and can help smaller businesses to manage their devices and apps by preventing employees from running malicious applications by blocking untrusted or unsigned applications.

– Updated versions of popular deployment, security, and management tools (to support the release of the update), including Windows 11, version 22H2 Security Baseline (as part of the Security Compliance Toolkit), and a free 90-day evaluation of Windows 11 Enterprise for businesses to try.

More Features Being Added In October 

Microsoft says that it will be updating Windows 11 with even more features in October, including:

– Enhancements to File Explorer, such as bringing tabs to File Explorer to help the user with organisation and making the new homepage in File Explorer give quick access to favourite and recent files. This will enable the pinning of important files for quick and easy access and an ‘at a glance’ view of colleagues’ actions on a user’s shared files through OneDrive and personalised suggestions based on the user’s Microsoft 365 account.

– New photo management and aesthetic features, plus making it easier to backup to OneDrive for the Photos app.

– Suggested Actions on Copy, such as copying phone numbers, future dates, and getting suggested actions like making a call with Teams or Skype or adding an event in the Calendar app.

– Adding an overflow menu button to the Taskbar so users can keep the screen less cluttered and view all overflowed apps in one space.

– The ability to share to discover and share more devices including desktops using nearby share.

– A set of new accessibility features, which include system-wide live captions to automatically generate captions from any form of audio content on Windows 11.

– Green features, such as scheduling updates at points in the day that could result in lower carbon emissions.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

More tech commentators are now suggesting in their reviews that the improvements delivered in the Windows 11 22H2 update may enough to persuade so-far hesitant businesses that now is the time upgrade to Windows 11. The update being geared towards the needs of flexible and hybrid working and its focus on providing more tools and improvements to boost security and productivity, and to make it easier and faster for users to get things done are likely to be appealing to many businesses. Some less enthusiastic reviews of the update have suggested that it is too subtle, with some of the improvements hidden, and some expected features left out but as Microsoft has said, more features will be added in October.

Following the announcement by the USB Promoter Group of the imminent arrival of the new USB4® Version 2.0 connectivity standard, we look at what is, and what advantages it offers.

What Is USB4 Version 2.0? 

USB4® Version 2.0 specification (USB4 2.0) is the name for the newest Universal Serial Bus standard, which is the plug-and-play external interface used on computers and other digital devices to transfer data through a cable. USB4 is a new standard of connectivity, and as new standards and versions come along, the newest ones tend to have faster data transfer rates than the previous ones. When released, USB4 2.0 will be one of the fastest connectivity standards available, beating Thunderbolt 4.

This new Next generation USB standard follows on from USB 3.2 (SuperSpeed USB), which was introduced in February 2019, and marked a new level of data transfer speed reached for the standard at 20 Gigabits per second (Gbps), and 40 Gigabits per second (Gbps) using Intel’s Thunderbolt 3 port (later made available generic USB-C® ports).

How much of an improvement is USB4 2.0? 

The USB Promoter Group, the group of tech companies that develops the USB family of specifications, says that the USB4® Version 2.0 specification is “a major update” which will “enable up to 80 Gbps of data performance over the USB Type-C® cable and connector”. This will be a doubling of data transfer speeds over the existing standard.

The USB Promoter Group, which includes Apple Inc., Hewlett-Packard Inc., Intel Corporation, and Microsoft, also says that the USB Type-C ® and USB Power Delivery (USB PD) specifications will also be updated to enable this higher level of data performance.

Other improvements that the release of this new connectivity standard will bring include:

– Updates to data and display protocols to better use the increase in available bandwidth.

– USB data architecture updates that enable USB 3.2 data tunnelling to exceed 20 Gbps.

– Alignment with the latest versions of the DisplayPort and PCIe specifications.

– Backward compatibility with USB4 Version 1.0, USB 3.2, USB 2.0, and Thunderbolt™ 3. This means that the new standard can be used with existing USB cables rather than having to buy new ones, i.e. existing USB4 cables that can currently hit 40Gbps will be able to hit 80Gbps when the new standard is released.

– When performing two simultaneous tasks, USB4 2.0 can prioritise how much data to send to each, thereby minimising disruption for each task. For example, using USB4 2.0 for simultaneously supplying video to a monitor and saving files to an external drive will not adversely affect the video.

Criticism 

Although the promise of double the data transfer rate using your existing cables sometime in the near future is good news, some critics have questioned why there wasn’t simply a push for USB5 rather than a new version. Others have noted that the wait for new branding and marketing guidelines could mean that users may still need to be careful when buying USB-C cables, and that specific and often expensive cables have been required to take advantage of the features of the standard up until now, with the idea of a cheap, standard, single connector still seemingly a long way off.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

A doubling of data transfer speeds over USB Type-C® cable and connectors, without the need to buy new cables to get the new speed is likely to be very good news, particularly for developers at whom the update is targeted at this time. Also, as the USB Promoter Group’s Chairman, Brad Saunders, points out: “Solutions seeing the most benefit from this speed enhancement include higher performance displays, storage, and USB-based hubs and docks.” Although the news of the impending introduction of USB4 2.0 has been generally well received, it has been noted by some that a lag before branding and marketing guidelines catch up could mean that consumers need to be careful when buying USB-C cables, and that the ease and conveniences of being able to buy cheap standard cables and connectors are still a way off.

UK communications regulator Ofcom has announced that it will soon be launching a market study under the Enterprise Act 2002 into competition in the UK’s cloud sector and its ‘hyperscalers’.

What Is The Enterprise Act 2002? 

The Enterprise Act 2002, which came into force on 20 June 2003, reformed competition, and consumer law enforcement in the UK to empower consumers, and to give competition authorities, e.g. the Office of Fair Trading (the OFT) a stronger role in ensuring that markets work well.

What Are ‘Hyperscalers’ And What’s The Issue? 

‘Hyperscalers’ is the term given to the three companies which collectively generate the vast majority of revenues – around 81 per cent – in the UK public cloud infrastructure services market, namely Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and Google.

It could be argued that with cloud services now an essential part of how products are delivered to telecoms users (and viewers and listeners of TV, radio, and audio content), with those users not able to manage the services themselves, and with those services apparently dominated by just 3 big players, consumer choice may be limited. Also, other consequences for businesses and consumers of a cloud market dominated by just a few big players could include higher prices, lower service quality, and reduced innovation.

Market Study 

Ofcom’s impending market study will, therefore, examine the causes of why the £15bn public cloud infrastructure services market may not currently be working well in the interests of consumers.

Looking At What? 

Ofcom says its study will look at:

– How the market is working today and how it’s expected to develop in the future. Ofcom’s study is also intended to identify any potential competition concerns early to prevent them becoming embedded as the market matures and will invite views from interested or affected parties.

– Following the investigation, Ofcom says it will consult on its interim findings and publish a final report within 12 months.

What If The Market’s Found Not To Be Working Well For Consumers? 

If the investigation finds that the market is not working well for consumers, steps Ofcom may take include:

– Recommendations to government to change regulations or policy;

– Take competition or consumer enforcement action;

– Make a market investigation reference to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA);

– Accept undertakings in lieu of making a market investigation reference.

WhatsApp, Zoom and Smart Speakers In Ofcom’s Sights Too

Ofcom says that, over the next year, it will also examining other digital markets, including online personal communication apps and devices for accessing audio-visual content.

Areas of interest will be, for example:

– How services like WhatsApp, FaceTime, and Zoom are affecting the role of traditional calling and messaging.

– How competition and innovation in these markets could evolve over the coming years.

– Trying to understand whether any limitations on their ability to interact with each other raises potential concerns.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

It’s unlikely to come as a surprise to Amazon (AWS), Microsoft, and Google, who, between them, generate around 81 per cent of UK public cloud infrastructure services market revenues that a market competition study was on the cards soon. The study and its findings, however, are going to take at least a year so there’s no threat to the dominance of the ‘hyperscalers’ in the very near future. If it’s decided at the end of the study that action needs to be taken by Ofcom, this could be good news for business customers in terms of greater choice, lower prices, and perhaps better, more innovative services. It could also be good news for smaller players too, who may be struggling to compete against the dominance of the hyperscalers at the moment. The meteoric rise, particularly over pandemic lockdowns, and fast market share gain of apps like Zoom, plus the apparent dominance of big players like Amazon in the smart speaker market also mean that an investigation of these apps and services is also no surprise and probably overdue. This could be good news for other smart speaker and chat/comms apps makers as well as more traditional calling and messaging service operators, and, of course, consumers who may benefit from greater choice.

Following a move by the Iranian government to restrict access to Meta’s WhatsApp, the company has said in a tweet that it “will do anything” within its technical ability to keep its service up and running for Iranian users.

What Happened? 

After protests which followed the death of a woman, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, in police custody in Tehran, residents and internet watchdog NetBlocks reported that Iran had curbed access to two of the last remaining social networks in the country, Meta ‘s Instagram and WhatsApp.

Nation-Scale Loss of Connectivity

NetBlocks , the watchdog organisation, founded in 2017, that monitors cybersecurity and the governance of the internet reported that following the protests there had been a “nation-scale loss of connectivity” on Iran’s main mobile telephone provider and another company’s network. Reports also indicate that:

– WhatsApp’s servers have been disrupted on multiple internet providers.

– Instagram’s services were blocked.

– Internet services were disrupted in Tehran (texts could be sent but not pictures), and more severely disrupted in parts of Kurdistan province in west Iran.

WhatsApp Says… 

WhatsApp tweeted about the disruption to its service saying: “We exist to connect the world privately. We stand with the rights of people to access private messaging. We are not blocking Iranian numbers. We are working to keep our Iranian friends connected and will do anything within our technical capacity to keep our service up and running.” 

Iran Says… 

There were conflicting messages between Iran’s minister of communications Issa Zarepour, who was first quoted as saying that restrictions to the internet could be applied “for security reasons.” This, however, was corrected by Iran’ ISNA news agency which used a different quote with no mention of security to say that there had been some temporary restrictions in some places, which had been resolved.

Happened Before 

It’s not the first time that Internet restrictions have followed protests in Iran. For example, in 2019, following protests, the Internet in Iran was shut down for about a week.

In Many Countries 

As shown on the NetBlocks website, it is often the case that in many countries, where there are anti-government protest or conflict, internet services and access to communications apps are restricted. For example, TikTok is reported to be restricted in Azerbaijan and Armenia on multiple internet providers amid clashes between the two countries over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and YouTube was recently disrupted on multiple internet providers in Pakistan as former Prime Minister Imran Khan attempted to make a live broadcast to the public (despite a ban).

WhatsApp is banned / blocked in many countries around the world including Dubai and The UAE, China, North Korea, Qatar, Turkey, and Syria.

What Does This Mean For Your Business? 

In the UK and other democracies, citizens are used to certain freedoms, especially where the Internet and communications apps are concerned and any attempt to restrict open communication is met with scrutiny by rights organisations and media outlets, e.g. Amber Rudd’s push to get backdoor access to WhatsApp following the London terrorist attacks in 2017. In many other countries, however, restricting Internet access (thereby restricting access to information which could be used against governments) is seen as a legitimate response by certain governments and regimes. In addition to effects on the freedom of citizens, disruptions to Internet services affect all users, including businesses. Reports from Russia (which has tested its own complete switch-off from the wider Internet), a huge country which is dependent on online services, indicate that since its invasion of Ukraine, .ru domains have only been online intermittently, and Russians have discovered that it is now difficult to pay for private networking apps since Visa and Mastercard have pulled out. The Internet and the Web have transformed the sharing of information, global trade, and business, but inequalities exist around the world in terms of how comfortable governments are with the free flow of information, and how prepared they are to stifle that flow.