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Windows 11 reset: Microsoft pledges more speed, stability, and control

PCWorld

Microsoft is implementing a major Windows 11 reset focused on improving performance, reliability, and user experience following widespread user complaints about system quality and AI integration. PCWorld reports that Copilot's presence will be significantly scaled back, removing it from apps like Notepad, Snipping Tool, and Photos due to user pushback against excessive AI features. Expected improvements include enhanced system stability, repositioned Taskbar, better Start menu functionality, and a more responsive overall experience with tangible progress visible in preview builds. Over the past few months, Microsoft senior executives have quietly made a promise to me directly, as well as to other journalists: They're going to improve Windows.



This Matter-compatible smart light switch is 2 for 20 now

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The TP-Link Tapo S505 smart light switch is on sale at Amazon. Grab this 2-pack for just $20 while the deal lasts. My smart home life became so much better once I swapped out my old light switches for Tapo ones. The benefits were many, including that I no longer had to get off the couch to turn off the lights--great in the winter when I was already cozy under the blankets!


Windows 11 update breaks Microsoft app logins. Try this workaround

PCWorld

PCWorld reports that Windows 11's March update KB5079473 is causing login failures across Microsoft apps including Teams, OneDrive, Xbox app, and Microsoft Store. Users encounter "You'll need the Internet for this" errors or code 0x800704cf despite having active internet connections after the problematic update. Microsoft recommends restarting your PC while connected to the internet as a temporary workaround, with an official patch expected soon. Ever since Windows 11's big March update, users have reported login issues with certain apps. At the very least, apps that require a Microsoft account are affected, including Teams, OneDrive, Microsoft 365 Copilot, the Xbox app, and the Microsoft Store.


Windows 11's free video editor Clipchamp now requires OneDrive

PCWorld

PCWorld reports that Microsoft's Clipchamp video editor in Windows 11 now mandates OneDrive for saving and editing video projects. This change significantly impacts users who prefer local storage, as locally saved projects become uneditable archives that cannot be modified. New Clipchamp projects automatically sync to OneDrive accounts, though media files within projects may not always require cloud synchronization. Microsoft is changing how Clipchamp--the built-in free video editor for Windows 11--works. The program now requires video projects to be saved to Microsoft's OneDrive cloud storage service in order to continue editing them, reports Windows Latest .


It's so easy to do bad things with Canva's Magic Layers

PCWorld

PCWorld reports that Canva's new Magic Layers AI feature converts images into editable templates, allowing users to modify text, remove objects, and edit individual elements within photos. The tool poses significant disinformation risks by enabling easy manipulation of news content while preserving credible visual elements like logos and matching original fonts seamlessly. Magic Layers requires a Canva Pro subscription and can make AI-generated fake content appear more polished than originals, complicating detection efforts. I know that there is indeed something good and useful about Canva's Magic Layers tool, which uses AI to transform an image into an editable template. But all I can think of it is how people can and will use it for nefarious purposes. Canva's Magic Layers tool was launched last week .


The Download: Quantum computing for health, and why the world doesn't recycle more nuclear waste

MIT Technology Review

The Download: Quantum computing for health, and why the world doesn't recycle more nuclear waste Plus: The FBI has admitted it's buying Americans' location data. In a laboratory on the outskirts of Oxford, a quantum computer built from atoms and light awaits its moment. The device is small but powerful--and also very valuable. Infleqtion, the company that owns it, is hoping its abilities will win $5 million at a competition next week. The prize will go to the quantum computer that can solve real health care problems that conventional "classical" computers are unable to solve. But there can be only one big winner--if there is a winner at all.


Can quantum computers now solve health care problems? We'll soon find out.

MIT Technology Review

I'm standing in front of a quantum computer built out of atoms and light at the UK's National Quantum Computing Centre on the outskirts of Oxford. On a laboratory table, a complex matrix of mirrors and lenses surrounds a Rubik's Cube-size cell where 100 cesium atoms are suspended in grid formation by a carefully manipulated laser beam. The cesium atom setup is so compact that I could pick it up, carry it out of the lab, and put it on the backseat of my car to take home. I'd be unlikely to get very far, though.


Firefox is rolling out its free VPN and split-screen mode soon

PCWorld

PCWorld reports that Firefox 149 launches next week with major new features including a free built-in VPN offering 50 GB monthly data in the US, Germany, France, and UK. The update introduces split-screen mode for side-by-side tab viewing and the ability to add organizational notes to tabs for improved workflow management. Additional features coming this spring include a simplified settings menu and AI window integration, marking significant enhancements for privacy and multitasking. Mozilla announced via blog post that it'll be launching Firefox 149 next week, and with this update the company will begin rolling out a number of features it has been talking about for quite some time now. First up is the browser's new built-in free "VPN" service, which we've been hearing about since last October . With it, Firefox users will be able to route up to 50 GB of data per month through Mozilla's proxy servers.


Nvidia's DLSS 5 isn't a tool. It's an invasion

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. When AI starts redrawing characters and lighting, who's really in control of the art? Because it makes a game look how Nvidia thinks it should look--and uses AI to do it. Nvidia's newly-announced DLSS 5 is an Nvidia feature that injects new details like textures and lighting via generative AI into supported games, all done using the GPU. It's quickly become the focal point of an increasingly vicious battle between human artists and AI.