Technology - Google News

Slack’s new desktop app loads 33 percent faster and uses less RAM - The Verge
The Morning After: ASUS' new gaming phone is barely a phone - Engadget
Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4505903 Brings 20H1 Feature to Version 1903 - Softpedia News

Slack’s new desktop app loads 33 percent faster and uses less RAM - The Verge

Posted: 22 Jul 2019 08:00 AM PDT

Slack is unveiling a new version of its desktop app for Windows and macOS today that promises big performance improvements. Slack has rebuilt its desktop app to focus on speed, and the company claims Slack will now launch 33 percent faster than before. The Slack app will even use 50 percent less RAM than before, according to the company.

Both of these performance improvements will be noticeable for many of Slack's customers, but they're particularly key if you use multiple workspaces in the existing Slack desktop app. Slack has totally rebuilt the desktop app so that all of the underlying code is multi-workspace aware. The result is that Slack will no longer create a standalone copy for each workspace and take up RAM for each instance. Instead, it reuses components and uses a more modern codebase.

Slack has been working on this overhaul for two years, slowly modernizing parts of its code along the way. While the desktop apps still run on Electron, all of the UI parts have been rebuilt using React to fix some of the shortcomings of the existing Slack app. Even Slack calls should be faster to join and use with colleagues now.

Alongside these basic performance improvements, the Slack desktop app will now behave a lot better when you've got bad internet connectivity or you're simply offline. If you use Slack regularly, you'll know that when you drop off of a Wi-Fi connection, the app warns you and often doesn't let you view channels and conversations you've been having. Slack isn't introducing an "offline mode" with this latest desktop app, but it will cache your session a lot better so you can look back at messages in a channel or view conversations you were having before your connection dropped.

All of these changes are rolling out to Slack users today, and you can download the latest Slack desktop app over at the company's site.

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The Morning After: ASUS' new gaming phone is barely a phone - Engadget

Posted: 22 Jul 2019 04:33 AM PDT

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Welcome back, it's Monday time. Over the weekend, Marvel decided to announce enough superhero TV and movies to keep you going for the next few years, while another Pixel 4 leak suggests some wacky hand gestures might be coming to Google's next flagship phone. To celebrate the Apollo 11 Moon landing, we also have several stories behind the historic first steps on the moon.

With an updated dual-screen dock and Switch-like controllers, it's barely a phone.
ASUS' ROG Phone II combines high-spec power with accessory spectacle

Somewhere, between all those accessories, there's a phone. Yep, ASUS is trying its hand at a dedicated Android gaming phone, and it's got a beastly spec sheet and any peripheral you could imagine. For mobile gamers, this might be nirvana. But what about the rest of us? Richard Lai went hands-on.

Who needs more screen when you can wave your hand?
Google Pixel 4 leak fuels rumors of hand gesture control

Those rumors of the Pixel 4 sporting hand gesture control just became more tangible. A leak shows the detached bezels for the Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL with a conspicuous hole on the right side. Given that this hole hasn't been visibly occupied by cameras or other visual sensors in previous leaks, it appears to be a cutout for a radar that would let you perform gestures without poking at the screen.

That iconic image.
The Big Picture: Neil Armstrong's Buzz Aldrin photo is unparalleled in art

Few would deny that Neil Armstrong's shot of fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin is one of the most famous and compelling photos ever taken. What makes it so iconic? Of course, he had access to a place that only 11 other human beings have been, but there's more to it than that. The photo itself is well composed, full of incredible details and charged with the energy of the occasion. How Armstrong got it is a story of not just luck, but preparation and a great eye.

Microsoft's AR headset is making an impact both on and off the planet.How HoloLens is helping advance the science of spaceflight

Augmented reality hasn't yet exploded, despite tech companies' best efforts. Mixed reality technology, however, has garnered sizable interest in professional industries. Since 2015, the technology has even made its way into aerospace where NASA and its partners have leveraged Microsoft's HoloLens platform to revolutionize spacecraft construction and how astronauts perform their duties in orbit.

Microsoft and NASA's partnership began on June 28th, 2015, as part of Project Sidekick when a SpaceX supply rocket docked with the ISS and delivered the headsets to the waiting astronauts. Sam Scimemi, director of the ISS program at NASA said in a 2015 press release, "This new technology could also empower future explorers requiring greater autonomy on the journey to Mars."

But wait, there's more...

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Windows 10 Cumulative Update KB4505903 Brings 20H1 Feature to Version 1903 - Softpedia News

Posted: 21 Jul 2019 10:19 PM PDT

Microsoft could bring a feature originally developed for Windows 10 20H1 to the latest stable build of the operating system.

A bunch of changes to Windows Ink Workspace were announced as part of Windows 10 build 18912, with Microsoft explaining that it's redesigning the UI to improve usability.

"Windows Ink Workspace is smaller with a direct link to our Microsoft Whiteboard app, providing you with rich ideation and collaboration capabilities. If you used Sketchpad, don't worry. We saved the sketch you were working on (in your Pictures folder). In addition, the Windows Ink Workspace allows you to quickly capture your screen and annotate it with the improved Snip and Sketch app. We heard your feedback and we have streamlined the Windows Ink Workspace for you," Dona Sarkar, head of the Windows Insider program, explained.

Windows 10 20H1 due in the spring

While Windows 10 20H1 is projected to be released in the spring of 2020 with these Windows Ink Workspace improvements built-in, it now looks like the same refinements could make their way to Windows 10 version 1903 as well.

Windows 10 version 1903, or May 2019 Update, is the latest stable release of Windows 10.

Microsoft has reportedly started testing the same Windows Ink Workspace improvements on Windows 10 version 1903 with the release of cumulative update KB4505903, which was pushed to insiders in the Release Preview ring last week.

The software giant is yet to confirm that it's bringing these improvements to Windows 10 version 1903 too.

In the meantime, we should still wait for an official announcement, as the Release Preview ring is used by Microsoft for testing purposes, so there's a small chance that the company can always remove the new Windows Ink Workspace tweaks from the next cumulative update for production devices.

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