Technology - Google News

New Windows 10 Start menu: Microsoft shows this new design that sidelines Live Tiles - ZDNet
Galaxy Note 20 in development with 128GB of base storage - SamMobile
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition is now part of the Master Chief Collection on PC - TechRadar India

New Windows 10 Start menu: Microsoft shows this new design that sidelines Live Tiles - ZDNet

Posted: 04 Mar 2020 03:45 AM PST

Microsoft has given a sneak peek at a new Windows 10 Start Menu design that lets the company's new batch of icons shine without the solid-color Live Tile blocks familiar to users.

Revealed by the company's Windows Insider team and designers, the new concept shows what the company is planning for a future version of Windows 10. The new Start Menu ditches Live Tiles and helps emphasize Microsoft's new Fluent Design app logos, which are intended to create a consistent entry point to its apps for Windows 10, iOS, and Android.

Windows 10

Brandon LeBlanc of the Windows Insider team insists Microsoft's new concept "doesn't mean that Live Tiles are going away".

However, the demonstration suggests Microsoft could soon diverge from the original concept of Live Tiles introduced in Window 10 in 2015.

SEE: 20 pro tips to make Windows 10 work the way you want (free PDF)

It would also bring the desktop interface in line with Microsoft's dual-screen Windows 10X Start Menu, which eschews Live Tiles for app icons.

Microsoft currently plans to lets users turn off Live Tiles to reveal the new icon interface. The idea is to present a visually unified design for the Start Menu compared with what Microsoft says was "a somewhat chaotic color". It also wants to introduce the change without annoying Windows 10 users who like Live Tiles.

The new Start Menu would introduce a more "acrylic, fluent theme" compared with the bright, solid colors that aren't consistent with its Fluent Design System.

The design change is meant to offer better support for system-wide light and dark modes, offering users a cleaner design in either mode.

Microsoft has been toying with the idea of removing Live Tiles for at least a year, well before it revealed Windows 10X for the Surface Neo and other dual-screen Windows devices.

In Microsoft's before-and-after demonstration, it's clear why the company's designers want to veer away from solid blocks of color.

Fluent Design icons for apps like Edge, Word, and Outlook are overshadowed by each tile's dominant colors. Without the tile, each app's icon stands out and is more obvious to users.

SEE: Microsoft is discontinuing Cortana consumer skills starting with Windows 10 20H1

Microsoft's creative director, Christina Koehn, earlier this month explained why Windows 10 tiles don't really fit with its shift away from flat icons.

"Flat, monochrome icons look great in context of colorful tiles, but as more icon styles enter the ecosystem, this approach needs to evolve," she wrote.

"When icons in the taskbar and Start menu are different styles, it creates more cognitive load to scan and find applications."

The new concept in dark and light modes helps emphasize Microsoft's new Fluent Design app logos.
Image: Microsoft

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Galaxy Note 20 in development with 128GB of base storage - SamMobile

Posted: 04 Mar 2020 05:26 AM PST

Samsung has got its first big flagship launch of the year out of the way so the company can now focus on what's due in the second half of 2020. Fans of the company are already looking forward to the Galaxy Note 20, which might be what Samsung ends up calling the device after it shook up its naming strategy with the Galaxy S20. The company already has the Galaxy Note 20 in development, that's not going to surprise anybody, but it appears that the company might revert to 128GB of base storage on the upcoming device.

We hear that the SM-N981, one of the models of the Galaxy Note 20, will feature 128GB of base storage. For the sake of comparison, the Galaxy Note 10 5G (N971) featured 256GB of internal storage. The Galaxy Note 10 may feature 256GB of internal storage but it doesn't have a microSD card slot. It's only the Galaxy Note 10+ that does. So Samsung may have decided to reduce the amount of internal storage offered on the base model of its next flagship smartphone.

There's a good chance the Galaxy Note 20 will have a microSD card slot

That obviously bodes well for the presence of a microSD card slot on the Galaxy Note 20 since it would be unwise to limit a flagship smartphone to just 128GB of storage in this day and age. It also wouldn't make sense because many of the camera upgrades that Samsung introduced with the Galaxy S20 will undoubtedly make their way to the Galaxy Note 20. The handset is going to need a significant amount of space to store large photos and 8K video from the new cameras.

It's unclear at this point in time if Samsung is going to launch three separate variants of the Galaxy Note 20, particularly if it wants to accommodate everything that the Galaxy S20 Ultra offers into the Galaxy Note 20 lineup. It's safe to assume that there will at least be two which will succeed the Galaxy Note 10 and the Galaxy Note 10+. We expect to have more clarity on the Galaxy Note 20 lineup in the coming days. There will obviously be many leaks before the handset is due to arrive. If history is any indication, the Galaxy Note 20 lineup should be announced around August this year.

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Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition is now part of the Master Chief Collection on PC - TechRadar India

Posted: 03 Mar 2020 02:48 PM PST

We learned just yesterday that Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition could be coming soon to the PC version of Halo: The Master Chief Collection. But we didn't expect 'soon' would mean 'a day later.' Yet, in a surprise launch, the remaster of the original Halo is now available on Steam, the Microsoft Store, and Xbox Game Pass.

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary has joined Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC with @XboxGamePassPC, @MicrosoftStore, & @Steam!https://t.co/iUUgn1pYnZ pic.twitter.com/ZrbOL196mOMarch 3, 2020

Xbox Game Pass subscribers and owners of Halo: The Master Chief Collection now have access to the game. You can also buy it as a standalone title for $10, the same price as Halo: Reach, which was the first remastered game in the Collection to become available in December 2019.

The PC edition of the Halo: The Master Chief Collection had consisted solely of Reach since then, and players have been eagerly awaiting the remaining games, which will be added piecemeal. Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo 4 are still to come for the collection.

Old Master Chief, modern conveniences

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition is the first time since 2003 that the Master Chief's inaugural adventure has come to PC gaming. This release brings the original Halo campaign up to speed with performance expected of modern desktop gaming.

It supports high frame rates (60+) as well as variable frame rates. If your computer can handle it, it will also run at 4K Ultra HD resolution and ultra-wide aspect ratios. It's topped off with updated textures and shadows.

The game also has native keyboard and mouse support and a customizable field-of-view. These will help PC players feel right at home with their controls as they dive into the original campaign or hop online to compete with other players in the many classic PvP maps.

You can see the game on Steam here and on the Microsoft Store here.

Now it's time to wait for Halo 2: Anniversary to hit the collection.

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