Technology - Google News

Windows 11 is a new and refreshing approach to an old and familiar home - The Verge
LG’s Mini LED TVs to release in the US starting in July - The Verge
Amazon’s latest Alexa trick is helping kids read - The Verge

Windows 11 is a new and refreshing approach to an old and familiar home - The Verge

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 07:20 AM PDT

Microsoft's first version of Windows appeared more than 35 years ago, marking what would become the most used operating system for personal computers. Windows has dominated my life and career for those past three decades, and yet it hasn't changed dramatically since the Start menu interface was introduced in Windows 95 (let's just pretend Windows 8 never happened).

Windows 11 isn't a massive change either, but then it's not supposed to be. Windows chief Panos Panay compared Windows to his family home last week, a place that has been renovated and changed over the years, but still manages to stay familiar and feel just like... home.

That's really what Windows 11 feels like. Microsoft has a new design, a new Start menu, and a new app store, but underneath it all, it's still the Windows you've been used to using for years. Windows 11 is a new and refreshing approach to an old and familiar home.

The biggest changes you'll find in Windows 11 will be immediately obvious. A new Start menu appears alongside a taskbar that's centered. It's clear Microsoft has taken cues from macOS, Chrome OS, and even Android and iOS here. Gone are the Live Tiles with their widget-like information, replaced instead with a launcher and your recent documents and files. I'm a big fan of this new Start menu, and I think it acts as the front door that invites you to explore a refreshed and simplified version of Windows.

Where that simplification really starts to become obvious is in the Settings interface in Windows 11. Microsoft has been trying to move away from its traditional Control Panel ever since Windows 8, and nearly 10 years later we finally have a settings area that feels very easy to use.

It took me a few hours to get used to the new Windows 11 settings, but I do like the way Microsoft has carefully refreshed this to make it easy to find the settings you need. There's a panel on the left that also lets you quickly navigate between sections, something you couldn't do on Windows 10 without jumping in and out.

Settings, like many parts of Windows 11, isn't perfect, though. If you're used to searching for things like "add / remove apps," then you'll notice that setting doesn't appear to exist anymore. There's a dedicated apps section instead, with options to uninstall apps.

Settings also still throws me into areas of Windows I don't want to see. Instead of building additional mouse settings into the main devices section, Microsoft will teleport you to a control panel applet that looks like it hasn't been touched since the Windows XP days. It's a far cry from the beautifully simple settings interface.

It's also a reminder that this is a preview version of Windows 11, and that things are a little inconsistent at times and bound to change between now and release. There's clearly more UI to be done, as the dialog box that you're thrown into in the additional mouse settings doesn't even have a dark mode if you've enabled it system-wide. That's the same across the Task Manager, the Run prompt, and many other sections of Windows 11.

If you're not a huge fan of this centered interface for Windows 11, it's easy to move the Start menu to appear on the left-hand side and keep that familiarity you're used to. Speaking of familiarity, File Explorer looks similar but different at the same time. Microsoft has overhauled the icons in Windows 11 and removed the ribbon interface in favor of a command bar. I prefer this personally, as it leaves more room for the files I want to manage.

I still think Microsoft could go much further with File Explorer to simplify things, and add tabs for power users, but there are some subtle changes here that will take some time to get used to. A new context menu is present across File Explorer, which means you now need to search for a rename icon rather than scan the context menu for the rename option. It's a tiny change, but it alters the way you use Windows 11 daily.

Another obvious change to Windows 11 is the new Widgets section. While Microsoft added a weather widget to the taskbar in Windows 10, it has now been shifted into a dedicated section that flies out from the left-hand side of the screen. This reminds me a lot of Windows Vista, but these widgets can't be dragged and dropped onto your desktop and pinned elsewhere.

I think widgets will be useful for some people, but they're certainly not for me. I also greatly dislike that Microsoft forces you into its Edge browser if you click on links in widgets, instead of respecting your default browser in the OS. The search interface in Windows 11, which remains largely unchanged, also still forces you into Edge. This a gross part of Windows 11, and I hope this changes between now and release.

As part of Microsoft's simplification effort in Windows 11, the volume fly outs, network controls, and notification center also get some subtle improvements here. I think Microsoft could still go further to simplify controlling app volumes and switching between devices, but for most people who just use a pair of headphones or a speaker the changes should be enough.

Where I really appreciate Windows 11's changes is in multitasking. Windows has long had many different ways to arrange and snap Windows, accessible through the UI, keyboard shortcuts, or context menus. Microsoft has collected these all together and now presents them in the form of Snap Layouts, a button that appears when you hover over the maximize button on most apps.

I love this approach to surfacing something that's a power user feature and allowing anyone to discover it. Coupled with Snap Groups, it should also mean that when you plug a laptop into a monitor with Windows 11, your apps don't go flying around and Windows will intelligently remember where you place them.

The last significant change to Windows 11 that we're able to test right now is the new Microsoft Store. To put it simply, Microsoft's app store for Windows has sucked since it first appeared nearly 10 years ago. Microsoft is finally allowing developers to submit any win32 traditional desktop app, and Microsoft Store has already become far more useful during a beta than it ever was before.

Apps like Zoom, OBS Studio, and Canva have already appeared in the store, just hours after Microsoft launched its Windows 11 preview. That's an encouraging start, and Microsoft has promised Adobe Creative Suite and others will also be available soon. The Store feels a lot more lightweight now, and basic things like search don't appear to break as they did often in Windows 10. I'm hoping that, coupled with Microsoft's store revenue changes, developers will list their apps here and we'll finally have a location to download Windows apps that doesn't involve people searching from .exe files across the web.

Outside of what's visible in Windows 11, Microsoft is also making some changes that will improve PC gaming thanks to the company's Xbox work. The new Xbox app will be integrated into Windows 11, offering a much better way to download and install games from Xbox Game Pass, and eventually xCloud game streaming, too. There's also the Auto HDR feature from Xbox, automatically improving compatible games where developers haven't added HDR support.

DirectStorage, the same system used on Xbox, will also appear in Windows 11 to boost load times in compatible games. And there's also Dynamic Refresh Rate, which will dynamically change refresh rates on laptops with 120Hz displays to save battery life. Microsoft is even adding in haptic feedback for stylus support in Windows 11, which means we're about to see new hardware that will make inking an even better experience.

Some of the other big changes in Windows 11 aren't quite ready to be tested yet. Microsoft Teams integration in Windows 11 isn't here yet, nor is the universal mute for microphones, or the Android apps in Windows. All of those are big changes to Windows 11 that will undoubtedly make the OS feel like an even bigger step forward beyond Windows 10.

But underneath Windows 11, it's still fundamentally Windows. Microsoft has done some impressive surface-level work here to make Windows 11 feel new, fresh, and still familiar. This is only a preview, but it's clear this OS isn't quite finished. There are some inconsistencies across built-in apps and areas of the OS where you can feel that Microsoft is still mashing together Windows from a decade ago with this modern UI.

I truly hope those inconsistencies will be cleared up in the coming months, because Windows 11 feels like a really solid foundation. Much like Panos Panay said about Windows being a home, the Windows 11 preview is a home renovation phase where Microsoft is letting us get an early look at what the builders are crafting.

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LG’s Mini LED TVs to release in the US starting in July - The Verge

Posted: 30 Jun 2021 02:03 AM PDT

LG's new range of Mini LED TVs, which it's branding "QNED," are releasing worldwide starting next month, the company has announced. The lineup consists of three sets, the 8K QNED99 and QNED95, and the 4K QNED90, but only the 8K QNED99 and 4K QNED90 are releasing in the US. The TVs range in size from 65- to 86-inches, and will launch first in North America, with additional regions following "in the weeks ahead."

Mini LED is a relatively new kind of display technology which uses an array of thousands of tiny LEDs as a screen's backlight. Because there are so many (up to 30,000 in the case of the 86-inch QNED99), they can create a sharper contrast between light and dark areas of an image. LG says the technology, which has previously been used on some TVs from TCL as well as Apple's latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, allows for "10 times better contrast ratio" than normal LCD TVs.

LG is marketing Mini LED as a "giant leap forward in LCD TV picture quality," but it's not quite at the level of an OLED TV, where its the individual pixels themselves that are illuminating to create an image (with Mini LED, the LEDs are still shining through an LCD layer). Mini LED should not be confused with Samsung's outrageously expensive MicroLED technology, which also uses an array of tiny LEDs but without the need for an LCD layer at all.

In the US, neither of LG's Mini LED TVs come cheap. The 4K QNED90 starts at $1,999 for the 65-inch model, rising to $2,999 for 75-inches, or $3,999 for 86-inches. Meanwhile the 8K version, the QNED99 starts at $3,499 for the 65-inch model, while the 75-inch version costs $4,799, and the 86-inch version costs $6,499.

Update June 30th, 11:24AM ET: Updated with LG's confirmation of US pricing.

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Amazon’s latest Alexa trick is helping kids read - The Verge

Posted: 29 Jun 2021 07:00 AM PDT

Amazon has announced a new feature for its Kids Plus service on Fire tablets and Echo smart speakers called Reading Sidekick. Designed to help kids improve their reading skills and ability, the Reading Sidekick allows kids to read either physical or digital books along with Alexa by taking turns at reading the books aloud with the digital assistant. The Reading Assistant is included in the Kids Plus service that comes with the Kids edition Fire tablets and Echo speakers or as a $2.99 per month ($4.99 without Amazon Prime) or $69 per year ($99 without Prime) subscription plan and is available starting June 29th.

The Reading Sidekick works with most Alexa-enabled devices, including the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Dot Kids, Echo Plus, and Echo Show. Once the Amazon Kids mode is enabled on the smart speaker or smart display (through the Alexa smartphone app), a child can then say "Alexa, let's read" to start the Reading Sidekick. They will then be prompted to choose a book, either physical or digital on a Fire tablet or in the Kids Plus app on other devices; opt to read a lot, a little, or take turns; and then begin reading the book. Amazon says that "over 700" books are available in the system now, with more releasing each week.

Once a book is started, Alexa will listen to the child's reading and automatically assist with pronunciations or other challenges while reading the book. It will provide encouragement through phrases like "good job!" when a child finishes a book or gets through a particularly tricky section. In the "read a little" mode, it will take the lion's share of the reading, expecting the child to follow along in the book and then read one page or paragraph every few pages. The "read a lot" mode is the opposite: the child will be expected to read four pages consecutively, with Alexa reading one after that. The "take turns" mode is simple alternation of reading a single page or paragraph between the child and Alexa.

What the Sidekick doesn't do is follow up with any sort of comprehension questions to see how much the child retained or understood from the book. There's no test or quiz component; it's best to think of this as edutainment than a replacement for a proper learning curriculum.

The Reading Sidekick works with both Alexa smart speakers and smart displays, but it won't show the text of a book on a smart display's screen, and instead uses that real estate for book recommendations. Alexa can also provide recommendations on a basic Echo speaker, so it's not necessary to use the Reading Sidekick with a screen. Parents can view the books their kids have been reading on the Kids Plus web dashboard.

Amazon says that it is also starting to roll out Alexa Voice Profiles for Kids this week. This will allow the Echo to recognize the voice of a specific child and then personalize the experience to them, which can be helpful when multiple children are sharing a single Echo device. If the child is speaking to an Echo that doesn't have the Kids mode enabled and Alexa recognizes their voice, it will switch into Kids mode and provide age-appropriate answers, filter explicit music, limit calls and messages to approved contacts, and limit access to approved skills. Parents will be able to set up to four unique voice profiles for their kids in the Alexa app.

In an interview ahead of today's announcement, Marissa Mierow, Amazon's head of Alexa learning and education, said that the Reading Sidekick is "meant to build fluency and a love of reading" within children and that Amazon developed it because of how closely reading skills are related to success in academics and social life after school.

The company says it took nearly a year to build this feature, adjusting Alexa's patience, ability to detect when a child is sounding out a difficult word and understand kids' pronunciations, and more. Mierow says the company put together an advisory council of teachers, science researchers, and curriculum experts to help guide the development of the service as it was being built. It's releasing the feature now in a hope that it will help combat the "summer slide" in reading ability that happens when kids are out of school for six to eight weeks between grades.

Mierow says the "sweet spot" age range for the Reading Sidekick is six to nine, as the child needs to have some reading ability to follow along with Alexa, even in the most simple modes. Most of the books in the supported library are aimed at these beginning readers, though there are some more advanced books for older kids who want to use the service.

I had an opportunity to try out the Reading Sidekick with my six-year-old ahead of today's announcement. We were able to test reading physical and digital books with Alexa on both a standard Echo Dot with Kids mode enabled and the recently released Echo Show 5 Kids Edition.

Based on our experience, the ideal setup for Reading Sidekick is a Fire HD Kids tablet (or the Kids Plus app on an iPad or similar device) and an audio-only Echo speaker. Though the Reading Sidekick works with physical books, my child had a hard time keeping up with Alexa as it read, since turning the page requires swifter dexterity than just swiping the screen like they can do with a digital book on a tablet. Additionally, the tablet can access the entire library of books that are compatible with the service, whereas it might be hit-or-miss with the books you have at home. (Though Amazon will highlight physical books in its store that are compatible with the Reading Sidekick.)

On the Echo Show, the Reading Sidekick app would frequently quit to the homescreen and start displaying a clock or the weather, even though Alexa was still listening to my kid reading. This was confusing for them, as they'd stop reading when they noticed that the screen changed. The recommendations on the screen are also duplicative of the recommendations on the tablet itself, rendering the screen mostly moot — the experience was just better with the speaker-only Echo. Naturally, it works best in a quiet room where Alexa can hear a child's voice easiest.

The Reading Sidekick crashed in the middle of reading a book on both devices — Alexa would just stop listening to the book and we'd have to start the whole process all over again. We were able to pick up where we left off, but it's an annoying process and I'm not sure my kid would have been able to figure it out without me there helping them through it. Amazon says this isn't something it saw during beta testing of the Reading Sidekick, but it's possible that it's related to the company expanding availability of the feature from the preview group I was in to the general population of Echo owners.

When the Sidekick was working as expected, it did help my child through sections they were having trouble reading automatically and attempted to correct some of their odd pronunciations. It also rewarded them for finishing a book with a message of encouragement. But once we were done testing the feature, my kid just wanted to play with the apps and games on the Fire tablet and didn't have much interest in reading more books.

There are, of course, some immediate concerns with having your kid read with a robot. One is privacy, though if you already have an Echo speaker in your home, this isn't really any different from that.

The larger concern might be that with the Reading Sidekick, Alexa is taking the traditional place of a parent or teacher in teaching reading. Many parents cherish the time spent teaching their children to read and see it as both a developmental and bonding activity.

Still, plenty of parents would love their kids to read more than they do and just don't have the time to devote to it due to the many obligations of modern life. The ability to have their child practice their reading with Alexa to supplement any reading they might do together as a family might be appealing. Unlike a parent, Alexa won't ever tire of reading the same book over and over.

Parents will have to reckon with their anxieties over privacy and an Amazon-powered robot teaching their child, but they'll also have to deal with the decently hefty hardware requirements. This service requires at least one Amazon device and a subscription to the Kids Plus service. It really works best when you have both an Echo speaker and a Fire HD tablet (or another tablet with the Kids Plus app), doubling the number of devices you need to buy or already own to get the most out of it.

The Reading Sidekick is an example of Amazon figuring out more ways to make Alexa and its artificial intelligence useful in our lives, while of course keeping things within the Amazon ecosystem as much as possible. It's also unlikely to be the last educational tool given to Alexa: many kids already use the virtual assistant to help with simple mathematics and other trivia questions. It's not a leap to think that's where the Alexa learning and education team might be headed next.

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