TechCapsules

Apple Music received two feature upgrades in the iOS 27.3 developer beta released this week. The most prominent addition is “Selfie Sing,” a karaoke‑style video mode that lets users record themselves singing along to tracks and share the clips on social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. The feature was uncovered by beta tester Aaron Perris and can be accessed via a dedicated “Selfie Sing” playlist. A second enhancement improves the landscape lyrics view: animated album artwork now extends into the [...]

Apple released macOS 27.3 developer beta 1, which permanently blocks eight eMudhra certificates that were found in October to use absurdly short cryptographic keys, some as short as a single digit. The certificates, issued in April 2025, had been trusted for TLS and code‑signing across Apple, Chrome, Microsoft and Mozilla root stores. Earlier patches stopped their use on iOS, iPadOS and other platforms, but macOS’s curl tool ignored revocation data, leaving older Macs vulnerable. The new update [...]

DuckDuckGo is courting K‑12 schools after Google announced it would disable its Gemini AI tools but warned that turning off all AI features would also remove Google Search. The move opens a niche for the search engine, which promotes an AI‑free experience. Google’s ecosystem powers roughly 50 million Chromebooks and serves over 150 million Classroom users, giving it a foothold. DuckDuckGo’s CEO Gabriel Weinberg posted instructions for schools to set the company’s engine as the default, while chief Kamyl [...]

Apple TV announced two upcoming series this week. The streaming service confirmed “Lenni,” a darkly comedic mystery starring Toni Collette as a child‑welfare worker whose personal life spirals while she tackles a high‑stakes case. The show adapts Norway’s hit “Pernille” and includes a supporting cast featuring Ciarán Hinds, Dan Wyllie, Josh McKenzie and others; production is underway in Sydney, though a premiere date has not been set. Separately, Variety reported that Justin Timber‑Lake will return to Apple TV [...]

Apple TV is preparing a sequel to its dystopian series “Silo,” according to industry‑insider Sigmund Judge, who has previously broken similar stories. The new project will enter pre‑production later this year and will extend the narrative beyond the show’s fourth and final season, which concludes the television adaptation of Hugh Howey’s novels. Sources say standing sets remain on the lot and hiring for the expansion has already begun, though no premiere date has been set because filming [...]

Apple’s iOS 27.3 beta 1 has been released, and 9to5Mac’s Daily podcast episode for November 4, 2026 covers the update along with other top Apple stories. Hosted by Seth Kurkowski, the 30‑minute recap is distributed via Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and an RSS feed for Overcast and similar players. Listeners are encouraged to submit feedback to happyhour@9to5mac.com, rate the show on Apple Podcasts, or recommend it on Overcast to boost discoverability. The episode also includes standard FTC disclosures about [...]

Microsoft has enhanced Outlook Classic’s search by adding a relevance‑ranked set that can display up to seven top results, replacing the previous limit of three. The update also enables Outlook Classic to fall back to Windows Search when cloud search is slow or offline, improving reliability for locally stored emails and attachments. These changes are rolling out immediately, while similar features for New Outlook remain in development. The update aims to make email retrieval faster and more [...]

Union workers at Arkane Studios allege Microsoft sabotaged the development of Marvel’s Blade, citing a 19‑month hiring freeze that caused delays and extra costs. The STJV letter claims Microsoft used these inflated costs to justify closing the studio, despite the game nearing completion. Arkane, which employs 217 staff, is seeking a buyer and demands fair redundancy payments, redeployment support, and training resources. Microsoft’s quarterly report shows $36.6 billion net income, while the union argues the studio’s profitability is [...]