TechCapsules

Microsoft promised to cut advertising in Windows 11, yet its optional Bing Wallpaper app has resurfaced with ad‑ware‑like behavior. After a recent update, any left‑click on the desktop background launches Bing.com in the user’s default browser, a feature that first appeared in 2025 and was previously toggleable. Tests by Windows Latest show the redirect occurs only once every 24 hours, making it easy to miss, and the toggle to disable it is no longer present. The app also displays pop‑ups [...]

Senior Business Strategy Manager Brandon Stirrup of Xbox used a weekend project—a rudimentary “bad game” built with AI prompts—to publicly acknowledge that Microsoft is already leveraging artificial intelligence in game creation. In a social‑media post, he warned that his candidness could cost him his job, arguing that AI is lowering development barriers and that the gaming sector is uniquely resistant because of negative user sentiment. Stirrup noted that while other entertainment fields have embraced AI, gaming leaders [...]

Windows 11 still blocks the creation of files or folders named CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1‑COM9 or LPT1‑LPT9, treating them as legacy device identifiers inherited from MS‑DOS. Testing on a 26H2 build showed the rule works for bare names but fails for extensions: NUL.txt and CON.txt are accepted despite Microsoft’s documentation claiming they map to the device names. Engineer Raymond Chen traced the restriction to DOS 1.0, when a single directory existed and these names served as shortcuts [...]

Apple stores in Bordeaux and Lille were looted amid France’s expanding protests, which now involve roughly 600,000 demonstrators. The first attack occurred at the Apple Sainte‑Catherine outlet in Bordeaux, carried out by groups of French youth, and was followed hours later by a similar raid on the Lille location. The unrest also saw luxury retailers Hermès and Louis Vuitton targeted and ransacked. The incidents unfolded as authorities struggled to contain the widespread disorder that began on October [...]

Apple’s new iPhone Duo foldable launched on Friday with pre‑orders opening, but estimated delivery dates immediately slipped, with many early buyers now facing shipments in January 2025. The rapid shift highlights Apple’s difficulty forecasting demand for a first‑generation foldable, a product category that combines high consumer interest with complex manufacturing, especially around the hinge mechanism. Analysts warn that excess demand could alienate loyal customers, while excess supply would be interpreted as a flop. Apple appears to have [...]

Apple announced the acquisition of Zurich‑based AI audio‑editing startup Samplab, a move that is expected to deepen the AI features of its Logic Pro digital‑audio workstation. Samplab, founded in 2020 by Manuel Fritsche and Gian‑Marco Hutter, offered a plugin capable of granular stem separation, chord detection and note‑level editing. The EU public acquisitions list shows Apple will purchase certain assets and retain some Samplab staff, though the company may have employed only its two founders. Apple has [...]

Even Healthcare secured $50 million in an all‑equity Series B round led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Alpha Wave, valuing the Indian health‑tech startup at $300 million—triple its valuation 18 months earlier. The funding brings total capital raised to over $120 million and will finance the construction and operation of new hospitals, expanding from two profitable facilities in Bengaluru to five additional sites within six months. Even’s model departs from India’s fee‑for‑service norm by leasing buildings, paying doctors fixed salaries, and tying [...]

Apple’s regulatory filing for the iPhone Duo disclosed a combined battery capacity of 4,883 mAh, split between a 2,962 mAh primary cell and a 1,921 mAh secondary cell. This places the Duo squarely between the iPhone 18 Pro’s 4,288 mAh battery and the iPhone 18 Pro Max’s 5,567 mAh unit, making it one of the largest capacities in the current lineup, surpassed only by the two newest Pro Max models. The Duo’s dual‑cell design also means a physically larger battery pack, though heavy use of its larger internal [...]