News

Windows 11 Is Coming: Here’s What To Expect

Wondering what the next-generation of Microsoft’s OS will look like? Here’s a glimpse.

Published

4 months ago

June 16, 2021

Joanna

windows 11 is coming here's what to expect

The Verge

Never say never. Even though Microsoft previously stated that Windows 10 is the last version of Windows ever to be released, we now have a strong reason to believe that the company has changed its mind. In a promotional tweet for the upcoming Microsoft Event, which is scheduled to take place on June 24th at 11 am ET, the Windows team shared an animated image of sunlight in the shape of the number eleven shining through a window, suggesting Windows 11.

Join us June 24th at 11 am ET for the #MicrosoftEvent to see what’s next. https://t.co/kSQYIDZSyi pic.twitter.com/Emb5GPHOf0

— Windows (@Windows) June 2, 2021

Unfortunately, that’s all we know about Windows 11 at this point. However, the lack of official information doesn’t stop us from talking about the features and improvements that Microsoft is likely working on.

Unified User Interface Design

windows 11 user interface design

The user interface of Windows 10 is still inconsistent, even though the operating system was first released in 2015. Just open a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app, such as Microsoft Store, next to a Win32 app, such as Control Panel, and you’ll instantly see what we’re talking about.

Microsoft is already in the process of changing legacy icons to a brand-new icon set, and we expect Windows 11 to bring even more user interface improvements, finally unifying the look and feel of the operating system.

Xbox Streaming

windows 11 xbox streaming

Microsoft’s all-inclusive pass to the world of Xbox, called Xbox Game Pass, has been a great success, and the company can make it even more irresistible by allowing Xbox Series X / S owners to stream their favorite titles on PC.

Considering that we’re currently in the middle of a huge GPU shortage, it’s basically guaranteed that many gamers would be more than happy to give up some latency to play the latest shooter games using mouse and keyboard.

More Advanced Features

windows 11 advanced features

Microsoft has been making Windows power users happy by continuously expanding its set of freeware system utilities, called Microsoft PowerToys. The currently available utilities include a system-wide color picking utility, a window manager, add-ons that enable preview pane rendering in File Explorer, a Windows Shell Extension for quickly resizing images, and more.

Also Read: Microsoft To Finally Retire Internet Explorer In 2022

We expect some of these utilities to be integrated directly into Windows 11, which would help Microsoft further establish its operating system as the best choice for professionals.

News

Facebook Will Create 10,000 Jobs In The EU To Build Its Metaverse

Facebook decided to invest in the EU because the company believes that European talent is world-leading, supported by first-class universities.

Published

4 hours ago

October 21, 2021

David

facebook will create 10,000 jobs in the eu to build its metaverse

Getty Images

Facebook has announced that it wants to create 10,000 jobs in the European Union (EU) to build its metaverse, a virtual reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users.

The concept of the metaverse can be traced to Neal Stephenson’s 1992 cyberpunk novel Snow Crash. In the novel, the metaverse is a virtual shared space that appears to its users as an urban environment. This space is accessed through personal terminals connected to virtual reality goggles.

Sound familiar? That’s because the metaverse is quickly becoming a reality thanks to companies like Oculus, a subsidiary of Facebook, and the combined effort of developers and content creators from around the world.

By creating thousands of new high-skilled jobs within the EU over the next five years, Facebook wants to accelerate the development of the metaverse to usher in a new phase of interconnected virtual experiences, enabled by technologies like virtual and augmented reality.

“At its heart is the idea that by creating a greater sense of ‘virtual presence,’ interacting online can become much closer to the experience of interacting in person,” said Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice-president of global affairs. “The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social and economic opportunities”.

According to the official announcement, Facebook decided to invest in the EU because the company believes that European talent is world-leading, supported by first-class universities. Facebook also mentioned the role European policymakers are playing in shaping the internet, so it’s likely that the investment has a political dimension to it.

Also Read: How To Lock Your Facebook Profile (From Mobile & Desktop)

Aware of its tarnished reputation, the social media giant stressed that no single company would own and operate the metaverse — just like no single company owns the internet today. Of course, that doesn’t change anything about the fact that Facebook wants to play a huge role in it.

Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg told his employees that Facebook is becoming a metaverse company with the goal of building a set of connected social apps and supporting hardware. The recently released Horizon Workrooms remote collaboration app for the Oculus Quest 2 headset can be seen as an early piece of the much larger puzzle the metaverse will become in the future.