Back in 2022, Microsoft released a new variation of Windows 11 named Validation OS. While this operating system is not meant for the general user, it, as the name suggests, is designed to be utilized in the validation, diagnosis and repair of new hardware, ensuring software compatibility, and for troubleshooting various issues. It is based on command line interface (CLI). Here's how Microsoft describes it: Microsoft Validation OS is a lightweight, fast, and customizable Windows 11-based operating system that you can use on the factory floor to diagnose, mitigate and repair hardware defects during Windows device manufacturing. Validation OS boots into a Command Line environment to increase reliability on the factory floor and supports running Win32 apps, smoothing the transition from early hardware bring-up to retail OS and apps development. Over time, Microsoft has been releasing updates for it, which have included support for Windows 11 24H2. That was back in July of 2024. However, back then, Microsoft did not publish any changelog or release notes for the Validation OS updates. However, towards the end of last year, the company started releasing monthly updates for it and has also been publishing corresponding release notes. The latest update was released earlier today with upgrades and enhancements for .NET and WPF (Windows Presentation Framework) UI framework. It also has improvements related to USB booting for Windows PE (preinstallation environment) Ramdisk mode. Microsoft writes (spotted by DeskModder): The following release notes identify the new features, open issues, and resolved issues for the 2504 release of the Microsoft Validation OS. ... This article applies to the Validation OS 2504 release, corresponding to the ISOs with the prefix "26100.3916.250422-2254". What's new Windows Hardware Lab Kit on Validation OS enhancements: Added Surface Dock specific drivers to the Microsoft-WinVOS-DriversPack-A package Added basic support to run some WPF applications along with sufficient support to run .NET (former ".NET core") and WPF on .NET (former "WPF on .NET core") via the Microsoft-WinVOS-WPF-Support optional package (under the Extras CAB directory) Migrated to the latest most secure and performant .NET implementation Split Chinese, Japanese, and Korean TrueType support from Microsoft-WinVOS-Fonts into Microsoft-WinVOS-CJKFonts Added support to ‘DISM.exe /Image: /Set-ScratchSpace’ on Validation OS when booting from USB to configure RAM-DISK size via the Microsoft-WinVOS-Provisioning package Issues Fixed Enhancements and bug fixes Known Issues When including both Microsoft-OneCore-SerialConsole-Package and Microsoft-WinVOS-Bluetooth-Package on certain ARM64 systems, the machine will become unstable and can crash. In case you are wondering, the previous two releases added support for OOBE (out of box experience) and Inbox drivers, like that of the Ethernet. The changelogs are given below: The following release notes identify the new features, open issues, and resolved issues for the 2025.02 release of the Microsoft Validation OS. .. This article applies to the Validation OS 2025.02 release, corresponding to the ISOs with the prefix "26100.3323.250220-1537". What's new Added a the “Inbox Drivers” feature package that adds a limited subset of inbox drivers, including some ASIX ethernet adapters. When including the Out of Box Experience (OOBE.pkg) in an image targeted FOR USB boot, GenImage will automatically filter out Microsoft-WinVOS-Setup-Package from the composition (this package is unsupported in durin USB boot). Includes an experimental script to convert a generated Validation OS WIM file to a custom sized VHDX: GenImage\CustomVHDX.cmd Issues Fixed Fixed issue where kernel mode crash dumps were only created if the Power feature was included in the composition. Now, there are no option package requirements for kernel mode crash dump creations. Known Issues When including both Microsoft-OneCore-SerialConsole-Package and Microsoft-WinVOS-Bluetooth-Package on certain ARM64 systems, the machine will become unstable and can crash. The Microsoft-WinVOS-Setup-Package is located in both the common package location and under OOBE (this is fixed in the upcoming March 2025 release) Adding the Out of Box Experience (OOBE.pkg) package to arm64 devices will result in an infinite reboot cycle (this will be fixed in the upcoming March 2025 release) Image generation is not possible if the input (base) WIM/VHDX is compressed. This is a limitation of dism.exe and considered by design. [....] The following release notes identify the new features, open issues, and resolved issues for the 2503 release of the Microsoft Validation OS. .. This article applies to the Validation OS 2503 release, corresponding to the ISOs with the prefix "26100.3624.250321-2034". What's new Windows Hardware Lab Kit on Validation OS enhancements: Added built-in support for Out of Box Experience (OOBE.pkg) Added support for certain hardware devices via the Microsoft-WinVOS-DriversPack-A-Package VHDX images are now bootable in Hyper-V with no additional updates Added takeown.exe and driverquery.exe utilities to the Applications and Application Support (apps.pkg) feature package. Added Validation OS specific DirectML samples to Github:Validation-OS/Samples/DirectML Issues Fixed The Microsoft-WinVOS-Setup-Package.cab file is now only located in the OOBE package location Adding the Out of Box Experience (OOBE.pkg) package to arm64 devices will not result in an infinite reboot cycle anymore Fixed ApiSet Schema for Microsoft-WinVOS-Connectivity-Devices Known Issues When including both Microsoft-OneCore-SerialConsole-Package and Microsoft-WinVOS-Bluetooth-Package on certain ARM64 systems, the machine will become unstable and can crash. To download the latest Validation OS release, head over to this page on Microsoft's official website.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. US Judge rules Apple willfully violated and ignored court's 2021 decision Pradeep Viswanathan Neowin @pradeepviswav · Apr 30, 2025 21:14 EDT Back in 2021, Apple faced a setback in its court case against Epic when a judge ruled that Apple could not prevent developers from including buttons, external links, or other calls to action within their apps to direct customers to non-App Store purchasing mechanisms. Following the court ruling, Epic announced that Fortnite would return to the iOS App Store based on the new provisions Apple was expected to implement. Now in 2025, Apple still does not offer any practical way for developers, including Epic, to use external payment systems for their apps and games. Epic returned to court, claiming that Apple has not complied with the court's order. Today, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers ruled that Apple is willfully violating the Court’s 2021 injunction. Here's the exact wording from the ruling: Apple willfully chose not to comply with this Court’s Injunction. It did so with the express intent to create new anticompetitive barriers which would, by design and in effect, maintain a valued revenue stream; a revenue stream previously found to be anticompetitive. That it thought this Court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation. As always, the cover up made it worse. For this Court, there is no second bite at the apple. The judge also ruled that Alex Roman, Apple’s Vice President of Finance, lied under oath. The United States Attorney may decide whether to initiate a criminal prosecution against Apple and its Vice President of Finance. Accordingly, under Rule 42(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Court refers the issue to the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California, Patrick D. Robbins, or his designee(s), for investigation against Apple and Alex Roman, Apple’s Vice President of Finance specifically. The Court takes no position on whether a criminal prosecution is or is not warranted. The decision is entirely that of the United States Attorney. It will be for the executive branch to decide whether Apple should be deprived of the fruits of its violation, in addition to any penalty geared to deter future misconduct. Tim Sweeney, Epic Games founder and CEO, tweeted that Fortnite will be coming back to the US iOS App Store next week. He also offered a peace proposal for Apple if they extend the court's friction-free, Apple-tax-free framework worldwide. In return, Epic will bring Fortnite to the App Store worldwide and drop current and future litigation on the topic. NO FEES on web transactions. Game over for the Apple Tax. — Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) Apple’s 15-30% junk fees are now just as dead here in the United States of America as they are in Europe under the Digital Markets Act. Unlawful here, unlawful there. 4 years 4 months 17 days. https://t.co/RucrsX7Z4A pic.twitter.com/3kSYnt5pcIApril 30, 2025 This ruling marks a significant development in the ongoing battle between Apple and developers over App Store policies and commissions. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Microsoft reports strong Q3 FY2025 results, revenue reaches $70.1 billion David Uzondu Neowin · Apr 30, 2025 18:26 EDT Microsoft just wrapped up its third quarter of fiscal 2025 with another solid flex, beating expectations yet again. Revenue hit $70.1 billion, up 13% from last year (or 15% if you factor out currency swings), while earnings per share climbed 18% to $3.46. Azure and the broader cloud services arm clocked in with the same 33% growth rate as Q1 (35% when adjusted for currency), pulling ahead of Q2’s 31% and reinforcing a steady upward trend. CEO Satya Nadella pointed to AI as the game-changer here. Businesses are leaning harder on Microsoft’s AI stack to work smarter and trim costs, and it’s showing in the numbers. The Productivity and Business Processes unit, home to Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365, pulled in $29.9 billion, a 10% lift from last year (13% with currency adjustments). Microsoft 365 Commercial posted an 11% increase, while Dynamics 365 outpaced it with 16%. LinkedIn is still growing, but at a slower 7%. As for the More Personal Computing division, it brought in $13.4 billion, up 6%. Windows OEM crept up 3%, Xbox content and services added 8%, and search and news ads were the surprise standout, jumping 21% once you strip out traffic costs. These gains helped keep the segment in the green, with Windows and Xbox pulling more than their weight. Financially, Microsoft converted its top-line strength into $37 billion of operating cash flow, even as it invested $16.7 billion in property and equipment to expand its datacenter footprint for AI. CFO Amy Hood highlighted that Microsoft Cloud alone generated $42.4 billion this quarter, up 20% (22% in constant currency), fueling both research and development and shareholder returns. The company returned $9.7 billion to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks. Looking forward, while this quarter's results look solid, Redmond made sure to mention that the road ahead has its potential bumps. It pointed out that actual results could differ materially from expectations because of things like "intense competition in all of our markets," the simple fact that "significant investments in products and services may not achieve expected returns," and the ever-present threat of "cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities." The company also noted that changes in "government enforcement under competition laws" or "laws and regulations relating to the handling of personal data" could impact its business. More details on Microsoft's third-quarter FY2025 results are available on the company's official website. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Duolingo drops nearly 150 new language courses, says AI helped build them David Uzondu Neowin · Apr 30, 2025 16:38 EDT Several days ago, Duolingo stirred up some talk across the internet by declaring it was going "AI-first" and signaling a move away from using human contractors for tasks AI could handle. This sparked quite a bit of discussion and concern, with many worrying about job losses and the potential impact on the quality of language content Duolingo provides. The company has now announced a massive launch: 148 brand new language courses, more than doubling its current lineup and marking the largest content expansion in its history. This rollout arrives as the company continues to face criticism over its AI strategy. While some users and commentators have expressed anxieties that an "AI-first" approach might dilute the human element of language learning or lead to less nuanced translations compared to those done by people, especially the contractors who were previously involved in creating course content, Duolingo says this sudden, massive expansion is possible precisely because of its investments in AI and automation. Luis von Ahn, Duolingo's CEO and co-founder, highlighted the speed this enables in the announcement. He stated: Developing our first 100 courses took about 12 years, and now, in about a year, we’re able to create and launch nearly 150 new courses. This is a great example of how generative AI can directly benefit our learners. This launch reflects the incredible impact of our AI and automation investments, which have allowed us to scale at unprecedented speed and quality. The company explained that historically, building just one new course from scratch was a lengthy process, sometimes taking small teams years. Now, using generative AI to create and validate content, along with internal tools and a new "shared content" approach (where a base course is built and quickly adapted for different languages), it can apparently turn out courses much faster. Jessie Becker, a Senior Director of Learning Design at Duolingo, added: It used to take a small team years to build a single new course from scratch. Now, by using generative AI to create and validate content, we’re able to focus our expertise where it is most impactful, ensuring every course meets Duolingo’s rigorous quality standards. So, what does this mean for people trying to learn a language on Duolingo? It makes Duolingo's top seven languages besides English – Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin – available to users speaking any of the 28 interface languages the app supports. This dramatically expands learning options and could potentially open up these popular languages to over a billion more potential learners worldwide. For example, the announcement specifically mentioned that speakers of many languages in Latin America, Europe, and Asia who previously might have only had the option to learn English can now access these other top languages, including high-demand ones like Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin. These new courses primarily cover beginner levels, known as CEFR A1 to A2. They include familiar Duolingo features like Stories for reading practice and DuoRadio for listening. Duolingo did note that more advanced content for these courses is planned for future rollout. This new update follows other AI-driven tools Duolingo has introduced earlier, like the video call feature added to Android back in January. It’s part of the Duolingo Max subscription and lets users practice real-time conversations with an AI character. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Deal  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Save 69% on VideoProc Converter AI: Lifetime Family License Steven Parker CEO - Neowin.net Neowin @aSteveParker · Oct 12, 2024 - Updated Apr 30, 2025 13:00 EDT Today's highlighted deal comes via our Apps + Software section of the Neowin Deals store, where you can save 69% on VideoProc Converter AI: Lifetime Family License For Mac or Windows. Elevate your visuals to cinema-grade excellence! With VideoProc Converter AI, you have a powerful all-in-one video quality enhancer. Equipped with 3 innovative AI enhancement tools, it can upscale, repair, and enhance any low-res, old, blurry or compressed/downloaded videos. Thanks to advanced AI models, it significantly boosts video clarity, sharpness, and overall quality by auto denoising, deblurring, and adding more details to skin, hair & textures. But that's not all - VideoProc also doubles as a top-notch image/photo enhancer, saving you from buying additional software. Plus, it offers a complete suite of tools for video/audio/DVD transcoding, editing, resizing, screen recording, and more with full GPU acceleration. It's got everything you need. Get Ultra Clear, Smooth, High-res Videos/Images Using AI Upscale low-resolution/blurry videos to 1080p/2K/4K with natural results. Upscale images/AI arts up to 8K/10K, while adding more intricate details. New AI models: deblur, denoise, fix artifacts, generate details for max. clarity. 2 enhancement modes – "Fast" or "High Quality" - to match your needs. Smooth videos by boosting frame rates to 60, 120 fps or even higher. Stabilize shaky footage from GoPro, drones, and various cameras. More Value-Packed Features Seamlessly convert videos and audio as well as convert video to audio. Support 420+ output profiles including 4K MP4, MKV, ProRes, MOV, and HD videos. Easily adjust video/audio codec, frame rate, bit rate, GOP, audio channel. Quick editing tools: cut, crop, rotate, add effects/subtitles, adjust speed (from 0.1x to 16x). Back up & digitize DVD to MP4 for convenient viewing on other devices. All-in-one toolbox: compress large videos, make GIF, remove fisheye. Save online media content from 1000+ regular sites and 2000 niche sites. Record gameplays, live streaming, webinars & the like from screen, webcam or both. Trascode & processe large-sized/4K videos smoothly with Level-3 hardware acceleration. Good to know Length of access: lifetime Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 30 days of purchase Access option: desktop Max number of device(s): 5 Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Chinese Version: 7.2 Updates included Here's the deal: VideoProc Converter AI: Lifetime Family License (For Mac or Windows) normally costs $119.90, but this deal can be yours for just $39.99, that's a saving of $79.91. For full terms, specifications, and license info please click the link below. See all discounted Neowin Deals on offer. This is a time-limited deal.Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. Other ways to support Neowin The above deal not doing it for you, but still want to help? Check out the links below. Check out our partner software in the Neowin Store Buy a T-shirt at Neowin's Threadsquad Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: An account at Neowin Deals is required to participate in any deals powered by our affiliate, StackCommerce. For a full description of StackCommerce's privacy guidelines, go here. Neowin benefits from shared revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

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Deal  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. 15.6-inch HP Victus gaming laptop with 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD is at its lowest price yet Fiza Ali Neowin @Fiza_Aliii · Apr 30, 2025 07:40 EDT Amazon US is currently offering the 15.6-inch HP Victus gaming laptop at its lowest price to date, with a limited time deal. So, if you are a gaming enthusiast and have been wanting to upgrade your device, you may want to check it out (purchase link towards the bottom of the article). The HP Victus is equipped with a 144 Hz Full HD (1920×1080 pixel) anti-glare display which minimises motion blur and image ghosting to provide clear, vivid visuals from any viewing angle. The laptop's micro-edge display further maximises the available viewing area. Under the hood sits a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.4 GHz. Its graphics performance is handled by an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 GPU with 4 GB of GDDR6 dedicated memory, enabling ray tracing and AI-accelerated workloads via the NVIDIA Studio platform. Furthermore, a 512GB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe M.2 SSD promises up to 15× faster read-write speeds than a conventional SATA hard drive for quick boot-ups and file transfers, while 8GB of DDR4 RAM running at 3,200 MT/s should be plenty given that this is a mid-range laptop. Unfortunately, HP does not specify whether this is a 4x2 configuration or a 16x1 configuration. Users will need to use Task Manager or some other third-party tool like HWiNFO64 to figure out if the RAM is upgradeable to 16 GB. The HP Victus offers good connectivity too with Wi-Fi 6 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5.3, promising a more reliable wireless experience during online activities. Moreover, the laptop ships with Windows 11 Home, offering a redesigned Start menu, integrated widgets, and new productivity tools to streamline work and play. In addition, the HP Victus is equipped with a lithium-ion battery and claims to offer an average battery life of approximately six hours. 15.6-inch HP Victus Laptop (8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) 15-fa1029n: $489.99 (Amazon US) This Amazon deal is US-specific and not available in other regions unless specified. If you don't like it or want to look at more options, check out the Amazon US deals page here. Get Prime (SNAP), Prime Video, Audible Plus or Kindle / Music Unlimited. Free for 30 days. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Flappy Bird returns to Android after 10 years with new characters and worlds Aditya Tiwari Neowin @TheLazyAvenger · Apr 30, 2025 04:50 EDT The popular side-scrolling arcade-style mobile game, Flappy Bird, has finally returned for Android users after a decade of being dormant. The free-to-download game is currently only available through the Epic Games Store. For those who don't know, Flappy Bird was released in 2013 by the Vietnamese indie game maker Dong Nguyen. The addictive game became a sleeper hit and gained popularity, topping charts on Google Play and the App Store. The game featured graphics similar to Nintendo's classic Mario games and reached over 50 million downloads. However, its journey was short-lived as the original developer pulled the plug on it in February 2014. Nguyen reportedly earned $50,000 a day but claimed back then that the game was "ruining his life." Flappy Bird was a sensation big enough that people started selling iPhones pre-installed with the game on eBay for thousands of dollars. A developer managed to clone the game with a few hours of effort, and a version of Flappy Bird launched for Fire TV. However, a dramatic turn happened in 2024 when Nguyen lost the game's trademark to Gametech Holdings, and an unofficial reboot arrived under the name "The Flappy Bird Foundation." The unofficial version attracted negative reactions for bringing cryptocurrency into the picture. Flappy Bird's original developer posted a message on X (formerly Twitter), officially distancing himself from the new game. "No, I have no related with their game. I did not sell anything. I also don't support crypto." It was known last year that the Android and iOS versions of the "rehatched" Flappy Bird would arrive sometime in 2025. According to its official website and store listing, the latest Flappy Bird for Android features new characters, challenges, and worlds for players to get invested. Players can flap in the Classic mode or the new Quest mode in the web2-only game to test their tapping and timing skills, guiding Flappy to new worlds through pipes and obstacles. However, the game has steered clear of cryptocurrency this time. Its version 1.1 on the Epic Games Store weighs about 129MB in download size and requires Android 6.0 or later to run. Flappy Bird's iOS version is also in development without a release timeline. "We have plans in the works for other platforms but we don’t have any other news to share at this time!" its makers said. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Meta unveils Llama API said to deliver record-breaking inference speeds Pradeep Viswanathan Neowin @pradeepviswav · Apr 29, 2025 23:54 EDT At the first-ever LlamaCon, Meta today made several announcements and introduced tools to make the Llama family of models more accessible to developers. The main highlight was the launch of the Llama API, which is now available as a limited free preview for developers. The Llama API will allow developers to try out different Llama models, including the recently launched Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick models. It offers one-click API key creation and lightweight TypeScript and Python SDKs. To make it easier for developers to port OpenAI-based applications, the Llama API is compatible with the OpenAI SDK. Meta is also partnering with Cerebras and Groq to deliver faster inference speeds for the Llama API. Cerebras claims that the Llama 4 Cerebras model in the API can deliver token generation speeds up to 18 times faster than regular GPU-based solutions from NVIDIA and others. According to the Artificial Analysis benchmarking site, the Cerebras solution delivered over 2,600 tokens/s for Llama 4 Scout, compared to ChatGPT at 130 tokens/s and DeepSeek at 25 tokens/s. Andrew Feldman, CEO and co-founder of Cerebras, said: “Cerebras is proud to make the Llama API the fastest inference API in the world. Developers building agentic and real-time apps need speed. With Cerebras on the Llama API, they can build AI systems that are fundamentally out of reach for leading GPU-based inference clouds.” Interested developers can access this ultra-fast Llama 4 inference by selecting Cerebras from the model options within the Llama API. Llama 4 Scout is also available from Groq, but it is currently running at over 460 tokens/s, which is about 6x slower than the Cerebras solution, yet 4x faster when compared to other GPU-based solutions. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Google Wallet mobile IDs are coming to more U.S. states Pradeep Viswanathan Neowin @pradeepviswav · Apr 29, 2025 18:48 EDT Physical IDs are required in various real-world situations to confirm your age or address. However, when sharing a physical ID, you are often forced to disclose all of your personal information, including your name, address, physical description, and more. A digital ID, on the other hand, allows you to share only the required data following authentication via fingerprint, PIN, or passcode. Last year, Google announced a new capability that allowed users to store select U.S. state-issued IDs in the Google Wallet app on Android. Today, Google announced the expanded availability of digital IDs in Google Wallet across the U.S. Residents of Arkansas, Montana, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia will soon be able to save their government-issued digital IDs to Google Wallet. In Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, and New Mexico, users will also be able to use their mobile IDs at the DMV. Google highlighted that the saved ID pass can be used at TSA security checkpoints for domestic travel at supported airports, serving as a replacement for a REAL ID driver’s license or state-issued ID. The company also has plans to enable the use of stored digital IDs for recovering Amazon accounts, accessing CVS health service and MyChart by Epic, verifying profiles on Uber, and more. Residents of the United Kingdom will soon be able to create digital ID passes in Google Wallet using their U.K. passports. Rail Delivery Group train travelers will be able to use their digital ID to verify eligibility for select Railcards on the Railcard retailing platform, railcard.co.uk. Google is also working with the U.K.’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which could allow residents to use their Google Wallet ID passes for alcohol purchases and other services. Additionally, Google is expanding Google Wallet to 50 more countries, enabling users to view and use digital passes both in the app and on the web. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Google is expanding Audio Overviews in NotebookLM to more than 50 languages David Uzondu Neowin · Apr 29, 2025 18:58 EDT NotebookLM, Google Labs' AI-powered research and note-taking tool grounded in user documents via the Gemini language model, has been getting a bunch of useful additions lately. It has recently seen updates like adding support for YouTube videos, allowing users to integrate transcripts from public videos as sources, and a feature enabling users to search the web directly from within the tool to find relevant sources. Now, the latest enhancement focuses on its Audio Overviews feature. This feature is designed to help users quickly get the gist of their materials without reading through everything. Think of it as turning your documents into a podcast summary. Google describes it this way: Audio Overviews are lively "deep dive" discussions between two AI hosts who summarize key topics in your sources. These turn documents, slides, charts and more into engaging discussions with one click and are especially useful for learning on the go. Until now, this handy tool was mainly for English speakers. But starting today, Google is rolling out support to generate these Audio Overviews in over 50 languages. This means you can upload your sources in various languages or mix them in a single notebook and then choose your preferred output language for the audio summary from a much larger list. For end users wanting to try this, selecting the output language is straightforward. You just go to Settings > Output Language in the top right menu of your NotebookLM interface. Google notes there are no specific admin controls just for this language feature in Google Workspace, though administrators in Google Workspace for Education have existing controls over general NotebookLM access, which remain unchanged. Google is clear that these audio summaries are meant to reflect the content you provided, not offer subjective opinions. While the audio generation is now multilingual, the interactive mode, where you can chat with the AI hosts, remains in beta and is only available in English for now. This expanded language capability is available to users on various Google Workspace editions, including Business Starter, Nonprofits, Education Fundamentals, and others, as well as NotebookLM Plus users on applicable plans. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Google brings Vids to Business Starter, Enterprise Starter and Nonprofit customers David Uzondu Neowin · Apr 29, 2025 17:02 EDT Last year, Google unveiled Vids, which is an AI-assisted tool for creating videos within Google Workspace. Then in November, it brought Vids to select Business, Enterprise, Education, and Gemini add-on plans. Now, Google is making Vids available to a broader range of its Workspace customers, specifically those on Business Starter, Enterprise Starter, and Nonprofit editions. The rollout for these editions starts today (April 29, 2025) and is happening gradually, taking up to 15 days for everyone to see the feature. Vids is built to simplify the process of making work-related videos, even if you've never edited one before. It’s part of the Workspace family, right alongside Docs, Sheets, and Slides, but with a focus on video. Powered by Google’s Gemini AI, it offers features like "Help me create," which can quickly generate a draft video, including a storyboard, suggested scenes, stock footage, and a script, all based on a prompt or a file from your Google Drive. Gemini can also handle things like AI voiceovers and background music, aiming to speed up that initial creation process. Soon, it will even let users generate custom video clips using Google's Veo AI model. With this expansion, customers using Business Starter, Enterprise Starter, and Nonprofit editions will gain full access to the core Vids application. This means they can create, edit, collaborate on, and share videos. They'll also get access to the AI-powered features like "Help me create," but only for a limited time. According to Google's announcement: For a period of 12 months after the rollout, Business Starter, Enterprise Starter, and Nonprofit customers can create a video with AI in Google Vids (using the “Help me create” feature) and use other AI features, to produce engaging videos that help scale your message, build connections and break through the noise across your organization. Google says that creating and editing videos has traditionally been difficult because they require special skills or expensive software licenses. Vids aims to change that by providing an accessible tool for anyone to tell stories through video within their workplace. This could be useful for everything from internal announcements and training materials to quick updates or sharing information gleaned from reports. It is currently available for creation and editing on desktop browsers, while videos can be viewed on both desktop and mobile devices. The AI features are presently only available in English. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Latest Nothing Phone (3a) update improves 4K support, brings Privacy Space Aditya Tiwari Neowin @TheLazyAvenger · Apr 29, 2025 14:10 EDT Nothing has released a new software update for the recently launched Phone (3a) series. The latest update brings upgraded video recording capabilities to the devices. You can now record videos in 4K 30 FPS using the telescope/periscope on the Phone (3a) series. When you zoom while recording in 4K, the Phone (3a) automatically switches to the telephoto lens. Meanwhile, the Phone (3a) Pro switches to the periscope lens when you zoom in to 3x. The company detailed the new changes in a series of social media posts and a community blog. Nothing's fresh camera upgrades also include better selfies with improved skin detail and color balance, clearer night shots under streetlights, brighter telephoto low-light performance, filters on 50MP images, and reduced flicker in slow motion and zoom footage. Its audio companion app has a version update. Nothing X 3.0 comes with a fresh user interface, which is more immersive and fluid. In addition to bug fixes and visual polish, the app supports Nothing's newly launched CMF earbuds lineup: Buds 2, Buds 2a, and Buds 2 Pro. Improvements to the Essential Space feature include faster AI responses and detailed reminders that make it easy to edit the time and content of your reminders. Another highlight of the new update is the Privacy Space feature, which debuted with Android 15. You can swipe right in the app drawer to open a separate area where you can keep sensitive apps away from other people, protected by an extra layer of authentication. Nothing said that you can assign separate passwords for the Privacy Space and App Locker. A new Hotspot Manager lets you see who's connected to your phone's internet and manage those devices. Other than that, the Nothing OS update includes general stability improvements and the April Android security patch for the Phone (3a) series. You can go to Settings > System > System updates to download and install the update. The update is expected to reach most users in the next few days. Nothing said it chooses not to update all the users simultaneously, as it looks for potential issues that might arrive uninvited. In recent news, Nothing launched a new budget-focused smartphone called the CMF Phone 2 Pro. It's CEO, Carl Pei, confirmed that the upcoming Nothing flagship, Phone (3), will launch sometime in the third quarter of 2025 and will arrive in the US. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Deal  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Make your Windows PC and PS5 faster with this $115 2TB Gen4 NVMe SSD deal Sayan Sen Neowin · Apr 29, 2025 11:10 EDT Fast I/O performance is an absolutely necessary thing these days if you want a fast system. You may find that you have one of the best CPUs out there, a ton of memory (for caching) and yet your system may still feel sluggish. If you are wondering why, it could be because your PC needs an upgrade to an SSD. So if you are looking for one, then the Gigabyte Aorus 7300 drive is currently available for its lowest price of just $115 (purchase link towards the end of the article). The discount applies on the 2TB model which means it should be plenty for the OS and you can also install some games on it. It is also compatible with the Sony PS5. The Aorus 7300 SSD uses the M.2 2280 form factor and so it should be compatible with most systems. The drive is based on TLC NAND flash memory and hence, it has a decent claimed endurance rating of 1400 TBW (terabytes written). The warranty of the drive is also based on the endurance figure as Gigabyte says that the company will provide warranty for the 7300 SSD till it reaches this figure or for five years, whichever is earlier. The mean time between failure (MTBF) for the Aorus 7300 is rated at 1.6 million hours. Since this is a PCIe Gen4 drive, Gigabyte promises sequential read speeds of up to 7300 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 6850 MB/s. The drive is powered by the Phison E18 controller and it has its own 2GB DDR4 DRAM cache of its own for faster metadata access. As a result, random performance should also be a breeze. Get the Gigabyte Aorus 7300 PCIe Gen4 SSD at the link below: Gigabyte Aorus 2TB 7300 M.2 2280 Solid State Drive AG4732TB (PCIe Gen 4.0 x4/NVMe 1.4): $114.93 (Amazon US) This Amazon deal is US-specific and not available in other regions unless specified. If you don't like it or want to look at more options, check out the Amazon US deals page here. Get Prime (SNAP), Prime Video, Audible Plus or Kindle / Music Unlimited. Free for 30 days. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Deal  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. This ultrawide curved 34 inch FreeSync monitor can be the best upgrade for your gaming PC Sayan Sen Neowin · Apr 29, 2025 04:02 EDT Curved monitors are interesting option for display especially if you are a gamer as they can offer an additional level of immersion that traditional straight monitors quite can't, and that is especially true in the case of super ultra wides with a 32:9 aspect ratio. However, a 21:9 one can also be a great option as it can be the sweet spot between a 16:9 and a 32:9. If you are in the market looking for a curved ultrawide, then MSI and Amazon are offering the Optix MAG342CQR for the lowest ever price of just $220 (purchase link under the specs list below). The most striking feature first and foremost of this monitor is its look as it's very aesthetically pleasing thanks to the black color scheme and bezel-less display. The monitor comes with a refresh rate of 144 Hz and a response time of 1 ms MRPT (moving picture response time). It also packs AMD's FreeSync technology and is pretty much one of the best curved ultrawide gaming monitors at this price point. If you are looking to edit stuff like videos and photos which require very high color accuracy, this is not it. That is because MSI claims Adobe RGB, DCI-P3, and sRGB scores of 94.64%, 92.57%, and 118.25%, respectively. So it's not terrible but definitely not the best. The rest of the technical specifications of the MSI Optix MAG342CQR are given below: Panel Size 34" (86.36 cm) Curvature 1500R Resolution 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD) Brightness (nits) 300 (Static) Contrast Ratio 4000:1 Dynamic Contrast Ratio 100000000:1 Video ports: 1x DP (1.4) 2x HDMI™ (2.0) Audio ports 1 x Earphone out Surface Treatment Anti-glare Display Colors 1.07B(8 bits + FRC) Get the MSI monitor at the link below: MSI Optix MAG342CQR 1500R Curvature 21:9 Aspect Ratio Narrow Bezel 1ms 3440 x 1440 (UWQHD) 144Hz Refresh Rate Tilt/Swivel/Height/Pivot Adjustment 34" AMD Freesync Gaming Curved Monitor, Black: $219.99 (Amazon US) This Amazon deal is US-specific and not available in other regions unless specified. If you don't like it or want to look at more options, check out the Amazon US deals page here. Get Prime (SNAP), Prime Video, Audible Plus or Kindle / Music Unlimited. Free for 30 days. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed