Windows 10 users can now sign up for free extended security updates; The AI browser war is underway; ‘Universal’ cancer vaccine heading to human trials could be useful for ‘all forms of cancer’… and More!
Every day, we scan the tech world for interesting news, sometimes from outside the tech world. Every Thursday, we feature news articles that grabbed our attention over the past week. We hope you find this week’s ‘Thursday Newsbytes’ informative and interesting!
Windows 10 users can now sign up for free extended security updates
Microsoft’s offer to extend Windows 10 security updates for free is now live.
Microsoft has given the official go-ahead for users who want to register for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates (ESU). Those who are still on Windows 10 but don’t want to upgrade to Windows 11 yet can continue to receive free security updates and keep using it for a while longer.
Only a month ago, Microsoft announced that it would extend free security updates for Windows 10 as an alternate path for users who didn’t want to pay the initially announced $30 per-device ESU fee. It’s now possible to sign up for this free ESU program, reports Windows Central.
Microsoft offers a new enrollment wizard for this, which is only presented at the very end of this blog post that’s mainly about AI:
Starting today, individuals will begin to see an enrollment wizard through notifications and in Settings, making it simple to select the best option for you and enroll in ESU directly from your personal Windows 10 PC.
How to get the free Windows 10 updates
To get free security updates for Windows 10 for an extra year after the October end-of-life deadline, Microsoft says you need to update your device by installing the latest Windows updates. The new wizard should then appear, which not only warns you about the end of support for Windows 10 but also displays the options for ESU updates.
On our test device, which is still running Windows 10, we unfortunately did not receive this option even after a fresh update plus restart. It’s possible that the rollout for this is being staggered…
The AI browser war is underway. Compare the top browsers from Perplexity, Opera, and more.
Meet the ambitious AI browsers vying for Chrome’s crown.
The AI browser wars hath begun, which fighter will you choose?
Of course, you could always opt for a traditional, static browser, free of AI chatbots and agentic AI features. But tech companies are banking on AI-powered web browsers replacing the likes of Chrome and Safari.
The generative AI boom has already ushered us into a new paradigm for search. More and more, users turn to chatbots like ChatGPT instead of the traditional search engine. So, if search is changing, why are companies developing AI browsers?
Platformer’s Casey Newton summed it up well in a May newsletter:
Search and browsers are two sides of the same coin. When you search for something on the web, you see your results in a browser. That’s what made Chrome such a great investment for Google. Its innovative omnibox address bar, which would go on to become the industry standard, encouraged you to search more than ever. And as Chrome gained market share, Google leveraged its influence to make the world increasingly Google-shaped: easy to index, to search, and to serve ads against…
‘Universal’ cancer vaccine heading to human trials could be useful for ‘all forms of cancer’
A universal cancer vaccine in development could help rev up the immune system against tumors and supercharge the effects of existing cancer therapies, an animal study suggests.
Similar to vaccines for viral infections like the flu, many cancer vaccines are designed to help the immune system recognize specific proteins. However, while conventional vaccines aim to prevent disease, cancer vaccines are currently being developed to clear away cancers already growing in the body and to help prevent treated cancers from coming back.
Nonetheless, conventional vaccines and cancer vaccines often work similarly. The flu shot trains the immune system to look for unique proteins found on the surface of influenza viruses, while cancer vaccines typically teach immune cells to spot unique features of cancer cells…
7 things you didn’t know your Microsoft account does on Windows 11
On Windows 11, your Microsoft account is more than just a way to sign in to your profile. It’s the key to unlocking a set of features that can help you manage, secure, and recover your devices.
From tracking a lost laptop and restoring settings to managing device access and saving BitLocker recovery keys, the Microsoft account dashboard offers several tools that many users overlook.
In this guide, I’ll highlight seven ways a Microsoft account integrates on Windows 11, and what you need to do to improve your privacy.
7 Microsoft account features tied to your PC on Windows 11
These are the features on your Microsoft account that you may not know are integrated with your computer.
You can view and manage your PC inventory
When you set up Windows 11 for the first time and sign in with your Microsoft account, your computer is automatically linked to your account and added to your online inventory, alongside any other device where you’ve used the same credentials.
On the “Devices” page, you can view key details for each system, including the computer name, operating system edition and version, system type, serial number, and more…
Cannibal’ Robot That Can Grow, Heal By Consuming Other Bots Developed
The so-called ‘cannibal’ robot works using a process called robot metabolism, allowing it to self-assemble and increase its performance.
In what appears to be a scene straight out of a dystopian sci-fi movie, scientists at Columbia University in New York have developed a robot capable of growing and healing by consuming other robots. Researchers say the development marks a big step in the creation of self-sustaining machines that can lead to an entirely new dimension of autonomy for artificial intelligence.
“It is possible to form machines that can grow physically and become more capable within their lifetime by consuming and recycling material from their immediate surroundings and other machines,” the study published in the journal Science Advances highlighted.
The so-called cannibal robot works through a process called “robot metabolism”, allowing it to self-assemble and increase its performance by adding new bits, or discarded old parts that have run out of battery or no longer serve a function.
The researchers showed how Truss Links — a robotic magnet stick inspired by the Geomag toy, self-assembled into two-dimensional shapes, which could later morph into three-dimensional robots. These robots then further improved themselves by integrating new parts, effectively “growing” into more capable machines.
“Truss Links can be used to build modular robots. Modular robot systems comprise multiple parts called modules, links, or cells that can self-assemble or be assembled to achieve an objective. The Truss Link is the basic building block…
Thanks for reading this week’s Thursday Newbytes. We hope these articles were informative, interesting, fun, and helpful.
Are the free extended security updates available for the unsupported computers that do not qualify for being upgraded as well? That part seems unclear to me.
That is what they are for. They provide Windows 10 users who are using computers that are not upgradeable with an extra year of security updates, allowing them to use their computer safely for an additional year.
Ok I give in. where is the page is to direct me to the windows 10. ESU. Cheers Roger