Microsoft has taken to pushing out two major Windows 10 releases a year… but major may be in the eye of the beholder, because the last few updates have mostly brought a bunch of small changes to the operating system.
That could change next year – according to a report from Windows Central, Microsoft is working on a major user interface update that could roll out sometime next year.
In other recent tech news, AMD has introduced a new line of graphics cards that are said to be competitive with NVIDIA’s best, Amazon is rolling out an update that turns its Fire tablets into Smart Home Hubs with touch controls, and a smartphone with a keyboard and support for Android or Linux software is actually a little more usable with Linux now… because you can actually use it to make phone calls.
Here’s a roundup of tech stories from around the web.
- Microsoft plans big Windows 10 UI refresh in 2021 codenamed ‘Sun Valley’ [Windows Central]
Report: Microsoft is working on a major overhaul of the Windows 10 user interface. Code-named “Sun Valley,” there may be big changes coming to the Start Menu, File Explorer, Action Center, and other elements of the operating system in late 2021. - AMD’s new Radeon RX 6800 XT promises to go head to head with Nvidia’s RTX 3080 [The Verge]
AMD introduces the $649 Radeon RX 6800XT graphics card, meant to compete with NVIDIA’s RTX 3080 and the $999 RX 6900XT, which takes aim at NVIDIA’s RTX 3090. - ASUS Announces ExpertBook P2451 [Asus]
Asus launches ExpertBook P2451 business laptop. It’s a 3.4 pound notebook with a 14 inch display, 180-degree hinge, an Intel Comet Lake processor, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 3TB of storage. It has Ethernet, VGA, and HDMI ports, but no Thunderbolt. - Amazon Fire tablets to get Smart Home Device Dashboard [ZDNet]
Amazon Fire tablet update brings a Smart Home button to the Device Dashboard, giving you touch-based controls for any Alexa-enabled devices connected to your account. - Fedora 33 Linux distribution released [Fedora Magazine]
The latest version of the GNU/Linux distribution features the GNOME 3.38 desktop environment, uses the BTRFS filesystem by default, includes a new Fedora IoT edition, and brings a bunch of security and package updates and bug fixes. - PinePhone Manjaro Linux Community Edition set to ship soon [@thepine64]
If you want an early look at the operating system that will ship with this phone, check out my video showing Manjaro Linux Beta 1 on the PinePhone. - Cosmo Communicator adds support for phone calls, cover screen features when running Linux [LinuxSmartphones]
You can use the cover screen or the primary screen to make and interact with phone calls when running Debian Linux. The cover screen can also work like a touchpad when the device is open, letting you move an on-screen cursor or scroll without your hand covering part of the primary display.
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But are they serious enough to have them in stock?
The supply issues with the nvidia cards are insane. AMD is selling this 3090 competitor for $1000, and people on craigslist who camped outside the microcenter for two days are selling 3070s for $900.
If AMD can’t deliver the cards, I’m going to have to assume there’s some industry wide conspiracy to use paper launches to drive up the price as much as demand will support and/or finally kill desktop PC building for good. And I really wouldn’t put it past them. They’ve colluded in price fixing with Nvidia before.