Linus Torvalds has just announced a new Linux kernel 5.6 release candidate at a time when the world is in lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Torvalds explains that Linux kernel version 5.6-rc7 is actually “pretty small,” adding that this is also likely the effect of the COVID-19 which is keeping everyone at home focusing on other stuff.

“Nothing really stands out, it's all pretty small. I'm going to be optimistic, and say that it's because we're nicely on track for a normal calm release, but obviously it may be partly because everybody is distracted by virus worries. But I haven't seen anything that looks hugely worrisome on the kernel side,” Torvalds explains.

Indeed, the new coronavirus outbreak keeps everyone at home these days, especially as the infection expands to make more victims across the entire world.

At the time of writing, there are over 225,000 currently-infected patients worldwide, with nearly 215,000 of them said to be in mild condition.

China continues to be the country affected the most by the new coronavirus, with over 81,000 confirmed cases, followed by Italy and the United States with 59,000 and 34,750 infected persons, respectively.
"Typical release candidate"

Torvalds says that despite the whole madness created by COVID-19, everything looks normal from a kernel perspective.

“The world around us may be going through strange times, but at least so far kernel development looks normal,” he says.

So what should you expect in this new release candidate? Just the usual, he explains, as the new release candidate is by no means something that stands out from the typical development cycle.

“The bulk this week is - as usual - drivers: gpu, mmc, staging, iio, usb, sound... But there's some VM fixes, some Arch updates, documentation and tooling (mostly turbostat),” Torvalds explains.

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Microsoft will remove several consumer features from Cortana, while also pulling the digital assistant from Microsoft Launcher on Android as part of a new approach that makes this service more appropriate for business use.

The Redmond-based software giant said in an announcement that consumer features like controlling the music, the connected home, and third-party skills would no longer be available in Cortana beginning with the major update the company plans to release this spring.

The Windows 10 feature update due in April or May is called version 2004 and has already been finalized last December. It’s expected to be signed off this month.
"Bye-bye, Microsoft Launcher"

Microsoft says that this new approach also has Cortana waving goodbye to Microsoft Launcher on Android, albeit the digital assistant will continue to be available on Google’s mobile platform as a dedicated mobile app.

“We’ve tightened access to Cortana so that you must be securely logged in with your work or school account or your Microsoft account before using Cortana, and some consumer skills including music, connected home and third-party skills will no longer be available in the updated Cortana experience in Windows 10. We’re also making some changes to where Cortana helps you,” Microsoft says.

“As part of our standard practice, we are ending support for Cortana in older versions of Windows that have reached their end-of-service dates. We recommend that customers update their devices to the latest version of Windows 10 to continue using Cortana. We’ll also be turning off the Cortana services in the Microsoft Launcher on Android by the end of April.”

The spring 2020 Cortana update will include new features like getting answers from Bing, opening apps, adjusting the device configuration, and setting alarms and times. These capabilities will first go live in the United States, with international markets to get them in the coming months, Microsoft promises.

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Internet Explorer has long been described as the best browser to download Google Chrome, and its successor, originally codenamed Project Spartan and then launched as Microsoft Edge, made no difference.

It’s no secret that the legacy version of Microsoft Edge failed to make an impact, so its adoption seriously lagged behind the one of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

By migrating to the Chromium engine, Microsoft Edge is getting a second chance to impress, and by the looks of things, so many people already like what they see.

The Chromium-powered Microsoft Edge is often considered a worthy alternative to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, so it’s no surprise that a growing number of users want to abandon these two and adopt the new browser as their daily driver.

Microsoft offers several methods to configure Edge as the default browser on Windows 10, including a new option that was recently added to the Canary release.

First of all, it’s the traditional method that involves going to the Settings screen manually to configure the default apps on Windows 10. The path is the following:

Windows 10 > Settings > Apps > Default apps > Web browser

Click the name of the browser that is currently configured as default on your system and then choose Microsoft Edge from the list.

But at the same time, Microsoft is also adding a new option that makes the whole thing much easier. The Canary version of the application has recently been updated with a tool to easily set Edge as the new default. You can find the new option in Microsoft Edge Canary version 82.0.439.0 and newer at the following location:

Microsoft Edge > Settings > Default browser > Make default

However, the existing version of Edge Canary can’t be configured as the default browser on Windows 10, with Microsoft explaining that this release is specifically supposed to be used for testing and nothing more.

“The Canary channel cannot be made your default browser. Canary builds can be unstable – they’re released daily to validate bug fixes and test brand new features.”

However, you can bypass this limitation and set Canary as default using the first method that involves you manually browsing to the default apps screen on Windows 10.

For the time being, the “Make default” option is missing from the stable version of Edge, but there’s no doubt Microsoft will include it in the next update. And of course, it’ll work as expected, as the stable Edge is the recommended version for those not willing to deal with bugs and other issues.

Thanks to the migration to the Chromium engine, Microsoft Edge is now available on macOS as well – a Linux version is also in the works, but this one doesn’t have an ETA just yet, as Microsoft said it was only looking into this idea.

The new make default option in the browser would thus be aimed at all platforms where Microsoft Edge is available, so on macOS and Linux, it should help set it as the default option much faster. Of course, each platform comes with other methods of setting the default apps, but this new addition makes the whole process substantially more convenient going forward.

On Windows 10, the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge replaces the legacy version as the new default automatically – the browser is offered on Windows Update but can also be installed manually using the standalone installers available on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, and macOS.


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