Month: February 2022

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

Now that Windows 11’s first major post-release update has been issued, Microsoft has started testing a huge collection of new features, UI changes, and redesigned apps in the latest Windows Insider preview for Dev channel users. By and large, the changes are significant and useful—there’s an overhauled Task Manager, folders for pinned apps in the Start menu, the renewed ability to drag items into the Taskbar (as you could in Windows 10), improvements to the Do Not Disturb and Focus modes, new touchscreen gestures, and a long list of other fixes and enhancements.

But tucked away toward the bottom of the changelog is one unwelcome addition: like the Home edition of Windows 11, the Pro version will now require an Internet connection and a Microsoft account during setup. In the current version of Windows 11, you could still create a local user account during setup by not connecting your PC to the Internet—something that also worked in the Home version of Windows 10 but was removed in 11. That workaround will no longer be available in either edition going forward, barring a change in Microsoft’s plans.

While most devices do require a sign-in to fully enable app stores, cloud storage, and cross-device sharing and syncing, Windows 11 will soon stand alone as the only major consumer OS that requires account sign-in to enable even basic functionality. Apple’s Macs still allow for local account creation during setup, and you can skip signing in when you set up iPhones and iPads (an Internet connection is sometimes required for device activation, though). Android likewise needs an Internet account for activation but doesn’t require signing in to get you to the home screen. Even Chrome OS has a guest mode that you can use to enable basic browsing without a user account.

Enlarge / The new Porsche LMDh car, about to leave its garage at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain. (credit: Porsche)

Porsche’s next race car is so new that it still doesn’t have an official name. It’s not even due to enter its first race for more than 11 months. But there are few things Porsche takes more seriously than a racing program, particularly one that has a good chance of victory at significant races in Daytona, Sebring, and Le Mans. That’s why the car has already completed its first test at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, Spain.

After all, this new car, built for a new “hypercar” class in the IMSA’s WeatherTech championship and the FIA’s World Endurance Championship, has a lot to live up to. Porsche has had 22 overall wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, 18 overall wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring, and 19 overall wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“We’re the first to put an LMDh vehicle through its paces in test mode,” said Jonathan Diuguid, managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. “This gives us the chance to systematically sort out every aspect over the coming weeks and months and to take on the competition in 2023 with the best possible preparation.”

Enlarge (credit: Cooler Master)

OLED is so popular among shoppers seeking high-end image quality that its acronym is expanding (see: QD-OLED). But in PC monitors, OLED means limited size options and lofty prices. Mini LED is a strong alternative but has long carried high price tags as well, partially due to the devices being so frequently marketed to creative professionals. But with this week’s mini LED PC monitor announcement, the technology is getting cheaper than ever.

Mini LED monitors can fit more LEDs into their backlight because each individual light-emitting diode in a Mini LED monitor is about half the size of the diodes in regular LED monitors. In a full-array local dimming (FALD) monitor, which has independently controlled lighting zones, this should lead to greater contrast, since the display has greater control over brightness in different areas of an image. Contrast, however, won’t be as extreme as what you can expect from OLED.

The Cooler Master GP27-FQS monitor will come out sometime between late Q2 and early Q3 with an MSRP of $699. However, a Cooler Master representative told Ars Technica that there will “most likely” be sale prices “closer to $550.”

Enlarge / Signage on a window of a coffee shop informs customers of their masking policy in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. The state’s indoor mask requirement, which requires everyone to wear face coverings indoors regardless of vaccination status, expired on Wednesday. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

With national cases of COVID-19 dropping precipitously, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will soon release new guidance on how states and local governments can ease out of health restrictions, including indoor mask wearing. According to news reports citing unnamed officials, new guidance could come as early as next week.

The CDC’s guidance will arrive well after several states and local governments charged ahead with plans to pull back pandemic restrictions, particularly indoor masking. The moves have left some questioning whether the CDC is, once again, struggling to keep up with the pandemic’s shifting conditions.

In a press briefing last week, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky stood by the current guidance, noting that “our hospitalizations are still high, our death rates are still high.” While the agency was “encouraged” by current downward trends, “we are not there yet,” Dr. Walensky said of easing guidance.