Windows 10 can hear you now with expanded dictation features and more

A bit more than a patch

It’s Windows 10 April Update Monday and we’ve been poking around inside the latest OS upgrade from Microsoft to see what’s new. We previewed the big update last week by mentioning the new Timeline and Focus Assist features, and it turns out there are a few more tweaks worth noting, some of which we are glad to see. If you’re a gamer, good news: New settings let you customize graphics performance by game, so the CPU won’t automatically run at meltdown speeds just to play Minecraft.

Use a gaming headset? The mic can now pull double duty as a dictation device as Win10 now lets you dictate instead of type in many apps. There are more tweaks waiting in the Edge browser, and more internal support for progressive web apps to match the existing frameworks from Google, Apple and so on. There’s lots more to learn about the April Update so check out all the goodies.

Huawei seeks its own way

Who is the second largest vendor of Android devices in the world? It’s Chinese tech company Huawei, (Samsung is number one) and after the US Government effectively choked off Huawei’s attempt to sell phones and tablets through American cell phone carriers, the company says that the rumors they’re building their own OS to supplant Google’s Android are indeed true, and they’ve been working on the project since 2012.

But that doesn’t mean they’re about to switch over to the as yet-unnamed OS, and the company says they are still focused on the Android OS while keeping an “open attitude” towards mobile operating systems. As in: We’re still working on it. But seeing how both iOS and Android are heavily app driven, introducing a THIRD OS is a daunting challenge with a high failure rate. Just ask Microsoft.

Did you just see a real bright light?

Fortnite players, better load up on Red Bull and Cheetos: Today is the last day of Season 3, and Epic Games says Season 4 will drop on Tuesday. Season 4 has a “Superhero” theme and teasers point to a new character – which unsurprisingly looks very super-hero-ish – and also, some new supervillain skins. The comet – or spaceship, or alien invasion force, or both – is still incoming and very close now, it’ll probably start season 4 off tomorrow with an expected bang – and good reasons to power up those superhero skills. Brace for impact.

We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.

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